Acquired Book By: I am a new reviewer for Hachette Books and their imprints, starting with FaithWords which is their INSPY (Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction) imprint of releases focusing on uplifting and spiritual stories which are a delight to read whilst engaging your mind in life affirming and heart-centered stories. I found Hachette via Edelweiss at the conclusion of [2015] and have been wicked happy I can review for their imprints Grand Central Publishing, FaithWords & Center Street.
I received a complimentary copy of “Angels Among Us” direct from the publisher FaithWords (an imprint of Hachette Book Group Inc.) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
NOTE: All my posts and/or reviews since May 2018 I am featuring on behalf of Hachette Books now states this is ‘sponsored’ by the publisher. Kindly refer to my Review Policy where I disclosed the reasons why this new language of disclosure is being added to [jorielovesastory.com].
Why I had such a keen interest in reading this book:
There are two main reasons – my cats are highly in-tune with their environments and my family survived a major car accident – walking away unscathed when the rescue workers thought it would have been a much worse outcome than finding us all alive yet cold. Angels are everywhere.
I think it goes without saying that all animals have certain extra-sensory awareness and heightened intuitive skills more than we do at times. If you leave near natural disasters, this is further highlighted by the fact any dog or cat will become quite aware of the changes in the pressures affecting the atmosphere whenever a storm (ie. a major event, such a hurricane or tornado) is about to disperse itself in or round your general area. The animals can sense these upper atmosphere changes long before we are wizened to their presence due to how they can interpret that aspect of what they sense, feel and are alert to knowing ahead of us. However, it isn’t too big of a leap to conceive of a way for animals to be cognisant of visitors we, ourselves, might not be privy to knowing are round us – unless we feel their presence or are alerted to their presence through prayer.
Secondly, it isn’t a hard leap also to accept that there are certain moments in our lives where situations and circumstances are unable to be explained. Such as the situations surrounding the car accident involving my family and the kind Samaritan who was on scene afterwards. Although we had a strong faith within our family prior to the accident, I must admit, after it happened it re-affirmed our faith on a heightened layer of prayerful awareness and a renewal of blessed grace.
What I was most looking to gain from reading Angels Among Us is a better understanding of how angels choose to visit us and why their presence is not always known for having been near us. In essence, I have read other books about angels and angelic intervention to where this one felt keenly unique and interesting to read as a ‘next chapter’ on understanding angels.
Angels Among Us
Subtitle: What the Bible Reveals about Angelic Encounters
by Perry Stone
Source: Direct from Publisher
Explore the mysteries of the angels who battle the powers of darkness with Perry Stone, bestselling author and internationally known minister.
From the author of This Season of Angels, ANGELS AMONG US offers insight into the roles and purposes of the thrilling and mystifying angels who make up God's armies in the war against the powers of darkness. This book details specific and unique aspects of angelic visitations, assignments, and ministry purposes.
Perry Stone examines how angels communicate with us, in what ways they act in our lives, and how we can seek their blessings through prayer to the Lord. He also answers unusual and controversial questions often asked about these celestial beings. ANGELS AMONG US is perfect for anyone struggling to wrap their mind around the vastness of the heavenly realm.
As the battle rages against dark forces, God will send His angels to engage in warfare. ANGELS AMONG US will inspire you as you recognize that you're always protected and guarded by God.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9781546035268
Published by FaithWords
on 17th September, 2019
Format: Paper Over Board (small hardcover)
Pages: 128
Published by: FaithWords (@FaithWords)
an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc. (@HachetteBooks) via Hachette Nashville
Formats Available: Hardcover, Audiobook & Ebook
→ forthcoming in Trade Paperback 8th October, 2019
The Stories in Sequence by this Author:
This Season of Angels (first release)
Angels Among Us (second release)
Converse via: #INSPYbooks, #NonFiction, #Angels
+ #AngelsAmongUs and #PerryStone
On the Introduction:
I love the premise of this book and the sequel which follows This Season of Angels – as it discusses how angels are present in our lives, how they become known to us and how prayfulness awareness of our needs can get messages to angels who are awaiting to hear our prayers. Stone briefly outlines his goals for this book – given the portable size of the version I have for review, it would easily fit inside your pocket, backpack or purse; for easy reading on the go wherever life takes you.
I happen to love love portable books – as you never know when you’ll want to re-visit a book like this one which has you thinking about the larger scope of life and the world inasmuch as your walk in faith. He also starts to break-down the knowledge we have about angels and how despite there is still a war happening between the Light and the Dark; how empowering it is to realise how the Light still stands resolute against the Dark.
He also mentions what this quote badge describes as ‘prophetic seasons’ which I was being introduced in term for the first time; unsure, if it this was something I had previously heard about but spoken about in a different way or if it was new insight and therefore a new layer of information I hadn’t yet come across.
My Review of angels among us:
Stone presents a well-versed and in-depth back-history of how angels and God are in the lives of men; from Biblical times to overlaying what was known then into today’s modern world. Including the warnings of false prophets and visitations which might not be angelic as we know them to be but rather could be a messenger from the other side. Stone walks you through the history in condensed paragraphs in order to give you the pertinent information you need before you proceed forward to read his thoughts on the subject. Including showcasing the differences in understanding towards angels and how angelic presence is interpreted by those of whom we know were visited by angels from the stories within the Bible.
