A few weeks ago I wrote about how searching for the good in our lives can transform our lives (to read that blog, click here). It got me thinking about a book I read and wrote about in 2014. A book by Jen Hatmaker called, Interrupted.

Parts of it remind me of the books, When Helping Hurts and Serving with Eyes Wide Open, which talk about how important it is to get to know people (to build genuine relationships), not to push our agendas and beliefs on them. There’s a lot we don’t know and we need to be humble enough to learn from everyone we meet…to learn how to love & serve them best, to learn about ourselves & God, to see everyone as God does & recognize that we’re ALL made in His image.

There are parts of Interrupted that I’m not sure I agree with (like God being ALL about social justice…I think He’s about much more than that). I need to dig into the Bible and pray for wisdom with these pieces. This is a good thing because I need to keep learning and I may be the one in the wrong, misinterpreting things.

It’s ALWAYS good when something makes us turn to God and dig into His word for further clarification.

The part of this whole thing that has me excited is the discussions it’s sparking about how to live out the gospel.

  • How do I hold fast to God’s truth while being all things to all people (1 Corinthians 9:19-23), making God’s love irresistible to those who watch my daily life and how I love them?
  • How do I intentionally invest in those in my life without it appearing false or like charity?
  • Which parts of the brokenness in myself, the church, and this world is God calling me to attend to right now?

There are so many more questions that this book has stirred up…I’m praying for the conversations and changes coming…

Does my daily life make God’s love & truth irresistible to others?

Both Jen and her husband, Brandon (who wrote Barefoot Church), shared in the book about how God led them on this interrupted journey individually and together. It’s encouraging to watch someone struggle with their faith, belief, traditions, and way of life in an authentic way. It reminds me that we are all on a journey. That God hasn’t given up on any of us and that He is still working in all of us.

I pray that we will all continue to face the uncomfortable convictions stirring within us and act upon what God is telling each of us to do.

  • How will God interrupt our stories with His?
  • What will happen if we let Him?

Hear about it from Jen Hatmaker herself:

See what others are saying about Interrupted:

This book did exactly what it said it could….wrecked me. I found myself many times about to hyperventilate because I couldn’t catch my breath after reading a paragraph or several. I will never look at communion the same way. I have heard preachers throughout my life say “Jesus said, this do in remembrance of me” but Jen brought it to life. I felt as though I was there, with the disciples, listening to Jesus personally say it to me. I was in awe and it simply took my breath away.

Deni T.

This is a gift to give to that someone who can handle it in your life–who wants to know REAL Jesus.

Dana G. Myers

Are you needing a new fire? Grab this book. It took me a couple months to finish it. Because I chewed on each chapter after I read it. But as a person who has been in dark places…for nearly two years. Traveling to Liberia two times to bring home our boy….waiting on God’s third….this will give you a new fire. This is for ANY missional field you are called to! 

Shannon Marklowitz

Jen identifies what’s wrong with the modern church and how we’ve forgotten how to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. People have built up a resistance to the Gospel and the deliverers of the good news aren’t getting it across! Our neighbors aren’t going to go to church with someone who doesn’t know their last name! The disciples didn’t stay together in a group of twelve, they went their own ways making disciples not by telling them what they were doing wrong but by loving them and being in their community. Jen takes us on her journey from being surrounded by other Christians and living comfortably to being called to more! To starting a church that isn’t about the numbers and the worship on Sunday but what their members are doing in their own communities everyday.

Christina Pierce

It will challenge your generosity.

JoAnn Bastien

Has your life been interrupted by God in some way?

  • The interruption may not feel good yet. Will you let others join you in prayer and encouraging you to keep following hard after Him during this unsettled time of change?
  • If you’re on the other side and see the blessing that resulted from the interruption, will you please share so we can celebrate and be inspired?

To read another person’s perspective and learn about another book, Dirty Faith, that is transformational check out Shannan Martin’s blog, “2 Books That Are Changing Me.”

For an added bonus here, I’m also including the link to Love Sees Differently, a book that gave me another powerful insight to how God loves us and wants to love others through us!

  • If you have read any of these books please share your thoughts on them.
  • If you have other books to recommend, please share them in the comments as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read and ponder these thoughts. I am praying that you will engage in conversations with others about what God is speaking to your heart…conversations that will lead to transformational action!