One of the best books I have ever read is “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers. I read this during the summer of 2015, when my second husband and I were separated. I could not put it down, but when I got to the end I drug it out. Ha ha. I did not want it to end! Here is the synopsis:
“A story of love that won’t let go – no matter what!
California’s gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep. Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.
Then she meets Michael Hosea, a man who seeks his Father’s heart in everything. Michael obeys God’s call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel’s every bitter expectation, until despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw.
But with her unexpected softening comes overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband’s pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does…the One who will never let her go.
A powerful retelling of the story of Gomer and Hosea, Redeeming Love is a life-changing story of God’s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love.”
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“The 5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. I feel that this book is highly valuable for a successful relationship with a partner or spouse…..not that I am an expert on successful relationships (having been through two divorces), but still, each marriage taught me a lot and I highly recommend this book. My second husband and I knew each other’s love languages, but unfortunately neither of us did a good job of speaking each other’s language. I believe that my boyfriend and I were the most successful at speaking each other’s love language. (If you have not read my introduction to this blog, my boyfriend came into my life after my second divorce. We dated for a year and seven months then he died on March 27, 2018 due to injuries he sustained in a fire.) Synopsis:
“Simple ideas, lasting love
Falling in love is easy. Staying in love—that’s the challenge. How can you keep your relationship fresh and growing amid the demands, conflicts, and just plain boredom of everyday life?
In the #1 New York Times bestseller The 5 Love Languages, you’ll discover the secret that has transformed millions of relationships worldwide. Whether your relationship is flourishing or failing, Dr. Gary Chapman’s proven approach to showing and receiving love will help you experience deeper and richer levels of intimacy with your partner—starting today.”
In addition to the book, here is a link to the “5 Love Languages official assessment.” You will answer several questions about yourself and learn what your love languages are. 🙂
http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/
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“Becoming Myself: Embracing God’s Dream of You” by Stasi Eldridge. During my first year of teaching in Liberty Hill, my Secret Santa gave this book to me as her final gift. I told her that God must have led her to the book, because when I read the synopsis I was blown away at how much it spoke to my life at that time. Synopsis:
“To those who matter in 1950s Hollywood, Lena Scott is the hottest rising star to hit the silver screen since Marilyn Monroe. Few know her real name is Abra. Even fewer know the price she’s paid to finally feel like she’s somebody.
To Pastor Ezekiel Freeman, Abra will always be the little girl who stole his heart the night he found her, a wailing newborn abandoned under a bridge on the outskirts of Haven. Zeke and his son, Joshua―Abra’s closest friend―watch her grow into an exotic beauty. But Zeke knows the circumstances surrounding her birth have etched scars deep in her heart, scars that leave her vulnerable to a fast-talking charmer who lures her to Tinseltown. Hollywood feels like a million miles from Haven, and naive Abra quickly learns what’s expected of an ambitious girl with stars in her eyes. But fame comes at a devastating price. She has burned every bridge to get exactly what she thought she wanted. Now all she wants is a way back home.
In this riveting and highly anticipated tale of temptation, grace, and unconditional love, New York Timesbestselling author Francine Rivers delivers big-canvas storytelling at its very best.”
“One minute after you die you will either be elated or terrified. And it will be too late to reroute your travel plans.
Death comes to all, and yet death is not the end. For some, death is the beginning of unending bliss, for others, unending despair. In this latest edition of the bestselling book One Minute After You Die, Pastor Erwin W. Lutzer weighs the Bible’s words on life after death. He considers:
- Channeling, reincarnation, and near-death experiences
- What heaven and hell will be like
- The justice of eternal punishment
- Trusting in God’s providence
- Preparing for your own final moment
Though the afterlife is shrouded in mystery, the Bible does peel back the curtain. Dr. Lutzer will help you understand what is on the other side.
May the reality of eternity quicken and comfort you today.”
“Running on Empty is the first self-help book about Emotional Neglect: an invisible force from your childhood which you can’t see, but may be affecting you profoundly to this day. It is about what didn’t happen in your childhood, what wasn’t said, and what cannot be remembered.
Do you sometimes feel as if you’re just going through the motions in life? Are you good at looking and acting as if you’re fine, but secretly feel lonely and disconnected? Perhaps you have a fine life and are good at your work, but somehow it’s just not enough to make you happy.
If so, you are not alone. The world is full of people who have an innate sense that something is wrong with them. Who feel they live on the outside looking in, but have no explanation for their feeling and no way to put it into words. Who blame themselves for not being happier.
If you are one of these people, you may fear that you are not connected enough to your spouse, or that you don’t feel pleasure or love as profoundly as others do. Perhaps when you do experience strong emotions, you have difficulty understanding or tolerating them. You may drink too much, or eat too much, or risk too much, in an attempt to feel something good.
In over twenty years of practicing psychology, many people have arrived in Jonice Webb’s office, driven by the threat of divorce or the onset of depression, or by loneliness, and said, ‘Something is missing in me.’
Running on Empty will give you clear strategies for how to heal, and offers a special chapter for mental health professionals. In the world of human suffering, this book is an Emotional Smart Bomb meant to eradicate the effects of an invisible enemy.”
My Strength 