As you move forward into the context what is being revealled, Stone relies on referencing the passages in the Bible which articulate the message he is revealling himself about angels, revelations, visions, dreams and the ways in which messages from angels are delivered to man. He also goes into quite a bit of personal detail in his own walk of faith in regards to how angels have become a part of his life as they have made visitations to him on different occasions. Both before he was successful in his ministry and afterwards, where others can notice the presence of angels.
The main takeaways he wants to impart is the purity of an angel’s visit and what separates a visit of an angel from another presence which could be visiting you instead. He also describes what he feels are telling signs that you are being visited by angels and what you need to realise if you denote some of the observational moments he is describing as a way to re-think certain moments of your own life where you can better understand what may or may not have been happening ‘in the moment’ something occurred.
The quote on the left is one of the key descriptive passages of asserting how you know the presence of an angel and why it feels remarkable dissimilar to over events you will experience during your lifetime.
Stone talks about how about the nature of angels and how angels can be visible seen even though they are living in a realm outside the scope of our eyes and our vision field; there are certain attributes which set them apart and give them a credible presence to be observed, known and accepted as the messengers they are to us.
More powerful than how they intercede on our lives is how they interceded on Christ when He needed them the most – at the time of His agony and death. Angels were there to not just to minister to His needs but to talk with Him about the choice He was making in regards to why He was being persecuted to the level He had been subjected too. This was the first time I read about having an ‘out-clause’ to where Christ could have released himself from what was going to happen to Him on the cross and thereby the ending of His life would have been rewritten to a different story. Of all the ministers who have discussed and gone to great lengths to dissect this part of Christ’s history, I must admit, none of them have taken on this particular angle of insight into what was happening in the hours where Christ was tested the most.
The history contained in Angels Among Us is multi-dimensional because of how Stone takes you along the journey from the humbled origins of Christianity to the modern day – where everything we understood about angels of the past can be reiterated to what we understand about them today. In essence, the presence of angels have been among humans for a very long time and as they are not always understood in the essence of their innate nature – there is a discrepancy about how they appear to us and how they would appear in their natural state of self.
Interspersed with the history of angels and the angelic presences possible in our lives, Stone discuses a more inter-personal account of how angels have been present in his life and his father’s life (as his father was a minister before him). These stories seek to explain how even in moments where you might not feel you can have help sent to you, there are ways through prayer where even in heightened moments of crisis or emergency, angels can be sent in response to prayer in order to aide the person who has prayed. This is a friendly reminder that even if we do not realise how our prayers will be responded too it is better practice to continue to pray and to communicate our needs than to remain silent and leave them unspoken.
There are lovely little side stories being shared as well – such as how without our foreknowledge we are sometimes led to go certain places at certain times; only to understand our presence there after we arrive as perhaps there was a conversation we needed to have with someone. Whether or not we knew of them previously is immaterial but what is important is that our paths were meant to cross. That is something I have regularly believed throughout my life – how you can be somewhere you do not expect to be but the timing is ‘right’ and the reasons are slowly revealled to you. In another instance, I think most of us have held conversations where someone is giving you information and then suddenly says “I’m unsure why it was so important I mention this now” – as if they were there to impart knowledge you needed but at the time hadn’t thought they had anything important to say or share.
Another aspect of reading Angels Among Us which I enjoyed readily is where in the dimensions of heaven (as there are multiple levels of heaven) angels reside and how they are able to travel between their realm and ours. This is explained through the theory behind thought travelling and how without the burden of limitations, angels can accomplish things that might be just outside the scope of human acceptance and understanding. A portion of this is also closely connective to Quantum Physics especially for those of us who read quantum stories within that branch of Science would understand what Stone is attempting to convey with how angels can direct themselves through teleportation outside the main resources known to man.
Stone talks about how to petition (through prayer) for healing (body, mind or spirit) whilst he also talks openly about the work of angels and how they are sent to us. The most interesting part is how he delves a bit into why we only know a few of their actual names and why only those who have a sensory sensitivity to their presence will understand when they are nearby. Each section of the book is broken down into talking points, references back to scripture and gives a keen understanding of each of the topics presented by Stone. He doesn’t necessarily go as far to respond to each of the talking points in a way where you know where he personally stands on each of them – rather, he leaves it a bit more open-ended to where he presents what he understands and has knowledge of to import to you, giving you the option to take the information and trust the facts of what is being shared within our own walk of faith. These little open doors he’s allowed gives this book the potential for a wider audience across denominations of Christianity and for those who are seeking works for inter-faith study.
This book review is courtesy of:
FaithWords
I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary!
Especially if you read the book or were thinking you might be inclined to read it. I appreciate hearing different points of view especially amongst readers who gravitate towards the same stories to read. Bookish conversations are always welcome!
Reading this book counted for a few of
my New Year Reading Challenges & Focuses:
{SOURCES: Cover art of “Angels Among Us” and “This Season of Angels”, book synopsis and the author’s biography were all provided by the publisher Hachette Book Group Inc. via their Bloggers Portal and used with permission. The author’s photo of Perry Stone as well as the Angels Among Us promo badges were provided directly by the publisher FaithWords and are used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were able to be embedded by the codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Non-Fiction Book Review banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.
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— Spooktastically, Jorie ?? (@joriestory) September 17, 2019
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
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