Monday, March 8, 2010

Desperate Hope


In January, I wrote about a book release party and concert I attended and had promised a review of the book once I read it. Because of other reviews I had committed to write, it was a number of weeks after the concert before I had time to read this book. Then it took me quite a while to read this book. Not because it was boring or hard to understand, but because there were so many spiritual lessons contained in the book, that I would read one paragraph several times, highlight it, underline it, put an asterisk beside it, before moving on.

Desperate Hope: When Faith in God Overcame My Despair is one of the most phenomenal books I have ever read. I’ve written book reviews before and I’ve used words like “great,” “excellent,” etc. but I’ve never used “phenomenal” until now. Desperate Hope was written by Candi Pearson-Shelton and it chronicles her family’s journey through a time of great sorrow. It sounds like this is a book about grief. It is not. Yes, the story of Candi’s precious brother, Rick, his illness and his ultimate triumphal embrace with his heavenly Father at the young age of 23, is woven throughout this book.

Included in this book are some of his journal entries. When he became too sick to write, Candi or other family members took over. There are comments in response to those journal entries from friends, relatives and people who never met Rick in person. Hundreds, thousands of people were greatly affected by his life and witness, especially through those journal entries posted on a website to have people praying for him 24/7 and to share his testimony.

Rick’s motto was “Either way, I win.” He meant, of course, that if God chose to heal him here on earth, he would joyfully remain here with his family and continue his work for God. If God chose to heal Rick by bringing him home to Him, that was definitely a win! Yes, you will need a few Kleenex. But still, it is not a book about grief. It is a book about hope.

Let me give you a couple of examples from the book, with the author’s permission:

From the chapter titled “Hope Mixed with Faith:”

“Hope alone is not big enough—not mature enough—to sustain itself for long. But hope given over to faith? Now that’s a horse of a different color! When hope joins the ranks of faith, it provides a milieu for meaning. There is a sweet satisfaction in this marriage because suddenly we are provided with something bigger, something more substantive. It doesn’t require our faulty omniscience; therefore, it doesn’t collapse when the pressure mounts. Hope, with faith in our faithful God, can support the questions we have about living with our wounds. Its strength is made powerful because of God. Hope and faith are naturally found in a life lived under the Lordship of Christ, a life of worship marked with contentment and surrender.”

Later in the same chapter:

“I believe that Jesus calls us to hope until we are one of His answered prayers. Until we cease mortal life, we are to know He is able to heal and to restore, and to pray that He will. I believe He wants us to pray for miraculous intervention. Sometimes in the sovereignty of God there is provision for miracles, for physical healing and astounding restoration. Sometimes the divine work is in the miracle of death to earth and birth to eternity. The Father and the Son smile at
either end, because they understand better than we ever will what ‘either way, I win' means."

There is no doubt in my mind that God used Candi Pearson-Shelton as His vessel to bring the message of His hope to this world. His anointing is all over this book from the moment you pick it up and begin reading until you turn the last page. It is a book that will change your life. If you are grieving the loss of a loved one, this book will give you hope. If you are depressed or ill, this book will infuse you with hope. If you have lost your hope—your faith, God will graciously restore your hope and faith through the words He wrote by Candi’s hand. And if you simply want your faith to grow more, this is the book that will cause your faith to grow.

I feel like I have not done Desperate Hope justice in this review. It is my earnest heart’s desire for you to understand that Desperate Hope is an encouraging, restorative book that offers hope to everyone. Without going into detail, I will say that God used this book to restore my hope and my faith in Him.

I am delighted to offer you the opportunity to win a copy of this book. Please leave a comment here and a name will be drawn next Monday, March 15. (The copy to be given away was not donated to me by the author or the publisher but was purchased for the purpose of giving it away in this drawing.)

If you do not win the copy, I encourage you to buy your own. Desperate Hope can be ordered online from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and ChristianBook.com.

My prayer for you as you read this book is for God to instill in you faith the size of a “mustard seed” and that your attitude will always be “I win!”
MARANATHA!!

© Edwina. E. Cowgill

13 comments:

Andrea said...

Thanks!!
Blessings, andrea

Juliann said...

