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First published February 1, 2019
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February 14, 2019
“But for my own part, if a book is well written I always find it too short.” - Jane Austin
That’s how I feel about this book. Filled with such an incredible love story, told in mostly their own words, the love of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot is one that was deeply rooted in God and provided much wisdom and godliness in their example. Their story caused me to personally fall more in love with the One who does all things well. Their faith has inspired me to more fully trust in Him during my personal moments of waiting. Their prayer life has spurred me on to a deeper level of intimacy with my Savior and King.
Read this book. Learn from their example and then go out and live a dependently productive life for the sake of the gospel and the glory of God.
That’s how I feel about this book. Filled with such an incredible love story, told in mostly their own words, the love of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot is one that was deeply rooted in God and provided much wisdom and godliness in their example. Their story caused me to personally fall more in love with the One who does all things well. Their faith has inspired me to more fully trust in Him during my personal moments of waiting. Their prayer life has spurred me on to a deeper level of intimacy with my Savior and King.
Read this book. Learn from their example and then go out and live a dependently productive life for the sake of the gospel and the glory of God.
January 12, 2020
This will easily be in my top 3 books of 2020, if not my number 1. As a teenager, reading Elisabeth Elliot's works radically shaped the woman that I have become, specifically Passion and Purity. Jim and Elisabeth have been life-long "friends" and mentors to me through her writings. So, to have this treasure of a book, written and edited so wonderfully by their daughter is a true gift.
They will always continue to inspire me, and this book was an absolute joy to read.
They will always continue to inspire me, and this book was an absolute joy to read.
February 16, 2019
In Devotedly, Valerie is finishing the love story that Elisabeth told in brief in Passion and Purity.
Instead of feeling like snippets used for purposes of illustration, Devotedly gives us a more complete picture of how Jim and Elisabeth fell in love and finally married. It’s not an exhaustive account of their lives together (there are many more books to complete that picture!), and in fact there are aspects of their love story that even Valerie couldn’t track down (a missing period of her mother’s letters to her father left much to surmise about what he was replying to). I found it interesting to refer back to Passion and Purity while reading Devotedly, comparing how Elisabeth had written of a situation in retrospect with the way she recorded it in her journal as it happened.
Devotedly is compiled by a daughter who honors the memory of her parents while sharing honestly the details she finds in their letters and journals. In many ways, we see Valerie’s own quest to get to know her father better through her research. While many of us have felt a fascination with the Elliot’s love story through the years, Valerie’s own interest must eclipse that of all of us who have respected her parents from afar!
When all is told, Devotedly is really just the story of two people passionately in love with their Savior and purely devoted to serving Him above all others.
Instead of feeling like snippets used for purposes of illustration, Devotedly gives us a more complete picture of how Jim and Elisabeth fell in love and finally married. It’s not an exhaustive account of their lives together (there are many more books to complete that picture!), and in fact there are aspects of their love story that even Valerie couldn’t track down (a missing period of her mother’s letters to her father left much to surmise about what he was replying to). I found it interesting to refer back to Passion and Purity while reading Devotedly, comparing how Elisabeth had written of a situation in retrospect with the way she recorded it in her journal as it happened.
Devotedly is compiled by a daughter who honors the memory of her parents while sharing honestly the details she finds in their letters and journals. In many ways, we see Valerie’s own quest to get to know her father better through her research. While many of us have felt a fascination with the Elliot’s love story through the years, Valerie’s own interest must eclipse that of all of us who have respected her parents from afar!
When all is told, Devotedly is really just the story of two people passionately in love with their Savior and purely devoted to serving Him above all others.
July 1, 2021
Don’t think of my parents as perfect. They weren’t. Don’t think of their relationship as perfect. It wasn’t. See them as two people—a man and a woman—who willingly invited God to direct their lives His own way. God is the One doing things perfectly here in their story, even amid disaster, even after many years of testing and waiting, of separation and struggle. (269)Devotedly is without a doubt one of the greatest and most fascinating books I have ever read, about one of the great love stories of the twentieth century. I’ve known the story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot for most of my life. I’ve read the accounts told in Shadow of the Almighty, Through Gates of Splendor, and, more recently, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, among others. But this book, written by their daughter Valerie Elliot Shepard, was completely eye-opening. It draws on Jim and Elisabeth’s personal journals and letters to one another during the five and a half years from their meeting at Wheaton College to their marriage in Quito, Ecuador. Aside from a handful of photos of the actual handwritten originals, Devotedly is not a facsimile reproduction of the complete archive. Rather, Shepard quotes extensively from the original documents, occasionally adding her own commentary—which is really insightful, as she of course knew her mother, Elisabeth, better than anyone else. Shepard’s comments show us how traits she reads in her mother’s teenage and twenties writing continued to play out for the rest of her life, and telling us how her parents’ examples have influenced her own life. No one else could have written this book.
Accounts about Jim and Elisabeth, their relationship, and their ministry in Ecuador often nearly idealize them. They have seemed to me sometimes almost superhuman, as though they surely weren’t just flesh and blood walking on the Earth like the rest of us. (That’s no one’s intention, of course, but when you hear the same small selection of quotes from their writings, it can feel like they must have been on a higher plane.) Reading this broader spectrum of excerpts from their letters and journals made me see them as very human, fallible, questioning and often uncertain about key decisions. And knowing them as imperfect actually makes me love them more . I love seeing the struggles they went through as they confronted personality traits within themselves that drove them crazy—Jim’s tendency to speak boldly, even brashly and abrasively, which was somewhat tempered over his years of correspondence with Elisabeth; and Elisabeth’s sharp, sarcastic, cutting remarks, which Jim sometimes called her out on (and she was delighted at a man who was strong enough to meet and match her own extremely strong character). The questions they pondered as they moved to Ecuador to begin cross-cultural fieldwork as missionaries are the same things that I still wrestle with.
What makes them so fascinating to me is not just the struggles that are common to many of us, but the combination of the struggles and the passionate devotion to following God’s leading. They take God seriously, and therefore they take love seriously, in a way that set them apart from people in their era and continues to set them apart now. In pursuing a singularly obedient, self-sacrificial life, they reached into the depths of places in the spiritual life that I’ve never visited, bringing back wisdom that I cherish. Their constant yearning for a life of integrity inspired me again and again, even if there were times when I didn’t fully understand what it was that was keeping them from making a particular decision.
Shepard chose to end this book at Jim and Elisabeth’s marriage, and I like that decision a lot. It keeps the focus on the love story and the relationship, rather than using all of that only as means to get to the tragic end (Jim’s murder in 1956, three years after their marriage). So often the Elliots’ story is all about that tragedy, and how Elisabeth endured in the decades after. But this book is about the vibrant, faithful, youthful, joyful relationship, and it’s right to celebrate that for the good thing that it was, letting them close this book at a moment of pure happiness.
It’s my own personal history that makes Devotedly resonate so much with me, and I know it wouldn’t be exactly the same experience for every reader. But it is such a fantastic book, I hope it does find its way to many people. Normally, even when I'm in the middle of a really good book, I'm still kind of reading it quickly because I'm already looking forward to the next one. With Devotedly, I wanted to take my time and linger on each wonderful page.
