Andrea Kendrick, of Wheaton,IL, wrote to me this week about what Abundant Gifts has meant to her, and how one of the stories in particular turned around her marriage.
“When I received Abundant Gifts in 1999, I began using it as a daily devotional. I quickly discovered that I was not able to use it in that way. After each story was revealed, I wanted more and more. I began craving these stories of God’s grace, and quickly finished the whole book. These were my stories too! The details were different, but I related to each one, and learned invaluable lessons and truths.
“There was one in particular, however, that changed my whole life for the better. I will never forget it. Monday-week 6-inner gifts, “A Marriage Builder.”
“It begins with the wisdom of Oswald Chambers, saying that God never tires of bringing us back to the lessons that we need to learn, and continues with Diane sharing her own lesson learned. Diane gave me the gift of sharing her marital struggles, in an honest and brave way. I felt like I was reading about myself, and the way that I treated my own husband. Just as Oswald Chambers pointed out, God was bringing me back to the point of my personal struggle through Diane’s story. I fell to my knees, and asked God for the strength to affirm my wonderful husband instead of tearing him down. I had been married for 14 years at that point, and I was able to clearly see the damage that I had done.
“I can happily now say that the following eight years of my marriage have been so much better, in so many ways, thanks to the gift I was given when I first read Diane’s wonderful book. I have been able to use the book as a daily devotional and be inspired over and over again by these real life stories. I don’t think that I will ever be able to thank Diane enough for writing this book. It opened my eyes, and changed my heart, which in turn, saved my marriage. Now that’s truly an abundant gift!”
If you would like to hear more stories about God at work–or perhaps, share your own–please sign up for the upcoming live, 60-minute Virtual Book Tour on Tuesday, June 26. If you have a question, I hope I answer it on the live call. If you don’t, just say “none” so you can get to the page with the call-in information.
You will also be sent a link, via email, to download a resource for keeping your own gifts journal, when you sign up.
I can’t wait to share the stories I have. You will be inspired!
Hope to “see” you on the live call on Tuesday! (But if not, there will be a replay page, so sign up anyway.)