Blessed, The

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Summary: Review from Relevant.Com
Review: In a religious culture where men have done most of the talking about spiritual formation, it's refreshing to have a woman's perspective on living the Christian life. Sharon Mcmahon Moffitt, a teacher, a poet, and, most fundamentally, a mother, brings the wealth of her experiences to the table in her first book-length feature: The Blessed. A teacher and poet by trade, Mcmahon Moffitt uses the beatitudes as the structure to hang her words on, meandering through the meaning of some of Jesus' most confounding words to create a book that celebrates the grace of the Father without jettisoning the justice of God.

Writing The Blessed from a variety of roles, Sharon McMahon Moffitt brings a freshness to her reflections on the spiritual life. Whether she's teaching, mothering, or poeting (why not?), Moffitt keeps the focus on relationship and personality. In this way, The Blessed is more conversation than lecture, effectively inviting reflection. Through Moffitt's personal (and very confessional) style, the reader is invited into a dialogue where it's safe to speak about the deeper things, the secret things that have been cloaked in shame. The Blessed is recommended as a breath of fresh air, an opening of the windows, to those who have been harassed by a church culture that values a type of conformity over the truth.