Can Brokenness be the Door to the Abundant Life? (The Broken Way Review)
A broken heart. A broken life. Can they be the makings of an abundant life?
A broken heart. A broken life. Can they be the makings of an abundant life? Click To Tweet
The broken way to abundance is what best-selling Author Ann Voskamp explores in her new book The Broken Way: a daring path into the abundant life. As captivating as it is deep, this book is no relaxing, light read. You’ll want to set aside dedicated time to absorb Ann’s poetic prose and digest her thought-provoking insights.
The Book
Mirroring the book that shot her to fame, One Thousand Gifts, (and perhaps even more so) Ann Voskamp’s The Broken Way engages your mind as well as your heart. No one can suggest that Ann doesn’t make you think with her writing.
Agree with all of the author’s theological conclusions or not, she definitely pushes you to explore your beliefs. Ann’s love for Jesus Christ, her vulnerability in exposing her failings, and His redemption of the same, ring loud throughout the book.
Personal stories from Ann’s life punctuate deep theological and philosophical explorations of our real and often hurting lives. Although her personal interjections occasionally caused me to lose my train of thought, there is no denying that her writing touches chords in my own heart and mirrors some of my own wonderings.
Thoughts such as, “today’s bread is enough bread, today’s grace is enough grace, today’s God is enough God. The question is, can I believe that when the suffering and the grief comes? And if I can—will it make me feel any less alone?,” leave me nodding.
'today's grace is enough grace....can I believe that when the suffering and the grief comes?' #TheBrokenWay Click To Tweet
The Difficult Parts
Ann Voskamp’s writing style is uniquely her own. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to follow her more poetic language and frequent shifts in setting.
In addition, as a professional editor, the excessive liberties taken with grammar make me cringe. And I sometimes question some of the author’s understanding and presentation of theological concepts.
Occasionally, The Broken Way also had me squirming with the uncomfortable (which isn’t necessarily bad). But just as quickly as the script moves the reader into the uncomfortable, it pivots to expose a beautiful thought or truth about our Savior and Redeemer. This book inspires and convicts, tears down and builds up.
The Beautiful
The Broken Way is for those searching for answers to the suffering and sorrow of the world. It addresses the ages old questions of what am I here for and how do I find it? It busts them wide open in an attempt to discover how all the brokenness fits together for our good and God’s glory.
The two most beautiful aspects of this book are the openness with which Ann shares her own struggles and the endless well of God’s grace she constantly refreshes us with.
The Broken Way to the Abundant Life
Ann proposes that the answer to our broken hearts is to be the GIFT. The answer to our broken world is for us to notice and enter into the busted up world. We need to cast off our comfortable and easy life and embrace the brokenness.
“When we won’t see the suffering—who are all of us—we never form our lives like our Savior’s…. A Christ-shaped life is not a comfortably shaped life, but a cross-shaped life.”
Securing abundance then is to pour out what Christ has so freely poured in: to gift out love as Christ has gifted us. “You do something great with your life when you do all the small things with His great love.”
Securing abundance is to pour out what Christ has so freely poured in: to gift out love as Christ has gifted us. Click To Tweet
Ann contends that we never need be afraid of brokenness: “God made the work of Jesus to ‘bind up the brokenhearted’ and there is more belovedness in Christ for us than there ever is brokenness in us.”
She wants the reader to see that the broken way, giving away our broken pieces, is the way to true abundance. “Brokenness doesn’t need shame and guilt—brokenness needs to be shared and given. Broken and given and shared with Jesus, and with a world that needs to embrace weakness to embrace abundance.”
The broken way, giving away our broken pieces, is the way to true abundance. #TheBrokenWay review Click To Tweet
Because Ann writes, “communion is our course to abundance.”
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-1
Reflections: Do you struggle with facing the world’s and your own brokenness? What would it mean to you to discover that brokenness is truly a path to an abundant life?
More wonderful news is that The Broken Way study guide with DVD will be available before Christmas. And I may just have another giveaway to celebrate!
The Giveaway!
Enter to win your own copy of Ann Voskamp’s captivating, convicting and inspiring new book, The Broken Way! Simply follow the Rafflecopter instructions.
It’s been more than 5 years of counting and I’ve well passed 5,000 gifts in Ann Voskamp’s Joy Dare! What a blessing! Here are numbers #5472–5502. Read my entire list by clicking here.
- *New cell phone finally decided on and shipped; *Rachel’s over-the-top excitement about getting a reading app on her iPad; *Others willing to share their brain power to help me with direction
- *November beauty; *Winterizing the garden with 2 of my men; *Going through a great introductory Bible study on joy with friends
- *Refreshing walk/jog out in the light rain; *Rachel making supper; *New phone finally up and running (is any technology ever easy?)
- *Lovely fall day and time to fit in a walk with Rach and Joey after school; *Gift books ready to go out! *My grace-filled life
- *A sister who’ll help a gal out; *Off on a weekend away with my man for a late-anniversary trip; *Soaking up the past in an historic bed and breakfast
- *Exploring the historic town of Galena with good friends & a good man; *Amazing lobster ravioli for dinner; * Ending the night with games and laughter
- *Starting my Sunday with God on the porch of a beautiful bed and breakfast; *Another day enjoying Galena with good friends; *Reunited with a happy, but tired girl and boy
By His grace ≈ Julie
*affiliate links present in this post
*Two copies of this book were received from BlogAbout Network and Zondervan in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts are my own.
Find hope in your real-life struggles. We'll chase it together! I am a wife; mom of 4 (including a young adult daughter with special needs); miscarriage mom of 5; author & follower of Jesus Christ. I write, edit, speak and enjoy everything outdoors.
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