September 14, 2006

MINNEAPOLIS – Almost everyone has a Last Will and Testament that tells their family and friends what is to become of their property, but few people have thought about the spiritual gifts and memories they'd like to leave their loved ones.

In his latest book, I Will to You: Leaving a Legacy for Those You Love, well-known and beloved author Herbert Brokering shares the spiritual gifts and intimate memories that he'd like to leave to his family and his readers. As he ponders the grace he has received from the people, places, and events of his life he inspires our own reflection on what we wish to leave to our loved ones. Each chapter includes a Bible passage for reflection.

Excerpt from chapter one

"I will you the wind, the prairie wind I have loved. I will you the high wind I can still feel in the tug of the kite string, a wind dancing in the sky above. I will you the wind that whirled across a field and carried leaves and twigs to another farm, to the horizon, and I wished to follow them there. I will you the wind you need as living breath to speak your words and laughter. I will you the wind I was willed. Wind is breath, life. I will you the wind."

"In I Will to You Herb Brokering wills us his family, himself, his creativity, his eighty years of living as a living will for others. And throughout these pages, he also wills us his worries, woes, and wars, right along with his wows, whims, and wellness in the Lord! Will you read this book? I will, again and again. After all, Herb has willed it to us!" – Dr. Richard Bimler, Past President/Senior Staff Advisor, Wheat Ridge Ministries.

"Brokering takes the readers on a journey where we experience his heartfelt moments-teachable moments he wills to us to learn from his life. Each snippet must be savored in its own context . . . as a personal devotion or perhaps in a group study. I Will to You is rich in its texture and its simplicity. It's truly a living legacy." – Mary Ellen Walsh, Executive Director Fox Valley Hospice, Inc., Geneva, Illinois.

"Herb's bequests recall his childhood, move through his life experiences, and conclude with his hopes and dreams for the next generation. His joie de vivre is the same as that of all little children; an expression of the simple trust Jesus commended to all who would enter the kingdom of heaven. All of his bequests can be summed up in one-fullness of life on this earth. He says as much in the DEDICATION: ‘I will you this book, and I will you Earth.'"

"I Will to You can be used as a daily devotional, but I warn you, it is difficult to put down once the book is opened. It is a book that will be referred to again and again as it speaks so poignantly to a person's soul." – Jean Larson, freelance writer.

Herbert Brokering has published more than forty books, including Love Dad; I'm Thinking of You; and To Henry in Heaven. He is a beloved hymn writer, known particularly for "Earth and All Stars." Over the past sixty years, his ministry as a pastor, educator, curriculum developer, and pilgrimage leader has spanned many countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. He lives in Bloomington, MN.

I Will to You: Leaving a Legacy for Those You Love, By Herbert Brokering, Format: 5.5" x 8.5," paperback, 128 pages, ISBN: 0-8066-5627-1, Price: $11.99, Publisher: Augsburg Books.

To order I Will to You please call Augsburg Fortress at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the Web site at http://www.augsburgfortress.org/.

Augsburg Books