In a series of exquisite and memorable reflections on scripture, Barbara Brown Taylor considers the startling reality of what it means to be the people of God. It is a calling not to be taken lightly as it is just as likely to challenge everything we think we know about ourselves and the world, as it is to bring comfort and assurance. Mixed Blessings looks at the unexpected and surprising ways in which God's presence is experienced in the Bible - in burning bushes, thunder, angelic visitations, dreams and voices in the night, blind eyes opened and the dead raised. In these familiar yet strange stories, Barbara Brown Taylor finds the broader, open spaces of faith and reflects on what it looks like to be blessed by God. This remarkable book is a spiritual hazard warning to stop and consider what we are doing when we ask for a direct intervention of God in our lives. The transformation God brings will almost certainly shatter the small, safe worlds we build around ourselves.