Friday, April 29, 2016

Faithful Friday

The Longing in Me:
How Everything You Crave 
Leads to the Heart of God

 



The Longing in Me: How Everything You Crave Leads to the Heart of God 
 
Published April 5th 2016 
 by Thomas Nelson  

Do your desires have you going around in circles? You may be looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places.

You vowed you d never repeat the same mistakes yet you find yourself right where you started. What is it that keeps drawing you back into the same old traps? The fact is, your longings are built from the blueprint of your needs: for protection, for love, for God. And those needs aren't going anywhere.

Sheila speaks candidly about the trials in her life, including the heartache of her first marriage, and intertwines her story with the biblical saga of King David. As both Sheila s and David s stories make clear, some cravings are misguided, but they all stem from the same hunger and they will haunt you until that hunger gets satisfied properly.

If you keep reaching out to the wrong people at the wrong times in your own life, The Longing in Me will help you understand that your cravings are not the problem. It s where they lead you that makes all the difference."

 Available for Purchase:


Meet the Author:

 
Sheila Walsh is a powerful Bible teacher and bestselling author from Scotland with nearly 5 million books sold, including the popular Gigi: God’s Little Princess children’s line as well as trade books such as The Longing in Me, The Storm Inside, and Loved Back to Life. She was a keynote speaker with Women of Faith for twenty years, focused on transforming women’s lives through the power of God’s Word. Sheila describes her recent book, 5 Minutes with Jesus: Making Today Matter, as being a passion of hers for the rest of her life—till the Lord takes her home or He returns. 
 
 Connect Online:
  


My Thoughts:

I was privileged to not only receive an ARC of this book, but to also be a part of Sheila's influencer team for the book.  When I received this book from Sheila I was so excited and dove right in reading, but something happened in the first chapter I suddenly felt like Sheila was having coffee with me while I was reading the book and we were just having a conversation.  This book touched me heart and soul.  
So I started the book from the beginning again, but this time I started a journal also.  The pages were suddenly filling up.  I could not contain my thoughts or feelings. 
The first thing she explained is that longings are a part of life, not inherently good or evil.  We are born with primal longings such as to to be held, to sleep, to be fed and to be be clean and dry. (Anyone who has been around a baby knows these are true.) As adults we have longings to be seen, to be chosen, to be loved and to know that we matter. (Again, as adults if we admit it to ourselves these are true.)


 
This book is divided into 10 chapters:

-The Longing to be Chosen
The God of the universe has already chosen you and says to you, "You are mine!".
-The Longing to be Protected
As daughters of the King, our allegiance is to him and to rest in the protective shadows of his wings.
-The Longing For What Used To Be
You are not defined by the past you are qualified by the great I Am.
-The Longing For Control 
We long for peace but we often grab control because it makes us feel that we are doing something.
-The Longing For Your Rights
No matter how big the giant you face right now, God is bigger.
-The Longing For That One Thing You Think You Need To Be Happy
Christ meets us in our sin but he never leaves us there.
-The Longing to Make Everything Right
Isn't it interesting how much easier it is to see sin in someone else's life than our own?
-The Longing For What Would Glorify God
 The bottom line is, no matter how many bad choices or mistakes we make or others have made, God continues to be faithful.
-The Longing to Share The Grace and Mercy We've Received From God
God doesn't hold on to how we failed a year ago or even last night. When we've confessed our sin, it's gone, and we get to begin again.
-The Longing For God Alone 
Unless we have been radicalized by the cross, we will inevitably be radicalized by something else.

This is a wonderful study and personal growth book. The author opens up and shares a very personal time in her life and the lessons she has learned from Christ.  She shares the story of King David, the one God chose to be king of Israel, and how longings have been rooted in man from the beginning of time.
As we delved into the life of David it opened my eyes to both his life and struggles. I learned things that either I had never thought of or didn't know. He suddenly was no longer a biblical reference, but a flesh and blood human just like you and me.  He was just a man who made some bad choices and the cost was high, but he turned from his sins and continued seeking the heart of God.  
  Peace is the one thing we all seek, but how do we find it? Shelia Walsh takes the reader through a journey of enlightenment of how to not only identify our longings, but how to put them on the right path that will draw us closer to God. The book is a little over 200 pages in length and in easy to read language. I could have sat down and finished it in one day, but instead tried to read a chapter a day to give myself time to not only reflect, but also to journal about my thoughts. 

I am a sinner saved by grace, called to live a surrendered life. 
  
This is a book that I not only recommend everyone to buy, but I urge you to read and study it.  This is a book that arms you with tools needed when times not only get hard, but also as you are trying to come to terms with a past mistake or wrong decision.   This would make a wonderful group study.
**I received this book from the author for a honest review without bias or outside influence.  I was not required to write a positive review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.  

Also Available:

There is a 144 page study guide and a 6-session DVD available.  They can be purchased either separate or as a combination.  

 
The Longing in Me Study Guide with DVD  -     By: Sheila Walsh
In The Longing in Me, Sheila Walsh draws on the story of King David to show how the longings we all share can bring us closer to God and help us understand his incredible love for us. Some of our cravings are misguided, but they all stem from our hunger for God's love and protection. Learn how to get that longing satisfied - the right way. The 6-session DVD and Study Guide are designed to be used in conjunction with one another.





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