I HAVE READ THE BOOK A NUMBER OF TIMES. I HAVE PURCHASED A DOZEN OR SO COPIES..GAVE THEM TO FRIENDS. I EVEN TRIED THE PART IN THE BOOK WHERE WE BAKED COOKIES..TOOK THEM TO NEIGHBORS..INVITING THEM OVER FOR FAMILY NIGHT. I WROTE A BOOK INSPIRED BY SOME OF HIS STORIES..INCLUDING TWO POEMS ABOUT TOPICS IN THE BOOK. I HAVE PARTICIPATED IN MANY MISSIONARY AND YOUNG MEN ACTIVITIES..USING THESE PRECEPYS.. NICE JOB BROTHER SMITH. THE TITLE OF MY WORK..IS THE CONVERSION OF BIG FOOT! RICK C. JONES BILLINGS, MONTANA

A warm hearted, thought provoking insite to the day to day life of a nurse. Compassion, love, and respect are shown throughout this book of short stories. A subtle explaination of the horrors and fears, tears and joy, facing todays nurse. Some stories make you laugh, some make you cry. Not for the unbeliever for God's word is sprinkled on each page. Definately a gifted lady who writes from the heart. A book for all ages.

While this book sounds religious from the title, it would appeal to readers of all backgrounds. The author uses examples from his own illness and rehabilitation to help others see the importance of positive thinking in accomplishing one's goals. These goals may be related to ones own struggle with an illness or with any other challenge one is currently facing. I found the book easy to read and couldn't put it down.

The "YES ANXIETY" book was the one source that I turned to when trying to make one of the most important decisions in my life - whether the man I was dating was right for me and if I should marry him. Again and again, whenever I had doubts creeping in, I'd pull this book out and re-read certain sections to help me focus in on a particular discomfort area. I also read the title through many times over my 9 month engagement period. It gave me so much to think about. The most important advice that I got from the title is that one can never be absolutely sure about any decision he/she makes - we start out at partial certainty and then gain confidence with experience and time. We will never be 100% sure - if we're 80-85% certain, then we're doing well. In spite of my reservations, uncertainty and lingering doubts, I married my now husband. Things really changed - I still have some doubts from time to time, but my love for my husband just grows and I've realized that I will not feel "head over heels" in love with my husband all the time - it does not mean that I don't love him, however. All it takes is to hang in there and the "mood swing" shifts to positive feelings again. The book suggests to overcome in spite of these types of feelings and that we each have strength and the power of God to help us do this. Any woman contemplating marriage who is experiencing a lot of confusing feelings and doubts absolutely should be reading this book - she'll find that she'll go to it many, many times, just like I did. God Bless You, M. Blaine Smith!

I have all of the comics because my grandmom brought for me. I learned that to tithe just doesn't mean money. I always thought it just meant money.

I have always enjoyed many of Rich's songs, but after having read this biography many of them have a much deeper, richer meaning to me. It is as if I never really heard the words before, but can hear them now. I particularly enjoyed reading about the incident that prompted Rich to write Hold Me Jesus. Rich was an ordinary person (aren't we all?) who genuinely tried to walk with God. This is the story of one person's struggles and joy. Doctrinally, this is about one person's experiential understanding of grace. Rich himself says he was heavily influenced by Brennan Manning in this regard. The fact that both Rich and Brennan found the doctrine of grace so surprising just goes to show how much we fail to teach accurately in our churches and seminaries. Even a cursory reading of the New Testament reveals the word "grace" many times. How is it that we don't understand what it means to us? Why don't we understand Ephesians 2:5-9? How about Ephesians 1:7-8? Rich never pretends to be a theologian, nor is this a book of Christian doctrine. It is the account of the Spirit working in the life of one person who was touched by, and continues to touch others. It is well worth the reading.

Brennan Manning talks about how a ragamuffin is someone who is honest about themselves and their failings, passionate about being intimate with God and does not conform to the expectations of cultural christianity for the sake of it. Rich Mullins was a ragamuffin ... someone who took the challenge of being intimate with the Father ... impacting and influencing those around him with the possibilities of living a Christ centred life.

This book is great ... it is not just a biography ... nor is Rich Mullins made out to be a "saint". This book is an honest and candid look at a man ... who just wanted to love God and love those around him. It is a challenging read and the reader comes away with a hunger for a deeper walk with Christ.

Reflections on each chapter are included with the intention of guiding the reader into a deeper look at themselves and their relationship with God.

I read this book very quickly because i was excited to have it but I am now going back into it and reading it slowly and thoughtfully ... which is the best way to be impacted by the treasure within.

Buy it!!! The bonus CD is great as well!

Unlike many other biographies of public figures who died young, Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing Towards Heaven by James Bryan Smith is a moving celebration of the man Rich Mullins. It also reflects the ideals he held dear.

One such ideal is simplistic living. Mullins firmly believed that all he had belonged to God. So he lived with few material possessions and was happy to share what little he had. Despite his success, for the last several years of his life, he hired an accountant to give him a stipend... and gave away the rest of his earnings to deserving charities.