I have been following your blog for some time. I enjoy your insights Please enter me in the drawing for Desperate Hope.

Jeanette said...

Edwina, I have already got my kleenex out just by reading this. With the sudden death of my brother I am still grieving. With Rick's motto being Either way I win there is no question about his salvation. Even in death he is still sowing the seeds. Sounds like a Great Book

Casey Darnell said...

Loved your write up on this! Very honest and heart felt review that has made me want to not just read the book, but to immediately think of people I know that need the message of it infused in their lives! I currently have numerous people I know on both sides of the cancer battle and families non cancer related but going through insurmountable hurt and loss... And I am hopeful for how God can and will use this in their lives for the good!

Thanks for supporting this author and her family in such a way!

Casey

justjulia said...

I have heard similar comments about the book but have not seen it. I have been reading "Streams in the Desert" AGAIN and am ministering to two people through it. This seems like it would be an excellent complement. Thanks and certainly enjoyed your post.

Val said...

I knew Rick personally as he was the worship leader at my church. He taught us so much and made us all better people! I can't wait to read Candi's book!!

Edwina said...

Thanks to all of you for your kind comments about the blog!!

Anonymous said...

Your review of this book makes me want to run out and buy it right now! I suffer from several spinal diseases (which could cause my spinal canal to narrow to the point of me becoming paralized), fibromyalgia, and several other "invisible illnesses" that make life a daily struggle. Not to mention the fact that I just turned 31 years old and have a daughter who is about to turn 4 who has no idea who her mom truly is. This all caused by an auto accident that was not any fault of my own. This has almost ended my marriage, which I am still struggling to save.
On the upside, I found Jesus Christ in the midst of my cowardly attempt to end the pain by swallowing a bunch of narcotics. God intervened in my life in a gigantic way and I am forever thankful for His impeccable timing on interrupting my life.
Most days I am able to completely rely on Christ and that's all I need to get me through, but there are also days where I am so far down in the valley that I don't think I'll ever see the sun again.

Our God is a good, just, compassionate, loving God so I know there is a purpose for all that I am going through right now. Somehow God will get the glory, and as long as I can in someway help to make His name famous, that is more than enough for me. I can suffer, endure this trial, simply because of what Jesus Christ has already suffered for me. If you focus on just one tiny piece of the puzzle, you will never see the "Big picture"...the plan God has for our lives. I have placed my life in His hands and in that I hope God gets His glory.

I'm not sure why I felt compelled to share all of this in an entry to win a book, but hopefully it will mean something to someone out there.

I can say that if I don't win a copy, I will still be going out to purchase it! I listened to a talk from Louie Giglio where he was talking about Rick Pearson and the story of his life, and how he used his life to glorify God in the midst of his biggest trial.

That inspired me. I love stories like that, it just shows us all that no matter our situation, we can make one of two choices...Glorify our Creator or wallow in depression. It is a slow process of growth, but I am inspired to keep going each time I hear a story like Rick's.

Thanks for the opportunity to share this with others who may be struggling in their faith in similar situations, and of course the opportunity to win a copy of this book!

All For His Glory,
Carrie Lautenslager

Edwina said...

Carrie,

I will be praying for you, for total and complete healing and for your marriage also.

Blessings,
Edwina

Anonymous said...

Edwina,love reading your blogs,this sounds like a great book,just think,if we all had FAITH,just the grain of a musterd seed how BLESSED we would be.Thanks for your wonderful work,we are all better people for it. IN HIS CARE,JEANINE

Andrea said...

Looks like a good book. I look fwd to reading it.
Have a blessed day.
Andrea

Carrie Lautenslager said...

Edwina,

I wanted to post a quick thank you for your prayers. I've encountered overwhelming support and encouragement in the Christian community. It's an amazing feeling to be part of something bigger, working towards a greater good in this broken world.

Thanks again for the opportunity to enter to win a copy of this book. This person it goes to will be truly blessed by it's contents I'm sure!

For His Glory,
Carrie Lautenslager

Edwina said...

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments.

Carrie, we are called to pray for one another and to share each other's burdens. I am so glad you are surrounded by a community of believers who can help you!