Tag Archives: Christian living

Review: I Run to the Hills, by C. Maggie Woychik

I Run to the Hills: Reflections on the Christian Journey by C. Maggie Woychik (Port Yonder Press, 2009)

Committing one’s life to Jesus Christ is an act of faith – and the first step of a journey. I Run to the Hills: Reflections on the Christian Journey is a series of brief, interconnected readings that illustrate the deepening of this spiritual relationship from gratitude and obedience into love.

The mountain-journey theme and its allegorical feel evoke memories of Hannah Hurnard’s Hinds’ Feet on High Places and John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, although the language is clear and contemporary.

There’s something about presenting the message this way that lets it penetrate better than if it came via a direct essay or sermon. Jesus used story too – it sneaks past the hearers’ mental filters better than a frontal approach.

In typical journey fashion, and as every Christ-follower knows, the pilgrim travels and reflects, learns and grows… and occasionally takes unwise detours. These side-trips vary from person to person. I Run to the Hills highlights the dangers of the Desert of Duty and the Plains of License. The story doesn’t end there, though, but presses onward and higher toward the mountaintop.

Most of the readings in I Run to the Hills are only a couple of pages long. They’re grouped in longer chapters if you want to read them that way, or you can take them in morsel-sized moments. Either way, prepare to be challenged, encouraged and refreshed on the journey.

Author C. Maggie Woychik’s prose has elements of poetry and plenty of pithy sound-bytes. As we journey, she says, “Truths are for digesting, not just consuming.” And she tells us how: “Firmly clasp the piece of Light – catch it; then slowly release your fingers, using care not to allow it to slip away or be snatched by the cunning Truth-Robber.” (p.29)

C. Maggie Woychik is an award-winning author whose work has been published in a variety of magazines. I Run to the Hills is her first book. To learn more about Maggie, check out her website and spend some time on her blog, Encouraging Emerging Authors.

I Run to the Hills is a delightful, refreshing book to read and then to savour again over time.

God With Us–All the Time

If the psalmist is right—that there truly is nowhere we can go to flee God’s presence—why do we act like his attendance is intermittent? And why do we assume it’s dependent on us?

This is the question Canadian singer/songwriter/writer Carolyn Arends asks in her latest column, “Come Lord Jesus,” in Christianity Today. Click either of the preceding links to read the full column and to see how baseball can teach a spiritual lesson.

Thank you to Ginny Jaques at Something About the Joy for pointing me to this article. Carolyn’s writing is always worth reading.

Review: Whispers that Delight, non-fiction by Andrew T. Hawkins

Whispers That Delight: Building a Listening-Centered Prayer Life, by Andrew T. Hawkins (Word Alive Press, 2008)

“Does your prayer life seem like a one-way conversation? Do you have difficulty quieting yourself to listen to God?”

These questions from the back cover of Whispers That Delight may evoke quiet “yes” responses from many Christians. Andrew Hawkins knows better than to offer an instant fix. Instead, his PARE approach is a framework within which we can deepen our prayer like. And it can be used whether you have ten minutes or an hour.

It seems paradoxical to suggest the way to more intimate communion with God could come through a structured format, although the Old Testament Israelites wouldn’t have found it so. In Whispers That Delight the format is simply the means to a desirable end, and the author makes it clear that the Holy Spirit’s prompting must take precedence over externally-imposed structure.

The acronym PARE describes Rev. Hawkins’ pattern for prayer, and he reminds us that to pare is to cut or shave away thin layers. As we pare off “the superficial things which occupy our minds,” (p. viii) he promises we’ll discover more of God.

P is for preparation, when we refocus from ourselves to the goodness of God in praise and thanksgiving. This is also where we confess anything that’s inhibiting our communion with God and receive His forgiveness and restoration.

A is attentiveness, with our spirits fixed on God’s presence to hear what He may have to say. One person may “hear” words, another impressions or images, another through reading and meditating on Scripture.

