The Longing in Me: How Everything You Crave Leads to the Heart of God

by Sheila Walsh

Do your desires have you going around in circles? You may be looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places. You vowed you’d never repeat the same mistakes—yet you find yourself right where you started. What is it that keeps drawing you back into the same old traps? The fact is, your longings are built from the blueprint of your for protection, for love, for God. And those needs aren’t going anywhere. Sheila speaks candidly about the trials in her life, including the heartache of her first marriage, and intertwines her story with the biblical saga of King David. As both Sheila’s and David’s stories make clear, some cravings are misguided, but they all stem from the same hunger—and they will haunt you until that hunger gets satisfied properly. If you keep reaching out to the wrong people at the wrong times in your own life, The Longing in Me will help you understand that your cravings are not the problem. It’s where they lead you that makes all the difference.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Faith, Religion, Christian Non Fiction, Audiobook, Self Help

179 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Sheila Walsh (05-07-1956) is a powerful communicator, Bible teacher, and best-selling author with more than 4 million books sold. A featured speaker with Women of Faith®, Sheila has reached more than 3.5 million women by artistically combining honesty, vulnerability, and humor with God's Word.

Author of the best-selling memoir Honestly and the Gold Medallion nominee for The Heartache No One Sees, Sheila's most recent release, The Shelter of God's Promises, has also been turned into a DVD curriculum and in-depth Bible study. The Gigi, God's Little Princess book and video series has won the National Retailer's Choice Award twice and is the most popular Christian brand for young girls in the United States.

Sheila co-hosted The 700 Club and her own show Heart to Heart with Sheila Walsh. She is currently completing her Masters in Theology.

Twitter @SheilaWalsh, facebook.com/#!/sheilawalshconnects

Reviews

[Katherine Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this where I confess to never having read a Sheila Walsh book before? Considering that hers have sold in the multi-millions and I’ve been reading books of this ilk for eons, I feel that takes some doing. Let me hasten to add that my neglect has not been intentional, not at all. It’s simply that her books have somehow never happened my way. But now I’m happy to say I’ve rectified that neglect and have tucked my first Sheila Walsh book under my belt.

I found her writing to be engaging, conversational, and personable, though I suspect her style might be more appealing to the forties and fifties crowd than the twenties and thirties. From page one, I was drawn into her personal story, which kept me hooked until the end as I really wanted to know how her story turned out. She’s very respectful of others’ privacy while quite transparent about her own life, giving enough detail to convey authenticity and relevance. Her story spools out gradually, and along the way, she weaves in the parallel course of King David’s tale (along with an interesting sprinkling of tidbits from celebrity lives whose paths intersect with hers).

Three chapters in particular hit me in exactly the right place, three days in a row — boom, boom, boom. (That ever happen to you?) These were: The Longing for Control, The Longing for Your Rights, The Longing for That One Thing You Think You Need to Make You Happy. First of all, I found comfort in knowing I am not alone in these struggles (as the enemy would so often have me believe). Walsh’s teaching also gave me a fresh way to understand my current challenges, and a way to move forward with strengthened hope and faith.

I gleaned a new understanding of David’s story, facts and truths I’d never known before — and therefore new illumination into my own life and how to do things differently…better. Using her own story and David’s as her vehicle, Walsh addresses the issue of longing that is present in every woman’s soul in a deeply personal way.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers and Thomas Nelson for providing me a free copy to review. All opinions are mine.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

She does a good job of describing the various longings we feel and she talked a lot about King David and how he had the same longings. However, the "how everything you crave leads to the heart of God" part, I felt like I had to do the mental lifting to connect these dots. It's not that she doesn't say anything about it, but it's not explicit. I feel like she talked more about how un-fulfilled longings drive us to go to God for comfort, help and hope. Which isn't quite how I interpreted the title. I should add that my interpretation was it was about how God IS the fulfillment of our longings which is what I don't think she made explicit - if it was even her intent. She could have meant something else by that title.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book worth savoring. Sheila Walsh invites us to walk through King David's life and relates it so well to our own. She weaves her story along with David's inviting us to walk alongside the longings that we all have. Sheila Walsh also points every longing to God, no earthly being or thing can satisfy. This was an excellent book and I highly recommend!

[Kathy Van Der Dyke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - this book took me by surprise. I had never read any of Sheila's other books, but I follow her on social media. I listened on audiobooks and I had to stop and write things down all the time! What a different insight into the story of David that I'm not sure I ever really thought about before. She goes thru 1 and 2 Samuel and really takes us thru all the great David stories. I got so many awesome "nuggets" from this book. I highly recommend! I will definitely be getting more of her books!

