Pilgrimage

pil·grim·age (plgr-mj)
n.
1. A journey to a sacred place or shrine.

2. A long journey or search, especially one of exalted purpose or moral significance.

intr.v.pil·grim·aged, pil·grim·ag·ing, pil·grim·ag·es
To go on a pilgrimage.

I remember the first Lynn Austin book I read, "A Woman's Place," which caught my eye because it was about women during World War II. It began my love affair with WWII fiction, but it also introduced me to one talented lady who writes incredible books that not only entertain, thrill, and delight my reader's soul, but also encourage, teach, and enlarge my faith. So I jumped at the chance to read and review her newest offering, a non-fiction book detailing her pilgrimage to the Holy Land and how that affected her faith.

Lynn, I have to tell you, some of the things you learned in your pilgrimage will stick with me and take my faith back to First Century simplicity.

Her trip to Israel was more than a tourist expedition, but a trip to bring alive all the things she had learned about the Bible. Through her ability to put ideas into words and words onto paper, I was able to go along and see through her eyes the places where so much of my faith actually happened. I envy (in a good way) Lynn's trip where her faith was partially made sight, and her ability to be so gifted in putting her experiences to words.

One thing she said that made such an impact on me that it is my current Facebook status is this:

We're commanded to consider ourselves dead to sin, not to keep it on life support or make peace treaties with it.

After reading her description of Joshua making a treaty with the Gibeonites without consulting God about it, this thought has put that whole story into perspective. We can't be half-hearted about following God, or we get taken in by moldy bread and worn out shoes.

I wish I could give this book Ten Stars, but Five is the limit, Two Thumbs Up, and a trip to significance.