R is our response: to love, to intercede or repent, to act. Rev. Hawkins says, “Although God gives specific guidance and even surprises us with supernatural directives, when we meet him in prayer he primarily empowers us to do what we already know to do.” (p. 95)

E is a fitting end: enjoyment. Instead of rushing off into the day with a “Thanks, God!” we need to take time to linger a few minutes in His presence, just for the experience of being with Him.

Not that we should stop praying then—the concept of prayer without ceasing, practicing His presence, is worth pursuit. But our intimate, one-on-One prayer session has ended for another day.

Whispers That Delight comes with three appendices, one of which I think would serve better at the beginning: “Tips on Reading Whispers That Delight”. Essentially, the tips are “Read with the heart, read small portions at a time, and to go deeper, study the quoted Scriptures.”

Reading in bite-sized chunks is definitely wise. This isn’t at all a hard read, but the subject itself requires careful consideration and prayerful pondering. To breeze through Whispers That Delight would be to “read” the words and miss their effect on our hearts. I’m glad I took it slowly.

Rev. Andrew T. Hawkins is a Canadian author, and pastor to St. Paul’s Congregational Church in Ontario. Whispers That Delight is a book for all denominations and levels of faith, and it received The Word Guild 2009 Writing Award in the Book—Biblical Studies category.

God’s Promises

Over at the Leading Women in Fearless Faith blog, Grace Fox writes:

God’s Word is filled with amazing promises He’s made to those who follow Him. Psalm 57 contains three of them:

* God will fulfill His purpose for us (v. 2). Whatever His specific purpose for our lives is, He takes responsibility for ensuring that it happens. We only need to say yes to whatever He asks, and He looks after the rest.

To read the other two promises in this Psalm, and Grace’s examples of how they’ve been proved true in her life, visit Leading Women in Fearless Faith.

Marriage as Art

Today’s my day to post over at InScribe Writers Online, and I’m tallking about “Marriage as Art.”

Review: Let Go, by Sheila Walsh

Let Go: live free of the burdens all women know, by Sheila Walsh (Thomas Nelson, 2008)

We all need deliverance in one area or another. To receive it, we need to let go: of self-effort, legalism, past hurts or actions, unforgiveness, shame, lack of self-worth, fear, loneliness… the list could go on.

Men need this freedom too, but Let Go is a woman-to-woman book. Each chapter opens with brief quotes and a contemporary parable. Sheila Walsh shares her personal experiences as well as teaching from Scripture. Chapters end with a few questions for discussion or private contemplation, and with a prayer.

Initially I feared this would be a lightweight overview of complex issues, but I needn’t have worried. Sheila introduces each element with a gentle touch and goes deeper in successive chapters. This is a good way to approach touchy subjects like hurt and shame that we may have to chew on a while.

Sheila’s music has blessed me for maybe 30 years now, and a recurring theme is that God loves each of us—more than we can imagine—no matter who we are or what we’ve done.

This is the message at the heart of Let Go. Sheila writes, “God’s love for us is based on who he is. This truth can change our lives if we are able to receive it.” (p. 172)

Sheila Walsh’s transparency and her heart for God make her a woman He can use to touch others. Let Go is an encouraging book that’s well worth reading. To find out more about book and author, you can read the opening chapter of Let Go or visit Sheila Walsh’s website.

Battle for the Soul of Canada, by Rev. Ed Hird

In Battle for the Soul of Canada Rev. Ed Hird pairs readings from 1 & 2 Timothy with historical and cultural vignettes in a series of messages challenging us with the importance of raising up the emerging generation of Christian leaders in Canada.

Ed writes, “the key to renewing the soul of Canada — and the heart of this book — is to be found in raising up Timothys”. And that’s exactly what Battle for the Soul of Canada sets out to equip us to do.

Each chapter is short and informative. There’s also a companion study guide available: Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada.