[Marinda Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a long book, but right on time.
A great reminder that only God can fill the deepest longings of our heart....no thing, and no person (other than him) can fully and finally satisfy.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really needed to listen to this!

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Blogging For Books/Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for an honest review.]

This book opens with a quotation from C.S. Lewis' essay "Weight of Glory" that expresses his well-known feeling of sehnsucht, the longing for something that cannot be fulfilled by anything on this earth [1]. Yet although the author at least implicitly recognizes that longing is not simply a matter for women, this book resolutely acts as though the sole intended audience for the book is female. Perhaps the title of the book may be of most interest to women, but to assume that Christian women would be the only ones who would be interested in reading about how our every longing points ultimately to God is a very false assumption, and one that alienates a possibly substantial amount of readers. This is not a new problem, but this book assumes so often that its readers are female without any remote conception that men would read this book and find its subject matter worthy of reflection is worthy of being pointed out and lamented [2].

In terms of its contents and structure, this book is written in a very personal way, almost embarrassingly confessional. The author means her title very literally--when she writes about the longing in her, she talks about her longings very personally--her longing to be accepted by others, her guilt at having defended herself against her abusive father and giving him a brain injury that led him to be institutionalized until he escaped and met his death, her fierce protectiveness of her first husband, despite the fact that it alienated her from friends and colleagues, and the disastrous bankruptcy she faced with her second husband because of the housing bust. Her stories will likely be relatable to many of her intended audience, and more than a few men who have had disastrous experiences with catty women and broken family backgrounds and relationships. The book itself is divided into ten chapters totaling a little over 170 pages and focusing on ten longings: the longing to be chosen, to be protected, for what used to be, for control, for your rights, for that one thing you think you need to be happy, to make everything right, for what would glorify God, to share the grace and mercy we've received from God, and for God alone. The book begins in anguish and difficulty, with a story of a car accident on the drive with her first husband to their honeymoon, and ends in optimism and encouragement, like most of the psalms.

There is a lot about this book that is worthy of praise. The author speaks about a subject of great importance and does so in a thoughtful and compassionate way, showing her own wounds and scars and also the truth of God's grace and love. The book contains a large amount of personal stories to make it more emotionally relevant while also including a large amount of biblical quotations and sound exegesis, particularly of the story of David throughout his life, making the story biblically sound in its approach. The book is written about a subject that many millions of people can relate to, and does so in a way that encourages repentance and an honest acceptance of the consequences of sin, which is a worthwhile and important lesson if not a particularly enthusiastic one. Even so, although there is much to praise about this book, the author's misguided assumption about her audience, and her apparent desire to deliberately insult any unlucky guy who happens to read the audience by simply talking past and not recognizing such an audience makes this book an immensely frustrating sort of read, one that offers a great deal of worth, but one that comes with the sting of the insult of being mocked and entirely marginalized by hostile and unfriendly assumptions. If the author gets the chance to write a second edition of the book, that would be a massive error to correct with a relish.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

[2] See, for example:

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https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

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https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

[marlyn payero · Rating 5 out of 5]

It opened my eyes

I would recommend this book to everyone that looks for an answer from God regarding our deepest thirst for Him.

[Erica Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an amazing read. So good it made me want to know Sheila more. As someone who reads alot I don’t frequent the same author. There is just something about her that mixes life with advise and hope. Cannot wait to read more and get

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very helpful one for me to read. Through this book, the Lord helped me to see many things that I had been hanging onto, rather than seeking healing.

Mrs. Walsh's honesty in sharing her story and the needs we are trying to have met was helpful and refreshing. Yet, importantly, she remained grounded in scripture throughout. Consistently, she pointed back to the Lord as he ultimate fulfillment of and answer to those longings and how they drive us.

I would highly recommend this book, especially for someone who is struggling with their past, whatever may have been done to them or by them. It provides many helpful tips, in the most loving manner.

[Heather King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read several of Sheila Walsh’s books by now and thought I knew most of her story, but her new book, The Longing in Me, is even more open and honest about where our cravings can take us when we look for fulfillment in the wrong places.

She weaves her own story in with the account of King David in Scripture and covers longings such as: The longing to be chosen, to be protected, for what used to be, for control, for your rights, etc. Interestingly, she didn’t choose to focus on what we typically consider ‘cravings,’ and extended this list to include some of the eternal longings God Himself placed within us, like “the longing for what would glorify God or the longing to share the grace and mercy we’ve received from God, and the longing for God alone.”