February 22, 2019
I was surprised to see someone chose to give this book a one star review because they were disappointed to see Jim and Elisabeth Elliot weren't, after all, the immaculate example they once saw in them. I believe the exact same reason is why I gave this book 5 stars.
This glimpse into the Elliots' personal letters and journals showed me something that strengthen my faith -- a young man and a young woman who were flawed and human and sinful, and yet totally devoted to Jesus. Isn't that much more compelling to us, young adults? I'd rather see flawed humans who confess their sin and live for Jesus than "perfect" Christians to whom I could never relate (and who is actually perfect if not Jesus alone?).
I'm so very thankful that Valerie chose to show the world who her parents really were, breaking the false idea many of us created of them for half a century. Jim and Elisabeth Elliot were beautiful examples of normal, ordinary humans who devoted themselves completely to God and were, therefore, used in an extraordinary way.
Even though this book is about a human love story, when I finished reading it I had a refreshed love for Jesus, the true lover of our souls.
This glimpse into the Elliots' personal letters and journals showed me something that strengthen my faith -- a young man and a young woman who were flawed and human and sinful, and yet totally devoted to Jesus. Isn't that much more compelling to us, young adults? I'd rather see flawed humans who confess their sin and live for Jesus than "perfect" Christians to whom I could never relate (and who is actually perfect if not Jesus alone?).
I'm so very thankful that Valerie chose to show the world who her parents really were, breaking the false idea many of us created of them for half a century. Jim and Elisabeth Elliot were beautiful examples of normal, ordinary humans who devoted themselves completely to God and were, therefore, used in an extraordinary way.
Even though this book is about a human love story, when I finished reading it I had a refreshed love for Jesus, the true lover of our souls.
March 22, 2019
Why I loved this book so much:
1. It showed to people who placed their love and trust in Jesus above all else, even when people thought they were crazy.
2. Valerie Shepard let us see her parents flaws. Sometimes, in reading what some people wrote about them, it was hard to imagine anyone being so perfect or pure. She let us see some of the real flaws that both of them had (especially her dad) yet how God still used them despite that.
3. It inspired me to live my life closer to God. Reading too their prayers made me offer more of my own.
Jim was especially a lot more open about his physical longings for Elisabeth then I'm normally comfortable in reading. However, this is a real story and I appreciated that their daughter didn't try to clean it up to be more acceptable. She let us see the good as well as the flawed in this real-life love story.
I highly recommend this book.
1. It showed to people who placed their love and trust in Jesus above all else, even when people thought they were crazy.
2. Valerie Shepard let us see her parents flaws. Sometimes, in reading what some people wrote about them, it was hard to imagine anyone being so perfect or pure. She let us see some of the real flaws that both of them had (especially her dad) yet how God still used them despite that.
3. It inspired me to live my life closer to God. Reading too their prayers made me offer more of my own.
Jim was especially a lot more open about his physical longings for Elisabeth then I'm normally comfortable in reading. However, this is a real story and I appreciated that their daughter didn't try to clean it up to be more acceptable. She let us see the good as well as the flawed in this real-life love story.
I highly recommend this book.
August 19, 2019
4.5
Review to come.
Reading Challenge Categories:
-Beat the Backlist Reading Bingo: A genre you don't normally read
-Hope By the Book Reading Challenge: Features missions or missionaries
-Read Harder Challenge: An epistolary novel or collection of letters
Review to come.
Reading Challenge Categories:
-Beat the Backlist Reading Bingo: A genre you don't normally read
-Hope By the Book Reading Challenge: Features missions or missionaries
-Read Harder Challenge: An epistolary novel or collection of letters
December 28, 2021
This book blessed my socks off! I’ve heard it recommended for quite a few years now, but never took the time to read it…until I finally got the audiobook, and took the time to listen to it. Wow. What an inspiring story. I’ve heard bits and pieces of it over the years, but having it all put together was something else. Mrs. Shepard did a great job showing the good as well as the not-so-good sides of her parents, their struggles as well as their triumphs in their journeys in following the Lord. Over and over, I was expecting that finally they would get engaged…but no, it wasn’t the right time, and they were sensitive enough to the Lord’s leading to be patient and wait. Wow. Their dedication was a challenge to me!
As a single woman, this book really blessed me, and I can’t wait to get my own copy to have on the shelf. It’s a goodie. I’d recommend it to all Christians who like to be challenged by other people’s testimonies, and especially to any singles out there who want encouragement for the season they’re in. This book doesn’t give false hope; it gives the ultimate Hope.
As a single woman, this book really blessed me, and I can’t wait to get my own copy to have on the shelf. It’s a goodie. I’d recommend it to all Christians who like to be challenged by other people’s testimonies, and especially to any singles out there who want encouragement for the season they’re in. This book doesn’t give false hope; it gives the ultimate Hope.
May 27, 2023
Took me a while to finish cause I had to pause reading for my trip but this book is probably one of the sweetest and purest real life love stories I’ve ever read. If you don’t know who Jim and Elizabeth Elliott are then you should! Their missionary story is one of incredible faith and now learning about their love story just adds to how inspiring and obedient to the Lord they were in every aspect of their lives! It was also so special that their daughter wrote this book about them!
June 12, 2019
This has been an incredible glimpse into the love story of the Elliots, witnessing their beautifully inspiring confidence in God’s plan for their lives, and their deep-seated eagerness to honor him every step of the way. Through a wealth of letting writing, when no other form of communication was possible, we see patient waiting on God’s timing. We see confident trust in God alone. We see an amazing passion to spread the gospel and make a difference with their lives. We see their eagerness to point each other back to Christ again and again. An inspiring story!
A favorite quote from Jim:
I trust that you will let nothing deceive you in the details of your going out—not common sense, experience, advice, ambition for souls rather than adoration for Christ, or any other voice than that of the living God, who will not suffer His faithfulness to fail.
And a quote from Elisabeth:
“Today I found severe temptation (and I yielded) to laxity in prayer and Bible study. Oh, I am conscious more than ever of my desperate need to know the Word—my only offensive weapon—but how very difficult it is for me to concentrate upon that only and wait upon God.”
A favorite quote from Jim:
I trust that you will let nothing deceive you in the details of your going out—not common sense, experience, advice, ambition for souls rather than adoration for Christ, or any other voice than that of the living God, who will not suffer His faithfulness to fail.
And a quote from Elisabeth:
“Today I found severe temptation (and I yielded) to laxity in prayer and Bible study. Oh, I am conscious more than ever of my desperate need to know the Word—my only offensive weapon—but how very difficult it is for me to concentrate upon that only and wait upon God.”
November 22, 2019
“But hasn’t this whole story been one of watching God at work, waiting on His timing, allowing Him to lay the path that kept them in the center of His will?” (Page 279)
Valerie Shepard does a wonderful job relaying the love story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot.
The best part is that though they are the main subject, God’s providence & God’s work is on full display throughout it. It’s about them, and not about them all at the same time.
Less of “look at what my parents did” & more of “look at what God did through them.”
Valerie Shepard does a wonderful job relaying the love story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot.
The best part is that though they are the main subject, God’s providence & God’s work is on full display throughout it. It’s about them, and not about them all at the same time.
Less of “look at what my parents did” & more of “look at what God did through them.”