For more information or to contact Ed, visit Battle for the Soul of Canada. To read more of Ed’s writing, see Canadian Authors Who Are Christian, where he’s a regular contributor.

Hope for Wholeness

Sharon Fawcett is a Canadian author and speaker whose ministry offers hope: in the daily stresses common to us all, and in the anguish of depression and eating disorders.

Stop by Sharon’s website, Words of Hope for a World in Need, to check out her articles and resources. Here’s a video trailer on her new book, Hope for Wholeness: the Spiritual Path to Freedom from Depression:

Praise Habit, by David Crowder

Praise Habit, by David Crowder (2004, TH1NK Books, an imprint of NavPress)

Praise Habit is subtitled “Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi”. I picked up this book knowing I needed to recognize and praise God more frequently in my day. David Crowder adds a deeper meaning to the title by linking to nuns’ habits and suggesting the possibility of praise as our garment, of our lives becoming living praise. He calls us to a life larger and more free than the one we usually settle for.

The first part of the book explores the nature of praising God, and then provides a sampling of Psalms from The Message version with the author’s own devotional thoughts. He shares enough instruction to equip readers to encounter God in Scripture on their own.

This is not your stereotypical, formal book about faith and the Christian life. I love the freshness of his language, the new-to-me illustrations he uses – and the humour. This man is brilliantly funny, in an off-beat way. Want proof? Read the copyright page. Read it all, and tell me if you don’t at least giggle. [Find it in the Amazon preview here.]

David Crowder’s reflections on the Psalms often start with an anecdote, and some of those had me laughing out loud. Then he transitions to practical and insightful application of the passage at hand.

What this book gave me was new language and a sense of renewed wonder for the salvation experience: “live the rescue.” I’ll return to it for that, and also for the laughter.

I hope David Crowder continues his music ministry for years to come. I also hope he writes another book soon. It’s long overdue.

If truth brings freedom

And laughter is the best medicine

Then Praise Habit is a tonic worth tasting.

God’s Reign is Eternal

Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.
Psalm 93:2, NIV*

I wonder what the psalmist was thinking when he wrote Psalm 93. In just five verses, he contrasts God’s majesty and sovereignty with the full power of the sea, and he concludes that God’s rule – and His holiness – will endure for endless days.

Had he seen a miraculous deliverance? Or was he reaffirming his faith in the midst of an overwhelming situation?

The ocean in destructive mode is awesome and terrible. Think of a hurricane making landfall, a tidal wave, or a mid-sea storm devouring a boat. But the psalmist affirms that no matter how bad things get, nothing can shake God’s throne: His authority, strength and rule. Whether we see Him or not, He hasn’t disappeared.

Scripture often uses the sea as a metaphor for the nations who don’t know God, and perhaps that’s what the psalmist meant. Israel saw enough attacks from their enemies.

At our time in history, although there are Christ-followers all around the earth, the world seems made up of “the nations” who don’t know God. Including my own Canada and the United States, which were founded on Judeo-Christian principles.

Godlessness is on the rise, and I don’t mean “people of a different faith than mine.” I mean a system of belief that tries to deny any deity or higher authority. A system that discards morality and holiness.

That may be what prompted the psalmist to meditate on God’s power and to write these verses. The psalm ends with this:

Your statutes stand firm;
holiness adorns your house
for endless days.
Psalm 93:5, NIV*

Natural sea waves don’t ever threaten to bring down God’s rule. Godlessness, either through direct attack or subtle erosion, do.

Father, thank You that Your statutes stand firm. You are eternal and so is Your rule over the earth. You are our Creator King. Please help me keep my eyes on You and my confidence in You, and not be terrified by the waves. You are God, You are at work, and someday the whole earth will see Your glory.

This week’s song is Phillips, Craig and Dean singing “You Are God Alone“:

Janet Sketchley

Writing Christian Mysteries & Suspense