One Call Away
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One Call Away
Brenda’s life has taken twists and turns that are stranger than fiction. It always seemed as if she was just one phone call away from the next explosive change. Each time her plans fell apart, she had a choice: would she give up, or would she press forward and learn from the unexpected? One Call Away is the inspiring story of a woman who has prevailed through many of the circumstances that discourage women: tragedy, poverty, betrayal, and humiliation. But unlike most women, her life has been on display in the media.
Brenda’s faith and God’s strength enable her to face challenge after challenge: an accident that leaves her son blind and brain damaged, a crumbling marriage, a tornado that kills her parents, a new relationship with promising football player Kurt Warner, and the pressures his sudden success brings to their growing family.
Through food stamps and funerals, Super Bowls and serving others, Brenda’s strength is unwavering. Her determination to dream new dreams, willingness to learn from her mistakes, and commitment to giving back to her community make her a role model for women of all backgrounds.
Her dreams haven’t materialized as she had imagined, but Brenda has found that God has a much bigger plan for her. Conversational and candid, One Call Away invites readers facing their own difficulties to trust God and discover hope in the future.
There's not a whole lot that I can say about One Call Away other than I did not like it. This book has been on the table ready for me to write a review and the issues with what is written on the inside has been the big hindrance. I felt like I was being drawn into Brenda's "It's all about me" pity party. The only thing that kept me reading was Zack's story about his injury and recovery along with his life long complications.
Brenda was raised knowing she was the "pretty one" while her sister was the "smart one." She made sure to point out that idea several times throughout the book. I'm not sure if she feels because she was the pretty one, life was suppose to be a bed of roses for her. Well, I hate to tell her... life is hard ~ get up, get over it and get on with it!
There were two things about this book that rubbed me raw. The first was the sin that she lived in, openly. While she was living this lifestyle, Brenda was reminded by her Mother about what she was doing and that it was wrong, Brenda showed no remorse for it. Even when she and Kurt were living together before they were married, there was no "this is wrong, I can't help him see that he needs the Saviour," while doing this. Kurt does come to her after he became a born again Christian and showed her from the Bible that sex before marriage is wrong. Instead of making some other living arrangements, they spent the next year sleeping in the same bed without the added benefits. As a healthy human, I really have a hard time believing that... maybe it's possible. I got the impression that Brenda believes that it is alright to do whatever you want because you can always say, "Lord, I'm sorry. Please forgive me," until it happens again.
The second big problem was when Brenda asked the father of her first two children to give up his parental rights to them. She chose him to be a husband and a father to her children. His parental rights should have been respected even if he was a louse. Those children were his flesh and blood, whether or not he was in their lives and supported them. She was selfish and immature while he was foolish. I know she stated that this was for the future of her children if something happened to her. She wanted to make sure that they were going to be cared for by the person that was around and loved them. There are ways around this kind of predicament. I can't help but think about what if they (especially the daughter) want to have a relationship with him and want to take his name again.
Brenda Warner is not perfect and neither am I. It is easier to just call out a prayer during a time when we are going through something that seems unbearable. In reality, as Christians, we need to stop what we are doing, open and read our Bibles. The Lord doesn't speak only through prayers. He speaks to us through His Word. This is something that is not pointed out in the book. Brenda talks about prayer, but she never mentions opening her Bible nor uses any verses for encouragement. Writing a book is a perfect opportunity to intertwine biblical encouragement. There will be people reading the book looking for that one Bible verse to show them that much needed encouraging word.
I'm pretty sure that I'm going to have people reading this review and thinking that I am judgmental when I am not. Brenda stated many, many times that she was committed to God. If she never pointed that out, then I would not have such an problem with her lifestyle. This book is perfect in showing that Christians are human and make mistakes.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com http://booksneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
 | One Call Away: Answering Life's Challenges with Unshakable Faith - eBook By Brenda Warner / Thomas Nelson |
