The Study Room, Christian library, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

The On My Own Handbook, by Bobb Biehl, is a book of advice, principles, secrets, old sayings, and various bits of truth on a wide range of subjects. The subtitle really captures what it is about: 100 secrets of success to prepare young people for life. Though the main intended audience is young people preparing to set off on their own in the world, it is full of advice for any person in any stage of life. Anyone reading will learn a variety of new truths about life. Biehl covers almost every aspect of a person’s life, so to make it easier to follow, he breaks it up into seven main categories of life: family, finance, personal, physical, career, social, and spiritual.

“God doesn’t talk to me,” she said with held-back tears, abject sorrow emanating from her. “And the one time I thought He was…this is what I get.” How to help her? Is a hug really going to solve her deep longing to hear from her God during this traumatic time of her life? Saying “I’ll be praying for you” just sounds hollow. Giving her an object lesson about the sun being just behind the clouds and not gone seemed to spark hope but didn’t cut the mustard on real answers. Aside from the obvious, what resource could help us know if, when, and how we can hear from God? Then, while getting books ready to be labelled for The Study Room, I came across Charles Stanley’s How to Listen to God. As a comprehensive yet concise book on this topic, it is a perfect start to anyone wanting to know if, when, and how they can hear God. The purposes, the approaches, and the hinderances to listening to and hearing from God are all explored, along with many other facets you’ll just have to borrow the book to read for yourself. Let’s look at a few highlights though.