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Inspirational Books for Healing and Living! – Review by Cara Potapshyn Meyers


In my quest to continue to “Revive” myself and my life, I came across two terrific books that gave me continued incentive to honor and proceed with my lifestyle goal. Here is a peek…

 

Fear, Faith and a Fistful of Chocolate:

Wit and Wisdom for Sidestepping Life’s Worries

by

Debora M. Coty

Spiritual humorist Debora M. Coty encourages women to join hands and hearts and approach the quest to conquer life’s worries with faith, a girlfriend, and a smile in Fear, Faith, and a Fistful of Chocolate. Lighthearted, yet powerful, Fear, Faith, and a Fistful of Chocolates is tailored to women worn down by everyday fears—financial, health, relationships, loss, pain, the unknown, the what-ifs—both real and imagined. In an age of uncertainty, women are actively seeking peace and hope for a better future. Coty encourages them to join hands and hearts and approach the quest to conquer life’s worries with faith, a girlfriend, and a smile.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this really pretty, yet powerful little book! But don’t judge a book by it’s cover…or maybe you should. This book, along with it’s dainty pink with white polka dot pages, and quick-to-read chapters, is filled to the brim with wisdom and real life experience to help the reader overcome the stressors of life. This book looks like you could sit down to a cup of tea with it (and I have, lol). It’s messages are way more important and fulfilling. 

To give you an idea, a few of the chapters are titled, “Do They Make Prune Smoothies?” (Uptight about Aging,) “Had Your Vitamin G Today?” (Guilt,) and “Who Wants to be a Wart, Anyway?” (Curbing Worry). The chapters essentially take you from the inside out. The author has you redirecting your thought patterns internally before she has you tackling (and I do mean tackling) the bigger issues one is likely to face. The author just does it so well. Here she has managed to package some very hard-hitting, personal information, and soften it with wit, charm, in a casual, comfortable tone, to assure you that you are not alone. She is there right along side you, as is God.

Just a side note; this book is spiritual. There is reference to God and scripture in almost every chapter. Whether you are spiritual or not really shouldn’t make a difference. This book was written to help and help it does. I was able to utilize much of the wise information in the book to assist with my desire to “revive.” I also found other information that reinforced my goals and gave me added “hope” that my efforts can and will be accomplished! By focusing on the overall message of this book, you will get your own “fistful of chocolate” and so much more!

You can find this book at spiritual book retailers and Amazon.com.

 

 

 Upside-Down Prayers for Parents 

by 

Lisa T. Bergren

For parents, it’s instinct to shield their children from harm. But what if moms and dads focused more on raising children equipped to live well for God, even in the midst of struggle? Upside-Down Prayers for Parents encourages parents pray for their children in ways they may never have prayed before:

I pray you’ll get caught doing things wrong—and

                 experience the power of confession.

I pray you’ll have to forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it —

        and find the peace that forgiveness brings.

I pray you’ll be disappointed in people—and realize

                 that we’re all redeemable.

I pray you’ll have to wait—and learn the value of

        patience.

I pray you’ll confront evil — and recognize that Good is a stronger force.

I pray you’ll one day pray over a child of your own — and know more about

          why you’re a beloved, treasured child yourself.

 

All I had to do was read the above chapter titles and I was “sold.”

Yes, this book is spiritual, for obvious reasons. It is also so beautifully written for any and every parent to read, regardless of faith. The essence of being the best person you can be and doing the “right thing” for yourself and for others resonates throughout this book. This book is a keeper.

I pray to my child each night. Now, with 31 additional prayers, I have an extra one to say to and with my child. Because he is of an age to grasp religious concepts, I now add one of the prayers from this book to our nightly routine. We discuss what the meaning of each prayer is. We sometimes go even further and discuss why it might pertain to adults as well. If there is a specific prayer that truly applies to something that happened to my son or me during the day, we will focus more on a prayer that directly relates to the incident. This way, my son, or I can look at the incident more “clearly” and see how the principles from the prayer can directly apply. 

My son will learn that prayer does not have to be route. Prayer can have special messages to glean from. It is a book to learn from, with sections at the end of each chapter for you and your child to write down answers to. The book also supplies age appropriate questions to discuss with younger children or older children. These are not questions about Scripture or the Bible. These are questions that touch the heart and need to be pondered. This book does such a lovely job at making the heart of any religion much more “real” and meaningful.

By turning prayers “upside down,” parents will not only learn to release their children to the care of God alone, but also uncover how our own desires need to be submitted to God’s will. These thirty-one-day devotionals include a short reflection (prayer), a Scripture verse, and ideas to jump-start conversations between parents, children, and teens, that will lead parents to discover a deeper trust in God, to helping them through the upside-down times of parenting with a right-side-up perspective that their children can treasure!

You can find this book at spiritual book retailers and Amazon.com.

 

This book becomes available February 19, 2013; Suggested Retail Price: $9.99

 

 

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