... by a plane crash to weave a story of love, romance and spiritual awakening
590243
Teresa Smyser writes an engaging story of a young couple stranded by a plane crash to weave a story of love, romance and spiritual awakening. Smysers story is a love triangle because it not only involves the protagonists Lacy, a devout Christian, and Alex, a religious sceptic, but also the Holy Spirit.
Its the usual story of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, and boy gets girl back with the affirmation of new life. However, the boy doesnt lose his ideal girl to another suitor but to his inability to accept Jesus as his savior.
For Smysers heroine Lacy, its an essential love triangle to sustain life. She cannot visualize a life of being unequally yoked.
Smyser provides insight to the inner turmoil of a non-believer who has felt estranged from what he perceives as the formality and stuffiness of committed Christians. Her character Alex comes to realize that the pronouns thee and thou are not required in heartfelt prayer as he draws closer to knowing a personal relationship with Jesus.
But the plot doesnt only concern the inner musing of the soul. Theres also external action. Smyser takes readers through the thrilling crash of a small private plane in the mountains near her fathers Colorado retreat and also the couples struggle to find help after the emergency landing in a thunder storm when the pilot dies of a mid-air heart attack.
Suffering from broken ribs and left alone while Alex forages for food and firewood, Lacy, armed with a 9mm blows a rattlesnake to smithereens.
She crouched down and held the pistol with a trembling hand and whimpered her thanks to the Lord. This most definitely was not what she had expected when she had flown out on Saturday night.
With danger came sustenance: The resourceful couple skewered the three remaining parts of the snake on sticks, roasted and ate it.
2408295
In a world one doesn't quite fit, it's a religious pleasure to find connections and love. This story gives us two among many finding their wings. A lovely and revealing tale.
3599850
This is a story that weaves together all human emotions with forgiveness and the hope heaven. Julianne and Kyle shared a life, a love, a soul. Simplistically written with a predictable ending but worth the read. Two hankies needed.
3338525
This well-written, descriptive book is a non-fiction love story of a place, a person, and God. Three in one! The place is the Big Island of Hawaii, where the author, Anne Celeste, learns the deep peace of living simply in rhythm with nature. The person is the man she met whom she immediately recognized as her Beloved in human form. The God experience came from the power of surrender into the very difficulty that yielded unexpected but sustained joyful radiance.

 That is the external story. The internal one chronicles tremendous personal loss and physical pain, the kind that would bring any of us to our knees. But the grace that follows develops from the resulting redemption Anne Celeste finds in her own soulful and spiritual journey. It offers a detailed roadmap for everyone seeking a higher, deeper, more consistent source of love. As she explains, it is no less than a full heart infusion of the Beloved: pure, enduring, and eternal. Though Annes journey has taken her through the path of Sufism, the depth and breadth of love she has experienced and conveys so well flows beyond any one spiritual path or religion. She is describing a path of enlightenment and how to live from that place. I actually met her on the island and can attest to the profound love she carries.

 Throughout the book, the author richly describes the island she has grown to love. The valley air is sweet and pure and filled with fragrance and the moon-shadowed trees waft the scents of night jasmine through the home she created after meeting her beloved partner. It could begin to make you a tad jealous until you read further and realize that you, too, can find your own heaven on earth in a way you might have least expected it.

 Creating Heaven On Earth is a must-read for anyone searching for more love, greater peace, and the realization that paradise within and without is a dream that is real. I highly recommend this engaging and spiritually-attuned book as one you will want to review again and again whenever youve lost your way or are just ready to further open your heart to all the love that the Universe so generously offers.
2988625
Angela Aileen Grant expertly weaves non-fiction journaling, romance, and self-help into a passionate love story penned from a wellspring of joy, sadness, love, and counseling experience.

Awakening to Love 2:7 is a fresh voice which takes us through all the stages of love and  grief with authenticity and humor.  She makes a  solid connection with anyone who has ever experienced loss.  Awakening to Love is a must read, and ideal space for readers to smile, cry, laugh, and be open to love again.

I anxiously await your next work.
680064
An engaging personal account that follows a powerful life event. The author courageously shares her journey of love and heartache and learning to love again. It sheds light on the dramas/traumas of PTSD and the need for better care for our returning veterans. It's ultimately a healing story of people affected by a desperate act for recognition who desire greater understanding of a "criminal mind." I feel uplifted by the tender expressions of love letters she included . It sheds an intimate light on a story of forgiveness within a multi-dimensional spiritual context. It's a beacon of hope.
1985522
An inspirational story of hope, courage and the ability for the human spirit to fly in the face of major life challenges.  Sharon speaks of her personal journey and vulnerability and teaches us all a lesson in love, life and our human connection to each other.
4025690
Just One Thing was a beautiful story about love, recovering from grief, and new beginnings. I was expecting a love story of another kind , but I can honestly say I was trilled to have read this book. So much wisdom and I was left with a sense of peace and dare I say, a new perspective on life.  This is a book worth readin, short and powerful with life changing insight discussed within a story. Her graceful way of telling the story is a joy to read as you get to know the characters with all their little surprises. Enjoy!
1793856
In a compelling examination of love, faith, devotion and betrayal, the novel delves into the complexities of the human psyche and heart through the story of Lisa Trubin, a single mother who falls in love with and marries a man named Mark Wally. I was inspired by how the Lisas story unfolded.

This book is haunting and heartbreaking but in the end it is an uplifting story about finding success and happiness in spite of the curveballs life throws at you.