February 19, 2019
I have liked pretty much any Elisabeth Elliot (Gren) book I have read (I've read about three or four I think, but not the ones on marriage or relationships). When I saw that this book was published, I was quite excited. This is a book about Jim and Elisabeth's 'love story', told through many of their letters to each other and their journals. Their daughter, Valerie, put it together and added commentary.
I was very disappointed by their relationship. I had always had the impression that they were a model example in Christian pre-marital relationships. After reading this book, I think that they are a horrible example to young men and women. I was quite shocked.
They started out liking each other, but not being sure whether the Lord would have them marry. All fine and good. But then when you get to them still not being sure whether or not the Lord would have them marry,(actually for a while, Jim was quite sure that the Lord wanted him to be single)but they act all loverlike, with certain things they write in their letters and in their physical relationship holding hands and other physical touching.
In one instance, while they were still in the "maybe God wants us to stay single, not sure about getting engaged" stage, the daughter comments: "I still marvel at how little physical touch they'd actually experienced. All they'd allowed themselves were a few embraces, hand holding, possibly a kiss on the cheek. But how important to learn from my amazing parents that their absolute priority remained the love of God, dependence on God, and continual prayer for His leading." Ummm…that was not right. These were not brotherly embraces/hand holding/ kisses, these were romantic ones. Hardly following what the Apostle Paul told Timothy, to treat the young women as sisters, "with all purity"(1 Tim 5:2)
In a letter to Elisabeth from Jim (again before getting a "word from the Lord" that they should marry). he talks about what happened some time before, when they had been together somewhere: he had been "feigning sleepiness, I crowded you against the clothing hung against the door - how your body stiffened as my hand made its way to being received by your fingers - how the whole of you slackened and my fingers were pressed to your lips. " He goes on to say, "We will, I suppose, get used to each other, the feel and smell and look of one another…"
I don't understand that. If marriage is not on the docket, how could you say that? How could you do that in all purity before God?
And then Jim writes in a letter, while they were still wondering about God's will for their relationship, "I dreamed about you last night. Coming home last evening and reading your letter before I slept was like coming home to you, almost. You came to me in bed serious and shivering. I made you laugh and warmed you with my body. Such things are seldom, and I enjoyed it because it seemed good and right, and not much like a dream…."
But what about what the Apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 7, where it is better to marry than to burn with passion? Jim was definitely struggling with 'burning with passion'(you see it even more clearly in other spots, even admitted as a struggle by himself, in this book). It's not as though Elisabeth and Jim were strongly doubting whether the other was a Christian or not; rather they each, for the most part, were crazy about the other and their devotion to the Lord. Their parents were not opposing the match either. All signs, including the Bible itself, were pointing towards their needing to get married. Pointing to God's will for them to be joined together in marriage before Him. It's as though they didn't see Scripture as the authority unless it gave them some sort of assured feeling. Rather than heeding what it explicitly said about man/woman relationships, they waited for an extrabiblical sign/feeling.
Even Elisabeth's brother, Dave, kept warning Jim about playing with Elisabeth's heart. But they both disregarded him, or anyone else who looked at their relationship critically. Their daughter comments at one spot, "Though no one could seem to understand why they weren't' getting engaged and making plans to go to the mission field together…..she knew she'd put God first and knew my father was attempting to do the same thing…And as long as God's will was uppermost in each of their hearts, they were under no obligation to explain themselves to anyone or give out all the details of their prayer life and relationship dynamics".
And then, when they finally get engaged, Jim seems to want even more physical contact and justifies it by saying that 1 Corinthians 7:1 (It is good for a man not to touch a woman) was speaking of "an unmarried man sharing another's wife", not a man engaged to be married. The daughter quotes him, interspersing her own words,"'it does not apply to my play with Betty," which meant he could enjoy 'further liberty with her body' without being guilty of fornication, once they were engaged." According to Jim Elliot's views, at the time, it's okay for engaged couples to touching one another's bodies as long as they don't have sex? Huh??? I am incredulous at several of his interpretations and applications of various passages. I don't understand how this is keeping with the passage that says to "keep the marriage bed holy" (Heb 13:4).
Being engaged means that the couple are set-aside for each other, no one else, but they don't belong to each other before God yet - so no playing with one another's bodies, even if it's not sexual. God has not yet joined you together, so don't act as though He has. Wait until you are married.
All in all, I was VERY disappointed. I was reading this book aloud with my sister, and I had to skip several spots, because they were indecent and made me blush. Yes, Jim and Elisabeth seemed to be Christians, but that doesn't mean that everything that they did was Christ-like and should be followed. I could not recommend this book to any couple because it does not promote true Godly pre-marital relationships. I'll end with a section from 1 Thessalonians 4:"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who know not God; that no man transgress, and wrong his brother in the matter: because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified. For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification. "(1Th 4:3-7)
I received a free review copy of this book from B&H Publishers. My review did not have to be favorable.
I was very disappointed by their relationship. I had always had the impression that they were a model example in Christian pre-marital relationships. After reading this book, I think that they are a horrible example to young men and women. I was quite shocked.
They started out liking each other, but not being sure whether the Lord would have them marry. All fine and good. But then when you get to them still not being sure whether or not the Lord would have them marry,(actually for a while, Jim was quite sure that the Lord wanted him to be single)but they act all loverlike, with certain things they write in their letters and in their physical relationship holding hands and other physical touching.
In one instance, while they were still in the "maybe God wants us to stay single, not sure about getting engaged" stage, the daughter comments: "I still marvel at how little physical touch they'd actually experienced. All they'd allowed themselves were a few embraces, hand holding, possibly a kiss on the cheek. But how important to learn from my amazing parents that their absolute priority remained the love of God, dependence on God, and continual prayer for His leading." Ummm…that was not right. These were not brotherly embraces/hand holding/ kisses, these were romantic ones. Hardly following what the Apostle Paul told Timothy, to treat the young women as sisters, "with all purity"(1 Tim 5:2)
In a letter to Elisabeth from Jim (again before getting a "word from the Lord" that they should marry). he talks about what happened some time before, when they had been together somewhere: he had been "feigning sleepiness, I crowded you against the clothing hung against the door - how your body stiffened as my hand made its way to being received by your fingers - how the whole of you slackened and my fingers were pressed to your lips. " He goes on to say, "We will, I suppose, get used to each other, the feel and smell and look of one another…"
I don't understand that. If marriage is not on the docket, how could you say that? How could you do that in all purity before God?
And then Jim writes in a letter, while they were still wondering about God's will for their relationship, "I dreamed about you last night. Coming home last evening and reading your letter before I slept was like coming home to you, almost. You came to me in bed serious and shivering. I made you laugh and warmed you with my body. Such things are seldom, and I enjoyed it because it seemed good and right, and not much like a dream…."
But what about what the Apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 7, where it is better to marry than to burn with passion? Jim was definitely struggling with 'burning with passion'(you see it even more clearly in other spots, even admitted as a struggle by himself, in this book). It's not as though Elisabeth and Jim were strongly doubting whether the other was a Christian or not; rather they each, for the most part, were crazy about the other and their devotion to the Lord. Their parents were not opposing the match either. All signs, including the Bible itself, were pointing towards their needing to get married. Pointing to God's will for them to be joined together in marriage before Him. It's as though they didn't see Scripture as the authority unless it gave them some sort of assured feeling. Rather than heeding what it explicitly said about man/woman relationships, they waited for an extrabiblical sign/feeling.
