Hope Lives: A Journey of Restoration [Paperback]

Amber Van Schooneveld (Author), Wess Stafford (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2008

Compassion changes everything: how you view your world...yourself...even Jesus. This five-week exploration of compassion is aimed at both head and heart, inspiring a new way to interact with the world. These 25 daily readings address poverty of the heart, what the Bible says about poverty, prayer, discovering the causes of poverty, and becoming part of the solution to local and global poverty. Powerful--and life-changing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Group Publishing (March 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764437887
• ISBN-13: 978-0764437885
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Ministry & Church Leadership > Church Administration

More About the Author

Amber Van Schooneveld lives in Colorado Springs with her husband Michael. She works daily at Compassion International, where she coaches a team of writers and photographers around the globe. Previously, she was employed as a women's editor and a project manager for Group Publishing. She received her bachelor's degree in English at Colorado State University and did postgraduate work at Leiden University in the Netherlands. She has written and edited numerous books and ministry resources and has appeared on numerous radio shows discussing international development and Christianity.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WARNING! You'll never be the same., April 1, 2008

By 

Craig Cable "Bronco Fan" (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hope Lives: A Journey of Restoration (Paperback)

I have some confessions to make.

First off, I'm one of those millions of Christians living in America who donate time and money out of guilt and obligation. I have found peace of mind knowing that when I wrote a check, I could cross that off my list of "Christian things to do." Kind of a, "Whew! I'm glad that's taken care of" sort of attitude.

My next confession is that I'm absolutely paralyzed by the sheer enormity of the needs that exist in the world. I would often think to myself that I SHOULD do something more and would often talk about doing something more but was filled with self-doubt thinking, "what difference is it going to make anyway? I mean really, how is my pittance of a donation going to end poverty or cure aids or feed the World's hungry?"

Here's my last confession. I've held the opinion that I also struggle financially and my family's needs come first before anyone else gets a slice of my financial pie. Afterall, I've worked hard for what I have and I'm not about to put myself in dire straights because someone else didn't put in the same effort.

OK. Now that I've come clean, I have to admit that reading Hope Lives has changed my life and I don't make this statement lightly.

What this book has done for me is open my eyes and revealed to me what God has asked me to do; not from a position of guilt but rather from an expression of love and grace. Truth be told, I'm blessed. I mean truly blessed. Blessed that I live in America, blessed that I have the opportunities that I have and blessed that I've been given the God-honoring privilege to serve him. Through this book, my eyes were opened to the causes of poverty and I can honestly say that my heart has been changed and I'll never quite be the same.

In short, Hope Lives helped me recognize that God is on the move and he's weaving an amazing fabric that I play a small role in helping to weave. He isn't asking me to do EVERYTHING but he has put me in a time and place and has given the means to do SOMETHING. What I do with this opportunity is ultimately up to me.

The cover of Hope Lives refers to a "Journey of Restoration." I assumed "restoration" meant that the poor would be restored to self-sufficiency. What I didn't realize was that I was being restored and the greatest transformation was occuring within me.

I pray that this book does the same for you.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best introductory book on poverty (Full Review), March 19, 2008

By 

Shepherd Book (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hope Lives: A Journey of Restoration (Paperback)

This book is really special. It's laid out as a five week read, with each week broken down into five daily readings (along with some space for questions and reflections at the end of each reading). It's about poverty, but in a more general sense than some books. It's not just about one problem (or solution) or one kind of poverty; it's about the general problem of living in a world with people who have real, desperate needs, be they monetary, food-related, housing-related, emotional, spiritual, opportunity-related, physical, or what have you. The five chapters are: Poverty of the Heart (which is about our own attitudes and beliefs), God is Not Silent (what the Bible says about poverty), Understand Poverty, Prayer, and Be the Change (which is about how to take action).

The book stands on its own, but it's also part of an all-church curriculum (kits for pastors, small groups, children, and youth) that's supposed to last 5 weeks and includes a dvd, lessons, sermon suggestions, promotional materials, etc. I haven't seen the kits since they're not out yet, but the book is really great.

First off, this is a very attractive book. It has lots of fun art and lots of pictures and even pictures of the people that the stories are about, which is neat. The pictures really help reinforce the tone of the book, which is about poverty, but is meant to be encouraging. And even though the pictures are of tough things, kids living in poverty, they're really nice pictures and really help to humanize the subjects, instead of just making you feel guilty and presenting you with a world so different from yours you can't identify with it. The writing is really good, too. It's written in a sort of personal reflection type of form, almost like a conceptual journal, which softens the blow of some of the hard stuff being said a little (if you want to take it straight on just replace the "I" with "we" in your head). The way each chapter is broken up helps you to digest the material (this book covers a lot in a short space) and keeps you from being overwhelmed. The attitude of the book is really positive, which is nice, and the stories are really powerful.

Overall, a really great book, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the dvd. Poverty is kind of a hot button topic right now, so this book is very timely. It's a great treatment of the fundamentals of the subject; instead of focusing on just one temporary problem or one limited solution, it goes for the eternal core of the problem and how it relates to ourselves, our faith, and our world. It takes a tough subject and tackles it in a way that anyone could handle. If you have any interest in the subject or want to help someone else understand it better, this would be a great choice. Five stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Gotta Read', December 2, 2009

By 

Richard Colquhoun "rick c" (cohoes NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hope Lives: A Journey of Restoration (Paperback)

I am a pastor who leads a church that is committed to serving the poor, so this book didn't contain anything really "new", but it sure is POWERFUL.I personally found it very challenging (and convicting). We have also used the small group DVD in our church, and did a sermon series with the same topic (based on the useful pastoral resource). Our church has done other "40 Day"/all church things before- this honestly was the first one I REALLY enjoyed- mostly because the book was so well done. Awesome stories, great photos, wonderful quotes, helpful reflection questions and the author's honesty with her own struggles in serving the poor make this a worthwhile read as a stand alone book.