I just closed the last page of the book – The Fourth Fisherman.
First off – since this is a review – before I get into the meat of it – in a world that is cutting corners, publishing cheap books, and pushing towards $.99 e-books, This book is Fantastic. Hard bound with a wonderful finish. Cloth Binding. Thick Linen Pages. Beautiful Jacket with a description that pulls one in. Gripping the book – it feels like a treasure. Like you should also use the nicer tea cup, use a prettier quilt, nibble better licorice. What you’ll find though, as you grip the pages, is that you are reading a journal, of a personal story, one I invite you to read.
I will let you know that from the first page, the book pulled me in. Don’t start this on a Monday Morning when you have laundry and school work. Save it for when you’ll have the whole day and the wee hours of the night to finish it. He once told his story in a church 45 minutes before first service, ended an hour after church was out, and had to come back for 2 hours on another session to finish. That’s what it will feel like. He’s telling this insane story. He leaves room at the end to tell how the story developed into the pages you are reading, and the toil and faith it took to get to this point – And that is all of the story I can give you. I have to let you have your own ride, into this story of lives that will make you ponder if it is fiction or non fiction. It made the media and governments and citizens declare that it was false. You’ll be hard pressed to believe it – but you will.
I was on page 135 before I needed a book mark – only to take a break to do some mom things. On page 186 – I had my first post it note –
“For many, the fishermen’s experience is beyond any realm of understanding, and because it doesn’t fit into a compartment we can fathom, we question what is true. When you haven’t experienced the miraculous, it’s hard to get your arms around it. We are pretty wired to the ordinary. That’s sad, because it leads us to dismiss the remarkable, the triumphant, the extraordinary, the supernatural. Those are compartments many of us don’t have. As a result, we dprive ourselves of these dimensions to life.”
My second post it note is in the Epilogue –
“The realization that there was a finite amount of time left for them set in. That happens when death stares at your every day. Making every moment count becomes a lifestyle.”
Joe Kissack told this story many times before writing the book. People tried to convince him he was The Fourth Fisherman – but he didn’t want the story to be about him.
As I write this blog – this year – I feel more compelled to bring in more of our faith journey with you. Not just how we learn, the unbelievable environment we live in, or how crazy my boys will be in front of the camera. When people ask – How do you homeschool high school? I want to say - Because I have Faith and my Bible.
I don’t hare a lot about my family- mostly, my hubby’s job has mentioned they don’t want to show up in Social Media. So his name isn’t mentioned. I see a lot of my hubby in Joe. The hurt. The relationship with his father. Just this morning, hubby was praying about a hard situation at work. We received an e-mail from a past youth pastor. I read it to him. It was urging us to remember that we are to please God and not Man. That our humbleness will be our guide instead of pride. (You may read it here.) I identified with Joe’s wife, Carmen. Joe being the kite, and Carmen holding the string on the ground. Joe dealing with his ‘stuff’ the only way he knew how and Carmen taking charge of the home and children. It’s hard to relate here – without you having read the book – but the dynamic really spoke to me. Page 211:
“I see desperate hope in the eyes of women who have remained strong for so long that they have forgotten what it’s like to breathe a sigh of relief from it all. I want them to know that God rescues men and brings them back.”
After hearing this crazy story of transformation- redemption – faith – hope – strength – humility – my favorite pages were 208-2011 – hearing a few more personal paragraphs about the people. After turning that last page, I just clung to the book and let the tears fall just a little bit.
I confess, looking into high school – looking into the what ifs for the boys’ futures – wondering daily about employment and transportation and bill money – I have to give it to the Lord. I walk today – by faith and my bible. Claiming what I can do right now, what I have right now, what I know to be true – right. now. And give the rest to God. Oh how I want to talk about this story to you – but you’ll have to flip each page on your own – and then call me.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books / WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for reading it and sharing it with you. I am SO glad I did.
I heard a phrase recently - "Do you want to learn from a great man, or from the sources from which the great man learned?" I am speaking about C.S. Lewis. Many people read the works that he wrote and recommend them. Now there is a book available to read "Selections from Writers Who Influenced His Spiritual Journey" compiled by James Stuart Bell and Anthony P Dawson called "From the Library of C.S. Lewis".
The Deposit Slip by Todd M. Johnson