Christianish

What if we're not really following Jesus at all? That is the question author Mark Steele poses in his new book Christianish. This book is irreverent, hilarious, moving and insightful. The author tells the story of his own personal journey from living in the “in-between” to a life that’s centered on Christ. He shares honestly about his journey from someone who knew how to act like a Christian, as a opposed to following Christ.

Christianish according to the author, may feel like authentic faith and it may even look real, but all too often this "authentic faith" that most people believe they have, is not authentic at all and is merely a personal faith that is based on what our culture or our religious leaders believe. And that is dangerous. Why? Because you are no longer thinking for yourself, but blindly accepting what someone else says is true. You are "acting" like a Christian, but you haven't yet discovered how to be like Christ or live for Him (abide in Him) at all.

The author says this:

"We have trained ourselves to cope well on a Christianish path: a path where we please the right godly people and don’t feel the guilt when our failings are seen by the world at large. But this is not the approach to Jesus that we were created to take. There is only one way for us to discover the right way to travel the right road. The way is not church. The way is not an ideology. The way is not Christian. The way is Jesus.”

Controversial, funny and insightful, Christianish is a book you will definitely want to keep on your shelf.

This book was given free for review by B & B Media and David C. Cook

God Stories

The Gospel is bigger than you think. In God Stories: Explorations in the Gospel of God, author Andrew Wilson has written a book that I have enjoyed so much, that I know I will turn to it again and again.

The author has taken the stories of the Bible, beginning with The Creation story in Genesis and ending with the Bride of Christ (the church) meeting her groom (Jesus), ultimately showing the reader the "entire" gospel of God, from beginning to end.

This book is an excellent bible study tool. Something to be read and savoured each day. Each "God Story" points to Jesus Christ and you begin to see the stories of old in a new light. God had a plan and it unfolds before your eyes quite nicely in this book.

I read this book and then decided to re-read it, one chapter at a time. I'm glad I did, because after a few chapters there is a break with verses and thoughts that allow you to meditate further on what you've been reading.

I highly recommend God Stories if you are looking for something different for your study times.

GodStories: Explorations in the Gospel of God by Andrew Wilson

David C Cook/July 2009/ISBN 978-1-434765-39-0/302 pages/softcover/$14.99

http://www.davidccook.com/explore/godstories

This book was provided free for review by B & B Media and David C. Cook

An Interview with Mags Storey

I'm so glad to have Mags Storey with us today. I met Mags at The Word Guild Write! Canada conference in June where she critiqued a manuscript that I'm currently working on. Mags was very encouraging and a delight to get to know. Mags thank you for being here today.

Mags, on Facebook you call yourself a spiritual misfit. What is a spiritual misfit and why do you think you are one?

I think we place way too much importance on ‘fitting in’ sometimes – and yet, how many of us actually fit perfectly into the standard mould!

I coined the term “spiritual misfit” on the spur of the moment one day, when I realized no matter how hard I tried to define who I am, and this faith in God I cling to, there would always be someone out there who thought I didn’t quite ‘fit’ into their definition of what a Christian, or a person, or a mother, or even a writer should be!

I think I would say a spiritual misfit is someone who is honestly seeking to follow God from within the mess of daily life – as a person with their own unique quirks, challenges and failings.

For me it is summed up in the wonderful contradiction of the line from Mark 9:24: “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!”

Would you say that Jo, in If Only You Knew, was a spiritual misfit?

On a surface level, Jo comes across as the character who needs the most spiritual ‘help’ and fits into our definition of someone who needs God. She is insecure. She feels lost. She is incredibly broken. And she’s looking for someone to believe in her.

But for me the people she runs into on this journey – especially the Christians who she thinks have their act together – are also deeply spiritual misfits in their own way.

For example, on the outside, Lisa looks like this perfect little happy Christian chick – but as Jo discovers she’s hiding her own pretty deep brokenness. Nate is wrestling with anger and betrayal, while trying to be a Christian leader. Kevin is trying to walk the line between being a Christian on Sunday mornings while still being his own man on Saturday nights.

Even Sam, who on the surface looks like a definitively hardened atheist – is trying to sort out where he belongs in the grand scheme of things.

On one level, If Only You Knew is just a fun romantic suspense read. But on another it’s about a group of characters who are all, in one way or another, trying to figure out what to believe and how to make sense of those beliefs in a messed up world.

Have you always wanted to write?

