Book Review: Then Along Came An Angel

"Three days passed before he was joined by other angels who came to carry Mother home. I watched in awe as she opened her eyes normally for the first time in days and looked up intently. I knew she was immediately seeing a band of angels." p. 40 Then Along Came An Angel

In Then Along Came An Angel: Messengers of Deliverance, Julie Bonn Heath has compiled a delightful and inspiring collection of individuals who have experienced God's presence in a very real and sometimes mysterious way. She begins the book sharing that she has never seen an angelic being but felt the strong need to compile the stories of people who had an "angel experience."

Stories are broken into three sections titled Heavenly Intervention, Earthly Form and Life-Changing Directions. In Heavenly Intervention, mysterious events are recounted including kids pulled back by an unseen hand from danger as their car tipped over a dangerous ledge, a child lifted upstream to safety by someone other than her father -- when no one was around, and several incidents of attackers and dogs scared off by something they could see but the storyteller could not.

In Earthly Form, Heath has gathered evidences of mysteriously present individuals coming to the aid of people in trouble. Stories include a farmer on a fencepost in dead winter there to help a man with a truckload of logs on an dangerously icy hill and a desperately needed mechanic showing up from nowhere in the middle of the night.

In Life Changing Directions, a girl is stopped from walking past known felons waiting for her around the corner. The man who stopped felt an incredibly powerful sense of something wrong, gave her a ride home in the car with his children and a dog, and reported it to the police who found the guys and realized what might have happened. Many more stories share how God used humans and angels in divine encounters, preventing tragedy or accident.

Heath's book serves as an excellent reminder of the spiritual world surrounding us. When we open our eyes to acknowledge the presence of God in every circumstance, we are blessed beyond measure knowing that He is in control and we are not alone. I believe that people of all faiths can appreciate these stories and be inspired.

Through an e-mail interview with Julie, I found out the following about the author:

Could you share part of your Christian testimony - like how and when you became saved?

 

I became saved at the age of 4. My mom ran Good News Clubs through Child Evangelism Fellowship and every club day we had loads of kids converge in our living room to participate. One night after club she was tucking me into bed and we talked about the Bible Story from that day. Then she helped me accept Jesus.

 

Who were some of the instrumental Christian influences in your life growing up?

 

Definitely my parents and one of the most important things that they taught me is the importance of service in ministry. They were AWANA leaders/directors, Sunday School teachers and more. (Yes, I was at church 4 days a week!) But as a result, ministry is so very important to me and I also teach my kids the same ministry ethic that I was raised with. We currently teach children's church and also just started helping with our local Young Life. We have also been AWANA and Vacation Bible School Teachers.

 

What response have you gotten from the book?

 

I guess the most memorable was when bestselling angel author Joan Wester Anderson wrote me a note. She said that she knew I didn't ask for a review but that all the stories were GREAT and that we can never have enough angel stories.

 

Was there a specifically powerful story that has come out of people reading the book that you would tell given the chance? (Here's the chance!)

 

There are many powerful stories. They are all impactful to me in some way or I wouldn't have included them in the book. Some of my faves include "Miraculous Return" by Robin Woods when an abducted toddler is returned home by an angel who walks him across a busy highway, "The Army Outside my Window" by Lea Peters when an entire fleet of angels surrounds her home in a war zone and "Mikey" by Michele Cotton-a story about how a virtual stranger urges the author and her girls to get out of their car-right before it catches fire. But there are several more in addition to those.

For more reviews of this book, check out the TOUR SCHEDULE! RIGHT NOW the book is retailing at AMAZON for $11.55.

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Comments

[Melissa (ForstRose)]

Just stopping around to greet my fellow hosts on this tour.

I find these stories inspirational as well and its so fun to read what others are saying about them too and great to hear a bit more from Julie about the book and herself.

[valerie mitchell]

this book sounds so interesting :)