Return to Joy

Return To Joy

Finding Healing in the Arms of Your Savior

Written By: Bev Desalvo

Overview:

Pain. Abuse. Neglect. Abandonment. These issues lie just under the surface of our lives. So we stuff the ache, paste on a smile, and make the forced march to church on Sunday. Bev DeSalvo has been there. A child of abuse, the wife of a pastor, and a women's ministry leader, she saw no way out of her anguish. But God invited her on a journey. And her life has never been the same. Return to Joy includes a 10-week Bible Study.

My Thoughts:

Wow! I don't know where to begin. I started reading this book and couldn't put it down.  It grabbed my attention and held it, all through the 200+ pages and once complete left me thinking, 'that's it?'  I wasn't ready for it to end.  I will be going back to re read this book for sure.  This book doubled as a bible study as well.  At the end of each chapter were questions for reflection. A lot of questions, all separated so that if you wanted to use them for daily reflections you could.  There were a lot of scripture references. This book was easy to relate to, even if you haven't experienced the same trials she has, we all need healing from time to time. I know a few people who would benefit from this book and I will be passing it along to them to read. This was a very deep book, full of many points of reflection. One quote that stood out to me, "If we aren't broken by the love of God, we cannot become vulnerable and love others from our hearts. We can't truly love without being wounded and hurt by someone. We cannot allow God's love to flow through us as long as we have our protective walls in place."  Being somebody who isolates and builds those walls mighty high, this initially felt like a sharp jab to the chest that left me feeling winded, but then also challenged me to be more aware of it and reach out to others instead of adding more bricks to the top of the wall.  I feel like I highlighted or underlined the entire book and wrote my own book in answering the questions as the bible study. I highly recommend this book to anybody who is hurting or confused and is trying to, "Return To Joy." This book made me feel like joy is possible, regardless of the struggles you have faced.

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.