Tag: reading

Read Together this Christmas

Take a little time during holiday activities and read something together: a story, a poem, an Advent devotional, a Psalm, Luke chapter 2, a children’s book. You’ll create closeness, meaningful traditions, and enrich your Christmas celebration.

A few book suggestions:

Something Is Coming to Our World: How a Backyard Bird Sees Christmas

White As Snow: A Christmas Story

That Was the Best Christmas!

 

Credibility, Context, Trust

 
Before choosing to buy or read a book, don’t you check to see who has endorsed it, what reviewers are saying, which of your friends recommend it? When we tell you that a well-known, trusted leader or author has endorsed a book, we’re not just “name dropping.”

We appreciate every single person, famous or not, who posts a review of one of our titles, shares an update from one of our authors, and recommends a Cladach book to their friends and followers. Word of mouth is the most effective way of “getting the buzz going.” And buzz gets people’s attention.

And these hope-filled books are worth their attention.

Endorsements also add context to a lesser-known author and their books.

These people, whose names are recognizable to a large number of Christian readers, have lent their support by endorsing or reviewing our authors’ titles:

Kay Arthur (Precept Ministries International) endorsed Judy Pex’s WALK THE LAND:

You’ll be enriched spiritually through Judy’s story of the insights given her by her God on this journey of a lifetime.”

Jill Briscoe (author) endorsed Judy Pex’s WALK THE LAND:

“A delightful and exciting story, unusually spiritually penetrating.”

Eric Wilson (New York Times bestselling author of Fireproof, October Baby, and Field of Blood) endorsed Judy Pex’s COME • STAY CELEBRATE!:

“A breath of fresh air in a world full of strife… A fast-paced read full of humor, insight, and emotion.”

Thomas Jay Oord (theologian and author of The Uncontrolling Love of God) endorsed Janyne McConnaughey’s BRAVE:

“Janyne McConnaughey is vulnerable in the kind of way that changes the world!”

William Prince (General Superintendent Emeritus, Church of the Nazarene) reviewed Physa Chanmany’s NO MORE FEAR:

“A good story of a man who found God and is preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.”

Jan Johnson (author of Growing Compassionate Kids and When the Soul Listens) endorsed Alice Scott-Ferguson’s MOTHERS CAN’T BE EVERYWHERE:

“Thank you, Alice, for helping us trust God and let our parenting be about our children instead of being about us.”

Ken Canfield (founder, National Center for Fathering; president, National Association for Grandparenting) endorsed Nancy Swihart’s ON KITTEN CREEK:

“A fresh reminder that we are each living an adventure.”

Eva Marie Everson, well-known Christian author and novelist recommended Catherine Lawton’s FACE TO FACE: A NOVEL:

“I was fascinated.”

Eric Wilson (New York Times bestselling author) endorsed J. Michael Dew’s GADLY PLAIN:

“A small literary miracle … full of hope.”

Marilyn Musgrave (then U.S. Congresswoman from Colorado) recommended Donna Westover’s WHITE AS SNOW:

“A wonderful book. I couldn’t put it down.”

and many others. To all, we say “Thank you.”

 

Full Circle: Capturing Imaginations, Hearts and Minds

 

Winter’s Coming ~ Get Ready

snow nature sky night

Depending on what part of the country/world you live in, you may have already winterized your home by “backing out” the sprinkler system, cutting back perennials in the garden, mulching roses, bringing in or covering patio furniture, checking insulation around windows and doors, etc. Here in Colorado we have done some of those things. Days are mostly warm still, but night temperatures can plummet. Maybe you live in the southern hemisphere and you’re preparing for summer. You may want to read this post six months from now. More northern parts may have already seen snow as in the photo above. Brrrrr.

Christina Slike has advice for those who are preparing for shorter, colder days and for spending more time indoors:

Have you winterized your home inside?

The season is just around the corner, but there’s still time to prepare. Here’s how you can get through the extra-long dark evenings and nights:

  • Dust your bookshelves and nightstands.
  • Organize the books around your house.
  • Be excited about new adventures and knowledge you can find in a new book.
  • Order some recently-released books from Cladach. (see below)

books and speakers on black wooden shelf

While waiting for your new reads to arrive, I recommend you have a blanket, hot drink, and a comfortable, well-lit lounge area ready.

adult beverage breakfast celebration

Congratulations. You’ve winterized your home! When the Cladach books arrive from:

Cladach.com

Amazon

BarnesAndNoble.com

 Indie Bookstores …

Open, read, and enjoy!

