To Heaven and Back by Mary C. Neal, MD (ISBN 9780307731715)

Not too long ago I won a copy of To Heaven and Back by Mary C. Neal, MD, in a WaterBrook Press giveaway.  Therefore, this review is not part of my Blogging for Books agreement with the publisher.

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Whether or not you believe in near death experiences or a return to life after death, Mary C. Neal shares in a beautifully spiritual way the amazing story of drowning to dying on to eternal life, and then back again to live among her family and friends.

The author, also an orthopedic surgeon, knows the emotional nature of death in her practice.  Yet, she is still surprised by her own experience which opens a wealth of spiritual awakening to her.  Although sent back to live again, Mary, like many others, was disappointed that she couldn't stay and share in the joys of Heaven.

However, as we all know, God has a plan for us and obviously He wasn't finished with Mary Neal yet.  In her book, Neal talks about life after death and the various twists and turns it takes for her and her family.  She shares a few of her less than happy experiences but rejoices that she was able to support her family during times of extreme sadness, frustration, disappointment, all because she had experienced something that so filled her own heart with joy.

The reader is greeted in each chapter with a Scripture verse which, in my opinion, fit perfectly with the subject matter of the chapter.  Some verses I saw in a totally different light than I had before reading the chapter.  I don't believe the author intended this as a Bible study or resource book, so not many Scriptures, if any, are found throughout the book.  However, these verses used with each chapter tell me they mean something special to Mary Neal.

Many discount stories of near death and return to life from death.  This doesn't seem to dissuade Mary Neal from sharing hers.  I admire her willingness to tell what she believes to be her own truth and the impact it had on her and her family and her practice.

At the end of the book, the reader can enjoy some Q&A where the author answers a variety of questions posed by readers.

This book was a quick read for me, finished in the span of a busy weekend travelling back and forth about 5 hours each way.  I can highly recommend it to the reader who wants to know what it's like to go "To Heaven and Back."

Promises Made, Promises Relied On

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As it happens so often, I stumbled upon the verses from Isaiah found in Chapter 35, verses 1-10.

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them;
and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.

It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon;
they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense;
He will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue
of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall
waters break out, and streams in the desert.

And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land
springs of water; in the habitation of dragons, where each lay,
shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called
the Way of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it,
but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon;
it shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion
with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain
joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

(emphasis mine)

 Instantly, I was reminded of my sister-in-law who died some years ago after a struggle with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.  These verses and a song our choir sang at the time, based on these verses, gave me great comfort that upon entering Heaven she would be able to walk and talk again, her body would be restored, and she would rise up and praise our God.

Funny that I've not often thought of these words in Isaiah nor the song lyrics. . . .

UNTIL this weekend.
We were visiting my husband's brother and his wife.
Bob's brother suffers from a rare and serious form of dementia,
which has stolen the core of his being from us. 

His eyes show little light or recognition.
His tongue and lips have been quieted
except for a rare word here and there.
His body doesn't cooperate the way it has before,
and he sits or lays most of every day,
unable to move under his own strength.

The words from Isaiah and from this song have once again spoken to me.  I am reminded that one day my husband's brother will be able to sing, speak, see with recognition, and walk as He becomes one with our God in Heaven.  It is hard not to be sad as we watch him slip away so quickly from us.   

BUT God's promises are true and on them I rely.  I pray the same trust and reliance on Him for you.

Seeking God

Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.
~~ 1 Chronicles 16:11 (KJV)
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Seeking, searching, looking for, attempting to find.

Where shall I seek?

All around, in front of me, along my path

leading me wherever I go.

Among friends and family, those whom I love.

In a community of fellow believers.

The Lord, his strength, his face, all of Him.

What shall I seek?

The Lord, the Good Shepherd, the King of Kings.

His strength, might and power.

His glorious face, shining His Light to the world.

Continually, always, never ending.

How shall I seek?

Forever and ever, always, unending seeking.

Every day, every hour.

Without fail, never stopping.

I know if I take my eyes from His face, ignore His strength

and might, and if I'm not constantly seeking Him . . .

I know that my life will falter . . . I will begin to lose that

ability to trust Him wholly and completely.

I don't want that to happen . . . so, I'm committing myself

to living by abiding in this verse from I Chronicles . . . so,

that I might be more certain of eyes trained on Him daily. 

Q4U:  Are you committed to daily seeking the Lord in everything you do, in your role as parent, spouse, child of God?  Take some time to think on these things and consider what you should be doing to keep Him in the center of your life and your world?

Linking up with Joan at The Grace Cafe:

Linking up with Stacy at Heartprint Hallelujahs:

Obedience Is Hard

Because Abraham had faith, he obeyed God
when God called him to leave his home.
He was to go to another country that
God promised to give him.
He left his home without knowing
where he was going.
~~ Hebrews 11:8 (NLV)

Maggie is an indoor kitty.  Our home is on an extremely busy street.  We are surrounded by dogs.  Not an ideal outdoor environment for Maggie.

But being the softies we are, we occasionally treat Maggie to the great outdoors on warm sunny days.  She either sits in a lap while we read, or like yesterday, she dons her harness (I hate this thing!) and with an extra long leash we give her running and playing room.

