Written by Serenity Prayer Stained Glass Framed at Amazon
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Clairmont is very personable, seemingly very open about her own struggles with agoraphobia. She seems incessantly cheery, almost to the point of being flip. In fact that became a problem for me; I could not imagine sharing such a book with a suffering friend. I almost put it down. But somewhere around the middle, in a chapter appropriately entitled “Stained Glass Prayer,” the author truly let the reading have a glimpse of her broken heart. I began to get a real sense of the caming that holds her broken heart together: ” . . . when we lose our joy, the Spirit replaces it with endurance, that indestructible internal insistence to keep on keeping on.” And so, finally, I saw how the Almighty pieced together her broken heart through prayer, reading, poetry, nature, and grace. That is what I needed to hear. Would I share this book with a broken-hearted friend? Probably not. But I would certainly share it with one whose heart is healing. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Unlike most books that can be construed as a Bible study, this book is more of a study in beauty – the kind that comes in a variety of forms. Each chapter ends with suggestions of music, art (and website links to view them) and poetry as well as Scripture. Patsy’s heartfelt observations about life and the obstacles we all face (loss, grief, pain, etc.) invite the reader into an intimate setting – much like having a long heart-to-heart with a wise older friend. I know I’m picking up stuff I can use when I start turning corners of pages for things I want to remember. One nugget I marked was, “It’s human to wonder and wrestle. Give yourself permission to pray your doubts and despair. God isn’t offended by our frailty.” Good stuff, right? “Stained Glass Hearts” is full of nuggets of wisdom, packaged with humor, grace and insight. I’ll be passing this around to all my friends…as soon as I’m done reading it a second time! I received this book for free from BookSneeze for this review as part of their blogger review program. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. This has a powerful message that gives encouragement and inspiration to everyone that needs it. Clairmont does a brilliant job of weaving the stained glass theme into each situation that she goes over in the book, and compares it to relatable stories. Even though it is a rather deep book, it is an easy read that will have you stop to think about what you’re reading. Not all books can do this, but Clairmont does a very good job with this. Although the music and other things suggested for further listening and reading I probably won’t look into further, it is there for others to read or listen to, if they choose. The overall message that I got from the book is to be more grateful in all things. This is something that most of us don’t do enough of, and it is through gratitude that we can all really live a life of joy. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and learning from it. I highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys reading religious books such as this, especially those of “Women of Faith.” * Thank you to the publisher of Stained Glass Hearts, Thomas Nelson, through the BookSneeze program, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own. |
A book for healing hearts
Making Something Beautiful from the Pieces – “Stained Glass Hearts” by Patsy Clairmont