Living in Sabbath simplicity

1.  What is Sabbath, and what is its purpose? What do you mean by Sabbath Simplicity?

Sabbath, first and foremost, is a gift from our loving God. He invites us to take a day to rest from our labor, so that we might engage in relationship with him and with others. Its purpose is to refresh us physically and spiritually, to celebrate our freedom, to draw us close to God, and yet to remind us that we are not God.

God commanded us to Sabbath, to stop. But Sabbath-keeping is also a spiritual practice or discipline. All disciplines, (like prayer, solitude, etc.) create some space for God in our lives. Just as we have a lot of latitude in other practices (we can pray any number of ways, for example), we have freedom in how we practice Sabbath. My book offers a lot of ideas, and real-life examples, of how to approach this life-giving practice.

Sabbath Simplicity is a sanely-paced, God-focused life. It’s a lifestyle that includes the practice of Sabbath-keeping, but goes beyond just taking a day off. IN a way, it’s living out what Jesus told us to do in Matthew 6:33: See first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Sabbath Simplicity seeks God first.

2.  What are some simple steps anyone can take to seek Sabbath Simplicity in their own lives?

The first step is to assess the current pace of your life—what activities have you and the people you live with said yes too. How hurried are you? You can’t figure out your next step, really, until you know where you are starting from. You may have to get very concrete and write down your schedule and look at it. Because your activity level during the week is going to affect your Sabbath.

Second, choose a day that you will keep Sabbath. I recommend Saturday or Sunday, and go from sunset to sunset. The Old Testament Sabbath was from sunset on the 6^th day of the week to sunset on the 7^th day—although as I explain in detail in the book, their ancient calendars were different from ours.

Third, choose one thing to refrain from, one thing to engage in. For example, refrain from housework and running errands, and engage in reading a spiritually challenging book. Start with small steps, and think about building your Sabbath Simplicity life a little at a time, gradually. After a few weeks, add another thing you will refrain from, and another thing you’ll engage in. Pray and listen, let God shape your Sabbath practice. Make your relationship with him the focus. Allow yourself flexibility.

3.  Why did you start the practice of Sabbath? Why did you decide to observe it? How has your life and your family changed as a result?

Sundays in my house when I was growing up were mostly a relaxing family day, even though we didn’t call it Sabbath. But when I had my own family, I found myself getting very busy—not just with kids’ stuff but also getting over-involved at church. I tend to have a work-a-holic approach to life. When the kids were small, God brought a couple of books that mentioned Sabbath across my path. The idea of Sabbath stirred a longing in my soul, which is one way God speaks to us, through our deep desires. So I started, on my own, to set aside my normal work. It was very gradual, and it took my family a while to even notice. It’s a mysterious practice, in a way, because you it is simply resting—and yet it brings you into the presence of God. It’s been a profound part of my spiritual journey. And my children know that Sunday is a peaceful day at our house. They also have learned that I am available to play, to listen, to cuddle. It’s given us a day for quality time, and I think it’s helped me be a better parent. It also silently affirms to my children, you are loved, apart from your accomplishments. It is okay to just be.

4. How does practicing the Sabbath in today’s busy society differ from the ancient concept of the Sabbath? Why is it so different? Why is it still important?

The ancient Jewish Sabbath had very strict boundaries, but within those boundaries, there was freedom and relationship. The Torah and traditions prohibited what was known as melachah, work that is creative or exercises dominion over your environment. There were 39 specific tasks, such as reaping, lighting a fire, etc., that correlated to the 39 tasks needed to build the temple.

Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath, gave us a new way of following the ancient law. Jesus reminded us that the law was originally meant to invite us into relationship with God. While the Bible makes it clear that we are saved by grace, and not by the law, God’s law still remains a great way to live—as long as we don’t get legalistic or think keeping certain rules will save us.

It’s important for many reasons, which I cover in the book. But here’s just one key reason: it allows us to experience the unconditional love of God in a physical, tangible way. It’s one thing to say he loves us even when we are not accomplishing or performing. But if we never actually stop performing, how can we experience that unconditional love? It allows us to say yes, with our bodies and our schedules, to Jesus invitation in Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Sabbath is not so much something you “do” as a gift you receive.

5.  You say the Sabbath made you learn flexibility. In what ways? How does Sabbath change throughout different seasons of our lives?

Jesus taught a whole new way of Sabbath, and I devote the entire first chapter of the book to just that. He showed us that Sabbath was for healing, reconciliation, valuing relationships over rules. But like any spiritual practice, we need to let God lead us, to be teachable. That requires flexibility. And it won’t always go perfectly. Again, we have to be willing to recognize that Sabbath Simplicity is a journey, and we’re learning as we go. Just as we learn other spiritual practices, like prayer or Bible study. We don’t have them completely figured out or perfected, but we keep doing them, and keep asking God to help us to do them better.

You also have to adapt your practice to the season of your life. I love that God gives a reason with the Sabbath command. Take a day off, he says, because you were slaves in Egypt. Slaves cannot take a day off, but free people can. Sabbath is a day to celebrate freedom, and to perhaps reflect on the gift of freedom, and to empathize a bit with those who are not free.

In certain seasons, though, we may feel like a slave—to our young children, our career, our needy friends, or aging parents. When I was in that season, it was hard. Ask for help. While you may, for example, still have to change diapers or feed your kids, you can refrain from other things. Don’t run errands on Sunday. It’s a nightmare with little kids in tow anyway. Do it another day, and save Sunday for just relaxing with your family. I have very specific suggestions on how to do this in my book.

6.  You’re the parent of a 12 and 14 year old. What does Sabbath look like for them? Do you restrict their activities on Sundays?

I have never legislated Sabbath for anyone else in my home. My kids have freedom that day to rest or to play or whatever. They know that I am available to listen or to talk. Sometimes we will play a board game, go for a bike ride or a walk.

My daughter has played soccer for ten years, and she sometimes has games on Sunday. But we are never running from one game to the next, or from the game to the grocery store because she is not in more than one sport at a time. (so in that way, we do restrict—they can do one sport and one artistic pursuit at a time, no more). But the restriction is not just a Sabbath thing, it’s a lifestyle thing.

We sometimes have friends over for a meal, or the kids have friends over. Those kids often remark—your house is so peaceful. I think Sabbath is a day to extend hospitality—but not in a stressful way.

My son is more introverted, so sometimes his Sundays provide him the freedom to just spend time alone, playing Legos or reading or drawing. My daughter is more extroverted, so she often spends time with friends. Her youth group meets during the 11:15 a.m. service at church, and from there they go to “house groups” which are a meal and group time. So a big part of her Sunday is spent in community with other students from our church.

7. What is your favorite way to spend a Sunday?

It depends on the time of year. In summer, I love being outside: gardening, walking the dog, riding my bike. Some weekends, we are at my in-laws lake house, and we go sailing, water skiing, or just spend time with extended family.

In winter, my best Sundays include a walk or a workout, and then some time on the couch, drinking coffee and reading (The Sunday tribune or a good book), with a fire in the fireplace and Mozart on the stereo. If I feel creative, I might cook but I always plan ahead enough to have leftovers available for dinner.

8. How did you balance busy Sundays full of soccer games and other activities with the practice of Sabbath? What advice do you have for parents trying to juggle hectic schedules? What about parents of small children?

While we sometimes have a soccer game, we don’t have other things, because we’ve placed limits on our activities. So we don’t have busy Sundays. My son has often opted not to be in sports, but this year, played football. Thankfully, his games are on Saturday.

Advice: Let your kids pick one sport plus one other activity (say, piano lessons) at a time. An important life lesson you need to teach your children: delayed gratification. You can’t have it all, all at once. You can try lots of different sports, one at a time. The more kids you have, the more crucial this is. Four kids in two sports each often translates into eight games per weekend, not to mention a least a dozen practices per week. Choose sanity.

Schedule housework and errands for weekdays, so if you do have sports, you’re not trying to squeeze in other work around games.

Substitute whole family activities for individual activities. Going for a bike ride or walk together, attending church, serving in your church or community together—these are ways to keep kids active but not running in different directions. It builds your family’s cohesiveness.

Do the housework together with your family the day before Sabbath to get ready. The day is more restful if the house is clean. And everyone should help keep the house from getting trashed—not just on Sabbath but every day.

