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Although Cecil Murphey has written over 125 books, I had not heard of him before I requested a review copy of his recent book, Making Sense When Life Doesn’t: The Secrets of Thriving in Tough Times
. I was quickly drawn in, however, by his warm voice and down-to-earth writing style. He illustrates his points with many interesting stories from his years of mission work and pastoring, as well as a number of fascinating examples from his career as a writer, making the book very readable as well as inspirational. Also, the short chapters are ideal for a busy mom who is lucky to get even 5 minutes to focus on something outside of her daily routine.
Things happen to all of us in life that we cannot control, and sometimes we make things happen by our own choices. Change is inevitable, but it is not always easy to navigate. Making Sense When Life Doesn’t is, at its heart, a book about finding the greater meaning in the ups and downs of life, which is a question that we all face at various times in our lives. Although each chapter focuses on a specific topic, several different themes resurface as Murphey takes us through his philosophy of life, such as:
- finding balance, even during a crisis
- identifying and following our passions
- handling change, whether chosen or forced upon us
- understanding what to do with negative experiences such as rejection or loss
- reaching out to others to help and be helped
- forgiving others – and ourselves
- dealing with strong emotions such as jealousy and anger
Murphy’s candid openness about his experiences, combined with his unflinching honesty in examining his own heart, make this little book so much more than a series of homegrown sayings or pithy expressions. Instead, his words are treasures gleaned from the time he has spent reflecting on his life along the journey which will hopefully help us avoid some of the more painful lessons he has learned or, at the very least, give us some insight as we go through our own struggles and challenges.
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Mia Dentice Carey says
I’m interested in forgiving others – and ourselves AND FINDING A BALANCE!
Jessica T says
Looks like a great, thoughtful read
Beth C says
This sounds like a wonderful book! Thanks for the chance to win it.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net
Annette {This Simple Mom} says
Gymnastics is likely my favorite, but we’ve been watching lots of swimming.
mrsshukra says
Gymnastics has been the fave!
riTa says
So many twists and turns in life, yet the steady stream of God’s peace throughout.
liz says
Do Olympics say Sandusky to anyone else?
Daniel M says
yep, like the gymnastics
Cecil Murphey says
Trish, I couldn’t have paid money for a better review of Making Sense When Life Doesn’t. Thank you. I deeply appreciate your positive review AND your obvious appreciation for what I wrote.
Thank you.
Trish says
You are welcome – I meant every word. Thanks for sharing things that I needed to hear!
Tonya says
We love gymnastics — because my daughter takes gymnastics and hopes she’ll one day be at the Olympics
MommyPage says
This looks like an enjoyable summer book. I’m glad that you wrote a post about it. I’ll have to check it out.
Linda says
Believe it or not, I haven’t been watching this year. But I love gymnastics and synchronized swimming, oh, and diving.
paige says
Track is amazing and so is soccer.
Linda says
I’m confused. Is this where I leave a comment about Cecil’s book? I’ve read a couple books by him and love his compassionate style of writing. I’d love to win
Making Sense When Life Doesn’t.
Jen B says
I think the swimming has been great this year. My usual favorites are gymnastics and track and field.
June says
I like the gymnastics the most.
Jenny says
We have enjoyed watching the Olympics – our favorite events are track and swimming.
Georgiana O. says
My favorite events are swimming and gymnastics.