Play With Fire: Discovering Fierce Faith, Unquenchable Passion, and a Life-Giving God by Bianca Juarez Olthoff is part-memoir, part Christian commentary. Olthoff’s passion for life is evident, and she tells her story in a good-natured, enthusiastic, and endearingly self-deprecating manner. Throughout the book, Olthoff uses her own story as a way to illustrate the love and power of Jesus Christ.

A consistent theme of the book is fire; Olthoff says that in the Bible, fire is viewed as a symbol of God and His ability to radically change our lives. Thus, “playing with fire” could mean growing in your faith by boldly relying on God. While discussing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Olthoff says that “in the fire, the very presence of God was revealed to this band of brothers”; Olthoff points out that deliverance comes in the middle of the figurative fire. “It’s in the fire that we are refined,” she says. And she’s right.

The beginning of the book is especially captivating, as Olthoff paints a picture of a warm childhood: one with loving parents who built a church and taught her to love God. Olthoff also talks about struggles she encountered as a child, namely reading comprehension and weight. The book is intended for women, although men would enjoy hearing Olthoff’s personal story and Biblical commentary as well.

You can find Play With Fire here.