Nearing Home: Life, Faith and Finishing Well
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Having seen Billy Graham as a young man, I now find him as a very old man.  His courage is still evident, He looks at life and faith again, this time through the eyes of man who has lost his beloved wife, and who is aware of his physical decline. He gives words of comfort and inspiration through this book to others who may be feeling their age and health. I admired him for what he wrote, and took courage from it.
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A thoughtful, personal and theologically perceptive content that brings with it much encouragement to those on the faith journey
1990908
As the winter months approach, a good book, a cuppa my favorite hot beverage, and a roaring fire come to mind. My Journey Home is such a book. I so appreciated reading My Journey Home. It was just like sitting down with an old friend and recounting God's faithful ways, despite our human foibling. Yes, we all are on a journey. Will God be as faithful to you as you journey your way Home? This book took me to such an encouraging place. What a great reminder of the loving and powerful Lord we serve, and all for which we have to be thankful.
1398244
I do love this book.  I recommend it and give it as gifts.  There are a few aspects that I do not necessarily agree with, but the scriptures and prayers in it are awesome.  As are the testimonies.  One thing that I do not like is that some of its viewpoints could make a person feel like their faith was not "strong" enough.  I think it is important to remember that there are some situations that are just going to happen because that is life and it does not necessarily reflect a lack of faith.  I always explain this to the moms I give the book to.  The main thing I feel the author is trying to get across is to keep our focus on the Word of God through our pregnancies and labor.  It really does help!
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In Stepping Out/From Self Seeking to Joy Reaping, author Monica Freeman shares with us that pridefulness is so much a part of our
nature that we exist in this self-centered state virtually un-
aware.  We tend to be self centered, but God, desiring what is best for us, desires that we be Christ centered.  We find out where we are by checking out our thought processes.  What do we
think about?  Where does our guidance and strength come from?  How is our prayer life?  The answers help us to determine how we
might reorganize and reprioritize our lives so as to make Christ
our focal point.
How can we go from "dis"order to "His" order?  The answer is God's Word, and the freedom available through Jesus Christ, who
wants to help carry any burden that we might be weighed down with.  When we give our troubles over to the Lord, we can expe-
rience His peace in the midst of any of life's storms.  He has
promised that He will walk with us, even through the dark valleys.
The Fruit of God's Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kind-
ness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self Control.  These qualities can reign in our life instead of strife, dis-
cord, envy, jealousy and selfish ambition.  We can see how being
self-centered keeps us from enjoying and abiding in the wonder-
ful "fruit" that is ours when we allow God's Spirit to take over
our hearts and minds.
This is, in essence, what Stepping Out is all about - submitting
to God's plan.  It's not about us.  When we try to "rule" our
life, it is difficult if not impossible to find the peace and
contentment we are all looking for.  There is only one way to
step out of any bondage we may be enslaved in, and that is to
acknowledge with all of our heart, mind, soul and spirit that this life is all about Him.  I recommend that you read Stepping
Out and start your journey to joy and freedom today!
542637
I enjoyed the Carolyn's approach to living a Godly life and appreciated the reminder that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, which means its not only okay that I rest from a busy schedule, but its necessary. Pushing myself to my limits isn't a good use of the talents or body God has given me.

Carolyn's assessment that if her life were a book "it would look less like a well thought out story and more like a run on sentence without any room to breathe" hit particularly close to home.  I enjoyed the reminders through the book that the ability to be still is a practice worth cultivating and one we were made to master.
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The Turns in Life, by John Frye, paints a picture of a young man growing up in Southeast Arkansas in the 40s-60s where material possessions were not important to him but family, people, and relationships were. I grew up in that same area and enjoyed reliving memories of friends, events, teachers, and mentors.  It reminded me that "home" is not location and neighborhood; home is memories, friends, experiences, values instilled, lessons learned, and faith nurtured.

Throughout the book Frye shows readers that God is in control of The Turns in Life, and the author's faith in Christ comes through clearly.
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i loved this book, it combines everything.  a beautiful, close family, a mother's strong faith that upholds the whole house, even the whole village. i loved how it shows that God always has the answer to our problems, He is always capable to provide what we need, in the best way. but sometimes, not in the way we expect Him to.
the wisdom of this little book is priceless.
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This book is shared by eight godly women with each giving their perspectives on life, trials, and perseverance. Each perspective includes God's working within them that encouraged me and my unique walk. It was the trials they endured and the lessons they learned that gave me strength to persevere.

