Book Review - Crafting a Rule of Life by Stephen A. Macchia

By Ian Acheson @achesonian

BLURB

Your personal rule of life is a holistic description of the Spirit-empowered rhythms and relationships that create, redeem, sustain and transform the life God invites you to humbly fulfill for Christ's glory. 

All of us have an unwritten personal rule of life. We wake at certain times, get ready for our days in particular ways, use our free time for assorted purposes and practice rhythms of work, hobbies, and worship. There is already a rule in place that you are following. Isnt it time to give up your unwritten rule and prayerfully write one that more closely matches the heartbeat of God? 

In this practical workbook Stephen A. Macchia looks to St. Benedict as a guide for discovering your own rule of life in community. It is a process that takes time and concerted effort; you must listen to God and discern what he wants you to be and do for his glory. But through the basic disciplines of Scripture, prayer and reflection in a small group context you will be lead forward in a journey toward Christlikeness. 

The invitation is transformational, so brace yourself for sweet release. By letting go and trusting God, you will receive the gift of life in its fullest and richest form.

MY REVIEW

To borrow another reviewers headline: "We all arrive somewhere ... very few of us get there on purpose." Macchia provides a compelling rationale and detailed workbook on how we can all draft our own 'rule of life' and be intentional in observing it.

Having studied the Spiritual Disciplines work of Foster, Willard and co, Macchia helps bridge the gap between how we can successfully orient our lives around intentional rhythms incorporating the disciplines so we can live a life that does indeed bring glory to the Lord. In much of modern ministry there's a lot of energy around the doing but action should only come out the essence of our heart that is being increasingly filled by more and more of the heartbeat of God. But we need to be intentional about how we draw close to God's heartbeat. Macchia's work helps provide a roadmap.

Providing examples from the Bible and a historical figure in each chapter, Macchia challenges us to contemplate and respond to a series of questions around each priority of our lives: relational, missional, vision, giftings and desires.

This is a challenging workbook and one needs to give yourself plenty of time to work through it. I suspect it will be something I refer back to regularly as we should with our 'rule of life' as we enter different seasons in life.

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard was recognised with the 2014 Selah Award for Speculative Fiction.You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook pageand Twitter

Book Review: Streams of Living Water by Richard J. Foster

By Ian Acheson @achesonian

BLURB

In this landmark work, Foster examines the "streams of living water" –– the six dimensions of faith and practice that define Christian tradition. He lifts up the enduring character of each tradition and shows how a variety of practices, from individual study and retreat to disciplines of service and community, are all essential elements of growth and maturity. Foster examines the unique contributions of each of these traditions and offers as examples the inspiring stories of faithful people whose lives defined each of these "streams."

REVIEW

This marvellous book starts with this Thomas a Kempis's quote:

"We must imitate Christ's life and his ways if we are to be truly enlightened and set free from the darkness of our own hearts. Let it be the most important thing we do, then, to reflect on the life of Jesus Christ."

A life of imitation.On developing an intimate relationship with Christ, Foster uses the analogy of the "rivers of living water" (John 7:38) to describe how we both live a life of imitation and how we are united together in community. He outlines six streams that define this paradigm of imitation:

1. The Contemplative Stream - or a Prayer-filled life
2. The Holiness Stream - or the virtuous life
3. The Charismatic Stream - the gifts of the Holy Spirit
4. The Social Justice Stream - a life of compassion
5. The Evangelical Stream - the Word-Centred life
6. The Incarnational Stream - Everyday Life with God

Foster outlines each stream and provides historical, Biblical and current examples of persons who display the individual streams so that we are able to get a glimpse of how each stream is lived out in practice. I particularly appreciated these illustrations as it provided much clarity around each stream.

Further, Foster provides a summary overview of the various critical turning points in the history of the church as well as a comprehensive list with one paragraph bios of people throughout history displaying the various streams.

This is a wonderful book and provides a practical and well researched outline on how to live a life of imitation of Jesus. It really should be compulsory reading for all believers.

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard was recognised with the 2014 Selah Award for Speculative Fiction.You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

Some of my favourite reads of 2017 - Non Fiction

Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

By Ian Acheson

It’s that time of year when we reflect on some of the books that had an impact on us. I’m first cab off the rank and since I read more non-fiction that fiction (60/40) I was delighted to volunteer for this category. Andrea (tomorrow) and Iola (Friday) will feature some of their favourite reads of the year, most of which I believe will be fiction with a strong romance thread, but there might be the odd writing craft book featured as well.

