Chasing Vines: Finding Your Way to an Immensely Fruitful Life

First of all, I'm not a Beth Moore groupie. I usually don't seek out her books. But this one came in my monthly box so I gave it a shot. I LOVED IT. I even gifted one to my secret sister at church and still have my copy. There's so much information that I'll likely read at least once more in case I missed small details. Which I'm sure I did. Highly recommend for a deeper understanding of what we're reading in the Bible.

John 15 will never be the same after reading this book. A passage I have read a many times has never come more alive.Who would have thought this book would be the glimpse of Him that I neededHis proof that He is has been there all along. His truth that His timing is so much greater than mine. That everything I had been questioning about what He called me towards would be answered.Each chapter gives glimpse into seasons of being a believer. Some you may not have had, some you may have had many times, but it not only gripped me in the deepest part of who I am, it taught me more than I anticipated about who He is...things I knew, but shown to me in a way that I never expected to see.This book reminded me that we may not all be called to lead a group, but we all have been called. We all can influence and most of all it can look different than anyone else around you. Maybe it is in the quiet service, the gentle words or just the constant love, prayers and hope you give another. No matter what the influence, when you point to Him, it all matters. Don’t be afraid to speak the truth in love, to share your heart or to just shine the quiet bright light for Him.Most of all as I read this book, it wove itself into my story like a long lost friend. It resonated with the current healing and season He has me in and as I learn about the resiliency of the vine and what it takes to become healthy and produce the necessary fruit, the striking resemblance of my own life was not lost on me.Where would I be without the One who does the pruning? Without the One who has tended to me since I was planted as a seed in the soil? Where would I be in my growth and how I produced fruit? These are the questions that have stuck with me through each chapter.We are the product of the greatest Gardener of all. He guides us through the rocky soil and into His Light. As He prunes us and guides us through each curve and each stage, our fruit becomes more fruitful and that much sweeter. One day, we will be a finished product and as I stand before that great Gardner, it is my hope that I produced exactly what He always intended.

I love it when a book relates to my personal life and circumstances. (Don’t we all?) I am a farm girl/gardener at heart. I know the taste of milk straight from the cow, cracklins fresh from the hot grease, tomatoes, and green beans hand-picked. Yet, grapes, the how and why of them, and their relationship to my Christian growth, is a new concept.Using John 15:1-8 Chasing Vines covers our growth as branches of the One Vine. She covers such topics as, personal growth, abiding, bearing fruit, pruning, fertilizing, manure, and much more. In her matchless style, she brings these eight verses to life, giving insight into the growth process of the grape as it relates to our own lives as Christians.Beth’s comment, “I’m pretty sure most people who serve an unseen God for enough years, trying their danged hardest to obey His inaudible directions and love His confounding people with their own contorted hearts, live a quarter-inch from sheer madness much of the time,” (pg. 56) resounded with me. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a celebrity preacher/teacher or sojourn with a small group of Believers, people are people. They’re difficult, demanding, denying, disturbing, dusty, deliberate, defying… I get it.Throughout the book, the reader is made aware of the need to be a good fruit producer. Ms. Moore contends it is not only possible but probable that the branches (believers and unbelievers, alike) can produce bitter and bad fruit. Her solution: Galatians 5:22-23. If these 9 qualities are in any way being compromised it’s bad fruit. If, on the other hand, they are supported, then the fruit is good.I highly recommend this book, and since this is a review, I must say that I did find a bit of insensitivity to the elderly in her discussion of pruning. From time to time I also found way more discussion of a concept than was necessary. But as I said before, all in all, all of it, is worth it.I want to leave you with these words, directly from Miss Beth, “If you’re in Christ, He is your true Vine, whether you realize it or not. But a whole new way of flourishing begins when you know it. When you count on it. When you live like it. When you let go of the vines you thought were giving you life.” (pg. 129)

Beth does it again - brings scripture alive and draws me close to my Saviour. Timely and beautifully written. Thank you Beth xx

Love this book however, I bought a new copy and was very disappointed to find it marked up with someone’s notes and markings. Not cool. Too much bother to send it back when I needed it for a study group right away.