There's a recurring theme in this memoir, part spiritual guide, book by Shelly Miller and that is: God is trustworthy and always with us in the good and bad times, the certain and uncertain times. Miller repeats this theme in every chapter as she walks the reader through many of the uncertain times in her life starting as a child in a marriage that ended soon after her birth.

It's an important message, not just for now and these strange COVID-times we're all living through, but in any season of uncertainty whether it's as a result of a health diagnosis, a relationship ending, change in careers, and so on. I especially appreciated how Miller encourages the reader to cease being self-focused when uncertainty intrudes because it enhances our fears. I know this myself and it was encouraging for me to be reminded of turning to Jesus and others when anxiety flares in uncertain times or events.

Miller uses the Exodus story of the Israelites to illustrate her insights. At times, I find this connection a little clunky and forced and in some regards didn't feel the book needed it as Miller's stories were sufficiently relevant to the insights. Miller, an enthusiastic photographer, also relates a number of the stories to the art of photography.

Each chapter ends with a series of questions that in some respects require deep thought and contemplation for the reader to connect the chapter's insights into their own life.

In some regards, it was a rambling read as Miller shares her stories, some seemingly trivial and others significant, and being new to her work, I found this style both natural and beneficial in I got to see her heart and particularly the love she has for Jesus, her husband, children and dearest friends.

I received an early ebook version of the book from Bethany House via NetGalley with no expectation of a favourable review.

I was a member of Shelly’s launch team and gleaned a lot of wisdom from her book. I was reminded that God is enough in times of uncertainty, and His love is always absolutely certain for His children. I appreciated her questions at the end of each chapter, too. They were insightful and worth pondering.

I believe that God’s love is a certainty. But how can you be sure?
Shelly Miller has written a book about this — “Searching for Certainty”.
Shelly uses stories of uncertain times from her own life, and what she found that works in her life. She uses quotes from the Bible, as in Exodus when God gave Moses the job of freeing the Israelite slaves in Egypt, and bringing them through a desert to the Promised Land. Do you think Moses was certain? No he was not! But he trusted God.

Shelly also quotes the Psalms, because they are full of crying out to God, and finding assurance that God is with you, a guiding presence through it all.

In the dedication, Shelly says to her two children — “May the certainty of God’s love be your constant companion”.

Shelly brings this book to us, to help us deal with difficult situations. She has seen her share of difficulties — moving from place to place as a child with few steady adult caretakers, working two jobs to pay tuition for college, and job delays that leave her homeless — again going from place to place until the London job is ready so she and her husband can move there from the United States. And even now, as her book is being published, she battles cancer.

She shares advice from her real life experience. We have choices to make in life. Shelly Miller can help you make some better choices. Read her book, and be encouraged that there is hope for your tomorrows.

Shelly has a way of storytelling her life and her relationship with God in a way that gives you a new perspective on life. She gives us thoughts to God's involvement in the hardships of life. An example of this, she writes “ An earlier Psalm (12:6) draws a parallel between God’s word and silver “tried” seven times—heated up and dross skimmed for impurities that come to the surface until the refiner can see his face reflected in the shine of pure silver. In the same way a refiner knows how long to heat up the silver, God knows how long we can live in the heat of hardship before it changes us into something ugly. His eyes are fixed on your frame, making sure the trial isn’t too hot and the dross is removed from your heart in order that his image can be clearly reflected through your life. Interrupting that process prolongs the work of the Artisan on the masterpiece he is creating that is you.” And this is just one of her certainly food for thought.
I did receive an advanced copy of this book through #NetGalley, but that has no bearing on my review.

If you find yourself hoping to feel confident in your future, struggling with uncertainty. This book is for you. The author, Shelly Miller, shares her personal stories searching for certainty. She incorporates biblical events and looking at who God is, as she helps build a case for confidence in God making life way more certain than we really recognize. I found her endings of each chapter with a few questions and passages to read and a practice stillness suggestion so supportive and engaging. The author's style is somewhat poetic at times and her writing, not all will appreciate. But I like the mingling of her life stories, the Word of God's influence and examples, as well as her prose that present God as the certainty in our lives. Thankful to have an advance copy to read.

If you feel as though you're wandering in a wilderness...or even if you sometimes wonder if you're on the right path...this book will encourage you. Full of insight, personal stories, and bullseye-hitting application questions, Shelly gently reminds us that God is in control. I especially love the thread of corollary with the Israelites wandering in the desert under reluctant Moses's leadership. I highly recommend this book.

