Every person has the desire to have an intimate relationship with God, but the way to go about it can be challenging. There are so many beautiful ways to pray, but sometimes, having structure can be helpful.
Born to Soar: Unleashing God’s Word in Your Life by Melissa Overmyer is a “prayer and journal experience” that relates spiritual growth to the development of a monarch butterfly; this six-week study provides that structure to help people connect more deeply to God.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest review.
This book is designed to be used in groups or as an individual. Each week starts with a description of a stage of development for a butterfly. Overmeyer then connects it to a theme for spiritual growth. This introduction is followed by a series of questions to prepare the reader for the weekly topic which is centered on a “renewing truth.” Each day, there are a few verses of Scripture and some starting thoughts for a reflection.
I really enjoyed the content of the book. I thought the daily reflections led to good reflections, were short enough that anyone could start with that prayer method, and had a lot of relevant content. I think Overmyer did a fantastic job of addressing common issues that Christian women face and presented it in a relatable way. I also appreciated the St. John of the Cross poetry introduced at the beginning of each week. The goals of the book were clear, and I love that it centered on integrating Scripture into daily prayer.
Admittedly, I was skeptical about the butterfly theme. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it flowed well and provided some interesting visualizations. The vast majority of the book carefully navigated away from the potential cheesiness, but there were a few phrases that really made me cringe (like “Butterfly Father”).
Personally, I didn’t use the lines in the book. To me, it seemed like it would be inconvenient to write in the book, and I liked that I could write as little or as much as I wanted in my own journal without feeling bad about the space provided. I think the binding of the book could be a little difficult for writing until it is broken in, and there were a few places where the formatting seemed inconvenient, but I still think it wouldn’t be terrible to use the book as intended.
Overall, I think this would be a solid resource for Christian women who want to have practical steps for drawing closer to Christ.
You can read the rest of my book reviews here.
