Book Review: Grace In Strange Disguise by Christine Dillon

Review by Natalie McNee @NatalieMcNee

Physiotherapist Esther Macdonald is living the Australian dream, and it doesn’t surprise her.

After all, her father has always said, “Follow Jesus and be blessed.” But at twenty-eight, her world shatters. Everyone assures her God will come through for her, but what happens when he doesn’t? Has she offended God? Is her faith too small? So many conflicting explanations.

Will finding the truth cost her the people closest to her heart?

What a delightful surprise this book by Christine Dillon has been. I was hooked with the first opening sentence; “You have cancer.” Dillon nailed the characters. The main character Esther is relatable in both her diagnosis and the anguish she endured when she realised her father believed her cancer and subsequent non-healing was due to a lack of faith and unconfessed sin in her life. I fist-pumped the air that an author was so brave to knock this false teaching that is still prevalently taught in churches today.

I was also glad that Dillon highlighted how God wants a relationship with us and not a religious routine. The use of “storytelling” the Bible was new to me and Dillon shared some teachings and insights that made me question the interpretation of certain scripture verses. There are some hidden gems in the Bible passages she uses which prompted me to share and discuss them with my husband too.

The only slight disappointment I had was when I reached the ending–I didn’t want it to end. At the time I didn’t realise it was part of a trilogy and I thought the ending should have been rewritten but once I read that Dillon was writing the next installment I sighed with relief that the story will continue.

I recommend this book to all Christians, those following Jesus and to those who have been hurt by churches and especially to those who question God with, “Why me?” This story of courage, faith, and God’s grace will change your perspective on what it means to be a Christian and encourage you to have an intimate relationship with your Father.

*I received a free copy of this book and the opinion expressed is solely mine.

About Natalie McNee

Natalie McNee is a mother of a tween and a toddler, so she gets the best of both crazy worlds. Her only escape is to hide out in the study and use her kids’ antics as inspiration in creating exciting children’s books. She is a hybrid children’s book author and an international best-selling ghostwriter of Christian non-fiction books.

Through her publishing company, she is helping authors to publish their passion projects and give a voice to everyday people who have extraordinary stories to share.

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DEVOTION: Be Still.

By Leila Halawe

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10

Have you ever found yourself frantically rushing around trying to get yourself organised when your ears prick up and you think you can hear someone calling you? You slow your movements down, eventually coming to a complete stop and try to listen as hard as you can. I was in this very situation last night as I went to meet a friend of mine for dinner. She told me to park my car in the parking garage under her unit block and told me she would meet me downstairs at the elevator and walk me up. After parking my car, as I started making my way to the lift, I thought I could hear my name being called. I kept walking, but again, I heard this little voice calling my name, so I eventually stopped walking and just stood where I was, looking around to work out if there really was someone calling me. As I stood there for a few seconds, the voice got louder and I realised that it was my friend walking through the garage, calling out my name trying to work out where I was. As it turned out, she was waiting for me at the lift and when I didn't get there as soon as I should have, she realised that I was heading towards the wrong lift and went looking for me. 

My walk with God feels like that sometimes. When I find myself a little disconnected from God, or find myself feeling a little independent, I start making my own plans and walking them out. And without fail, I start to hear my name being called in some way, shape or form. It generally isn't an audible voice, more of a stirring, or a restlessness within that something isn't right that makes me slow down a little to work out what it is and where it's coming from. It eventually brings me to a complete standstill and when I finally stop, I start to hear the gentle whisper of God. 

We read in Proverbs 16:9 that a 'man's heart makes his way, but the Lord directs his steps.' Isn't that typical of us? I don't know about you, but there have been many times, too many to count, where God has had to step in and redirect my steps to align with His plans and purposes. There has been many a time when I haven't stopped long enough to listen to God's gentle whisper telling me which way I should go, instead barrelling on ahead and hitting multiple roadblocks along the way. We can often think that we know what's best, or what we need, but the truth is that we don't know best. 

Because only God knows best. 

God knows what we need. 

God knows when we need it.

God knows how He will provide it.

We can often forget that God created us and already knows the future. He has the victory already, which means that we have the victory through Jesus, so following His lead is the wisest thing to do. We just need to stop and be still. 

Seek His face.

Seek His heart. 

Seek His voice. 

When we put our faith and trust in Him, we won't be let down. In fact, when we put our trust in Him, we can be sure that we will be guided down the right road. That doesn't mean that the path He leads us on will be painless, or trouble free, or full of constant joy and happiness. No, we will all face those things, sometimes more than once and sometimes for long seasons, but when we walk the path He sets us for us, we can be guaranteed that He will go before us and sustain us. We can go the extra mile knowing that He will be there to lift us up. Knowing he will provide for us. Knowing he will be our comfort when the road is too hard to walk.

