Beginning in 1996, Thomas says she visited heaven numerous times with Jesus. In her book, she described in wondrous detail everything she experienced.

When asked if her heavenly experiences were visions or dreams, she said, “I know I’ve seen heaven, and I know that heaven is so real. Whether we place my experiences in the category of supernatural dreams, visions or actual experiences, I will leave to the theologians. All I can say is that they were very real to me.”

Thomas said the Lord told her to write down her experiences in a book, and that book—Heaven Is So Real—was published by Creation House/Charisma Media and became an international best-seller. She said the Lord also told her that because of her book, at least a million people will see His face.

Thomas was born in Fukukon, Japan. A Korean-American, she was raised in Korea and was the only daughter of nonreligious parents. In 1992 she embraced the Lord with a passionate love, and two years later she first saw Jesus’ presence visibly. In 1995 she began experiencing physical manifestations from the Holy Spirit while in church, and in January 1996, a series of heavenly journeys with the Lord changed her life and her destiny. Her love for Jesus birthed a deep burden for souls, resulting in the salvation of her entire family and affecting everyone she met.

“When I see that people’s lives are being transformed by Heaven Is So Real, it is worth every disappointment I have gone through,” Thomas once wrote. “I believe so many readers have felt that they have been with Jesus in heaven and had seen the things the Lord showed me with this book. That is why they received an anointing from this book.”

Thomas was married to Roger Thomas. She was a housewife until the time she wrote Heaven Is So Real. She is survived by her son, John Thomas, his wife and two children and her daughter, Teresa Lang, and her two children.

Ripken, author of a new book “The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected” from B&H Publishing, was among the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s featured speakers at the annual state evangelism conference.

Muslim family bonds should never be taken lightly, said Ripken, a leading expert on the persecuted church in Muslim cultures who has interviewed people from Muslim backgrounds in 60-plus countries.

Christians must reach out to families, not just individuals, Ripken noted at the Feb. 25 conference at Pleasant Garden (N.C.) Baptist Church, with the theme of “Culture Reach: Understanding, Loving and Relating to Muslims.”

Friends of his have lost their lives for their faith, Ripken said, describing the number one cause of persecution globally as people choosing to follow Jesus.

Yet persecution is a sign of Christian growth, he said, noting, “Where we’re seeing the greatest growth of the church is in places where persecution is the most widespread.”

Building relationships with Muslims and people of different ethnic groups isn’t “rocket science,” Ripken said.

Ripken described Muslims as loveable and, like everybody else, in need of friendship. One of the first things a person can do to build a friendship with a Muslim family is invite them to dinner, Ripken said.

“Fix them a bologna sandwich,” joked Ripken, who clarified that the bologna should be made out of beef, not pork. “Jesus knew this Himself that there’s nothing that encourages witness, that facilitates love more than breaking bread together.

“… When was the last time you had a lost family in your house on purpose that wasn’t your relatives?” Ripken asked. “What would it mean to the tens of thousands of Muslims in North Carolina if you were to feed them and invited them in your home?”

While meeting and interviewing Muslims in the Bible Belt, Ripken said nearly 100 percent of those who were asked about their lives in the United States said they had never met a Christian. They said no one had mentioned Jesus to them, and nearly all described America as a lonely place to live.

“Almost all of them had [invited family from overseas] to come and live with them because no one had ever spoken to them from this country,” Ripken said. “Some of them had been here for 10 years.”

All it takes to begin a friendship with a Muslim neighbor, he said, is to have “an obedient heart.”

Native tongues

Churches need to take more initiative in learning the native tongue of different ethnic groups, Ripken said. Christians need to be better equipped when they travel overseas and learn to speak to people in their “heart language.”

Having the attitude “you’re in America, speak English” is counterproductive, Ripken said.

“We don’t have a church planting problem,” he said. “We have a biblical problem. Everybody [who] came to Jesus in the New Testament came to Jesus in their heart language or in a regional language that is close to them.”

Anybody can do it, Ripken said.

“Even if you’re getting gray haired, no hair, we can teach you four or five sentences in most of the languages of the world, and you can go up to people and say ‘Hello’ and ‘How are you?’” he said.

“I know everyone in this room could be taught just those few sentences.”