Even Elisabeth's brother, Dave, kept warning Jim about playing with Elisabeth's heart. But they both disregarded him, or anyone else who looked at their relationship critically. Their daughter comments at one spot, "Though no one could seem to understand why they weren't' getting engaged and making plans to go to the mission field together…..she knew she'd put God first and knew my father was attempting to do the same thing…And as long as God's will was uppermost in each of their hearts, they were under no obligation to explain themselves to anyone or give out all the details of their prayer life and relationship dynamics".
And then, when they finally get engaged, Jim seems to want even more physical contact and justifies it by saying that 1 Corinthians 7:1 (It is good for a man not to touch a woman) was speaking of "an unmarried man sharing another's wife", not a man engaged to be married. The daughter quotes him, interspersing her own words,"'it does not apply to my play with Betty," which meant he could enjoy 'further liberty with her body' without being guilty of fornication, once they were engaged." According to Jim Elliot's views, at the time, it's okay for engaged couples to touching one another's bodies as long as they don't have sex? Huh??? I am incredulous at several of his interpretations and applications of various passages. I don't understand how this is keeping with the passage that says to "keep the marriage bed holy" (Heb 13:4).
Being engaged means that the couple are set-aside for each other, no one else, but they don't belong to each other before God yet - so no playing with one another's bodies, even if it's not sexual. God has not yet joined you together, so don't act as though He has. Wait until you are married.
All in all, I was VERY disappointed. I was reading this book aloud with my sister, and I had to skip several spots, because they were indecent and made me blush. Yes, Jim and Elisabeth seemed to be Christians, but that doesn't mean that everything that they did was Christ-like and should be followed. I could not recommend this book to any couple because it does not promote true Godly pre-marital relationships. I'll end with a section from 1 Thessalonians 4:"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who know not God; that no man transgress, and wrong his brother in the matter: because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified. For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification. "(1Th 4:3-7)
I received a free review copy of this book from B&H Publishers. My review did not have to be favorable.
March 7, 2019
Not exactly the perfect love story readers are led to believe
When I first saw this book, I was looking forward to reviewing it because of the stories and the previous books I’ve read about the Elliots. However, this latest book, “Devotedly, The Personal Letters and Love Story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot,” by their daughter, Valerie Elliot Shepard, really let me down in so many ways.
Published by B&H Publishing, this 304-page book, I thought, was supposed to be about not only Jim and Elisabeth Elliot’s mutual love for each other, but more importantly, their mutual love for the Lord. But as I continued reading, it became more and more about their ongoing struggles with lust and desire for one another, which is the biggest qualm I have with this book.
First of all, I doubt very much that Jim and Elisabeth Elliot would have wanted their daughter to publish a book chronicling their very private, most intimate thoughts – especially thoughts and desires that didn’t exactly honor the Lord, much less one another.
In fact, it’s highly inappropriate for anyone – especially young people – to be reading about supposedly devoted Christians being promiscuous in their pre-martial behavior towards one another. Despite the couple’s continued claims throughout the book to be completely devoted to the Lord, they seemed to have been more consumed with passion for each other than for God. Her own brother, Dave, even had major issues with their on-again, off-again relationship – and even confronted them about it. But Dave’s concerns apparently went unheeded.
One example of this inappropriate behavior is when Jim writes to her: “I must confess to you, Betty, that I have had regrets about going even as far as we did in physical contact, and that was very little as most judge. We must guard against this if we are ever together again, for it gave me a whetted appetite for your body, that I have found to be “rubble” in getting to the work.”
Still, another of Jim’s confessions to Elisabeth reads: “Will I forgot how, feigning sleepiness, I crowded you against the clothing hung against the door – how your body stiffened as my hand made its way to being received by your fingers – how the whole of you slackened and my fingers were pressed to your lips? Will I forgot? Not soon. Excuse this indulgence.”
Let me get this straight: They keep claiming they want to be single-minded towards the Lord (quoting Scripture back and forth to each other along the way to almost excuse it), yet they keep doubting whether God is joining them each other. And even in the midst of these rather serious doubts about marriage, they routinely behave licentiously towards one another.
Does this sound like a couple living wholeheartedly for God, while they continue flirting with each other? Absolutely not. What’s equally sad is how Valerie consistently makes excuses for her parents’ obvious promiscuity. The Bible says to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires, and to make no provision for them. But rather than believe it is “better to marry than to burn with passion,” they continue to defraud each other, and in turn, tarnish their testimony.
What’s more, these kinds of passions should not have been allowed to be awakened in the first place (Song of Sol. 8:4) – especially if they are not even sure if they should marry. Yet, tt seemed very clear the Lord was leading them to marry. However, they seemed to have wanted to see how far they could go in order to find out if they were actually meant to be together.
The truth is, before they fell into to any further temptation, they should have gotten married, which ended up being the real take away from this book – not that it was a genuine and pure love story. The fact that they kept putting themselves in these situations time and again testifies to the fact that they should have made a commitment to never be alone together in the first place.
Therefore, I would not recommend this book to anyone – especially young people. The Elliots were supposed to be an example of purity and integrity but instead became an example of what not to do as an unmarried couple. Again, I think it’s highly inappropriate for a daughter to be publishing the private thoughts and desires of her international famous missionary parents.
Moreover, I highly doubt they would have wanted them to see the light of day. From what the preface indicated, Valerie’s mother gave the letters and journal entries to her to keep, reserved for her eyes only. Despite the fact that Elisabeth has published selected portions in previous books, Valerie’s book gives no clear indication that her mother wanted these others published.
Ironically, Valerie says in the preface her parents “gave up their own love for each another” and “surrendered it totally to the One whose hand they trusted to lead them toward whatever future He’d created for them.”
Yet, her parents seemed to have done the exact opposite by allowing their forbidden, premarital desires to get out of control, which ran totally contrary to the book’s alleged purpose. In fact, as it turns out, theirs wasn’t exactly the perfect love story readers are led to believe after all.
I gave it a 1 out of 5 stars.
Full disclosure: In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, I received this book free through B&H Publishing. My opinions are my own and I wasn’t required to write a positive review.
© 2019 by Doug S., M.A.
When I first saw this book, I was looking forward to reviewing it because of the stories and the previous books I’ve read about the Elliots. However, this latest book, “Devotedly, The Personal Letters and Love Story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot,” by their daughter, Valerie Elliot Shepard, really let me down in so many ways.
Published by B&H Publishing, this 304-page book, I thought, was supposed to be about not only Jim and Elisabeth Elliot’s mutual love for each other, but more importantly, their mutual love for the Lord. But as I continued reading, it became more and more about their ongoing struggles with lust and desire for one another, which is the biggest qualm I have with this book.
First of all, I doubt very much that Jim and Elisabeth Elliot would have wanted their daughter to publish a book chronicling their very private, most intimate thoughts – especially thoughts and desires that didn’t exactly honor the Lord, much less one another.
In fact, it’s highly inappropriate for anyone – especially young people – to be reading about supposedly devoted Christians being promiscuous in their pre-martial behavior towards one another. Despite the couple’s continued claims throughout the book to be completely devoted to the Lord, they seemed to have been more consumed with passion for each other than for God. Her own brother, Dave, even had major issues with their on-again, off-again relationship – and even confronted them about it. But Dave’s concerns apparently went unheeded.