I read a variety of non-fiction books in the broadest sense of the category. Most I would describe as Christian self-development but memoir/biographies would also fit too. I also read a lot of Biblical commentary/analysis and devotional-style books.

So here goes in no particular order:

Unseen by Sara Hagerty - here’s a paragraph from my review, the full version of

which can be found on ACW:

“I've been reading Sara's words for a few years now and start each day with the adoration scriptures she curates for her peeps. Sara has this wonderful writing style that combines the everyday happenings of her world with the grace and love of Jesus that make this book captivating. Her words lead you to Jesus, to His wonder, love and glory. Sara invites us into her journey into the hiddenness of parenting 6 young kiddies, most of whom are adopted, where she finds Jesus in all she does and thinks. Sara's discovered how to "listen for His heart and His soft whisper in His Word" in the everyday unseen moments. She's found a friend. Who happens to be her Lord and Creator.”

BTW, it's rating as a 5/5 on Amazon from 185 reviews. 

Who I am in Christ (Neil T Anderson) – as some of you know I’m working on a project about intimacy with God and so I’ve read a number of books that address this topic. It’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve come to fully appreciate who I am in Christ and it has only served to spur me to want more of Jesus. Hence, the project.

Anderson’s book is a devotional of sorts; 36 four-page entries on a Scriptural truth about His love for us and our position in relation to Him. I read one per day and found there is such good content that I needed to read it again. And then again.

Goliath Must Fall (Louise Giglio) – I read this along with watching 6 videos via Study Gateway that provided additional depth to the key points of the book. Giglio uses the David and Goliath story to address 5 common “giants” that wage war against Christians: fear, rejection, comfort, anger and addiction. He introduces three twists, to use his description, to the Goliath story:

1. In the story of David and Goliath, we are NOT David; Jesus is David,
2. Our giant is already dead. Jesus has already won the victory for us, and
3. David's motivation for taking on Goliath was the fame of God. We too are invited to be similarly motivated by God's honour and glory.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, in particular, as a result of Giglio’s perspectives on David’s vulnerable self in tackling Goliath when we are prone to look at his heroic attributes rather than the Lord.

Invention (Justin Camp) – this is another in the “identity” sub-category. Camp, whose email devotional I’ve subscribed to for a few years now, has a ministry aimed at encouraging men to walk closer to the Lord. In “Invention” he starts by stating that humans are God’s greatest invention and as such He desires that we understand our identity and unique purpose in His Kingdom. Camp guides the reader through a practical Spirit-led self-evaluation to map out a blueprint for life. A blueprint that documents your talents, spiritual gifts, sense of calling and potential actions to take.

And Still She Laughs (Kate Merrick) – I first came to 'know' Kate Merrick when I stumbled across her husband, Britt, and their church in Carpinteria, California. Soon thereafter I became aware of their daughter, Daisy's illness. And so I joined the global army of prayers that stood on the watchtower for dear little Daisy and this gorgeous family.

After a few years of immense struggle, dearest Daisy passed away in the arms of her parents and brother, Isaiah. The family held a wonderful memorial service for their little girl which those of us from far way were able to watch.

And then the family went off the grid. For years.

This is a book about so much more than grief and loss. It's also about the discovery of leaning into the mystery of walking with the lover of our souls, Jesus. It's a book that often brought me to tears but also made me laugh and laugh. Death of a loved one, especially one so young, doesn't make any sense. And even though Kate doesn't know the answer to why Daisy passed away much too young, she knows the lover of her soul is always close, always tender, always loving and suffered as much as Kate did.

Read this book especially if you're struggling with grief and loss but even if you haven't you'll find this a wonderful book that opens one's eyes to the immensity of Jesus' love for each of us and through all of life's ups and downs He gives us hope and a reason to laugh.

BTW, the Kindle version is only $2.27 on Amazon at the time of posting.

