Getting Out of Bed in the Morning: Reflections of Comfort in Heartache by Alice J. Wisler, ©2013

forty devotionals

Hear my prayer, O LORD;

let my cry for help come to you.

Do not hide your face from me

when I am in distress.

Turn your ear to me;

when I call, answer me quickly.

    --PSALM 102:1-2

Tips for Writing the Heartache

1. Buy a journal; make sure to buy it because it's one you like, not just because it's on sale.
2. Spend some alone time with a pen and your journal.
3. Don't worry about grammar or penmanship.
4. Write freely.
5. Write honestly.
6. Write your struggles, your fears, your woes.
7. Write a psalm of lament.
8. Write a psalm of praise.
9. Capture quotes and Scripture that are meaningful to you.
10. Know that your journal will not judge you or ridicule you.
11. Write with the feeling that you will survive this.
12. Write a love letter.
13. Pen your memories.
14. Describe your favorite place.
15. Spend time reflecting on where you've been and where you're going.
16. Share your journal entries with a friend or choose not to share--the decision is up to you.
17. Write knowing that, through the art of writing from your loss and grief, you are writing for healing, health, and hope.

         --Getting Out of Bed in the Morning, 173-174 [written consent of author to include]

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;
I awake again, because the Lord sustains me.
    --PSALM 3:5

Sustain:
* 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.

I thank the author for sending me a copy of her book I won on a blogspot and I am pleased to share this review with you.

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