“Laying things down at the feet of Jesus and walking away is an ongoing, lifelong process. What we struggle to lay down today may be easy to lay down a year from now. It’s when it is hardest to lay it down that we learn our greatest lessons and have the greatest growth in our relationship with Jesus.” Shelley Jarl
When we read a book about someone going through a rough time, we might expect them to make comparisons to Job. We don’t expect them to make comparisons with Noah.
But that’s exactly what Shelley Jarl does in The Humidity Makes My Hair Frizz and It’s Really Starting to Stink in Here.
Her husband’s prolonged time without work, a house fire that stripped nearly every possession from them would seem to evoke an analysis of Job. But countless authors have taken that tack. Jarl’s use of Noah’s story is refreshing and insightful.
Noah built the ark, but God shut the door. And none of the ark’s inhabitants could come out until God determined it was time. Their situation was beyond their control. They had to wait. They had to wait for God to act.
Noah could not determine where the ark went or where it ended up. And when he finally was able to leave the ark, the entire world had become a very different place.
Our difficult situations parallel Noah’s case more than we may realize.
Jarl crafts her storytelling into eleven conversational Bible study chapters guiding us to relevant scriptures and questions suitable for individual contemplation or group discussion.
If you’ve hit a rough patch in life or if you lead a group study, this study book can be a quick read or a slow one–as you choose.
And you may forever see the story of Noah in a new, life-altering light.
Photo Credit: Humidity cover
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Thanks for the wonderful encouragement today.
Thank you for commenting, Yvonne! God bless!
A great message for today and every day. I want to read this book.
Thanks, Melissa. It’s a good read. God bless!
What a great slant on a very well-known Bible story! I have often thought of the years leading up to entering the Ark, but yeah… didn’t think too much about that year spent inside of it. Unique indeed. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Lisa. I think that’s true for most of us. We don’t realize what we have yet to consider. God bless!
Sounds like a great resource. I lead a woman’s Bible Study each week; I will check this one out! 🙂 Thank you for sharing, Nancy.
That’s great, Marcie. Hope it’s great for your group. Thanks and God bless!
I’ve never heard of this book, I’ll have to check it out! I love the relevance to Noah’s story, and how waiting on God is a difficult feat. Thanks for sharing!
Waiting can be more difficult than knowing. Waiting forces us to trust for an outcome that’s best–but may not be the one we want. Thanks for commenting! God bless!
Thanks for sharing this review, Nancy. I’m already considering Noah’s story in another light. And the title of the book is just perfect! Blessings to you.
Keep us posted on that, Boma. Sounds great! Thanks and God bless!
Sounds like a good book Nancy. Noah is a good choice. Thank God He gives us so many examples of how to live…so many ways to reveal to us who He is and who we are – little by little.
That He does, Brittany. Thanks for posting! God bless!
What a great perspective! I haven’t heard people compare their trials to Noah in the ark, but it makes so much sense!
It’s very interesting, Emily. Thanks for reading. God bless!
What a great comparison! This sounds like a great book. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my! What a blessing this was to my heart to read. This past week my husband and I made some life-altering decisions to where we were going to worship. It has been excrutiatingly painful, hard, topped off with nasty emails from people I thought were friends…didn’t make the process any easier. Being reminded of the trials that Noah went through (for decades!) and he was left in a much worse condition that I have, gives me hope. He found grace, he found a new land and a new place to worship. Thank you Nancy, I know I needed this today. ~ Johanna
It truly is – the way you respond to hard times that make the difference.. in outcome
Thank you, Lesly. Yes, it isn’t always just the circumstance–It’s how we respond to it. God bless!