CSS Blog Tour: “Essentials of the Heart” by Susan Weagant

From a Life of Brokenness to a Life of Fulfillment!

Book Blurb:

Are you tired of playing hit and miss with your virtual life?

Are you looking for a more purposeful and committed walk with the Lord?

Do you ever feel so broken that there seems to be no hope?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, Essentials of the Heart is for you.  This thought-provoking book is full of personal examples and peppered with Scriptures.  Susan Weagant takes you from life-changing decisions to daily disciplines necessary for a passionate spiritual walk, using personal examples from her own past as encouragement.  Join Susan on this spiritual journey to find out what decisions and disciplines are Essentials of the Heart.

Endorsement:

“Essentials of the Heart provides inspiration and direction for our Christian journey.  Susan Weagant teaches us how we can positively influence others while enjoying peace and significance.  Ultimately, we all must answer the question: ‘Whom do I want my life to count for?’  This book encourages us to make our lives count for Christ.” –David Cottrell, author of Monday Morning Choices

Bio:

Susan Weagant is a passionate and inspirational speaker and author. She has served as a missionary alongside her husband, Ben, in Christian Camping since 1992.

God has used people of all ages over the years to sharpen her abilities and gifts to minister. Relying on the Lord through an abusive childhood and a failed marriage has given her great strength to inspire hope in others.

Susan has a speaking and teaching ministry that includes Stonecroft Ministries, MOPS, Christian Camping, and Community Bible Studies. Mothering and communicating God’s heart to women is what she values as her most precious role.

She currently resides in Marble Falls, Texas, with her husband, Ben, and their younger son.  She has one son in college.

You can learn more about Susan’s ministries here.

My Review:

Susan Weagant’s book, Essentials of the Heart, is separated into two parts:  Part One: Decisions, and Part Two: Disciplines. Part One: Decisions, includes:   A decision for eternity; Whom do you want your life to count for?; A decision to trust, build intimacy, and walk worthy; and A commitment to decisions.  Part Two: Disciplines, includes: The discipline of confession, taking in God’s Word, prayer, abiding and obedience, serving, cultivating friendships of respect, and the conclusion: forgetting not.

Susan makes it clear that before you apply the disciplines in part two, you must first have a relationship with Jesus.  You must make the decision about where you will spend eternity.  To do that, simply talk to God in prayer, acknowledge your sins, believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again.  At that moment Jesus saves you and brings you into a relationship with Him, seals you with the Holy Spirit, and grants you a place in heaven.

Although this is a short, concise, compact book, it touches on the many levels of intimacy with God.  Susan’s book is very personable, as it is a book about a Person and a relationship with Him.  She includes multiple Scriptures that correlate to what she shares.  She incorporates her own experiences and those of the people in the Bible, making her book easy to read and respond to.

Susan encourages us to not only read and acknowledge what she shares, but to apply it to our lives.  She does this by including ‘my reflection page.’  I find that page to be exceptionally helpful to get the full grasp of the book’s messages.

It’s not always an easy book to read when you see the commitments and disciplines, but they are essential to your spiritual growth.  Just as disciplines are necessary in every area of our life.  She makes it clear that the disciplines don’t get you to heaven.  It’s your relationship with Jesus as discussed above.

I found Susan’s book convicting in different areas of my life because the Holy Spirit used the Scriptures to show me where I needed to change.   I would highly recommend this book for personal growth, and possibly in a small, intimate Bible study group.

This book was provided by Christian Speaker Services in exchange for my honest review.

Susan’s book is available here.