Smith, a veteran writer, was also a close friend of Mullins for many years. When Mullins moved to Witchita, Kansas, in the early 1990s to earn a music education degree from Friends University, he lived in the attic apartment of Smith's house for three years.

The Mullins family asked Smith to write the book, because he knew Mullins so well. Because of Smith's friendship with Mullins, readers will enjoy how he shares Mullins with the public. He relates not only the highlights of Mullins' life, but also the struggles.

Even as a close friend, Smith did not rely on his experience alone to write this biography. He interviewed 40 of the people who knew Rich best-both friends and family. Their stories-as well as the words of Mullins himself that Smith culls from interviews, lyrics, and stage recordings-add to the breadth of the book.

Reading Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing Towards Heaven gives you a greater knowledge of the life of one amazing man. It also encourages you to live a life abandoned to the "reckless raging fury that they call the love of God."

I had never heard of Scotty Smith and have never bought any of Steven's music. I have no idea why I even bought this book! But, I soon found out that the lessons Steven and Scotty have learned, the intimacy they have with God, the seasons of doubt they've experienced, and the freedom in God they've developed are for all of us. I have more of a sense of obedience to God, appreciation for his never ending grace and a healthy sense of His awesome holiness, than I ever had before. I want to walk closer, listen harder and love my Lord greater than I ever have before - and I can. It's hard to verbalize what I gained from this book, but I have internalized it and it is a tremendous blessing to have the help of these two Godly men who speak so freely and openly to us from their heart. I'm grateful for their struggles and their victories and even more grateful that they love us enough to transparently share it.

This is a different book from others. Both Scotty and Steven share their hear in a wonderful way, for instance about hard times when they have experienced Gods grace. I have never read any books where the authors have been so honest and personal about their lives. This book has challenged me in my life, as well as get on my knees crying out to God for a change in my life. I am familiar with lots of the stories and I am gratefeul that they have shared their hear in such a personal way. I recommend this book to everyone who really wants to be challenged. Be blessed.

I'm at a loss for words, just read this gem of a book if you want to walk in the light with two brothers who know what that means.

I don't know what book the previous reviewer read, but the Beyond the Veil, by Alice Smith that I read was deeply bathed with scriptural references. It not only was based in a biblical foundation, it literally draws you beyond the typical teaching on prayer and encourages you towards a greater understanding of God's desire for every Christian in prayer. I found that through the teaching is this book, my relationship with God was intensified and I began to see how God could use me to effectually partner with Him in prayer to see changes on our physical world and in the lives of the people around me. If you are desiring a deeper level of relationship with God, I urge you to get this book and begin to understand how to partner with God in intercession. If you put into practice what you learn from this book, you will experience the joy of seeing God working in the lives of those you interceed for and you will know by witnessing for yourself how God changes things when we partner with Him in prayer.

It is a rare privelege to not only have had a book touch and change my life over the past ten years but also to know and be impacted by the life of the author, Alice Smith. Beyond The Veil shares the heart of a woman who has a passion for God, for His people and for lost souls. Making a way for others to walk in intimacy with God and receive His burden of love for others, is the heart of this book and ministry of Alice Smith. I highly recommend this book to anyone who desires to learn more about walking closer to God and how prayer on behalf of others can touch and change the lives of many. Your life will never be the same after reading Beyond The Veil!

Years of a thristy heart and no one to define this yearning, I was filled with wonder and unspeakable joy when I read this book and found the answers to my many questions. When there were years of a deep calling in the heart and a unexplainable love for God and no one to define this aching,it was like sighing in relief as I read the very things that God had been doing in and through me was not my imagination but and an actual experience with the Holy One.

There are many men and women who have had as deep and abiding relationship with the Sovereign Lord, Jesus Christ. To actually put down on paper this life experience of relating to God on a personal bases would refresh the mind and bring delight to the heart. Like one receiving a cool drink of water, this book settled any question of scriptural correctness in relating to God, the Father.

It is unfortunate that there has not been sufficient scriptural teaching on prayer but this book opens the door to freeing the heart and the longing to please God. Also it releases the reader to find their God given expression and then to enjoy and release others to their God given expression.

I am sorry that some readers may take an offence to this book and the information inside. But let us be responsible readers and look up the scriptures for ourselves and see that God has laid out a pattern for relating to Him and He will never leave us without an answer. In the search for truth, God will not disappoint but meet us on that road to understanding. Thus He gives people who have walked before us and can point the way. We grant teachers the permission to mold our minds and provoke us to learn, should we not see these gifted men and women (like Alice Smith)as providers of instruction and education?

Thank you Alice Smith for being vulnerable and risking exposure of a deep and personal relatonship that many of us long for and have not yet known. This book will open the door to a journey filled with surpises and wonder, plus a depth of relating to God long awaited for.

