In Transcending
Mysteries, Andrew Greer and Ginny Owens explored the many different dramatic
insights found in the Old Testament and how we can discover who God truly is. Andrew
and Ginny are both Christian artists/songwriters who have had hits songs played
on the radio. This book is divided up into eight chapters with alternating
voice perspectives and each chapter is related back to one of their songs. Each
chapter they also walk readers through scripture passages and they share how it
applied to their own life story. There is also helpful discussion questions at
the end of each chapter.
One of my favorite chapters was entitled, “If You Want Me
To”, Ginny Owens opened up about her childhood and how she dealt with being born
blind. She revealed how she was bullied and how one of the popular girls would
steal her food and make fun of her for being blind. She also shared personal storied
about when she attended college at Belmont University and she wanted to earn a
dual degree in commercial vocal performance and music education. One of her
professors declared that she wasn’t good enough to have a successful career in
music because her voice was too weak. She dropped her music major because of
the comments. And she decided to just finish her education degree and she
discovered real quick that many places refused to hire a blind music teacher
even though she was more than qualified for the position. She eventually
settled for working at a non-profit and went back to school and got her
Masters. She struggled with disappointment and was questioning where God was
during this low valley of her life. During this chapter, she related what she
learned by studying Moses and how he felt so unqualified to lead the Israelis
out of Egypt and how God used him despite how small and afraid Moses was. (Let
me add a side note that I strongly disagree with the teacher I have seen Ginny
Owens live a couple of years ago and she has a beautiful voice and she has won
three Dove Awards.)
Another favorite chapter was called, “Rescue Me”, Andrew Greer
shared how he struggled to believe that God truly loved him even when he made
mistakes. He admitted that he was addicted to being a love addict and he was in
a few unhealthy relationships and he also struggled with low self-esteem. He
earned his Bachelor’s degree in music from Belmont University and began a job
at a record label. He eventually was laid off and this opened the door for his
music career. In this chapter, he revealed that he received counseling and went
to twelve steps programs. He also explored the truth found in Isaiah 54 about
how God gave the Israelis mercy for their mistakes during their time in the wilderness
and he never stopped loving them.
I would recommend this life changing book to anyone who is
wondering about the mysteries of God and how they relate to us in today’s
times. This book taught me tons of Biblical stories and I especially liked how
they related them back to their own life stories and to a song they have
written. I also liked how Ginny Owens shared her struggle with being single in
the chapter, “Say Amen”. I connected with her desire to sharing life with
someone you love, doing things together, and wanting to hear them laugh. I also
have that longing of being married and having children. I liked how she looked
at scripture passages at the life of Hannah and how she dealt with struggling
with infertility. This chapter was a huge encouragement to me and it gave me
great hope that no matter if I’m married or not I’m still God’s child and
loved. I strongly recommend this book!
"I received this book free from the
publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers
program."
If
you would like to purchase a copy of Transcending
Mysteries, check it out on Amazon.com:
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