Last week we did the time zone hop and ended up in New Orleans visiting our wonderful family. We had a fabulous time. And on the plane, traveling both ways, I read a beautiful book. Y’all. I am so grateful that one of the few books I have made time to read recently (cover to cover) is The Mended Heart: God’s Healing for Your Broken Places by Suzanne Eller.
This is my copy. This is what my favorite books end up looking like lots of sticky notes. I mark the things that speak to me in a book and write a little something about the topic on the edge of the paper. #genius #worksforme
I think, if I were a book reviewer, I would institute a grading scale based on how stickynote-worthy the book is. Like: I give The Mended Heart book 5 Stickies (on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best).
The Mended Heart is about the powerful truth of Jesus’ mission as outlined in Luke 4:18-21: He came to set free those who are oppressed and in need of mending. It was his Mission Statement.
That means that you don’t have to fix yourself Jesus loves you right where you are. In fact, He has completed the work that needs to be done. The Mended Heart will encourage you to trust Him, to give and receive grace, and to move ahead even stronger than before ‘¦ and begin to heal, even if others don’t move with you.
Suzanne Eller, author of THE MENDED HEART: God’s Healing for Your Broken Places
What struck me about this book:
- It is Truth telling; it doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but points you to places you can search for more answers (first and foremost it points you to the Bible)
- It is practical; it uses stories of real people
- It makes you think; At the end of each chapter you’ll find:
- questions to help you apply God’s Word to your own situation (Just You and God)
- a word of encouragement that helps you piece all the important points together (Mended Heart Principles)
- a wonderful prayer
- the Mended Heart Challenge which helps you formulate an action plan to put what you’ve learned into practice
I was personally blessed by this book and I can’t recommend it highly enough to you. I learned new ways to look at my own patterns of thinking, believing, and behaving. My favorite chapter of The Mended Heart is called “As the Heart Thinks” and addresses the importance of our thought life. As I read, I saw places where I was still holding on to pain and defining myself by my own wounds rather than by His Wounds. I can’t believe it girls, but I got my husband to read that chapter too! Stunned.
Overall, this book has been an exponential blessing. And I hope it will be for you too! You can look at a sample chapter here for free. And of course you can purchase it here. But here is something really fun: the publisher, Regal, is generously allowing me to give a copy away to one of my sweet readers. My first giveaway! Yay!
You can enter by clicking the Rafflecopter link: a Rafflecopter giveaway
I’ll keep the giveaway open from now, Tuesday 5/21/14 until Tuesday, 5/27/2014 at midnight (Mountain Standard Time), to give everyone lots of time to enter! I’ll email the winner and you’ll have 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will be drawn. Please do share this on facebook and twitter and make a comment, even if you aren’t entering the giveaway. Thanks!
I really want to read this book. It sounds wonderful.
It is great – you will love it! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
John 16:33 is my life verse and has helped me in so many ways 🙂
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) – I love that one! Thank you for mentioning it – it blessed me today! 🙂
I need this book desperately.
Hilda, how may I pray for you? I would love to do that. I am praying for release from burdens, freedom, and peace for you right now. To God be the glory, Amen.
I am praying for healing from an abusive marriage this is my second marriage. The first one was abusive too 16 1/2 yrs. of emotional abuse this one is worse will be married for 2 yrs. in July of 2014. I am currently going through a divorce. I have been praying for healing emotionally and to feel whole for once in my life. I have been through abuse my whole life. I grew up in a very abusive household every kind of abuse there is. This husband is just like my father I think that is why I had so much compassion and forgiveness for the trauma and pain he caused me. I read the book “The Unburdened Heart” I loved it cried through most of it. My favorite scriptures is Jer. 29:11 , 2 Timothy 1:7, Isaiah 61:3, and Deut. 30:3. Thank you, Suzie for writing these books of about healing!
Susan, your situation sounds very painful. It is great that you are finding the resources that can point you to the Truth, like Suzie’s books. God promises that He is rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him and that if you seek Him, He will be found by you. I have to seek Him daily, and I find that He is always there. And He is like no other person we know…He is steadfast and faithful in His love for us. I pray that you will continually feel His love for you and you will know deep, deep down, that you are His Beloved, that you are a precious treasure to Him!