This book would work well for an individual read or for Book club to discuss. It does not include a study guide or discussion questions, so small groups would probably want to use the separate study guide instead.

This is one book that I read quickly because it drew me in, but it really deserves a slower re-read to let her points sink in. I loved that even after reading or hearing lots of lessons on David’s life, i learned some fresh insights. Ultimately, the message Sheila drives home is that of grace: “He rescued us because He delights in us, not because we got it right and not because we got it wrong. SImply because He delights in us and invites us to delight in Him.”

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Robert Durough, Jr. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up Sheila Walsh’s The Longing in Me: How Everything You Crave Leads to the Heart of God to add some diversity to my reading. Most Christian books by female authors are explicitly written for women, so I don’t pick them up. However, when the marketing material for this book mentioned nothing of the sort, I figured I’d check it out. I’d not heard of Walsh before this book, so I didn’t know what I was getting into. As with many others, this book written to and for women. (I do wish that had been made known.) That didn’t stop me from finishing it, but I’m certainly not the target audience.

The bulk of the book is Walsh’s story about leaving her ex-husband, later marrying another man, and then the problems they’ve had, and trying to connect her life’s desires with that of King David’s. I didn’t get how the subtitle (How Everything You Crave Leads to the Heart of God) fits with the way these stories are presented. There’s a lot of hopping around between stories and chronology with no real linear thought progression or development.

If you’d like to read about Walsh’s life mixed with a long and loose retelling of David’s story, then you might find this interesting. Some of the anecdotes may tug at your heartstrings, but I don’t think they’re worth the price of the book. This one’s definitely not a book for me.


*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this book didn't really hit home with me as it did others. I like Sheila Walsh but this book was about a lot of personal pain that I honestly couldn't completely relate with. The book talks about Sheila's past and her pain and her life decisions and weaves David's story in with it for Biblical background. I found her personal life story interesting but I had read similar things in her previous book as well.

This book didn't do a lot for me but in reading other reviews many people enjoyed it and it hit home with them. So if you have some stuff in your past or feelings of guilt or confusion this is the book for you.


"I received this book from BookLook Bloggers for free in exchange for an honest review."

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm the Queen of making the same mistakes over and over much to my distress. Sheila Walsh addresses this problem in her own life while interweaving the Biblical story of King David. This book was a choice for a Monday morning study group and I'm certainly glad that it was chosen. An excellent read and a thought provoking book.

[Shana OkieCozyReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshipers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

"I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer." Jim Carrey

"The Eagle and the Wolf" - great battle that rages inside me. One side is a soaring eagle. (True & beautiful). The other side... is a howling wolf (the worst in me). Who wins this battle? The one I feed.

Ruth Graham Bell gave her the book "Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush" by Ian Maclaren.

"Jesus came because we are all messed up—not because some of us are more messed up than others."

"No matter how brutal your story is—there is One who understands the depth of your pain and grief and offers to carry it for you. Matt 11:38-30. Rest here for a while. I understand the deep longing to be understood, to stand up for yourself, and to right the wrongs, but it's an exhausting process that only prolongs the pain."

I thought this was a beautiful and helpful book about how our longings point us to God. We can try filling them with lots of other things, but we will still feel empty inside.

Chapters / The Longing to be Chosen, Protected, for What Used to Be, for Control, for Your Rights, for That One Thing you think you need to be happy, to Make Everything Right, for What would glorify God, to Share the grace and mercy we've received from God, The Longing for God Alone

[Brenda McDearmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been influenced by so many wonderful books over the course of my lifetime, but only a few handfuls could be seen as totally life-changing.

This one is one of those. God used this book to show me a powerful longing deep inside my heart that I had never seen before. But when I realized how destructive I was being in trying to fill it, I fell before God in repentance and in gratitude that he had shown me at just the right time.

Here is just one of the many insights Sheila offers in this honest look at the longings in you and in me:


“ I believe we search for God with all our longings and all our lusts. The woman who has a hundred pairs of shoes in her closet is longing for more than foot fashion. The one who reaches for another drink until the day is obliterated is longing for more than just an alcohol-induced coma. When you shove one more cookie into your mouth that no longer even tastes good, it’s not because you are hungry for cookies; you are hungering for more.”

Are you stuck someplace in life? Does it seem as though you find yourself returning to a familiar hard place, hoping every time that this will be the last? That you’ll finally be able to say or do that one thing that will result in forward momentum, out of the muck and mire?