Absolutely! I decided when I was 10-years-old that I was going to be a novelist. Thankfully, I didn’t know then how long and hard a process it would be.

When did you seriously begin pursuing a writing career?

That’s a great question – because of course I thought it was going to be just as easy as simply writing a book and having it immediately accepted!

I actually made two minor attempts as a teenager to publish a book. But to be honest, for years I treated becoming a writer as more of a hobby or dream than as an occupation that I’d actually need to invest time in developing.

It wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties that I really got serious about sitting down and becoming a novelist. It was only then that it hit me what a huge investment in time and energy it was going to take.

You are a regular correspondent for Christian Week. For those budding journalists out there, do you have any words of advice?

Good writing – especially journalism – is a team sport.

One of the biggest shocks I think that many people face when they go from writing for themselves – say in a blog – to writing for a publication is realizing how much journalists work with editors and others.

Journalists not only need to be great writers – they also need to be accurate and reliable team-players who are able to deliver the articles they promise by deadline. Editors work hard at deciding what is going into each issue, and so if a writer fails to deliver, it can lead to a real panic to fill that space.

And working with an editor means your work is sometimes going to be edited, shaped, shortened or even sent back for rewrites.

But good editors are what makes the difference between good writing and great writing. Like the Bible says, ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one sharpens another’. And I have the privilege of working with an amazing team of people.

You studied Journalism at Ryerson, in Toronto, Ontario. Did you ever think you would write a novel?

I always wanted to write a novel. I chose journalism out of a few different options because it was the only way I could think of to be able to get paid for doing what I loved anyway! Much of what I learned through being a journalist has helped me be a better novelist. It has helped me develop the discipline of being a writer.

But the only tricky thing about being both a journalist and a novelist is that sometimes it feels like I spend all day writing and become desperate for a break which stretches my mind in other ways.

Can you give us a brief synopsis of your journey to publication?

The journey I went through is pretty much the same as other writers. I wrote the first daft of a book and then immediately rewrote it because I knew I could do better. Then I started showing drafts to friends for feedback, until I got up the courage to send it to a publisher. Then started a long cycle of rejection letters and rewrites, until finally I hit upon the perfect combination of right book and right publisher.

What inspired you to write this story?

So many things inspired me to write the story that I can’t name just one! It’s like a kaleidoscope of inspirations which came together to form If Only You Knew. Certainly the initial inspiration for the story – the “pier scene” – came to me in a dream. Some of the conversations are based on real conversations I’ve had with people and questions friends have asked me that I’ve really wrestled with. Some of both the funniest and saddest parts of the book come from real incidents in my past. And other parts I just invented for the fun of it. You could take any single page of the book, and I could tell you a dozen stories of people and places that helped breathe it into being.

Who is your favourite character in the book?

Needless to say I fell in love with both Kevin and Sam in the process of writing it. I love both characters madly and at the same time want to wring both their necks. I never realized it was possible to feel so deeply emotionally involved in fictional men!

Jo and Lisa I love in a different way, because both are so strongly based on me. It is hard to separate myself out from either of them. Same with Traci, our villainess! I put a lot of myself in her too.

My favourite character to spend time with is Nate. He is incredibly difficult to write, because there is a depth of emotion bubbling under the surface with him that he battles so hard to keep a lid on. As Jo only sees small glimpses of him sometimes, I have felt as a writer that there is still more to Nate than even I can see, or at least put into words. It was hard for me as a writer when I realized some of my test readers really, strongly disliked him. I had to battle against the temptation to water him down and make him more ‘likeable’.

But for me Nate is the character with the most genuine faith, because it’s a faith that was forged through the fire.

While the book is marketed as teen fiction, I believe adults would enjoy it too. (I know I did!). What do you hope the reader will take away with them after reading If Only You Knew?

Faith is messy. Relationships are messy. Friendships are messy. And sometimes things in life don’t make a lot of sense! But if we learn how to throw it all at God, and also to hang in with each other throughout the messiness of life, we can find people and things worth holding onto.

What’s next for you?

I’ve spent the past year working on an adult romantic suspense. It has a lot of action and drama, and a little bit of humour mixed in. I don’t want to give away too much at this point, as I’m currently working with an editor to refine the story. But I will say it is about two very different people, each running from a dangerous secret who, when their worlds collide, are forced to work together in order to survive.

It sounds exciting! Thanks Mags for stopping by!

You can purchase If Only You Knew anywhere Christian Books are sold.

If Only You Knew

If Only You Knew by Canadian author, Mags Storey is funny, quirky and hard to put down. The main character Jo, is on summer vacation and she’s off to a good start. She meets two guys on the same day, one is incredibly good looking and the other is an all around nice guy. Of course, she falls for the good-looking guy (Kevin) missing the ‘boyfriend’ potential in the nice guy (Sam).

Unfortunately, Jo has a secret that she has been carrying around since last summer and she’s not the only one. It seems the incredibly good looking guy Kevin, the one she falls for, is also carrying around a secret and unfortunately for Jo, it’s not the kind of secret you want to hear from someone you have fallen in love with.

But, Jo has a true friend in Sam and although she sees him as only a friend, their friendship grows to become something that Jo is thankful for when both her secret and Kevin’s secrets are revealed.

While Jo tries to unravel a mystery, God is working on her heart and listening to her prayers. This is a wonderful book for young adult and up. The message it brings will lift you up and encourage you. It is a wonderful book for anyone who doubts God, because the message is so clear on how much He loves us. I loved that this author was not afraid to tell it like it is. Pick up this book! You won't be disappointed.

Touching Wonder

Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas by author John Blase, is the perfect book to read during the Advent Season. In this hardcover book of 128 pages, Blase has taken the stories of Christmas, from Zechariah meeting the angel Gabriel in the Temple, to Jesus birth and more, and compiled them into short readings that will add to your daily prayer time.

Concentrating on the first two chapters of the gospel of Luke, Mr. Blase has created a book that I know I will read again and again. I might be a little biased though, as it reminded me of my own book Come to Me, which I based on Luke's Gospel as well.

After each story, a prayer to God from the author is included, allowing the reader to contemplate what they have learned and offer back their own prayers of thanksgiving.

If you are looking to recapture that "awe" feeling this Christmas, then I would encourage you to pick up this book before Advent begins, as it will enhance your daily prayer and study times.



This book was provided free for review from B & B Media Group.

In the Arms of Immortals

SUMMARY: In another heart-stopping historical fiction thriller from the author of In the Shadow of the Lions, critically acclaimed author Ginger Garrett paints a captivating portrait of a time when terror ruled and faith was hard to come by. In the Arms of Immortals travels a richly imagined journey into a key moment of history…the arrival of the Black Death in Europe.

This story of unseen battle, loving presence, and eventual redemption begins when a strange ship docks in a medieval Sicilian harbour. That night an old man falls ill… then the baker’s wife… then a street urchin. By morning half the townspeople are dead and more are dying—horribly. And no one has a clue what is happening or how to stop it. Not the local priest. Not the rich baron or his powerful knight. And not the three women at the heart of this book: the baron’s proud daughter, Panthea, the outcast healer, Gio, and Mariskka, an unwilling visitor from another time.

Though the Church fights to stand between the plague and the people, the sickness is too powerful for a Church that will not allow medicine to be studied outside its walls. The Church holds a monopoly on healing and on God, but when neither rescues the people, the people lose hope in both, and the conflict between Science and Faith begins its long burn. In a time when the faithful have no answers and the faithless terrorize the countryside, only the bravest will dare hold on to a silent God.

MY THOUGHTS: I was hesitant at first to read the second book in a series when I haven't read the first one, but I soon discovered that In the Arms of Immortals is so unique that you don't have to read the first book (although I'm sure it wouldn't hurt!).

In the Arms of Immortals by author Ginger Garrett is confusing, intriguing and thought provoking. Confusing because it is full of symbolism, intriguing because of it's topic matter (the Black Death) and thought provoking because it deals with darkness and light in ways that will capture your attention and leave you breathless. I love this book!

It is very descriptive in its telling. I could see the plague breaking out quite clearly and feel the fear and heartache of our main characters Mariskka and Gio. Mariskka is from another time and is whisked back to this place by Watchers (angels) to witness the Black Death unfold. Her experiences leave her a changed woman. Gio, has been an outcast all her life and yet has more humanity in her than those who call themselves Christian. She will break your heart with her story. Panthea is a spoiled little rich kid who is evil through and through and the depiction of how the devil (the Destroyer) uses her is chilling.

Now, I do believe I'll go buy the first book in this series In the Shadow of the Lions, while I wait anxiously for the third book In the Eyes of Eternity!

This book was provided free for review by David C. Cook.