Our Hearts' True Home: Fourteen Warm, Inspiring Stories of Women Discovering the Ancient Christian Faith

by Virginia Nieuwsma

Book Overview

"Our Heart's True Home" presents fourteen warm, inspiring stories of women coming into the Orthodox Christian faith. These women come from a wide variety of backgrounds, yet ther's a common thread: no... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1888212020
• ISBN13: 9781888212020
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Ancient Faith Publishing
• Length: 182 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A heartwarming book

I really liked this book. I was initially drawn to it because it was suggested for those considering entering into the Orthodox Faith. As a Protestant who lived with a Greek Orthodox family and went on a pilgramige to an Orthodox monastery, now years later these experiences were comming back to me to warm my heart, whilst in a church which initially satisfied, but has failed to do so in the long run. This is a book of stories from women from different faiths who have found their home in Eastern Orthodoxy... their different backgrounds, their experiences in previous faiths, how they came to be interested in Orthodoxy, what eventually called to them to have them convert. But I found something I could relate to in each and every story, and they all helped to point me towards this Faith. This book gave me a feeling of being able to relate to so many other women from different experiences, who ended up in the Orthodox Church, as I did. I found something I could relate to in each and every story. So it was very affirming during a time when I was making a very big decision. As a woman entering into Orthodoxy, it is a really good book. (It has been said, as a put down, that Orthodoxy is a man's faith, but I don't agree.) It gives a lot of perspective on why people leave other faiths, and what it is like from an experiental perspective, rather than a theological basis for the change. I recommend this book to any woman who has an interested in the Ancient Faith of Orthodoxy.

Yes, it is inspiring--and not just for the ladies!

"Our Heart's True Home" is just as warm and inspiring as the title proclaims. Unfortunately, the pinkish cover and the female-oriented subtitle may be a bit off-putting to men. Unfortunately, because the contents are heartfelt accounts the can inspire folk of either gender! The chapters of "Our Heart's True Home" are honestly told chapters of how over a dozen people left new age practices, Judaism, Catholicism, and various Protestant denominations and found peace and joy in the Holy Orthodox Church. My wife read this book when we were getting disenchanted with our mainstream Protestant denomination, and found it not only moving but also a reality check of what life is like for the Orthodox. In many ways, this is the great value of this book. Being Orthodox involves a lot more commitment of time, lifestyle, and physical effort than other Christian communions. The curious and the seekers will find the foretaste valuable. Well, my wife badgered me into reading this opus and I found it relevant and enjoyable as well, so I recommend it for women AND men. No, this isn't a book of theology or a real apologetic, and readers should not expect that. I'm also taking one star off because this book is not really of much interested for the incurious or even for most 'cradle Orthodox'. However, at least in America, Orthodoxy is moving from a Church of mainly immigrants, to a church combining third-generation Americans and increasing numbers of converts. This book is for those joining those ranks.

An anthology of inspirational stories

Our Hearts' True Home is an anthology of inspirational stories written by fourteen different women who learned to embrace the Orthodox Christian faith. Each woman's struggle has been uniquely different, yet all share a common experience with God's love and mercy. Black-and-white photographs of the authors intersperse this heartfelt, passionate, and devoted anthology, which awakens compassion and spiritual empathy in the reader.

inspiring, informative

One walks through these pages on solid (not rigid) ground. Feeling close kinship with people of the past 2000 years of history, people who have suffered in ways we pampered Americans can only imagine, gives one hope -- for surely our utopia cannot last. I was particularly blessed by realizing that the majority of churches of today, with their health/wealth doctrines, and glaring, frantic self-promotions, are not the sole choices in the American supermarket of Christian religions.