Jesus Journey (Trent Sheppard) For much of my life I think I believed that Jesus while on earth was some "superman", a super-human because he is God. And so relating to him wasn't so straightforward because of his divinity. However, in recent years I've found my early beliefs to be flawed and have marvelled at Jesus' humanity. He isn't just our Saviour and Lord but also our example. He lived the human life that we live.

This marvellous book outlines how human Jesus really is and is an excellent resource to better understand his humanity. And, as Trent Sheppard outlines, it's important for us to really understand his humanity because it helps us to better understand him and ourselves.

Sheppard highlights the relational aspect of God by revealing the humanity of Jesus. And he is God who wants an intimate relationship with us. And as Jesus demonstrated in his own life, we can have an interconnected and intimate union with God just like he did.

The Furious Longing of God (Brennan Manning) This is a wonderful quick read. We are God's beloved ... and 'His desire is for us." These words can take a while for us to believe. Yes, we can understand them with our mind but it's when we choose to believe them with our heart that our perspective of God can change.

We don't typically get taught this message in church. And Manning only discovered it himself through great hardship and his battles with alcoholism. God loves us all, ragamuffin, or otherwise. Irrespective of what we've done, what we do and what we're going to do, His love for us doesn't change. It's constant and ... furious.

11 very short chapters including a story, one from his own life or someone else's, sprinkled with some great insights/soundbites from various mystics and other people Manning admired, Manning shares various attributes of God and His furious love for us.

Always Enough: God’s Miraculous Provision amongst the Poorest Children on Earth (Rolland and Heidi Baker)

I’m on a bit of a Heidi Baker-book-binge this year. This is one of three I’ve read or am reading. The Bakers outline the early days of their relationship, their awakening to Christ's incredible love for them and the start of their ministry work in Mozambique. Heidi asked for a nation to minister to and the Lord gave them Mozambique. Their story demonstrates that old chestnut that the Lord simply desires those who are available. Those who make themselves available will be used and through daily surrender will be used extraordinarily.

It is a powerfully convicting life the Bakers are living. The power they experience but also the battles, the personal illnesses and devastation that the enemy throws at them like hundred-year old floods that set the country back decades. But through all of it we see an immense love, the Bakers for Jesus and Jesus for the Bakers. I want what they have.

Not By Sight (Jon Bloom) – Jon’s the President of Desiring God, John Piper’s created ministry. I read everything Jon writes. In this book Bloom takes stories from the Bible and writes a short imaginative vignette of the behind-the-scenes of what we don't get to read or "see" from the Bible. Whether it's Levi's surprise to being approached by Jesus to come "follow me", Peter walking on water, or Zacchaeus knocking on the door of someone whom he "repaid" what he'd taxed them, to mention three of the 35 stories, Bloom gives the reader a "fly on the wall" experience of the story.

Each story is no more than three pages, all reflect a theme relevant to us today, and the learning is easy to discern but sufficiently powerful that the lesson lingers with you during your day.

I recommend this book as it's easy and so enjoyable to read but stirs your heart to go deeper with Jesus.

I’ll leave it there. I’ve probably read 50 others, most of which I could also include here. I’d love to hear about some of your favourite non-fiction reads.

Book Review: "Unseen" by Sara Hagerty

By Ian Acheson

BLURB

Every heart longs to be seen and understood. Yet most of our lives is unwitnessed. We spend our days working, driving, parenting. We sometimes spend whole seasons feeling unnoticed and unappreciated. So how do we find contentment when we feel so hidden?

In Unseen, Sara Hagerty suggests that this is exactly what God intended. He is the only One who truly knows us. He is the only One who understands the value of the unseen in our lives. When this truth seeps into our souls, we realize that only when we hide ourselves in God can we give ourselves to others in true freedom—and know the joy of a deeper relationship with the God who sees us.

Our culture applauds what we can produce, what we can show, what we can upload to social media. Only when we give all of ourselves to God—unedited, abandoned, apparently wasteful in its lack of productivity—can we live out who God created us to be. As Hagerty writes, “Maybe my seemingly unproductive, looking-up-at-Him life produces awe among the angels.”

Through an eloquent exploration of both personal and biblical story, Hagerty calls us to offer every unseen minute of our lives to God. God is in the secret places of our lives that no one else witnesses. But we’ve not been relegated to these places. We’ve been invited.