We just need to be still and know that He is God. Not was, not will be, IS. No matter what, He is God. 

As we go about our day today, can I challenge us to stop and be still before Him, if only for 5 minutes. Sit at His feet and exalt Him. Praise Him. Worship Him. And let Him be everything He promised you he will be. 

Leila (Lays) Halawe is a Sydney based coffee loving nonfiction writer and blogger. She has published a short devotional, Love By Devotion, and shares her views on life and faith via her blog page Looking In . You can connect with her via Facebook at Leila Halawe Author  and via Twitter at Leila Halawe.

Please, see me!

In a week's time will be Senior's week in Australia. Various activities are planned to celebrate this time. For 18 years as part of my ministry I was involved with a retirement village and nursing home. From out of that came a devotional book 'Dynamic Ageing' (available in Christian book shops or from me).

The following poem embodies a little of what I learnt.

What do you see,

When you look at me

Confined though I be

Through age and frailty?

 Look not on my decrepit form                                       

Pity not my senility

Peer beneath my wrinkled brow

Discover my true identity.

A passer-by sees but ‘the outer’

Unaware of the real ‘inner’.

Hidden within are many stories

Of love, loss, faith and glory

Friendships, family, my history

All which moulded me

Though they, you will not see,

Made me, me!

                To see only my frailty

                Cheapens my humanity.

                Un-mendable,

                I’m expendable,

Come, let me share my history,

Listen as I share my journey, 
Those difficult turbulent years

Of upheaval, triumph, joys, tears

Forgotten now in easier years.

We had community, we belonged

Life was tough, friendships strong,

Things for which I do so long.

                Now our importunity 

                Is your opportunity

                To give us dignity

                By compassion’s sincerity

You, like I, must walk from youth to age

Each step you’ll write upon life’s page,

Face it with faith in the God who cares.

Through His word, in times of despair

Find wisdom and hope for you to endure

And His grace to help you, to Him, be true.

Then, when our life’s race and battles end

We’ll be received by our Lord as His friend.

Copyright Ray Hawkins October 2017.
Ray is author of 8 themed devotionals. His latest 'The Warrior Lord's Triumph has just been released.
Blog site. http://rayhawkinsauthor.blodspot.com.au

Book Review - The Spirituality of Jane Austen, by Paula Hollingsworth

Best known for her novels Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Emma, published anonymously, Jane Austen commented, critiqued, and illuminated the life of the British gentry at the end of the 18th century. But did Jane’s writings highlight anything about her own spirituality?  In this celebratory book, Paula Hollingsworth explores Jane Austen's gentle but strong faith and the effect it had both on her life and her writing.

MY THOUGHTS:
This book delves into the personal faith of one of the world's most beloved British novelists, drawing from her own correspondence and personal writing. It also examines the deeper mindsets and attitudes of characters in her novels for clues of what their creator really felt.

Jane's own faith is an interesting question, considering her cheeky portrayal of clergymen in her novels, such as the pompous, servile Mr Collins, and the snobby, social climbing Mr Elton. We can't help wondering whether they were proof that she deplored the Christian faith, or if she simply considered that they represented a different brand of Christianity to hers.

Jane Austen's fondness for reading printed sermons, and some of her own written prayers indicate that she was a devout believer in her own quiet way. So do the guiding principles of her main characters. For example, I love the idea that the retiring Fanny Price actually serves the role of Old Testament prophet or seer in the novel 'Mansfield Park.'

It's revealed in these pages that Jane didn't appreciate the evangelical movement or the behaviour of its spearheads, such as John and Charles Wesley. It seems she objected to their emphasis on dramatic conversion experiences, and the sense of superiority it seemed to suggest. For Jane Austen, matters of faith should be strictly between the individual and God. She didn't think highly of the evangelical novelists of her day. In her opinion the Christianity they presented in their stories was too showy and in-your-face, although she used less modern expressions. It's all very interesting, and makes me pretty sure that if she'd been born in our time, she'd probably choose to write for the secular market, just as she did in her own.

I like the glimpse of the popular novels of her Regency time period. They tended to be either Gothic or Romantic Sentimental, neither of which was approved reading for young ladies. They were regarded as frivolous and even dangerous, but the Reverend George Austen gave his daughters uncensored access to his personal library of over 500 volumes, which did include recent hyped-up best sellers.

These days, Austen fans tend to think of him as a good dad, but back then, the majority might have thought differently. I couldn't help comparing his situation to a current question I've seen often going around, of whether conscientious parents should put filters on their kids' internet, or even forbid it altogether. I've come across parents who do either one or the other, although we never did either in our household. It makes me think we were following in the footsteps of the Austens. I love how they were self-proclaimed, unashamed novel readers, in their day and age. Jane has her 'Northanger Abbey' hero Henry Tilney declare, 'The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel must be intolerably stupid.'

