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Hill has constructed an intriguing collection of daily meditations based on her own thoughts, biblical quotations, and the ideas of others. The book follows a calendar format, arranged by week and beginning January 1st. At the beginning of each 7-day segment, there is a short lead-in message. Each day, there is an entry of a few sentences followed by a biblical attribution and a section called “Our Focus” illustrating how the concepts portrayed can be applied to everyday life. In January, a reference to Lamentations—“hope burns eternal”—yields the focus that “the world is on the verge of something remarkable.” In remembrance of the events of September 11, Hill opines, “The feelings may never go away.” A meditation in June concerns acquiring money, referencing the famous verse from I Timothy—“The love of money is the root of all evil”—with Hill’s suggestion that we should not make getting rich a sole priority. The book concludes with a discourse on holidays which examines their meaning and their application to our lives.
The author has stated that she seeks a cure for schizophrenia and has created this book as a first step in her self-healing. The Latin title can be translated as “faith in action.” While at times the connections that Hill constructs are not as clear as they could be, and many segments in quotation marks are not attributed, the ideas and suggestions she presents often come across as practical and well considered. In the segment on holidays, for example, Hill wisely advises that we can embrace the ambiguity of holidays like Christmas and apply our own faith-based meanings to them. It is plain that through this collection the author has made a sincere effort to understand many aspects of life and share her conclusions with her readers.