Sunday, September 2, 2012

Miracles


You Were Born For This

7 Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles

By Bruce Wilkinson

 

From the author of The Prayer of Jabez comes a new book about how to bring miracles to life for the people you encounter in your life.

 

Bruce Wilkinson has written a book that he believes will help us all live a life of miracles.  He believes that by following a few simple principles you too will be able to be a miracle to someone else.  He uses this book to explain how he believes this can be achieved.  In fact this book is written as a step by step plan to implement this blessing into your life.

 

This brings up the immediate question; is it achievable?  I do believe in leading a miracle enhanced life and I think that Bruce has a valid plan to achieve this life.  I do have a few personal problems with how he sees things occurring in the realm of heaven but aside from my own personal interpretations of the Bible, I believe that Bruce has made this process as simple as possible.

 

This does not mean that the performance of the process is simple or easy, but it does mean that Bruce has the ability to make the complex, simple.  He has seven key steps to putting yourself in the path of Jesus and allowing Him to use you to bring hope to someone else.

 

Even though the steps are written out: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7; it is still not as simple as that.  It requires both commitment and faith on your part.  You are the one who will need to take those steps out in faith to put yourself in the path of the needy. You are the one who will need to be available when Jesus needs you not when you need to feel like it.  You are the one who will have to believe that Jesus will be there to give you the tools necessary to provide what someone else needs.

 

I read this book and enjoyed it because not only does Bruce give us a step by step plan; he also gives us examples of how it has occurred in both his life as well as the lives of others whom he has drawn stories from.

 

It is these stories which encouraged me the most.  I am slightly intimidated by the process, yet these stories help me to believe that it is possible but also that it is worthwhile.  It is encouraging and hopeful.  It is something we all need to have more of in our own lives.  It is interesting that the book in and of itself is a miracle.  I am sure someone will read this and will find the book to be the miracle they themselves are looking for.

 

My advice to anyone who reads this book is to do the work necessary on your own side to make it what you need it to be.  If that is to read more of the Bible to discern what is true; read the Bible.  If it is to pray for the opportunities to start slow and grow with this process; then pray.  As with anything worth having in this life, it is all about what you are willing to put into something those values what you will get out of something.  In this case you are not going to be the only one who receives value; it may be someone who really needs the miracle you and Jesus are going to provide for them.

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

A Memoir of Hope


Cruel Harvest

By Fran Elizabeth Grubb

 
Cruel Harvest is a memoir about Fran Grubb’s extremely difficult childhood. 

This is a story not only about physical, emotional and verbal abuse, but also the redeeming power of Jesus.  The details of Fran’s life are horrific and cannot be adequately described in a short review. 

I did like this book yet found it difficult to read at times.  It was like a rollercoaster ride through hell.  Just when you thought that things might work out for the children, her father would return to extract more vengeance.  It was so hard to feel hope just reading this story so I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to actually find hope during such a volatile existence.

Fran’s response to all of her abuse is not to react with violence towards others, instead she has such a good heart all she wants is to protect others from her father’s wrath or to recover the good parts of her relationships with her siblings.  It was very sweet to see the focus of the book be the reconciliation of her relationships with the people who experienced this horror with her rather than focus on the evil her father pushed onto all of them.

Fran and her siblings did not grow up without their own demons of alcohol and self-abuse but I found it simply amazing and wonderful that they were able to stop the cycle with their own childhood.  They would grow-up to become wonderful parents and grandparents.  How this was achieved is nothing short of God’s ability to bring peace into any situation provided you allow Him into your life.

I would recommend this book to someone who is looking for confirmation of God’s presence in the midst of horrible situations.  It is a great example of how to survive the worst of abuses and not become bitter and horrific yourself.  Instead, this book shows a pathway to forgiveness, something that would be extremely difficult considering the violence the entire family was exposed to.  It is uplifting in the fact that not only is God there daily to comfort you when you are in pain, but it also reinforces the knowledge that He also sends His angels to assist you along your path.

This book is well written and is a very fast read.  I started it on Friday and finished it on Saturday.  Even though at times it was difficult to be shown that such horrors exist in this world, it is an eye-opening story.  I was so blessed to be raised by loving parents and could never imagine being treated this way, but I appreciate that Fran was able to share this experience with me and to allow me to see that God is present not only when things are going well, but more importantly when things are at their most dire.

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com [...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255