I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy Summary and Reviews

"I'm predicting Ann Voskamp's personal narrative will soon be many people's favorite book. It's like C.S. Lewis for mortals." -- Mick Silva, former editor with Focus on the Family

"This book is the most gorgeous thing I've ever read. Ever. Ann Voskamp weaves the sacred and ordinary into a tapestry of grace. And each beautiful word is a thread that binds our hearts closer to God's so He can fill our hollow places with joy. This book is the real gift--one that will stay with you and keep blessing your life long after you've read the last page." --Holley Gerth, editorial director, DaySpring

"Ann Voskamp is truly one of the most gifted writers I have ever read. If you want a book that will challenge you and mess with you in the most beautiful of ways, this is it. And you won't just read it and put it away. You will return to this treasure for years to come." ----Lysa TerKeurst, president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and bestselling author of Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl

"A book destined to become a classic; the sort of book you dog-ear and re-read for the sheer joy of cherishing the words and experiencing the depth of the heart that wrote it." ----Mary DeMuth, author of Thin Places: A Memoir

"This book is one that will change the way you see the world." ----Marybeth Whalen, author of The Mailbox and She Makes It Look Easy and director of www.shereads.org

"Where do I begin? Do I tell you that Ann Voskamp writes like a poet with the heart of a mystic? Or do I share with you how One Thousand Gifts is so profound that if we internalize this message of lifestyle gratitude and all-pervasive grace, we can know Christ like Adam knew Eve. To write of such beautiful, intimate union requires the pen of a spiritual artist. Open this book, then open your heart." ----Lisa Whelchel, actress, speaker, and author of Creative Correction and Friendship for Grown-Ups 

Customer Reviews

1. When I sat down to read this book I expected to enjoy the writing of one of my favorite Christian bloggers, what I didn't expect is what I experienced - a miracle - a renewing of faith and a fresh perspective on life. Ann Voskamp takes the reader by the hand and leads them on a journey filled with slap-your-forehead-aha moments. My eyes were opened to what I couldn't see even though it had been in front of me the whole time. I jumped from my bed this morning anxious to start the day with this new perspective. I encourage you to read this book and I pray that you experience the same miracle that I did.
2. I am only half-way through One Thousand Gifts...but already, it has made an impact on me. Ann has a beautiful way with words. God has gifted her enormously and this book will challenge, encourage and bless you immensely!
   
   I am an *underliner*. I underline in books...important, thought-provoking, and encouraging sentences. To say this book is now "marked up" would be an understatement. So much wisdom can be gleaned from these pages.
   
   If God is pulling on your heart-strings. If you are here, now, reading these words wondering if the book is worth the cost...know that it *is* (and more). Let God speak to you through Ann. Let Him fill your heart with His goodness. I promise, you'll be glad you did! :)
3. This book hardly needs yet another 5-star review to recommend, but here I go, because Ann deserves it.
   
   This is a book to be savored slowly. I'm reading it bits at a time in the Kindle version, highlighting abundantly and then letting it all sink in and permeate my thoughts during the ordinary moments of my day. There's so much depth, honesty, and poetry in these pages. If you ever wonder if there really is a God, if you ever feel frustrated at all the tempting treasures of the world you will never taste, if you ever doubt the Lord's heart toward you ... Ann has been there and the light she has received is for you. For all of us.
   
   Read it and be blessed!
4. A few years ago I came across Ann's web site. I was dumbfounded. I felt like I had this gift and I tried to share it with everybody. First of all, how the heck does this Canadian farmer's wife find the time to raise six children and homeschool them? Amazed, I studied her life. But what kept me coming back was the beauty of her words juxtaposed with stirring still-life photographs. Ann makes an ordinary life look sublime.
   
   I couldn't wait for this book to be released so I ordered three copies several months ahead of time. I was not disappointed. In order to succeed in grad school I learned the fine art of skimming, but that would be impossible to do with this book. It begs to be read aloud. I have never read another author who writes in such a way that each word has to be savored. It's sort of ironic because that is the smashing point of the book: Life is not an emergency. Slow down. Sip. Taste. Savor. Enjoy.
   
   Besides the beauty of the words, there is a life-changing message.Ann admits an early childhood tragedy caused her to feel cheated and to doubt God's goodness, but a challenge to find one thousand things to be thankful for made her a different person. As a counselor, I know that our self-talk and the lens we choose to see the world through, affects our experience. This is a book for all of us: Men, women, young, and old. Read  More...

