It's a fantastic Friday for me. I have a coworker who has written an amazing book that's been published!

Have you noticed that it is easy to speak of God's faithfulness in times of prosperity, but that in times of suffering, such praise becomes lost?

In Hide and Watch, a true tale of sorrow and distress, of hope and triumph, Jill Hicks Lawson shares how she was spiritually transformed by overcoming her doubt in God during times of struggle. From enduring her battle with weight, her mother's kidney disease; to experiencing debilitating infertility and painful divorce; and eventually to becoming her mother's only hope for life, Lawson's personal accounts speak to the universal human experience of suffering, both physical and emotional, providing firsthand proof that, regardless of circumstance, God is in the business of giving hope.

By recounting moments of pain and progress, Lawson demonstrates that anguish is the only pathway to experiencing the dramatic joy and peace that result from God's intervention and healing, assuring those amid the battle that, in the end, what does not kill your faith makes it stronger.

In celebration of Jill's book, I'm hosting a "Hide & Watch" week with a review of the book,  an interview with the author, games, and how could we go without a book giveaway?  So stay tuned for more details.

As usual, I'm behind everyone else reading this book. There might be someone out there who hasn't read this so I'll give my take on it... just in case. I am a lover of my different genres and I am quite found of Christian Fiction when it is not really preachy or when it doesn't involve an Amish love story. (I really don't get why many Christian writers feel the need to toss in a token Amish girl but that is a different topic all together). The Shack started out with quite a bit of potential. A story of a man and his family after the abduction and murder of his youngest child. Great start. He then receives a note from "Papa" (his wife's nick name for God) telling him to meet him at the Shack where his murdered child's bloodied clothes were found . Long story short, he struggles with the decision and goes to find out who is at the Shack: the murderer or God whom is extremely angry at.

The story continues on with Mac, the lead here, meeting up with an african American woman, a lumber jack, and an oriental woman...all representations of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Yes, you heard that right. Without giving away too much, the weekend is spent with these three making Mac face many of his fears, false idealisms, and his misplaced anger and judgement. These are still great structures for a good story but that's all I was left feeling...a good short story. This was a short story that drug on a bit to long for what little it delivered. It had a good message  but I felt it may have been watered down a little too much. Then again I am Southern Baptist and the only thing we seem to water down is the Kool Aid during Bible School.

It is a good stop-and-look-at-your-life, feel good kind of book if you don't want to look to deeply into your spiritual self. You can feel William Young's heart go into these stories that have been woven together to heal this man and his broken family. I won't say it was a total waste of time. I just didn't grow from it but sometimes that's just as well.