Ripken, in exhorting the crowd to “send your babies to Mecca, Saudi Arabia,” said he heard an “audible gasp.”

“One of the lies that Satan has told the church is … ‘If I give myself full-time to my church, especially in the missions department, then [God] is to keep His hands off my kids,’” Ripken said. “And that is a lie, not from God, but Satan himself.”

Missions needs to be in the DNA of every church, Ripken said.

As churches dedicate children, they need to give each one a Bible and a passport application that is folded up inside the pages. The church, he said, should also start a savings account (maybe $50 or $100) for the child to help them save for his or her first mission trip.

“If [parents] are not willing to give that baby to God, to the nations, they’re not willing to give that baby to God,” Ripken said. “I believe if you are not going to the nations overseas, you’re not going to your neighbors here. I believe it firmly.” BP

By Mark Ellis

Apollo 15 astronaut James Irwin led multiple expeditions to Mt.Ararat in search of Noah’s ark. If found, it would likely be the greatest archaeological discovery in history. Tragically, Irwin died of a sudden heart attack in 1991, with his quest to find the ark unfulfilled.

Now his widow, Mary Irwin, is convinced she and her husband were searching on the wrong mountain. In her new book, “The Unsolved Mystery of Noah’s Ark” (West Bow Press), she reveals her findings after 20 years of painstaking research following her husband’s passing.

Irwin decided to write the book after watching a National Geographic documentary production: “Truth behind the Ark,” in which she appeared. After she viewed the documentary, she felt the project’s title was highly misleading.

“There was barely a shred of truth in any of it,” she says, because the filmmakers’ agnostic bias drove their conclusion that the story of Noah had its roots in Mesopotamian folklore.

After she decided to write a book about the ark, Irwin dove into her new research with relish, examining seven of the most noted stories. One by one, she demolished the less credible reports as pure fiction.

One of her breakthroughs came when the Holy Spirit reminded her of a whole drawer marked “Ararat” in her former husband’s files. She found the file in her daughter’s garage, with many tantalizing leads inside.

She found a 25-year-old letter from a German scholar, Karola Kautz, who had done many years of independent research on Noah’s ark. “I looked at it with my mouth hanging open,” Mary says. The closing words of the relatively short missive contained this enigmatic warning: “Jim, please do not risk your life on Mr. Ararat, where the ark has never been.”

Indeed, Genesis 8:4 refers to the “mountains of Ararat” (plural), which in Mary’s research refers to a broader area than the twin-peaked volcanic mountain in present-day Turkey. Part of the confirmation came from a map she uncovered that was drawn in the 1500’s titled “Mountains of Ararat” by Petrus Planeus, a Jewish historian.

“The mountains of Ararat in the 1500’s are the same as what is now known as the Taurus mountain range that separates Turkey from Iraq and runs to the northeast part of Iran where they are known as the Elburz Mountains. These mountain ranges are natural borders between the three countries,” Mary notes.

“It was gratifying to have proof that Mount Ararat is not the same as the ‘Mountains of Ararat.’”

Irwin’s book uncovers the inconsistencies in many of the accounts of explorers who claim to have seen Noah’s ark. But she found one source highly credible, the account of Ed Davis (now deceased), who worked with the Army Corps of Engineers in Iran during World War II.

Davis was part of a crew building roads through the mountains of Iran so that war supplies could be transported to the Soviet Union, an ally of the U.S. at the time. During their road-building project, several waterways were inadvertently blocked that supplied water to local farmers.

“Ed gave several sticks of dynamite to the local farmers to reopen their waterways. They were so appreciative that they asked if Ed would like to see the ark of Noah,” Irwin notes.

Davis and his guide, Abas-Abas, traveled in a GMC army truck, on horseback, and by foot to reach the ark. In Abas’s village, Oja-Beyt (also spelled Aja-bit), Davis was shown a petrified cage door and latches used to secure the cages, which Abas said were from the ark.

“The Abas’ family had recovered many such items from the broken ark: shepherds’ rods and Aladdin-style lamps, shards of pottery used as urns for storing honey (some still with remains), pots for dried beans and lentils with the stems still attached, honeycombs, nuts and their shells, as well as dried fish bones, dried fruits, and tools with hay still embedded in the ice.”

