Dare to Wear Your Soul on the Outside

Author: Gloria Burgess
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Genre: Personal Growth / Spirituality
ISBN: 978-0470241837
Pages: 256
Price: $16.95

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Have you ever thought about the life you’re living, and what kind of impact you’re having on the people around you? You may know you want to leave a positive legacy, but don’t know exactly how to make the changes you need. Dare to Wear Your Soul on the Outside can offer some suggestions to guide you.

Dr. Gloria J. Burgess has determined that there are Seven Sacred Promises of legacy living. These are: gratitude, faith, love, vision, integrity, creative action, and legacy.

Through the examples of others who have followed her guidance, Burgess shows the reader how these women aligned their lives with their soul purpose. As they learned to wear their souls on the outside, they connected with their living legacy and are now contributing to the greater good in society.

Exercises are provided in this helpful book, and the reader is encouraged to keep a notebook to explore feelings and record the answers that are uncovered. Although it’s tempting to expect easy solutions, the process of creating your living legacy isn’t always a straightforward process, and it may take years. But the journey will be well worth the rewards.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow

Author: Nancy Guthrie
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Genre: Christian Living / Spiritual Life / Personal Growth
ISBN: 978-1-4143-2548-4
Pages: 192
Price: $14.99

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Being a Christian doesn’t mean life will be without its share of heartache and loss. But when the pain cuts us to the core, questions naturally arise about God’s involvement. How could He allow this to happen? Does He even care?

Jesus healed lepers, caused the blind to see, and even raised the dead. Why wouldn’t He want to help us in our time of need? But a closer look at Biblical passages reveals exactly why Jesus healed, and what He would say if we asked Him why He hasn’t stepped in to fix things for us.

Nancy Guthrie knows the depths of pain, having lost two babies to the same incurable disease. She knows what it’s like to wrestle with her spiritual beliefs, wondering if maybe she’s missing something. But she also knows God’s infinite love, and trusts in His knowing a higher purpose for her life.

Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow shares Guthrie’s insights about what Jesus would say if we turn to Him and share our pain with Him. And she reassures us that His answer will comfort us, despite our circumstances.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Nine Ways God Always Speaks

Author: Mark Herringshaw & Jennifer Schuchmann
Publisher: Tyndale House
Genre: Religion / Christian Life / Prayer
ISBN: 978-1-4143-2226-1
Pages: 352
Price: $14.99

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Has God spoken to you? Would you know it was Him, if He did? Or could it be coincidence, random encounters, or even just indigestion? Authors Mark Herringshaw and Jennifer Schuchmann believe God can and does speak to us. Nine Ways God Always Speaks shows us how He does this, and shares stories of those who have heard Him speak.

At one time God spoke through His prophets, and His people got clear directions in making decisions. If God told them to go to war against a neighboring country, they could be certain of victory. But today He guides us in more subtle ways.

We may hear from Him through our dreams, a little voice in our heads, our conscience, or a Bible verse. Chance meetings and a comment we feel is meant only for us could also be God speaking. And some of us have heard God speak through nature.

Our infinite God is capable of communicating with us in many ways, but we don’t always hear Him. In sharing other people’s experiences in hearing from God, Nine Ways God Always Speaks inspires us to be on the lookout for our own messages from God. Some of these stories may seem far-fetched to you, and you may question if He really did speak to them. But you’ll probably also find yourself wondering if maybe they could be true, and if He may even be trying to speak to you right now.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

In the Beginning: The Art of Genesis (a pop-up book)

Author: Chuck Fischer
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 978-0316118422
Pages: 12
Price: $35.00

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The Biblical book of Genesis has been the subject of great art works for many years, and is the inspiration for Chuck Fischer in creating this book. In these six pop-up scenes, he shows in majestic format: the creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Noah’s Ark, the tower of Babel, Jacob’s ladder, and Joseph in Egypt.

These stunning works also include attached booklets that tell the Biblical story that goes with the scene, as well as exploring its meaning, and sharing other great art works that have touched on these stories.

In the Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Chuck Fischer has created a masterpiece, taking the book of Genesis to a new dimension in these spectacular pop-up scenes.  This beautiful book would be perfect for anyone who enjoys great art and Biblical stories.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Dancing With Life

Author: Phillip Moffitt
Publisher: Rodale
Genre: Spirituality
ISBN: 978-1594863530
Pages: >352
Price: $24.95

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Why do you suffer? Is there a purpose to your pain?These questions come up for all of us at some time, as they did for the Buddha 2,500 years ago.In his wisdom, he developed a way through suffering, which he called the Four Noble Truths, and he left us the Twelve Insights to guide us through them.

