Fiction. Christopher Cook vividly paints a portrait of small town America in his humorous and often irreverent collection of ten short stories, "Screen Door Jesus". The title story considers the chaos that ensues in Bethlehem, Texas when an image of Jesus appears on Mother Harper's screen door. "And I Beheld Another Beast" features Vernalynn threatening to shoot down a television antenna she insists is sinful. In "Serpent", a woman transforms into a snake for committing a mysterious sin.
Jesus Told Us Where to Find Him. Just Look for an Outcast. His first followers knew that Jesus could be found with the fatherless, the widows, and the hungry and homeless. He said that he himself was a stranger, and commended those who welcomed him. If he really meant these things, what would happen if you opened your door to every person who came with a need? Jonathan and Leah Wilson-Hartgrove decided to find out. The author and his wife moved to the Walltown neighborhood in Durham, North Carolina, where they have been answering the door to anyone who knocks. When they began, they had little idea what might happen, but they counted on God to show up. In Strangers at My Door, Wilson-Hartgrove tells of risks and occasional disappointments. But far more often there is joy, surprise, and excitement as strangers become friends, mentors, and helpers. Immerse yourself in these inspiring, eye-opening accounts of people who arrive with real needs, but ask only for an invitation to come in. You will never view Jesus and the people he cares about the same way again.
Stories Seen Through Screen Doors The Roots and Branches of Black Southern Experience A truth seldom recognized is that there are almost as many African American southern experiences as there are states and cities in the South. Our lives as southern black people intersect, but they also diverge into unique patterns of learning, growth, and discovery. The stories contained in this collection illustrate some of those similarities as well as the differences. Wanda Macon shares with millions of African Americans a southern soil that is rich in family, church, and racial repression, but she also highlights the spiritedness of a tomboyish young girl, too smart for her preschool age, formed by a variety of occurrences in her small southern community. "The Courts," a horseshoe shaped neighborhood and home to twenty-three families located in fictional Friarsdale, Mississippi, is the site for experience, memory, reflection, and locating one's self in the history of the geography as well as the history of family and community. By Trudier Harris, University Distinguished Research Professor Department of English, The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Since the dawn of film in the 1890s, religious themes and biblical subjects have been a staple of cinema. One of the earliest focuses of screen presentations was the Bible, especially the New Testament and the Gospels. In Screen Jesus: Portrayals of Christ in Television and Film, Peter Malone takes a close look at films in which Jesus is depicted. From silent renditions of The Passion Play to 21st-century blockbusters like The Passion of the Christ, Malone examines how the history of Jesus films reflects the changes in artistic styles and experiments in cinematic forms for more than a century. In addition to providing a historical overview of the Jesus films, this book also reveals the changes in piety and in theological understandings of the humanity and divinity of Jesus over the decades. While most of the Jesus films come from the United States and the west, an increasing number of Jesus films come from other cultures, which are also included in this study. Fans and scholars interested in the history of religious cinema will find this an interesting read, as will students and teachers in cinema and religious studies, church pastors, parish groups, and youth ministry.
In the title story, Mrs. Rentería shouts, “David is mine!” as she and her neighbors gather about the dead but handsome young man found in the dry riverbed next to their homes in a Los Angeles barrio. “Since when is his name David?” someone asks, and soon everyone is arguing about the mysterious corpse’s name, throwing out suggestions: Luis, Roberto, Antonio, Henry, Enrique, Miguel, Roy, Rafael. Many of the pieces in this collection take place in a Los Angeles neighborhood that used to be called Frog Town, now known as Elysian Valley. Ron Arias reveals the lives of his Mexican-American community: there’s Eddie Vera, who goes from school yard enforcer to jail bird and finally commando fighting in Central America; a boy named Tom, who chews his nails so incessantly that it leads to painful jalapeño chili treatments, banishment from the neighborhood school and ultimately incarceration in a school for emotionally disturbed kids; and Luisa, a young girl who can’t resist an illicit visit to Don Noriega, an old man the kids call El Mago who is known as a curandero in their neighborhood. Most of the 14 stories included in this volume were originally published in journals that no longer exist, including El Grito: A Journal of Contemporary Mexican-American Thought, Caracol and Revista Chicano-Riqueña. The author of an important novel—The Road to Tamazunchale—published during the Chicano literary movement of the 1970s, Arias was one of the first to use magic realism and connect U.S. Hispanic literature to its more popular, Latin-American cousin. The Wetback and Other Stories finally gathers together and makes available the short fiction of a pioneer in Mexican-American literature. “I felt reading these wonderful stories that I was admitted to an adjacent neighborhood, a rich culture that is another world—call it Amexica—both mysterious and magical, that is persuasive through its tenderness. My hope is that Ron Arias continues to write short stories that tell us who we are.”—Paul Theroux "The Road to Tamazunchale is one of the first achieved works of Chicano consciousness and spirit."— Library Journal
A snowy night, a warm cabin, and a boy who hears the Christmas story for the first time?beginning with creation and ending with Jesus’ resurrection. Ruth Bell Graham’s timeless holiday story is a delightful read during the Advent season. In a magnificent blend of a contemporary setting with the history of God’s redeeming love, Ruth Bell Graham has created a wonderful and unique version of the Christmas story that shares the true meaning of the Christmas season. With exquisite illustrations by renowned artist Richard Jesse Watson, One Wintry Night is the perfect gift for the young and the young at heart. This classic Christmas storybook is A perfect holiday read-aloud with children ages 5 to 9; A retelling of the traditional Christmas story including biblical elements from the life of Jesus; A way to open conversation about why we needed a savior and the importance of Jesus’ birth; and A great stocking stuffer or gift for Christmas, Advent, or other holidays. Gather around your loved ones to share this timeless classic and the true Christmas story. "Ruth Bell Graham has written the perfect Christmas book . . . . With imaginative, stunning pictures, it is a book children and adults will love." ? Barbara Bush
When licensed cosmetologist turned publisher's rep Kathy Patrick lost her job due to industry cutbacks, she wasn't deterred. One year later, she opened Beauty and the Book, the world's only combination beauty salon/bookstore. Soon after, she founded The Pulpwood Queens of East Texas -- a reading group that dared to ask the question, "Does a book club have to be snobby to be serious?" The idea spread like wildfire. Now there are about 70 chapters nationwide. The overriding rule -- aside from wearing the club's official tiara, hot pink, and leopard print outfits -- is that the groups must have fun. The club's mission: To get America reading. THE PULPWOOD QUEENS' TIARA-WEARING, BOOK- SHARING GUIDE TO LIFE celebrates female friendship, sisterhood, and the transformative power of reading. It includes life principles and motivational anecdotes, hilarious and heart-warming stories of friendships among the Queens, and stories from Kathy about the books that have inspired her throughout her life, complete with personalized suggested book lists.
This book takes readers on a literary ride across the Lone Star State. J. Frank Dobie tells true stories of rattlesnakes and buried treasure, Jodi Thomas finds romance in the oilfields.