"Where can we wander that God is not with us? Where can we wander that the wonder of God's love is not in our midst?

Be still in trust and steadfast in belief; only then will you be ready to wander into a spacious place - a strange place you could've never predicted as becoming home for you."

This book is for anyone looking to go deeper into the love of God. Each chapter is a glimpse into the author's story, with thoughtful ties to the presence of God in Exodus. The reader will find wise questions and helpful ideas for spiritual practices at the close of each chapter, guiding them to a place of certainty in the Father's faithfulness and gently reminding them to believe He is working all things for their good and His glory.

2.5⭐️
I feel really bad about not giving a glowing review to this book. This author seems like a lovely person and this her personal journey. While I feel like this book did contain nuggets of truth, the overall delivery fell flat for me. I think this has more to do with where I am in my faith journey and less to do with this book itself. It was just fine, but not really for me.

I really like Shelly’s writing, if you know her current story, it is also a joy and heartbreaking to be reading her words, but her words are so timely for this mama. The world feels heavier then normal lately, and I love her reminders of beauty and Biblical truth to help turn my focus on above!

The main point of this book is dealing with fears, conflicts, undecisions, overwhelming feelings, and how to trust God in these circumstances and Biblical truth to help us navigate. She provides lots of great questions in each chapter to really help you ponder and go deeper, some these which I need to go back and work on more. So I appreciate her doing that, as I am not always good at being able to sort out things or really knowing what the main issue is when I am feeling a heaviness or sadness.

In addition to reading this book, I also read her previous book, which is also just as good. I think many of my friends will want to check her out.

I was really looking forward to reading this one. In this day and age we're living in, it's more important than ever to find certainty in God's word, and I couldn't wait to dive into how Shelly Miller was going to tackle this subject. Unfortunately, this didn't end up being quite what I was expecting, and it's not a title that I'll personally be recommending.

While I appreciated the way that the author connects the struggles of our daily lives to the story of Moses in Exodus, I didn't feel like a lot of the story really lined up in a way that made sense to the reader. Quite a few of the struggles that she was talking about seemed kind of frivolous to me, especially the one about how she struggled to pick out a silverware set in an expensive store. I think the message was fantastic, but the execution of it was lacking, and hindered my enjoyment of the overall story.

I also have to mention the fact that I really wish she hadn't included the message as one of the mentioned Bible translations. It made the theology seem not as sound, and that could have been easily resolved with using a more reliable translation.

Final Rating: 3/5.

A great premise, but didn't quite live up to what I was expecting.

Thanks so much to Bethany House for allowing me to advance read this.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Bethany House) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Shelly Miller writes to Christians who are in uncertain situations and are overly worried. When she was writing this book, Miller had no idea that the whole world would be overly worried in 2020, but God knew. Each chapter gives some memoir from Miller about situations where she was filled with worry. Each chapter also discusses the Israelites fears in Egypt and while in the wilderness. Each chapter ends with a list of helpful questions for readers to navigate the fears and worry they currently face and work through them with God and other people.
This book helped remind me to seek God for His peace as I deal with all of the uncertainties we are facing today. Miller herself is facing incredible uncertainty as she is currently facing metastatic terminal cancer. If you are feeling anxiety and want to be blessed and have your faith strengthened I highly recommend this book.
I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be helpful,, but didn't quite finish. I am more inclined to read for entertainment.

I really enjoyed Searching for Certainty by Shelly Miller. Definitely a timely read for our world right now. A couple of quotes from the book that really stood out to me:

"Ungratefulness sets in when I search for certainty through the lens of what I lack instead of the abundance right where I am. The voice of shame results in finger pointing; pointing at myself, others, and God for not being or doing enough. Ultimately, a lack of gratitude is rooted in striving for your worth and value outside of God, motivated by the fear of being unlovable."
"While I am calculating how my life should look, projecting the future based on today's circumstances, I miss the goodness of God right in front of me."

Four stars...definitely recommend!

Its good that Christ promised us that while in this sin cursed world, we'll always face uncertainty and trials, and these should be moments of drawing us closer to Him as we thrive spiritually. The author in this book helps us to learn how we may find joy amidst troubling times.

2 stars
Searching for Certainty
by Shelly Miller

It's just fluff. Miller uses the Message devotional as a Bible translation. The theology is iffy at best.I' did not like this book at all.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher.