Good Books: “Singing In The Fire” by Faith Cook

     Faith Cook is a biographer  I've come to really love.   I have her biography  of Anne Bradstreet,  America’s first published poet;  “Anne Bradstreet;  Pilgrim and Poet” and also  “Lady Jane Grey, Nine Day Queen of England”.   Lady Jane is one  fantastic  paperback  chock-full of  rich Reformation history that I just can't say enough about - it's a definite must read.    You can read a review of it by Tim Challies at Discerning Reader HERE

    “Singing In The Fire” is a  pocket sized book that is a true gem guaranteed to encourage your soul.    It’s a collection of biographical sketches of Christian men and women  whose faith   triumphed  through all kinds of  adversities.    There are 14 short  stories  spanning the globe and  history - from  Monica who gave birth to Augustine in  354  in North Africa  to the  contemporary account of Janet born in London in 1949.     Some of the people are familiar to many, such as Susannah Spurgeon and Edward Payson while others may be new to some readers.

 Catherine Boston:

  “May 10, 1720 was a day Thomas Boston and his family will never forget.  ‘It was a day remarkable above many to me and my family’.   Thomas explains,  ‘being that wherein my wife was seized with that heavy trouble, which hath kept her all along since that time unto this day, in extreme distress.’

    It would appear that from this period onward Catherine suffered from an acute form of mental disorder, which distorted some aspects of reality, leaving her prey of distressing inward and inexplicable fears.   The condition complicated by her continued poor health, made Catherine an easy target for Satan’s onslaughts both concerning her assurance of salvation and her peace with God.  But God supported her and Boston writes:  ‘Nevertheless, in the complications of trials, the Lord hath been pleased ...to make His grace in her shine more bright than before.’”   (1)  

   This is a great little book to have on hand to pick up and  read a chapter at a time.  We brought it along on our trip  to read aloud in the car as  the short stories are just perfect for that.

   Faith Cook is the daughter of OMF (formerly China Inland Mission) missionaries who was born in China.   Her experience growing up in an era when it was common for foreign missionaries to send their children away to boarding schools was not a very happy experience for her.     Her autobiography  “Troubled Journey: A Missionary Childhood in War-Torn China” was reviewed by pastor Guy Davies and can be read  HERE.  

(1) Singing In The Fire by Faith Cook;  Banner of Truth Trust;  page 129

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