Then read The Longing in Me. I pray you’ll discover what unmet longing has kept you circling back, and in that process that you’ll be led straight into the arms of Jesus, the One who satisfies every longing of every heart.

I LOVED this book.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the second Sheila Walsh book I've read, the first being In the Middle of the Mess, and I have the exact same issues with this one as the other. Both books are supposed to be delving into a certain topic, but both just come across as a therapy transcript for the author. The book is almost entirely Shelia sharing her personal issues, with a couple random sections of Scripture, while almost completely ignoring the premise of what the book should be about. I couldn't make any connections between her anecdotes and the point of the book, which is supposed to be about how everything you crave leads to the heart of God.

I sympathize with Shelia and her personal tragedies- I have had some similar ones and some exact ones. It makes for a long road of healing. I gave her other book a higher rating than I normally would because I can see the struggle she is still experiencing. Where the problem lies in her books is that she is basically delivering the same book with different titles, and none of them are what is described in the synopsis. Unfortunately, this will probably be the last book I attempt to read by her.

[Imelda Nakamura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an answer to prayer.A great read that is encouraging and full of Biblical principles that are timeless. Yes, God's love is gracious and merciful and indeed is unfair to our lowly minds. We can't fathom His love but oh how we are blessed to be His chosen ones.

This was an answer to prayer.. A great read that is encouraging and full of Biblical principles that are timeless. Yes, God's love is gracious and merciful and indeed is unfair to our lowly minds. We can't fathom His love but oh how we are blessed to be His chosen ones.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting teasing

I love Christian books. And l love her books so much! But it touch me but it was all over the place!! You get into what she is telling, then bang we are On another story. I love her telling about the life of King David but she kept telling it then stops and go to another subject!! I wonder why? Then we the reader (as !east me) never finish about the bankruptcy we go straight into her and her husband having marriage counseling!!!
The last chapter of the book was her best On grace, oh l know l read her books again but not for a while.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life." (Psalm 143:8 NIV)

Blessed by the candid and raw sharing of Sheila Walsh - how her life, on the outside, seemed all that it has to be: 'perfect', but the continuous longing and search for satisfaction within oneself points her back to the Heart of God. Sheila's sharing speaks volume in my heart and my life.

"The horizon might be dim and overcast at the moment, but trust God. He is for you, and new things are on the way." - Sheila Walsh

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Sheila Walsh's honesty; her identifying her faults so that we can also identify or learn from her mistakes and see the grace, forgiveness and mercy of God and learn to give it. Much of the book deals with Kind David and the reason why he was a man after God's own heart was not because he was perfect but because he loved God and when he sinned he owned his mistakes and came to God for forgiveness. He delighted in the Lord and knew the Lord delighted in him.

[Dianna Sandora Sandora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who am l?

I grew up wanting to be somebody but I had no idea who that was and i still often wonder if anyone will like her. Sheila bares herself to us and reminds us how important it is to remember you and I were created by God for a purpose and off we are willing, He will fill that longing.

This book is a quick read, it's like sitting down with Sheila over coffee. You will become fast friends as you realize how much you have in common with her. Art least that is how i felt!

[Lora Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheila Walsh hit the nail on the head with this book. She systematically takes us through the longings of our hearts and helps expose the struggles we have with God which have caused those cravings. The book is full of sentences that I have underlined and starred. Here's one of my favorites:
"Our scars can give life to others so that their scars might be smaller."

[Heidi S · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overall decent book in it's category. It parallels the authors story with King David, teaching lessons along the way.

The reliance on years in the authors story had me lost and loosing interest in it. On the other hand, the way King David's story was told was elegant and spoke to the heart of the story.

I would recommend if the premise catches your interest.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

She beautifully captures St Augustine's words

My soul cannot find rest Oh Lord, until it finds rest in thee - St Augustine. Walsh's honest portrayal of her spiritual journey encourages her readers on their own.

[Lynn McGinnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to read Sheila Walsh books on Audible. Great narrations. This is personal journey with Walsh through her own battles and victory in Christ designed to help you understand the spiritual root of cravings in any form.

[Pamela Mahase · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read

This book helps women to understand life and the struggles we face and why it is all worth it. God is at the centre of our lives if we allow Him to be. I never really understood God and now I get it. He wants to be my best friend

[Cheryl Derijke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very thought provoking and inspirational. I read through it, but now am excited to start over and study the story of David and how his life is reflected in mine.

[Kristi Urmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. There is so much information. We all have a longing for something or someone more than us.

[Mrs R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked how Sheila linked in her personal longings with those of King David