Those with small kids—I’d say talk to your spouse. See if they are willing to take over things like diaper changes or middle of the night crying for just that one day. Your first Sabbath Simplicity step might be just deciding that one night a week, you’ll get a full night’s sleep.

One Jewish tradition is a family meal, which begins with lighting candles, prayer and saying a blessing over your children. Kids love rituals, and prayers of blessing can re-align our hearts.

Some families have a box of toys that only comes out on Sabbath, so that they are special. I have an entire chapter on “playing” which I think is a very important part of Sabbath with small children.

The most important part with little kids is to think of it as what you “get to” do on Sabbath, rather than what you “can’t do.” Reframe Sabbath in this way and your children will love it.

9.   How can someone who has a job that requires them to work on Sundays practice Sabbath-keeping?

Pick a different day. Many people I interviewed for the book (and some who gave me their unsolicited opinion) believe that Saturday is the true Sabbath, because the Bible says the “seventh day.” My question is, the seventh day on which calendar. Because the calendar we use now is not the one used in ancient times. In fact, there were many different calendars. I detail this in the book. I think the key is, pick one day a week, then keep that consistently, don’t change it week to week. If you work a job with an irregular schedule, say like a firefighter or a pilot, you can be a bit more creative. Look at your schedule for the month and schedule in four Sabbath days, ahead of time. Keep those as if they were sacred—which they are.

10. You have a chapter in the book about how Sabbath connects Christians  to the Jewish roots of their faith. Why is that important?

We live in a culture that forgets history so easily. Our faith roots are in Judaism. Christianity is “a branch grafted in” to the tree of the Jewish faith. We cannot understand the New Testament fully without the context of the Old Testament—also known as the Torah. The Sabbath is a picture of god’s grace—we don’t work, yet God provides. Jesus is our peace, our Shabbat Shalom. Plus, we are followers and disciples of Jesus. As should, we should live as he lived, practice what he practiced: prayer, solitude, Sabbath. IN the book, I note: “The cure for our isolation and disconnection is not simply more relationships but deeper ones, and a deeper connection to our shared past.”

Also, a pivotal ritual in our faith—communion, is based on a Jewish Sabbath meal, the Passover. Sabbath meal always includes wine and bread—again, the communion elements. Even though they have different meanings, the Sabbath meal was a foreshadowing of Christ’s sacrifice for us.

11. Didn’t Jesus set us free from the law? If so, do we even have to
practice Sabbath at all? What did Jesus say about the Sabbath?

By that argument, it would be okay to kill or commit adultery, because we are free from the law. What Jesus set us free from is being saved or in right relationship with God through the law. We’re saved by grace, not by law keeping.

So we won’t be saved by Sabbath-keeping, but it is still how God invites us to live.

Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for people. If God makes something for you, it’s a gift. He said it was not about the rules, but relationship. It’s a spiritual practice that brings us close to God.

I have a whole chapter in the book that talks about what Jesus said about Sabbath. Researching that chapter was very interesting. I noticed that Jesus often taught by saying “you’ve heard it said…but I say.” For example, he’d say, “you’ve heard it said, don’t commit adultery, but I say, if you look at a woman with lust, you’ve already committed adultery.” But he didn’t use that particular style of teaching on Sabbath. But the thing he seemed to get in trouble with the Pharisees and teachers of the law for most was breaking their Sabbath rules. I think that in the breaking of the rules, he was saying to them, “you’ve heard it said…but I say” with his actions.

He healed on Sabbath, restored relationships, taught and confronted, and defended those choices vigorously. He called us to a new understanding of Sabbath—and clearly stated that legalism is not his way.

Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity provides practical ways to slow down and simplify. It offers the gift of Sabbath, as a lifestyle and a spiritual practice. If you’d like to be included in a drawing for a free copy of Rest, leave a comment or question below. If you leave a question, Keri will be glad to try to answer it. We’ll select a winner on [fill in date here]. If you want to order the book, it’s available on amazon.com. This link will take you right to the page:

http://www.amazon.com/Rest-Simplicity-Keri-Wyatt-Kent/dp/0310285976/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226507506&sr=8-1

For more information about Keri Wyatt Kent, visit her website at www.keriwyattkent.com.

Keri worked as a reporter for 8 years before writing her first book and is the author of several books, including Breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life (Revell) and Listen: Findingin the Story of Your Life God (Jossey-Bass). When she’s not busy traveling around the country to speak and lead retreats, she’s writing. She’s a regular contributor to several magazines, including Today’s Christian Woman, MomSense and Outreach magazine, as well as several websites and blogs. She’s a member of Willow Creek Community Church, where she has taught, led groups and volunteered in a variety of ministries over the last 21 years. Learn more about her ministry at www.keriwyattkent.com.

SECRET KEEPERS

Secret Keepers

By Mindy Friddle

At age seventy-two, Emma Hanley plans to escape small-town Palmetto, South Carolina, and travel the globe. But when her fickle husband dies in undignified circumstances, Emma finds herself juggling the needs of her adult children. Her once free-spirited daughter Dora turns to compulsive shopping and a controlling husband to forget her wayward past. Her son Bobby still lives with her, afflicted with an illness that robbed him of his childhood promise.When Dora’s old flame Jake Cary returns to Palmetto with a broken heart and a gift for gardening, the town becomes filled with mysterious, potent botanicals and memories long forgotten. Soon enough, Jake and his ragtag group of helpers begin to unearth the secrets that have divided the Hanleys for decades.

Written with the warmth of Lee Smith and the magical touch of Alice Hoffman, Secret Keepers is a beguiling second novel by the acclaimed author of The Garden Angel.

The Story Behind The Book

A note from Mindy:

In the garden this morning I found larkspur and zinnias sprouting in the tomato bed. Last summer’s Love-Lies-Bleeding went rogue, too, self-seeding among the squash and peppers. I find such strange bedfellows enchanting. I’m working with nature here, so I’m open to surprises. I like to see what happens.

That’s pretty much how I approach writing novels. I like to see what happens. What are these characters up to now? I love it when they surprise me.

I started SECRET KEEPERS with an image of Emma Hanley, gazing at a family portrait, stuck in her hometown. Like George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, she yearns to flee. Just when it looks like she might get her wish, her husband heads off to his morning coffee klatch with a gaggle of adoring widow women, and . . . well, Emma’s dream of travel is stymied. Again.  And then she has her hands full juggling the demands of her adult children. Things get really prickly when a motley group of gardeners, the Blooming Idiots, unearth some strange botanicals and the Hanley family’s secrets. Nature, it turns out, is a major character in SECRET KEEPERS. In the course of the novel — through regret, broken hearts, and grief — humor winds like a flowering vine. Publisher’s Weekly says the Hanley clan, “is a genuinely quirky lot with its own unlikely ideas of happiness.”  Strange bedfellows, indeed.

About Mindy:

Mindy Friddle is a native of South Carolina, where her family has lived for more than two centuries. Her people were lintheads who toiled in textile mills and hardy farmers with poems in their hearts. After earning a BA from Furman University, Mindy worked as a newspaper reporter for several newspapers before enrolling in graduate school at the University of South Carolina, where she studied with James Dickey and William Price Fox. She later earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina. Her first novel, The Garden Angel (St. Martin’s Press/Picador), a SIBA bestseller, was selected for Barnes and Noble’s Discover Great New Writers program in 2004, and was a National Public Radio Morning Edition summer reading pick. Mindy was awarded a 2008-2009 Artist Fellowship in Prose from the South Carolina Arts Commission. She is a two-time winner of the South Carolina Fiction Prize and the Piccolo Spoleto Fiction Open.  As a Walter E. Dakin Fellow in Fiction at the 2005 Sewanee Writers’ Conference in Sewanee, Tennessee, she worked with Alice McDermott and Mark Winegardner. She was awarded a residency at Ragdale in 2003 and attended Bread Loaf in 2000.Her book reviews have appeared in the Charlotte Observer and her column, “Author to Author,” featuring interviews with authors, have been published in the Greenville Journal. A Master Gardener, she lives in Greenville, South Carolina where she directs the Writing Room, a community-based nonprofit program she founded in 2006 to bring writers to Greenville for paid seminars and readings. Secret Keepers is her second novel.

