50 Days of Hope: Daily Inspiration for Your Journey Through Cancer
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Encouraging little book
50 Days of Hope by Lynn Eib; 237 pages
A small, soft-covered green diary-like volume, this book offers daily words of hope for wisdom and strength a full 50 days!
Although the words contained would brighten any reader's life, it is specifically designed to meet the needs of cancer ''victims''.
I must admit, by God's grace, I have not had the shadow of cancer over myself or my immediate family but, as I'm sure is the case with most people, I know several dear friends who have had cancer. I found it difficult reading this book, since I'd rather ignore the world of cancer altogether. But in conclusion, I'm glad I did read it....it helps me better understand the struggle going on mentally with cancer patients.
Good quotes from the book:
''....The eagle doesn't escape the storm but uses it to lift himself higher. He rises on the winds that bring the storm. God has allowed a storm of cancer in your life, and He will give you His strength to rise above it until He ultimately calms it.'' (pg. 55)
''Waiting goes against our very nature but draws us closer to the Lord better than just about anything else.'' (pg. 61)
''Waiting reminds us we aren't God, that's an invaluable lesson...every time we get impatient, annoyed, frustrated with waiting, we demonstrate our desire to be in charge. When we wait for others, it puts us at their mercy. They are controlling our schedule, our pace of life, and our agenda. Things are out of our hands....most of us don't want to be at the mercy of someone or something else. But the Bible says we are at God's mercy for every breath we take.
''In Him we live and move and exist'' (Acts 17:28)'' (pg. 61)
In pages 45-46 I don't quite agree with the statements that ''life is not fair, but God is''....
I explain: It's very simple: as sinners, we deserve all the pain of this world, even as Christians, because we live in a sin-cursed world! And suffering in this world should only make us long for the perfection of heaven! As for fairness...''what's not fair'' is that we all don't have cancer!
It's not fair that God should give you the grace to live in His beautiful world....and to Christians: it is not fair that He should grant you the gift of salvation!
I hope you understand me....we are such sinful creatures. All we deserve is hell. But showed AMAZING grace by saving many, and giving them the promise of a glorious eternity with Him! As for the others, God really does show a lot of common grace towards them by allowing them to live here for a season, enjoying the blessings around.
July 23, 2012
Hope and Inspiration
A little too late.
ThatâÂÂs how I felt when I started reading, 50 Day of Hope, by Lynn Eib, for review.
My mother had already died of recurring breast cancer when I started reviewing this book. I had hoped it would give me some kind of comfort, but instead, all it did was make me wish I had the book years earlier to give her some kind of reassurance and hope during her struggle.
This beautiful pocket size, leather-like soft cover book by Lynn Eib, shares amazing stories of struggles, sorrows, inspiration and hopeful stories of cancer patients and survivors, including Eib, who survived colon cancer. These stories also include scriptures, prayers and profound insight into GodâÂÂs character during extreme difficult times such as cancer.
IâÂÂm finding that more and more people are having to face the brutal reality of cancer in their lives, either their own, or a loved one. As a matter of fact, two days before my mother died, one of my friends mother passed away from brain cancer. ItâÂÂs becoming all too common these days. Who can we turn to in situations like this? Who can we trust? One of my favorite quotes from Eib is simply put:
âÂÂDonâÂÂt confuse life with God.â (pg. 45)
Eib was explaining how she felt when she received the news about her own cancer, and how she just didnâÂÂt feel it was âÂÂfair.âÂÂ
âÂÂIf God really loved me so much, why did He allow an unfair thing like cancer to strike my life?âÂÂ
I know my mother felt that way, too. She felt her cancer was punishment for a whole life of wrongdoings. Eib encourages us:
âÂÂGo ahead and say it: ItâÂÂs not fair that I have cancer. ItâÂÂs not fair that my loved one has cancerâ¦Life is not fair, but God is not life.â (pg. 26, Day 11)
I remember how this struck me when I first read it (and even now rereading it again and writing it for you). IâÂÂve always reassured my readers to be real and raw with God, to never hold back in our pain and suffering and let God know how we feel. But I love this statement. God is not life. He may be our life, but He is not this life. And she ended that particular day beautifully with this prayer:
âÂÂPlease help me to accept that life has been unfair to us but still to believe that You will be faithful to us. Please help me to develop a relationship with You apart from my circumstances and to learn to trust You despite the unfairness of life.âÂÂ
This book isnâÂÂt just for cancer patients, it is also intended to help loved ones who are enduring the heartache of watching someone suffer through chemo and radiation treatments. It is uplifting, heartfelt, and inspirational. It offers honest insight into how to continue having a close relationship with God while going through something as painful as cancer.
