In Dr. Paul Brand’s book The Gift of Pain Brand says pain is the body's built-in warning system that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Time and again, he found that lack of pain was his patient’s worst enemy. I nodded, understanding and wishing I didn’t.
Read MoreA full review of Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund—Why you should read it and how it will change you. Plus, a short review of Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning.
Read MoreI have one more reason to love biographies — they help me appreciate people, even people I disagree with. When I learn how a person came to think and behave the way they do/did, it is much easier for me to understand what they said and why they said it. It’s like taking a crash course in one specific person’s life. Once I have learned to understand a person, I can learn to appreciate their impact on the world.
I’ve got a list to get you started. And if you already enjoy reading biographies, then you’ll love this list too because I’m confident you will find one or two that are new to you.
Read MoreIn The Scars That Have Shaped Me, Vaneetha Rendall Risner shares her story of life-long illness (Polio & Post-Polio Syndrome) and trials (death of a child and loss of her marriage) with simple writing and honesty.
A quick read packed with great theology. Vaneetha vulnerably reminds her reader of the unchanging character of God, even in the midst of illness and loss.
Read MoreIn Undone, Michele shares openly all the emotions and faith questions that she experienced through her cancer experience. In Relentless, Michele walks you through the next phase of her life when cancer returns, when the orphans they brought home become theirs for life, and when she grieves the loss of her Dad to his own battle with cancer. It is personal, gut-wrenching, and oh so relatable.
Read MoreHave you ever re-read a favorite story from your childhood and thought, “Woah, were these messages in there the whole time?”
Something happens when we read children’s stories. Our hearts are open to messages of love and fear, struggles and redemption in ways that we would never grasp in a Sunday sermon.
Yes, they are great for my children, but hold on, they are good for me too!
Through a story written for children, my heart received the tender care it needed from my loving Father. His message of unconditional love got in. It cemented itself in my heart forever. It is part of me now.
That’s the power of children’s stories as soul care.
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