But her father was in the service, so she did get to see the world in her formative years. She moved in the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth grades-such a childhood encourages one to observe peer groups from a remove, cultivating the narrator within. As an Army Brat she lived in Germany, Virginia, and Washington D.C. before returning to South Carolina as a teen.

As a reporter she covered tobacco auctions, town council meetings, “grip and grin” check donations; she wrote obituaries, interviewed quasi-celebrities (Pat Boone, remember him?) and failed university presidents accused of embezzling (try to forget that one), and, eventually, wrote features on people who did interesting things (such as growing gourds that resemble world leaders.)

Her yard is a certified wildlife habitat. She composts and grows vegetables in her front yard. In the city limits. She is considering adding a few chickens.

Find out more about Mindy by visiting her website, http://www.MindyFriddle.com, and her blog, http://www.mindyfriddle.blogspot.com/.

Genre: Southern Fiction
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (April 28, 2009)
ISBN: 0312537026

Secret Keepers is available through Amazon.com, B&N.com, and any independent or chain bookstore.

Wading in the streams of life

Multiple Streams of Contentment

By Karen Whiting

My mother didn’t smile on my wedding day. She spent the day overwhelmed with sadness although she loved me and loved my fiancé. He was everything she wanted in a husband for me. The wedding stayed within budget and everything went off fairly smoothly. My extended family all attended, everyone got along, and tried to cheer her up. Yet, my wedding photos will always show her sad expression.

The day before the wedding my mentally handicapped brother had lost his little job of waiting on tables at a school cafeteria. Although social workers could easily place him in a new position, mom remained discontented and focused on that problem the entire day. She made the mistake of magnifying one problem, so that it robbed her of joy on such a happy occasion.

Many people let one problem override all the blessings in their lives. It steals their contentment. They forget to trust their anxieties to God and rejoice in the blessings he has given them.

Some people fixate on something until it changes their personality and fills them with negative emotions that spill out in sin. Herodias, in Matthew 14, is an example of a person whose discontent led to a life of sin. She had a husband but chose the sin of adultery. She must have been discontent with her husband. She felt more discontent at hearing John the Baptist speak of repentance and point out her sin. That led to her plotting the murder of John the Baptist. She trampled over people and even used her beautiful daughter to get her way. She ignored John’s calls to repent, the one action that would have healed her heart and given her joy. Her bad choice snowballed into disaster for many.

In contrast, Paul spoke about contentment, in Philippians four, and said that he had learned to be content in prosperous circumstances and impoverished situations. His circumstances could not rob him of his joy or peace. It is very seldom that every detail in life is perfect because we live in a fallen world, but we can make choices that help us remain content despite our circumstances.

My mother finally discovered how to be content after a stroke left her partially paralyzed. She started to listen as we expressed gratitude for her life and what she could still do. When she complained that she could no longer do crafts, I mentioned that with her good hand she could write letters, a lost art, to grandchildren away at college and to her friends. She struggled to use a walker and spent much of her time in a wheelchair, but she spent time thanking God for her blessings of family, the patient care-giving of my father, the use of one hand, and a new ministry of writing letters of encouragement to family and friends. She realized that joy came as she filled her life with multiple streams of contentment.

Viewing all the different blessings in life is like seeing many streams that flow into an ocean or a lake. If one stream dries up, others keep flowing. One stream of contentment we can create is to do something for others. It gives us purpose. List your abilities and talents and consider ways to use them to bless others.

God is a giver of blessings. We learn in James 1:16-17, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. Blessings from God may be in the form of friends, financial security, a home, health, pets, clothing, and food. The meeting of our basic needs is a gift. Each one of these can become a stream filled with blessings. So let the abundance of gratitude for blessings flow into your heart. Consider each aspect of life as a different stream. There is always one stream that is bubbling up with blessings to fill your life with contentment.

In Philippians four, Paul provides wisdom regarding contentment: he urges people to live in harmony, rejoice in the Lord, and give anxieties to God in prayer. He encourages people to let their minds dwell on positive thoughts, stating that we should think about what is true, lovely, honorable, pure, true, and anything excellent. Positive thoughts help our emotions flow in an optimistic direction. To do this, list the blessings in each stream of life.

Spiritual streams include a relationship with Jesus, prayer, church family, Christian music, Bible study, and church fellowship.

Relational streams include family, friends, faith friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and new people we meet.

Blessings in daily life include past memories, pleasant thoughts, encouraging words, compliments, accomplishments, laughter, and smiles.

In creating the world, God also created beauty to provide natural streams of contentment filled with beautiful sunsets and sunrises, wonders of nature, blossoms, gentle breezes, showers that cause the earth to spring forth in color, and creatures that scurry and fly about.

After listing the positives, praise God for each one. Thank God for each friend and every little circumstance that is going well.

Then list past prayer requests that God answered. Thank God again for each response. Then add any new prayer needs. It’s easier to trust God and give away worries when you recall the past times when God met your needs.

To prevent the flow of blessings from drying up, of being blocked as a dam blocks a river’s flow, spend time nurturing the streams. Paul’s contentment continued in prison and despite hardships. He nurtured his relationships. He continually prayed and wrote letters. He sent greetings to friends and encouraged his companions and fellow-workers with praise. Paul’s later years stood in stark contrast to the discontented man who watched alone, as his soldiers stoned Stephen (Acts 7:58-8:3). They placed Stephen’s cloak at Paul’s feet. It’s a lonely image of someone isolated from others. He made threats from the anger of discontentment and asked others to write letters for him, letters to imprison Christians. As a Christian, he viewed the blessings in life as gifts from God and knew the joy of friendships.

Paul developed a network of friends everywhere he traveled. And he encouraged his friends to live in harmony and stay focused on their relationship with Jesus. Paul’s letters to Timothy urge Timothy to continue his relationship with God, to visit him, and to fill his life with loving actions.

Paul’s wise words offer ways to keep the streams flowing. First, continue in your relationship with God. Do not let blockage occur from sin. His letters encourage people to keep the relationship with God right and strong. He sang songs in jail and praised God in the midst of trialsSecondly, work at relationships. Keep in touch with people, invite them to visit, praise them and express gratitude for their friendship. Paul generated streams in lives of others. Paul had discovered the truth of Jesus’ words in John 7:38, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

My mother suffered from cancer in the final months of her life. When she called to say she had cancer I asked, “Mom, are you ready to go home to the Lord?” She said, ” Yes.” I could hear joy in her voice in spite of pain that filled her body. My children put together little care packages and wrapped up a tiny treasure to open each day. They made little crafts, wrote cards, wrapped photos, and taped messages. She smiled at each little gift. She had something positive to look forward to each day. My father, her husband of fifty years, read Scriptures at her request. She nurtured the streams.

My mentally handicapped brother had to be coaxed to visit her. He didn’t think mom would know him because she was so near death. As he entered the room I asked, “Mom, do you know who is here.” She almost yelled, something very difficult for her to do and said, “Johnny. I hear Johnny.” That melted Johnny’s heart and he stayed by her side for the afternoon, holding a cup and straw for her to sip water. She thanked him. She had learned to work at the relationships even when it became most difficult.

Until her final hours my mother did not feel pain. As she passed on to heaven, my dad and some siblings surrounded her. My mother had learned an important truth: streams of contentment can be a powerful force to ease pain, change our perspective, and create peace in our hearts.

About the Author:

A creative person with creative solutions- that’s Karen Whiting! She has a heart for busy women and desires to help them free up time for what God has truly called them to do in relationships and ministry. She challenges listeners to discover ways to connect, serve, and treasure one another.

Karen found time to follow God’s call to write even while she and husband, Jim moved around the US and raised their five children. They currently live on Maryland’s eastern shore and are new grandparents.

An author of ten books for women, families and children, Karen writes to creatively strengthen families. Her articles have appeared in dozens of magazines, including Focus on the Family, Today’s Christian Woman, Christian Parenting Today, and Parent Life. Karen has been named Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in the World, and Professional Speakers Network member of the year award. Karen has been a guest on numerous radio shows and hosted the educational television series Puppets on Parade. With humor and inspiration, Karen loves to encourage women to nurture their relationships and family life.

