Heart Made Whole: Turning Your Unhealed Pain into Your Greatest Strength

Description

In Heart Made Whole, Christa Black Gifford shares her own stories of loss, betrayal, and personal tragedy, chronicling clear steps to redemption to help those in pain invite the true Healer into the tangled mess of their broken hearts. Gifford reminds readers that pain is not their enemy, however, unhealed pain can become their greatest foe if it's not taken to Jesus. Growing up as a preacher's kid, Gifford had been submerged in Christian culture for decades when she uncovered the truth--that there were broken parts of her heart that weren't on friendly terms with the God who lived inside. Through disappointments and traumas, she had learned to guard her heart from God, keeping her angry, entrapped, and disconnected. As struggles and hardships continued, she finally learned to run towards her relationship with God when things got hard, instead of running away from Him like she had in the past. The more that she did this--building her heart's capacity for intimacy and deep relationship--the more her heart began to heal from the inside-out. She teaches the reader to access the solution that's already living inside of them--the God who forever made their heart a home. When trials and tragedy hit our lives in a fallen world, our hearts can get smashed to bits, and we end up putting God on trial and blaming Him for the mess. But Christa helps readers understand that they don't have to live controlled by their circumstances--or angry with God. Instead, she provides powerful insight and practical steps to turn the painful fire that comes to destroy us into an unexpected friend that can produce our greatest healing. The condition of the heart determines the condition of life--and the heart can be bound up and healed, producing freedom and abundant life. With personal workbook sections for each chapter Christa helps readers experience steps to turn their pain into the healing and wholeness available to every believer.

Christa Black Gifford is a dynamic worldwide speaker, worship leader, and bestselling songwriter. She was the keynote for Women of Faith's Revolve Tour as well as being a popular blogger and a writer for The Huffington Post. Her life-goal is to provide resources for those broken by the pain of life, leading them into wholeness of heart and intimacy with Jesus. She's married to the love of her life, Lucas Gifford. They live in Nashville, TN with their son, Moses Grae Lionheart, a daughter in heaven, Luca Gold, and their newest addition, daughter, Birdie James.

On a dry erase board in our youngest daughter's room, we saw the verse Christa had challenged our three girls to memorize: 'Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it' (Prov. 4:23). During those years she lived with us and played with Michael in his band, she profoundly impacted our children with the way she walked her faith out before them. Little did we know that some of the struggles she shared with us (and many she didn't) would eventually lead her to healing and the wise words in these pages. We urge you to read this book and open your hearts as you do ... it's a beautiful guide to the healing Jesus longs to bring to every broken piece of your heart! * - Michael W. Smith * If anyone can take you on a heart journey to freedom and wholeness, it is this powerful woman of God. The seat of her power is a constant Christ-centered experience of life. I know Christa and Luke. I've witnessed indescribable agony overwhelmed by the Comforter. This book will transform you because the author is deeply authentic in Christ. * - Graham Cooke, Brilliantperspectives.com * Heart Made Whole is a wonderfully vivid and beautifully raw account of the journey that Christa and her family have endured. From rejection to redemption, betrayal to belonging, this book guides the wounded heart to the only place where we can experience wholeness: the Heart of the Father. This is a must-read in any season of life, and it's still impacting me. * - Meredith Andrews, Worship leader and Dove Award-winning recording artist * Heart Made Whole is a stunning book that lets you look into life and its deepest of pains. Christa, the author, has lived deep pain. In this book she shares her process. How do you live life when it feels like your whole world will never be worth anything again? The beauty of this book gives you tools on how to live again and, most importantly, how to find God and let the healing happen. * - Beni Johnson, Author of Healthy and Free and The Happy Intercessor * Almost everyone battles feelings of hurt and loss at some point in their lives. I know I have. That's exactly why Christa Black Gifford's life-changing book Heart Made Whole is a must-read. It is honest, vulnerable, and brave. Christa's passion for helping other hearts be made whole is beautiful. * - Alli Worthington, Author of Breaking Busy: Finding Peace and Purpose in a World of Crazy * I am a fi believer that you cannot take others where you have not been yourself. Christa writes from a raw and real place, and I have watched as she has walked through the valley of the shadow of death and come through victoriously on the other side. The Bible says clearly that out of our heart flows the issues of life, yet too many people are coping through life with fractured hearts and wonder why they are not living in the fullness of what Jesus promised for them. As you read these pages, apply these truths, and allow Jesus to come in and breathe life where there was death, you will discover a freedom that is life- changing. Christa's ability to articulate this process is breathtaking and inspiring. Thank you, Christa, for your transparency and vulnerability on every page and for the truth of God's Word that will bring freedom into the lives of every reader. * - Alex Seeley, Pastor, The Belonging Co Church, Nashville * Deep, honest, powerful, and moving, Heart Made Whole is a book like no other I have ever read. I was gripped by Christa's raw storytelling and changed by her leadership into the exploration of my own heart. This book took courage to write, and I'm so thankful Christa was willing. * - Annie Downs, Author of Looking for Lovely and Let's All Be Brave * The truth, depth, and transparency Christa has shared in Heart Made Whole is so impacting. I believe it will help you to overcome your pain and come to know God as the Healer, Restorer, and gracious Father He is, reminding you of a love that is present in the darkest of moments to make your heart whole. * - Kari Jobe * What Christa and Lucas had to go through when they lost their daughter, Goldie, is unimaginable. I wish that they never had to experience one ounce of what they did. However, I am so grateful that Christa had the ability and strength to take her broken heart to Jesus and not only learn how to navigate through the pain, but also be gracious enough to share her journey and heart lessons with all of us. It's not every day that we get invited into the deepest darkest places of someone's heart and get to watch how they triumphed through tragedy and came out victorious on the other side. Her wisdom is invaluable, and this book is a true treasure. * - Anjelah Johnson-Reyes * While most of us have never experienced the unimaginable pain of losing a child, we all have experienced pain in our lives. That pain, when not dealt with properly, wreaks havoc on a heart that was meant to be fully alive by experiencing the radical love of a Father. As I read Heart Made Whole, I was deeply affected and ministered to as Christa, through her writing, spoke truth and life into my own heart. Christa has given us an incredible gift as she opens up her life in intimate ways to reveal how even the most broken hearts can be made whole. * - Banning Liebscher, Founder and pastor of Jesus Culture * Christa's vulnerability and honesty on these pages is nothing short of astounding. I found myself letting the tears silently roll as my heart breathed a sigh of relief. If we let it, this book could affect the way we approach the intricacies of being human--- from today forward. I know it will for me. * - Amanda Cook * I have had the great honor of knowing Christa for five years now. As a friend, I grieved with her when her sweet baby girl died and in the days following. I watched in amazement as God began to heal and transform her heart. In her new book Heart Made Whole, Christa writes with authority, passion, and incredible vulnerability. This is a book for every gender, every generation, and every heart that refuses to be bound and broken. Christa's heartfelt words and experience will inspire you! * - Kim Walker-Smith, Jesus Culture * This book takes you on a journey. By the first few paragraphs you are bawling, and by the end you feel a sense of inner strength that completely rocks you from the inside out. Christa doesn't just share her story, but invites you to really evaluate your own, and what I loved most was her transparency and rawness through it all. READ it, TAKE it in, and GIVE your heart the healing and wholeness it's been looking for. * - Blanca *