Altogether, if you don't mind a fair bit of her plots being re-told, this is a good read with some interesting detail for any fan. Not only does it give another good glimpse into Jane Austen's family life, but gets us reconsidering our own attitudes alongside those of Jane and her family.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lion Hudson for my review copy.

Paula Vince is a South Australian author of contemporary, inspirational fiction. She lives in the beautiful Adelaide Hills, with its four distinct seasons, and loves to use her environment as settings for her stories. Her novel, 'Picking up the Pieces' won the religious fiction section of the International Book Awards in 2011, and 'Best Forgotten' was winner of the CALEB prize the same year. She is also one of the four authors of 'The Greenfield Legacy', Australia's first and only collaborated Christian novel. Her most recent novel, 'Imogen's Chance' was published April 2014. For more of Paula's reflections, you may like to visit her book review blog, The Vince Review.

Book Review: Saving Grace by Jennifer Westall

Through years of poverty, racial tension, and legal battles, Ruby Graves has suffered the worst the Great Depression could throw at her. But an enemy she couldn’t possibly imagine awaits just over the horizon. After she and her brother, Henry, escape to the tropical paradise of the Philippine Islands, Ruby volunteers as a nurse at a medical clinic in Manila. Although surrounded by beauty, Ruby can’t shake her guilt over leaving Matthew behind, even if it was for his own good. And even worse, God hasn’t spoken to her since the fateful day at Cold Spring.

Meanwhile, Matthew Doyle arrives in the Philippines with the Corps of Engineers, determined to live the life of faith that Ruby would have wanted for him. Despite the rumors of impending war, he’s drawn to the islands’ promise of adventure, and, like many of his fellow soldiers, believes the superior forces of the United States would quickly thwart any attack from Japan. But everything changes on the morning of December 8, 1941.

As the Japanese close in on American forces in the Philippines, Ruby, Matthew and Henry are swept onto the jungle peninsula of Bataan in a desperate attempt to hold out for reinforcements. New enemies emerge, testing their strength beyond anything they could have ever thought possible. Can Ruby and Matthew find their way back to each other, and survive the onslaught of the Japanese assault? 

Review

After having read and enjoyed the two novels preceding this one; Healing Ruby and Breaking Matthew, I was really looking forward to this third story, hopeful of a happy ending for this pair. While I was disappointed to find this was not the end of their story at all, and I now have to wait for another installment, I was very engaged and enthralled by this story. 

Saving Grace is set in the Philippines, so a completely different setting to the first two, which are set in the southern states of USA. While there were some interesting historical aspects in the first two about life in that part of the world, especially around racial issues, this third story takes a deeply moving, tragic and honest journey into WW11. I think Westall has done her research well and has not held back from describing the ravages and terror of war. So this is not a light read. 

Westall's writing is unashamedly Christian. Ruby and Matthew's faith journeys are central to the story, and I found this very real and challenging, more so in this third novel than in the first. Of course, the romance between these two takes many twists and turns and is threatened, not only by the dangers they face, but by their personal inner struggles. As a reader there are times of frustration and annoyance with the path of their love story, but they are both great characters, both heroes in their own right, and believable. There are plenty of villains in the story too, so it's got a good balanced. 

I now look forward to the next installment of this couple's story. As Saving Grace ends in Melbourne, Australia, the next book will have particular appeal. Although I've enjoyed all of these stories, I'm hoping the next will include the happy ending I'm sure all readers would like Ruby and Matthew to have. I'm not used to reading series which take such small chunks of characters' lives and carry it through three or four books, so this is new for me. 

I'd recommend Westall's novels to those who are looking for a thoroughly faith centred, historically focussed, gripping romance. 

Carol 

Carol writes historical novels based on her family ancestry in Australia from the First Fleet. They include the Turning the Tide series; Mary’s Guardian, Charlotte’s Angel, Tangled Secrets and Truly Free. Two of her earlier novels, Suzannah’s Gold and Rebecca’s Dream, were re-released by EBP.  Next of Kin was released in 2015 by Rhiza Press and the sequel, Beyond the Fight, was released 2016. You can see more about Carol and her novels on her website, her Amazon author page or FB author page.

www.carolpreston.com.au

www.amazon.com/author/carolpreston

www.facebook.com/writingtoreach

Remembering God

I don't know about you but there are times when my faith walk has been a little dry. I don't want it to be, but I have had times, sometimes seasons, where I felt spiritually dry and in those times I find myself losing my awe and wonder towards God. If you have been there, you know that not only can it be a frustrating time but also a time when your faith can really start to wane and become lukewarm. Your relationship with Christ becomes nothing more than going through the motions and if we are not careful, those dry seasons become more frequent, eventually leading to a disconnection from God. 

