A review of True North: Choosing God in the Frustrations of Life, by Gary and Lisa Heim

I just posted my first, and most likely last, review on Amazon.com. Don't get too excited, I'm not a professional or anything. It's just that our really good friends wrote an amazing book and I was asked to write a review. I thought since I put my heart into it, I would share it here as well. If you would like a copy of the book it is available on Amazon. (You should really get it!) So, here it is.

In the CS Lewis book, "The Horse and His Boy," the main character, Shasta, goes through many trials. His life has been characterized by pain, struggle, abuse, and frustration. When he is feeling his most desperate and completely sorry for himself, he exclaims with tears streaming down his face, "I must be the most unfortunate boy!" It is then that he realizes something is walking next to him in the dark and he can't see it. He ends up having an encounter with the Great Lion, Aslan. Aslan steps in at just the right moment and gives Shasta a new prospective, a new way to think about his trials, a taste of the bigger picture. He draws Shasta out of his own story, and into a bigger story, Aslan's story.

In essence, that is what Gary and Lisa Heim's book, "True North" does for you and me. They give us a paradigm shift, a new prospective and a new way to think about trials and even every day frustrations. They call us out of our own little stories, and draw us up into God's bigger story.

I must out myself at this time and tell you I have been blessed by being under the teaching of Gary and Lisa for years. I have been taught these concepts from their very own lips, and I have to say I am a changed woman. My life was once characterized by anger and rage, and I was becoming less and less able to hide it. I didn't know how to feel any other emotion but anger. Through these concepts for the first time, I was able to see underneath the anger. I was able to ask myself and God why I was so angry. God has exposed countless numbers of lies I was believing. Through this teaching, God cut my heart open and carefully mended the broken pieces back together. I now have all kinds of emotions, not just anger. Although anger is still a struggle from time to time, rage no longer enters the picture.

True North is a "how to" book without actually being a "how to" book. The Heim's acknowledge that this is actually God's work. We cannot just try harder and suddenly have it all together. But, this book exposes our sin, which leads to repentance, which leads to true and lasting change. Praise God for Gary and Lisa Heim! And praise God for the beautifully written, heartfelt and very useful book!