Silent September [Paperback]

Joyce Landorf Heatherley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1988

You or someone you love endures relentless pain. At times, suffering robs you of the will to go on and to hear even the whispers of God. Out of her own years of pain, Joyce writes and waits with you.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joyce Landorf Heatherley, nationally known author, public speaker, and recording artist brings the special message of love and hope to thousands of men and women through her books, videos, music, and inspired presentations.

A graduate of Pasadena City College with a degree in music, Joyce also received an honorary doctorate in humanities from Azusa Pacific University. Through her 24 books, her film series (His Stubborn Love), speaking engagements, radio programs and national television appearances, Joyce has spread her inspired message of hope to millions of readers and viewers both in the U.S. and overseas. Her four record albums exemplify her musical gift and touch the hearts of people needing reassurance, hope and support in the trials of everyday living. There are over seven million copies of her products in circulation.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

So I write these words to those of you who have not, up to this point in your life, experienced the annihilating damage that prolonged physical or emotional pain can produce. But I also write to others, like myself, who have paid our longtime dues into the "special sorority of suffering" and remain in that vast assemblage of humanity who are, as yet, unhealed.

I am not addressing the causes of our pain, for that's a vast, uncharted ocean, too complicated for my tiny, fragile boat. But rather, I write from the perspective of examining the effects of suffering, whether the actual cause originates from an emotional, mental, or physical source (or, in many cases, a combination of all three).

Because of the effects of suffering in my own life, I have a need to ask God questions, a need to define my own concept of God, a need to seek diligently for God's truth, and an aching need to be held and comforted by God Himself.

One of the most burning questions in my own heart is: How do we live with suffering? How can we apply James' message to a suffering Jewish community when he wrote, "Consider it complete joy, my brothers, when you become involved in all sorts of trials" (James 1:2, MLB)?

Or, as J.B. Phillips translated the same verse, "When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don't resent them as intruders but welcome them as friends!"

Friends? How can we, day after day, welcome pain - and the acute suffering which accompanies it - as a friend? Pain, as I have experienced it, is not my friend, but my surest enemy. No longer is pain jabbing at me to "point the way" to something more serious. No, now it is my constant companion - relentless and ruthless as it ravages my body, mind, and spirit.

I know intellectually and theologically that the specific product produced by pain and suffering is endurance. James calls suffering the "proving of our faith," which brings out endurance, steadfastness, and patience. But how do we endure one more blow? One more day? Or, as my friend who had suffered several miscarriages said, after adoption plans for another child had fallen through, "It was another [one more] funeral." How do we go on?

I don't know how others are doing it, how others are making it through the night, or how others continue to sing and dance when they can no longer hear the music. But, here are some lessons from the classroom of my pain. The studies are tough - but I am enduring, I am continuing, and I am beginning to hear the music once again even though my circumstances of pain have not changed.

I want desperately to reach you and give you a cup of hope. I want to walk beside you as you exercise and strengthen the muscles of your endurance. But mostly, I want the words on the pages of this little book to hug you back to life and to convince you to stay one more day.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Balcony Publishing (August 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929488016
• ISBN-13: 978-0929488011
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Medical Books > Dentistry > Craniomandibular & Temporomandibular

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unashamedly Honest, August 21, 2001

By 

A Stinson (Cuyahoga Falls, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent September (Paperback)

What a welcomed and healing read to turn page after page and find yourself woven in to each thought the author shares. Ms. landorf writes as if you are in conversation with her and you'll find yourself "Umm-Hmm"ing and "Amen"ing outloud. The frank and honest sharing of what unwelcomed, unexplainable and seemingly "undeserved" pain in our lives produces is healing in itself, just in the knowledge that someone else has felt abandoned by God in the midst of it. Ms. Landorf does more than sympathize by walking with you through her personal struggle for answers and where she found them and the strength to "hold on just one more day" (to quote the book), which is all we really need as God tells us to "take no care for tomorrow..." Hope's fulfillment is sometimes just a day away...HOLD ON!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unashamedly Honest, August 21, 2001

By 

A Stinson (Cuyahoga Falls, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent September (Paperback)

What a welcomed and healing read to turn page after page and find yourself woven in to each thought the author shares. Ms. landorf writes as if you are in conversation with her and you'll find yourself "Umm-Hmm"ing and "Amen"ing outloud. The frank and honest sharing of what unwelcomed, unexplainable and seemingly "undeserved" pain in our lives is healing in itself, just in the knowledge that someone else has felt abandoned by God in the midst of it. Ms. Landorf does more than sympathize by walking with you through her personal struggle for answers and where she found them and the strength to "hold on just one more day" (to quote the book), which is all we really need as God tells us to "take no care for tomorrow..." Hope's fulfillment is sometimes just a day away...HOLD ON!

5.0 out of 5 stars Book of comfort, January 24, 2011

By 

Texas Grandmother - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Silent September (From the heart) (Hardcover)

Would make an excellent gift for someone who is dealing with physical pain. Very uplifting in a positive experience of hope and encouragement.