Yesterday the sun sat high in the sky, and the temperature was pushing toward 83.  I could tell Maggie's black coat was beginning to store the sun's warmth.  She was slowing down.

I casually mentioned it was probably time to head indoors.  I picked up my gardening tools and put them away.  By the time I turned around, Maggie was gone from sight.

Knowing she couldn't go far on her leash, I began to look in the woodpile, behind large planters, other places she might hide.  

Finally, I found her in this massive growth of myrtle hunkering down to be as small as Maggie could possibly be.  Her mind was swirling with, "If she can't see me, I don't have to respond to her decision to go inside!"

I coaxed and coaxed to no avail.  Finally, I had to bodily pick her up and carry her inside.  As I removed her harness, I began to think.

How often have I heard God call me?  

How often have I turned a deaf ear?  

How often have I hunkered down hoping to disappear from His line of sight?   

How often have I just blatantly said, "No"?

Too many times.  

Maggie's demeanor reminded me of myself -- 

attempting to hide from God's calling
 
with an unwillingness 

to go to a strange place,
 

 to step outside the box,
 

to take a risk,

to say yes instead of no.

I want to be more like Abraham --

stepping out in faith,

obeying God's calling,

trusting God's promises,

even though I don't know what lies ahead.

What about you?  

How do you respond to God's call for your life?  

Walk by faith, not by sight. ~~2 Corinthians 5:7
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Time for Resting or Reaping?

Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 

Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

Ever sit down at the computer and think to yourself,

"Why am I writing this post?  Who's going to read it?  And if they do, how will I know its impact?"

I know I do.  Usually I write a post for Sunday on Saturday.  Didn't happen yesterday, so I'm up readying for worship and trying to do this too.

Will my words be so rushed they won't make a difference?

Galatians 6:9 tells us not to "become weary in doing good."  Our sharing of our faith journeys and His Word, in my opinion, equate to "doing good."  But it's so easy to become weary of it, especially if we so no results.

But read on, for Galatians tells us more in the next few words:  "at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  

So, we must press on and never give up writing about this amazing God who gave us His Son, Jesus, on the cross, not just to save us but everyone we can reach.  Keep writing, keep believing -- and perhaps one day your harvest will come in!

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With Barbie at Freshly Brewed Sundays

and with Deidra in

Remembering Mama's Gift

Today I'm joining with other women to honor my mom through the 1000 Moms Project.  

The 1000 Moms Project is about 1000 people standing up and thanking their mom publicly (what mom doesn’t want a gift like this for Mother’s Day?)  – and the act of honoring your mothers will be matched by funding a Maternity/Child Survival Program in Haiti for a whole year.

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Now to my story and my thanks to mom.

As I've shared portions of my memoir writing with you, my focus has been on the difficulties of living with an emotionally and verbally abusive parent, my mom.  She's seen here walking in downtown Nashville carrying me in her arms.  You can see by the expression on her face that she's a determined woman (she's on the right of the photo).

Late in Mom's life, I learned a great deal about her childhood.  This wasn't learned from her but through conversations with a friend as we talked about the why of Mom's treatment of her children.  Eventually, I moved Mom to Oregon to care for her in the last 10 months of her life.

During that time, I was able to forgive her and understand why my memories from early childhood to age 57 were what they were.

But what I want to share with you today is that despite those difficulties, every day in Mom's life reflected her strong, unwavering faith in God.  Mom left each of us, my two brothers and me, with no questions in our hearts or minds about her beliefs or her faith walk.  Her Bible was always visible, her daily devotions always open to the current date, her participation in her church and volunteerism in her community always active.  

One curious thing we learned as adults was the level to which her volunteerism went.  When we were notified that Mom had been selected as one of the ten finalists for the Volunteer of the Year Award for the State of Tennessee, we were stunned!  The article and notification cited 40 plus years of volunteering.  When did she do this?  Where did she do this?  Why didn't we know?  Rooted in her faith was the essence of humility when giving back and ministering to others.  We were taught not to brag about what we did, and so she set that example.

Here's a more recent photo of Mom with my nephew, Kevin, at the awards luncheon.  Although Mom didn't win top prize, she was honored to have been included and enjoyed this particular day to the ultimate.  

Mom died October 3, 2001.  At that time, I wasn't totally aware of the impact of her gifts of goodness.  That too will be shared in my memoir but today I come here to just say, 

 Thanks, Mom, for all you shared about your faith.  I've been made stronger because of your example.

Linking up with Ann and others at A Holy Experience,

and with the Sisterhood at

 

and with

What A Gift!

For God so loved the world

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God loved the world, not just you and me, the whole world,

and He still does and always will, no matter what.

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that he gave his one and only Son,

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He gave us a gift, not just any gift --

He gave His one and only Son, Jesus, to

bleed and die on a cross.

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  that whoever believes in him

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"Whoever" is anyone -- you, me, the boy who bags your
groceries, the woman who styles your hair,
the homeless, the jobless -- who believes His promises
through faith and willingly accepts God's love.

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 shall not perish but have eternal life.

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 And through the added gift of eternal life,
salvation is ours -- His promise to us
through His Son.

John 3:16 (NIV)

Let us give thanks again and again for this extraordinary gift of sacrifice and love.