Christian Living, Religion & Spirituality 

"If God was in control, why had he allowed my baby to die? Why had he created her, let her grow happily beside her twin brother, and then taken her before I could know her, before she could know life outside my womb? Was he trying to punish me? To teach me something?" That's what wife, mother, and businesswoman Dale Hanson Bourke wondered when tragic events dismantled her well-organized life. Just as they began to recover from the painful loss of one of their twin babies, the Bourke family learned that Dale's father had an inoperable brain tumor. And then they weathered the agonizing death of a close family friend. In this emotionally open book, Dale re-examines the preconceived notions of her Christian faith and chronicles the recognition of God's sovereign hand in her life. She discovers that sacred surprises can bring joy or pain. But mostly she learns that they are the only way God can help us grow. Life has a way of barging in on our security, upsetting our "best-laid plans," and leaving us out in the cold with awkward bundles of pain, anger, and misery. Dale echoes the feelings of doubt we we all experience as she says, "I have learned that I should pray in faith, believing...but mostly I realize that I pray in fear, hoping." Dale Hanson Bourke turns us toward our pain, opens our eyes, and comforts us with the knowledge that something good can come from life's trials. And she helps us see that God can teach us through tears and laughter. SACRED SURPRISES takes you on a spiritual journey of discovering God, not the God you though you knew, but the Father who reveals himself to those who are willing to have childlike wonder and trust. It si a book that will help you confront your deepest questions about God and leave you hopeful. - from Amzon