Find out more about Karen at her website http://www.karenwhiting.com/

To schedule Karen for a speaking event or interview, please contact Kathy Carlton Willis Communications at WillisWay@aol.com or check out http://kcwcomm.blogspot.com/ .

DEFYING AUTISM: A story of hope

Defying Autism: A Miraculous Story of Hope by Karen Mayer Cunningham

(Creation House, April 2009)

Miraculous healing of autistic child offers hope, encouragement

Before Karen Mayer Cunningham turned 30, she had it all—a fairytale romance that began with love at first sight and an adorable son, James. Like many stories, hers unexpectedly took a turn for the worst.

Before his second birthday, James began exhibiting strange behavior that baffled his parents and drove a wedge between them. It started with banging his head against the wall and moved on to staring zombie-like at the television for hours, followed by eating erasers, flip-flops, and the rubber lining on their car doors. Eventually he was putting holes in the drywall with his teeth.

Two and one-half years later, James was diagnosed as autistic. In spite of the relief over knowing the cause of James’s behavior, the worst was yet to come. Putting him in special classes only slightly improved his behavior, and an uninformed school worker called Child Protective Services twice regarding James’s behavior. With all the stress, Karen’s marriage to Tom “was tanking.”

Life took another turn in 1999 when Karen attended an event hosted by Gospel Revelation Ministries. In the meeting, she received special instructions—to play Christian music in “my home around the clock, and especially in [James’s] room as he slept.” Initially, Karen balked at a ministry worker’s suggestion that James could be healed, but less than one year later he experienced a dramatic deliverance.

James is now a teenager. “To look at him today, you would never know how tortured and violent, how inhuman he had once behaved. He is a sweet, well-spoken, quiet, respectful, loving little boy, on his way to being what was originally planned for him,” Karen writes.

“The enemy of God wants the people of God ignorant and in despair; [autism] is the ultimate curse,” she writes. “But the Father is in the curse-busting business, and so whether He leads us to phenomenally gifted physicians and clinicians or to alternative therapies or to those who know how to address spiritual matters in the power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, He wants us to be free. He wants our children to be free.”

Karen Mayer Cunningham

About the Author

The ups and downs of life have taught Karen Mayer Cunningham that laughter really is the best medicine for what ails you. Her passionate narratives can as easily make you laugh as they can move you to tears. Karen draws many of her stories from her daily life and more specifically from being the mother of a severely autistic son. More than once Karen wondered how she would face the trials that crossed her path. The weight of the responsibility of a handicapped child, became the cross roads of her life. Her story of how God super-naturally altered and prospered her life will uplift and refresh you. Whether she is opening for a Grammy award winning musician, redirecting a sales force or lifting up the hearts of a women’s encounter, she cuts through with comedy and clarity; challenging others to take it up a notch or two. Karen knows that through he release of emotions you will internalize her message of possessing the promises and purposes of God, that will take you on the road to truly joyful living.

Karen is a gifted stand-up comic, motivator, and author. She and her husband, Cortney, live in Houston with their three beautiful children, James, Paige, and Caden.

Date	BLOG TOUR Location
June
21	Blog Name: Cindy’s Stamping and Reviews Host: Cindy Loven
22	Blog Name: The Knightly News Host: Angie Knight “I cannot tell you when I have enjoyed a book more. I could NOT put it down. I have a grandson with an autism spectrum disorder and her book just touched my core being! The honesty that she portrayed was so encouraging.”
23	Blog Name: One Man Revival Host: Frank Jenkins Blog Name: Godly Graffiti Host: Mary Moss
24	Blog Name: Flea’s World Host: Felicia Christenson
25	Blog Name: FICTIONARY: Blog Tours, Book Reviews, and Author Interviews Host: Christa Allen
26	Blog Name: Faithwebbin Online Magazine Host: Tyora Moody
27	Blog Name: Christian Speaker Services Blog Host: Karen Power
28	Blog Name: Janey’s Muse – News, Views & Reviews. Host: Janey Demeo
29	Blog Name: Gatorskunkz and Mudcats Host: Delia Melton
30	Blog Name: The Authentic You Host: Anita C. Lee
July
1	Blog Name: lighthouse-academy Host: Laura Hilton Blog Name: Mom Two Ways Host: Julie Donahue Blog Name: Suzy Q Homeaker Host: Elizabeth Grant
2	Blog Name: Perky Paula’s Passion Host: Paula Lipper
5	Blog Name: Motherhood Metamorphosis Host: Deanna Dahlsad

THE VANISHING SCULPTOR: Donita Paul’s new story in the DRAGON KEEPER CHRONICLES

Donita K. Paul’s 250,000-plus-selling DragonKeeper Chronicles series has attracted a wide spectrum of dedicated fans–and they’re sure to fall in love with the new characters and adventures in her latest superbly crafted fiction novel for all ages. It’s a mind-boggling fantasy that inhabits the same world as the DragonKeeper Chronicles, but in a different country and an earlier time, where the people know little of Wulder and nothing of Paladin.

This new story takes place in the same world as the DragonKeeper Chronicles, however the main characters live on a completely different continent. Though Kale and Co. do not make an appearance in this story, we will see some very familiar faces!

In The Vanishing Sculptor, readers will meet Tipper, a young emerlindian who’s responsible for the upkeep of her family’s estate during her sculptor father’s absence. Tipper soon discovers that her actions have unbalanced the whole foundation of her world, and she must act quickly to undo the calamitous threat. But how can she save her father and her world on her own? The task is too huge for one person, so she gathers the help of some unlikely companions–including the nearly five-foot tall parrot Beccaroon–and eventually witnesses the loving care and miraculous resources of Wulder. Through Tipper’s breathtaking story, readers will discover the beauty of knowing and serving God.

Donita K. Paul retired early from teaching school, but soon got bored! The result: a determination to start a new career. Now she is an award-winning novelist writing Christian Romance and Fantasy. She says, “I feel blessed to be doing what I like best.”

She mentors all ages, teaching teenagers and weekly adult writing workshops.

“God must have imprinted ‘teacher’ on me clear down to the bone. I taught in public school, then home schooled my children, and worked in private schools. Now my writing week isn’t very productive unless I include some time with kids.”

Her two grown children make her proud, and her two grandsons make her laugh.

Visit her online at donitakpaul.com.

