forty devotionals |
Hear my prayer, O LORD;let my cry for help come to you.Do not hide your face from mewhen I am in distress.Turn your ear to me;when I call, answer me quickly.--PSALM 102:1-2
- Buy a journal; make sure to buy it because it's one you like, not just because it's on sale.
- Spend some alone time with a pen and your journal.
- Don't worry about grammar or penmanship.
- Write freely.
- Write honestly.
- Write your struggles, your fears, your woes.
- Write a psalm of lament.
- Write a psalm of praise.
- Capture quotes and Scripture that are meaningful to you.
- Know that your journal will not judge you or ridicule you.
- Write with the feeling that you will survive this.
- Write a love letter.
- Pen your memories.
- Describe your favorite place.
- Spend time reflecting on where you've been and where you're going.
- Share your journal entries with a friend or choose not to share--the decision is up to you.
- Write knowing that, through the art of writing from your loss and grief, you are writing for healing, health, and hope.
This book is for anyone struggling. It is written for those like me--a sufferer of and a wrestler with heartache. Heartache comes in the form of the loss of a loved one, a career, health or finances, hopes and dreams, loss of marriage, loss of identity, and loss of relationships. These struggles present a multitude of questions to grapple with, and in these pages we'll talk about them. We'll talk about God, especially how He sustains us so that we can carry on and even thrive.
My book is written in small reflections, offering a theme with thoughts to ponder; a Scripture verse or two (mainly from the psalms because they are such a great selection for both sorrow and praise), and a prayer. And it is my prayer that as we journey together and discover how God sustains us to continue in our relationship with Him, His mercy, love, grace, and peace will abide in our hearts.
--Alice J. Wisler, Ibid., 18
I lie down and sleep;Sustain:
I awake again, because the Lord sustains me.
--PSALM 3:5
* to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
* to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
* to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or
yielding.
* to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
* to keep up or keep going, as an action or process: to sustain a conversation.
--DICTIONARY.com
The Journey. I am so thankful for the path God has me on. I trust Him. It won't be your Journey, because each one is specific, and loved and cared for. My mother died when I was five, eight weeks to the day before my leaving babyhood birthday. My dear firstborn and only son died of a heart attack in the night two days before his birthday, two years ago. I smile and feel soft inside, when I think of him and the memories of our love for each other. How gracious the Lord is to us before we even lean and rely on Him. The first time I read Psalm 139, it answered all the questions I had about not having my mother. The Lord was with me all of the time. He will always be with me. He has seen to the end of my life on earth, and has come alongside to walk each moment with me. How I love Him and cherish Him. My Redeemer and my Lord.
Your journey will be different from mine. Your journey will be different from Alice's. Here are the sections you will travel with her in Getting Out of Bed in the Morning: Reflections of Comfort in Heartache. May you be blessed as you travel together on the path set before you. May you receive the Lord's healing in your life. He is indeed our Sustainer.
Section One: Sustained to Weep
Section Two: Sustained to Nurture
Section Three: Sustained to Encourage
Section Four: Sustained to Thrive
Section Five: Sustained to Hope
Getting Up in the Morning
motivates readers who are facing grief and loss to get out of bed and
face a life which, although diminished by unfathomable sadness, still
holds purpose and beauty.
Written in devotional format, Getting
Up in the Morning is a companion for those going through sorrow
associated with loss--whether brought to the journey through the
death of a loved one, failing health, job loss, broken relationships,
or weakened family ties. Losses are real and raw; they often make
people want to give up, quit trying. Yet, as readers discover how
their circumstances can be used to lift hands to God, and in time
reach others, they will see how God can use them to be people of
encouragement and find beauty once again in a life worth living.
These forty devotionals address the
painful hardships realistically, as well as the doubt, worry, and
fear that come with them. The pages are packed with tips on how
readers should take care of themselves and draw near to God so that
healing is possible. Each devotional includes reflection, prayer, and
suggestions for those who want to integrate walks into their daily
routine.
Getting Out of Bed in the Morning:
Reflections of Comfort in
Heartache
Alice Wisler
ISBN 9780891124191
Leafwood Publishers (January 2013)
176 pages
$13.99
About the Author
In 1997, Alice J. Wisler's
four-year-old son, Daniel, died after eight months of vigorous cancer
treatments. In his memory, Alice founded Daniel's House Publications,
a grief organization, to help other parents cope with death. Through
this organization, she created “Writing the Heartache” workshops,
geared to help others discover the benefits of writing from losses.
Alice is the author of five novels (two Christy finalists), the most recent being Still Life in Shadows. She lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband
and children. Visit her Writing the Heartache blog at writingtheheartache.blogspot.com, her Broken Psalms blog at danielshouseworkshop.blogspot.com, and her Website at alicewisler.com.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
--2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-5
Yes, this is a good place to start if someone needs guidance in how to begin writing through this painful journey! I'm taking Alice's Writing the Heartache online course right now and I also signed up for her all day workshop later this summer.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kathleen! What a wonderful review!
ReplyDelete