 Through the Clouds by Erin Aslin exceeded my expectations  it gave me understanding and hope. Highly recommend this book. This is a book you will think about for a long time.
3911068
This is amazing love story and the spiritual journey hits home, I loved Makeala, Nathan and Miles.  The adventure and drama kept me on the edge of my seat and I could not put the book down, I hated to see the story end.
2915063
This was a marvelous journey through tragedy and hardships..weaving in and out of the everyday physical world into the many layers of the magical dimensions of spirit. The characters immediately captured my interest, I would anticipate my reading time, I wanted to get back to their story. A great teaching of love heals all darkness....in compelling story telling!!
3013372
A page turner, telling a love story with drama, of two people who had experienced disappointment, pain, heartache, mistakes and when after decades apart is given a second change, grab it with both hands. It inspires one to communicate love in a way that brings out the best in your partner. It vividly describes beauty in different places seen through the eyes of love. A must read, also for couples, lessons to inspire and evoke the best in all of us. Even tragedy does not end this love story
4306872
Anita Higman creates a beautiful story full of hope, healing and new beginnings.

After years of separation Lily Winters decides to visit her mother and receives the shock of a lifetime. In fact the news is so shocking it causes Lily to overcome her fear of flying and travel to far away Australia in search of answers. Upon arriving in Melbourne, Australia Lily forms a friendship that challenges her to move outside of the her comfort zone and really live life to it's fullest. Lily's journey is full of surprises-some wonderful and some not so joyful.

I really enjoyed this story and it's characters. My favorite part of the story is watching the relationship develop between Lily and her newest friend from down under. The author does a beautiful job in this tender story of love and forgiveness. Winter in Full Bloom is inspirational fiction at it's best and I would highly recommend this book.

I received a copy of this book from the Book Club Network in exchange for my honest opinion.
400232
This novel reminds me to accept and acknowledge the power of nature and the human connection to people, family and love.  I read this while on a long distance flight and I was so immersed in the story, that I didn't realize have much time had passed until we landed at my destination. It is a must read and one I will read again.
3146627
Visions of Sarah is a fascinating tale of love, betrayal, loss, and hope.  When Melissa "Mel" Hadley looses her longtime lover to cancer, she knows her own life will eventually move on.  What Mel doesn't know is how perilous the journey will be.  Along the road, she must come to terms with her loss as well as her romantic feelings toward Windy, her seemingly unavailable boss and friend.  As Mel tries to heal, she finds herself launched headlong into the dating scene, where she only faces more heartbreak.  Eventually, Mel must examine her conflicting emotions and find the real key to peace.
Zarembski is an imaginative new author with guts and instinct, qualities that give her the potential to become one of the greats in alternative romance writing.
Margaret A. Helms
Author of Fogs in August
3193219
Sam's life journey is a road of twists and turns, love and loss, poverty and wealth.

Sam grew up on the South side of Chicago, and after the loss of his parents Sam is sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle. He hears their whispers in the night and knows that they can hardly afford to raise another mouth to feed. He works part-time jobs sweeping barbershop floors and running barefoot down coal tar streets delivering flowers, trying to ease the financial burden on his Aunt and Uncle.

When a position working in the church becomes available, Sam moves into the basement, and his little cot beside the furnace becomes his sanctuary. He devours all the books scattered about the church in search of the Light to end the darkness that he feels in his soul. But instead of filling his soul with peace it just awakens more questions.

Sam's search for Truth takes him down various paths, many religions and beliefs, and he meets many people, all of whom turn out to be messengers in his life. He studies all of the religious denominations; Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, and discovers that the answers can't be found from just one religion.

Sam's poverty turns to riches when he becomes a stock broker. He is surrounded by many friends and enjoys the luxuries of all that life has to give him. He marries the love of his life, but loses her when he becomes more absorbed in his work than his home life. The shallowness of his life makes him realize that there must be more.

Sam is faced with a couple of tragedies in his life that remind him of his quest for peace in his soul. "Black Monday" wipes out Sam's savings, and the California earthquake claims his home that sat on the hillside. But his life changes direction when he takes a job as an electrical engineer and he meets Sohrab, a man who would play a very significant role in his life. Through Sohrab and his wife, Sam again meets his soul mate and after twenty years he is re-united with his true love. Sam's journey to finding Truth is a journey of life; we follow him from his childhood of poverty and loss; through his early adulthood where he questions his life purpose; through his years as a parent with a child and a loving wife, to his years as a grandparent holding his grandchild on his lap and feeling the completeness of the cycle of life.

I enjoyed this book, and especially liked the short parables that Sohrab uses to show Sam the answers that he is searching for. The best one is the story of the angel looking for fire in hell to light his pipe and can't find any. Instead he finds tormented souls who feel that they have wasted their lives and are looking back in regret. Sohrab teaches Sam that those who look for peace and happiness often go about it backwards. And though Sam had been looking for peace and happiness in his life, the more he looked the more it evaded him. In the end Sam finally experiences the oneness of mankind and the Universe and he finds peace and love in his life.

The parallelism of the author's life and this story seems obvious as he uses his own name and the names of his wife and daughter in the story, maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but in any case the story is wonderful.

The Journey to Truth is a wonderful, light-hearted book that will make you stop and examine your own journey.
3407309
An intriguing story of love and learning to love again and cope and live after disaster strikes!  All of Ganshert's stories are page turning and you don't want to miss the latest.