Image credit: armyofcompassion.com

I recently found myself in the early stages of one of the dry seasons. I had been doing so much travel for work (which I love, by the way) that I found myself giving up my time with God in the mornings so I could catch a couple of hours of extra sleep. The days were long and intense that by the time I got back to my hotel, all I wanted was a meal and a coffee and a non-fiction novel to zone out (preferably Christian romance but that's just me.) I started to feel restlessness stirring but in my tired state, I didn't connect the dots enough to know that I needed some time with God to refresh. It was mid trip in Orlando that I was introduced to an exercise during my work training that not only helped me reconnect, but it bought back my awe and wonder.


One morning we were given a sheet of paper that had the letter of each alphabet listed with three lines under it and we were asked to list down all the characteristics of God against the alphabetical letter. Who is God? How do we define His character? His heart? We were told we had three minutes and we had to write the characteristics of God and who He was to us as quickly as possible. Once we had written them down, we all stood for combined worship and during worship we were asked to call out the names and characteristics in alphabetical order. It was slow to start, but then everyone got into it:


Awesome.
Advocate.
Beautiful.
Beloved.
Counselor.
Courage.
Champion.
Deliverer.
Defender.
Everlasting.
Everything.
Freedom. 
First.
Guide. 
Heartbeat.


The list went on and on. As we stood there, about 25 of us in total, reading out the characteristics of God as we saw and felt them, tears streamed down my face. As I listened to people around me sharing how they saw God, and as I called out some of my own words, my heart beat wildly in my chest because I reminded of who He is. The words spoken out were a glimpse of the One who made me and loves me. I was reminded that He is everything and that He is more than enough, something I had unfortunately lost sight of for a little while because I had been so focused on myself. As we stood and fixed our eyes on the Cross, I was reminded that it is about Him and only Him. It reminded me that He is my beloved. My advocate. My freedom.


We are often encouraged to remember the good things that God has done, but how often do we stop and remember who God actually is? How often do we stop and just sit in awe and wonder at who He is, not what He has done? It reminded me of all the things that He was and how much He loved me how much He did, and continues to do for me. It reminded me that the heart of God is one that leans towards me and the character of God is one of such integrity and righteousness and faithfulness that He couldn't possibly let me down, no matter how much the enemy tried to convince me otherwise. Most importantly it reminded me to shift my focus back to where is should be; on Jesus. 

Since that day, my worship and my time with God has shifted and I am focusing more on Him. On the days when I am off to a slow start, I recite some of those words and remind myself that He who was Awesome and Faithful and Loving on that January morning in Orlando is still just as faithful an d awesome and loving. On the days when my heart is a little heavy and my mind is roaming, I make myself go back to the heart of worship and reflect on the awesomeness and wonder of God. So if you are struggling to get going today, can I encourage you to spend some time writing down all the characteristics of God and reading them out aloud to yourself, because we all need a little reminder sometimes.

Leila (Lays) Halawe is a Sydney based coffee loving nonfiction writer and blogger. She has published a short devotional, Love By Devotion, and shares her views on life and faith via her blog page Looking In. You can connect with her via Facebook at Leila Halawe Author and via Twitter at Leila Halawe.

Book Review: Amazing Grace, by Elaine Fraser

Review by Andrea Grigg.

Grace Bradley is in a pickle. A big one. Confused and uncertain, she’s held onto a personal secret for six years, and she needs to tell someone. But who can she trust?

When she chooses to unload on her best friend, she doesn’t get the response she’d hoped for. Things get even worse when her secret gets out and goes viral, because now she has to face her family, in particular, her mother. They used to be close but Grace is pretty sure her secret isn’t going to help bridge the gap in their relationship. Or will it? And what about all Grace’s questions to do with God? How will she find the answers to those?

Amazing Grace is a thought-provoking and insightful novel about a young girl who is unsure of her sexuality and her faith. Consequently, it tackles the controversial subject of being gay and the ramifications within Christianity. (How can God love me? Will Christians accept me? Will I have any friends?)

One issue the story raises is whether we can see someone as a whole person, rather than be blindsided by their sexual orientation. I hope we can.

There are kids out there who feel exactly the same way as Grace – confused, anxious and fearful – and that is why this book needed to be written. Amazing Grace brilliantly captures the struggle of a young woman trying to work out who she is, what she feels, and whether or not God can love her.

In reading the back matter, it’s clear Elaine has a compassionate heart. She hasn’t written Amazing Grace lightly, or just to stir things up, but has come from a place of love. I’m hoping mothers, aunts, sisters and cousins will be brave enough to give this book to their struggling relative and be there for them when they’re ready to talk.

I loved how this book made me think, put me in Grace’s shoes, and caused me to pray. I hope it does the same for many. Elaine Fraser, I applaud you.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Andrea Grigg is the author of three contemporary Christian romances. You can find her on Amazon.com.au or Amazon.com. You can also connect with her on her Facebook author page, on Twitter, or simply send her an email, at andreagrigg@live.com