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:
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.”
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
“…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
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 today 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.
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)
©2016 from the forthcoming poetry collection, “Remembering Softly”