The journey to reach the ark was arduous for Davis. “It was raining and snowing on and off the whole time Davis was hiking,” she says. “They had to spend the night in caves.” When they got to the ark, it was broken in two pieces.

“Most men are looking for the ark, but Ed Davis was taken to see the ark,” Irwin notes.

“He passed three lie detector tests.”

While Irwin is convinced she knows where it is, she presents the research in a way that allows readers to form their own conclusions.

“For me, Mount Suleiman is the only possible mountain that would corroborate Ed’s story,” Irwin notes in her book. According to Davis, when the rain, fog, and snow cleared, he could see the lights of Tehran reflected in the clouds.

Suleiman is only about 50 miles from Iran’s capital, which presents thorny geopolitical issues for any American-led attempts at discovery.

Irwin’s book also presents some intriguing research into the process of petrifying wood, which holds out the hope that Noah’s Ark may have survived in a petrified form.

“I have absolutely ferreted out all the facts. God has put this together miraculously,” Irwin says. “This is not my book. This is God’s book.”

Pre-sales of the book are skyrocketing and the number of “likes” on various Web sites is already in the tens of thousands. Why all the interest? Because angels are interesting!

From the book:

“What is this truth about angels? Well, first of all, they exist. They’re real. They’re not mythological creatures or the stuff of fairy tales. They’re as real as you and me. … Right now, as you are reading these words, there is an angel right next to you. … And there may be several other angels in the room with the two of you as well. In fact, there may be dozens. Sometimes – for instance, when you’re with a group of people praying or when you’re at church – there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of angels present.”

How is DeStefano so sure? Ask him yourself. He’s doing interviews right now about the book, which was released Oct. 16.

And DeStefano’s book doesn’t just cover angels. It covers the whole spectrum of “invisible” realities — God, grace, angels, demons, spiritual warfare, Heaven and Hell. It’s just a spiritual roller coaster of a book.

DeStefano’s first two books, A Travel Guide to Heaven and Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To became best-sellers, and Angels seems destined to join them. Since writing those two books, the native New Yorker also has published three children’s books, This Little Prayer of Mine, The Donkey Nobody Could Ride and Little Star, and a gift book, I Just Can’t Take it Anymore. When you’re talking to him, ask when he first wrote Little Star. (Hint: It was a high school creative writing assignment in a class taught by Angela’s Ashes author Frank McCourt!).

Introduction

The last six months of the earthly life of Jesus Christ are a travelog through the provinces of Judea and Perea. These six months represent a turning point in Jesus’s life. Some authors call it a period of opposition.

After his receptive audiences in Galilee, “Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51b). The stakes for following Jesus are raised. Early in this part of his journey, Jesus warns those who were with him walking along the road: “The Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58b). He empha- sizes a sense of urgency as he says, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60b). Again and again in this travelog from Luke (9:51–19:27), Jesus “raises the bar” for his followers.

The base of Jesus’s ministry in Judea and Perea was not centered in a particular village. Perea is an area east of Jerusalem across the Jordan River. Jesus received affirmation from God during his travels that would take him twice to feasts in Jerusalem and once to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. In John chapters 7–11 Jesus declares his divinity at the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Dedication, and in raising Lazareth in Bethany. Then, through a series of “I am” claims before Hebrew leaders, he leaves no doubt as to his mission.

Luke is the primary source for this portion of our study and Luke is ordered more by principles than by events. So the events in this section are not necessarily chronological. The Judea/Perea ministry period becomes a time for Jesus to coach his disciples. Values of the kingdom of God and confrontation of Jewish leaders in Jerusalem are also key themes. This section contains seven events—five teaching events and two impact events.

Deny Self

Followers of Jesus are called to be humble.

TOWARD THE END OF THE MINISTRY in Galilee, Jesus told his disciples to keep minimal provisions. “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic” (Luke 9:3b). He was beginning to coach his disciples to deny self for their emerging responsibilities. Arguments arose among the disciples as to who would be the greatest. Jesus taught them: “For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest” (Luke 9:48b). Human nature assumes the opposite, to think of self first. Jesus calls his followers to reverse the order; God first, others second, and self last.