One example of this inappropriate behavior is when Jim writes to her: “I must confess to you, Betty, that I have had regrets about going even as far as we did in physical contact, and that was very little as most judge. We must guard against this if we are ever together again, for it gave me a whetted appetite for your body, that I have found to be “rubble” in getting to the work.”
Still, another of Jim’s confessions to Elisabeth reads: “Will I forgot how, feigning sleepiness, I crowded you against the clothing hung against the door – how your body stiffened as my hand made its way to being received by your fingers – how the whole of you slackened and my fingers were pressed to your lips? Will I forgot? Not soon. Excuse this indulgence.”
Let me get this straight: They keep claiming they want to be single-minded towards the Lord (quoting Scripture back and forth to each other along the way to almost excuse it), yet they keep doubting whether God is joining them each other. And even in the midst of these rather serious doubts about marriage, they routinely behave licentiously towards one another.
Does this sound like a couple living wholeheartedly for God, while they continue flirting with each other? Absolutely not. What’s equally sad is how Valerie consistently makes excuses for her parents’ obvious promiscuity. The Bible says to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires, and to make no provision for them. But rather than believe it is “better to marry than to burn with passion,” they continue to defraud each other, and in turn, tarnish their testimony.
What’s more, these kinds of passions should not have been allowed to be awakened in the first place (Song of Sol. 8:4) – especially if they are not even sure if they should marry. Yet, tt seemed very clear the Lord was leading them to marry. However, they seemed to have wanted to see how far they could go in order to find out if they were actually meant to be together.
The truth is, before they fell into to any further temptation, they should have gotten married, which ended up being the real take away from this book – not that it was a genuine and pure love story. The fact that they kept putting themselves in these situations time and again testifies to the fact that they should have made a commitment to never be alone together in the first place.
Therefore, I would not recommend this book to anyone – especially young people. The Elliots were supposed to be an example of purity and integrity but instead became an example of what not to do as an unmarried couple. Again, I think it’s highly inappropriate for a daughter to be publishing the private thoughts and desires of her international famous missionary parents.
Moreover, I highly doubt they would have wanted them to see the light of day. From what the preface indicated, Valerie’s mother gave the letters and journal entries to her to keep, reserved for her eyes only. Despite the fact that Elisabeth has published selected portions in previous books, Valerie’s book gives no clear indication that her mother wanted these others published.
Ironically, Valerie says in the preface her parents “gave up their own love for each another” and “surrendered it totally to the One whose hand they trusted to lead them toward whatever future He’d created for them.”
Yet, her parents seemed to have done the exact opposite by allowing their forbidden, premarital desires to get out of control, which ran totally contrary to the book’s alleged purpose. In fact, as it turns out, theirs wasn’t exactly the perfect love story readers are led to believe after all.
I gave it a 1 out of 5 stars.
Full disclosure: In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, I received this book free through B&H Publishing. My opinions are my own and I wasn’t required to write a positive review.
© 2019 by Doug S., M.A.
January 12, 2023
While certain themes of this book frustrated me, I was reminded over and over that it is so easy to judge a situation you aren’t in. While the waiting of the Elliot’s relationship is still confusing to me (it seems they could have been married much sooner), overall this book convicted me. If I felt so strongly convicted by the Lord to wait for something, would I? The beauty of their letters, especially knowing the sad ending of their marriage, but yet also knowing the impact this family has left on the world for Christ makes me place this on my favorites shelf. It wasn’t an easy, romantic, fluffy read. I was frustrated, sad, angry, confused and even disagreed with some points along the way. But all in all I praise God for believers like Jim & Elisabeth who, above all else, simply wanted to live the lives God called them to.
December 25, 2020
This book is a treasure trove! Compiled & pieced together lovingly by their daughter Valerie are the personal letters and journals of young Elisabeth Howard & Jim Elliot from their Wheaton College days, full of youthful vigour & single-minded & single-heartedness in their love for God.
Each have minds & hearts set resolutely on serving God in pioneer frontier missions to unreached people groups. Even more unique is that this is context for their friendship, budding romance, hesitancy and soul-searching on whether it wise to pursue courtship, and sacrificial waiting until wise God-led timing -- which takes them to opposite ends of the USA at times (even to Prairie Bible Institute in Calgary), before both find open doors to move to Ecuador.
And we know what happens in the end -- a love story written & made possible only by the grace of God.
A countercultural book for dating & courtship by all means.
Each have minds & hearts set resolutely on serving God in pioneer frontier missions to unreached people groups. Even more unique is that this is context for their friendship, budding romance, hesitancy and soul-searching on whether it wise to pursue courtship, and sacrificial waiting until wise God-led timing -- which takes them to opposite ends of the USA at times (even to Prairie Bible Institute in Calgary), before both find open doors to move to Ecuador.
And we know what happens in the end -- a love story written & made possible only by the grace of God.
A countercultural book for dating & courtship by all means.
August 1, 2022
"Do you still believe God has led you here? I do. I say without reservation or emendation. Further, I love you now by faith. What God is doing, I cannot say, but this I know: He has led us together."
I feel that I know Jim and Elisabeth as close friends.
After reading Shadow of the Almighty (Elisabeth Elliott) I was left wanting to know more of the Elliott's relationship. A friend recommended Devotedly, and this book has been inspiring.
It was enlightening to read their letters and journal entries and has left me wondering whether perhaps more intentional and thoughtful communication is needed today?
(I would however say that not everything has to be shared publicly)
I feel that I know Jim and Elisabeth as close friends.
After reading Shadow of the Almighty (Elisabeth Elliott) I was left wanting to know more of the Elliott's relationship. A friend recommended Devotedly, and this book has been inspiring.
It was enlightening to read their letters and journal entries and has left me wondering whether perhaps more intentional and thoughtful communication is needed today?
(I would however say that not everything has to be shared publicly)
June 27, 2022
This is the love story of Jim & Elisabeth Elliot, but it's so much more about their love and devotion to God. They served as such amazing examples of what it looks like to live in surrender with desire present. Reading this grew my heart for the Lord, encouraged me to bring my desires authentically before them & surrender them up to Him, and reminded me how immeasurably more our God wants for us (not just in romantic relationships, but in life).
"Is it not, for all its sting, a wonderful way to live, Betty? To dream and want and pray, almost savagely, then to commit and wait and see Him queitly pile all dreams aside and replace them with what we could not dream - the realized Will?" JE 223
"Is it not, for all its sting, a wonderful way to live, Betty? To dream and want and pray, almost savagely, then to commit and wait and see Him queitly pile all dreams aside and replace them with what we could not dream - the realized Will?" JE 223
Read
March 3, 2024"Supunerea față de fiecare poruncă mă pune pe drumul cel bun și mă păstrează pe el.
