When a writer is transparent about the mystery and mess that accompany the spiritual journey I'm drawn in. Even better, Buchanan presents his ideas with thoughtful prose -- the sort of writing that seems effortless but really requires skill and heaps of work.

"[T]here is a self-satisfaction that, rightfully embraced, is the opposite of pride." 152

From the chapter "Where the Stones Sing"

After describing a walk on the beach: "All this God makes for the sheer joy of making tings, most of it for HIs eyes only, and then goes off and makes something else."

"One of the strongest evidences that we are not resting in God or risking much for God is the lowly state of the arts among Christians."

"Let's talk about trying too hard. Christians are generally driven by a desire to edify. We want what we do to have a meaning, a moral, a message. ... Our poems teach, our paintings proclaim, our stories make points. To a certain extent, this is good. But just walking from the front door to the sidewalk, I get the impression that God isn't overburdened with the same impulse. He just likes making things...like an eccentric inventor who creates for the sheer quirky joy of it..." ( )

The Holy Wild: Trusting in the Character of God
by Canadian author, Mark A. Buchanan

A book of challenging thought, provoking reflection and contemplation. Take your time savouring the new and unique flavours captured in expositions of the Good Samaritan, Shabbat ‘rest’, ‘faithlessness’, etc. Time well spent and well rewarded.

I was captivated by unusual insights into our own natures such as:
“The pleasure of treasure hunting is a quirk of instinct. God wired us for this, that the simple act of searching out hidden things --- would stir our deepest blood... to risk, to dare...”

“..be holy..to be whole..healthy to the marrow, without the sour breath of envy, the..stunting in our limbs that greed or suspicion causes. Free. Unburdened by those many things that, promising to fulfil us, only betray us.”

Instructional endnotes and references to works used in research, support and aid further personal review.
( )

A book to be read slowly and savored. The chapter on God's Holiness, The Presence of Ruin- great stuff. ( )

Mark Buchanan likes to use stories to make his point. Some of the stories are about things that have happened to him, others are about people he knows. He also uses illustrations, often from movies which make the book enjoyable and easy to read.

Each chapter is mostly complete in itself so you can pick and choose what chapters you would like to read and in what order. My favourite story is the one he begins the book with about a female snake in their basement. They manage to remove her but not before she had laid eggs. Consequently Mark and his family kept finding baby snakes and they were never quite sure if they found them all. After this they never felt comfortable about sleeping in the basement, I mean, supposing there was still a baby snake, grown into an adult snake, lurking somewhere in the dark … So even on the hottest nights, they could never retreat to the coolness of the basement because they never quite trusted the bed. Of course, the bed had not changed it was still as sturdy and reliable as before. But now they were never quite sure whether they were safe from snakes. Mark goes on to say that often this is how we feel about God we are never quite sure if we can really trust Him, can we really put the full weight of our belief in Him? In a nutshell the book is about this issue, trusting in the character of God, rather than God's actions or inactions.

I also really enjoyed the way Mark tells the story of the Good Samaritan and manages to bring out aspects of the story that I had never seen before which is quite amazing considering the number of times I've read it.

Finally in another story Mark relates the tale of a women whose husband left her for another women after many years of apparently happy married life. She said this, "In the first year or so after he left, there were many things I thought of doing – selfish, sinful things. But you know what kept me from doing them? Thinking that one day I will stand before God in heaven and to explain to God why living for Him, by His strength wasn't enough."

A good read. ( )

Ah, this was ok. If you're drawn to books like Wild at Heart, this one is far better, but not Buchanan's best. ( )