Facing Samaritan opposition, Jesus resolutely continued travels toward Jerusalem through other routes (Luke 9:51– 53). The disciples suggested bringing down fire from heaven to destroy a village, but Jesus, denying their anger, simply went on to another village. There Jesus encountered a man who volunteered to follow Jesus wherever he would go—after burying his father who had just died. Jesus replied, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60). Later, Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

As his travels continue with the disciples, Jesus emphasizes entering through the “narrow door” (Luke 13:24). He is increasingly asking a lot of his followers.

refer to: Luke 9, 13, 16:16–31

Questions: Why do you think it was difficult for the early disciples to fully understand Jesus? When is it difficult for you to follow him as he taught?

Decision With Focus

a Teaching event: No one can serve two masters.

JESUS reminds the crowds to listen and follow the signs he is giving to them. The Christian journey demands a life completely focused on God. One needs to be completely committed. You have to be “all in.”

Jesus tells the Pharisees that although they may clean the outside of their cups, inside they are full of greed and wickedness. Be clean inside! Light the world on the outside. Then in Luke 12 he teaches the values of the kingdom of God. We hear of a rich fool who stored his crops in bigger barns in order to have more for himself, only to lose his life anyway. To be rich toward God requires treasures in heaven, which are more valued than treasures on earth. Jesus reminds us where our treasure is and says, there your heart should also be. We must be dressed for service and have our lamps burning. Our decision to follow Jesus demands constant focus.

The parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1–15) reminds us that no one can serve two masters. Money is not of great value in God’s kingdom. The currency of love from the heart, agape love, is what matters most of all. Zacchaeus, the tax collector, came down from a tree, gave half of his possessions to the poor, and followed Jesus (Luke 19). Jesus uses this as an example of the value of decisiveness and focus!

refer to: Luke 11, 12, and 16:1–15 Related readings: Luke 19:1–27

Question: Do you see any aspect of yourself, and how you might respond under similar circumstances, in the story of Zacchaeus?

CHALLENGING cultural icons from “Oprah to Chopra,” Dr. Ravi Zacharias clears the spiritual fog to reveal underlying truth in his latest book, Why Jesus? (FaithWords/Hachette Book Group, January 2012). On the heels of a new Baylor Religion Survey, which confirms a growing pantheism among other national trends, Zacharias charges leading personalities of the “New Spirituality” movement with leading people astray.

“This book is about the deep, irrepressible spiritual hungers we all have,” writes Zacharias. “We long both for an escape from the world around us and for solace within us. Our world extracts too much from us. Where does one find replenishment and ultimate meaning, especially in a world that mass markets numerous paths to truth?” (page xii).

Zacharias knows more than most about false truth offered by other religions and the mass marketing of philosophy. Born in India into the highest caste of Hinduism, Zacharias converted to Christianity after a suicide attempt as a teen. Now one of the most learned and renowned Christian apologists to come out of the Third World, Zacharias’ expertise on comparative religions has earned him audiences from Capitol Hill to Harvard and in more than 50 countries around the world.

In ‘Why Jesus?’, Zacharias asserts that through the past 40 years, movements like New Age spirituality and America’s obsession with human potential have redefined what has been for centuries the classic biblical definition of the person, work and teaching of Jesus Christ. “Who, deep in his or her heart, doesn’t want to know God, if he really exists?” asks Zacharias. “So the wellness industry and the spiritual centers are thriving, each offering their own version of bliss.”

Zacharias examines the impact of cultural figures such as Shirley Maclaine, authors James Redfield (The Celestine Prophecy), Rhonda Byrne (The Secret), Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code), books by Eckart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, the Dali Lama and Marianne Williamson, among others. Paying particular attention to the influence of Oprah Winfrey, Why Jesus? equips readers with facts dispelling New Age teachings and instead outlines why Christianity is the only true path.

“I have no doubt that many might well be offended by the challenges I have made to other beliefs in this book,” writes Zacharias. “Some might even consider the tone of this book too strong or harsh. That is not my intent. But it is hard not to get passionate when you read the bizarre twists of truth offered by proponents of the New Spirituality” (page 230).

Challenging readers to embrace a relationship with Jesus, Zacharias writes, “G. K. Chesterton was right: the problem with Christianity is not that it has been tried and found wanting, but that it has been found difficult and left untried. The message of Jesus is beautiful and magnificent and life‐changing. If you have not already discovered that for yourself, may you discover it now. Spirituality is not good enough” (page 269).

