Looking for God: An Unexpected Journey through Tattoos, Tofu, and Pronouns [Hardcover]

Nancy Ortberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2008

God is in the details, but sometimes we just overlook him. Nancy Ortberg encourages readers to see God in this very personal, very engaging series of essays that will bring God into focus and allow you to grow deeper in your relationship with him than you had ever imagined.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A former teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, Ortberg presents a candid compilation of personal essays on finding God in the most unlikely times and places. Ortberg, wife to bestselling author and pastor John Ortberg, opens her highly amusing and refreshingly transparent text reminiscing about bygone years as a young mom who couldn't make time for a quiet time. Recalling those nonstop, hectic early parenting seasons, Ortberg admits to feeling guilty pressure from the church at large until she experienced God's presence while sitting on a park bench, watching her kids play. She realized that particular God encounter counted as much as any quiet time did. From that moment on, Ortberg discovered a multifaceted God who delights in creating and displaying diversity from one end of creation to the other. Ortberg challenges Christians to examine their tendency to compare themselves with others, teaching them to have the courage to reach out to others selflessly and to view work as a blessed conduit to excellence. Every single offering Ortberg presents feels both beautiful and true. Christians will find themselves inhaling these fragrant written reminders of God's intimate care only to then exhale Christ's love to others in holy response. (Mar.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; First edition (February 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414313322
• ISBN-13: 978-1414313320
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nancy Ortberg served as a teaching pastor for eight years at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. During that time she led Network, a ministry that helps people identify their spiritual gifts and find a place of service in the church, and Axis, a weekly gathering for the 18- to 20-something generation.

She is a founding partner of TeamWorx2, a business and leadership consulting firm that provides fast-paced, practical, and compelling sessions to leaders and their teams. TeamWorx2 works with businesses, schools, nonprofits, and churches to address issues of organizational effectiveness and teamwork.

Nancy is a gifted communicator who is passionate about helping people connect what they believe with their everyday lives. A highly sought-after speaker, Nancy has been a featured presenter at the Catalyst and Orange conferences, and has been a regular contributor to "Rev!" magazine.

She and her husband, John, live in the Bay Area and have three children: Laura, Mallory, and Johnny.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Life, February 21, 2008

By 

Trudi Barnes (Menlo Park, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking for God: An Unexpected Journey through Tattoos, Tofu, and Pronouns (Hardcover)

I wonder how Nancy got inside my head to know exactly what I was going through. If you have ever felt like you were not connecting with God, this book will remind you that we are NEVER NOT connected to Him. I will never again look at a sunset, the faces of my children, a mountain range or the stars the same way. Amazing book. This is a MUST read for everyone!

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great read, but also a bit frustrating, April 13, 2008

By 

Marilyn Johnson "Marilyn Johnson" (Williamston, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking for God: An Unexpected Journey through Tattoos, Tofu, and Pronouns (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book. It's deep and satisfying, but it is also a book that can be placed in a briefcase or tote bag, to be picked up and put down as time allows. Chapter 16, "Longings, Aches, and Pains," especially spoke to me. In this chapter, Mrs. Ortberg writes about how God is often most real to us when we are in difficult places. She cites as an example, the difficulty she had in moving to Chicago from her childhood home in California. After discussing idolatry of place, she concludes with a beautiful meditation on John 16.

Although I enjoyed the book, I found the first chapter, "The Problem With Quiet Time," to be very frustrating. Now, I in no way disagree with the concept of our meeting God in each and every one of our daily experiences. But, is that a replacement for quiet time? Do we ever outgrow the need for a daily encounter with the Word? This book soars not in the places where Mrs. Ortberg relates her daily experiences of God, but, rather, in the places where she filters her daily experiences through the lens of Scripture. And, she is only able to do that filtering because the Word has been written on her heart during years of daily quiet times. Evangelical and contemplative spiritualities should be viewed as "both/and" not "either/or." As an evangelical, I have much to learn from contemplatives about experiencing God in the midst of daily life. But, contemplatives have much to learn from the evangelical tradition about how to ground the interpretation of those experiences - and, hence, the knowing of God - in the Word. In this book, Mrs. Ortberg shows us how to do this by example. I wish she had been less apologetic about her evangelical background, because that background is critical to the book's success.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking for God, February 15, 2008

By 

Lisa Lindquist (Menlo Park, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking for God: An Unexpected Journey through Tattoos, Tofu, and Pronouns (Hardcover)

This is one of those can't-put-it-down, almost-caused-a-car-accident-by-driving-and-reading books. Clearly written by a straight shooter with a sense of humor. It's Christianity that I can do and want to do; not to become somebody else but a description of how God can work with me and the reality of my life. I wish I had this when my kids were toddlers and could have saved my self from a lot of guilt. I will give it to all of my friends: male and female, Christian and not-so-much.