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Power Perfected in Weakness: The Journal of Christopher J. Klicka
Christopher Klicka, HSLDA Senior Counsel and Director of State and International Relations went to be with his Lord on October 12, 2009, at the age of 48. His gifts were many, his energy boundless, and his passion deep and unwavering. Chris was an attorney, spokesman, lobbyist, author, husband, and father of seven children, whose goal in life was to serve God with his whole heart and make him known to everyone he encountered.
Shepherd Press presents Power Perfected in Weakness by Christopher Klicka, from the unfinished manuscript submitted to Shepherd Press just before his death. The book journals how the Lord showed His Grace as Chris lived with the increasing debilitation of MS in his full and busy life.
Chris Klicka is well known for his untiring efforts on behalf of the Home School movement, but his greatest passion was his love for his Lord Jesus Christ, to which he testifies throughout this book.
Shepherd Press presents Power Perfected in Weakness by Christopher Klicka, from the unfinished manuscript submitted to Shepherd Press just before his death. The book journals how the Lord showed His Grace as Chris lived with the increasing debilitation of MS in his full and busy life.
Chris Klicka is well known for his untiring efforts on behalf of the Home School movement, but his greatest passion was his love for his Lord Jesus Christ, to which he testifies throughout this book.
172 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2010
16 people want to read
About the author
Christopher J. Klicka
9 booksChristopher Klicka, HSLDA Senior Counsel and Director of State and International Relations went to be with his Lord on October 12, 2009, at the age of 48. His gifts were many, his energy boundless, and his passion deep and unwavering. Chris was an attorney, spokesman, lobbyist, author, husband, and father of seven children, whose goal in life was to serve God with his whole heart and make him known to everyone he encountered.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 7, 2014
Imagine you’re diagnosed multiple sclerosis. What would you do? How would you response? How will your spend your remaining time? This actually happened to the author of the book. But instead of complaining or whining, the author shows us what it means to live a life of thanksgiving and joy.
Here are three things I think you can learn as you read this book:
1) Rejoicing - Interspersed throughout the book, you will see many many situations where the author repeated give thanks for everything that has happened, be it a fall or a excruciating pain that Klicka is experiencing. This is not something that is extraordinary, it just helped us see what this familiar verse “Rejoice always” (1 Thess 5:16) really should mean in our lives. As I read, I’m often ashamed as I reflected back on how unchrist like I am, as compared to Chris Klicka, who could have complained, but never did.
2) Evangelism - Many a times, you will read of how Chris is passionately sharing the gospel with everyone he meets, he appears to be tireless in this work and often finds or creates opportunities to share the gospel with the people around him. If you would like to “see” what it’s like to be with an evangelist up front, read it. Chris never lets an opportunity to share Christ slip, and so should we.
3) Productiveness - Chris does not in any way lazes around despite his illness, you will find him doing his work as director in HSLDA until the point he is unable to continue to work. What drives him is the lordship of Christ in his life, as I reflect upon this, I recalled what John Calvin reply was when others tell him to rest more, “What! Would you have the Lord find me idle when He comes?”. I think that was how Chris felt as he lived through his remaining moments.
This is an heart wrenching book, and I mean this in a good way. As you read, you can’t help but catch his joy and excitement in life yet at the same time you can't help but reflect on your own life, “what more can you do for the Lord?”
Rating: 4.5/5
Here are three things I think you can learn as you read this book:
1) Rejoicing - Interspersed throughout the book, you will see many many situations where the author repeated give thanks for everything that has happened, be it a fall or a excruciating pain that Klicka is experiencing. This is not something that is extraordinary, it just helped us see what this familiar verse “Rejoice always” (1 Thess 5:16) really should mean in our lives. As I read, I’m often ashamed as I reflected back on how unchrist like I am, as compared to Chris Klicka, who could have complained, but never did.
2) Evangelism - Many a times, you will read of how Chris is passionately sharing the gospel with everyone he meets, he appears to be tireless in this work and often finds or creates opportunities to share the gospel with the people around him. If you would like to “see” what it’s like to be with an evangelist up front, read it. Chris never lets an opportunity to share Christ slip, and so should we.
3) Productiveness - Chris does not in any way lazes around despite his illness, you will find him doing his work as director in HSLDA until the point he is unable to continue to work. What drives him is the lordship of Christ in his life, as I reflect upon this, I recalled what John Calvin reply was when others tell him to rest more, “What! Would you have the Lord find me idle when He comes?”. I think that was how Chris felt as he lived through his remaining moments.
This is an heart wrenching book, and I mean this in a good way. As you read, you can’t help but catch his joy and excitement in life yet at the same time you can't help but reflect on your own life, “what more can you do for the Lord?”
