I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Thank you Robin Jones Gunn for creating a series to reach me at this age and stage of my life! Reading these books are like "chicken soup for MY soul." Each one leaves me with a renewed appreciation for the friends and family I hold dear and offers me something to meditate on and pray about. As I went with the Sisterchicks to New Zealand and Australia, I found myself earnestly praying for openness. All too often I am closed off and missing out on the blessings that come to someone who is open to others.Uprooting from her southern California life, Kathy goes to New Zealand with her film-industry husband for three months. Nothing is how she expected and she falls into depression, intending to simply cocoon until their three month stay is up. Loneliness is her sole companion while he's working long hours at the studio. It's a miserable time. Finally, she can't take it anymore and ventures out. One very huge blessing comes in the form of a new best friend, Jill. Jill is a young widow who has had a hard time healing over the last two years. In what can only be described as a precious divine gift, the two women share a time of growth and healing that only sisters in faith experience. Packed with signature Sisterchick humor, this volume will not disappoint fans of the series.Only one caveat: Koalas are not cute and cuddly. Although I'm sure the touristy place the girls went to had a domesticated one, but you'd think the Aussies would have mentioned the rather vicious nature of these adorable little guys in the wild.
I love the verse that she starts out with:Mostly what God does is love you.Keep company with Him and learn a life of love.Observe how Christ loved us.His love was not cautious but extravagant.He didn't love in order to get something from usbut to give everything of Himself to us.Love like that.Ephesians 5:2Some favorite quotes:I knew He never wasted any life experience... I hadn't asked Him what His dreams were for me. page 31It's amazing how a few sincere, affirming words from a woman you admire can change your opinion of something. page 58What would my life look like if I started to love extravagantly? page 79She seemed to be turning over the soil of my heart like a tender gardener. Page 118and Zanniechick pointed out this one:Sitting up in bed, I whispered humbly to the Great God of this universe, the God who rules all that is visible and invisible, upside-down and right side up, that i'd rather experience His extravagant love and mercy every day than to receive the check-off mark I'd been asking for all these years. page 190
What do You think about Sisterchicks Down Under (2005)?
As an "unsure" believer this book judges too much. I actually enjoyed the Bible verses and hearing the narrator's ruminations--very soothing. But I found the categorizing the characters do of people as "believers" (or not) to be really intolerant and horribly judgemental. As an "unsure" I am pretty certain which one I'd get shoved into by these women--not the sort of friends I would enjoy having. The narrator faces no real adversity, yet cannot manage to get herself out of bed in the morning. If you are a judgmental Christian conservative this book might be for you.
—Rena
I loved this book. Again an easy read with some things to think about:Mostly what God does is love you.Keep company with Him and learn a life of love.Observe how Christ loved us.His love was not cautious but extravagant.He didn't love in order to get something from usbut to give everything of Himself to us.Love like that.Ephesians 5:2Some favorite quotes:I knew He never wasted any life experience... I hadn't asked Him what His dreams were for me. page 31It's amazing how a few sincere, affirming words from a woman you admire can change your opinion of something. page 58What would my life look like if I started to love extravagantly? page 79She seemed to be turning over the soil of my heart like a tender gardener. Page 118How lovely some of the words are. And apparently when I went to enter this in my Book Journal, I had already read it!!!
—Deb
Mum bought this while in NZ and recommended it to me when she came home. It's the first Sisterchicks book I've read, but from what I've heard other people say, it's quite different from her other books, in that the women don't know each other prior to this book. Anyway, I loved it! A foreigner's view on New Zealand - hilarious! Especially since there were so many things I could recognize in it. Oh, and I got quite a thrill when they started talking about NZ slang, and I actually understood every word of it! :-D
—Maria M. Elmvang
