Living fully all the way to heaven might be harder than you think. Our complex modern healthcare system, fear of death, and lack of planning push us into a default end-of-life approach, instead of one that fits our values and desires. As a result, while 70-80% of people say they want to die peacefully and pain-free at home, surrounded by friends and family, fewer than 30% end up doing so. Christians are included in these statistics. It has become clear that modern medicine cannot give us all we need to live with meaning until the moment God calls us home. This study equips you with the biblical truth, healthcare facts, and practical steps you need to act on now, while you're still healthy, to prepare you to live fully all the way to heaven. In I'll Have It God's Way, you'll be guided gently through the necessary steps to take you from a vague idea of what you want to an applicable plan to make it happen. By the time you complete the study, you will have decided on a medical proxy, created an advance care directive, and even created a video to give to those in your circle of care. Your family, friends, clergy, and physicians will have the information they need to understand and honor your wishes in your final days. You'll have put all the tools in place to make your intentions a reality, one manageable step at a time. I'll Have It God's Way is designed for small groups to work through together, but it is equally helpful for individuals who wish to go through it themselves or with their families. Videos and discussion questions guide learning and discussion in six sessions, while additional reading and homework assignments provide more opportunities to internalize and personalize each step between sessions. Helpful worksheets, URLs for the online videos, and a template for an advance care directive are included.

Author Biography

Hattie Bryant has been talking for a living since 1979. When she turned 60 in 2010, she thought back to her mother's difficult death and decided she needed to figure out how to get herself a peaceful one. This research sent her to the USC Graduate School of Gerontology and into the confidence of America's healthcare professionals and thought leaders. In 2015, she released I'll Have It My Way: Taking Control of End-of-Life Decisions, which led to a lecture that airs on public television stations. Now, she has combined her research about end-of-life care with her lifelong faith to create a resource that will help Christians "live fully all the way to heaven:" I'll Have It God's Way. Bryant made a career of educating adults long before I'll Have It My Way. She has trained business owners and employees through the development of educational materials, lectures in classrooms and conventions, and the long-running, made-for-PBS show Small Business School, which she created with her husband, Bruce Camber. She holds a bachelor's in journalism from Oklahoma Baptist University.