Customer Reviews

Dancing with My Father: How God Leads Us into a Life of Grace and Joy

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The second book,"Dancing With My Father", talks about having a life of joy through all the different aspects of our lives. That joy may be in memories, it may be in friendships, it may be in trials, or just in our everyday mundane lives. The key is keeping eyes and ears open in all circumstances and looking for that joy. She gives examples with her own life circumstances which were relatable. It's a great book to read when you are feeling down and need encouragement to look at the joy of life under the dark cloud.

Sally Clarkson is the author of one of my all-time FAVORITE books "The Mission of Motherhood" so needless to say, I was ecstatic to have a chance to review her latest book. And as a bonus, the topic of the book is one that I feel the Lord has really laid on my heart this year - JOY.

Unlike the previous book I reviewed, this book was chock full of wisdom from the Bible. Sally's warm writing style combined with her vast life experiences (she was a single missionary in Communist Poland for several years before starting her family) and her deep knowledge of Scripture combined to make another excellent read.

She tackles the topic of how we can have joy in spite of our circumstances - not just in the extremely difficult moments like loss of a job or a loved one, but also in the everyday, boring, details of our lives that we often tend to view as drudgery. She writes:

"I often meet with women who are distraught, upset, and feel distant from God. Though usually very sincere of heart and wanting to walk with God, they find great disappointment and disillusionment because they have believed in the religious formulas they've been taught. They don't realize that their prayers and lives have been more about...what they hoped life would be and then telling God how He should act on their behalf: `God, since I'm a reasonably mature adult and I think I know what would be the optimum way for you to work in my life, I want you to bless my plan. Please give me healthy kids, when I want them - I'll use birth control until I'm ready and then I want you to work a miracle. And I'd like a good marriage, a nice salary, a lovely home..."

Ouch! I could relate to having subconsciously thought similar things in my own life. But as Sally points out, real joy doesn't come from living a perfect set of circumstances :

"...joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit; it comes not from outside circumstances but from within ourselves as we learn to appreciate the value of God's kingdom."

and:

"I have realized that often the difference between two people who both are in difficult circumstances is that one believes in God's presence and provision in the midst of her circumstances, while the other has allowed the intensity of the situation to determine the state of her heart."

Good stuff. Hard, but good. I would recommend this book to anyone because I believe that this is a subject that almost all of us have struggled with and almost none of us have mastered.

This book was provided for review by Waterbrook Multnomah.

I am pretty sure that I am related to Eeyore somehow. If things do not go the way I expected or hoped they would, I get very discouraged and think "Woe is me." I am not the kind of person who sees the silver lining. I get overwhelmed very easily by life, and struggle to find the good in all the bad out there. I have fleeting moments of joy, but not an every day happiness.

And I especially have a hard time finding joy in the mundane and routine of being a wife and mother. Where is the joy in scrubbing toilets and floors?

Many times I get to the point where I have spent so much time and energy making other people happy, that my tank is empty. And so it was when the opportunity came up to review Sally Clarksons' latest book came up, I jumped at the chance.

Do you sometimes feel victimized by circumstances? Yes.

Are you overwhelmed by weariness, fear, or discouragement? Yes, yes, and yes!

When the book finally arrived in the mail, I dropped my other book to begin reading it. I had never read a book by Ms. Clarkson before, and I can see why she is a popular author and speaker. She is a very gifted writer and storyteller. Reading the book was like sitting there talking with a good friend.

There were two topics she discussed that really touched home with me...not basing our joy on the circumstances in our lives and the trap of thinking "I'll be happy when..."

Especially that last one. I always find myself thinking "I'll be happy when my husband gets a raise..." or "I'll be happy when when we can take another vacation..." or "Things will be better when I go back to work...."

I am always thinking about future happiness and joy and not the present.

Overall, it is a well-written and thought provoking book, but I think she only scratched the surface of a topic that many, if not most, women struggle with today. To me, most of the book was written as a memoir. She sometimes spent more pages sharing her memories of friends and vacations, than she did delving into how we can obtain joy in difficult seasons of life.

Which brings me to my second disappointment in the book. She didn't delve into the truly difficult times women face today...loss of jobs, loss of health, loss of children and spouses, and so on. For example, she spent much time talking about the difficulties she and her family faced in finding a place for her son to live when he moved to New York, but to me that is not a good example. Not something every woman can relate to. She didn't really delve into the moments in a womans life when she thinks "God, where are you right now? Why have you forsaken me?"

