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Book Review: My Descent into Death
My Descent into Death by Howard Storm is a very inspirational Near Death Experience (NDE) story about an American college art professor who has a medical emergency while traveling in Paris, France. I love reading books about another person’s experience of life after death in the heavenly realm. Unfortunately, Howard didn’t start there. He was an atheist when he died and experienced something terrible – something I hope you never see or hear in your life. I won’t go into detail – no spoilers here. But fortunately, a song from his childhood came to his mind – Jesus loves me. He sang it in pure desperation, wondering if he could ever escape this hellish place he found himself in and guess what? Jesus came to him!
The rest of the book is full of inspirational and unusual insight. Remember, he didn’t know Jesus when he died so he had no preconceived religious ideas (or not very many). So he asked a LOT of questions of Jesus and the angels – the answers he received provide some powerful truths we could all benefit from.
For instance, when Jesus told him that he needed to go back to earth, Howard was very reluctant and asked why he had to go back. He was experiencing such love and peace as he had never experienced before – you can imagine why he didn’t want to come back to earth. Jesus’ answer to him was unique.
You can save the world.
I don’t think so. I’m nobody and I’m not going to save the world. How could I save the world? Howard replied.
You are to love the person you are with.
How will that save the world? Howard wondered.
When you love a person, they will love the next person they meet, and they will love the next person they meet, and so on.
I don’t know if I can do it.
You can do it because we will help you. (“We” meaning Jesus and the angels who were with them.)
Howard was also thinking of his family – his wife and two children. Jesus told him he had to return to finish the job he had.
You have a job to do, which is to take care of the people God needs you to love. You were born to love these people. This is the job that you were created to do.
I LOVE this idea, don’t you? You have a job to do – to take care of the people in your life. Whether that’s your spouse, children, parents, siblings, friends, neighbors, etc. But it’s not “everybody” in the world – just the ones you are with – the ones you speak to, live with, visit or see each day. “You were born to love these people.” What a simple, yet profound concept.
I took my mother to a doctor’s appointment recently and as we were leaving, the doctor turned to us and said, “Take good care of each other.” That hit me with such powerful simplicity. Yes, that’s what we are called to do – every single one of us. Just take good care of each other. 💗
Reading Howard’s life story is very encouraging – his NDE completely changed his life. You can imagine what it might be like going from being a humanistic atheist to a man of faith who had actually met Jesus, face to face! How he changed his life and the differences it made in those around him is contained in the book and I am so glad! Often NDE stories end with the person waking up in the hospital, but not this one. He describes what life was like for him and how long it took to physically recover as well as process his supernatural experience. And the life choices he made afterwards profoundly changed the direction of his life and family.
He said something very powerful toward the end of the book,
Living life with faith is infinitely more rewarding than living without faith in God. Having faith gives one courage to do things one would never do, and the patience to endure the unendurable. Faith gives hope when you haven’t a clue how things will turn out. Faith gives joy when everything is bleak. Life with faith in God is so superior to life without faith that I recommend anyone to seek faith above all other things.
– Howard Storm, My Descent Into Death: A Second Chance at Life
Thank you, Howard, for sharing your story with us. We need encouragement when things look bleak in the world. We need that courage, patience, hope and joy. And most of all we need Love.
As Howard learned to apply his faith, he was amazed at how much good he could do to help others. He said,
“There is nothing we couldn’t do if enough people listened to God.”
I believe it! And as my previous post described, Jesus is already drawing people together to bring restoration to the earth. They WILL be listening to God, whether they realize it or not! 😁
If you’d like to read Howard Storm’s book, you can click here to find it on Amazon.
Do you have a book you’d recommend? Please post the title and author’s name below in the comments. I love finding good books. Thanks to Andrey in Poland for recommending this one!
Spirit vs Soul, Part 1
Rating: Educational
I have noticed that very few people talk about the different parts of ourselves that are unseen. Most people acknowledge that there are at least 2 parts of us – the part everyone can see on the outside (our body) and the hidden part inside of us (our inner being). But I have discovered that our inner being is comprised of at least 2 parts, which I refer to as Spirit and Soul. In reading what others have to say, I’ve noticed there is no universal language to describe it – each author uses different words (which adds to the confusion, I’m sure). Rather than try to pick words that fit all the different expressions of this reality, I’m going to stick to the words I’m familiar with from the Bible. It helps to give me a foundation from which to build. It also connects to the ancient traditions of the Christian faith, which I value. I’m going to try to express what I have seen, heard and experienced in my own life and in those I have helped. It has made a HUGE difference in my life.
I discovered a doorway to peace and joy and love that I never knew existed.
Spirit vs Soul
You are a spirit and you have a soul (Hebrews 4:12, I Thessalonians 5:23). Your spirit carries your spiritual DNA – that’s part of your identity. Your spiritual DNA is the way God made you for His specific purposes to be fulfilled in your life time. When you become a follower of Jesus, your spirit becomes one with His Spirit (I Corinthians 6:17).
Your soul carries your natural identity – who you are on the earth. This would include your personality, your likes and dislikes about natural things (i.e. I love chocolate). Most of our daily lives revolve around the soul. This is what feels most comfortable to us – it comes naturally.
Some people define the soul as containing the mind, the will and the emotions. I’m not sure it’s that simple because we also carry “the mind of Christ” in our spirit (I Corinthians 2:16). Our spirit has intelligence, creativity and intuition. It also seems to be the seat of our conscience (our sense of right and wrong). You could say the soul contains YOUR mind, will and emotions whereas your spirit carries the mind, will and emotions of the Holy Spirit (if you are one with Him).
Your spirit and your soul were each created with their own purpose. They are not the same. Your soul was created to do certain things. Your spirit was created to do certain other things. They are both valid. They are both very important. Sometimes what causes us to struggle is when we try to get our soul to do what our spirit was created to do and vice versa. It causes confusion for us – especially when we don’t get the results we were expecting! This has happened to me many times. Once I learned the difference between the two and how to switch between then, I got much better results. As I have shared this with others, they have told me what a game changer it is! So that’s why I’m trying to share it here.
If you let your spirit lead your life, you experience the fruit of the Holy Spirit every day – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). You experience this wonderful fruit in all your relationships, both at home and at work or school. You experience the abundant life that Jesus promised (John 10:10).
If you lead your life by your soul, you may feel anxious, uptight, or unsure of what you’re doing. You worry about what people are thinking about you. You worry about the future; you dwell on the past. It’s easy to get “stuck” in your soul. This is perfectly natural. Most mental health issues are in the soul. That’s where we primarily need healing in order to be happy and healthy.
In order to move from living by your soul to being led by your spirit, there is a process that can help you. I learned this from Arthur Burk in his series, Nurturing Your Spirit. I will summarize the main ideas that helped me. Some of this is my own insights and some of this is from his series. Arthur tells people when he teaches, “Look – here are my ideas about this topic. You take it and run with it!” So that’s what I’m doing. 🙂
Your spirit is a very real part of you. If you have ignored it for most of your life (like we all have done), it will take a while to make the change. First, you have to become aware of your spirit through daily practice. What you want to do is
a) Become aware of your spirit
b) Acknowledge your spirit’s place
c) Strengthen your spirit
d) Let your spirit lead
Become aware of your spirit
The first step is to become aware of your spirit and to begin to connect with it. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to recognize your spirit. Close your eyes and take a few slow deep breaths. Focus on the way the air feels as it flows through your chest. Imagine your spirit filling you on the inside just like your breath fills you. Stay with the feeling for a few minutes. Focus on your breath and just “be”.
It takes a lot of practice to become aware of your spirit. I recommend that you take a minute and do this breathing exercise every day. You can do it when you first wake up, or when you are waiting at stop light in traffic or anytime you remember to do it. The point is to practice and pay attention until it becomes easy for you to recognize your spirit.
Acknowledge your spirit’s place
As you begin to connect with your spirit, you will recognize what value it has. God created it for a very specific purpose. He will show you that purpose, to encourage you and strengthen you. Acknowledge to yourself that your spirit has a right to be expressed. That there is something special inside of you that deserves to be known to the outside world.
Each day ask God’s Spirit to come and fill your spirit and wash it. Take a few deep breaths and see if you feel anything. Sometimes it feels like you are standing in a rain shower. Sometimes it may feel like a soft blanket of peace or love. Sometimes you don’t feel anything, but it is still happening. God promises to give His Spirit to anyone who asks.
God’s Spirit is the provider of all the resources you need to fulfill your destiny. When you invite Him to come and fill you, He begins to direct your day and lead your steps (and you notice it). At first, it may seem surprising. After a while, it becomes very comforting.
I’m going to stop there for today. This is a lot to take in when you first read it. Ponder this concept of being a three part being – body, soul and spirit. Practice the breathing exercise and see if you can recognize your spirit. What does it feel like to you? How would you describe it? Spend some time each day paying attention to it and begin to acknowledge your spirit and its value.
If you have some insight you’d like to share, please feel free to comment below. I will continue this topic in the next post.
Discernment of the Supernatural Realm 