Appreciate the stories told by this author about his life and consider the insights that he has gained from reflection on his experience; but, please, do not base your understanding of Quakerism on his presentation. In spite of the fact that Smith is a lifelong Friend and a former Quaker educator, he quotes George Fox (an important leader in the early Quaker movement) and the Bible inaccurately or out of context several times. In addition, some of Smith's statements about facets of Quaker faith and practice are historically unfounded or ignore the diversity within the Religious Society of Friends today. If you are interested in learning about Quakerism, read Wilmer A. Cooper's book, A Living Faith: An Historical Study of Quaker Beliefs (Friends United Press: 1990). Read Robert Lawrence Smith's book as a book of wisdom written by a Quaker, but not necessarily a Quaker book of wisdom.

I have been reading this book for a long time. Not because it is so long, but because I wanted to think about what it said.

I have long been fascinated by the Quakers, even before my association with a Friends school. Their belief that all people in the world are members of an extended family of equals appeals to me, as does their silent worship, which they call "the search for the truth within". They present "queries" at their meetings for worship and this author calls the queries "burrs under the saddle of the soul. "

Quakers believe that one's life should speak for oneself, that goodness is the most important part of that life. They have no written creed, no ministers, but there is a strong belief system. It is as much a movement as it is a religion, I guess.

One thing that I particularly like is the way the Quaker "service projects" are done. They go to places, often to foreign countries that are in need, and do not attempt to make any converts. They are there to work, much as those in the Peace Corps are. I learned that the Society of Friends was the first organization to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Some quotes from the book:

"The silence allows the opening of minds and listening to our best inner selves."

"So many of our young people are told that they must be good at something (math, music, sports) that they forget to pay attention to the primary command of the spirit: to be good at life."

"Simplicity is the cornerstone of Quaker faith and defines daily life. Simplicity has little to do with how much you own and everything to do with not letting your possessions own you."

While I would have liked to have learned a bit more about the Quaker religion, that was not really the intent of this author, and there are many other places to go for that information.

This book speaks for me, a relatively new Quaker without the family support mechanisms birthright Friends might take for granted! My own friends and family members ask me why I chose to become a Quaker; acquaintances and curious visitors sometimes ask me what Quakers believe. The former is easier to answer than the latter, but this little book explains Friends in a welcoming manner that is easy to understand.

Robert Smith touches on the history of Quakerism, his grandparents and growing up in Moorestown, New Jersey. He wrote the book because he believes there is a need in the world today for what he calls the compassionate Quaker message.

The author voices his belief that "Quaker values of simplicity and silent contemplation, truth and conscience, seem more important now than ever before." He explains further. "To Quakers simplicity does not mean turning the clock back on progress or rejecting the benefits of modern science and conveniences of modern technology. Nor does it mean casting off one's possessions and embracing a life of poverty. And it certainly does not mean casting off joy."

With all the currently popular books on Simple Living and spirituality, Smith's book stands out, speaking briefly and clearly in chapters titled Silence, Worship, Truth, Simplicity, Conscience, Nonviolence, Service, Business, Education and Family. In these brief chapters, he covers more issues than I can fit into this review -- Quaker history, his own military part in World War II, intermarriage, the internet, and more are within these pages. He weaves in quotes from Jesus, Martin Luther King Junior, Shakespeare, Rabindranath Tagore, as well as those from Friends past and present.

The chapters fit together like quilt squares. Any one could be read and comprehended by itself, but as pieces of a whole, they reveal much more. A simple lifestyle, not necessarily "forsaking worldy goods" is connected with silent worship, bare walls, and simple folks. He tells us of his own childhood, of Quaker cousins who had more toys and possessions than he had, and of his own 'un-Quakerly jealousy." A trip to Toys 'R Us to buy a checker set with his grandson brings them down the action toys aisle, and leaves us to guess which his grandson found more appealing. He recognizes that there are increased difficulties these days when trying to sort out for children -- and for ourselves -- what is necessary from what is desired. The answer is the same as it has always been.

"'What do I need?' is simplicity's fundamental questions, a question that rubs against our natural proclivity for acquiring things, a question few of us feel ready to address. America's favorite weekend activity is not participating in sports, gardening, hiking, reading, visiting with friends and neighbors. It's shopping." (pg. 54)

He does not preach or focus on the Bible, but writes in an open and inclusive way about the variety within the Religious Society of Friends.

"But for all their differences, Meetings for Worship are fundamentally the same. At each Meeing, a group of individuals gathers and, open to the word of God, waits in attentive,expectant silence for a spark of the divine in their midst. Sometimes it comes in words; sometimes in silence. The language of truth can often be heard in silence, if only we know how to listen." (p. 29)

He closes the book with Ten Life Lessons, with explanations of each: Seize the Present; Love Yourself, whatever faults you have, and love the world however bad it is; Stop talking and listen to what you really know; Play soccer; Accept the fact that our lives are only partly in our hands; Believe in the perfectibility of yourself and society; Make your love visible in the world through your work; Seek justice in the world, but not in your own life; Look for the Light of God in everyone; Let your life speak."

This comic book was the bomb. My little sister laugh to.

I am glad to see Christian comic books on the market. I have seen a view, but not like this one. I enjoyed the reading very much.

Enjoyed the issue. Are there back issues that I may purchase for my daughter? Thank you.