But this book has encouraged me in several areas of my life, and I am interested in reading her other books about motherhood.

I would also like to point out she has a blog, I Take Joy, found at [...] . It is definitely worth reading.

Please note:

This book was provided for my review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

This book was also interesting but included more Scripture and Bible references, more of a how-to. It includes personal stories and lays out what to do to have a stronger, healthier relationship with God. This would make a terrific addition to a woman's study group!

Sally Clarkson ([...]) is a popular speaker who has worked in various ministries for more than thirty years. She and her husband, Clay, are the founders of Whole Heart Ministries ([...]), which equips and encourages Christian parents. They live with their four children outside of Colorado Springs, CO. Her blog is entitled `I Take Joy' ([...]).

Her latest book, `Dancing with My Father,' suggests that we should let our soul dance with delight in God. This is from the back cover of the book:

When trusted author and mentor Sally Clarkson noticed a lack of joy in her own life, she realized how easy it can be, especially for women with overloaded to-do lists, to feel weighted down by drudgery and disappointment. But rather than slogging through her days, Sally wanted to know the delight of God's presence. She began prayerfully exploring how to cultivate deep-rooted joy even in the midst of difficult seasons.

I am involved in a women's small group at church called Gracestoration ([...]), which looks at different aspects of grace. So I am working on that area. But there is a lack of joy in my life, too; there is less joy than the Lord would like me to have. So I was anxious to learn what Sally discovered.

A turning point came for Sally when she was observing the joyful dance of a little boy at a park in Krakow, Poland:

I knew I stood at a crossroad that would determine what kind of a Christian I would be from this point forward: victorious, lighthearted and free - or downcast, weighed down, and wounded. I realize that I didn't want to cross the finish line of life gasping for spiritual breath, clenching my teeth as I wearily crossed into the presence of God. Although I didn't want to be a Pollyanna, pretending away sadness, pain and difficulty and denying the real grieving that comes with loss and disappointment, I did want to find the good in all things, to experience the reality of God's joy anew right in the middle of my trials and stresses. (p. 7)

Sally places special emphasis on Jesus as the source of joy:

In the past couple of years, I have realized that it is as I ponder Jesus - think about Him, study Him, read about Him, model Him - that my life becomes more fully what it is supposed to be in all areas. Jesus is the ultimate portrait of living with joy. But even more, I have sought to understand what it means to love Him with my whole heart, as He so desires. If Jesus, the man anointed with oil of joy and gladness was about serving others to the point of laying down His life for them, then serving others and giving myself to the cause of Christ must be the place in which I will find joy. (p. 198)

Sally, in her postscript, states that we all have to make the choice from our heart, before God, to follow His Son and to live a life of joy and grace. It is an easy choice, isn't it?! I appreciate that Sally made that journey, and shares her finding with us!

This book comes complete with discussion questions at the end of each chapter, which I intend to work through. I think this book would work wonderfully well for a women's small group.

Other titles by Mrs. Clarkson include `The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity,' The Ministry of Motherhood: Following Christ's Example in Reaching the Hearts of Our Children, and `The Mom Walk: Keeping in Step with God's Heart for Motherhood.'

This book was provided to me for review and giveaway purposes by Waterbrook Press

Reviewed by Andrea Schultz - Ponderings by Andrea - [...]

I have been a fan of Sally Clarkson and have read some of her previous books, so I was excited to be able to read her latest. The sub-title for this book is: How God Leads Us into a Life of Grace and Joy. Sally wrote this book after a time of noticing a lack of joy in her life. It's very easy for us, especially as women, to become overloaded with "busyness." She describes for us how we can take the time to live in beauty, grace, joy and peace. I love the title of Chapter 9: "Exchanging the Drudgery of Duty for the Dance of Delight." The book allows for the reality of going through times of drudgery and hardship, yet coming out on the other side better able to dance for joy. Sally's writing reflects her heart and she shares so much of her life with her readers. She comes across as someone who has been there and understands.

Each chapter ends with a section entitled: Finding Your Rhythm in God's Joy. This section contains several thought provoking questions, allowing the reader to personalize what has been read and work it into her life. (Also, much scripture is used in this section, for which I am grateful!)

I know that I will be returning This book again and again. It is packed with practical advice and wisdom.

"Dancing with My Father" was partly a memoir and partly a Christian Living book. The book seemed disjointed and inconsistent due to the way it was written. For example, in chapter two, there was an underlying emphasis on performing well for God and the author heaped praises on David for what he did when trusting God, but chapter nine was all about how God doesn't base our worth on our performance. The ideas, as presented, didn't strike me as balancing each other but as conflicting with each other.