About the Author:

Head of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), Zacharias leads a global team of itinerant speakers with offices throughout the world. Zacharias has spoken in more than 50 countries and at Harvard, Princeton and Oxford universities and at diverse locales such as the South African peace accord, a Russian military academy, the first annual African prayer breakfast, the White House and the Pentagon. Zacharias was the honorary chairman of the 2008 U.S. National Day of Prayer.

David Lawther Johnson

BOTH my parents lived relatively long and healthy lives. Each of them died a difficult death. In my father’s case, because his cancer was discovered so late, the outcome was certain long before the discovery was made. Beyond any real chance of survival, my father’s clear course of treatment (which, fortunately, he was a full participant in choosing) was hospice care, watching and waiting for the end, trying to stay as comfortable and unharried as possible …. I knew what to do at the hospice. Showing up and standing by were the principal activities required of me.

My mother’s challenges were longer-lasting, and more complex. Suffering for many years from a bad heart and slowly progressing congestive heart failure, she eventually ended up in intensive care, battling minute by minute to find enough oxygen to draw her next breath. She was fully conscious, right up until the very end, and fiercely resistant to either decline or death. Her treatment required much of her family, involving a series of moves to various levels of care in the hospital …. I never knew what to do at the hospital. Every day when I visited my mother, it seemed there was some new, painful choice to make ….

In my experience, Christians often come in either the “hospital” or “hospice” visitor variety. Some have a desire mainly to find a belief, to settle into it, and then to hold on to it. The fact that, once inside this shelter, nothing should be at stake beyond—and because of—the “certainty” of salvation is the greatest source of comfort …. Faith is overwhelmingly therapeutic, a continuous healing process whose principal demand is showing up for care and standing firm ….

For others, Christianity comes in a far messier form. Though they frequently question whether they live up to the title, these are indeed “Christians” holding strong elements of belief. But such belief is usually commingled with doubt, and often exhibits a demonstrable lack of intellectual consistency or systematic thinking …. Faith involves not clarity but activity, giving rise to a constant barrage of assorted efforts, including Bible studies, small group sessions, and Sunday morning services. These are restless practitioners, constantly working on what they believe ….

As much as I envy the certainty of hospice Christians, I am definitely a Christian of the hospital variety. I come by this honestly. My father [a Presbyterian pastor] also approached his faith as a necessarily tumultuous affair, pointing out that tumult was inevitable because relationships are always difficult to understand, define, and manage, and faith involves nothing less than a direct, ongoing relationship with a truly personal authority—Jesus Christ. Excerpted from Learning from My Father: Lessons on Life and Faith. Click here to buy the book.

During the roughly 6.5 years covered by the journals, Mary struggles with drug addiction, has a few brief part-time jobs, periodically works as a prostitute, has her fourth abortion, maintains relationships with several men, and is HIV-positive. The writing is raw and honest and profane and vulgar and full of tragic, fleeting, unfocused hopes and tissue-thin plans to improve her life.

After the last journal entry, dated April 1993, we have no more information about Mary, except this: Social Security records reveal that she died in 1997, her address at time of death listed as Unknown. Her parents are dead, and her daughter cannot be located.

Anthony Zurlo was at that auction. As he later read Mary’s journals, his heart was broken at the hopelessness he saw in its pages. Your heart may be broken as well. But Anthony also saw a version of his own life in Mary’s challenges. It is, in fact, a version of all our lives as we struggle daily to resist the habits, desires, and thought patterns that come so easily but do such damage. Anthony has transcribed the journal writings faithfully—including misspellings; various errors and oddities; and entries that are undated, misdated, or were apparently written in random blank spots and thus appear out of order—with the following exceptions:

    • Names and initials in the journal have been changed, except for Mary’s first name.

    • Profanity and vulgarity have been replaced with ____.

    • Accounts of sexual encounters have been omitted, with the omissions noted.

Also not reproduced here are many clippings pasted or slipped into the journals, mostly from magazines and primarily pertaining to fashion, drug use, sexuality, movies, and TV.

Anthony has also written an introduction and a conclusion, and at three points in the journal has added observation and commentary on Mary’s life, the nature of hope, and the many ways in which all our lives are not so unlike hers.

