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    The God Box: Sharing My Mother's Gift of Faith, Love and Letting Go
    The God Box: Sharing My Mother's Gift of Faith, Love and Letting Go
    The God Box: Sharing My Mother's Gift of Faith, Love and Letting Go
    Audiobook1 hour

    The God Box: Sharing My Mother's Gift of Faith, Love and Letting Go

    Written by Mary Lou Quinlan

    Narrated by Mary Lou Quinlan

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    When Mary Lou Quinlan’s beloved mother, Mary Finlayson, dies, her family is bereft — until Mary Lou searches for her mother’s “God Box,” her private cache of notes to God on behalf of family, friends and strangers. To Mary Lou’s amazement, she finds not one but ten boxes stuffed with hundreds of tiny petitions that span the last twenty years of her mother’s life.

    Note by note, Mary Lou unearths a treasure of her mother’s wishes and worries and insight. Mary asked God for everything from the right flooring for her daughter’s home to a cure for her own blood cancer. Her requests, penned on scraps of paper, were presented without expectation — the ultimate expression of letting go.

    Follow Mary Lou’s emotional journey as she uncovers her mother’s innermost thoughts — nostalgic, surprising and even shocking. As she recalls life with the woman who was her best friend, Mary Lou discovers her own more empathetic, engaged self — the woman her mother had believed in all along.

    Poignantly written and beautifully designed, The God Box is a gift for every mother, every daughter, every person who, regardless of beliefs, trusts in the permanence of love and the power of family.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateDec 4, 2012
    ISBN9781469257778
    The God Box: Sharing My Mother's Gift of Faith, Love and Letting Go
    Author

    Mary Lou Quinlan

    Mary Lou Quinlan is the author of three books, an inspirational speaker and an expert on how women think and buy. She is the founder of Mary Lou Quinlan & Co. and Just Ask a Woman and appears frequently in national media. Her proudest achievement is her A+ in daughter, and she hopes her mother would be especially pleased with this book. Mary Lou and her husband, Joe, live in New York City and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, along with their dog, Rocky.

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    Reviews for The God Box

    4/5

    37 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5

      Jul 29, 2024

      After the death of Mary Lou Quinlan’s mother, she discovered that her mother had stashed small boxes all over her home filled with little slips of paper containing petitions to God.

      The God Box shares many of the prayers her mother Mary wrote asking God to help her children, friends, and even people she barely knew. From serious health matters to job advancement to help with relationships, Mary’s faith, compassion, and empathy for others shines in this slim read, and it’s a beautiful tribute to her life.

      The God Box is a lovely inspirational gift for any mom or daughter, it will encourage you to reflect on your own mother’s life.
    • 3/5

      Mar 4, 2014

      What a great way to write your prayer requests.
    • 4/5

      May 26, 2013

      I received this book at my daughter's graduation from college this year (2013). The author was there to give a speech and she gave a book to each graduate either for them to keep or to give to their mother's.

      It was a very sweet book on remembering Mary Lou's mother. Mary Lou's mother used to writer her prayers and hopes on pieces of paper for God to help her friends, family and people she would meet while out eating or in a store. It was sweet to see how much Mary Finlayson cared for people and put everything in God's hands.


      Mary Lou Quinlan does suggest that if you feel the need to do a God Box to find what works for you. It is a nice concept and something I would consider.

      I have always felt that things happen for a reason and sometimes we have no control over it.
    • 5/5

      Nov 15, 2012

      Mary Quinlan's mother was, throughout her life, a strong believer in the power of prayer. She developed a system of writing her prayers as short notes, folding the notes, and putting them in her "God Box." Following her death her family found 11 God Boxes stuffed full of notes. As her family opened and read athe prayer-notes they relived their lives together and gained increased insight into how important various family events had been to her.
      The book is a very quick read, covering Mary Finlayson's life and Quinlan's reactions to her death. Her description of the closedness between her mother and herself, and the devastation she felt at her mother's death brought tears to my eyes as it echoed my daughter's writings following the death of her father.
      You don't have to be deeply religious to find this book highly inspirational abd I have no problem giving it a high recommendation.
      I received this book as a Goodreads First Reads.
    • 5/5

      Jul 16, 2012

      A beautiful love letter from a daughter to the mother she lost, and than found again. This is a great reminder that when we fear no one is listening or praying for us, others are, we just don't see it. What a wonderful legacy this woman has left! How thoughtful of Mary Lou to share her mother with us, who were never lucky enough to meet her. If we had I am sure we would have all ended up in her God Box!
    • 4/5

      Jun 16, 2012

      "The God Box" is a touching memoir of a mother's love. Looking through her mother's prayers to God, Mary Lou and her family must have felt every emotion there is.
    • 5/5

      Apr 16, 2012

      Visible Act of Let Go, Let God.

      For over twenty years, Mary, Mary Lou Quinlin's mother, made a habit of jotting down her prayers and placing them in a box that she called her God Box. This was her way of physically acting out the habit of giving control to God over all the concerns that filled her prayers. After her death, the family went through the boxes discovering how Mary used her God Boxes to help her minister to her family and others through her prayers, and the gift of listening. In the book, the reader meets Mary Finlayson and her family, and hears how one mother met daily problems with prayer and strength to raise her family.

      This is a beautiful story of a mother that relies on God to help her raise her children and actively listen to others, as well as a daughter’s move through the grieving process. Toward the end of the story Mary Lou begins her own God Box, and sees the reasoning as she grows closer to God

      Received Galley from NetGalley.com
    • 4/5

      Apr 10, 2012

      From the beginning to the last page, Qunlan invites readers into her life. She includes stories of her mother's love, excerpts of her prayers, and photographs from her life. At the end, she gives guidance for creating one's own God Box as well as contact information, inviting the reader to step into the book and her life. Her love for her mother permeates each page, and her stories make the reader feel a deep connection to this woman. Photographs could be more detailed--images of the notes themselves may be intimate to some but redundant to others. Even so, the sentiment is apparent, and readers will leave inspired and feeling like they have made a new friend.
    • 4/5

      Mar 21, 2012

      This book is a heartfelt tribute to Ms. Quinlan’s mother. After her mother’s passing, the author found ten boxes of prayers written on behalf of her children. Mother and daughter, alike in many ways, had a special closeness illustrated by their secret code “hands on,” symbolizing their bond whether physically together or apart.

      The faith of Ms. Quinlan’s mother is evident in the problems large and small written down and “given to God.” If anyone continued to worry about an issue that had been placed before God, her mother’s response was “If you think you can handle it better than God, it’s coming out” (of the box). The book is a beautiful example of unconditional faith and commitment to the power of prayer. Images of the notes and photographs pepper the book, written by a loving daughter.

      Highly recommended for those wanting to deepen their faith or strengthen a mother/daughter bond.

      Netgalley graciously provided the review copy.