A few book suggestions:
Something Is Coming to Our World: How a Backyard Bird Sees Christmas
White As Snow: A Christmas Story
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:
Janyne McConnaughey, author of Trauma in the Pews, on Alice Scott-Ferguson’s DAUGHTER OF THE ISLES:
“The combination of goodness, grace, and grief that visits every woman’s life is portrayed with honesty…I found courage to face the complex feelings of aging.”
Kay Arthur, Precept Ministries International, on Judith Galblum 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.”
William Prince, General Superintendent Emeritus, Church of the Nazarene, on Physa Chanmany’s NO MORE FEAR:
“A good story of a man who found God and is preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.”
Ken Canfield, founder of National Center for Fathering and author of The 7 Secrets of Effective Fathers, on Nancy Swihart’s ON KITTEN CREEK:
“A fresh reminder that we are each living an adventure.”
Eva Marie Everson, CBA best-selling author and novelist, on Catherine Lawton’s FACE TO FACE: A NOVEL:
“I was fascinated.”
Eric Wilson, New York Times bestselling author, on J. Michael Dew’s GADLY PLAIN:
“A small literary miracle … full of hope.”
Marilyn Musgrave, then U.S. Congresswoman from Colorado, on Donna Westover Gallup’s WHITE AS SNOW:
“A wonderful book. I couldn’t put it down.”
Thomas Jay Oord, theologian and prolific author, on Janyne McConnaughey’s BRAVE:
“Vulnerable in the kind of way that changes the world!”
…and many others. To all reviewers and endorsers of Cladach books, we say “Thank you.”
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:
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:
While waiting for your new reads to arrive, I recommend you have a blanket, hot drink, and a comfortable, well-lit lounge area ready.
Congratulations. You’ve winterized your home! When the Cladach books arrive from:
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
“…the music of the soul.” ~Voltaire
“…when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” ~Robert Frost
“…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
…
To read more go to my personal blog where I have revised and re-posted this list:
I recorded this reading, and now I share it, with the hopes you will be encouraged in these unsettling times.
The poem is “Antidote” from my book of poetry, Remembering Softly : A Life In Poems
May the peace of Christ rest upon you!
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.
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.
Bullet holes in the front door of the Alexander’s home in Taipei. Two members of the family were used as human shields and shot in police crossfire. Yet the Alexanders forgave their terrorist captor and helped lead him to faith in Christ before he faced execution for his crimes.
The famous newspaperman Joseph Pulitzer is said to have had this motto:
Do you think this is a good motto for a Christian writer? And maybe for a Christian reader?
Jesus gave comfort to the afflicted. He saw the real needs of individuals and responded in love and power. Today, the Lord works through his people to give comfort to those who are burdened, oppressed, and bereft; to build up others in love and faith to sustain them in the difficulties of life.
On the other hand, Jesus often unsettles us—afflicts us, if you will—with his words and actions. He criticized the religious and political establishments. He gave his time and attention to the weak, the sick, the unlovely, the powerless. He spoke directly to the heart.
Does the Lord want to use you as a writer to challenge and unsettle those who are insulated in ease? Perhaps the Lord wants to remind us of his call to feed the hungry, heal the sick, comfort those who mourn.
To be used this way, you may need to let him move you out of your “comfort zones” of shallow thinking, self-protection, and playing it safe. Read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Read the Acts of the Apostles. Read about the lives and deaths of the early-church martyrs. Read about Christian persecution and martyrdom in the world today.
Other suggestions for reading that will “afflict” us out of our false comfort and into a life of more compassion and faith:
John and Judy Pex’s story of their work in Eilat, Israel. Reading about the Pex’s 30 years of personal evangelism in Israel can fortify you with the desire to live out the life of Jesus, perhaps even opening your home, your arms, or your prayers and giving to reach others with God’s love.
Stories of Christian refugees fleeing the genocide in south Sudan will disturb your ease but may also give you perspective on the troubles you face.
Reading about the Alexander family’s hostage experience at the hands of a Taiwanese terrorist may afflict you when you realize what evil there is in the world and what sufferings God allows his people to go through; or the Alexander’s story may comfort you to see how they were able to show love and salvation to the very man who caused them great bodily injury and emotional harm.
Now a word to readers: Open your hearts to what our Lord, who himself comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable, may be saying to you. Don’t just read books that offer escape and make you feel good and even more comfortable. Read books that challenge you, maybe even afflict you with a desire to show compassion.
