Holy Is the Day: Living in the Gift of the Present

This is a beautiful, spiritually deep book, which is as enjoyable to read as it is enriching. Its starting point is the near-death experience Ms. Weber had while giving birth, some subsequent medical problems, the trials of raising three young children while working full-time, with another major life concern looming at the conclusion. It is something of a memoir of a spiritually rich period Ms. Weber’s life. But, the episodes from her life segue in and out of richly poetic essays about nature, family, and living a daily life of faith. Its hard to know whether to best describe this book as a memoir, as poetry connected with life-stories, or wise observations on the life of faith. One central themes of the book is how “Trauma prepares us for resurrection”. She observes “all tears open the way for Christ to come more completely into our lives”. Another theme is of observing God in day-to-day life. “Irreverence begins in not paying attention. And yet, I think it can also stem from counting too often and too closely”. Ms. Weber communicates spiritual concepts through poetry, metaphor, story, and allusion, rather than coming at them head-on or presenting lists. It is not a ‘how I got from here to there’ story. Like many people’s spiritual lives, the book does not have a neat ending, rather, concluding with the sense that a difficult experience may be imminent (one gets this sense partly because we start seeing Ms. Weber grabbing a hold of a few cliché’s, which she otherwise shuns) Ms. Weber has a lot of wisdom to impart. The book is bursting with wonderful quotes from great writers and poets of the past, as well as references to scripture (her digging into the book of Daniel is very good). Ms. Weber is a deeply faithful Christian, highly educated, and is an exceptional writer. It is rare you meet, much less get the chance to peek into the life and work of, someone with all of these attributes. She is very open about her life, but at the same time maintains her privacy.

The life moments portrayed in this personal book are emotional testimony to the author's continued surprises of faith. Knowing something of her real discovery of God from the movie about her arrival into belief, I see her gift of prose and honest revolation as Holy. I will read this book again.

I have enjoyed Holy is the Day. This Author does not write with typical Christianease and it is refreshing. She definitely comes from an academic background and has many references and applicable quotes to offer. I especially enjoyed her Carpe Deum chapter challenging us to move from spiritual immaturity to grasp at God. Also that she challenges us to remember "the result of faith is not a life of indifference but a life that makes a difference. and that grace is not a nibbler, it swallows us whole" Many nuggets of truth throughout the book!

"Holy is the Day: Living in the Gift of the Present" is not a regular, run of the mill "how to" book, and for that, I am thankful. Rather, whilst reading, I continually had the words of C.S. Lewis in my head: "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one." I continually found myself amazed that despite not being a friend of Dr. Weber's, I found great friendship in her book. As a wife, mother, daughter, friend, church member, homeroom mother, it is easy to lose identity, to slide into the lives of others and not remember that in order to be these roles, one must be full. Weber addresses this issue, made all the more pertinent in our culture of today, where wives and mothers are expected to do everything on a "Pinterest" level of perfection. But that isn't reality. We look around us and are overwhelmed by those striving to create perfection, and at times feel shame because we don't live up to that. Weber, via personal accounts, poetry, Scripture and the most glorious metaphors and similes encourages women to sit, be quiet, and relish the perfect God given beauty that is around them. The author, like so many of us wonders what will happen if she allows herself the time to sit back, enjoy, relish and delight in all that God offers us on a daily basis. Who will do the dishes, clean the house, clean the kids, make beds, cook meals, tend the sick, teach classes, grade exams??? Thanks to a very wise friend, Weber is given the answer to this question, and graciously shares it with her readers. The profundity of the answer, mingled with the simplicity is refreshing. This book, though written by a wife and mother is not just for women who find themselves in those roles. Life application for all is found within its pages. We all need God's grace, and we all need to be reminded that it is there for the taking, for the grasping....to be seized upon and savored. Grace is His gift to us, a gift that makes every day, hour, minute and second a holy experience, and it is the only thing that makes us whole.

I, as an expectant father, was particularly drawn in because the book opens and closes with birth stories. Birth and death are natural places where we see God because they are such transcendent experiences. But in between birth and death God sometimes gets a little lost (or at least we lose sight of God in the midst of our busyness). Most of the stories are in some way about family, community and the church. We have a tendency to live as if we are alone. But it is in community, our families, the church, neighbors, friends, that we often most clearly see and hear God. (This is very similar to the focus in Eugene Peterson's Practice Resurrection). Except for the fact that Weber can write prose more beautifully than almost anyone I have ever read, she is a normal mom, wife, teacher, writer, Christian. She does not have a particularly large circle of influence, she is not a pastor to thousands or leader of a large business or non-profit. She is not a household name. So I can relate to the way she loses sight of God in the mundane. Because it is in the mundane that most of us live our lives.

Beautiful, gut-wrenching, awe-inspiring... Thank you so much for writing this, Carolyn! I've shared quotes with friends and family, and I take every opportunity to recommend they read the whole book.

Having read "Surprised by Oxford", I hoped this book would live up to its predecessor. It did! Again there is such rich description as well as a cohesive account of family life. My one slight disappointment was the lack of follow up on folk we'd "met" in Oxford. I wanted to know what had happened to her friends from those halcyon university days. but all in all a book to be strongly recommended.

Very fast delivery, started reading when I recieved the book. Very inspiring author looking forward to more of her works. Highly recommend this author.

Very deep, insightful and reflective.

Beautifully written book. Exceptional! A wonderful story of God's love for us. The author's use of the English language is masterful..