The reader will gain a greater sense of what it means to be a daughter of God and an heir. Understanding the love of God more, it gave me a desire to want to know God deeper. It is written in conversation-like style, taken from the conference last year "beautiful one".  If the reader desires to build their faith, cultivate intimacy with God, and is willing to rearrange priorities, then this book is a sure winner. It is one that can be referred to over and over.

I give it five stars for the quality of content and ability it has to ignite one's faith to a deeper level.
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BOOK REVIEW:  Where is God in Your Life?
Do you feel stuck in your quest to know God?  Have you been around a person whose pores breathe perfect and radiant peace?  Fear does not define any part of their life; they are not driven toward recognition yet they clearly and brightly reflect God so that you can't help but notice them.  You may pray, go to a church, and have a great family, but you know you don't feel satisfied on the same level as your glowing friend.  Where is God in your Life: Three Retreats in Christian Spirituality by Susan M Provost, a new book available on Amazon, offers readers a pathway to reach a new depth in their relationship with God.
Susan M. Provost, author of the popular blog site, Let Your Life Sing, earned her Master's Degree in Spiritual Formation from Regis University.  Her book explores the teachings expressed by Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich and is an examination of the six stages of a person's faith journey:  (1)recognition of God; (2)the life of discipleship; (3)the productive life; (4)the journey inward and meeting the wall; (5)the journey outward; (6)and the life of love.  Mrs. Provost, challenges that most people can achieve stages one through three within their church community, but there is little support currently available to help a person realize stages four through six.  Where is God in your Life and the workshops designed around Ms. Provost's teachings offer a platform to help people arrive at the final three profound levels when traveling the road to faith.
Mrs. Provost says, "the problem that many people face, who are looking to move forward on their spiritual journey, is where to begin."  You can begin on page one, but Mrs. Provost advises before cracking open the first pages of her book that you throw away any notion you may have about a punishing God and open your heart to discover the God of love.
The book includes three different two-day workshops for varying levels of a person's faith experience (novice to veteran).  The main topics include:  spirituality, understanding the soul, Christian spirituality, God's presence, prayer, and spirituality within the community.  Where is God in your Life can be read individually or it can be used as the foundation in a retreat setting.  The book provides seminar plans that are organized in such detail that the group leader simply needs to show up--the readings, the music, the time schedule, the ice breaker activities (including an amusing project that requires a roll of toilet paper) are prearranged to achieve an insightful, fun, and structured experience.
Mrs. Provost says that "our culture encourages the need to be constantly in motion," but she also asserts that "we cannot notice God working in our lives when we do not take the time to stop...these workshops are designed to give those searching for a relationship with God the tools to know where to begin and how to proceed on their spiritual journey..."  Mrs. Provost's mission is to give you the tools to become the radiant, stage six person described in the first paragraph.  Where is God in Your Life will help you learn how to surrender to God unafraid and with your eyes wide open.
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The authors of Faith: Applying Faith in Daily Living have plenty of insight to share about the concept of faith. The book is useful both to inform how language in the Bible relates to faith, and as a practical guide on how to apply these ideas in daily life.

One of the main points of the book is the importance of humbly bringing ones thoughts and works in alignment with Gods will (and in opposition to demonic schemes) as a prerequisite to living out a faithful life. And the book emphasizes the relational nature of faithto God, to other Christians, and to non-believers.

From there the authors explore their intriguing premise about why some prayers are answered and some arent: that we as Christians must first study the Bible and pray in order to discern what it is that we should be praying for, to have God put in our hearts what should be prayed for; failure to do so leads to unanswered prayers and shaken faith.

I found the book to be accessible to a lay person like me, not overwhelming or difficult to digest. At the same time, I could tell from the wealth of information mixed with personal anecdotes that the authors put a lot of time, research, thought, and heart into creating this. Definitely a worthwhile read.
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Falling Toward Heaven explores questions with which I have wrestled as an LDS woman, but never had the courage to voice.  Each of the characters struggles with their own set of human doubts, difficulties, and imperfections, allowing questions to be raised and discussed that would usually be dismissed or ignored in my own LDS community.  It seems that we have a tendency to expect perfection out of imperfect beings, ourselves included. But John Bennion allows the reader to delve into the very imperfections we tend to ignore, creating a space in which we can evaluate our own progression, expectations, and relationships with God and man.