Deciziile, bineînțeles, trebuie luate. Însă așa cum e cu calea ferată, așa e și în viață. Un semnal de bloc - o criză - se aprinde numai în caz de nevoie specială. Poate nu întotdeauna voi vedea un semnal verde care indică "trecerea", dar dacă rămân pe șine voi ajunge acolo unde se află următorul semnal. A înțelege voia Domnului înseamnă a avea încredere că El, în toate situațiile în care L-am ascultat, va face calea aceea propria Lui cale, valabilă în eternitate." Jim Elliot
"Mă bucur că iubesc mai mult la tine decât ceea ce se vede, pentru că, dacă ar fi să rămân complet orb, aș avea în continuare iubire. Dar mă ajută și felul în care arăți." Jim Elliot
"Prefer să merg în întuneric cu Dumnezeu, decât să merg singură în lumină". Elisabeth Elliot
Deciziile, bineînțeles, trebuie luate. Însă așa cum e cu calea ferată, așa e și în viață. Un semnal de bloc - o criză - se aprinde numai în caz de nevoie specială. Poate nu întotdeauna voi vedea un semnal verde care indică "trecerea", dar dacă rămân pe șine voi ajunge acolo unde se află următorul semnal. A înțelege voia Domnului înseamnă a avea încredere că El, în toate situațiile în care L-am ascultat, va face calea aceea propria Lui cale, valabilă în eternitate." Jim Elliot
"Mă bucur că iubesc mai mult la tine decât ceea ce se vede, pentru că, dacă ar fi să rămân complet orb, aș avea în continuare iubire. Dar mă ajută și felul în care arăți." Jim Elliot
"Prefer să merg în întuneric cu Dumnezeu, decât să merg singură în lumină". Elisabeth Elliot
October 26, 2022
The first 4/5ths of the book are good and encouraging but I do think that the last 1/5th is perhaps a little too personal (for me at least, though, there weren't too many) in what is relayed from Elizabeth and Jim's letter and what Valarie wrote herself.
That is not to say that no one should read this. I would still recommend it.
That is not to say that no one should read this. I would still recommend it.
January 29, 2024
The content of this book is great. It really shows how amazing God is and the power he has. It was lovely reading about Jim and Betty’s love story from their own journals and understanding how they grew towards God and together. Personally it was just really hard to read and seemed to drag on. I listened to the second half of the book as an audiobook and it was much more enjoyable.
February 3, 2023
*Narrator was enjoyable
April 14, 2020
Beautiful!!
October 13, 2022
"Lo, He is your God. Wait on Him devotedly." 💜
February 25, 2019
This engrossing book tells the courtship of noted Christian author/teacher Elisabeth Elliot and her first husband, missionary Jim Elliot.
Using diaries and letters, their daughter takes us through 5.5 years in their early 20's as they sort out God's will and direction for their lives. It's an inside look at two people dedicated to Jesus Christ and determined to do only what He directs them to do in His timing.
I'm the same age as Shepard and wrestled with some of these topics in my 20's as well. Elisabeth's firm commitment to Scripture and doing what God called had an enormous impression on my own spiritual development.
Forty years on, these stories echo in my mind, but also cause me to question some of this. I'd love to discuss this book with others who know Elliot's work well.
Biographies of the saints are written and shared for the rest of us to catch a glimpse of God through another's well-trod life. There's much to be learned from a book like this one and questions we each should ask ourselves about God's work in the world.
This book will be of interest if you're of a like mind with Elisabeth Elliot. But for me, as usual with EE, the book gave me much to ponder.
Using diaries and letters, their daughter takes us through 5.5 years in their early 20's as they sort out God's will and direction for their lives. It's an inside look at two people dedicated to Jesus Christ and determined to do only what He directs them to do in His timing.
I'm the same age as Shepard and wrestled with some of these topics in my 20's as well. Elisabeth's firm commitment to Scripture and doing what God called had an enormous impression on my own spiritual development.
Forty years on, these stories echo in my mind, but also cause me to question some of this. I'd love to discuss this book with others who know Elliot's work well.
Biographies of the saints are written and shared for the rest of us to catch a glimpse of God through another's well-trod life. There's much to be learned from a book like this one and questions we each should ask ourselves about God's work in the world.
This book will be of interest if you're of a like mind with Elisabeth Elliot. But for me, as usual with EE, the book gave me much to ponder.
April 9, 2019
I really didn't know a lot about the relationship between Elizabeth Elliot and Jim Elliot. I was intrigued by this book and that it would go into their courtship and marriage. It's always so revealing when we read the letters of others.
They wrote eloquently of their love of God and of each other. They were torn between staying single and of their growing love for one another. There was a lot of back and forth for them as they knew they wanted to be missionaries and share the Gospel with others. They struggled with this dilemma for quite a while.
There are wonderful photos throughout the book and I really enjoyed that. It's so nice to see the people that you are reading about, their family, and friends. There is poetry that they wrote and since they used the pro-nouns thee, thy, and thou, it took me a bit to really get an understanding of these writings, but as I kept reading, it became easier. They were totally worth the effort as so much of their writings, even as young people, focused on their adoration and love for God.
These letters show real people struggling with real-life situations and emotions. As time has gone on, there has been the tendency to put these people up on a pedestal but that is not really fair. They faced the same issues and struggles that many of us do.
I really enjoyed this book. I felt like I came away understanding why they chose the life they did and how much they truly loved each other and God. It was a lovely book and I highly recommend it.
*This book was provided to me by B&H/LifeWay. I received a copy of this book to review but I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations while reading this book.
They wrote eloquently of their love of God and of each other. They were torn between staying single and of their growing love for one another. There was a lot of back and forth for them as they knew they wanted to be missionaries and share the Gospel with others. They struggled with this dilemma for quite a while.
There are wonderful photos throughout the book and I really enjoyed that. It's so nice to see the people that you are reading about, their family, and friends. There is poetry that they wrote and since they used the pro-nouns thee, thy, and thou, it took me a bit to really get an understanding of these writings, but as I kept reading, it became easier. They were totally worth the effort as so much of their writings, even as young people, focused on their adoration and love for God.
These letters show real people struggling with real-life situations and emotions. As time has gone on, there has been the tendency to put these people up on a pedestal but that is not really fair. They faced the same issues and struggles that many of us do.
I really enjoyed this book. I felt like I came away understanding why they chose the life they did and how much they truly loved each other and God. It was a lovely book and I highly recommend it.
*This book was provided to me by B&H/LifeWay. I received a copy of this book to review but I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations while reading this book.
August 23, 2020
Elisabeth Elliot's love story from letters and journals, as shared by her daughter: no wonder I jumped at the chance to review this book!
A hardcover, it has one of the most beautiful layouts --inside and out -- that I've ever seen. (And I'm a little in love with that comma in the title.)
As a longtime admirer of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, I was comforted by the fact that their relationship was pretty tempestuous at times. It made me feel better for being very human myself. And yet! God used them. It gives me hope that He's not stumped by me, either. Devotedly is a good reminder that even Elisabeth and Jim's story is not for us to copy. It's their devotion to the Lord that we should emulate.
This is a book to savor. Yes, even though I devoured it the same evening it arrived, because I've already reread it and expect to do so again, perhaps multiple times more. There's plenty more to learn from the lessons that God taught these two -- in the area of romance, certainly -- but even more importantly, about how to be a wise and effective disciple of Jesus.
I know it's her daughter Valerie who found and shared these letters and journals -- for which I'm grateful. Just the same, I'm calling this one of my favorite Elisabeth Elliot books.
I received a free review copy from B&H Publishing, but I'm genuinely delighted to recommend it.
A hardcover, it has one of the most beautiful layouts --inside and out -- that I've ever seen. (And I'm a little in love with that comma in the title.)
