Does God Care?

About the Book

“Does God Care?” is a collection of true stories from around the world dealing with personal experiences with God. Bartholomew begins the collection with her own story and then presents over 80 other accounts sent to her from people eager to share their experiences. The stories present many different ways in which God touched an individual's life and led them to Him. The stories submitted in the book deal with overcoming drug or alcohol addiction, being healed or experiencing a medical miracle. Others who wrote to Bartholomew tell of religious conversions or simple expressions of their deep love for God and how grateful they are to have experienced His love toward them and for the blessings they received.

Bartholomew’s own experiences are related first. One story she relates how God provided for her and her daughter when they experienced car trouble in the middle of nowhere in during the night. Bartholomew also writes of her near death experience as she went into the hospital for what was supposed to be routine outpatient surgery. As a result of the problematic surgery she experienced physical, emotional and financial hardships. She explains that her faith, as well as her church and family supplied her with strength she needed throughout her struggles.

Perhaps some of the most dramatic stories included in this collection deal with an individual’s ability to overcome problems with substance abuse. In "Spiritual Advisor" the reader is introduced to a young lady who found herself addicted to both drugs and alcohol. With God's help, as well as instruction from her spiritual advisor and support from friends, she has been able to achieve a year of sobriety. She has also decided to fully dedicate he life to Christ. Another writer from New York relates her experiences with the Bowery Mission Women's Center. The Center helped her to overcome a lifelong addiction to drugs and showed her that God was the solution to her problems. Dan Cross presents a life story of how he overcame alcoholism and suicide attempts, but is now a Minister and assists others who face the same battles he fought.

Also included are stories describing miraculous occurrences. Jim Wilds of Alaska, tells how he was able, with Gods help, to survive falling into an icy river and fighting -60 degree wind chills.

James Hewitt tells of his encounter with God in a train yard. His car, though the gearshift was in drive, moved in reverse out of the way of two oncoming train cars. As a result of this incident and the audible conversation he says he had with God, Hewitt immediately stopped drinking and smoking pot. He is how a pastor and considers starting his own church.

More ordinary encounters with God are also included among the stories. One story relates how God used a simple sunset to capture one person’s attention and helped refocus his mind to what was important in life.  One man relates how he was not able to find true contentment until he turned his life and his talents over to God, even though he was financially successful and had archived what he thought he wanted from life.

Many stories of healing are included throughout this collection. In this category are accounts of overcoming medical conditions such as anorexia, hearing loss, diabetes and cancer. In each case the healed person expresses their deep love and appreciation for God and His presence in their adversity...

About the Author

Janet Bartholomew was born on September 1st, 1950 in Alhambra, California. She knew at an early age that Show Business would be her life. She demonstrated her talents for dancing at age three and began professional modeling at seven. Her spiritual life began while visiting a church with her grandmother as a child. As a young girl Janet lived with a serious Asthmatic condition, but she would not be deterred from her ambitions. Later, as a teen, Janet was deeply involved in drama and earned multiple related academic awards. In 1969, she got her first big “break” when she was selected as one of the original “Gold Diggers” on the Dean Martin show. Thereafter, she appeared in major films, television shows and stage productions for several years. However, being part of this lifestyle Janet felt vaguely empty. She attributes her salvation during this period to her experiences at church with her grandmother. Janet was married in 1977 and became a mother in 1981. After the birth of her daughter she abandoned her acting career. However, Janet separated from her husband in 1990. Shortly thereafter, Janet began having serious back pains. She discovered she had gallstones. What should have been a simple procedure, turned into a nightmare? Janet died on the operating table, but was revived. It took nearly six months to recuperate. However, she was overwhelmed with a sense of fear and vulnerability, for which she eventually sought professional help. During this time Janet reached to God. She visited a local church and discovered ways to turn her personal tragedy into triumph. She began writing her own story and searched for testimonials of others whose lives had been touched by God. Today, Janet sings with a gospel group and devotes her life to the discovery of the miracles brought to the lives of others, and the telling of those stories.