Hello! Since my birthday is tomorrow, I am going to do several posts on one of my absolute favorite books. :-) So, in answer to the question I asked in my first post, "what is one of your favorite Christian books" here is one of mine! :-)
Title: Stepping Heavenward
Author: Elizabeth Prentiss
Published: Originally published in 1869. It has been republished several times over the years. The particular book I'm reviewing is a paperback that was published in 2001 by Solid Ground Christian Books. (I know that Lamplighter has also published Stepping Heavenward in a hardback book)
Background Information: Elizabeth Prentiss (1818-1878) was the daughter of a revival preacher, Edward Payson. She wrote several other books, and is also known for her hymn--"More Love to Thee, O Christ." She married Rev. George L. Prentiss and they had several children. This book is classified as Christian Living/Fiction.
This particular copy has a forward by Elizabeth Elliott, it is also recommended by Joni Eareckson Tada. Elizabeth Elliot has this to say on the back of the book:
"This book is a treasure of both godly and womanly wisdom told with disarming candor and humility, yet revealing a deep heart's desire to know God. We desperately need such intimate accounts when the word commitment is so little understood and so seldom practiced. I recommend it to any woman who wants to walk with God, and to men also, who need to better understand the wives they live with."
Joni Eareckson Tada says: "This book will serve as a guide for the Christian woman who desires to leave behind the dull, dry indifference of spiritual mediocrity to discover the rich, deep joy of knowing Jesus more fully."
More Background: This book has been a favorite of mine for years. I think the first time I ran into a copy of it, I was at my Aunt Becky's house. :-) The particular copy I saw had a girl with brown hair and a long dress reading a book...this naturally appealed to me, it looked old fashioned, she was holding a book, and she had brown hair like me! :-) I began skimming it at the house, and I think that I ended up borrowing it. This was several years ago, possibly when I was in my early teens, or pre-teen. Since then, I have read the book multiple times, have my own copy, made sure my sister had her own copy, let friends borrow it over the years, and even given it to a friend for a birthday present! :-) I even quoted one of the first lines of the book in my diary when I turned sixteen. "How dreadfully old I am getting! Sixteen!" Needless to say...I love the book! :-) I thought it would be a great book to review around my birthday and I enjoyed re-reading it again this week in preparation for this review. I will just give a little more information about the book and then do more posts later about the book.
"Stepping Heavenward"
The book is about a young woman named Katherine Mortimer (who insists on being called Katy). It starts when she is sixteen and ends around when she is 45. The book is basically her journal, and written in a diary/journal kind of a way. It goes through her life, her youth as a passionate quick tempered girl, wanting to please God and her parents, but constantly frustrated with her own attempts at it. Once she comes to a saving knowledge of Christ, the journal is about "stepping heavenward" and her struggles in the Christian life. It goes on into her married life, her children, and more.
More to follow on another post...have a great day!
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