Saturday, February 12, 2011

"A Love Greater Than Death"

I have read books that I thought were good. Good plot, good character development, good…you get my point.


I have read books that I thought were great. A great book grabs me at the first sentence and I have a hard time putting the book down until I’m finished. I usually want more. (Stay with me – I really am going somewhere with this.)

I have read books that fall into the “never-will-forget, life-changing” category. The messages found in these books are so profound I find it challenging to adequately describe the books. One such book is A Love Greater Than Death by Dori Powledge Phillips.

I was privileged to meet Dori at the 2010 “She Speaks” Conference. She sat with a friend and me at breakfast one morning and shared her story. It was and will always be a heart-rending story that will blow you away, not only at the horrific tragedy suffered by Dori and her family, but also at the amazing grace and mercy God lavished upon Dori.

This book is not about a tragic accident. That is included, of course, but the book is a vivid account of how God walked with – and sometimes carried – Dori through the grief process. Dori shares many lessons God showed her during this time—here are just a few:

  • "So often we mask who we really are and project to others what we think they are expecting. As we walk through our daily lives, we can get so caught up in the daily stresses and cares of the day we live in that we can lose sight of what is truly important. We should make a conscious effort to focus on the positive and not  the negative aspects of our lives. Otherwise, we will speed through life having never actually lived but only existed.”
  • "If you will prepare for eternity, then you can deal with anything that comes your way in this life.”
  • "The highest place you can be in life is with God in control…When we place our lives in God’s control, he not only knows how to maintain it but also sees a much bigger picture than we do.”
  •  "Unconditional love heals the heart with tears that set you free.”
  •   “Zephaniah 3:16: ‘He will quiet you with his love. He rejoices over you with singing.’ The Lord had kept me calm with his unconditional love and when the Creator of the universe sings over you, no other voice can drown him out.”
 I could go on and on…but I don’t want to give away the entire book. All I can say is that Dori’s testimony of losing half her family and how God walked through that journey with her is an astonishing story of the healing power, the amazing grace and the unconditional love of our Abba Father.

This is a book you will want to purchase, read many times and keep in your personal library. And if you know of someone who has suffered unspeakable loss in their lives, buy them a copy too. It will open the door to healing like no other book, except the Bible, can do.

If you would like to  learn more about Dori and order her book, here is the link to her website:  http://www.doripowledge.com/ 



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