As a longtime admirer of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, I was comforted by the fact that their relationship was pretty tempestuous at times. It made me feel better for being very human myself. And yet! God used them. It gives me hope that He's not stumped by me, either. Devotedly is a good reminder that even Elisabeth and Jim's story is not for us to copy. It's their devotion to the Lord that we should emulate.
This is a book to savor. Yes, even though I devoured it the same evening it arrived, because I've already reread it and expect to do so again, perhaps multiple times more. There's plenty more to learn from the lessons that God taught these two -- in the area of romance, certainly -- but even more importantly, about how to be a wise and effective disciple of Jesus.
I know it's her daughter Valerie who found and shared these letters and journals -- for which I'm grateful. Just the same, I'm calling this one of my favorite Elisabeth Elliot books.
I received a free review copy from B&H Publishing, but I'm genuinely delighted to recommend it.
October 19, 2022
Jim and Elisabeth Elliot are well known for their incredible faith and fortitude in the Christian community and although Jim was murdered so young and Elisabeth has passed away, their stories are still making an impact today.
This book is written by their daughter, who compiled letters and journal entries from her parents in a chronological format to tell their love story. It’s a story of extraordinary faith, perseverance, patience and hope. And yet what equally surprised me is that it’s a story about two humans.
When you read from someones personal journal, you definitely get a peek into their most raw and real thoughts and emotions. Jim and Elisabeth Elliot weren’t heroes of the faith because they were Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, but because they had Christ in them. They owed everything to him, including the beauty and success of their relationship. It’d be an encouraging book for anyone, regardless of whether you are in a relationship or not. Also the original letters and entries are photocopied into the book, which makes for really fun visual as you’re reading.
This book is written by their daughter, who compiled letters and journal entries from her parents in a chronological format to tell their love story. It’s a story of extraordinary faith, perseverance, patience and hope. And yet what equally surprised me is that it’s a story about two humans.
When you read from someones personal journal, you definitely get a peek into their most raw and real thoughts and emotions. Jim and Elisabeth Elliot weren’t heroes of the faith because they were Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, but because they had Christ in them. They owed everything to him, including the beauty and success of their relationship. It’d be an encouraging book for anyone, regardless of whether you are in a relationship or not. Also the original letters and entries are photocopied into the book, which makes for really fun visual as you’re reading.
March 11, 2019
He said: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
She said: “The deepest lessons come out the deepest waters and the hottest fires.”
And all the world still takes note, for Jim Elliot was a courageous missionary pioneer and martyr. Elisabeth Elliot was a superior writer and a sought after Bible teacher. Both are remembered as spiritual giants.
He also said: “I didn’t know I would get this way, Betty, but I am lost, utterly lost without you. I love you, my darling, and sometimes just have to stop where I am and heave a sigh.”
She also said: “I love you madly, and think their just isn’t anyone else to compare. Are you sure you’re not perfect? I think you must be mistaken, because I just love everything about you.”
But of course these words were private, addressed to each other, and sent by mail from separate South American mission outposts in the days leading up to their wedding. Valerie Elliot Shepard has combed through her parents’ letters and journals and the resulting treasure is Devotedly: The Personal Letters and Love Story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot. While the story of their courtship has been told in Elisabeth’s classic Passion and Purity, it is now possible for readers to trace the unfolding romance from love’s first stirring at Wheaton College in the late 1940’s all the way through the birth of their daughter Valerie.
A Persevering Love
When Jim and Elisabeth (“Betty”) landed in classical Greek classes together, the love that grew between them surprised them both. She was serious and studious; he was a visible presence on campus (and something of a character) who was quite vocal about his intentions to embark upon a career as a single missionary. Nonetheless, through crisscrossing postmarks and star-crossed years of separation by circumstances and geography, their love persevered and survived five long years of waiting for a green light from God. Journal entries and letters document a growing devotion to each other alongside an expanding desire to follow unswervingly the will of God, even if it meant giving up all hope for a future together.
Listen in:
From Elisabeth’s journal (116):
“Oh, the joy which has come in knowing that I am one with Christ . . . oh, the marvelous, unspeakable interchange of joy–He my joy, I His joy–He my satisfaction, I His satisfaction. For I am accepted in the Beloved. . . I am In Christ–may He be seen in me.”
And from Jim’s journal (31):
“Prayed a strange prayer today. I covenanted with my Father that He would do either of two things–either glorify Himself to the utmost in me, or slay me. By His grace I shall not have His second best. . .”
A Persevering Faithfulness
Just as young adults in 2019 cannot conceive of a relationship conducted entirely by snail mail, it is also likely that few can visualize a love in which each seeks his greatest satisfaction not in the beloved, but in the Savior. Because they allowed their vision to be shaped by Truth, Jim and Elisabeth were able to maintain an astonishing degree of clarity about their callings while still acknowledging the depth of their longing for one another. When the Bible says, “In Your light we see light,” this is not a promise of an uncluttered and pain free life, but rather an assurance that while “faith does not eliminate questions, faith knows where to take them.”
Valerie Shepard’s stated purpose in unpacking and sharing this trunk full of written memories left to her by her mother is that readers would discover anew God’s “unchanging, faithful, merciful, and loving character,” and be “fully moved in obedience to Him that we too might leave a lasting legacy of faith as [her] parents did.” (45) With mid-twentieth-century black-and-white pictures, images lifted from the handwritten letters, and a vintage feel to the book’s layout, Devotedly was a delight to read and to savor.
Readers can expect to be challenged by the laser focus of two young adults who took seriously their role as disciples–as followers of “Him who bore a cross.” As a mother and a grandmother, I want to let my prayer life be shaped by the knowledge that my most-loved people will not be exempt from disappointment, delay, or even confusion at times, for perseverance through difficulty is often the tool God uses in the shaping of a deeper devotion and a more faithful following.
Many thanks to B&H Publishers for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which, of course, is offered freely and with honesty.
She said: “The deepest lessons come out the deepest waters and the hottest fires.”
And all the world still takes note, for Jim Elliot was a courageous missionary pioneer and martyr. Elisabeth Elliot was a superior writer and a sought after Bible teacher. Both are remembered as spiritual giants.
He also said: “I didn’t know I would get this way, Betty, but I am lost, utterly lost without you. I love you, my darling, and sometimes just have to stop where I am and heave a sigh.”
She also said: “I love you madly, and think their just isn’t anyone else to compare. Are you sure you’re not perfect? I think you must be mistaken, because I just love everything about you.”
But of course these words were private, addressed to each other, and sent by mail from separate South American mission outposts in the days leading up to their wedding. Valerie Elliot Shepard has combed through her parents’ letters and journals and the resulting treasure is Devotedly: The Personal Letters and Love Story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot. While the story of their courtship has been told in Elisabeth’s classic Passion and Purity, it is now possible for readers to trace the unfolding romance from love’s first stirring at Wheaton College in the late 1940’s all the way through the birth of their daughter Valerie.
A Persevering Love
When Jim and Elisabeth (“Betty”) landed in classical Greek classes together, the love that grew between them surprised them both. She was serious and studious; he was a visible presence on campus (and something of a character) who was quite vocal about his intentions to embark upon a career as a single missionary. Nonetheless, through crisscrossing postmarks and star-crossed years of separation by circumstances and geography, their love persevered and survived five long years of waiting for a green light from God. Journal entries and letters document a growing devotion to each other alongside an expanding desire to follow unswervingly the will of God, even if it meant giving up all hope for a future together.