I WOULD DIE FOR YOU: Life and death of a 15-year-old missionary

About the Book: (Tulsa, OK) – “It’s an honor just to be nominated”: familiar words for Emmy and Grammy nominees. Still, Brent and Deanna Higgins never believed the phrase would pertain to their family. Outreach magazine has recently honored the Higgins’ book, I Would Die for You, with a nomination as Outreach Resource of the Year. That nomination, however, came with a great cost. I Would Die for You chronicles the life and death of their young son, BJ Higgins; along with his faith; his passion for missions and his love for God. Compelling excerpts from personal notes, blog entries school assignments and journals reveal his clear calling and enthusiasm for sharing the gospel of Christ. BJ’s challenging words and example combine to inspire readers of all ages. After returning from his second short-term international mission trip at the age of 15, BJ became seriously ill. Six days before his sixteenth birthday, he died. His story lives on throughout the pages of his parents’ book. In spite of the inevitable grief , Brent and Deanna share their son’s message of selfless sacrifice through both I Would Die for You and Awe Star Ministries, the nonprofit ministry that coordinated his mission trips. Their prayer? That countless others will embrace BJ’s vision and give their all for the cause of Christ. As an ordained minister and youth pastor, Brent Higgins continues the faith journey his son, BJ, began a few years ago. He currently serves as Vice President of International Operations for Awe Star Ministries, a Christian nonprofit organization committed to equipping believers for life, speaking to more than 25,000 people each year. As an accomplished musician and elementary school music teacher, Deanna Higgins opens the next chapter of BJ’s missionary work by serving alongside her husband to lead mission trips for Awe Star Ministries. Brent and Deanna now reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma. What Teenagers are Saying: BJ was just a year younger than me, and in his short life he had such a full life and could die with no regrets. He had a sense of urgency in telling the story of the gospel and its transforming power to others. He didn’t worry about what they thought or if he would be rejected. –T. Buse 1. Describe how BJ became involved in short-term mission trips. How did these trips impact BJ’s faith? BJ watched other members of our family participate in church mission trips. He couldn’t wait for his turn! When Brent led a team to Kentucky to serve in a school, BJ went along. At age fourteen, he learned of an opportunity to minister in Peru. He served there with Awe Star Ministries two consecutive summers and his heart broke over the world’s lostness. His mission service ignited a passion to see the Gospel reach the nations. 2. Even as a young boy BJ’s passion for God shone through in his life. How did you see that passion then and as he grew? In his childhood, his passion sometimes came across as judgmental. When he learned to share out of love, his witness became much more effective. He was bold and unafraid to share the Gospel in any way possible. After his mission trips, his heightened passion led him to spend more time in the Word, in prayer, in fellowship, and worship. BJ could turn almost any conversation to the things of God because he genuinely loved others. 3. Share the story of BJ’s illness and the time when God called him home. Three weeks after his 2005 Peru trip, BJ became critically ill. On the way to the hospital, he told Brent, “Dad, I know you’re scared. I believe the Lord will deliver me through this. But if he doesn’t, I’m going home to be with him, and that’s okay with me.” Friends began a blog we still maintain, http://www.prayforbj.com/. It received thousands of hits as people across the world prayed for our son. After a six-week battle with a mysterious infection, BJ went to heaven days before his sixteenth birthday. 4. How did BJ’s faith journey become the inspiration for the song, “I Would Die For You” written by MercyMe’s lead singer, Bart Millard? Within a week of BJ’s hospitalization Bart (a friend from the band’s early years) called Brent. Our oldest daughter had posted some of BJ’s journal entries on our blog and Bart was amazed at his spiritual depth. He emailed fans encouraging them to pray. MercyMe grieved deeply when BJ died. Our son’s life and writings inspired Bart to put words to a tune he already had, now the final song on the “Coming Up to Breathe” CD. 5. BJ’s life and death have touched many people. Which of his qualities and/or experiences seems to impact others the most? People didn’t realize it was possible to live a life as sold out to Christ as BJ’s. They’re amazed at the boldness he showed when God told him to witness to four Peruvian policemen carrying uzis. As he wrote, he was “mucho scardios,” but all four accepted Christ. His passionate declaration, “I will not be satisfied. I will not let my passion be hid in a bottle” still touches people in deep ways. 6. As you both continue to partner with Awe Star Ministries, what are your hopes and dreams for this ministry? For this book? We hope to impact students’ lives, discipling and partnering with them in missions. We long for them to realize that surrender to Christ can occur without crossing borders. God calls us to live a missionary lifestyle within our own culture. Our hope for the book is not that our son be glorified but that God multiply his message. We pray that God draws those who read it to embrace their Savior and live for Him as never before. 7. Where can readers learn more about BJ and I Would Die For You? Where can they learn more about Awe Star Ministries? http://www.prayforbj.com/ contains devotionals, complete archives, pictures, and BJ’s own words. Recently, we posted a video of his life at www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRNANk5rI2g. You’ll find I Would Die for You anywhere Christian books are sold. http://www.revellbooks.com/ contains a link for a free companion Bible study. Friend us on Facebook: Brent A. Higgins; Deanna Tucker Higgins. Visit http://www.awestar.org/ to learn more about international missions opportunities. May God use you to extend BJ’s passion to reach the nations and “raise a revolution” in Him. Parenting Tips from the Higgins ▪ Stay in the Word and in prayer if you expect your children to do so. Too many times, parents expect that the youth pastor is going to grow their children. You can’t expect your kids to live a lifestyle you’re not. ▪ Be sure you have a firm answer from God before you respond to your child about a request. For example, when BJ first wanted to serve overseas, our initial answer was “no,” but that was a knee-jerk reaction. Parents must be careful to hear from the Holy Spirit and not respond out of pure protectiveness or emotion. ▪ If at all possible, have a regular devotional time with your family. This should include prayer, not just rote prayer but significant time with God. This teaches kids how to pray and encourages them in their walk with the Lord ▪ Arrange to have dinner together as a family as often as you can. This gives you an opportunity to share as a family and also allows you to listen to your children. Kids won’t spill unless parents are willing to listen. ▪ Don’t be afraid to let your children fail. Sometimes kids need to try things and learn that failure is a part of life. They need all kinds of experiences as they move into adulthood. ▪ Encourage your children to be bold in their faith. Do activities as a family—mission trips and other projects—that require boldness. Encourage them to be involved in opportunities to share their faith. ▪ Listen, listen, and listen to your children. We say this humbly because we learned from our mistakes. Often your kids are telling you things by what they don’t tell you. (See the note about having dinner together above). ▪ When discouraging things happen, don’t remove your child’s opportunities to obey God. Your child’s relationship with God should never be used as a weapon. Opportunities for fellowship(youth group, etc.) shouldn’t be contingent on “good” behavior. ▪ If you make a commitment, follow through. If your child makes a commitment, help him or her follow through on it, too. The lesson here: your faithfulness sets an example for others. ▪ Practice what you preach to your children. Demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit through your love, kindness, etc. Although we weren’t (and aren’t) perfect parents, we tried to follow through in our lives with the things we taught our kids. The New Normal: Facing Life after a Child’s Death by Marti Pieper “Dad, I know you‘re scared. I believe the Lord will deliver me through this. But if he doesn’t, I‘m going home to be with him, and that’s okay with me.”–BJ Higgins, August 5, 2005 Brent and Deanna Higgins clung to these valiant words throughout their son’s six-week hospitalization. BJ became ill with a mysterious infection after he returned from his second mission trip to Peru. His death on September 26, 2005, days before his sixteenth birthday, ushered their family (Brent, Deanna, and two college-aged daughters) into what they called the new normal: life without their beloved son and brother. The new normal also meant life without one who served as a role model for many, including his own family members. BJ’s story and message of passionate obedience to Christ are chronicled in his parents’ best-selling book, I Would Die for You: One Student’s Story of Passion, Service, and Faith (Revell, 2008). How do Brent and Deanna survive the new normal? The Higgins point to their relationship with God as the key. “The level of intimacy one truly has in a relationship with Christ is often reflected through the time of pain, suffering, and loss,” says Brent, now vice president for international operations for their son’s sending agency, Awe Star Ministries. He and Deanna recommend that others who face the loss of a child draw near to God. “When you do, He promises to draw near to you,” Brent explains. Drawing near to other people is important, too, Deanna says. “It helped to talk to other people about him, to remember who he was. Initially, just holding onto the people around us helped a lot.” Today, the Higgins lead teams of young missionaries like their son to take the Gospel of Christ to people around the world. More recently, God has opened the doors for ministry to others who have lost a child. “No two losses are exactly alike regardless of similar circumstances,” says Brent. “I encourage parents to seek the Lord because He always listens.” “Everyone goes through it differently,” says Deanna. “We each grieve in our own way, but God can handle our anger. He can handle anything.” She urges other hurting parents to recognize the hope beyond their pain. “If you look, you‘ll find ways He’s showing you He cares. He’s showing you He’s with you through it.” God’s presence doesn’t eliminate loneliness, however. The Higgins both admit that their work with students often brings back bittersweet memories of their son. “Certain students remind me of BJ in their passion for Christ, their hunger to know more,” Brent says. At times, both Brent and Deanna find comfort in their son’s journals (excerpted in the book) as well as videos and pictures of him. Music, an integral part of their family life, also serves as a source of strength. Connecting with God and with others, especially young people like their son, helps them cope. Deanna says the loss of her son has left her more open to see the potential of these young men and women. Brent adds, “Before BJ passed, the things I taught were less experiential and more intellectual. The things the Lord has allowed me to walk through since that time have increased my own intensity and passion for seeing students truly understand what God calls them to do.” As part of a passionate declaration in one of his journals, BJ wrote, “It’s time to raise a revolution. God will give me the strength.” For his parents, the new normal means a commitment to extend his legacy–even when it hurts.

Spiritual Reality Travel Guide: EYES WIDE OPEN

I had it all backwards. The main thing was not my love for God, but his love for me. And from that love I respond to God as one deeply flawed, yet loved. I’m not looking to prove my worth. I’m not searching for acceptance. I’m living out of the worth God already declares I have. I’m embracing his view of me and in the process discovering the person he created me to be.

