Jesus Christ is Risen indeed!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Christ our Lord
is risen
in each of us each day,
and neither gravity
nor a cruel grave
can keep us down.

by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2017, from her book of prayers, poems, and contemporary psalms, PRAISE! published by Cladach Publishing
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Jesus Journey

With the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary as His parents, Jesus became a unique person – fully human and fully God. In the Jesus Journey, which Zondervan kindly sent me to review, pastor-author Trent Sheppard presents the human side of Jesus in a reader-friendly, conversational way that helps us relate to Jesus by demonstrating how much and how often Jesus relates to us, particularly in these five areas:

“Part 1, ‘Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,’ focuses on Jesus’ family life with special attention given to the unique relationship he had with his mother.

Part 2, ‘Jesus and Abba,” looks at the remarkable way Jesus interacted with God – intimate, compelling, and controversial all at once.

Part 3, ‘Jesus and His Friends,’ explores the journey of discipleship that Jesus shared with those who knew him best, his friends and followers.

Part 4, ‘Blood, Sweat, and Tears,’ considers the crucifixion, reflecting on Jesus’ trust and determination in the face of confusion, fear, and pain.

Part 5, ‘Breakfast on the Beach,’ is all about the bodily resurrection of Jesus, what it means for us now and for the future.”

Beginning with scripture, each chapter has a reflection followed by a call to “Ponder, Pray, Practice.”

The idea to keep in mind and spirit, however, is this: “we can come to Jesus with our messy, broken, sinful lives because Jesus knows how hard it is to be human, because he knows obedience is a battle.”

If this is news to you and, especially, good news for you, the Jesus Journey will take you on a journey you’ll want to explore.

Mary Harwell Sayler, reviewer

Jesus Journey, paperback


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Trying to keep my eyes on Jesus - with or without clouds

The life of a Christian poet-writer is often clouded with interruptions and disturbances – some desirable, some not!

After a wonderful sisters’ cruise to the Bahamas in mid-March, I came home with a head cold aka sinus infection, both of which kept my eyes looking behind me as I tried to move forward and catch up.

Then, the very day my book of contemporary psalms and free verse poems PRAISE! was to be released by Cladach Publishing, my computer refused to work in total disregard of my plans for promotionals.

As soon as a new keyboard solved my pc problem, I resolved to blab about my book all over the Internet – a smart marketing approach for Christian poets and writers who hope people will actually read what they have written.

New book….
Fun time with siblings….
Head cold….
Fritzed keyboard….

Each caught my attention. Each clouded my focus, and yet each drew me back to prayer and a greater appreciation of the Lord in my life.

Praise the Lord for keeping life lively!

Praise the Lord for scriptures that draw us closer to Christ.

Praise God for speaking to and through us in what we’ve been given to write:

Cloud bank

Around us a cloud –
witnesses
of the faith –

and our faith rising
like cloud wisps
forming Jesus’ face –

a reminder of The One
toward Whom we run

as we leave behind
all hindrances –
obstructions, interruptions –

and open our own
luggage
to be searched by none
but Christ on the throne.

by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2017, poet-writer who based the above on Hebrews 12:1-2, today’s Bible verse in a variety of translations from Bible Gateway

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