Archive | October 2016

A Growing Faith by Mary Jane Gonzales

Oct24

From The Heart

growingA Growing Faith by Mary Jane Gonzales continues her journey living with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).

Now bedbound Mary Jane Gonzales is fully reliant on others and God. “If I couldn’t abide in the Lord, I would have total despair and darkness.” Her faith is stronger than ever and Mary Jane Gonzales knows “I was better off with God on this road than without Him.” Illness meant time to ponder on God. Mary Jane Gonzales has drawn closer to God. She talks about her relationship noting “God is still God and He is faithful. ”

Mary Jane Gonzales talks intimately about RSD and how it has affected her. However she is not defined by her illness. “RSD is not the sum of me, just a part of me.”

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In The Blink Of An Eye by Mary Jane Gonzales

Oct23

Inspiring

blinkIn The Blink Of An Eye by Mary Jane Gonzales is a short but inspirational book about living with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSDS). For those without the condition, the book educates. For those with the condition the book shows you are not alone.

Mary Jane Gonzales is remarkably cheerful inspite of great pain and being housebound. There is so much she cannot do but says “I’m very grateful for the things I can do.”

Like many living with disability, Mary Jane Gonzales is reliant on others. She is sustained by those who love her. “I will never forget the kindness of friends and family.”

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The Throwaway Children by Diney Costeloe

Oct23

The Ties That Bind

throwawayThe Throwaway Children by Diney Costeloe is a historical tale of love and loss, heartache and disappointment, bravery and courage. Set just after World War II and spanning nearly twenty years and two continents The Throwaway Children is a marvellous read. It made me smile, it made me cry and it made me angry.

The book is not called The Throwaway Children for nothing. It is a tale of unwanted children. Children who are thrown away because they are inconvenient. There were many orphans following the second world war and there were children who were believed to be orphans. Homes for unwanted children were set up. Some were run by people who believed they were improving the lot of the poor by removing their children but children will thrive where there is love and not if there isn’t. “She had done God’s work. Remorse and guilt never came to mind.” Do-gooders never saw the bigger picture, they were singularly focused in their aims, believing if they allied themselves with God, they were doing His work.

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Wrapped In God’s Grace by Barbara Bras

Oct23

God’s Peace, Plans And Purpose

gods-graceWrapped In God’s Grace by Barbara Bras is a nonfiction brutally honest account of some trying times in Barbara Bras’ life. It is a three in one. The first part is about her desire for a child. As Barbara Bras pours her heart out to God, the reader is reminded of Hannah praying desperately to God for a child. As Barbara Bras draws close to God so God draws close to her.

God is a God Who hears and answers prayers but not always in the way we expect. He is always faithful and we need to trust Him.

The second account concerns Barbara Bras’ grandparents who survived the Armenian Massacre in the first part of the twentieth century. There are some harrowing accounts of what her grandmother Gulle experienced. She survived but had survivors guilt, wondering if she was too bad for heaven. However that was not the case and God had a plan for her life.

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