Consider joining me in June and July when I partner with Life Coach Carey Bailey for Summer of Joy: Abiding in the Harvest. We are building a program that will remind us all of the joy we have in Him. We will have daily challenges and inspiration – subscribe to email to get it all or just stop by and check periodically. It should be really fun and life affirming. 🙂
Thank you, Britta! It is very painful but I’ve been separated going on 8mths. I have peace of mind now and its wonderful. My heart is sad because I didn’t have peace or peace of mind in my marriage. The Holy Spirit through praying and asking God to show me if my husband was cheating revealed to me over time that he was and on 13 active dating sites. He had no accountability and refused counseling. He wanted me to go to counseling on my own and work on me. We went to one marriage counseling session together the therapist said he was a sex addict, narcassistic. Another one said he was a maniac. I came to the conclusion myself through research he is a psychopath, pathological liar, and he is abusive. I felt more alone with him than I ever did single and emotionally abandoned. I couldn’t handle the rejection, acting loving in front of others and ignoring me when we were alone. Withholding finances. He drove me to question my sanity and if I had known where a mental hospital was I would have checked myself into one thank God I didn’t know where one was. He would daily say he said things he never said my daughter witnessed it one day. That is how I knew I wasn’t crazy. He also drove me to suicide thoughts that and I was on. wellbutrin for anxiety and depression for everything I was going through. April 2013 I prayed James 4:7 over and over and cried out to God as I realized I had, had suicide thoughts. They came rushing through my head all at once. After I prayed then said Lord help me! Satan you can’t have my life, my marriage, my husband, my kids. Flee in the name of Jesus. Amen. The thoughts left never to return. I called Dr. got off medicine. I have lost 2 siblings to suicide over the years there are 2 of us left counting myself. I am determined to die of natural causes. Satan can not have my life. I am a christian I leaned on God during that hard time in my life. HE gave me strength to get through it. I am getting better with time. With prayer, reading the word, fasting sometimes, therapy I will be just fine. GOD IS GOOD!!! I wanted to share part of my testimony with you. I didn’t tell everything. For anybody who gets discouraged God will always be there. I write now don’t know where it will go but I’m praying about it. Pray for my husband daily I bought Sharon Jaynes book praying for my husband from head to toe. I love Stormie Omartian and others. I work on myself daily and focus on God and my blessings.
I lost my mother in a forced adoption when I was an hour old, and I did not meet her until I was 27. My dad did not know about me until I was 13. I did not meet him until I was 46. My parents who raised me loved me and gave me lots of material things, but I never FELT loved by them.
It was not until I felt God’s love for me that I could feel and accept that other human beings could really love me for me. The shame I felt for “not being good enough” melted away. With God I am ALWAYS enough!
Julie, your story is filled with difficulties and the LORD has redeemed it all. That’s so like Him! It is great that you have learned who you are in Him!
Thanks for this beautiful review. My heart in writing this book is that many would discover those things that they “don’t have to do” so that they might discover all that is offered to them in the healing process.
I appreciate you!
Thank you Suzie! We are all so grateful that you use your gifts to encourage others. Your book is making the Truth more readily available to people who need it!
You and your sticky notes! Sounds like a great book, thanks for the opportunity!
Yes! I forgot to say that, after reading that chapter, Scott put one sticky note of his own in the book! Ha! I didn’t see THAT coming! SOME book!
Suzi Eller’s is awesome! I read her book The Unburdened Heart and I was able to give forgiveness to others, as well as forgive myself. I am positive this book is nothing short of bible based teaching along with Suzi’s love and encouragement! 🙂
I agree! It is so important to look for ways to change our perspective. Reminds me of this favorite verse: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2, NLT).
This book did help me see things differently and read my own story with the lens of God’s Truth. So good to hear from you dearie!!
That’s awesome! I have not even heard of that book! The chapter you mentioned sounds really great. One that maybe Bobby and I need to read as well.
It is a pretty quick read if you are just reading for content. It would take a little longer to do the “thinking” parts at the end of the chapter. You guys could do it as a couples Bible study and do the questions at the end together. If you do that, let me know! Maybe we will join you!