Confessions of an Amateur Believer

Kirk came to Christian faith kicking and screaming after years as a lapsed-Catholic atheist, but once in the fold she embraced her newfound relationship with God with passion. That passion, however, wasn't all happiness and love. Kirk's candor, humor and sarcasm show us a woman who struggles to understand how God would have her live each day as a parent, teacher, wife and daughter. "My own experience of getting to know him has been more about moving toward him—and often away from him—through conflict and questioning and struggle," she says. Her 33 brief essays are divided into four sections: Meeting God, Struggling, Progress and Rest. Kirk's thoughts on concepts such as servanthood, intercessory prayer, fairness and priorities glitter with humor and honesty. On a deeper level, her ruminations shine with a heart-deep knowledge that God understands her struggles, and that her trials are made easier by knowing him. This is a lovely book both for Kirk's fine writing and for her search for God that encompasses all readers. "If, in the darkness, I stop worrying to listen—which I often don't, or can't, or won't—I hear God's voice under the narrative of my own worries and accusations: That's enough." (Jan. 2)