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Cries from the Heart: Stories of Struggle and Hope
If you've ever felt that praying was like talking to a wall the last thing you need is another book that holds out religion like a good-luck charm. Where has the real God gone? According to Arnold, nowhere. Healing wholeness, and a rich spiritual life are yours for the asking. But are you ready to meet God on his terms?
Available as free .pdf, .epub and .prc at www.plough.com
Available as free .pdf, .epub and .prc at www.plough.com
- GenresEbooks
226 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1999
8 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Johann Christoph Arnold
43 books64 followersPeople have come to expect sound advice from Johann Christoph Arnold, an award-winning author with over two million copies of his twelve books in print in more than twenty languages. A noted speaker and writer on marriage, parenting, and end-of-life issues, Arnold was a senior pastor of the Bruderhof, a movement of Christian communities, until his death in April 2017.
Arnold’s message was shaped by encounters with great peacemakers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, César Chavez, and John Paul II. Together with paralyzed police officer Steven McDonald, Arnold started the Breaking the Cycle program, working with students at hundreds of public high schools to promote reconciliation through forgiveness. This work also brought him to conflict zones from Northern Ireland to Rwanda to the Middle East. Closer to home, he served as chaplain for the local sheriff’s department.
Born in Great Britain in 1940 to German refugees, Arnold spent his boyhood years in South America, where his parents found asylum during the war; he immigrated to the United States in 1955. He and his wife, Verena, have eight children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Arnold’s message was shaped by encounters with great peacemakers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, César Chavez, and John Paul II. Together with paralyzed police officer Steven McDonald, Arnold started the Breaking the Cycle program, working with students at hundreds of public high schools to promote reconciliation through forgiveness. This work also brought him to conflict zones from Northern Ireland to Rwanda to the Middle East. Closer to home, he served as chaplain for the local sheriff’s department.
Born in Great Britain in 1940 to German refugees, Arnold spent his boyhood years in South America, where his parents found asylum during the war; he immigrated to the United States in 1955. He and his wife, Verena, have eight children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 12, 2011
The following is a synopsis of the book found on the Barnes and Noble website: Cries From the Heart answers a specific spiritual hunger that millions share- a longing for a personal connection to the divine and to their own spiritual dimension. In times of crisis, all of us reach for someone, or something, greater than ourselves. Some call it prayer. Others just do it. For many, it's often like talking to a wall.
I received this book free from a Christian website. It is a book about prayer. I enjoy reading books on prayer because I am always looking for ways to improve my prayer life. I might think about reading this book once again at a later time.
I received this book free from a Christian website. It is a book about prayer. I enjoy reading books on prayer because I am always looking for ways to improve my prayer life. I might think about reading this book once again at a later time.
March 20, 2023
Probably anyone who's ever been a pastor could write a book of the stories people tell their pastors about their experiences with prayer. Many of those books are published. Three things make this book special in its genre:
1. Despite the expectation "cries from the heart" raises (and yes, of course, there are stories of children who died while people were praying for them), Arnold recognizes that the emotional "heart" also "cries" for a sense of connection to God, for understanding, for love, for forgiveness, for faith, and other things. On the whole this is a cheerful book.
2. This is one of the books Plough gives away to spread recognition of the Bruderhof, its religious organization. Though relatively small and new, the Bruderhof is a recent development in the German Anabaptist tradition. Membership is a commitment made by adults; it includes radical pacifism, and may include living in a working commune and/or being sent to live in a different commune. Working communes are self-supporting ventures in which those who are able to work have to do good work, though the focus of some groups is caring for people who can't work. Stories in this book tell about the German congregation that reacted to economic instability between the wars by living communally, then reacted to further pressure from the Nazis by moving out into other countries. More recent stories tell about the furniture factory for which the first American Bruderhof group is known, the care homes for people with major disabilities, and the international growth of the movement.
3. So it's an evangelical book by, for, and about one Protestant Christian group...but the Bruderhof respect other traditions, so Arnold proposes to make this book neither offensive nor even exclusive to non-Christian readers. Is that possible? Probably non-Christians would have to decide. The book includes stories of Jewish and Muslim prayers. I think Arnold may have succeeded in making this book inclusive, but then I'm a Christian.
1. Despite the expectation "cries from the heart" raises (and yes, of course, there are stories of children who died while people were praying for them), Arnold recognizes that the emotional "heart" also "cries" for a sense of connection to God, for understanding, for love, for forgiveness, for faith, and other things. On the whole this is a cheerful book.
2. This is one of the books Plough gives away to spread recognition of the Bruderhof, its religious organization. Though relatively small and new, the Bruderhof is a recent development in the German Anabaptist tradition. Membership is a commitment made by adults; it includes radical pacifism, and may include living in a working commune and/or being sent to live in a different commune. Working communes are self-supporting ventures in which those who are able to work have to do good work, though the focus of some groups is caring for people who can't work. Stories in this book tell about the German congregation that reacted to economic instability between the wars by living communally, then reacted to further pressure from the Nazis by moving out into other countries. More recent stories tell about the furniture factory for which the first American Bruderhof group is known, the care homes for people with major disabilities, and the international growth of the movement.
3. So it's an evangelical book by, for, and about one Protestant Christian group...but the Bruderhof respect other traditions, so Arnold proposes to make this book neither offensive nor even exclusive to non-Christian readers. Is that possible? Probably non-Christians would have to decide. The book includes stories of Jewish and Muslim prayers. I think Arnold may have succeeded in making this book inclusive, but then I'm a Christian.
November 17, 2017
wonderful book that i would recommend for anyone going through hard times!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews