Syl's E-mail

My sister’s e-mail made me think. Below, I’ve pasted it verbatim:

People in this Country don't realize just how much we have slipped down the ladder to a 3rd World Country until they see what other Countries are doing.  We have to change the "regime" or we will be living in mud huts before we know it.  Now we're sending troops to Africa!  And Christianity is under real fire - just like in the Roman era and we have our own Nero.

My reply follows:

That is, no doubt, where we're headed. But the powers' subtlety keeps most of us asleep. We can do our best to alert the fat sleeper, but our alarms simply blend into his comforting dream. I'm very much afraid he'll soon awaken in one of those mud huts and wonder how he got there.

Christianity's real shelling, however, comes from within. So long as we're satisfied with Religion, thinking we follow Jesus through it, we're impotent. So long as "Revival!" remains in tents and temples, we're doomed to reap the weedy fruit we're sewing. The remnant will, no doubt, soon suffer. I pray I will be one of them.

Does that sound fatalistic? Perhaps, but if today’s YUPie church continues quietly enjoying both our material affluence, and our blindness to our spiritual impotence, we are indeed doomed to mediocrity. Instead of worshiping with hands upraised, we must worship with our hands dug deep in our cash-impacted pockets, to yield fruit proportional to our blessings.

Without our sackcloth-and-ashes repentance, Judge Jesus’ warning to the Laodicean church is even more ominous for us.

"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"

(Revelation 3:14-22 ESV)

We, as did the Laodicean church, commit the sin of affluence. Yes, SIN!  To the degree that we take our ease while men of God struggle to support their families, while hunger remains within our shores, while the innocents are murdered through abortion, while one person remains ignorant of Christ's loving gospel, we are as guilty as that lukewarm church of the Revelation.

If we’re the fallen world’s best hope for redemption’s message, we will force our Redeemer to get His job done through others. And we will be the eternal losers.

Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist--a review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Love on the Line Bethany House (October 1, 2011) by Deeanne Gist


BUT FIRST, A WORD FROM OUR BLOGGER:
Personally? I wouldn't give two bits for a truck full of ladies romance novels. It's always the same thing: Poor boy and rich girl. Rich boy and poor girl. Once-rich boy and rich/poor girl. Once-rich girl and rich/poor girl. Yada, yada, yada ad nauseam.
        But then came Love on the Line, by Deeanne Gist. This is my first reading of this author, and it won't be the last, if all her characters speak for themselves as do Georgie and Luke. The period of this story speaks eloquently to today's culture of technological explosiveness. Telephones are The Latest Thang, and for a woman to control this new-fangled switchboard and the attached communications network, well, to a man's man like Luke Palmer, even a drop-dead gorgeous lady—especially, a drop-dead gorgeous lady—like Georgie Gail is just out of place. Will Georgie allow herself to be run over by a strong male? Has Ranger Luke met his match? Click the link below to read the first chapter, if you're ready to be captivated.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After a short career in elementary education, Deeanne Gist retired to raise her four children. Over the course of the next fifteen years, she ran a home accessory and antique business, became a member of the press, wrote freelance journalism for national publications such as People, Parents, Parenting, Family Fun, Houston Chronicle and Orlando Sentinel, and acted as CFO for her husband’s small engineering firm--all from the comforts of home.

Squeezed betwixt-and-between all this, she read romance novels by the truckload and even wrote a couple of her own. While those unpublished manuscripts rested on the shelf, she founded a publishing corporation for the purpose of developing, producing and marketing products that would reinforce family values, teach children responsibility and provide character building activities.

After a few short months of running her publishing company, Gist quickly discovered being a "corporate executive" was not where her gifts and talents lie. In answer to Gist’s fervent prayers, God sent a mainstream publisher to her door who licensed her parenting I Did It!® product line and committed to publish the next generation of her system, thus freeing Gist to return to her writing.

Eight months later, she sold A Bride Most Begrudging to Bethany House Publishers. Since that debut, her very original, very fun romances have rocketed up the bestseller lists and captured readers everywhere. Add to this two consecutive Christy Awards, three RITA nominations, rave reviews, and a growing loyal fan base, and you’ve got one recipe for success.

Her latest releases, Beguiled, Maid To Match, and Love on the Line are now available.

Gist lives in Texas with her husband of twenty-eight years and their border collie. They have four grown children. Click here to find out the most up-to-the-minute news about Dee.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Rural switchboard operator Georgie Gail is proud of her independence in a man's world ... which makes it twice as vexing when the telephone company sends a man to look over her shoulder.

Dashing Luke Palmer is more than he appears though. He's a Texas Ranger working undercover to infiltrate a notorious gang of train robbers. Repairing telephones and tangling with this tempestuous woman is the last thing he wants to do.  But when his stakeout puts Georgie in peril, he realizes more than his job is on the line.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Love on the Line, go HERE.

Character Counts?

This year, National Character Counts Week runs from October 16th to the 22nd. Seems rather appropriate that our government would set aside only one week out of the year to recognize the importance of character in our lives. And in doing so the powers that be refuse to acknowledge where true character originates.

Our secular world admits society’s need for “character,” while allowing its definition to be forgotten by editing our cultural foundation from the historical record. Today’s students learn that our nation’s founding fathers, as deists, paid casual lip service to the Bible instead of believing its authority. We learn that the men who laid their fortunes and lives on the line to establish our republic were in fact corrupt politicians with vested, capitalistic interests in breaking from the Crown. We learn they were womanizers and cruel, slave owners. And to prove their point our noble revisionists “expose” them by publishing some of their confidential diaries and letters.

How many of today’s historical revisionists could withstand that kind of scrutiny, with their reputations intact? Yet, their passion for smearing our founding fathers knows no limit.

Their motives for so doing are transparent as a crystal stream and fowl as a Pakistani gutter; historical revisionists, by and large, are secularists who fear passing on our Biblical heritage to even one more generation of Americans. Yet, such “educators” struggle to rein in the rebellious, relativistic fruit of their secularism. They are at a loss to explain the rampant drug use and near-ritualistic cruelty that has become alarmingly common among young people.

Today, the traditional character traits of hard work, truthfulness, honesty, loyalty, friendship, and self-sacrifice hold little interest for pop-culture-saturated entertainment addicts.

Educators agree that character counts, as long as its foundation in Biblical principles is ignored and forgotten.

Imagine That

Can’t help it. Can’t shut ‘em up. My fingers gotta say something, they say it, regardless how inconvenient it is. Like tonight, when I should be snoring already.

After watching Imagine That, Staring Yara Shahidi and Eddie Murphy, my dancing fingers started jitter-bugging almost before I could get them to the keyboard. Oh, you say I got the the movie’s billing backward? Okay, Murphy received first billing in the promos, but little Yara stole the show. And what a show! Although the movie received its share of negative reviews, I loved it. But that’s what counts, isn’t it?

It’s not spoiling the movie for those who haven’t seen it to say the song the kids sang at the end was one of secular humanism’s anthems, All You Need is Love by the Beatles. Catchy song. Catchy sentiment. Catchy lie in its message.

As with all the best lies, the song’s partial truth carries its compelling message that love fixes any problem, heals any sickness, and restores any soul. But love from any source other than Love Personified, is counterfeit, and won’t stand up to the rigorous scrutiny of life’s trials.

Witness the close friendships that turn sour, the families that can’t stand one another, and the intimate relationships that fall apart. Common interests, common heredity, and a common bed aren’t enough in the long term. Uncountable issues can arise to blast apart the closest attachments, if the God who is love is left out.

How can we bring God’s love into our friendships, our families, and our marriages? First, know that God will never be a party to any relationship where He is denied first place. And that does not mean sharing a common religion, although that isn’t a bad idea.

That does mean if we love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, He will give us His love to pour out on those close to us, and yes, even on our enemies. According to Jesus, and He should know, we have only one way to know and love God the Father: And Jesus Himself is the Way to the Father, the absolute Truth, and the eternal Life.

No wonder so many relationships fail; most people will never accept God’s narrow way, ‘cause it’s too … narrow. Imagine that.

Cups--Full and Otherwise

We pray for blessings. We pray for God's presence. We pray for His will. But when He seems to ignore our pleas, what then?

Does God, our loving heavenly Father, deny His children such wonderful things when we ask? Why would He do that? Granting such petitions would make us more Christlike. Why would He make us constantly beg for them? Is God not home? Is His line busy?

Perhaps we should examine the vessel into which we expect Him to pour all these new blessings. Have we perchance already crammed it full of stuff? "Stuff" can include anything: entertainments, social attachments, possessions, property, wealth, power, spouse, children, religion.

Children and religion? What more important "stuff" is there than children and religion?

Let's examine our blessing receptacle more closely. It has a huge opening at the top, so God can pour into it great volumes of blessings. It has a massive body for containing God's blessings. And it has an outlet at the bottom.

"Why," you might ask, "would it have an outlet?" Once we cajole God into filling our cup with blessings, what would be the point of allowing them to pour out?

Let's examine the issue according to Newtonian physics: Two objects can't occupy the same space at the same time. So let's apply that physical law to the question at hand: We beg for more blessings, but we hoard what He's already given. Right! That makes complete ... non-sense. Would you have God exchange a bigger blessing container for the pint-size one you already have?

Oh, I fervently hope you saw that suggestion's fatal flaw. Ingratitude is another name for the sin of presumption, and that is exactly what we are doing when we demand of God more blessings than He's already poured out upon us.

So, if we're wrong in demanding more from God, why would he want us to pour out what we already have? Jesus gave us the following simple command in Matthew 10:7-9, "Freely ye have received, freely give." That explains the outlet in our blessings cup. God never intended for us to hoard our blessings as if they were our property. He never pours them into us, but through us, to fill others' cups, all the while allowing us to enjoy His freshest blessings.

If you want God's blessings—and who doesn't—empty yourself, bless others as God has blessed you. One Biblical principle you can take to the bank is, "We can't outgive God."

Why Do Brethren Fight?

Bill Crowder wrote today’s Our Daily Bread devotional, The Cost of Fighting. Though he briefly recounted war’s terrible cost, his title referred to the staggering cost of church infighting within the congregations and denominations of Christendom. The world observes so much backbiting and bickering among “Christians” that such discord has become cliche.

But the world’s disdain isn’t directed only at “carnal Christians.” Since alleged Christ followers claim God’s Holy Spirit indwelling, and represent our Savior in this mortal realm, Christian infighting amounts to attributing strife and hatred to God’s Spirit. Matthew 12:31-32 records Jesus’ words condemning the Jewish religious leaders who accused Him of working miracles by Satan’s power. Theologians and preachers over the centuries have speculated as to the meaning of “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit,” which was Jesus’ pronouncement against His accusers.

Could there be a more inflammatory slander against God than fighting one another in Jesus’ name? That is, in fact, what we “Christians” accomplish when we treat one another with anything but Christ’s love.

Need a refresher course in godly love? Study 1 Corinthians 13 once again, applying it to your relationship with your enemies. “Unrealistic,” you say? Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:43-48 say differently.

The Christian religion can be easily counterfeited; charlatans abound, who have mastered Christianese for fun and profit. The true evidence of God’s Holy Spirit infilling, however, defies imitation. That evidence is fruit born of His Holy Spirit, as listed in Galatians 5.

But we have allowed one more great tragedy to persist: Some of the world’s religious philosophies produce disciples who more closely resemble Christ than we who claim His name. Do we seriously believe we are exempt from Christ’s indictment of religious hypocrites? Wishful thinking won’t impress Judge Jesus on that fateful day.

Well, don’t just sit there. Fall on your face in repentance right now, so you won’t have to on your day in Christ’s court, because then, the indictment will stick...eternally.

Don’t be a moron … an oxymoron, that is.

I’m an official Old Guy. And speaking of “morons,” according to a young feller of somewhat questionable character whom I happened upon in my neighborhood the other day, I’m only a Fat Old Man who has nothing of relevance to say to him. Of course he didn’t use the word relevance during his tiring tirade. Not being one to make snap judgments, I only suspect he couldn’t define relevance on a bet.

Oh, he didn’t hurt my feelings, any more than a rattlesnake shaking his tail at me would. But he made a valid observation.

As a card-carrying Old Guy (the trusty, AARP card), I no longer suffer the world-shaking, hormone-stimulated temptations I once did. Don’t get me wrong; they’re still here, making me miserable at times, but the extreme, young-buck-urgency has passed. So another compulsion has replaced it: That being the pressing need to preach chastity at today’s young bucks. No, I wasn’t very good at chastity, but I can surely try and guilt-trip these terrible, sinful, whoremongers.

But I won’t. I had enough of that for an entire generation of young men, courtesy of my Catholic upbringing.

The good news is, I survived, more-or-less sane, though damaged for life. Now, that’s my only excuse for being the messed-up seeker I am today, so don’t knock it!

More Good News!

Turns out I never had to worry too much about Jesus shuttling me off to perdition for an impure thought or two. He’s good that way; it’s called, Grace. And He made infinite portions of it available at the foot of the cross where He died.

“Why,” you ask, “would any self-respecting God demean Himself to be born into a working-class family, only to ultimately be vilified, purjured, slandered, tortured, humiliated, and murdered in the worst way the Romans could invent?”

You didn’t ask that? Well you should. The bulk of Christendom can’t answer that essential question with the authority of one who has experienced God’s Amazing Grace. Jesus’ cross is where I found it, and so can you.

The World Taxi Company

When Jesus’ disciples asked how to get to the Father, He told them, and us, that He is the way, the truth, and the life. Sounds simple enough.

Trouble is, while we’re stuck in the world, finding the one, true way among all the distractions, detours and delays can be a problem. So most of us call on the World Taxi Company to take us where we want to go, but the taxi fare to that glorious place can be awfully expensive: Broken relationships. Guilt feelings. Trust issues. And for Catholics, fear of dying in our sins. That stuff can mess with even a sound mind. Imagine what it did to mine.

Unfortunately, the taxi driver(Name’s Beelzebub, or something foreign like that) won’t be stiffed. That old demon must’ve had a difficult childhood, ‘cause he’ll lie, cheat, steal, and murder to keep you away from that Old Rugged Cross. Thing is, despite his slick demeanor, he despises that cross with a red hot, grinding ferocity. And he despises you nearly as much, though you wouldn’t know it from that comely grin he keeps flashing in the rear-view mirror.

I hate to press such an ugly topic, but I gotta warn you about his favorite detours. They seem like world-class destinations, to hear him tell it.

The Scenic Route
Here’s the itinerary he planned for me. The particulars may vary somewhat for you, but you’ll get the idea.

First Stop: Religion. My family was Catholic, so a Catholic rearing was in store for me. And not just any Catholic rearing. I’m talking the parochial school, seriously guilt-tripped Catholic rearing. By the time I was confirmed, I knew I was all washed up, and not the clean kind of washed up. If I didn’t make Saturday-evening confession I couldn’t take communion(Holy Eucharist, for today’s Catholics) Sunday morning, which would tell everyone that I was a nasty, nasty boy. I actually thought I was unique in my urges, and my feeble, messy attempts at assuaging them.

I knew I was in deeper than I could ever swim out. That’s because I knew I was a condemned hypocrite … just as condemned as those Pharisees and Sadducees that Jesus cursed. And the Sacrament of Penance, instead of restoring my relationship with God, served only to deepen my depravity, because at some elemental level I knew I was trying to use the Church to manipulate God. Let’s see, I know there’s a Bible verse about messing with God … Oh yeah. Galatians 6:7-8 tells us, Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Guess I didn’t have the strength of will to play the sanctimonious, Catholic Game. So I gave up for a few years, until I met Christ for real, which is another story, and the best one of all in my life.