Listen in:
From Elisabeth’s journal (116):
“Oh, the joy which has come in knowing that I am one with Christ . . . oh, the marvelous, unspeakable interchange of joy–He my joy, I His joy–He my satisfaction, I His satisfaction. For I am accepted in the Beloved. . . I am In Christ–may He be seen in me.”
And from Jim’s journal (31):
“Prayed a strange prayer today. I covenanted with my Father that He would do either of two things–either glorify Himself to the utmost in me, or slay me. By His grace I shall not have His second best. . .”
A Persevering Faithfulness
Just as young adults in 2019 cannot conceive of a relationship conducted entirely by snail mail, it is also likely that few can visualize a love in which each seeks his greatest satisfaction not in the beloved, but in the Savior. Because they allowed their vision to be shaped by Truth, Jim and Elisabeth were able to maintain an astonishing degree of clarity about their callings while still acknowledging the depth of their longing for one another. When the Bible says, “In Your light we see light,” this is not a promise of an uncluttered and pain free life, but rather an assurance that while “faith does not eliminate questions, faith knows where to take them.”
Valerie Shepard’s stated purpose in unpacking and sharing this trunk full of written memories left to her by her mother is that readers would discover anew God’s “unchanging, faithful, merciful, and loving character,” and be “fully moved in obedience to Him that we too might leave a lasting legacy of faith as [her] parents did.” (45) With mid-twentieth-century black-and-white pictures, images lifted from the handwritten letters, and a vintage feel to the book’s layout, Devotedly was a delight to read and to savor.
Readers can expect to be challenged by the laser focus of two young adults who took seriously their role as disciples–as followers of “Him who bore a cross.” As a mother and a grandmother, I want to let my prayer life be shaped by the knowledge that my most-loved people will not be exempt from disappointment, delay, or even confusion at times, for perseverance through difficulty is often the tool God uses in the shaping of a deeper devotion and a more faithful following.
Many thanks to B&H Publishers for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which, of course, is offered freely and with honesty.
April 12, 2019
This is the first book I bought in a long time when I didn’t wait for it to go on sale or become available at the library. I have always been an Elizabeth Elliott, so when I heard about this new publication, I bought it immediately. And it didn’t disappoint.
Devotedly, written by their daughter, is like a sequel/extended version of Elizabeth’s Passion and Purity, which I read in college and revolutionized the way I viewed dating. It is a chronological progress of Jim and Betsy’s love story, taken from their letters and journals. In it, you see their agonizing wait, worldly temptations and inner struggles to know what the best way was to serve Christ. They had undeniable, serious attraction for each other, but as wonderful that may be, they were ready to give it up for the cause of the gospel.
Their story made marriage attractive to me, yet they were so willing to do without it, if it meant they could serve God better. Young people could learn so much from them, whose wholehearted love and devotion to God led them to the ends of the earth. They didn’t make marriage a life goal above the pursuit of Christ. They were ready to deny themselves, embrace and pursue singleness, if that meant it would make them better Christians.
In today’s culture obsessed with sex, and even in our churches’ emphasis on marriage, this book’s message needs to be heard. It is a disservice to the Church when singleness is treated as an undesirable state of being that needs to be abandoned as soon as possible. When one’s heart is fully Christ’s, married or not, it leads to the greatest benefit to his/her life, the church and our society.
Devotedly, written by their daughter, is like a sequel/extended version of Elizabeth’s Passion and Purity, which I read in college and revolutionized the way I viewed dating. It is a chronological progress of Jim and Betsy’s love story, taken from their letters and journals. In it, you see their agonizing wait, worldly temptations and inner struggles to know what the best way was to serve Christ. They had undeniable, serious attraction for each other, but as wonderful that may be, they were ready to give it up for the cause of the gospel.
Their story made marriage attractive to me, yet they were so willing to do without it, if it meant they could serve God better. Young people could learn so much from them, whose wholehearted love and devotion to God led them to the ends of the earth. They didn’t make marriage a life goal above the pursuit of Christ. They were ready to deny themselves, embrace and pursue singleness, if that meant it would make them better Christians.
In today’s culture obsessed with sex, and even in our churches’ emphasis on marriage, this book’s message needs to be heard. It is a disservice to the Church when singleness is treated as an undesirable state of being that needs to be abandoned as soon as possible. When one’s heart is fully Christ’s, married or not, it leads to the greatest benefit to his/her life, the church and our society.
March 11, 2024
“Knowing the ways of God helps us know the way to go.”
“God gives me love that asks no return - for Him”
“The King of Love my Shepherd is Whose goodness faileth never - I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine forever.”
“Delight thyself… commit thy way… trust in him… rest!”
“The Lord is the strength of my life.” Psalm 27:1
“Understanding the will of the Lord is believing Him, that He will in all situations where I have obeyed make that way His own way, effectual for eternity.”
“How very thankful I am that I am not my own. Since I am the Lord’s, He will show me the way… for this He alone is sufficient.”
“Time means nothing to God. He is with me all the days.”
“Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him.” Isaiah 25:9
“Men are to seek God before seeking a wife. Women are to place all their hope in God to bring the right man into their lives, should that be His will for them. This is how God protects and provides.”
“The man who doesn’t know him intimately brings to Him only the great needs, the “significant” things. The man who dwells in His presence knows, as Jeremiah did, that “I know the thoughts that come into your mind, every one of them” - but he knows also that, apart from His omniscience, God also has an intimate and loving interest in the “small” things. There is no great with Thee, There is no small - For Thou art all, and fillest All in all.”
“May you take from their real lives the confidence and trust that God has designed you, too, for noble service in His kingdom, as you surrender to Him, obey Him, and daily learn to let Him lead where He alone is able to take you. Lo, he is your God. Wait on Him, devotedly.”
“God gives me love that asks no return - for Him”
“The King of Love my Shepherd is Whose goodness faileth never - I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine forever.”
“Delight thyself… commit thy way… trust in him… rest!”
“The Lord is the strength of my life.” Psalm 27:1
“Understanding the will of the Lord is believing Him, that He will in all situations where I have obeyed make that way His own way, effectual for eternity.”
“How very thankful I am that I am not my own. Since I am the Lord’s, He will show me the way… for this He alone is sufficient.”
“Time means nothing to God. He is with me all the days.”
“Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him.” Isaiah 25:9
“Men are to seek God before seeking a wife. Women are to place all their hope in God to bring the right man into their lives, should that be His will for them. This is how God protects and provides.”
“The man who doesn’t know him intimately brings to Him only the great needs, the “significant” things. The man who dwells in His presence knows, as Jeremiah did, that “I know the thoughts that come into your mind, every one of them” - but he knows also that, apart from His omniscience, God also has an intimate and loving interest in the “small” things. There is no great with Thee, There is no small - For Thou art all, and fillest All in all.”
“May you take from their real lives the confidence and trust that God has designed you, too, for noble service in His kingdom, as you surrender to Him, obey Him, and daily learn to let Him lead where He alone is able to take you. Lo, he is your God. Wait on Him, devotedly.”
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