We wish you well in your preparations for winter.

–Christina

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…” Ecclesiastes 3:1


 

 

 


Photos by:
Stefan Stefancik on Pexels.com
祝 鹤槐 on Pexels.co
Pixabay on Pexels.com

 

Quotes About Poetry

Because I value the gift, solace, and challenge of poetry, I have started collecting quotes that help illumine the process and purpose of poetry. I’ll add to the list as I find good ones, from both historical and contemporary sources. Here is what I have so far:

Poetry is:

“…the music of the soul.” ~Voltaire

“…the art of uniting pleasure with truth.” ~Samuel Johnson

“…the universal language which the heart holds with nature and itself.” ~William Hazlitt

“…[that which] makes my body so cold no fire can warm me,” [and makes me} “feel as if the top of my head were taken off.” ~Emily Dickinson

“…not the assertion of truth, but the making of that truth more fully real to us.” ~T.S. Eliot

“…the breath and finer spirit of knowledge.” ~William Wordsworth

“The best craftsmanship always leaves holes and gaps in the works of the poem so that something that is not in the poem can creep, crawl, flash, or thunder in.” ~Dylan Thomas

“Make a poem that does not disturb the silence from which it came.” ~Wendell Berry

“Through poetry, [we] can inquire about the world and [our] place in it…. It is a communal form of inquiry directed towards discovering universal truths.” ~Nayeli Riano

“Poetry is, to me, the art of putting the NOW into words.” ~Gary Haddis

“Poetry calls upon us to probe our deepest emotions and longings.” ~Sharon Olds

“A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” ~Robert Frost

“People who pray, need to learn poetry.” ~Eugene Peterson

“To elevate the soul, poetry is necessary.” ~Edgar Allen Poe

“A good poet tries to lead you into universal experience by leading you into a shot of concrete experience–one flower, one frog…That’s what it takes to pull you into the depth of everything.” ~Richard Rohr

“Poetry, like faith, can look at the back as well as the front of reason; it can survey reason all round.” ~Charles Williams

“Poetry, in capturing the moment, captures the soul.” ~Mary Harwell Sayler

“A poet is somebody who feels, and who expresses his feelings through words. This may sound easy. It isn’t. A lot of people think or believe or know they feel—but that’s thinking or believing or knowing; not feeling. And poetry is feeling—not knowing or believing or thinking.” ~E.E. Cummings

“In poetry the words are the body and the ‘theme’ or ‘content’ is the soul.” ~C.S. Lewis

“A poet is a man who is glad of something and tries to make other people glad of it, too.” ~George MacDonald (in his novel, At the Back of the North Wind)

“What draws us to poetry is its ability to connect with us by burying ideas beneath the mere words written. Subtext is the magic that keeps us coming back. But in order for the magic to work, the text above the subtext must always remain somewhat ambiguous.” ~Greg Boyd (in regard to biblical poetry)

“To me, that’s the gift of poetry—it shapes an endless conversation about the most important things in life. … Reading poems can help bring clarity and insight to emotions that can be confusing or contradictory.” ~Caroline Kennedy

Delicious Poetry

canstockphoto32506025

If you enjoy digesting good poetry, and if you find yourself craving poems that are “delicious, nutritious, crisp, textured, with just the right touch of spice” … then you’ll agree with poet (and poetry editor) Mary Harwell Sayler who uses these culinary words to describe poetry that stands out from the usual crowded buffet of verse filled with “empty calories, rehashed left-overs, and saccharine sweetness.”

You can find a list of “delicious” poetry books Mary recommended in her post “Take a poem to lunch.”

I was delighted to find my name and poetry collection, Remembering Softly: A Life in Poems appearing on her list!

I agree with Mary about the importance of a creative, healthy diet of poetry. Sometimes I feel the need for “comfort food” poems that warm my heart like savory stew warms my insides. Or poems that stimulate my senses the way a good, strong cup of coffee wakes me up in the morning. Or poems that bring the catharsis of tears and laughter, like lunch with friends.