Second Stop: Possessions. Since I could never be accused of possessing significant wealth, I had to worship them on a more modest scale. Still, I put nearly as much effort into manipulating my stuff as I did at trying to manipulate God. After all, it made a truly convenient idol, with the added benefit of its being all mine … and the bank’s.

My success rate wasn’t improving. Neither was my temperament. Instead of owning my stuff, it owned me, and stuff can be a demanding master.

Third Stop: Power. Yes, Possessions and Power are Money’s paternal twins, but I listed them separately for clarity. Personally, I didn’t have Power’s steep admission fee. Not by a long shot. But lusted after it just the same. Even worse, I hated those who wielded power over me.

The problem with Power is, it can make all the other stops deeper, longer, and even more muddy. I’m talking quicksand muddy. One of mankind’s most predictable desperations is the panic to maintain power once it is attained. Digging into any state or national government, or even corporate, religious, or nonprofit organizations, will reveal more entrenched worms than a bait store.

And entrenchment isn’t half the problem. Add to that the abuse of power and things get ugly fast. Yet, true to the Human Condition(spelled s-i-n), even revolutionaries bent on reforming government soon fall into that same quicksand.

Fourth Stop: For the benefit of those who are a bit queasy about the “S” word, I’ll euphemise it to, “Biological Urges.” To clarify it even further, I’m referring to the three-letter “S” word. That infernal taxi driver had lots of help at this stop; my youthful hormones made me a most willing tourist.

Don’t get me wrong; these specific “Biological Urges” are perfectly natural. In fact, they are God’s gift to His creation as long as sating them doesn’t become mankind’s first priority. Or second, or third, etc. And because God had His most special plans in mind for us, He told us to satisfy those “Biological Urges” only within the context of marriage. What a God we have, to make a such a laborious process so much fun. And He didn’t have to.

As my devilish driver was showing me this appealing world system, however, he neglected to mention the last two planned stops.

Fifth Stop: Judgment. As Jesus explained His plan to those gathered around him, He described His final court date, as related in Matthew 25:31-45: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

34 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,

36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'

37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?

38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?

39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'

40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'

44 Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?'

45 Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'

No way do I intend to stand before the righteous Judge on His left. Have you ever noticed how, when you stand before someone, if you want to be on his right, you must move to your left? His right is your left, and his left is your right. Why do I belabor this obvious fact? Because, as with directional right and left, moral right and wrong are most easily confused. Often, what seems right and expedient at the moment is exactly wrong from God’s perspective.

Sixth Step: Perdition. As with all righteous judges, Jesus hates to sentence even the worst of offenders to their just deserts. He said as much, as recorded in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world--that’s you, me, and everyone who has ever inhabited Planet Earth--that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” I’m very much afraid that well-known Bible passage has lost much of its meaning to God’s church. And I doubt I can correct that tragedy within these lines, as better writers and smarter brethren than I have penned volumes trying to bring the message home to the church.

So, speaking of those who rejected Jesus’ offer of reconciliation with the Father, Judge Jesus continued His pronouncement: Matthew 25:46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Sinning Saints
Back to the above referenced Oxymoron.

But first, a message from our dictionary:

Noun: oxymoron

1: Conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence')

Get the picture? It’s like … well … sinning saints. You and I can’t be one and the other at the same time.

Endless non-oxy-morons--the alleged, human variety--cheerfully preach and teach that Christ-followers must  necessarily continue sinning, even after their sin-nature died on Christ’s cross. Worse, they actually seem to believe their garbage. To say it is unscriptural is an understatement of galactic proportions. In fact, the Bible says the exact opposite. I could list many Scripture passages to support my allegation, but I won’t bother, as this debate has raged within Christendom for centuries.