Fair warning: Your brain will probably fill in some of the rough language represented by blanks. Please understand that before you decide to read ‘The Book of Mary: Diary of an Addict’.

According to Baptist Press, the book tells the true story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter. Only 10 weeks after their wedding they were in a car accident from which Krickitt awoke with no recollection of her husband, Kim. Despite that accident in the 1990s, the couple stayed committed to their wedding vows.

The Carpenters say the release of the book and movie established a platform for them to share their dramatic story with the world. Feedback from readers and viewers has been overwhelming.

“It’s a blessing to see how the Lord has worked in people to open hearts,” Kim said during a visit with his wife to LifeWay Christian Resources. “The real rewards are inspiring people to change. It has opened doors into the lives of people that we would not have been able to reach … both Christians and non-Christians.

“Non-believers are inspired by the commitment and are rethinking their ways, curious about how the Lord can work in their lives. Christians are re-affirming their commitment and are now motivated to get out of a stagnant routine.”

‘The Vow’ has been on The New York Times bestseller list for paperback nonfiction since its Valentine’s weekend release.

Kim told of a bodyguard from one of the movie studios who approached him with tears in his eyes.

“This big, surly guy looked at me, nodded his head and said, ‘I’m going to make things right with my wife’,” Kim said.

The Carpenters have been flooded with hundreds of similar stories coming from as far as Australia, New Zealand, Korea and Japan.

The positive response to the true story as told in the book has brought a demand for them to speak to churches, marriage enrichment groups and with other couples recovering from head injuries.

“We felt led to be open and accessible,” Kim said. “If our story can better prepare relationships prior to marriage, help midlife marriages or couples teetering on separation or divorce, then that’s what it’s all about.”

Said Krickitt: “A reporter once told us, ‘The world needs this story.’ But they don’t need Kim and Krickitt; they need Jesus.”

During her rehabilitation, Krickitt penned this simple prayer: “Lord, thank You for sparing our lives in the accident … I ask that You would use us for Your glory.” The Carpenters believe God has answered that prayer.

“The Lord,” Kim said, “is in control of this story. To have a faith-based book No. 1 on the New York Times list for weeks shows that people are seeking in this day and age.

“We are very honored. It’s humbling for us.”

The movie is rated PG-13 and contains content some viewers may find objectionable. It’s gotten mixed reviews among Christian websites, some of which say the film is stripped of its Christian content. BP

However, that kind of thinking is just a delusion.

As a professional freestyle skier at 19, Anaiah Kirk thought he had life figured out. In his inspirational self-help book, “The Life I Always Wanted” (ISBN -978-0-615-45153-4), Kirk shares his life story in hopes of helping other young people find out their purpose in life.

Living the life of a professional freestyle skier, Kirk thought he had it all. He was traveling the states, partying and living every young’s person’s dream. It was then, at his highest point in life, that everything changed. After a series of life-altering events, everything he had came crashing down. Finally hitting rock bottom, Kirk found himself barely holding onto life and questioning why he even existed.

Kirk shares the journey of faith, healing and humility in order to find his purpose in life. He explains how even after finding Jesus Christ, he clung to the ways of his old life style. He shows his readers how he was able to let go in order to embrace his new, Christian lifestyle. He describes the spiritual encounter he had with God, when all of his doubts about life and God were erased. After this life-changing moment, Kirk was able to live by God and his will and live the life he always wanted.

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“Everyone is searching for purpose in their lives, especially as a teenager and young adult,” Kirk says. “It is a time of great change in terms of relationships, education and career.”

While there are many self-help books out there, Kirk believes his will work best with young adults and teenagers because of his perspective. He shares his own experiences and struggles growing up to relate with younger audiences and to let them know that they are not alone in their personal journeys. He hopes that his story inspires young adults to follow the path towards a meaningful, purpose-filled life.

“The Life I Always Wanted” is available for purchase at www.AnaiahKirkcom, Kindle, Amazon.com and will be coming soon to the iTunes Store.

For more information and to view a trailer based on the book, visit www.AnaiahKirk.com, and follow Anaiah Kirk on Facebook and Twitter.

About the author:
Anaiah Kirk has a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Criminal Law from California State University. He was a Juvenile Probation Officer and is now a Correctional Counselor working for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has one daughter.

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