We may be “wasting” ourselves in a hidden corner today: The cubicle on the fourth floor. The hospital bedside of an elderly parent. The laundry room. But these are the places God uses to meet us with a radical love. These are the places that produce the kind of unhinged love in us that gives everything at His feet, whether or not anyone else ever proclaims our name, whether or not anyone else ever sees.

God’s invitation is not just for a season or a day. It is the question of our lives: “When no one else applauds you, when it makes no sense, when you see no results—will you waste your love on Me?”

MY REVIEW

This is one of those very special books that draw you closer to the Lord. As a result, you simply soak in every word as you read it slowly, pausing often to wonder and contemplate the glory of our King.

I've been reading Sara's words for a few years now and start each day with the adoration scriptures she curates for her peeps. Sara has this wonderful writing style that combines the everyday happenings of her world with the grace and love of Jesus that make this book captivating. Her words lead you to Jesus, to His wonder, love and glory. Sara invites us into her journey into the hiddenness of parenting 6 young kiddies, most of whom are adopted, where she finds Jesus in all she does and thinks. Sara's discovered how to "listen for His heart and His soft whisper in His Word" in the everyday unseen moments. She's found a friend. Who happens to be her Lord and Creator.

Sara weaves Mary of Bethany's testimony of a wasted life throughout her own journey. It's brilliantly done. Jesus told us Mary's story would be forever re-told and here we see it again used so powerfully to display what being a friend of Jesus looks like.

I found I had to read this slowly, a chapter at a time to savour the thoughts and reflect on my own relationship with Jesus. There were 2 particularly excellent chapters that I enjoyed immensely. Chapter 8 where Sara provides insights into the daily habits that have helped her friendship with Jesus and then the final chapter where she encourages us to experience such a friendship.

I received a PDF copy of the book from the author, well her husband in fact, with no expectation of a favourable review. However, I noticed my pre-ordered copy has now shipped and I'm expectantly waiting it so I can mark it up as I read through it for a second time.

This is one of those books that will be passed on and recommended and not just for the girls but also for the blokes who will benefit from reading it.

Book Review: "And Still She Laughs" by Kate Merrick

By Ian Acheson

The Blurb

Kate Merrick examines the Bible’s gritty stories of resilient women as well as her own experience losing a child—a journey followed by more than a million on prayfordaisy.com—to reveal the reality of surprising joy and deep hope even in the midst of heartache.

Is it possible live fully—even joyfully—in the middle of overwhelming pain?

In the excruciating aftermath of her young daughter’s death from cancer, Kate Merrick struggled to find a way to live. Not just to survive or go through the motions, but to live fully. Faithfully. With real joy amid inevitable tears.

To discover how, Kate delved into the stories in the Bible of real women who suffered deeply and emerged somehow joyful. How did Sarah, after twenty-five years of achingly empty arms, learn to laugh without bitterness? How did Bathsheba, defiled by the king who then had her husband killed, come to walk in strength and dignity, to smile without fear of the future? In her encounters with these heroines of the faith, Kate discovered how to have contentment—and even joy—whatever the circumstances. 

By turns heartbreaking and humorous, And Still She Laughs reveals the secret to finding hope in the midst of devastation. In the end, no matter what hardships we face, we can smile, cry, and come away full—laughing without fear and eagerly looking for what is to come.

My Review

I first came to know of Kate Merrick when I stumbled across her husband, Britt, and their church in Carpinteria, California about 8 years ago. Soon thereafter I became aware of their daughter, Daisy's, illness. And so I joined the global army of prayers that stood on the watchtower for dear little Daisy and this gorgeous family.

After a few years of immense struggle, dearest Daisy passed away in the arms of her parents and brother, Isaiah. The family held a wonderful memorial service for their little girl, which those of us from far way were able to watch.

And then the family went off the grid. For years.

They bunkered down in their grief and loss. I was one of those who from far away wondered from time to time how they were doing.

Until February this year. I was watching IF Gathering annual event and lo-and-behold Britt and Kate step onto the stage and both speak. Britt ministers in the Word (golly gosh can this man preach!) and Kate shared as only she can. And then she mentioned this little book she'd written that was coming out in a few weeks.

It's a wonderful book. As another reviewer states so eloquently: "She (Kate) writes from a depth of understanding grief and from an inspiring place of understanding how to grieve but still live life fully and with joy."