EibâÂÂs daily doses of hope arenâÂÂt cheesy, positive-thinking, new agey, hippie chants. She also wonâÂÂt ask you not to acknowledge your pain and how you feel about being the one suffering with cancer and all it entails. She allows you to feel what you feel and lets you know itâÂÂs okay to feel that way, while providing real ways to approach God through it all.
âÂÂDonâÂÂt worry, my friend, if today your faith is not very big. Just be sure to put it all in a very big God.â (pg. 168)
I only wish I would have had an opportunity to have shared this with my mother. It wouldnâÂÂt have cured her by any means, but maybe it would have relieved some of her worries and concerns. Maybe it would have comforted her during those moments when cancer felt like it defined and owned her.
âÂÂâ¦We also beat [cancer] moment by moment as we allow God, not cancer, to control our thoughts. We beat it hour by hour as we remember that GodâÂÂs power within us is greater than the cancer. And we beat it day by day as we trust in GodâÂÂs strength and not in cancerâÂÂs weakness.â (pg. 159, Anyone Can Beat Cancer chapter)
I highly recommend sharing this book with anyone you may know who is riding the emotional roller coaster of cancer. I am not reluctant to say that it truly will offer days of hope ahead.
I received this book for free from the Tyndale House Publisher book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade CommissionâÂÂs 16 CFR, Part 255 âÂÂGuides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.âÂÂ
July 10, 2012
Such Encouragement
Cancer.
I wager this word is a familiar word to every family around the world. It hit close to this home two years ago. My precious mom went to be with Jesus after fighting lung cancer. I didn't know if I was up to reading a book on having hope in the midst of cancer, but I thought I'd try it and see.
And I am so thrilled to have read, 50 Days of Hope, by Lynn Eib. For through reading this little devotional I realized my beloved mother did win the battle of cancer. Just in a different way. Mrs. Eib helped me to see this.
Any one who has someone dealing with cancer, this is a must read. Mrs. Eib takes you through personal stories as well as specific Scriptures to help in the journey one will go through when fighting this dreaded disease. The bottom line: Each day of hope lies in faith in the Resurrected Savior. Even those days that seem unbearable. She lifts the spirit of the reader. I'm not dealing with cancer, but I can imagine what a help this book would be if I were.
God can bring victory in one's life through many means. Of course, we want our love one to be healed and stay with us a while longer, but reading this book put my focus into perspective.
As a part of the Tyndale Blogging Network, I received a free copy of this book.
June 7, 2012
Inspirational
"50 Days of Hope" by Lynn Eib is an awesome daily devotional designed for those who have discovered they have cancer (or for those who love cancer patients). What I liked about this book is that it isn't all doom and gloom - I expected the devotionals to be all about cancer and suffering, etc., but the personal stories are lighthearted and inspirational, and from a myriad of different topics. "50 Days of Hope" is a wonderful reminder to anyone struggling with a cancer diagnosis that there is hope, and I think this book would make the perfect gift to someone undergoing cancer treatments, or anyone who loves someone who is. It's so important for anyone going through this type of situation to know that there is hope, and this is the perfect devotional to do that. I highly recommend this book!
June 5, 2012
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