45 Minutes

By Kristen A Young and Stephen Lewis

When Anthony woke up that morning he didn't know it could be his last day on Earth

Beep, beep, beep, went the machines, as the prayers of the doctor were heard. This man that lay before him was dead—flat lined, 45 minutes ago. And now, by some higher power, he is alive, with no help of machines, just prayer. This man must have a

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen Young
• Release date: Mar 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9780978769628

Kristen A Young

Kristen Young was born and raised in a small town in Northern Maine. She is married to her husband, Stephen, and they have two girls, Abigail and Sydney. Sydney is from Haiti and has been with her family since September 2009. " Life has not come without struggles but God has done some amazing work in Kristen's life. She says she is, "Living proof you can start over and have an AMAZING life, the life you were intended to have." She knows there is no limit to what God can do with you if you are open. If you just say, "God use me," He will.

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45 Minutes

A Novel by Kristen Young

45 Minutes

Copyright © 2011 by Kristen Young

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise-without prior written permission of the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review for inclusion in a magazine, website, newspaper, podcast, or broadcast. Author does not capitalize the name of satan or any reference to the devil.

This book contains graphic details about the afterlife from a Christian perspective. This book is intended for mature readers.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission (www.Lockman.org).

ISBNs: 978-0-9787696-1-1 (Print)

978-0-9787696-2-8 (E-book)

This story was written for my two precious daughters:

Abigail JoAn

and

Sydney Grace

May you never question your abilities

and talents that God has given you,

that you never say,

I can’t but

Always say, I CAN.

All your dreams can come true, so

Don’t ever limit yourself.

Dream big Girls!

You have a purpose, fulfill it and always keep your eyes

on Jesus, He is your source.

Mommy loves you!

Foreword

I first want to say thank you to Kristen for honoring me with being able to write this forward for her amazing book. Many times we have no idea what God has planned for us individually, but if we take the time to listen to His voice, we will hear His desires for our lives.

In Kristen’s case she listened; not knowing who her book audience would be she began to write, sometimes for a few minutes and other times for hours. In her heart she knew this story had to be told; a story of a torn man’s journey through life. Kristen’s style of writing will capture you and keep you reading as different events take place both spiritually and physically.

As you read 45 Minutes, you will learn about relationships, childhood disappointments, struggles, and even heart break. But most importantly, you will see what can possibly happen if we choose to forgive those who have hurt us. You will also see firsthand, that making things right with others before it is too late is a must, no matter what the circumstance.

While reading this book I encourage you to put yourself in the shoes of some of the characters. Reflect on your own life and try to picture how you would have acted in some of the scenarios that take place. Most of all I hope—as a reader—that you will take some very good life changing advice from Kristen.

As a writer myself, I pray you enjoy Kristen’s book and I challenge you to read it more than once to get a better understanding of the message that lies within its pages.

God Bless,

Stephen Lewis

5 Fold Media Author

From the Author

There comes a time in some people’s lives that you do something completely out of character. Writing this novel was that for me. I have had this story in my heart for a while now and I just had to put it into words. This story is a fiction novel; fiction means that something is imaginary, thought up, not real. I feel I need to say this only because I believe there will be some kind of debate about what happens to the main character of this book as you follow his journey in and out of death.

Read this book for what it is. There are so many theories, ideas, and discrepancies on death, how it will happen, and how we may get to heaven or how we may not. Is it through works or grace? Is it through rituals and traditions? Who will truly know until they step into eternity themselves? This is not a concrete and perfectly theological story. Exact theology is not the purpose of this book. The purpose I have in writing this book is for all to see the unmerited, undeserving grace and mercy of our Lord. So if you believe in God or if you don’t, it’s okay, because it doesn’t change the fact that He believes in you. If you think God isn’t real that’s okay too, but, what if HE IS? Think about that. As you read this novel, please don’t read it to critique the theology. You may completely miss what the story truly is about. It’s about a God that really loves His children, a God that sacrificed His only son to save the world if they believe and follow Him. What will your choice be? Ultimately, in the end, it doesn’t matter what your doctrine or your theology is, if you believe what the Bible says and you believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God it comes down to one simple statement made by Jesus in the book of John, which says in verses 11:25-26: 

Jesus said to her, I am [Myself] the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live; And whoever continues to live and believes in (has faith in, cleaves to, and relies on) Me shall never [actually] die at all. Do you believe this? (AMP).

Prologue

Beep, beep, beep, went the machines, as the prayers of the doctor were heard. This man that lay before him was dead—flat lined, 45 minutes ago. And now, by some higher power, he is alive, with no help of machines, just prayer. This man must have a purpose, a purpose to be alive, to finish out his life here on earth. That is what you would think, that is what you would assume, but could it be for some other, much more important reason?

* * *

What a day it would be for Anthony Michaels. Did he know that this was his day? When he woke up that morning, did he know that this could possibly be his last day on earth? Did he know that what was to come was going to be the biggest, most important challenge he would ever face in his life? He was going to have to fight for his life. Not for his life here on earth, but his life in eternity.

Anthony Michaels had quite a life—a blessed, hard, successful, tormented, and at times, a lonely path. Anthony grew up in a large family, the oldest of eight. It was hard being the oldest; he had to be the strong one, the one with all the answers. Maybe that is why Anthony had such a hard time in life. Anthony was a smart man, both successful and blessed, but he had his demons. He struggled in his life with addiction; not only with alcohol but he had an obsession with power, control, and money. It would be his biggest downfall in life. That obsession would cost him his relationships with his children and three failed marriages.

* * *

In this novel, you will be taken on a journey of Anthony Michaels’ life, which really could be anyone’s life, even yours. As you read about Anthony and his family, you will learn about true forgiveness, answered prayers, and you might even learn something from his mistakes. But mostly, take from it a story about grace, mercy, and the never failing love of God. You will also learn about the unconditional love a father has for his son.

Have you ever questioned whether or not God loves you? Is God really a loving and caring God? Immerse yourself in this story and you will find and know that the love and grace of God is for us ALL…

Chapter One

What a stunning morning it was. The sun was just rising above the mountains with its warmth and majestic colors of red and yellow. It was a promise of a brand new day. Anthony Michaels stood in awe at this beautiful sight as he walked out on to his front porch. He hadn’t slept well the night before. It had been years, but last night he decided to pray, talk to the God that he knew, but seemed so distant, not because God was distant, but because Anthony distanced himself from God. Life just got in the way. Of course, when things weren’t going well he would beg God to do something, but never a prayer of thanks to God just because He was God. Last night was different; Anthony talked to God like he was His friend; it was an intimate conversation like a son would have with his father.

He talked with God most of the night about his life, confessed a few things he was not proud of, and asked for forgiveness for the things he knew were wrong, but why last night? Why did he feel the