Daisy's presence is threaded throughout every page ... the first few chapters are intense as we read how grief knocked Kate down. But ever so slowly the Lord in all His tenderness lifted this wonderful lady back on her feet. Through His Words and gentle touch.

Kate shares the stories of 3 great women of the Bible who also suffered much: Sarah, Abraham's wife, Bathsheba and Mary, mother of Jesus. Kate's retelling of their stories brings them alive in a way I'd never experienced. Especially, Mary. Chapter 6 is a very powerful chapter. Mary, this teenager, who had everything to lose, says 'Yes" to Gabriel, when he informs her she is to birth the Messiah. How she must have suffered. Her family, her betrothed, her community would have all scorned her.

But she still said: "Yes"

I want her faith.

This is a book about so much more than grief and loss. It's also about the discovery of leaning into the mystery of walking with the lover of our souls, Jesus. It's a book that often brought me to tears but also made me laugh and laugh. Death of a loved one, especially one so young, doesn't make any sense. And even though Kate doesn't know the answer to why Daisy passed away much too young, she knows the lover of her soul is always close, always tender, always loving and suffered as much as Kate did.

Read this book especially if you're struggling with grief and loss but even if you aren't you'll find this a wonderful book that opens one's eyes to the immensity of Jesus' love for each of us and through all of life's ups and downs He gives us hope and a reason to laugh.

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Angelguard was recognised with the 2014 Selah Award for Speculative Fiction.You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

Book Review: The Soul of a Pilgrim by Christine Valters Paintner

Blurb

The renowned author of eight books and abbess of the online retreat center Abbey of the Arts, Christine Valters Paintner takes readers on a new kind of pilgrimage: an inner journey to discover the heart of God. Eight stages of the pilgrim's way--from hearing the call to coming home--are accompanied by scripture stories of great biblical journeys and the author's unique and creative practices of prayer, writing, and photography.

As she did in The Artist's Rule and Eyes of the Heart, Christine Valters Paintner once again helps readers travel to the frontiers of their souls to discover the hidden presence of God. In The Soul of a Pilgrim, Paintner identifies eight stages of the pilgrim's way and shows how to follow these steps to make an intentional, transformative journey to the reader's inner "wild edges." Each phase of the exploration requires a distinct practice such as packing lightly, being uncomfortable, or embracing the unknown. Paintner shows how to cultivate attentiveness to the divine through deep listening, patience, and opening oneself to the gifts that arise in the midst of discomfort.

Each of the eight chapters offers reflections on the themes, a scripture story, an invitation to the practice of lectio divina, and a creative exploration through photography and writing.

My take

I came to this book seeking to discover the "meaning" behind a pilgrimage. Did I need to travel on a physical journey in seeking to find whatever it was I'm seeking or simply to experience one each day with Jesus? Call it a yearning, for something more. To experience more of God, to realise a life fully immersed in surrender to Him. This book helped bring clarity in such a gentle way.

Christine Valters Paintner mirrors her spiritual pilgrimage with the physical one that she and her husband have experienced in recent years, firstly in moving from the US to Austria and then onto their current abode in Galway, Ireland.

This is one of those books that lingers in you. In a really good way. I borrow this next paragraph from another reviewer (unfortunately they go by the anonymous title of "Amazon Customer") as she wrote it so well:

"The book describes eight practices to help the pilgrim on the road. Don’t worry, these are not eight ‘disciplines’ designed to break the back of those with a less than iron will - think of ‘attitudes’ that need to be nurtured and grown. We don’t need to come to this book already ‘perfected’. Rather we come as learners, ready to traverse the spiral as many times as it takes."

Funny that, a visiting pastor described the other day our spiritual walks as not being linear rather in "loops" which supports one of Paintner's concluding remarks: "We sometimes think of the journey as a linear path to travel, when in reality we travel more in circles and spirals."

Paintner grabs inspiration from the desert monks who left civilisation behind to experience an "unhindered" perspective of God. "They yearned for an experience of God beyond the boundaries of what they had known. They let this desire lead them to wild edges." This is my desire and working through this book has helped me realise the importance of "dive[ing] into the waters of life to see where the current carries us."

