Closer Than Your Skin! Review and Give Away!

I believe that in the very act of reading this book I have understood its basic principle. God is in every detail of our lives, and if we are seeking Him and listening for His response we will find Him all around us….indeed, closer than our skin. Susan’s story, obediently written upon the pages of this book, has reached out to me during the exact time that I needed the reassurance of its truth. This book was a God appointed experience for me. I trust it will be the same for you.

Closer Than Your Skin is a series of personal experiences and observations about how God worked in Susan’s life through a variety of circumstances in order to bring her into a close relationship with Him. This relationship not only transformed her own life, but through her God reached out and transformed the lives of many people with whom He brought into her realm of existence. Her life became one of understanding the simple truth that it wasn’t what she could do for God but what God could do through her. Susan felt deeply that the truth of an intimate relationship with God was a timely and much needed message for many Christians struggling through difficult circumstances – through life itself - and God used her to pour out that message onto the pages of this wonderful book.

Chapter after chapter, Susan shares with the reader what God did in her own life and the lives of her husband and children as they worked through many devastating situations. God’s hand became evident as they learned to forgive each other as well as others with whom they had developed hurt relationships. Through that forgiveness, healing reached into the very pores of their being, and their marriage and family were healed and restored. God’s voice became real in many of their every day moments, and Susan wants others to know that this intimate, loving relationship with God is not only possible, but it can be the pinnacle of our life’s journey here on earth.

I know that I have filled several pages in my own journal with passages that spoke to me personally as I read this book. Susan’s view of marriage on page 133 is so true! “We are not alone. God is the third party in marriage…a wife respecting her husband, a husband loving his wife, and God standing with them, not even a hair’s breath away.” And her insights on parenting are scriptural and balanced with a healthy dose of common sense. Page 155 states, “Only God can help us find the balance, shaping our children to be in the world, not of it. There’s a time to say yes and teach discernment, but also a time to say no and draw a clear line. In parenting, only God can show you when is when. You have to stop, ask, and listen.” Even though Susan had to cope with heartbreaking circumstances in her relationship with her husband, and later had to confront a similar issue in the life of one of her children, God remained close to her, encouraging, offering hope and lovingly guiding her and her family toward healing and restoration.

Susan states on page 102 that “Pain is tantamount to being human. The real danger though is losing your heart along the way.” She understands how painful and hopeless life’s circumstances can become. Yet she knows – knows with a certainty born of God’s wondrous intimate working in her everyday life – that remaining in God’s word and seeking Him as the source of forgiveness, wisdom and guidance, that in spite of life’s circumstance we can, as she states on page 211 “Trust (Him), no matter what it looks like.”

This book is real. I strongly encourage anyone who wants an intimate, “closer than your skin” relationship with God to prayerfully read each chapter of this book. There are thought provoking questions for each chapter that can be used as a group study guide or as an individual deepening of the each insight. There is also a “notes” section that includes all of the scripture and other works referenced throughout each chapter that you can use to dig even deeper. This book is rich. Don’t miss it! Buy a copy here today!

I have an extra copy of this terrific book to share, so please leave a comment to enter a drawing for this book! I will draw the winner on Friday.