Rating: 4.5/5
November 25, 2016
Maybe this was the right book, wrong time?
I started it a few years ago, and it just struck me as incredibly self-absorbed. I understand that chronic illness reduces your circle and forces you to depend on others, but....
Based on the incredible recommendations, including the foreward by Joni Erickson Tada, I will not discard this book, as I hope to give it another chance some day.
I started it a few years ago, and it just struck me as incredibly self-absorbed. I understand that chronic illness reduces your circle and forces you to depend on others, but....
Based on the incredible recommendations, including the foreward by Joni Erickson Tada, I will not discard this book, as I hope to give it another chance some day.
July 5, 2016
I became acquainted with Chris Klicka, an attorney who served as Senior Counsel and Director of State and International Relations for the Home School Legal Defense Association, in 1997 when he spoke at the very first homeschool conference which we ever attended, the Christian Home Educators Convention in Columbus, OH. Some three years earlier, in 1994, he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Though his condition gradually worsened, he continued to work for fifteen years, until just shortly before his death on Oct. 12, 2009,, at the age of 48 in Colorado Springs, CO, a few weeks after he became ill while attending a national homeschool leadership conference in Colorado. Power Perfected in Weakness was prepared from an unfinished manuscript submitted to Shepherd Press just before his death.
The eighteen chapters written by Klicka, the husband of Tracy and father of seven children, journal how he trusted in the Lord to help him live with the increasing debilitation of M. S. in his full and busy life. I do not wish to sound too negative because there is much that is beneficial in this book, so I will try to express myself very carefully. It is not my intent to deny the experiences that Klicka chronicles in his account, though I might question some of his explanations. All believers recognize that every good gift comes from God and that He moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. However, without taking anything away from God’s providence, all believers do not necessarily accept the ideas of seeing angels, hearing God speak directly, receiving miracles, being guided immediately by the Holy Spirit, and other such supernatural interventions, but may have a different understanding of such phenomena.
That said, it is still a source of great encouragement to read about and from an individual who underwent severe trials but trusted in God to guide him through his sufferings and even to use those sufferings to accomplish good. Klicka had planned to complete the book with a nineteenth chapter but was unable to finish it, so the family decided to leave it as it was with the chapter title and heading. Several close friends, along with Klicka’s two oldest daughters and his wife, then complete the story. There are lessons to be learned about being thankful for what we have, rejoicing in tribulations, trying to be a good example in suffering, and remaining as productive as possible. If you were diagnosed with M. S., what would you do? How would you spend your remaining time? I can honestly say that as one who myself has developed a progressive, degenerate neurological condition, I found Klicka’s journal very meaningful.
The eighteen chapters written by Klicka, the husband of Tracy and father of seven children, journal how he trusted in the Lord to help him live with the increasing debilitation of M. S. in his full and busy life. I do not wish to sound too negative because there is much that is beneficial in this book, so I will try to express myself very carefully. It is not my intent to deny the experiences that Klicka chronicles in his account, though I might question some of his explanations. All believers recognize that every good gift comes from God and that He moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. However, without taking anything away from God’s providence, all believers do not necessarily accept the ideas of seeing angels, hearing God speak directly, receiving miracles, being guided immediately by the Holy Spirit, and other such supernatural interventions, but may have a different understanding of such phenomena.
That said, it is still a source of great encouragement to read about and from an individual who underwent severe trials but trusted in God to guide him through his sufferings and even to use those sufferings to accomplish good. Klicka had planned to complete the book with a nineteenth chapter but was unable to finish it, so the family decided to leave it as it was with the chapter title and heading. Several close friends, along with Klicka’s two oldest daughters and his wife, then complete the story. There are lessons to be learned about being thankful for what we have, rejoicing in tribulations, trying to be a good example in suffering, and remaining as productive as possible. If you were diagnosed with M. S., what would you do? How would you spend your remaining time? I can honestly say that as one who myself has developed a progressive, degenerate neurological condition, I found Klicka’s journal very meaningful.
February 28, 2012
Inspiring, because it is a true and very personal memoir. Faithfulness to Christ in very hard times is always inspiring. It is a book well worth reading for it's ability to make you examine your own life and consider your blessings.
The quality of writing is average, nothing really stand-out here. But, because of the type of book it is, it comes across as an honest telling of this man's story.
The quality of writing is average, nothing really stand-out here. But, because of the type of book it is, it comes across as an honest telling of this man's story.
June 29, 2014
I have known of Christopher Klicka for years and admired his work with HSLDA. This is a wonderful glimpse into his life as a faithful believer, devoted husband, and inspiring father. This is a reflection of his life, but foremost a testimony of The Lord at work. I am passing this on to a dear friend who is struggling with MS and I know this will touch her heart as well.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews