Part memoir, part introductory handbook to spiritual disciplines, Kidd provides a work that I found best to read in multiple sittings. She draws on the work of Brother Lawrence, Henri Nouwen, Richard Foster, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and many other spiritual writers who have addressed spiritual disciplines.

Not at all what I expected! I have been wanting to read Sue Monk Kidd, but think of her as a voice for the Sacred Feminine, the Feminine Face of the Divine. I was so surprised, when I happened to choose this book to start with (pure chance--I wasn't going in order of her publication dates) to find this early (maybe first?) book to be about her very mainstream Christian foundation. I appreciated her struggle to move from rigid, by-the-book Christian to an inner-focused, more loving and fruitful s...

Sue Monk Kidd's book, When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life's Sacred Questions, is one of my favorite books of all time. God's Joyful Surprise is somewhat of a prequel to that book, written earlier in her married life when she still had small children at home. It tells her journey from a frantically overcommitted life to one more simple and full of God's presence. I appreciate her honesty and transparency about her own spiritual walk. She gives many practical ideas from great spirit...

Reread for the 3rd or fourth time. I wanted to reread it before passing it along to a book club member. We had mentioned her latest book at our meeting and it reminded me of Sue Monk Kidd's initial (that I know of) venture into writing books. Well written, personal, well researched. Low-key but honestly sharing her spiritual journey. I wish she'd write a sequel of a personal nature to see where she's been spiritually since the mid-80s!

2.5 stars. Not as well-written as I expected after first reading 2 of her novels. However, although I disagree with her current doctrine and was burdened with her lack of real discipleship, growing up in a baptist church and the daughter of a Baptist lay minister; I still gained a few insights and was challenged to live out my faith with the joy that comes from experiencing God's presence throughout each and every day.

This book is interesting from the perspective of understanding the beginnings of a spiritual journey of a writer I admire and appreciate. But there was a long journey between this memoir and Kidd's contemporary work. " Dance of a dissident daughter" is a necessary read to more fully understand Kidd's evolution. Put together... A good study. On its own, this book is rather flat.

We studied this book in a women's spirituality class at college. It was very helpful and sparked great discussions. The class really bonded from it through sharing of others' stories.

I love Sue Monk Kidd! Full of thought-ful, thought-filled stories and encounters.

I LOVED IT! It really makes the Christian life "liveable" in ways that are NOT "uptight" and "legalistic", (meaning every thing has to be done exactly right, down to the letter; no exceptions). Sue Monk Kidd points out that the same delight of finding a surprise in her mortal father's hand, can be found in the joy of finding out what God has in store for you; the love He has for, and wants to give you, unconditionally.

This was definitely the right book at the right time. If I owned it rather than borrowed this from the library, I would have been underlining whole paragraphs. I needed the reminders about God, prayer, paying attention and presence that Kidd provides. It was odd to be reading this book after finishing Kidd's The Dance of the Dissident Daughter. In that, Kidd realizes that she is in need of a feminist spiritual awakening. So as part of her journey, she looked at how she saw God. By the end of Dan...

Well, this book falls in the category of book I don't like because the people involved are so stupid. The author is driving herself and everyone around her crazy with stuff (a beyond crazy amount of stuff). She turns her extreme needs to be doing things and achieving to creating a relationship with God, which is just another incarnation of getting graded on how good a Christian you are. Dance of the Dissident Daughter was much better, at least at the time I read it. Maybe you have to be at a cer...

I rarely write reviews, somewhat because I’m not a great writer, but also who really cares about my opinion on a book. I enjoyed Sues book the Secret Life of Bees and so thought I would try this book as well. Honestly, I thought it was another novel. As, I began to read, I was drawn into some areas God was already speaking to my heart. Sue gave a framework to some of my own recent experience. She validated the amount of time change takes. Her valuable practices are a challenge to draw nearer to

I'll write a longer review later but Kidd seems to experience and contemplate life similarly to Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousand Gifts. Kidd's vulnerability in sharing her story and her ability to break down what was happening at each stage of her spiritual growth is inspiring.

To be loved by God is the guarantee. Now what? What is the journey of love all about? We do get a glimpse in here and the author points us in a direction that cannot fail. All of life, even the hard parts, make sense, or are at least acceptable.

My spiritual director, gave me this book. We planned to read it & discuss it. I read the first three chapters and prepared to talk about it. Then fate — in the form of the holidays, setbacks & COVID-19 — intervened. I decided to forge ahead and finish reading. As a committed Christian, this book was a revelation. It prompted me to view my relationship with God differently. Sue Monk Kidd writes of establishing a climate of prayer; of creating a space for God and EXPERIENCING, not merely READING,

It took me a really long time to get through this book. Some of it I found to be very repetitive, but if you can set that aside and get through it, there are some really excellent thoughts in this book. At times I felt like she wrote the book about my exact life and the thoughts on how to calm that down and become more centered were helpful to me.

This is truly a spiritual journey bringing God to the heart of one's life resulting in great peace. "And all will be well!"Anyone searching for peace amidst the demands of daily life Depth brings joy. God's love points to a way to conquer all situations because He is with us!

I found myself slowing down my reading due to the wonderful nuggets of wisdom in this book. I found myself making quality time for prayer and I too, experienced what the author did. We did this in our bible study.

Great book... yet extremely convicting.