{BOOK joy}

 I read  NieNie’s book, Heaven is Here,  and actually I haven’t been able to put it down.

I began reading it while I was sick in bed and it only took 2 days to finish it.

It was absolutely amazing and it is definitely one of the best books I’ve read.

It tells the story of a woman, Stephanie Nielsen, who was traveling with her husband Christian in an airplane shortly after he received his pilot’s license.

It tells the story of their life before the crash, what happened during the crash period, and then their life after.

You may recognize them from being on the Oprah show, she was on back in 2009, and told their story then.

She has a wildly popular blog that you can follow as well HERE.

At the time when this book came out, I knew I wanted to read it, but I just didn’t think my library would have a copy available for quite some time, so I kinda just forgot about it.

One day at the library my Heavenly Father was truly guiding me to this book.

You see, I happened to be at the library picking up some books for Jackson and I had a few extra minutes to spare so I walked around.

On my way out I saw a shelf that said “Hot off the Press” and low and behold at my eye level was this book!

I couldn’t believe it was sitting on the shelf.

I knew it was a very popular book and I was SURE that there would be a long waiting list,

so I didn’t even think to put my name on it, at least for about 6 more months or so.

But there it was……..sitting on the shelf.

hmmmm…i thought.

That is SO strange, I wonder why someone hasn’t checked it out.

I turned to walk away.

and then I stopped and came back.

I picked it up and decided to check it out.

I thought for sure that the system would glitch and not let me check it out because it was on hold for someone else,

but the librarian didn’t mention anything except that it was new and therefore had a 14 day limit.

“Great”, I thought. “I will NEVER finish it in time….oh well, I’ll just check it out anyway”.

and off I went on my merry little way.

I got home and put it on my nightstand without another thought.

and a day went by.

I kept thinking how strange it was that it was not checked out so I got on the library’s website to see if there truly were not any holds placed on it.

and that’s when I saw it.

34.

WOW.

I KNEW IT!

I knew that other people wanted to read it.

and then it sunk in……..

if this book has 34 holds on it, how in the WORLD was it possible that I just HAPPENED to pick it up at the library?!

and then i knew.

It was meant to happen.

It was a sign.

I was supposed to read this book.

I’ve really been struggling lately and this must be what I should be reading.

So that night I opened it up.

and I couldn’t put it down.

The next morning I read before the kids woke up.

and then again in the daytime, and finished it that night.

and now I realize why this book was destined to be in my hands right now.

Because it was an answer to a prayer.

A prayer that I have been asking over and over and over again.

This book is special,

it’s message is powerful,

not just for me,

but for so many others.

I cannot say enough how wonderful it is and let me stress that you need to read it!

but don’t get on my library’s waiting list…..because 34 people in front of you is a long time to wait 🙂

Here are some of the quotes that I especially liked from the book:

There is in every true woman’s heart a spark of heavenly heart a spark of heavenly fire,

which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity,

but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.

-Washington Irving

In the Book of Mormon , the prophet Nephi says,

“But Behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen,

because of their faith,

to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.”

In General Conference a few years earlier, one of the Twelve Apostles, Elder David Bednar, had given a talk about tender mercies.

He taught that tender mercies are moments when you feel personally recognized and assisted by Heavenly Father,

and ever since then, Christian and I had used that phrase to describe those moments in our lives.

My father asked Jesse ( her brother) to give me a priesthood blessing.

The rest of the family bowed their heads and listened as Jesse put his hands on me.

As he spoke, sure that my spirit could hear, he felt impressed to offer me a choice, essentially between heaven and earth.

It was time to decide, he said, if I was going to go or stay.

If I chose to stay in my body, he blessed me with a full recovery, a rich and happy life, and strength and patience as I healed.

 If I wanted to, though, he knew I could leave my mortal life behind.

The next day, my vital signs were up and the infection was almost gone- a tender mercy indeed.

As my mother told me about Jesse’s blessing, a whisper of memory fluttered inside me.

A memory emerged.

I  had made a choice.

I was away from my body, in that beautiful place where I spent time with Nana, and I was asked to choose.

I could stay there if I wanted, and be released from my physical body, or I could go back to Earth.

In either case, I had to work, and it could be accomplished in heaven or on Earth.

If I chose to return to my body, the road would be long and hard.

I would experience pain and embarrassment for the rest of my life, but I would know the joy of having a mortal body.

I missed my body in that moment and suddenly understood the gift a physical body is- even an injured body.

My spirit longed to be in my body again. It was my choice.

I thought about watching my girls get married and my boys go on missions, and I realized I could experience if from afar, but it wouldn’t be the same.

I was told that if I went back to Earth, my life would have meaning and purpose beyond what I could comprehend,

but I was reminded again that it would be difficult.

I asked what I could do to make it easier.

Let the light of your faith inspire other people, I was told.

Share your hope.

Having Nana help me was another confirmation that life does continue beyond this Earth.

It renewed my hope in another life to come, when I wouldn’t be hurt so badly, when my body and my spirit would be healed completely.

“Indeed Heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind”

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

(From the Book Of Mormon about our faith in the resurrection)

“The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul;

yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body;

yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost;

but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.”

Alma 40:23

I made it through the weeks and months after the crash, and through every day since, because I have faith in something larger than myself-

faith that God has a plan for me.

That belief is a source of inner strength that leads me to peace, comfort, and the courage to cope,

even when I don’t really feel like coping.

I know now, without a doubt that the true source of happiness, self-worth, and authentic beauty doesn’t come from the outside.

I have accepted myself in a world that does not accept me,

because I have learned- and more than any of the lessons of my accident, this is the one I wish I could teach everybody-

that our hearts matter most.

Your heart matters most, so be gentler and more patient with yourself,

and their hearts matter most too,

so be kinder and more compassionate to others.

It’s a beautiful heart, not a perfect body, that leads to a beautiful life.

To see the pillow and order it, you can view it here.