Besides being unscriptural, teachings that encourage Christ-followers to continue their worldly lifestyles violate my knowledge of who God is. For instance, all orthodox Christian sects accept the fact that believers are in Christ, as part of God. What logic would suggest that chronic sinners, and their sin, could ever be part of the holy God? “Holy” simply means “separated unto” God. If I enjoy the occasional tidbit of gossip or immerse my mind in porn, how am I separated unto God? To do that makes me an oxy-moron, with the emphasis on moron.

If the possibility that your ongoing sin--secret, or otherwise--might bring a reproach on your loving Savior doesn’t matter as much to you as doing your own, sinful, thing, I urge you to reexamine the faith you profess. When we “follow” Christ more to cop a plea into heaven, than to impact our world for Him, we are indeed morons, oxy, or otherwise.

A CFBA review of, The Mercy, by Beverly Lewis

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Mercy Bethany House (September 6, 2011) by Beverly Lewis

BUT FIRST, A WORD FROM OUR BLOGGER:
Tonight I'm operating under a distinct handicap; I'm attempting to compose this on my daughter's laptop instead of my trusty, home PC. That's because I'm sitting roughly a thousand miles from home. Yet, The Boss has told me that no missed homework will be tolerated when the blog tour happens to involve a book I've requested. So, here is my meager attempt.
        This review represents my first actual reading and enjoyment of Amish fiction; an attempt that I nearly terminated before giving the story a real chance. My problem with Amish fiction was my mistaken understanding that stories about the Plain People would necessarily be ... plain. Boy! was I wrong! The Mercy is a powerful story about real human needs, reduced to the least common denominator in a cloistered community under attack from, "The Real World." And I wouldn't have discovered how wrong I was, had I not rented the dramatic production of the trilogy's first installment, The Shunning.
        How are god-fearing folks who do their best to faithfully live according to the Scripture's injunctions, supposed to lovingly deal with outsiders' ways when injected into their very midst? There's only one way to find out: Read the book. It will charm you, but it won't bore you. I guarantee you will fall in love with these characters as the narrative invites you into an Amish community and accepts you as family, openly and humbly struggling with some of life's most perplexing issues, after they've spent most of their lives trying to avoid just that.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beverly's first venture into adult fiction is the best-selling trilogy, The Heritage of Lancaster County, including The Shunning, a suspenseful saga of Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman drawn to the modern world by secrets from her past. The book is loosely based on the author's maternal grandmother, Ada Ranck Buchwalter, who left her Old Order Mennonite upbringing to marry a Bible College student. One Amish-country newspaper claimed Beverly's work to be "a primer on Lancaster County folklore" and offers "an insider's view of Amish life."

Booksellers across the country, and around the world, have spread the word of Beverly's tender tales of Plain country life. A clerk in a Virginia bookstore wrote, "Beverly's books have a compelling freshness and spark. You just don't run across writing like that every day. I hope she'll keep writing stories about the Plain people for a long, long time."
A member of the National League of American Pen Women, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus of Evangel University, Lewis has written over 80 books for children, youth, and adults, many of them award-winning. She and her husband, David, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, and spending time with their family. They are also avid musicians and fiction "book worms."
ABOUT THE BOOK

Rose Kauffman pines for prodigal Nick Franco, the Bishop's foster son who left the Amish under a cloud of suspicion after his foster brother's death. His rebellion led to the "silencing" of their beloved Bishop. But is Nick really the rebel he appears to be? Rose's lingering feelings for her wayward friend refuse to fade, but she is frustrated that Nick won't return and make things right with the People. Nick avowed his love for Rose--but will he ever be willing to sacrifice modern life for her?
Meanwhile, Rose's older sister, Hen, is living in her parents' Dawdi Haus. Her estranged "English" husband, injured and helpless after a car accident, has reluctantly come to live with her and their young daughter during his recovery. Can their marriage recover, as well? Is there any possible middle ground between a woman reclaiming her old-fashioned Amish lifestyle and thoroughly modern man?
If you would like to read the first chapter of The Mercy, go HERE.
Watch the book trailer: