Desperate Hope by Candi Pearson-Shelton

Desperate Hope by Candi Pearson-Shelton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

BOOK OVERVIEW:

Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—As her older brother battled for his life in the ICU, Candi Pearson-Shelton sat waiting and praying with her family for a miracle. The Scriptures were more precious to them in those hours than ever. As Candi poured over the words from Isaiah chapter 40, a song was born. A voice cries in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.... Then every eye will see the glory of the Lord revealed. The days and months and years that would follow would be painful, but Candi and her family found in the words of this biblical song a sort of mission—a call to find the glory of the Lord shining through the sorrow and to reflect that glory to all those around them.

And when death finally came, by the grace of God, they were able to find purpose through the pain. In fact, they found a depth of beauty in the abyss of the loss that they never could have imagined. Candi discovered that her vision was too narrow, that her lens was too tainted by her own perceptions of fairness and justice and her own desire to control the outcome.

In the fiercely honest yet faithful book, Desperate Hope: When Faith in God Overcame My Despair, Candi shares the lessons that came to them along their journey, offering a song of praise to One who, in the midst of tragedy, pain and confusion, revealed not only His glory but also beauty, unexpected graces, a hope more grounded in faith and a shifted perspective that changed nothing but somehow made all the difference.

“I write these thoughts out of necessity,” the author reflects. “There is value in recording the gentle whispers and hard-learned faith lessons that make up the aftermath, springing up like tender shoots of vivid green grass through the contrasting blackened dry soot. These are my blades of grass, the lessons in the aftermath, told with the heart of an adventurer fresh from the adventure, brimming with tales of terror and scars, of beauty and redemption.”

All of the profits from the sale of Desperate Hope will go to the Rick Pearson Memorial Fund, a non-profit that exists to extend the hope of Christ to others by championing the interests and organizations that Rick passionately supported. Monies that are donated to the Rick Pearson Memorial Fund are used to help support organizations like Compassion International, Bigstuf Camps, The 410 Bridge, Passion Conferences and most recently, a scholarship fund for students who want to pursue a ministry of music with an emphasis on missions.

There is a song entitled “One Breath, Then Another,” that will accompany the book. There will be a code inside each book to redeem online for a free download of the song.

MY REVIEW:

Desperate Hope is the amazing story of human suffering and the hope we have in Jesus Christ. This book is proof in black and white of how God can be glorified even in the worst times of our lives.

Candi Pearson-Shelton explains how our own plans can get in the way of enjoying the things God brings into our lives, how our desire for control lessens our view of God, and how difficulty brings about growth in our life.

This book was such an encouragement to read and a wonderful balm to the soul as we all grapple with suffering at some point in our life. I enjoyed the candid details of this family's journey in one of life's deepest valleys and how they saw God through it all.

AUTHOR BIO:

Candi Pearson-Shelton is a worship leader, songwriter and independent artist. Known for her involvement with the Passion worship movement, she also wrote and performed the title track on the Dove-award-winning album, Glory Revealed. She and her husband Jonathan live in Southern California with their son, Elias.

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This review copy was provided courtesy of David C. Cook and The B&B Media Group.

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