Exposed: Inexcusable Me...Irreplaceable Him

I love that title!  That title alone is what made me want to read this book.  God is truly irreplaceable.  When our lives are broken as Shannon's was, God is the only Person who is able to put us back together again - to restore us - to give us beauty for ashes.  He is irreplaceable!

Shannon M. Deitz is the founder of Hopeful Hearts Ministry and a world-wide speaker reaching out through personal testimony to offer the hope of Christ's light and love to those who are suffering.  Through this ministry, Shannon offers presentations to groups such as women's penitentiaries, women's shelters, women's clinics and teen shelters.

From Shannon's Story, which can be found on her website www.shannonmdeitz.com:
"What did it take for me to get over myself?
Death of my first love in high school, rape when I was seventeen and then yet again my freshman year in college, self-abuse (physical and substance), depression, utter despair, and an imminent threat of a chronic physical ailment – rheumatoid arthritis, and ultimately realizing I had no ‘real’ control over my own flesh and blood as I tried to deal with my first born who was finally diagnosed with ADHD and Impulsivity Disorder.
At the age of 27, after6 years of marriage to Neal and two beautiful boys, Ryan and Seth, I finally let it all go.  I couldn’t live anymore.  Face down on my bedroom floor I had my moment in life where I knew it was time to die.  Die to self.
All of my fears were no more because I’d already lived through hell.
For the first time since I was a young girl I felt peaceful.  Nothing CHANGED in my life at that very moment but my PERSPECTIVE changed because I no longer had the weight of the outcome resting on my spirit.
Eleven years later God has literally, physically, put me on the path he originally had planned for me when he created me in my mother’s womb.  Not long after the moment of surrender on my bedroom floor I felt a strange tug to teach the teens at the church and to simultaneously figure out what there was to our Catholic faith BEYOND the tradition.
In two years time we found answers for my son, my marriage survived a near divorce, and I was led into full time youth ministry."

 In Exposed:  Inexcusable Me...Irreplaceable Him, Shannon tells her story.  And it is an amazing story of her courageous journey and how she experienced God's healing grace.  This is not your typical biography.  Shannon tells her story in a very unique way by sharing her memories "in the perception of the age in which they were experienced."

I appreciate Shannon's transparency and candor in telling her story.  Some parts are hard to read.  I applaud Shannon and her courage.  Many times we don't like to talk about such things as what she shares in her book...things too messy...things we'd rather push away and not deal with.

This book is a blessing, because it not only tells the story of a broken life, but it also tells the story of a God whose amazing grace reaches to the depths of depravity and raises up a mighty and beautiful warrior for Him!  It shines the Light into the dark places.

I encourage you to get this book, especially if you've been involved in any kind of abuse or know someone who has.  Those involved in women's ministry would be particularly helped by this book as it provides a vivid picture of the suffering of many who you may have the opportunity to minister.

A portion of the proceeds of the book goes directly to help survivors of abuse through the Maria Goretti Network.

Exposed can be purchased at Amazon.com by going HERE.

SHANNON ANSWERING EMAIL QUESTIONS FROM A YOUNG WOMAN:


SHANNON EXPLAINING A BIT MORE ABOUT HOPEFUL HEARTS MINISTRY:


Thank you B&B Media for sending me a copy of the book for the purpose of this review.

Blessings,
Jennifer