Etched…Upon My Heart: Review and Giveaway

As I type, my dad and mom are sitting in the surgeon’s office, 800 miles away.  Today, they get the full prognosis of Dad’s cancer and it will no doubt change our lives.  Dad said they would call when they were through.

I’m anxious to hear their voices.  And I’m not.  I want so badly for the news to be encouraging.  Yet, I fear that it will be devastating.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reading a book for a review that has brought comfort to my anxious heart.  Several nights, when I couldn’t sleep, God led me back to the words in its pages.

The book is called Etched…Upon My Heart by Jill Kelly.  In it’s pages Jill shares shares on a deeply personal level about some of the moments in her life that hurt the most.  With each tender memory she wrote about, she shared the healing and hope God brought about through His Word. 

To say that this book ministered to my heart is probably an understatement.  I honestly felt as though I gained a friend in Jill.  If I could meet her, I would thank her for reminding me where all hope comes from and how faithful God is to work all things for our good. 

As I  read the Scriptures she shared at the end of each chapter, I felt as thought God were watering my thirsty soul.  I guess He was.  :)

In the afterword, Jill says this,

“I thank Him for shattering the picture of the perfect family—because perfection is a facade apart from the Perfect One.  I thank Him for allowing me to seek after love in all the wrong places and faces—because in finding what love is not, I have found Love Himself.  I thank Him for allowing me to squander myself in trying to be who I thought I was supposed to be—because in knowing Him and all that He is, I’m free to be all that He created me to be.  I thank Him for letting me taste and see the treasures of this world—because now I know that He alone is my greatest treasure and reward.  I thank Him for allowing my one and only son, Hunter, to suffer (as painful as that was)—because through his suffering I have found the Savior, God’s One and Only Son, who’s suffering changed everything.”

Her story and words of encouragement are an inspiration!  If you would like the chance to read it (and you SHOULD!!), just leave a comment on this post and I’ll pick a winner Friday.

Thank you so much for keeping our family in your prayers! Your words of encouragement have meant so much to me!

 

Fine print:  I received a book to review free of charge.  But the words in this review, as in all reviews I post, are based on my honest opinion. I receive no benefit from the link I provided.  I just think it was a well-written book with a wonderful message.