Tuesday, May 30, 2017

This month’s B & H book review focuses on Julie Manning’s story titled My Heart.

A partial snapshot of the back cover:

Who is Julie Manning?

The back cover of her book also includes a mini-bio, which is where these descriptive words derive from:

“Julie Manning is a wife to her beloved husband, John, mother of three fun-loving boys, and pediatric nurse practitioner. At the age of twenty-five, Julie left her career in corporate America to pursue a degree in nursing. While in nursing school, the Lord birthed a passion within Julie to care for children with heart disease. Little did she know seven years later, she would learn that her own heart was sick. The Lord’s pursuit of Julie’s heart and soul through the valley of facing many uncertainties has developed a fire within her to live intentionally from moment to moment as it may be her last.”

My thoughts:

As Julie shares her journey she dots her story with personal reflections. She doesn’t maintain a strict focus on the blow-by-blow details, but interweaves journal entries and conversations along with her dialogue. Julie concludes each chapter with a personal letter to her boys.

For anyone who may doubt God’s care for his children, on multiple occasions Julie provides ample evidence that God’s hand was at work to protect her each day of her life. Her first example appears on page five when she describes what happened at the birth of her first child. Another example appears on page 82 when she collapsed in the nursery at her church.

I appreciate Julie’s honesty throughout the book. She speaks candidly about her heart condition, and passionately about the One who sustains her—God. Her love for her family is as evident as her love for Jesus.

When we arrive at page 117, Julie provides the reader with further confirmation regarding her faith and trust in her Savior. Again, she recognizes that God knows what’s best for her, and admits that His plan is perfect even in the midst of pain, suffering, and staring death in the face. She is not afraid to vocalize her daily decision to place her trust in God: “So for today, in this very moment, I will simply trust my Savior. Each day I awaken from sleep, I pray that God will cause my heart to trust Him once again. To trust Him over my breaths and my heartbeats. To trust Him to be the caretaker of my children. And to trust Him to endure my husband until we all make it into glory with Jesus forever.”

Within her story Julie also recounts her time spent on a short-term medical missionary trip to Haiti and what she learned about God’s faithfulness through that experience. As well, she shares her emotional roller coaster journey to adoption.

This book may be of interest or an encouragement to:

• Medical personnel
• Young mothers
• Anyone facing a health crisis
• Anyone caring for someone facing a health crisis
• Anyone doubting God’s love and compassion for mankind
• Someone living through a health crisis and questioning their ability to still make a difference in the world

As I stated above, I appreciate Julie’s candidness about her heart condition and how she conveys her faith. Her steadfastness is indeed an encouragement, and her story is a testimony to God’s faithfulness in all circumstances.

Have you read Julie’s book? If so, what did you think? Does this book sound like a book you would enjoy reading?

Feel free to leave your comments in the comment section below ~ Jill P.

*** I received this copy of Julie Manning’s book My Heart from B&H Publishing in return for my honest review. Aside from the information borrowed from the back cover of the book, and the direct quotes within the book, the rest of the words and opinions are solely mine.