For too long I've held back; by fear, uncertainty and anxiety. But Paintner describes similar concerns throughout her pilgrimage. But it's usually the scariest decisions we make that are the most fulfilling especially when we feel completely ill-equipped. And that's the point: to feel ill-equipped. Because that makes us depend on our Creator who so desires to actively walk with us and equip us with whatever we require to discover Him in all His fullness.

This book was written after Paintner had run some workshops that aided in the formulation of her premise. Further, her husband John contributes some reflections on well known Biblical passages in each chapter. We then get two practical exercises to engage in. The first, Lectio Divina using the passage John references and we're encouraged to join the scene and write our personal experience (Midrash) of it. Some examples taken from the workshops are provided which I found enlightening. The second practice is creative exploration using photography by venturing out on a contemplative walk each chapter using the Biblical story as inspiration to capture images reminiscent of that story.

So, no, I don't need to leave home even though one would be fun. Who doesn't love to travel? But I can take the same pilgrimage every day as I dive into it, hand-in-hand, with Jesus exploring all there is available and learning the power of love in all my interactions.

Highly recommended.

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Angelguard was recognised with the 2014 Selah Award for Speculative Fiction.You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

Some of my favourite 2016 Reads: Part 2 - Non-fiction

It’s a time for 2016 favourite reads from some of the ACW gang. I shared my fiction ones two weeks ago and now share my non-fiction.

I read more non-fiction. Hey, I’m a “learner” in every strengths profile I’ve completed so reading and/or studying non-fiction works fills my learning bucket. Oh, it’s probably also why I’m happy to be preached to when reading fiction (so long as it gels with the story) The ratio of non-fiction to fiction is roughly 60:40. Fiction has actually grown in the last couple of years through judging and the large number of novellas that are now available.

Enough of the pre-amble let’s get to the list and in no particular order. However, in saying that two books have had a significant impact on me and I’ll lead with those.

The Forgotten Way (Ted Dekker) – Ted and I are of a similar age and interestingly we’ve both been on a journey these past few years going deeper with the Lord. I believe most of us get to a point in our faith walk where we ask the question: “Is this all there is?” only to conclude it’s not and we want more. More of God. More of Jesus. More of the Holy Spirit.

The Forgotten Way is a series of 21 devotions where Ted explores his journey on discovering the “more.” I’ve now read it 7 times plus shared it with about ten people so think it’s pretty significant.

The Broken Way (Ann Voskamp) – I read most things Ann writes. I just love Ann’s heart for Jesus. Ann’s humility, her understanding of the Word and her wholehearted devotion to Jesus is such a good example for all of us. The Broken Way is a call to bring all of ourselves to Jesus, yes, even our brokenness, our stuff, whatever that may be. He came to bind the brokenhearted, which we all are. We are all broken. Sin does that. In bringing all of ourselves to Jesus we establish true intimacy with Him enabling us to discover who He made us to be.

I’ll be brief on the rest otherwise we’ll be here till January with this post. My reviews are linked and a couple of them I’ve already featured during the year.

Awe (Paul Tripp) – we’re created for awe but too often we set our dials towards things of the world rather than to the One who created us. Excellent. Excellent.

Moving Mountains (John Eldredge) – I too read everything John writes. This one is on prayer. I’ve read a lot of books on prayer. I enjoy praying and appreciate learning what others think about it. This is very practical and will get you praying more and help develop greater intimacy with Jesus. And that’s what I look for in a good book on prayer.

Who I am in Christ (Neil T. Anderson) – there are a lot of books out there on “identity in Christ”, “who I am” and so forth. This is a 36 “chapter” devotional style book that looks at identity from 3 angles: “Our Acceptance in Christ, our security in Christ and Our Significance in Christ.”

Really good stuff. I’ve read it a couple of times now and will dive in again soon I expect.

Two other quick mentions, both of which I’ve featured here on ACW:

The Story of With (Allen Arnold)

Idols of the Heart (Elyse M. Fitzpatrick)

If you’re a non-fiction reader I’d love to know of any that particularly grabbed you this past year.

Wishing all of my ACW friends an especially blessed Christmas and New Year. And here’s to a great year of reading in 2017!

Grace and peace,

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Northern Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Angelguard was the recipient of the 2013 Selah Award for Best Speculative Fiction. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter