Stepping Heavenward

"Stepping Heavenward" by Elizabeth Prentiss

I bought this for my Kindle, it is only $1. It is a book, a journal really, of a woman's journey with God. It starts when she is young all the way till she is old. It is a wonderful account of the ups and downs and it is filled with truth and honesty over her struggles and the hard things that come her way. Here are some passages that stood out to me.
-"'I do wish I could make you love to pray, my darling child,'" mother went on. "If only you knew the strength, and the light, and the joy you might have for the simple asking. God attaches no conditions to His gifts. He only says, 'Ask!'"
-"God notices the most trivial act, accepts the poorest, most threadbare little service, listens to the coldest, feeblest petition, and gathers up with parental fondness all our fragmentary desires and attempts at good works. Oh, if we could only begin to conceive how He loves us, what different creatures we should be!"
-"The truth is, the journey heavenward is all up hill. I have to force myself to keep on."
-"But He often deals far differently with His disciples. He lets them grope their way in the dark until they fully learn how blind they are, how helpless, how absolutely in need of Him."
-"And let me assure you that as you penetrate the labyrinth of life in pursuit of Christian duty, you will often be surprised and charmed by meeting your Master Himself amid its windings and turnings, and receive His soul-inspiring smile. Or, I should rather say, you will always meet Him wherever you go."
-"We only know ourselves and what we really are, when the force of circumstances bring us out." -"What I am, that I must be, except as God changes me into His own image."
-"Nothing but prayer stands between my soul and the best gifts of God."

Ella A Life Unaborted

"Ella A Life Unaborted"

I was given this book by my friend and the author is her friend. It is an unbelievable story about a little girl who's life is nothing other than a complete miracle. The authors water broke at 18 weeks and Ella was born at 29 weeks. No doctor thought she would make it but God told Jennifer, the mother, that He was with her and to have peace. This is an amazing journey of peace in a world of unknowns, where death is at her daughters door trying desperately to get in. You won't soon forget this mother and her courage or this little girl and God's hand on her life. This story renewed my faith in a God of miracles, a God who cares and hears our every prayer, a God who works all for good. "I have said ever since I was a kid that if God hasn't taken us right up to heaven after we're saved, there must be a reason that He has us on this earth; I believe it's so that we can lead others to Him. That is the one and only reason I can logically think of that God would leave us here in this harsh world and not take us up to be in His awesome presence." And this is what the author lives by, through her trials her first thought is how can I use this to show others Christ. Read this book and be encouraged.

The Dead Don't Dance

"The Dead Don't Dance" by Charles Martin

I picked this book up at the Salvation Army for a couple of bucks. The title and cover caught my eye and I can't lie, the tragedy within the pages. I just can't pass up a tragedy, I tell myself it is because I like to see how people overcome (at least I hope that is why). I also love discovering new authors and I like this one. It is a story about love and a baby about to be born when tragedy hits. It tells about how and who and why we must rise above but also how hard it is to move on. It is about treasuring all we have, every second, every breath. It's a journey of despair but of finding the light of hope. "When you boil it down, all we got left, all anybody's got, is faith...and hope...and love. And we all gonna make it. All three of us." Those are the three things all of us have, if we choose them, and all three of them are the things that are going to last, going to get us through when we think we can't. "Cause you need to hear that there are folks in this world who got lives just as bad as yours. Life ain't fair, and welcome to earth." Sometimes self pity takes over and we think we are the only ones going through this or have trouble and we are oh so very wrong. "If God is who He says He is, then He's big enough to handle my ranting and raving. And all my questions." And I think sometimes that is just what we need to do, He understands, He hears and He loves us all the same. "I had played my best, Maggie would be proud, but I felt empty, not full. I guess that's because playing your drum only has meaning when you share it with someone else." "We scar, but in the end, we heal." We don't forget what we have been through and a lot of it leaves scars but we heal, we move on with God's grace. I loved how the character in this story found hope in the most unlikely of places and I love that hope won.

Rooms

"Rooms" by James L. Rubart

This book was good but not my favorite, a little to sci-fi for me, but sci-fi with a spiritual twist. A man who appears to have it all gets a letter that makes him look at all that he has with new eyes. The letter is from a deceased great uncle he has never met. A great uncle that has built him a home in a place he loves, a place he never wants to visit again. He goes to see if the house is for real and finds the house feels like home. He is drawn to it. Many strange things happen in the house, spiritual things. "Songs from the deepest part of you: your heart. So many good things are trapped there. So much of My glory. Your good heart cries for that glory. Remember who you are." Songs can speak to the deepest part of us and here is where God resides. Sometimes music can bring us back and help us remember who we are in Christ. "A stronghold is anything that keeps us from the freedom of being in Christ Jesus." This sentence made me think about strongholds in my life, things that are keeping me bound up and not able to experience the freedom Christ gives. "To heal a wound the Lord needs to bring it to the surface." That sentence hurts because so often we just want to put a band aid on our hurts and will them away. In order to fully heal they have to be brought to the surface, talked about and dealt with so that Jesus can completely heal. This is usually not a fun process but the wholeness and growth after is worth the pain. "The King calls us to a life of risk, adventure, and a continual journey into the unknown. The Bible says the Word is a lamp unto our feet. Not a lamp unto our head or a set of running lights where we can land our aircraft. So take one step at a time. Right now you're desperately trying to figure out how your journey ends. But you must have faith enough to let it go and let Him unveil it in His timing." Oh how I always want to know the end, how all things will work out. How will this new job look in a year? Where are we supposed to live? What will my girls excel at? So many end questions, wanting the answers now. Faith is taking one step at a time, one step at a time into the unknown.

"Utterly engulfed,

And wanting more.

Buried,

Drowned,

Intoxicated,

With the vastness of Love.

Losing myself as the waves wash over me,

Through me,

Surrounding me,

Caught up in a hurricane of overwhelming peace,

I have let go,

And He has found me."

Admission

"Admission" by Travis Thrasher

This book was really good. Jake is in his last semester of college and all seems to be going his way. Then something terrible happens and his life is turned upside down. He comes back to college 11 years later to sort out the questions of the that last semester and make amends with his past, his friends and his lost love. This book was really gripping. I loved the mystery involved and the story of how lies can ruin lives. But also that truth can bring redemption and it is never to late for truth. This author is worth the read.

Flight To Heaven

"Flight To Heaven" by Capt. Dale Black

Another one of those died and gone to heaven books. Don't know if you believe it but this is the third one that I have read. It is about a nineteen year old boy who has his flying license and is in a plane with two others. The plane crashes and he is the only survivor. He has extensive injuries. He doesn't understand why he survived and survived only to suffer. God does a lot of miracles healing he broken body and through it and vowes to serve God completely. He tells about the brief time he spent in heaven after first being taken to the hospital. Most of the book is about how the crash changed the direction of his life. He went on to do amazing things for God. Truthfully I was more fascinated with what God did with his life than the heaven experience. "I wasn't going to get faith by simply praying for it. Faith would come by believing and then acting upon what God said in His Word." Sometimes I forget the acting upon part. I do the believing and not a lot happens. I need to remember I have to do something. "Growth can be a lonely place, but it is a necessary place." Growth is sometimes hard but who wants to remain stagnant? "I knew then and have always known since that although I am small, I am connected to a very big God." Yeah for a very big God, I know I need Him.

Change Your Brain Change Your Life

"Change Your Brain Change Your Life" by Daniel G. Amen, M.D.

I read this book to see if I could find some insight into my daughter who has been having some difficulties all around. This was an eye opening book for me. Dr. Amen is a psychiatrist and a neuroscientist. He does these brain scans on the flow of blood in the brain and finds out all sorts of things. I want everyone I know to get one of these scans! He states that even what is considered a "minor" head injury can damage the brain. The book has pictures of a healthy brain and then other pictures of brains such as drug abuse, ADD, Alzheimer's and such. It is unbelievable the difference. He says that many addicts after seeing the picture of their brain on drugs stop using as they can see how much is being eaten away. It is amazing what the scans reveal and then in turn the medicine and therapy that follows help people finally be able to function in the world. He helps the most extreme cases and even uses the scans for severe marital problems. The book is filled with many checklists and prescriptions. It shows how anxiety, depression, anger, obsessiveness, or impulsiveness could be related to how specific structures in your brain work. The book does have a lot of medical jargon but he tries to break it down so the every day person can understand. I found this book fascinating.