With bold transparency, Jan shares stories---of women---including herself---whose lives were once stripped bare, their trust shattered, their hope gone. Whether it's a devastating loss beyond your control or the hurtful consequences of poor choices, this book assures you of God's loving call from Joel 2:25: "Return to me, and I will restore what the locusts have eaten." After a few pages you'll feel like Jan is like a trusted girlfriend whose sound Biblical teaching and gentle humor will inspire you to partner with God to replant the fields of your broken dreams.

After the Locusts: Restoring Ruined Dreams Reclaiming Wasted Years

Religion & Spirituality

Coleman, Jan

Christian Books & Bibles

Unshakable Press

In the Bible, they were kosher food. John the Baptist had his with honey. And who can forget when Charleton Heston as Moses cast them over Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to "let my people go?" 
We might not be dealing with such biblical blights, but trials and misfortunes still invade our lives, making unwelcome visits that test everything we trust. 
Jan Coleman draws a convincing parallel between the locust plagues of old and modern plagues of the heart. They come in many forms; loss of a marriage, death of a loved one, painful abuse, illness or personal failure. As she builds chapter themes around scripture verses from the Book of Joel, Jan highlights women whose lives are a testimony of God's restoration plan. It reminds us that God uses disaster and disappointment to stir people to a new sense of Himself. 
Years ago, Jan faced the death of her dreams and felt like a swarm of locusts had swooped down and ruined her future. There were the creeping locusts whispering, "This isn't really happening;" the gnawing locusts whittling away her confidence; the stripping locusts exposing her deep anger. She found a promise of hope tucked in an obscure book in the Old Testament, a promise that shaped her life, the promise that God will "restore the years the locusts have eaten." 
Chapter one is titled, "The Big Bug Blitz" and foreshadows the tone of the book which reads like a novel. "The locusts were at it again. I knew it the moment I saw the clouded look in her eye, by the trance-like way she kept pouring cream in her cofffee. 'I can't believe this is happening,' the stranger murmured to our prayer breakfast group. 'I don't think I can go on. I feel so alone.'" 
Readers are drawn into Ginger's heart and the pain of a ruined dream. As Jan offers to mentor Ginger through her healing process, we are eyewitnesses to her struggles to trust God again. With biting honesty and wit, Jan reveals her own story of the loss of her marriage, her foolish choices and the ache of prodigal daughters. Ginger moves toward hope as Jan shares stories of other women who reveal their heartbreaks--Phyllis who lost her only child to a tragic car accident, Eileen who was nine months pregnant when her husband drown while diving, Susan whose secret affair with a pastor almost destroyed her, Lisa whose past of abuse brought a distrust for men and God, and author Liz Curtis Higgs whose "bad girl" days, her "locust years" are the heartbreak of her ministry today. 
The stories in the book are different, but the feelings of damage and waste, emptiness, fear and regret are common to all. The consistent thread of hope lies in how these women partnered with God to redeem their losses in surprising and wonderful ways. Each of them found a deeper relationship with God and new purpose. 
Written with a unique style of warmth and gentle humor, After the Locusts is an uplifting message for every woman; those who has known loss and those who want to offer comfort to others.

After the Locusts: Restoring Ruined Dreams, Reclaiming Wasted Years

New Age & Spirituality

B & H Pub Group

Anyone who has encountered Jan Coleman knows her vivacious and joyous spirit is infectious. What is most striking about Jan is that she has such a spirit in spite of the hardships she has endured in her life. Her first book, After the Locusts, told of God’s faithfulness to restore, in full, the years of devastation that occurred. 
Unshakeable shares more of her story and reveals what she has learned from her experiences of hardships (and yes the hardships have not fully gone away) and restoration. Jan has learned that above all the things God calls us to, at the core of us must be a heart of obedience.

Unshakeable: The Steadfast Heart Of Obedience

God is calling Christian women today to a supreme spiritual makeover. He wants to rid them of the debris, confusion, emotional burnout, distractions, and anything else that stands in His way. In this book, author Jan Coleman offers help for women who feel that they must be everything—but who also know that they must dig deep inside and reveal the genuine woman they are underneath.

The Woman Behind the Mask: Trading Your Facade for Authentic Life

Kregel Publications

In each inspirational book, meditations are presented in an opulent two-page color spread consisting of a devotional thought and related encouraging scriptures from the Psalms.

Inspiring Words From The Psalms For Women: Reflections On God's Gift Of Inner Beauty, Peace, And Happiness

Langstaff, Margaret

Blue Sky Ink