The Journey Home: Finishing with Joy

I thought this book was about preparing to die. Instead, I found Dr. Bright gives great ideas on how to live one day at a time. I'd highly recommend it not only to someone going through a terminal illness but for any Christian facing their own trials in life.

This is one of those books where the minute you pick it up and read the first page, you had to finish it. Bill Bright is truly one of God's faithful servants; choosing to live a life that is selfless and full of integrity as a "slave" of God. The book gives you a glimpse into the last few years of his life as he battled pulmonary fibrosis. He finished his work on earth with the utmost joy and no one can capture what he went through better than the man himself. The book also sheds light into his wife, his children, and his ministry. It's amazing that not more people know about Bill Bright. He started the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry and has made several films including the JESUS film which has been seem by over 5.5 billion people. He also came up with the 4 spiritual laws gospel among other outreach materials. Through Bill's ministry, millions of people have come to accept Christ. I didn't know about Bill Bright either until this year as I was going through my own struggles in life. Reading his book and seeing how he finished his life with joy and the blessing he left to those around him brought so much hope and encouragement to my life. It also showed me a better picture of who God really is and how He blesses the life of those who love Him. You must give this book a read.

I read this book and recieved so much peace from this mans journey to Heaven, but what I have also done is adopt his daily principles for living and I have shared the book with my son who is Autistic and incarcerated. It has changed both our lives!

I am just half way through this book and already find it a very uplifting book. It gives you more of a looking forward to Heaven than a fear of death. It is so good to see someone not just live his faith, but also bring God glory through, must be one of the hardest times in one's life, his knowing death is near.

In 2003 I saw my uncle die suddenly of a heart attack, and for a long time afterward I was anxious about dying. Even though I am a Christian and have accepted Christ, thinking about dying seemed sort of like waiting in a dentist's lobby before having a painful tooth drilling, and I was frequently haunted by anxiety and worry about what dying will be like. Reading this book was very helpful to me. The author, a well-known Christian evangelist, receives a terminal diagnosis and this book is his story as he faces his own death. He is genuine and open, taking you along through the thoughts and things he faces, and how he comes to grips with the knowledge. The book goes from his first diagnosis, through his progressive failing health, and his final chapter, written in his last days, where he says goodbye to the reader. An epilogue written by his wife describes his final hours as he passed away, which helps the reader to see the end of the journey being completed as he goes to be with Jesus. We will all face death, and will all have to go through this experience. Even if we are Christians, the prospect of death disturbs us. This book is a great help and a comfort to anyone who has lost someone, or who is facing their own death.