Read Joe's book,
My Stronghold: A Pastor's Battle with Cancer and Doubts.

*You may also be interested in Joe & Terri Fornear's devotional book, In His Grip, Meditations with the Great Physician. Just click "Continue shopping" in the cart and then add In His Grip.

Journey with Joe Fornear through his difficult battle with cancer and his miraculous recovery. In May of 2003, doctors gave Joe just days to live. Stage IV metastatic melanoma cancer had spread to thirteen different sites in his body, including lung, kidney, stomach and pancreas. Though he was at the brink of death, Joe experienced a miraculous healing. This book describes the struggles and process of how Joe gleaned lessons on surrender; human weakness and God’s strength; God’s goodness and compassion in a crisis; and powerful lessons on faith and prayer. Joe is Founder and Executive Director of Stronghold Ministry, a non-profit ministry that provides spiritual help to cancer patients and those in crisis. An ordained minister, Joe has a Masters of Theology (ThM) degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He founded and pastored a church in Dallas for 18 years. Joe and his wife, Terri, have two college age children, a son Jesse, and a daughter, Amy. $10.00 Shipping discounts for multiple books. Pay through Paypal or Google Checkout.   Shopping Cart by E-junkie

Reviews

Amy Aniceto:
I read the book before I started treatment for stage 4 small intestinal cancer and I loved everything about the book. You became an inspiration to me, Joe, and I am so glad we met! I read the book a second time after going through my first cycle of chemo and it really hit home with me then. I had a better understanding and could relate to it more. I am so glad you wrote the book and that I was gifted with a copy of it. It has really changed my life and outlook :)

Cristina Zaccarini:
I finished My Stronghold very quickly, as I could not put it down! I found it to be the most impressive cancer survivor story I have ever read! It is honest, detailed, and even humorous. The book provides necessary medical details and helpful ideas for those who are going through similar experiences. Joe Fornear draws from his extensive theological background to foreground key biblical passages, applying them in ways that are very meaningful.

Thom Mandl - Wonderful Testimony of the Love of God:
My Stronghold is an easy to read account of God's merciful love to a man ambushed by cancer. The story is written in a warm, real, and relational manner, which quickly draws you into the fight of faith -- making the book difficult to put down. I really appreciated how the author magnified God and His sustaining grace, versus drawing attention to his own efforts or those around him. While not at all discounting the medical profession, the importance of family and friends, and other means of grace, the spotlight remains clearly on God throughout the account. God will become bigger, your heart will be softened, and your faith will be encouraged by reading this book. You will also want to pass it on, as I have, to someone who is struggling with cancer or otherwise facing suffering and death.

Joan McEvoy:
This is a remarkable story and beautifully written. It is my sincere belief that anyone experiencing great physical suffering or hardship would receive immeasurable spiritual comfort by reading Joe Fornear’s, My Stronghold. For every question there is an answer.

Stewart Maxwell - Well-Crafted Story:
This is a wonderfully-crafted story of God holding on to Joe Fornear throughout his near-fatal experience with cancer. Joe describes not only his walk with God through a spiritual minefield, but also how he navigated the healthcare system. He also provides a few little known facts about melanoma that will surprise most readers. Joe's talent for weaving spiritual truths into the story using his conversational, transparent language show his years of experience in teaching the Bible applied to everyday situations. Although these are many of the same truths he has taught for years, they are now applied through a razor-sharp focus that can only result from coming so close to one's own earthly death. Fortunately, this book allows all readers, without coming quite so close to our own demise, to sharpen our own focus on God's love for each of us. (Disclosure: I am a board member of Stronghold Ministry.)

Ed Neal:
This is an outstanding book about an up and down battle with cancer and how the author, Joe Fornear, fiercely fought with this life threatening disease and the miraculous healing from God he personally experienced. Each chapter is an account of coping with the cancer and how it ravaged his body in a way that caused physical suffering and mental challenges throughout a six year battle to a complete recovery. Truly a profound book which I strongly recommend.

Tom Griffith, Pastor in Boston, Massachusetts:
This is an honest, yet faith-filled book; a great mix of faith and vulnerability. Joe was facing cancer that was advancing through his body at a rapid pace. Along the way he takes us with him into his life, his thoughts and feelings, and the doctors' offices - his honesty is disarming. This is not a self-help book as much as it is a book about being honest and seeking God amidst the deep trials of cancer. It's real - at points gritty - and peppered with humor in hard situations. It's written in short pithy chapters that can be added to devotional reading, or that can be easily completed - even when one's energy is depleted. What a great book, expressing practical faith to give to people you know who are battling cancer! I am thankful for Joe's candor and perseverance, and for his writing of this book. It's by far the best book I've seen of its kind.

Duke Snider, cancer survivor:
I don't read many books as a rule, I wish I did... I typically read textbooks with information that needs to be digested. Jumping straight to it, if nothing else, God has kept you here to do exactly this: write the book, My Stronghold.
The key most important aspect that I found was the blunt, no mask, naked truth of the journey to the miserable ends of human capacity engulfed in what seems like a sea of emptiness (... where is God in all of this... where is His voice... Hello... is anyone home?...) coming from the voice of a deep rooted man of God...
How comforting to hear your voice and words through your book. I have my own story, as I'm sure all of us do. However, I have been quietly (ashamedly?) pondering why the experience was soooooo brutal, and then there is the emptiness, seemingly void of comfort / support from God. Like you, after effectively willing to "through in the towel," I got that sooooo needed phone call from God. I made it through and I am here today to smile and move on. But, the period of "emptiness" has haunted me...
Your book, hearing your voice- your story closed that chapter for me. Thank you for taking the time to write the book, and for being blunt - naked about your true experience.

Stephen Allen:
Praise The Lord! Joe, after reading your book I found it to be encouraging, interesting, hope giving and funny (smile). I know that this book will continue to be a blessing to everyone who gets the opportunity to read it. God Bless.

Lois Neal:
I decided to be brave and read your book since I was recommending it to several people (on my husband's recommendation). I was afraid it would be too difficult for me to get through but it is a beautiful and human book that we all can identify with. What you went through is amazing and can only testify to God's amazing Grace! God is already using this book in so many ways.

Sister Mary of the Sorrowful Heart (Hunt):
I was so interested in your BOOK I could not put it down till I heard -- "DINNER's ready." I went back as soon as I was finished and really learned many helpful ways of dealing with whatever comes up in my life. PRAISE JESUS. I will be keeping you in all my prayers, GOD BLESS YOU ---- YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HELP SO MANY PEOPLE.

Joice Franklin:
I finished the book tonight and was sorry to see it end. It is well-written, for one thing, and, of course, it is a wonderful story of God's faithfulness in the darkest of times. I found the theological discussion of healing to be helpful beyond words. It will be a resource book for us to use with missionaries dealing with cancer, and should we ever need the help that Stronghold gives, we have a new resource. We'll be sharing the book with friends and ultimately it will be in our library. Many, many thanks. To know the author gives impact to the words!

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