Using examples from his own life and those of his students, and the step-by-step process of the Twelve Insights, Phillip Moffitt shows us how we can walk through our suffering to a path of joy.First we learn to embrace suffering through the First Noble Truth.In the Second Noble Truth, we learn there is a way to stop clinging.The Third Noble Truth shows us cessation of suffering is possible.And the Fourth Noble Truth offers us the Noble Eightfold Path to happiness.

Pain and suffering come to all of us, and at times can feel overwhelming. But Moffitt gives us clear and compelling reasons to believe that these Twelve Insights are the way to handle suffering and create a life filled with joy.Though at times the path won’t be easy, there is hope that we can learn to live with our pain and still enjoy our dance with life.

A profoundly spiritual book, Dancing With Life is a must-read for all those who want to find deeper meaning in life.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Gateways to the Otherworld

Author: Philip Gardiner
Publisher: New Page Books
Genre: Ancient Mysteries / New Science
ISBN: 978-1-56414-925-1
Pages: 264
Price: $17.99

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Is there life after death? And is there a way the living can cross over and reach that place? These questions prompted Philip Gardiner’s search through history for answers. What he discovered is revealed in Gateways to the Otherworld.

Ancient cultures left clues to this puzzle, and the first to cross through this gateway was most likely the shaman. Using the forces of nature, he was able to harness earth energy in ways man today has long since forgotten.

This well-written and well-documented book explains new scientific discoveries that confirm what man once knew from his own experience. Various theories about the Great Pyramid, crystals, round towers, energy grids and the serpent are presented in detail, with many references to scientific proof and ancient knowledge.

Though this may appear on first glance to be new age fluff, there is hard science behind the author’s conclusions. A quick read and a fascinating book, Gateways to the Otherworld may answer some of your own questions about life after death – or it may raise some new questions – but it will definitely make you think.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

The Giving Myths

Author: Stephen B. McSwain
Publisher: Smyth & Helwys
Genre: Christian Living / Financial Stewardship
ISBN: 978-1-57312-495-9
Pages: 248
Price: $18.00

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Stephen B. McSwain makes a bold statement – that giving will lead to the life you’ve always wanted. Although many of us have been raised with the idea that we should be generous, most of us aren’t giving nearly as much as we could. This book explores the giving myths many of us believe. Basing his opinions on years of working in church fundraising, McSwain explains why these myths persist, and why they’re false beliefs.

Quoting several passages from the Bible, he shows how churches have misinterpreted the words of Jesus and the prophets in order to coerce their congregations into giving more. When guilt tactics fail, the churches turn to encouraging members to become involved to motivate them to generosity. Other topics include the standard of tithing, and equal and fair share giving. And some folks believe they simply can’t afford to give.

But once McSwain debunks all of these myths, he reassures us that if we can look past the myths and give generously – to our church or spiritual center, and also to our favorite charities – God will grant us the life we’ve always wanted While we may not be showered with material things, we will be given all we need, plus the peace of mind in knowing that we will always be provided for. And isn’t that all we really need, anyway?

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Sacred Wisdom

Author: Helga Schroder
Publisher: Suka Press
Genre: Spiritual
ISBN: 978-0-9787593-0-8
Pages: 380
Price: $24.95

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Lou van Helden is living his life according to the American dream. He has a good-paying job, a nice home, and he’s searching for a beautiful wife to make it all complete. To his way of thinking, money can buy everything, and he wants as many of the good things as he can afford.

Then one day, while he’s out taking a jog, he comes to a mysterious house in the woods and meets the Novemvirat, a group who tell him that he’s a Knight of the First Order and he has an important mission in life. Lou is intrigued by their message, and is determined to find out what he needs to do to fulfill that mission.

His journey takes him to Brazil, where he visits with his Uncle Ray, a Catholic priest, who shares his experiences in living a simple and spiritual life. Then when Lou returns to the United States, he studies meditation with a Buddhist Lama. He also meets a wonderful woman who shares his vision of living a more spiritual life.

Lou’s journey is not unlike the one many of us take at some point in our lives. We grow tired of material things, and instinctively know there has to be something more – something that really matters. As Lou makes his discoveries about what’s important to him, he inspires us to also search for and find that for ourselves. If we look within and learn to connect with our own spirituality, we can also find a path that brings us true joy.

Reviewer: Alice Berger