When giving examples from her life (which took up about half of the book), the author put in so much detail and her stories lasted so long that I often lost track of what point she was trying to make. These sections often turned into 'sharing her memories' (i.e. a memoir) rather than 'real life illustrations.'

She also sometimes used terms in an odd way. For example, she said in chapter two that we need to see with our hearts. "Heart" usually refers to our emotions, and that's how she used it later, but here it became obvious she meant that we needed to see events from God's perspective. I don't think she meant that viewing life through our emotions gives us an accurate view of God's perspective (which isn't biblical), but I'm not sure why she used "heart" here.

Another thing that baffled me was her apparently changing view of the Bible. At the very beginning, while making some points based on a children's story version of the fight between David and Goliath--and she even summarized the story--she apologized for using the Bible so much. In my opinion, she didn't use the Bible much at all, though she did have plenty of verses on joy somewhat randomly spread throughout the book. She mainly made her points based on her personal experiences and the advice of her friends. Ironically, this works since her friends based their advice off of what the Bible teaches.

She then made a jab at people who like to study and discuss the Bible as only having head knowledge about God rather than a relationship with Him, as if the two can't co-exist. Later, she again criticized those who dared to discuss the Bible with others as only having head knowledge. (She never confined her criticism to only those who say, "you're not a Christian if you don't agree with my theology.') She emphasized "heart knowledge" as superior, though she admitted we needed head knowledge, too. (BTW, I believe we need both in balance and one isn't superior to the other.)

In chapter five, she focused on finding joy in God's created things. She said that if we want to know what God is like, then one of the best and most complete teachers is nature (p.91). I was left thinking, "Um, what about Jesus? He was God made flesh. And the Bible gives us a much more specific knowledge about God. And don't you think He'd like us to find joy in HIM and not just the things he created?" After a long wait, chapter ten was a lovely chapter on finding enjoyment in God Himself and on the importance of reading the Bible to get a right idea of God and to guard our hearts. Again, it didn't feel like one idea balanced the other but more like the book was inconsistent.

By the way, she rarely referred to Jesus or the Holy Spirit. She did say we should study and follow Jesus' example, but not because He's God and therefore knows how to be joyful better than anybody, but because he was 'a man anointed with joy.'

The book made a lot of good points, but I'm still feeling baffled by the lack of internal consistency in places. It's also mainly about the author's life and was focused on what we do. The glances toward God and His direct role in our joy seemed few and brief. So it's not a bad book, but I'm sure there are better-written books out there on this same subject.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

This week, I read two books on relationships. The first one was Dancing with My Father by Sally Clarkson. When I first saw the title, I thought the book would be about a daughter's relationship with her dad. However, it focuses on your relationship with your heavenly Father. The book included a study guide to help you analyze the aspects brought out in each chapter. This relationship should be joyous, and that is the point the author makes in this book. Through her life's experiences, she takes you through her own relationship and how it changed once she let go of her preconceived notions of what she thought God expected of her. I really liked the section on letting go of worry. The book is a bit disjointed, however, in the way it is written. Each individual chapter did not flow into the other for me, so I found it hard to become very invested in what the author wanted to convey.

What a beautifully written book about how any women can have a more fulfilling relationship with God! While the cover with the twirling girl in the pretty dress made me want to read the book it didn't do it for me. I believe it was because for me, the book took a preachy approach. It is filled with scripture and hymns that as someone who is more spiritual than Religious but I believe this book is what some of my Christian friends are looking for.

In her latest, Sally Clarkson has written a guide for all women no matter their age, race or religious belief. Dancing with My Father was written with all women in mind.

All too often women are overburdened and overwhelmed by daily life. At times like these it's easy to fall into a funk and even more difficult to find joy in the little things. I know that I have personally questioned God when I've felt that he's kept me in the valley way longer than I needed to be.

In a series of personal stories intertwined with applicable Bible verses and questions, you're invited to begin your own journey to explore and rediscover joy. Though it is broken into chapters, I would suggest you read them in whatever order speaks to your heart at the time. Keeping a journal of the questions asked at the end of each section is also highly recommended.

What did you like about this book?

The language used is very warm. I'm not even sure if that makes sense to you, but that's how I felt reading it, like it was just warm and comfortable. It felt like a conversation you might have with a close friend.

What did you dislike about this book?

Not a thing.