Help yourself to a serving of skillfully and lovingly-prepared, delicious poetry today.

~Catherine Lawton


Photo: ©CanStockPhoto/thai6D

If Your Animals (and Characters in Books) Could Talk

Sheep-meeting-poster

When I visited author Marilyn Wentz on her farm, I saw these sheep in a pen. The scene struck me as humorous, as if the one sheep in the foreground was holding a meeting of the flock. She seemed to have their attention. And a discussion seemed to ensue. Many of Marilyn’s (and her mother Millie’s) sheep have names. In All We Like Sheep the two shepherds tell stories of lambs and ewes named Carla, Charlene, Foxy Lady, Scotch, Squirt, Pumpkin, Spring, Teddy Bear, Gomer, Pibb, and Blue.

 

 

Ten Best Books I Read in 2015

books-on-shelves

Here’s an eclectic list of books, varied in subject, genre, and form. I like to find the best in popular books, old and new, and find hidden gems that are less-well known but sometimes even more worthy of being found on a “best-seller” list. Perhaps you’ll discover a new favorite among these:

(In no particular order)

  1. STONE BY STONE: Tear Down the Wall Between God’s Heart and Yours by Jasona Brown (WhiteFire, 2015) – I’m part of a group of prayer ministers in my church. We spent several months this past year reading and discussing this book and praying together over personal issues that came up. Stone by Stone brings to light obstacles in our hearts that hinder us from freely and fully receiving God’s love and living in wholeness, in the joy of the Lord. Topics covered include:guilt, unforgiveness, lies believed, trauma, and unhealed memories. I enjoyed the conversational style of the author, the way she so transparently shared her own story, and the way her compassion for hurting people comes through.
  2. A GUIDE FOR LISTENING AND INNER HEALING PRAYER: Meeting God in the Broken Places by Rusty Rustenbach (NavPress, 2011)  –  As the title indicates, this is a comprehensive guide. It includes personal stories from the authors life and examples from other people’s lives as well. I recommend it to anyone desiring to remove barriers to intimacy with God and to be free of negative emotions that have plagued you for years, to experience release, freedom, and healing of emotional wounds. This book can lead individuals step-by-step in that healing process, and it can equip groups like the one I’m in, to facilitate a listening and inner-healing prayer ministry for the wounded people the Lord brings to us.
  3. THE LANGUAGE OF GOD: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis S. Collins (Free Press, 2007)  –  Science has not been my forte. But this is a fascinating book.  Like many Christians, I had some skepticism. Can you really believe both science and the Bible? Collins, a pioneering medical geneticist who headed the Human Genome Project presents a clear and sincere personal testimony of coming to faith in Jesus. He also discusses scientific discoveries in an easy-to-follow way that I actually enjoyed. He says we don’t have to choose between science and God. Especially helpful is Collins’ explanation of how and why a Bible-believing Christian may accept the theory of evolution.
  4. SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY: A Woman’s Journey through Poems selected and introduced by Caroline Kennedy (Grand Central, 2014) –  I love poetry and have a collection of poetry books. Some are antiques that belonged to my great-grandmother. Some are tomes I studied in college. I turn to poetry in times of deep emotion and it helps me walk through those times. Well, for my birthday last year I received a Barnes & Noble gift card. I decided I wanted a current volume of poetry. I remembered seeing a small “Poetry” section in our local B&N. When I went there, that section had disappeared, but a few poetry books were squeezed on half a shelf somewhere at the bottom of the “fiction” section. Sad. The pickings were slim. But She Walks in Beauty stood out to me. After scanning the topics (“Falling In Love” “Marriage” “Work” “Growing Up and Growing Old” “Friendship” “Silence and Solitude”) I bought the book. It didn’t disappoint. Ms. Kennedy included poems by some of my “old” favorites, such as Frost, Yeats, Browning and also introduced me to contemporary poets. She even included Christian mystics such as Teresa of Avila and poetic passages from the Bible. The poems cover nearly every aspect of a woman’s life. To me the best parts, though, were Ms.Kennedy’s insightful, personal, and beautifully-expressed introductions to each subject group of poems.
