TouchingTheClouds




	Length: 224 pages Size: 8.5 x 5.5 Binding: paperback Price: $13.99


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Touching the Clouds
Encouraging Stories to Make Your Faith Soar
by Fran Caffey Sandin

When crisis comes and emotions crumble, questions multiply. We may ask: “How can I cope?” “What next?” “God, where are You?” Through the years I have been acquainted with women who have asked similar questions. Their lives impacted mine because of their response to unexpected events. Some women had searched for meaning in all the wrong places before giving their hearts to Christ. Others struggled with obeying God in a certain matter. A few remembered the principles of faith and inspired others. Still others cried out to God in their distress. Yet even when God was silent, they made a decision to trust His heart and to believe His Word.

Touching the Clouds shows how exercising biblical faith really does make a difference. It challenges the reader to strengthen her own faith, encouraging her to stand firm, whatever her situation may be.

Popular recording artist Cynthia Clawson once said, II have always been enamored with the first chapter of 2 Corinthians. Paul talks about the common sufferings and the common consolations that we share. I know this it true. When I know some else survived an experience, and I find myself in a similar situation, I feel that I can survive, too.”

Is faith enough? What is faith? Why do we need it? Where do we find it? Faith is not something we can handle and touch, yet its results are plainly evident. It’s main elements include:

Believing that Scripture is God’s truth,
holding onto His truth relentlessly,
surrendering our lives to Christ, and
conducting ourselves accordingly.

Our faith walk beings when we believe in God’s character and trust Him. But when trials and testings come, and they will, according to James 1, what is our response?

“Dwight L. Moody described three kinds of faith in Jesus Christ:

struggling faith, which is like a man in deep water;
clinging faith, which is like a man hanging to the side of the boat; and
resting faith, which finds a man safely within the boat and able moreover to reach out with ah and to help someone else.”

While the women I interviewed are graciously sharing their lives as a way of reaching out, each of us determines our own response to life and its trials and what kind of faith we’ll demonstrate. Faith grows with exercise. When body muscles are idle, they become flabby and weak. In a similar way, if we become spiritually lax, we rely upon our feelings rather than upon God’s Word and so become discourage. Just as a good workout builds healthier bodies, exercising faith is oxygen for the soul.

The “"Faithlifter"” at the end of each chapter is designed to help you to exercise your faith and apply it to daily living. Each “"Faithlifter"” is divided into three sections:

In Her Shoes
In His Word
In Your Life

Through them you’ll connect another woman’s story to your own, find strength in the Scriptures, and being to nurture an important characteristic of faith for the rest of your journey. And remember, you do no walk alone. I am holding your hand, walking alongside you on this faith journey, because, like you, I have not yet arrived. However, I am excited about our final destination and about what we can both learn along the way.

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1	Learning Unconditional Love	Love	Judy Anderson
Chapter 2	Are You Kidding, God?	Courage	Allyson Neighbors
Chapter 3	God Sent An Angel	Gentleness	Sherry Latimer
Chapter 4	Standing in the Gap	Prayer	Mable Dumas
Chapter 5	Beyond Broken Dreams	Forgiveness	Vernice Warden
Chapter 6	Compassion Is the Key	Compassion	Cherry Brown
Chapter 7	When Suicide Hits Home	Hope	Fran Caffey Sandin
Chapter 8	The Rainbow Connection	Grace	Denise Davis
Chapter 9	A Guide in the Wilderness	Obedience	Elaine Hamilton
Chapter 10	My Search for Yeshua	Trust	Julie Rand
Chapter 11	When All You Have Left Is Jesus	Steadfastness	Carolann Conley
Chapter 12	Air for the Soul	Joy	Elizabeth Garland
Chapter 13	Anna, God’s Gift	Truth	Jeannette Scott
Chapter 14	Help! My Husband Lost His Job	Patience	Lana Key
Chapter 15	Is God Punishing me?	Mercy	Fran Caffey Sandin
Chapter 16	Good-Bye Locusts	Commitment	Amy Keller
Chapter 17	My Manager Showed the Way	Belief	Sheila Carlson

	A Review by CBA Marketplace, Colorado Springs: This title is like a stop at a gas station: After leaving, tanks will be full and refreshed. The 17-story collection is by women who lived situations that try our souls. Stories are told frankly but with sensitivity--readers will walk with women who have or are experiencing difficult times, including children with eating disorders, the death of a husband or child, a child with AIDS, personal sickness, and more. Stories don’t depress but enlarge hope and faith. Citing Cynthia Clawson in the introduction, Sandin reminds readers how one can’t comfort well unless one had been comforted. The book may be read straight through or by topics. The chapters have a story (“In Her Shoes”); a miniature Bible study (“In His Word”); and lesson application “”In Your Life”), which is one of the book’s best parts. Subthemes, such as compassion and steadfastness, are listed in the table of contents. Recommend to women and couples who are or know someone going through faith-stretching times.

		Endorsements: “With great sensitivity and warmth, Fran reminds us that in the shakiest times in our lives, we can lean on our unshakable faith in God in order to carry on.” Cynthia Spell Humbert, Christian counselor, speaker author of Deceived by Shame, Desired by God (NAV Press) “With gentleness and compassion, Fran Sandin helps women see God’s faithfulness beyond pain, disappointment, and perplexing dilemmas. Touching the Clouds is about ordinary women who placed their faith in our extraordinary God. Through His word, they found courage and their faith was lifted. Read it--you’ll be blessed!” Brenda Waggoner, licensed professional counselor, author of Fairy Tale Faith: Living in the Meantime When You Expected Happily Ever After (Tyndale) “Touching the Clouds is an excellent resource for working through the biblical and practical steps of healing and hope while living in the midst of your own challenging life story. Expect to be transformed! Thanks, Fran, for lifting my faith.” Lucinda Secrest McDowell, M.T.S. speaker, author of Amazed by Grace (Quiet Waters Publications) “Touching the Clouds will grip your heart, strengthen your faith, and provide a tool for making positive action in an imperfect world. Fran Caffey Sandin, reminds all of us that ‘struggling faith’ becomes ‘resting’ faith when we get to know God’s character and embrace His truth.” Carol Kent, international speaker and author: president, Speak Up Speaker Services “Fran Caffey Sandin is a gifted storyteller who draws you into her touching accounts of trust, courage, grace, and hope. These stories and faithlifters brought me to a deeper appreciation of what can happen when the power of God touches a single life.” Linda Evans Shepherd, author, speaker, radio host, and founder of Right to the Heart of Women and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWASA)