Review: Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy book cover on blue background

I'm grateful that I was able to listen to Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop, while also following along with the ebook. It provided an enriching experience as I could read through and listen to the Psalms in a way that brought them to life even more.

Book Synopsis

Lament is how you live between the poles of a hard life and trusting God’s goodness. Lament is how we bring our sorrow to God―but it is a neglected dimension of the Christian life for many Christians today. We need to recover the practice of honest spiritual struggle that gives us permission to vocalize our pain and wrestle with our sorrow. Lament avoids trite answers and quick solutions, progressively moving us toward deeper worship and trust.

Exploring how the Bible―through the psalms of lament and the book of Lamentations―gives voice to our pain, this book invites us to grieve, struggle, and tap into the rich reservoir of grace and mercy God offers in the darkest moments of our lives.

Source: Amazon

Book Thoughts

The language of lament is one that Christians are familiar with through the Psalms and Lamentations; however, it is not often practiced on a personal or corporate level. In this book, the author paints a compelling picture of what it means to turn to God in lament while undergoing trials, hardships, and grief. I love that the focus of this book is on prayer, particularly through the analogy of using the minor key, which reflects how a third of the Psalms were written. Yet, today in our worship songs, fewer than five percent of the music being sung is lament-oriented, which does not always provide the space for reflecting on the pain and brokenness in this world.

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy offers a compassionate look at learning to, learning from, and living with lament, all in a way that honours God. The stories told are heartbreaking, yet they offer hope to those experiencing horrific circumstances. This incisive look at lament gives readers permission to feel all of the emotions God has allowed us to experience by giving them back to Him. Practically speaking, this book is a guidebook for those wanting to lament to God, but who may be uncertain as to how to give it full expression. By guiding readers away from bitterness, pride, and idolatry, Christians can come to the Man of Sorrows and trust that He is still at work.

Book Summary

Format of book: 🎧
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Recommendation: 👍

Comments

Christian Book Review Programs

Over time, I've been on the hunt for Christian book review programs that readers can join. As a result, I've been able to compile the following list which may be of interest if you are seeking review copies of Christian books. This list mostly applies to print and ebooks, although some publishers offer audiobooks as well. If further information is available for any of the publishers below (or any missing publishers), please let me know as I am happy to update this list—thank you! Please note that you can also search for these publishers on NetGalley and other review sites in case there are no review programs available or you don't qualify for one 😊 List last updated: June 4, 2026 Christian Publishers 10ofThose Availability: US, Canada, and UK residents Format: Only books published by 10ofThose qualify for review requests so as to avoid impeding with other Christian book review programs Genre: Christian non-fiction, children's books Email for availability and eligibilit...

Didactic Scenes

I love researching and recently looked into Harlequin's Love Inspired line's submission guidelines to find out if there were certain parameters in the stories they accept and publish. One of the lines that stood out to me was: "Mandatory faith element that is integral to story and shows rather than tells, avoiding didactic, preachy tone or doctrinal language." This had me thinking about one of the cinematic attributes I've heard over the years between British and American movies and television, where one tends to show the story and have people reason it out, whereas the other can get into further detail, eliminating the need to piece things out as much when watching a story. I wish I could find the source for this thought as it's shaped how I view and compare a lot of mysteries and dramas (I confess that I may be a tad too shy for British comedies)—broadly speaking, of course. As a result, I can understand how didactic language isn't always pleasant to s...

Review: Unveiling Grace

Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found Our Way Out of the Mormon Church is a book where the title pretty much says it all. Book Synopsis A gripping story of how an entire family, deeply enmeshed in Mormonism for thirty years, found their way out and found faith in Jesus Christ. For thirty years, Lynn Wilder, once a tenured faculty member at Brigham Young University, and her family lived in, loved, and promoted the Mormon Church. Then their son Micah, serving his Mormon mission in Florida, had a revelation: God knew him personally. God loved him. And the Mormon Church did not offer the true gospel. Micah's conversion to Christ put the family in a tailspin. They wondered, Have we believed the wrong thing for decades? If we leave Mormonism, what does this mean for our safety, jobs, and relationships? Is Christianity all that different from Mormonism anyway? As Lynn tells her story of abandoning the deception of Mormonism to receive God's grace, she gives a rare look into Morm...