  5. SOLDIER’S HEART: A Novel by Michele McKnight Baker (Heritage Beacon, 2015) – I read this Civil-War era novel in manuscript form. Many fiction manuscripts have crossed my desk through the years. But few have made as strong an impression on me as this one did. An agent sent me the manuscript. During 15 years of acquiring manuscripts for Cladach, only twice have I failed to win a contract for a book I really wanted to publish. Soldier’s Heart is one of those. The characters, the setting, the time period, the twists of plot, authentic conflicts, and the theme of generational sins and reconciliations make Soldier’s Heart an unforgettable read. What we now call PTSD, often diagnosed in military personnel returning from war, used to be called “soldier’s heart.” If you enjoy Christian historical fiction—read this novel.
  6. ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL by James Herriot (Bantam, 1974) –  One winter day I felt like reading something cozy and familiar; so I perused the well-worn volumes of my personal library and pulled some James Herriot books off the shelf. I first read his warm and wonderful series of Yorkshire-vet tales in the 1980s. The Chicago Tribune (according to the back cover) said this book was “bursting with love, laughter and the joy of life” and a “soul-satisfying autobiographical book. Human beings just naturally respond to a writer as lovable, wholesome, eloquent, humorous and well-stocked with anecdotes as James Herriot.”  I agree. Worth keeping for decades and reading over again.
  7. ALL WE LIKE SHEEP: Lessons from the Sheepfold by Marilyn Bay Wentz and Mildred Nelson Bay (Cladach, 2015) –  I read this book more closely than any other on this list, since I edited it! When Marilyn first sent her completed manuscript, which I had agreed to publish, I had just read a couple of James Herriot’s books. He describes so vividly his experiences with sheep and other farm animals. I looked forward to more such stories from a sheep farmer I knew, right here in Colorado. During the revision process, I asked authors Marilyn and Millie, “Do you enjoy your sheep? Do you love what you do— the farm, the outdoors, the mornings and evenings, the barn, the pastures, etc? Your choices of words, images, vignettes will help me experience the sheep farm vicariously. I want to smell the sweet hay, to hear the lambs bleat, to feel a newborn lamb, the bite of a chilly midnight during lambing season. I want to laugh and cry with you as you deal with rogue dogs and coyotes, search for a lost lamb, watch your flock come running as they recognize your voice.” Marilyn and Millie caught the vision of “creative nonfiction” and accomplished the feat of writing their shepherding experiences as stories with dialogue, sensory details, and emotion. In an entertaining way, the authors “show us” as well as teach us why the Bible says we are all like sheep.
  8. YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP: The Complete Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction—from Memoir to Literary Journalism and Everything in Between  by Lee Gutkind (Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2012) Speaking of creative nonfiction (as I did in #6 and #7 above)—a style popular in journalism today, and the style I prefer for memoirs and other nonfiction—this is a definitive book on what it is and how to write it. I read this book in preparation for a workshop I presented at the Writers on the Rock conference. A secular, colorfully-written book, by the expert on the subject, that includes many examples and exercises. I read the Kindle version.
  9. THE UNCONTROLLING LOVE OF GOD: An Open and Relational Account of Providence  by Thomas Jay Oord (Intervarsity Press, 2015) –  I have some of my preacher father’s and some of my preacher grandfather’s theology books that were handed down to me. I’ve acquired and studied other, more recent theological books, mostly written from the Wesleyan-Arminian perspective, as well as broader Evangelical and even a few Reformed works. In recent years, have enjoyed books by N.T. Wright and Jurgen Moltmann. I heard about Thomas Jay Oord before I knew of his many books. Since we had mutual acquaintances, I responded to Mr. Oord’s request for readers to review his then-forthcoming book, The Uncontrolling Love of God. I read it in pdf form. This book provokes thought and lays out a convincing case concerning why evil happens even though “God is love.” You can read my Amazon review of the book here.
  10. LES MISERABLES by Victor Hugo (Penguin Audio, 2009) I own three video/DVD versions of Les Miserables — an old movie, a more recent movie, and a stage musical production. The story—with its timeless themes of justice, mercy, and redemption—always inspires and the music lifts me. I wanted to read the book, but haven’t yet tackled that thick volume. Instead, I started an Audible membership and downloaded this Audible/audio version of the great classic. My husband and I listened to it on a long road trip and enjoyed this abridged, well-narrated version of the book. An accessible way for tired or busy eyes to devour and relish great literature.