Sacred Refuge - by Lynne Rienstra (Paperback)

About the Book

"In Sacred Refuge, Lynne Rienstra taps into the growing angst-turned-chronic-fear among women. Though fear puts women into hiding, God invites women to come out of hiding and into the unassailable shelter he has built for them in the gospel. In the pages of Sacred Refuge, readers will be challenged to consider where they've been finding shelter: in flimsy structures of their own making, or in the sacred refuge only Christ provides. Through the ten modern women and ten biblical women they'll meet in the pages of Sacred Refuge, readers will find sisters in the struggle. Whether their crises take the form of heartbreaking loss, debilitating debt, health problems, unresolved sin issues, loneliness, or fear for the future, they'll find peace in a chaotic world. Throughout history, women who sought shelter in Jesus have found solace for their souls. Readers are invited to join this historical sisterhood and discover that their crises can become portals through which they discover God's deep love and compassion for them. There they will find a haven for their hearts and answers to the questions "Is God really good?" "Does he really see or care about me? "Can he protect me, heal me, provide for me?" With biblical teaching, ten Transforming Truths, application questions, and a study guide, Sacred Refuge will encourage women not only to find refuge for themselves but also to invite others to spread light in a darkening world"--

Book Synopsis

2025 Golden Scroll "Book of the Year"

Find Your Safe Place in God

The world is broken. Wars and natural disasters upend communities, tragedies strike our marriages and families, and sickness wracks our bodies. More than ever, we feel the effects of living in a fallen world.

When crisis hits, we can feel overwhelmed, scared, and alone. Our instinct is to retreat and take cover. But where are we hiding? Often in flimsy shelters of our own making. What if you could find a place where you feel safe in your soul, where even the worst that life dishes out cannot shake your faith or steal your peace? It's a place so deeply rooted in the presence and love of God that nothing can move you.

In the pages of Sacred Refuge, you'll meet women--both biblical and present-day--who have stared in the face of challenges like homelessness, hunger, life-threatening illness, the loss of a child, debilitating sin, life-altering rejection, and untimely death, yet find Christ to be their enduring refuge. Author Lynne Rienstra invites you to join this sisterhood and learn from these women's fears, mistakes, and triumphs. To enhance your journey, she offers Transforming Truths, application questions, and a study guide.

Step our of your isolation--as these women did--and into Christ's sheltering embrace. Learn how to make it your permanent dwelling place, invite others to share this sacred refuge, and begin to change the world.

"Lynne Rienstra opens up the Scriptures and her life to offer comfort, strength, and hope to women facing life's challenges. If you long to find safety in the storm, this book is for you."
--Gwenfair Walters Adams, professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Review Quotes

Sacred Refuge speaks to the deepest longings of the human heart: to be fully known and eternally secure. This book is ideal for small group engagement, as it challenges us to run toward our Father and rest in his love in the context of community.--Karen Hodge, coordinator of women's ministry at Presbyterian Church in America (6/4/2024 12:00:00 AM)

I've been blessed to know Lynne Rienstra for more than forty years. She is, without question, the most winsome woman of God I've ever met. Her love for Jesus is contagious, and her genuine affection for people shines throughout this book. I pray many women will find rest for their souls in the pages of Sacred Refuge.--Donna Partow, author of Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be (6/4/2024 12:00:00 AM)

Lynne's thoughtful, humble, biblically centered book is a tremendous tool for women today. We all deal with brokenness, fears, pain, and insecurities in this world where false images of perfectionism fill social media. Sacred Refuge candidly points us to the only truly safe space, the overwhelming love and tender care of culture-defying Jesus. It's a journey none of us can make alone, so Lynne's focus on community, or sacred sisterhood, is particularly important.--Ellen Vaughn, New York Times best-selling author of Being Elisabeth Elliot (6/4/2024 12:00:00 AM)

Only a sister who has known deep loss can write of the profound love of her heavenly Father with equal depth. Only a writer sensitive to both spiritual style and substance can wrap fresh words around ancient biblical stories to speak incisively to women today. Only an apt student of Scripture can convey timeless truth that is biblically rooted and theologically sound. In Sacred Refuge's author Lynne Rienstra, we have all this and much more. With winsome transparency, Rienstra invites women to move out of suffering and brokenness and into a sacred sisterhood as God's beautiful, beloved daughters--Maggie Wallem Rowe, speaker and author of This Life We Share (6/4/2024 12:00:00 AM)

Reading Sacred Refuge feels like gathering around the campfire on a summer beach, listening to friends share stories of God's sheltering them in difficult times. With compassion and creativity, Lynne Rienstra opens up the Scriptures and her life to offer comfort, strength, and hope to women facing life's challenges. If you long to find safety in the storm, this book is for you.--Gwenfair Walters Adams, director of spiritual formation studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (6/4/2024 12:00:00 AM)

Trade your performing, pleasing, and proving for the sacred refuge found in God. Author Lynne Rienstra has provided a path for when crisis crashes in, fear overwhelms, and you feel alone--a path for you to secure rest in the One who pursues, protects, and promises a future.--PeggySue Wells, best-selling author of Rediscovering Your Happily Ever After (6/4/2024 12:00:00 AM)

Women need more than a safe place to shelter. They need sacred sisters to walk arm-in-arm with, through storms and sunshine. Rienstra's Sacred Refuge provides stories that resonate with us and connect us with other women at the heart level. The beauty of this book is that it's saturated with God's truth and delivered in such a way that we want to discuss what we read with others. Read this book to discover God's love at a sacred level.--Linda Goldfarb, international speaker, author, and board-certified Christian life coach (6/4/2024 12:00:00 AM)