In Eyes Wide Open, Jud Wilhite invites you to discover the real you. Not the you who pretends to be perfect to satisfy everyone’s expectations. Not the you who always feels guilty before God. Not the you who secretly feels God forgives everyone else but only tolerates you. Not the you who looks in the mirror and sees a failure. The real you, loved and forgiven by God, living out of your identity in Christ.

A travel guide through real spirituality from one incomplete person to another, Eyes Wide Open is a book of stories about following God in the messes of life, about broken pasts and our lifelong need for grace. It is a book about seeing ourselves and God with new eyes–eyes wide open to a God of love.

ABOUT JUD

Jud Wilhite serves as senior pastor of Central Christian Church. Thousands attend Central’s campuses along with a global community who attend online. Under Jud’s leadership, Central is dedicated to helping people find their way to God. He is known for his conversational approach to teaching the Bible and his passion to help others know God and love him more. As Senior Pastor, Jud’s role is to be the spiritual leader of the Central family, the primary Bible teacher, and the communicator of Central’s mission, vision, and values.

Jud is the author of several books including Eyes Wide Open: See and Live the Real You, Uncensored Grace and Deadly Viper Character Assassins with Mike Foster. He and his wife, Lori, reside in the Las Vegas area with their two children and a slobbery Bulldog named Roxy.

All proceeds from the sale of Eyes Wide Open at Central go to support the ministry of Central Christian Church.

NEVER THE BRIDE: when learning to love can take a miracle

NEVER THE BRIDE

Jessie Stone has spent thirty-five years fantasizing about marriage proposals, wedding dresses, and falling in love.  She’s been a bridesmaid eleven times, waved dozens of couples off to sunny honeymoons, and shopped in more department stores for half-price fondue pots than she cares to remember.

But shopping in the love-of-her-life department hasn’t been quite as productive.  The man she thought she would marry cheated on her.  The crush she has on her best friend Blake is at very best…well, crushing.  And speed dating has only churned out memorable horror stories.

So when God shows up one day, in the flesh, and becomes a walking, talking part of her life, Jessie is skeptical. What will it take to convince her that God has a better love story than one of the thousands she’s cooked up in her journals?  Will she trust Him with her pen when it appears her dreams of being the bride are forever lost?

A romantic comedy with a spiritual twist, Never the Bride is what it means to lose control—and getting more than any woman could ever imagine.

Rene Gutteridge is the author of several novels, including Ghost Writer (Bethany House Publishers) The Boo Series and The Occupational Hazards Series (WaterBrook Press) and the Storm Series, (Tyndale House Publishers). She released My Life as a Doormat and The Ultimate Gift: the novelization for WestBow Press. She has also been published over forty times as a playwright, best known for her Christian comedy sketches. She studied screenwriting under a Mass Communications degree, graduating Magna Cum Laude from Oklahoma City University, and earned the “Excellence in Mass Communication” award. She served as the full-time Director of Drama for First United Methodist Church for five years before leaving to stay home and write. She enjoys instructing at writers conferences and in college classrooms. She lives with her husband, Sean, a musician, and their children in Oklahoma City.

Cheryl McKay has been professionally writing since 1997. Cheryl wrote the screenplay for The Ultimate Gift, based on Jim Stovall’s novel. The award-winning film stars James Garner, Brian Dennehy, and Abigail Breslin and was released in theaters by Fox in 2007. The Ultimate Gift won a Crystal Heart Award at the Heartland Film Festival, received three Movieguide Nominations, winning one of the Ten Best Family Films of 2007, and won a CAMIE Award, for one of the Top Ten Films of the year. Cheryl also wrote the DVD for Gigi: God’s Little Princess, another book adaptation based on the book by Sheila Walsh, as well as the Wild and Wacky, Totally True Bible Stories audio series and books with Frank Peretti. She wrote a half-hour drama for teenagers about high school violence, called Taylor’s Wall. It was produced in Los Angeles by Family Theater Productions. She wrote a script called Killing Hope, commissioned by Art Within, after winning a year-long fellowship. Her screenplay, Never the Bride, is being adapted into a novel for Random House Publishers and will be released in June 2009.

MOVIE WEBSITE: http://www.neverthebridethemovie.com/

Dangerous beliefs in the new spiritual openness? Read THE DISAPPEARANCE OF GOD

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF GOD

More faulty information about God swirls around us today than ever before. No wonder so many followers of Christ are unsure of what they really believe in the face of the new spiritual openness attempting to alter unchanging truth.

For centuries the church has taught and guarded the core Christian beliefs that make up the essential foundations of the faith. But in our postmodern age, sloppy teaching and outright lies create rampant confusion, and many Christians are free-falling for “feel-good” theology.

We need to know the truth to save ourselves from errors that will derail our faith.

As biblical scholar, author, and president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Albert Mohler, writes, “The entire structure of Christian truth is now under attack.” With wit and wisdom he tackles the most important aspects of these modern issues:

Is God changing His mind about sin?

Why is hell off limits for many pastors?

What’s good or bad about the “dangerous” emergent movement?

Have Christians stopped seeing God as God?

Is the social justice movement misguided?

Could the role of beauty be critical to our theology?

Is liberal faith any less destructive than atheism?

Are churches pandering to their members to survive?

In the age-old battle to preserve the foundations of faith, it’s up to a new generation to confront and disarm the contemporary shams and fight for the truth. Dr. Mohler provides the scriptural answers to show you how.

PRAISE

“From grade inflation to global calamities, Albert Mohler is a steady guide. From the psychological coddling of the American ego to the hollowing of the American conscience, Mohler is unremittingly clear-headed. From Nineveh to New Orleans, Mohler holds the mirror at a blazing forty-five-degree angle between heaven and earth. The burning light of divine wisdom illumines a hundred shadows of our human folly. And at the center of the blaze is the mighty cross of Jesus Christ defining the final meaning of everything. I thank God for Albert Mohler.”
–John Piper, pastor for preaching and vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN

“Al Mohler is a unique gift to the church. His writing combines penetrating theological discernment and insightful cultural analysis with a passion to faithfully proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m delighted that Al’s wisdom is now available in this book. May it be the first of many.”
–C. J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries

“In The Disappearance of God, Dr. Mohler has provided a striking, biblically-based treatment of a coterie of compelling issues which threaten the religious public at every turn. With his usual incisive and scintillating analysis, he sorts out healthy from unhealthy influences and charts a path for future church development. If you are serious about navigating our contemporary world, this is a necessary read.”
–Paige Patterson, President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Fort Worth, Texas

ABOUT DR. MOHLER

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., serves as the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary-the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world.

Dr. Mohler has been recognized by such influential publications as Time and Christianity Today as a leader among American evangelicals. In fact, Time.com called him the “reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement in the U.S”.

In addition to his presidential duties, Dr. Mohler hosts The Albert Mohler Program, a daily live nationwide radio program on the Salem Radio Network. He also writes a popular blog and a regular commentary on moral, cultural and theological issues. Both can be accessed through Dr. Mohler’s website, www.AlbertMohler.com. Called “an articulate voice for conservative Christianity at large” by The Chicago Tribune, Dr. Mohler’s mission is to address contemporary issues from a consistent and explicit Christian worldview.

Widely sought as a columnist and commentator, Dr. Mohler has been quoted in the nation’s leading newspapers, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Atlanta Journal/Constitution and The Dallas Morning News. He has also appeared on such national news programs as CNN’s “Larry King Live,” NBC’s “Today Show” and “Dateline NBC,” ABC’s “Good Morning America,” “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” on PBS, MSNBC’s “Scarborough Country” and Fox’s “The O’Reilly Factor.”

Dr. Mohler is a theologian and an ordained minister, having served as pastor and staff minister of several Southern Baptist churches. He came to the presidency of Southern Seminary from service as editor of The Christian Index, the oldest of the state papers serving the Southern Baptist Convention.

Dr. Mohler also serves as the Joseph Emerson Brown Professor of Christian Theology at Southern Seminary. His writings have been published throughout the United States and Europe. In addition to contributing to a number of collected volumes, he is the author of several books, including Culture Shift: Engaging Current Issues with Timeless Truth (Multnomah), Desire & Deceit: The Real Cost of the New Sexual Tolerance (Multnomah), Atheism Remix: A Christian Confronts the New Atheists (Crossway), He Is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World (Moody), and the forthcoming The Disappearance of God: Dangerous Beliefs in the New Spiritual Openness (Multnomah). From 1985 to 1993, he served as Associate Editor of Preaching, a journal for evangelical preachers, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology.

Dr. Mohler is listed in Who’s Who in America and other biographical reference works and serves on the boards of several organizations including Focus on the Family. He is a member of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and serves on the Theological Advisory Committee for Capitol Ministries.

He is married to Mary, and they have two children, Katie and Christopher.

Elizabeth White’s TOUR de FORCE

From Christa: Those of you who know me, as in beyond flat screen computer know me, clearly understand why my parents did not name me Grace. In retrospect, that should have been the motivation to enroll in, not avoid, ballet classes. So, when I had the opportunity to review Tour de Force, even someone with walking-into-walls tendencies like me, the opportunity is cause for a mental pirouette.

Michelle Lenger’s cover design is stunning in its understated gauziness. This is a novel I would’ve picked up in a bookstore even without knowing Elizabeth White was the author. In “A Note From the Author,” Elizabeth shares her motivation for writing the book: “…to explore the fact that Christian artists in any field–music, dance, literature, art–often face tough decisions about how and where art infuses Christian lifestyle.”

I admire a writer willing to ponder the perplexities, and Elizabeth doesn’t let her characters off easily. They struggle, like real people, with real problems, and real decisions. And they teach us that sometimes our comfort can come when we least expect it and from the least expected people. Gilly learns, as Elizabeth said, “…the source of all joy…is to pour oneself out at the feet of Jesus.”

Tour de Force:

“…a feat of great technical skill…”

“…an arresting, vital step…”

A Passion for Dance

Gilly Kincade is a rising star on the New York ballet scene. Dancing is her life’s passion, second only to her love for Jesus, and she believes her faith sets her apart––but hasn’t held her back. Chosen for a plum role in a new ballet choreographed for her, it seems the sky’s the limit. Then she meets Jacob Ferrar….

A Passion for God

Jacob Ferrar has left behind the glittering temptations of stardom in New York ballet. He has established a reputation as a brilliant, innovative artistic director of a regional dance company in Alabama, with a vision for choreography that glorifies God and encourages the audience. In fact, he’s certain nothing could make him go back….

Becomes Love’s Tour de Force

When Jacob offers Gilly the lead in his original Easter ballet, she begins to reevaluate what she’s willing to sacrifice for dance. And he sees exciting potential of shining light on the world’s dark stage. But their brilliant first performance is destroyed by a terrible accident, and Gilly and Jacob find themselves facing an uncertain future. Together, they dance the fine line between personal vision and God’s will, listening for the beat of the Father’s heart.

REVIEWS

“White takes readers behind the scenes into the competitive dance world. It’s refreshing that Gillian befriends and respects people living different lifestyles while still boldly living out her faith.” (4 Stars)–Chandra McNeil, RomanticTimesBOOKCLUB

“…the perfect blend of a dramatic plot, challenging spiritual journeys and a fascinating insight into the life of a ballet company and its dancers.”–Rel Mollet
TitleTrakk

Elizabeth White
Elizabeth White is the author of Controlling Interest, Off the Record, Fair Game, Fireworks, and the Texas Gatekeepers series for Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired Suspense line. She lives in Mobile, Alabama.

Learn more about Elizabeth at http://elizabethwhite.net.

EXCERPT: CHAPTER ONE

Gilly Kincade stood en pointe to see over the dancers hovering around Meredith Bernard, who was crumpled in a heap of white tulle in the backstage shadows. She got a glimpse of stage manager Paul Arther, kneeling with the principal dancer’s purpling ankle in his hands.

“Shut up, Meredith, you’re not going back on stage.” Paul looked over his shoulder and barked, “Gilly, change your costume. I’ll hold the curtain five minutes, but you’ve got to hurry.”

Meredith moaned. “No! My ankle’s fine. Look!” She struggled to her feet, whimpering as her left heel came in contact with the floor. Her narrow, strong-boned face was ashen, and she blinked away tears.

Gilly wanted to cry with her. To be forced off the stage in the middle of a ballet––and in Saratoga Springs….“Paul, are you sure?”

Paul’s eyes frosted. “If you don’t want the role, I’ll put Victoria in.”

“No, I––Of course I want it.” She’d understudied Odette’s variations and knew them cold. Please, God, help me not to faint.

“Good.” Paul slid a finger under the satin ribbons wrapped around Meredith’s ankle and snipped through them, grounding the swan maiden for the foreseeable future. “You’ll need to put ice on that ankle, Mer. We’ll get it X-rayed as soon as the performance is over.”

Meredith began to sob that it was Dmitri’s fault that she came down wrong, and he should be fired. Or shot.

Gilly couldn’t look at her, didn’t have time anyway. Somebody would have to take her place in the corps de ballet, probably an apprentice waiting in the wings. But that wasn’t her problem. She tore into the dressing room. “Frankie! I need the other Odette costume!”

Frankie Silverman looked up from tacking Jarrica Black’s leotard onto her tights. “Now?”

“Yes! Curtain goes up in five minutes!”

“Gadzooks!” The costume manager leapt to her feet, leaving needle and thread dangling against the back of Jarrica’s thigh. “Stay put,” she ordered the young corps dancer.

Jarrica put her hands on her hips but obeyed.

Gilly stripped off her corps costume and let Frankie help her with the Odette tutu and headpiece, then charged out of the dressing room to stumble through dark, unfamiliar backstage territory. With fifteen seconds to spare she made it to her mark. The curtain opened.

She became Odette, transformed by the evil von Rothbart into a swan, doomed to eternally float on Swan Lake. She lost herself in the movement, the longing for humanity, the longing for her prince’s love––all dance was either elation or longing, rarely anything in between. There must be some spiritual implication, but for now she was simply a storyteller. Beautiful that she and Tchaikovsky, long dead, could communicate the love story of a doomed princess. She danced Act Two in a blur, high on the pure adrenaline of the spotlight. Beyond it breathed the audience, a black wall of energy. The corps surrounded her, white tutus forming beautiful lines of motion like lily pads floating on the lake of the stage.

Dmitri Lanskov danced toward her, smiling. “Up you go,” he murmured.

She leapt as Dmitri lifted her high, throwing both arms above her head, exploding with joy. He spun with her over his shoulder, carried her across the stage, carefully set her on her toes. She bourréed, floating away from Dmitri, drifted into a series of ecstatic arabesques, and bourréed toward him again. With her arm lightly curled around his head, they melted into a simple, elegant bow.

The audience came to its feet, roaring applause. Gilly could hardly breathe. She felt God’s smile.

***

Jacob Ferrar rose with the audience under the soaring canopy of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center amphitheater, smashing his hands together until they hurt. He had just been privileged to watch a star burst into place. If he’d had a flower he would have thrown it onto the stage, but who expected to be confronted with genius in a substitute corps dancer? It was like finding an orchid in a field of clover.

Suddenly he was glad he’d made the long, frustrating trip to attend Ballet New York’s final performance in their summer home. He almost forgot to worry about Graham, left with his indulgent grandparents. He almost forgot the effects of insomnia that had dogged him for the last two months. He almost forgot the last time he’d danced on this blazing stage.

After all, Saratoga Springs on a mild summer night was a magical place, even from the audience. Above the canopy of the stage the open sky shimmered with moonlight and far-flung stars, and from his orchestra level seat he was close enough to see the red-haired dancer’s kittenish face flushed with triumph, the thick false lashes and heavy make-up turning her into a porcelain doll. He could almost feel the throb of her pulse with the deep rise and fall of her childish bosom. He could see rivulets of sweat dripping off her dainty, pointed chin.

That made him smile. He glanced at Wendy Kersey, his company’s ballet mistress who had traveled with him from Birmingham to choose guest dancers for their Nutcracker. Even as she enthusiastically applauded, Wendy was watching Jacob, rather than the pair onstage folded into a graceful double bow.

“What?” He returned his attention to the dancers.

“You’ve changed your mind, haven’t you?” There was a smile in Wendy’s voice.

He didn’t answer for a moment, continued to applaud and cheer until the curtain closed for a final time. Finally he looked at Wendy. “Maybe. What do you think?”

“I think this is your company and you should do what you want.”

Jacob laughed. “You’ve been ballet mistress for three years and never held back your opinion. Why start now?”

Wendy gathered her black lace shawl around her bony shoulders and edged into the aisle. “Because you came here intending to offer a contract to Meredith Bernard, and now you’re considering this ingénue who hasn’t even made soloist yet.”

Jacob picked up his program and followed Wendy toward the theater exit. She was perhaps fifteen years his senior––though her age was a closely-guarded state secret, and no one knew that for sure––but she liked to play a game of deferring to him.

Amused, he caught up to her. “Clearly you don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Wendy stopped in the grassy park outside the covered seating. Subdued laughter and conversation floated around them as the departing audience eddied past. She sighed. “Jacob, your instincts are as good as any director I’ve worked with to date. Perhaps better. If you think this girl is ready to handle the Sugar Plum role, then by all means bring her down. But do take note that she has yet to dance it in New York.”

“That’s true.” Jacob shrugged. “Which I don’t understand. Poiroux is generally quick to move young dancers into responsible roles almost before they’re ready.” He shook his head. “But you saw her. Thirty-two fouettés perfectly nailed! I couldn’t take my eyes off––And she’s from Alabama. If we play that up she’ll be a real draw.”

“It would be a gamble.” Wendy made a wry face. “But at least she’ll cost less than the Bernard girl.” She lifted her shoulders. “Go for it, then.”

“There are reviewers here. The dance bloggers will be talking about her tomorrow.”

“Yes, which will drive up the price. Do you have a favor you could call in?”

“Not exactly. But I do know Maurice Poiroux.” He could swallow his pride for this. He folded his arms. “I’ll talk to him at the cast party tonight.”

Wendy studied him. “It’s been five years, Jacob.”

“But he won’t have forgotten.” He looked away. “I wouldn’t have forgotten.”

Her propriety was such that she rarely touched him unless they were demonstrating a dance, but she gently laid her fingers on his wrist. “It’s time to forgive yourself, my friend.”

“I know. Yes, I know.” He smiled, though some of the joy had gone out of the evening, and pulled her hand through the crook of his elbow. They began to thread their way through the crowd. “Let’s see if we can find the car in this madhouse. What do you think about Lanskov as her partner?”

***

Gilly dropped her dance bag on the floor inside the bedroom she had called home for the last three weeks and walked over to the antique dresser. For forty-two weeks out of the year, it and all the rest of the furnishings in this Victorian behemoth belonged to some rich upstate New Yorker involved with the horseracing industry, but she and four other dancers had been renting it during the month of July for the ballet season.

She flattened her hands on top of the white crocheted runner and leaned in to stare at her face in the mirror. Before leaving the theater she’d removed the mask of heavy makeup. Now, clearly visible, was the sprinkle of freckles she’d covered up since she was twelve years old, the tiny diamond stud in her nose that nobody could talk her out of, the quirky red eyebrows bent slightly upward at the tips.

But she was different now.

“Soloist,” she whispered. “You. Gillian Frances Kincade. Soloist for Ballet New York.”

She grinned and ran to grab her phone. Flinging herself backward on the bed she pressed the first speed dial number. It was hard to choose which of her sisters to call first, but Laurel was eldest and the more forceful of the two personalities. It was midnight here, but only eleven o’clock in Montgomery, Alabama. The McGaughans were night owls. They’d have put the girls to bed and stayed up to watch a late-night talk show or a movie.

Laurel answered on the first ring, her drawl distinct and sleepy. “Gilly! Honey, are you alright?”

Gilly laughed. “I’m very all right.”

“Oh, good.” There was a relieved sigh. “So how did the ballet go tonight? It was the last one, right?”

“Yes.” Gilly paused. “Laurel, are you sitting down?”

“I’m…well, Cole and I were––”

Gilly laughed. “No details, please. I just had to tell you––drum roll––” She took a giddy breath. “Maurice moved me up to soloist tonight. He announced it during the cast party.”

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurel McGaughan actually squealed. “Oh, Gilly, that’s wonderful! Cole––Gilly made soloist.”

Gilly could hear her brother-in-law lean in to share the phone. “Congratulations, squirt. You deserve it.”

“Thanks.” She could feel her smile taking over her face again. “This is almost as cool as the day they invited me to join the company.”

“I can imagine.” Laurel had the phone back. “So give me the details. How did it happen? What did everybody say?”

“Um, well, everybody was excited for me except Meredith Bernard. She’s kind of in the hospital with her ankle in traction––which is why I got a shot at Odette tonight.”

“Wow. Poor girl.” Laurel understood the critical nature of a dancer’s body. She’d seen Gilly alternately pamper, discipline, and abuse hers for the last sixteen years. “But good for you. You must’ve brought down the house.”

“It was––oh, Laurel, I’ve always wanted to dance Odette in Swan Lake. Almost as much as Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker.”

“Well, maybe that’ll be next.”

“Maybe. Maurice is kind of…unpredictable about casting.”

“That’s what I hear. Now that you’re a soloist, will he have any objection to you dancing in our arts festival in September? The entertainment committee is so excited about you coming.”

“No, there won’t be a problem. We did a formal contract after all. I talked to Tucker and he’s all set to do the music. I got my plane ticket rerouted yesterday. The rest of the company will leave Athens and go straight back to New York. I’m flying into Birmingham instead of Montgomery, though. Can you or Cole come pick me up?”

“Of course.” Laurel laughed softly. “Mom’s a little miffed that you’re planning to stay here during your break and not go on to Mobile, but she’ll get over it. She and Daddy and Mary Layne’s bunch are all coming up for the festival.”

“Yay! My whole million-member family all in one place! I can’t wait.” Gilly stood up to unzip the dress she’d worn to the cast party and shrugged it off. It fell to the floor, and she kicked it aside. “Well, I need a shower before I hit the sack. Don’t tell Mary Layne until I can call her tomorrow, okay?”

“Alright, baby, have a good rest. I bet you’re worn out.”

“Pretty much.” Gilly padded barefoot to the tiny bathroom off the bedroom. Her energy, fueled by adrenaline, seemed to seep away with each step. “Tell Cole good night for me.”

“Okay. Good night, little sister. I’m proud of you.”

“’Night, Lolly.” Gilly laid the phone on the counter and rooted in the cabinet for toothbrush and toothpaste, moisturizer and skin conditioner. Tomorrow she’d have to pack it all up and take the train back to the City with the rest of the company. Her little Tribeca apartment had stood empty for three weeks, and it would take a bit of effort to put her things back in order.

By the time she got that done, it would be time to pack again for the company’s Mediterranean tour. Maybe she should make a list before she went to bed.

As she squirted Ultra-Brite on her purple Elmo toothbrush, she caught a glimpse of her feet. Several blisters had popped and looked kind of red and weepy. She grimaced. Feet took precedence over lists, and she wasn’t going to be awake much longer.

Being the baby of the family, she wasn’t a natural organizer, but she’d had to learn to do more for herself since her mother moved back to Mobile about a year ago and left her on her own. Amazing the sacrifices her parents had made to give her this chance at chasing a dream.

And now, finally, it was paying off. Soloist. Soloist. Scrubbing her back teeth, mouth full of foam, she yawned. She spit and laughed at herself in the mirror. Even swan princesses had to sleep sometime.

Here are the blogs featuring Tour de Force during the JUNE 15-19 Tour.
4BoyBarbarians4Us
A Novel Menagerie
A Peek at My Bookshelf
Blog Tour Spot
Book Junkie Confessions
Books, Movies and Chinese Food
Cindy’s Stamping and Reviews
Drive Home Productions
Fictionary
Fresh Brewed Writer
Gatorskunz and Mudcats
Giving Up on Perfect
J’s Spot
Life is one daily adventure
Lighthouse Academy
Net’s Book Notes
Quiverfullfamily.com
Real Women Scrap
Refresh My Soul
Scraps and Snippets
Springs Writers
Steeler Girl’s Blog
Sueth sayings
The Law, Books and Life
The Sarah Jane Diaries
The Sassy Pear
The Writing Road
Wild Words . . . Photos and Fine Art