Facing the Music--A Review

Early on, I became accustomed to how people in the church can have a tendency to complain about others by judging someone's likeness to Christ by their own perceptions of what a Christian should or shouldn't look like, do, or not do.--Facing the Music

--I was sent a free, advanced copy of Facing the Music from Howard Books for me to read and review on my blog.  I loved it.

--Three years ago I wouldn't have chosen to pick this book up, let alone read it.  Yet, since my divorce, a whole new world has been opened up to me.  I have discovered that the world isn't even close to as narrow as I used to think it was.

--In reflecting on the past 20 years, I cringe when I look at how much I judged others, and at how judgmental many Christians and churches can be.

--Recently, I disagreed with another Christian blogger who had a very uncompassionate view of interacting with a gay person.  He too also just went through a divorce.  I was shocked that his divorce hadn't softened his heart towards others.

--All that said, I found Jennifer's book to be very therapeutic.  I have always loved people who are genuine and real, and Jennifer is just that.

--She shares about her childhood, and how she grew up.  She talks about her struggles with addictions while trying to cope with her life at college.  She talks about how she became a believer, and how she ended up becoming a successful singer in the Christian Contemporary realm.

--Jennifer then talks about how she wanted out of the Christian music scene and her realization that she was gay.

--I could relate to a lot of what she says in dealing with a very judgmental Christian realm.  Below are some excerpts on how she concludes her book:

Really, it's all about story.  To be oneself requires a vulnerability that needs love, compassion, forgiveness, and empathy to protect.

I must write.  I must sing.  I must love.  I must have faith.  All these things insert themselves into being who I am.

Yet none of us will ever be able to live any life other than our own.  There comes a point where the only real thing, the only choice we really have, is the choice to be responsible for the journey that is our own.