What Readers Are Saying
About Merry Christmas To a Broken Heart
I’ve been very encouraged by the comments by the first readers of my new book. I pray it is a blessing to those who are struggling through the holidays.
Dr. Joneal Kirby, West Monroe, LA writes:
I’ve known John and his wife since the year they experienced the untimely, devastating death of their dear son. Our community grieved with them. Their hearts broken, their faith tested, they approached a new ministry opportunity with both fear and hope. Their grief journey could and would help others. John has lived a conundrum of emotions with grief as its foundation. I have witnessed that faith and hope has won out. He has willingly shared his and Maggie’s struggling saga with hundreds of fellows on the same journey. He has done this well and shown the truth in what the scriptures say in 2 Corinthians. What John reveals is an unexpected comfort in doing so. This book, a month long series of devotions, comes out of this ministry life because as he writes, he too feels a need for comfort through the holidays, the hardest times of feeling deep loss.
Here, he offers in gentle and yet confident and reassuring ways that through faith, how to find that Jesus is never far, always near and ever tender to the brokenhearted. You will surely find this same comfort in the testimonies and stories shared. John writes them beautifully and wraps them for the season with the scriptures best fitted for offering God’s peace, comfort and joy.
“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” 2 Corinthians 1:4
Joneal Kirby, PhD, director of Heartfelt Ministries
Les Ferguson, Jr., Oxford, MS writes:
Christmas 2011 was a continuation of the trauma from the double murder of my wife and son just two months prior. I’ll never forget the pain and heartache as my surviving children and I opened presents Christmas morning. We had no idea how to survive much less live through the pressure of that first holiday season alone. What a help this book would have been then. What a help this book will be even in this upcoming holiday season. If loss and grief are your companions, let the author walk with you. May peace, hope, and joy be yours in all the holidays ahead.
Les Ferguson, Jr.
Thomas Keith Roberts, Calhoun, LA writes:
I've been honored to read an advanced copy of John Dobb's book, "Merry Christmas To A Broken Heart". As a fellow writer, I can say this is an excellent book on a sensitive subject. During the holidays, grief collides with happy celebrations and grief usually wins. I'm not aware of another book that manages this subject well, but John's book does. As a Minister and parent who suffered the tragic loss of their young son, John has lived through the collision of overwhelming grief and the pressures of the holidays. This book is beautifully written, well researched, and loaded with practical, Bible-based help for broken people who find themselves dreading the holidays. I confidently recommend this book to those who grieve during the holidays - but also to Pastors and others who minister to broken people facing Christmas with a broken heart. -Thomas Keith Roberts
Amber Smith, Wasilla, Alaska, writes:
"Merry Christmas to a Broken Heart" is an excellent resource for the grieving, and for those who want to be sensitive to the grieving. I love how Dobbs uses elements of the holidays, those constant reminders that holidays are around us and happening, to empower the grieving. Whether it is lights or food or song, these things do not necessarily have to only be painful reminders that we are in the middle of the holidays without a loved one, but can be elements that remind us of a great God that is present and carries us during this time. I really appreciated that Dobbs didn't simply recommend hunkering down and weathering the tough storm of painful nostalgia and loss, and neither did he just say "Cheer up!" He actually presents practical ways to use those painful reminders to your advantage in your grief. I think eventually, a workbook adapted from this novel, or a study companion for groups, would be excellent. Dobbs is someone who has walked through "the valley of the shadow of death" in his own life, and you can feel his love and loss in his words. This book will bless you."
Keith Shepherd, Gilbert, Arizona, writes:
John Dobbs does it again! John with a caring heart goes deep into our pain and shares some of his own to help fellow strugglers with life. Because we are not breathing computers it is hard to think and reason when our eyes are filled with tears. John has done a compassionate and wonderful job to speak to our hearts in our pain. This book can give us hope. Sometimes we need hope to keep going this week, other times we need hope to make it through the day. My life has been blessed by John’s writing.
If you, or someone you know, has had a recent loss, divorce, illness, or crisis that has made the holidays a difficult time, consider MERRY CHRISTMAS TO A BROKEN HEART.
From the written comments this book is going to be GREAT! Thank you, John for your work.