Review: Pilgrimage:My Journey to a Deeper Faith in the Land Where Jesus Walked

Pilgrimage: My Journey to a Deeper Faith in the Land Where Jesus Walked by Lynn Austin

Publication Date: 11/05/2013
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Imprint: Bethany House
Genre: Nonfiction
Pages: 240
ISBN-10: 0764211188
ISBN-13: 978-0764211188

(Received for an honest review from Bethany House)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBook, IndieBound

Lynn Austin on the WEB: Website, Blog, Facebook, Goodreads

Excerpt from Pilgrimage: My Journey to a Deeper Faith in the Land Where Jesus Walked, courtesy of Amazon's Look Inside feature.

Synopsis:

We all encounter times when our spirit feels dry, when doubt looms.
The opportunity to tour Israel came at a good time. For months, my life has been a mindless plodding through necessary routine, as monotonous as an all-night shift on an assembly line. Life gets that way sometimes, when nothing specific is wrong but the world around us seems drained of color. Even my weekly worship experiences and daily quiet times with God have felt as dry and stale as last year's crackers. I'm ashamed to confess the malaise I've felt. I have been given so much. Shouldn't a Christian's life be an abundant one, as exciting as Christmas morning, as joyful as Easter Sunday?
With gripping honesty, Lynn Austin pens her struggles with spiritual dryness in a season of loss and unwanted change. Tracing her travels throughout Israel, Austin seamlessly weaves events and insights from the Word . . . and in doing so finds a renewed passion for prayer and encouragement for her spirit, now full of life and hope.

Thoughts:

Bestselling author Lynn Austin takes readers on a nonfiction journey in her latest book, Pilgrimage: My Journey to a Deeper Faith in the Land that Jesus Walked. Spiritual lethargy is something most Christians experience sometime in their Christian lives. When the cares of the world threaten to overcome them and it seems like they are stale and dry. Austin's simple, yet poignant portrayal of her own struggles with these issues makes for an incredible read. Her journey through to the places where Jesus lived and walked was a renewal to her faith and picturesque descriptions breathtaking. Readers will take courage in her writing and final a freshness in their own faith walk in reading Austin's story.

What I liked:

I think we've all been there at one time or another, when we start to wonder... is it all worth it? When our Christian lives become hum-drum and not quite as exciting as it once was. The question is not when this will happen, but what will we do when it does. I loved the fact that readers of Lynn Austin's wonderful Christian historical books get to see Lynn as a person in this book. A person just like them who struggles with her faith, just like everyone else. It's often nice to know you aren't the only one.

I have never been to the Holy Land. I have often dreamed that I would love to visit the places where Jesus lived and walked. After reading Lynn Austin's descriptions of those places I have read about in the Bible many times over, I have a renewed passion for learning more about what God's people experienced and how they coped with God's will. Sometimes He calls us to do things we never imagined and Austin does such a remarkable job of letting readers know about these places and what happened there and how the Biblical figures we have read about really lived. It was just a joy to read.

I could feel the emotions that Austin was experiencing through her writing. She makes the reader feel like they are right there with her on this journey, in the physical places and in the spiritual realm. I thought she explained her situation in such a way that it was easy to relate to her and sympathize with her while still letting her words resonate with the readers own situation. 

What I didn't like:

In the first chapter of the book Austin lets the reader know exactly what was causing the dryness and even depression that she was feeling. I think I would have liked to know more about how each of those situations resolved themselves in her heart, throughout her journey. It was kind of like only having part of the story. It did not take away from the book in any way, it was just a person thing that I wished the author had gone into more detail about.

Bottom Line:

There are so many that could benefit from reading this wonderful nonfiction journey from Lynn Austin. Those who are struggling in their faith, those who long to know more about the Holy Land, readers who want to know more about Lynn Austin as a person. I truly enjoyed her spiritual re-awakening and found that it prodded me to search my own heart. I don't want to just go through the motions. I want to be awake for the journey.

Pilgrimage: My Journey to a Deeper Faith in the Land that Jesus Walked is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author:

Bestselling author Lynn Austin has sold more than one million copies of her books worldwide. She is an eight-time Christy Award winner for her historical novels, as well as a popular speaker at retreats and conventions. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and live near Chicago.