Please click here to check One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

Yogi Cameron Alborzian : The Guru in You: A Personalized Program for Rejuvenating Your Body and Soul

The Guru in You invites you to embark on a journey to reconnect with your body and discover its natural ability to heal. As the first male supermodel, Cameron Alborzian had a life that many dream of—traveling the globe, working with the most prestigious designers in the world, partying with celebrities, and appearing in major ad campaigns and cultural landmarks like Madonna's "Express Yourself" video. But his real achievement came when he decided to leave the material world of high fashion and investigate the ancient art of Ayurvedic healing. What he learned changed his life, and, after years of study, he now works with everyone from Hollywood celebrities to executives of international corporations to bring balance, improved health, and inner peace to their busy lives. The tools he provides for his clients are now available to all with The Guru in You.

Most of us will never have a live-in guru, but Yogi Cameron provides the next best thing: an easy-to-follow program, guiding you to better health and happiness. The Guru in You lays the foundation for change, helping us identify our unhealthy patterns and set our intentions. It then provides you with a customizable plan. Whatever your body type and temperament, Yogi Cameron offers diet, supplements, breathing exercises, and yoga tailored just for you. This is not a one-size-fits all program but an invitation to develop a practice that you'll take with you for the rest of your life.

Yogi Cameron teaches us the ancient wisdom that we all have the power to heal ourselves. By developing a practice that works for your individual needs, you will forever improve how you eat, sleep, work, and exercise.

Yogi Cameron invites us to discover what he has learned firsthand: the material world will not bring sustainable happiness, but we can all find joy if we pursue a meaningful path toward balancing our body and mind. With this book, you can be guided by the guru in you.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

How many of us are sick and tired of being sick and tired? In my life I'm always trying my utmost to follow a healthy and spiritual path, though "real life" always seems to get in the way. What an inspiration The Guru in You: A Personalized Program for Rejuvenating Your Body and Soul is! Cameron Alborzian led a life that most people only dream of: traveling the world, being a supermodel, hanging out with celebrities, but he wasn't truly fulfilled. He went on a spiritual journey that led him to true peace, health and happiness, and now he's sharing his path and guidance with the world.  Read More...

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back By Todd Burpo

A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven.

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.

Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

I don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers but I think the sarcastic mockery of a few reviewers is actually out of place and uncalled-for. I may not be a believer in the traditional sense either but I've become 99% convinced of the literal truth of Colton's experience and its supernatural aspect, even if one or two minor details like the blue eyes and angel wings might maybe (but not necessarily) be the product of "false memory." There are Jews and indeed Arabs who are pale-skinned and have blue eyes, not all have brown skin and brown eyes. For example, some northern Iranians. A non-trivial minority of Middle Eastern Jews also have blue eyes (or more often, green & hazel). So Jesus could have had too. And as one reviewer pointed out, apparently there are angels with wings mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel (Old Testament). As far as I can tell from people who know their bible, there is nothing inconsistent in this story with Scripture or indeed with medical reality since near-death experiences or NDE's are well-documented and are believed by many to be real both in the religious and scientific communities. Read More...

Review of C.S. Lewis's A Grief Observed

C.S. Lewis joined the human race when his wife, Joy Gresham, died of cancer. Lewis, the Oxford don whose Christian apologetics make it seem like he's got an answer for everything, experienced crushing doubt for the first time after his wife's tragic death. A Grief Observed contains his epigrammatic reflections on that period: "Your bid--for God or no God, for a good God or the Cosmic Sadist, for eternal life or nonentity--will not be serious if nothing much is staked on it. And you will never discover how serious it was until the stakes are raised horribly high," Lewis writes. "Nothing will shake a man--or at any rate a man like me--out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover it himself." This is the book that inspired the film Shadowlands, but it is more wrenching, more revelatory, and more real than the movie. It is a beautiful and unflinchingly honest record of how even a stalwart believer can lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and how he can gradually regain his bearings.

This work chronicles Lewis' struggle to come to terms with the death of his wife. Because it comes from his private journals, it may not seem as "polished" as some of his other writings. Personally, I appreciate the way it reveals the innerworkings of a very emotional and private man.

In contrast to many works, this book doesn't try to simplify grief, justify it, or dance around the issue with pat observations or cheery reminders. Instead, it dares to question those very tactics. Lewis allows himself to feel a broad range of emotions, including doubt and great despair. I love this quality in Lewis: he is one of the few Chrisitian writers who is brutally honest about his fears and anger. His writings allow that God is big enough to handle our toughest questions.

This little book is full of images and ideas that will stay with you long after you've finished it. Lewis takes feelings that you can't quite pinpoint and eloquently puts them into words. As I read the book, I kept thinking to myself "Yes, THAT'S what I feel too!" Misery does love company, and Lewis is excellent company.

As usual, Lewis is full of astute observations and points to ponder, but don't expect a bunch of clean and pretty answers. At the end, his grief is still very much a work in progress, which is definitely how it has been in my life....a journey  Read More...