Tuesday, November 20, 2012

To Heaven and Back a simply amazing book

To Heaven and Back a simply amazing book
A kayak accident during a South American adventure takes one woman to heaven — where she experienced God’s peace, joy, and angels — and back to life again. 

This book is a thoughtful memoir and spiritual journey by a remarkable woman. The author's medical training and experiences served, not to distance herself from a seemingly incomprehensible God who makes people suffer, but to draw her and her family closer to God by seeing His work in their lives.

Sometimes, I think it is much harder for people with a scientific turn of mind and training in the sciences and medicine to believe in God when all education is pretty much "it all happened by chance" and is indeed structured to teach that chance is the only reason things happen. Believe me, I went to school for 9 years after high school and all of that training was science and a lot was overlapping with the science that medical doctors study, because I studied biology, biochemistry and immunology. So I resonated with this book and Dr. Neal's journey--especially when she writes that "science and spirituality were assumed to be incompatible."

Interestingly, the description of drowning (the author nearly drowned in a river in Chile) is exactly what a friend of mine described to me had happened to him as a child. The patients who describe their spiritual experiences, rather than embarrass Dr. Neal, help her to see God is present and working in all of our lives. She keeps her eyes wide open and her faith becomes stronger, not weaker, in the face of many tragedies.

If you yourself are asking "Who is God, what is He, is there a God and how do I form a relationship with God?" this book could be an inspiring starting point. It is gripping, the stories are real-life and huge. The author really delves into the meaning of her actions, her struggles with career and family, in the problem of trying to live up to the fiction "you can do it ALL (and do it well)" and where God fits into a busy professional career. If you are struggling with issues like this, especially if you are a mom who works outside the home with a career and is finding life becoming overwhelming and not fulfilling in some way, this book may resonate with you, too. Recommended.
To Heaven and Back: A Doctor's Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again: A True Story




To Heaven and Back: A Doctor's Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again: A True Story


To Heaven and Back: A Doctor's Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again: A True Story

                           

Thursday, November 1, 2012

The Amateur easy read that provides some insight on what makes this president tick

"The Amateur" is a controversial book, but this president's term of office has been surrounded with a shroud of controversy from the beginning. Liberals will disagree with much of what is written while those who dislike President Obama will devour it. Some have discredited the author and his information, but, Mr. Klein writes for liberal publications and appears to have done his research before writing this book.

This book is a quick and easy read that provides some insight on what makes this president tick. It is written in a simple manner, perhaps too simple, but this may have been done intentionally so more of the electorate will read it. It can easily be read in one day.

Having done my research on Mr. Obama for the last four years, I found only a few new surprises. After reading some of the information in this book, I have to wonder what has happened to investigative journalism that was so alive and well when Richard Nixon was in office. The mainstream media has certainly been lax in their presidential coverage which has been very selective and focuses only on the information that is flattering to this president. They should never question why their viewership has dramatically decreased.

It was interesting to see what occurs in the White House from the inside out. I found that the power that Valerie Jarrett shoulders to be quite disturbing as she was elected to no office, not even dog catcher. I have recently read that she receives security protection wherever she goes. Too bad our ambassador to Libya and the other three victims were not so well protected. Another area of interest was reading how President Obama uses people to reach his goals and then abandons them when the goals are met. The Kennedys and Oprah are two examples. Bill Clinton, be forewarned!!!

Mr. Klein stated in several places that Mr. Obama is an introvert and cherishes time to himself. I do not fault him for that, but would a true introvert have such an easy time campaigning? President Obama seems to crave the limelight and enjoys being in the spotlight every chance he can get. I would think that an introvert would be uncomfortable with crowds on a daily basis, but this president appears to have mastered the campaign process quite well.

Fascinating as this book was, I only gave it four stars because it was too short and there is so much more I want to know. For starters, I would like more information on the following (but there is so much more!):
*The Barack Obama/George Soros connection
*Why Barack and Michelle Obama surrendered their law licenses
*Mr. Obama was an Indonesian citizen when he attended school in Indonesia. When and how did he regain his American citizenship?
*If there is no information in his records that is harmful to to his eligibility, why does he spend great sums to keep them from being released?

This is a good book that does give some understanding to why this president does what he does, but there are some books that I think are even better. As in Independent voter, I have become disillusioned with Barack Obama. For the most part, this book reinforced the distrust that I have for this current president. If you are sitting on the fence as to your presidential choice, get this book and read it. This may help you to make your decision.

                                              




The Amateur
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The Amateur