Spiritual Memoirs 101: Let’s not keep our stories to ourselves

Please, God, Don't Make Me Go: A Foot-Dragger's Memoir

What’s a comfortable—and cowardly—suburbanite to do when her husband wants to move their young family to Colombia so he can teach missionaries’ kids?

Linda K. Thomas has always planned to chase the American dream. Adventure doesn’t appeal to her, and she’s ill-equipped for missions work. She prays, “Please, God, don’t make me go!” but after months of soul-searching, she hears Him say “Go!”

So, with flimsy faith and wobbly courage, she sets out with her husband, Dave, and their kids on a life-changing adventure at the end of the road in the middle of nowhere.

But when culture shock, tropical heat, and a certain boa constrictor threaten to undo her, she’s tempted to run away and hike back to the U.S. Instead, she fights to settle in and soon falls in love with her work alongside modern-day heroes of the faith disguised as regular folks. God has sent her where she didn’t know she wanted to go.

Once life is under control and easy, she gets a surprise—an invitation to one of the world’s most dangerous drug-dealing regions where hundreds of people have lost their lives. The country is perilous in other ways, too. Marxist guerrillas don’t like Americans, proving it with bombs, kidnapping, and eventually murder.

Linda doesn’t trust God to help her make the trip, and she can’t trust herself, either. Gripped by anxiety, she longs to stay in the only safe place, the mission center. Again she prays, “Please, God, don’t make me go!”

In this heartwarming, sometimes humorous, sometimes shocking memoir, you’ll walk alongside a young wife and mother as she faces two universal struggles: (1) choosing between her plans and God’s, and (2) choosing faith and courage over fear and cowardice.

This compelling memoir will inspire you to cancel membership in the Society of the Faint-Hearted, take a trembling leap of faith, enjoy God more, and relish the adventures He dreams up.

Grandma's Letters from Africa

All I ever wanted was to live a quiet, secure life in a little white house with a picket fence and a rose garden, but my husband Dave—a free spirit who seldom limits himself to coloring within other people’s lines—and our adventuresome God had other plans. Just when our youngest finished college, both Dave and God hollered, “Africa!” You can read about my adventures in Grandma’s Letters from Africa, by Linda K. Thomas.

Grandma’s Letters from Africa received Editor’s Choice, Rising Star, and Reader's Choice awards from the publisher. In addition, the book will soon be listed in the Barnes&Noble.com Special Collections Boutique.

What others are saying

Grandma’s Letters from Africa is an engaging, memorable account of Linda’s years in Africa. It was a privilege for me to read over the shoulders of her granddaughters as Linda tells her story through a series of letters. Through both laughter and tears, she learns to balance her roles as missionary, wife, mother, and grandmother. In the process, Linda falls in love with Africa, its people, and her work. Readers will be moved by this compelling story that reveals God’s heart and extraordinary grace. (Bob Creson, President/CEO, Wycliffe USA)

Read more endorsements, reviews, and follow Linda’s blog at http://grandmaslettersfromafrica.blogspot.com

Spiritual Memoirs 101

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Friday, October 11, 2013

Let’s not keep our stories to ourselves

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