Bennion allows the reader to explore the nature of God, the validity and frustrations of a perfect church full of imperfect people, and the process of repentance, through the experiences of Howard Rockwood--a recent RM who has lost his faith, but cannot live without it. While the gospel is centered on Jesus Christ and His Atonement, we often forget what this means: we are imperfect people who need help in their journey toward perfection. We are stuck in a state of constant difficulty, attempting to do good, and always failing in some degree. But the comforting message we find in Howard's journey is that this is NORMAL and expected of mortal beings. Howard moves through sin and doubt toward a more complete understanding, a stronger testimony, and a deeper faith in God. We discover that it is not necessarily where we are, but where we are headed that counts. As long as we are moving forward, getting closer to the perfection that we seek, we are doing well.

In addition to this self- journey, we see how important human relationships are, and how important it is to be constantly working at them. Howard discovers that the simple act of discussing his thoughts, feelings, and difficulties with his wife and mother allow him to "work things through". He discovers that honest communication is the most basic and one of the most important foundations for any relationship, whether it is with a friend, a spouse, or God. Problems almost surely arise when this communication is interrupted by distance, whether physical or emotional. And Howard finds this to be true again and again. It is only when he refuses to connect, shutting himself from those that he loves, that his problems become unbearable.

Falling Toward Heaven is both interesting and enlarging. It allows for a discussion of the difficulty of being imperfect in a community that often demands perfection. It is honest in its questioning and characterization. It brings up issues that are often ignored or brushed aside by many LDS members. And Howard's journey of failure, doubt, and isolation from all that he knows and understands, allows the LDS reader to experience a similar exploration of self and examination of relationships to both God and man.
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Through her journey of infertility and adoption of two, Kristin Hill Taylor readily acknowledges that waiting is hard.  But she also learned that waiting is a necessary process.  "We are sanctified and perfected in the waiting."  She shares her heart honestly about her journey of learning, trusting and resting and how God's timing is perfect.  Her family grew and so did her faith.  Wonderfully shared story of faith and hope.
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Loved this book!  Fun family, with some baggage (like every family), living life together. Walking through the day-to-day with faith and family as priorities.  Enjoyed the story and development, as truth  continued to come out.  Enjoyable read!
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Take a walk with Sarah Mae and her teaching on how to have your home in order while your soul flows free from shame and everydays chaos. With this gorgeous paper book (just look at the cover, and the interior design is beautiful too), the author teaches us to love life in our mess. She provides the Biblical view on the household keeping, giving 31 amazing chapters with tips and the challenges you would love to participate in. To have a clean house shouldnt be our dream, but the blessed possibility to have a place which each person of the family could call their home. Its possible and the steps described in the book.

Reading the book, I found how to prep myself to have a great (mind here, I didn't say the perfect) house. To learn how to live a life above mere existence. The book covers the topics, such as to define my vision, rhythm priorities, developing a workable and flexible routine, overcoming the curse, my cleaning style, making my personality work for me (especially in the messy times), tornado cleaning, slow and steady, a place to put my feet up, feeling overwhelmed,  the toy stations, kids and cleaning, when bones feeling lazy, finding joy in the self-disciplined life, grace for those days, fighting fatigue, distractions, limitations, willing hands, time, to hire or not to hire, the thing we all have in common, the high-low cycle, laundry blues, who am I trying to please, seasons in life, balancing all

You will find lots of tips, guidelines, and challenges to try. The book divided into the sections of Mary Challenge, which takes care of your soul, and Martha Challenge, which takes care of your household.

My favorite section is Making Your Personality Work for You (look up for Day 8 in the book) it describes the types of personalities and how you can be you, while taking care of the cleaning duties. If you fast as a whirlwind, then you will set a time challenge to finish your work and see if you can beat the last results. Or if you are the detail oriented, then find the way to spice up your rooms with new decor, just find another place for your decor items and change the new angle and position of your furniture. Or if your are results oriented, then try to find the fastest way to clean. Or if you need a cheerleader squad to finish with the cleaning, then get your husband or someone else to cheer you on (try recording yourself on the phone and cheer on, while you listen to it, then when you done treat yourself with something sweet without feeling guilty). Nobody said anything against the helping hands of your children. Call them in, make a noise/ turn the music on and just have some fun tossing the pillows through the room to put them away, or do the leap-frogging or something else that fancy you and your kids to have a good time while cleaning your house. Find your groove and make the cleaning move!
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4 + Stars. A simple yet wonderful outline of living the total and complete life. We all hope to celebrate A RichLife, but Don't know the drill. A great idea with something for everyone on life's journey
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I liked this book! It was a simple plan for living out this life in prayer, mass, sacraments and virtue. It a step by step growing journey we are on. Thank you Cardinal Timothy Dolan.