Thursday, September 3, 2009

Story


"Story."

That's the title of a book by author Steven James. I'm only half-way through, but it is affecting me so much I'm reviewing it now, so you can get yourself a copy sooner! It is a collection of poems and essays Steven James has written about the Bible, about Jesus as a person, savior, friend. It is beautiful, haunting, joyful, enlightening...

I bought this because I love Steven James' novels, and really had no idea what to expect. I am so glad I took the chance. And because the individual pieces are short, I'm reading the book sort of as a devotional.

Steven James isn't afraid to talk about the things we are afraid of, and the nitty-gritty truths of the Bible. His writing is real.

Get a copy. Really. Story, by Steven James.

On a different note, in my other devotional (Our Daily Bread by RBC) was this poem. It really hit home for me:

The journeys that we take in life,
Though unexpected they may be,
If we commit to follow Christ,
His work through us the world will see.


As I'm struggling with the hope to someday see my novel published, these words just jumped off the page at me. My life has been a strange journey, with experiences that seemed completely unconnected. But as I wrote Finding Angel, I found myself drawing on all of those seemingly unrelated experiences, and they just meshed. I never expected to become a writer, and most certainly never expected to be able to use my experiences in such a way. But, I'm committing to follow Christ in this. And what He does with it...well, I guess we'll just see. But I've never found Him to be wasteful of our work for Him.

2 comments:

tyeager said...

I've been wanting to read one of Steven James' novels. Is this your favorite so far?

Kat Heckenbach said...

Well, "Story" is not a novel--just poems and essays. As for his novels, he has a series that begins with "Pawn"--it's a thriller. And it really holds up to that label. Page-turner, for sure!!!!! The second in the series, "Rook," is just as good. The third book just came out and I haven't read it yet.