I owe...

Amy Welborn a debt of gratitude.

I had bought her book "here. now. a catholic guide to the good life" for my wife. She has struggled with God in general and the Roman Catholic Church. Think David in some of his more angry psalms. She's had good reason. A scandalous priest in the village of Villaranda, Portugal, where she grew up, exploited his parishioners for money and presented as unchristian an image of God as a cleric could muster. This is the face of the Church that she has lived with for years.

Now, at different times, I've witnessed to her on my own experiences with the Faith. Sometimes I have suggested books to her. Sometimes she has read books she picked out on her own. None of them have inspired her.

One night she commented on how accessible books like Max Lucado's God's Inspirational Promises. "How come catholic books aren't this easy to read?" She asked one night.

I immediately thought of Amy Welborn. I just knew that her books would grab any reader's attention as much as, or even more, than any Max Lucado. Plus, she would present the Catholic Faith, not some regurgitated dissenting nonsense. The next day I ordered it from Amazaon.

The day it came I read it first. I trusted her, for I had read her blog a long time. Still, I didn't want to reccommend a book to Mira that I hadn't even read.

I could not put it down. I finished the entire book in one afternoon. Even as Frankie threw sand from his sandbox all over the lawn, I turned page after page.

What an experience! Now, I've had a spiritual awakening, as those in "the rooms" would understand. After twelve years of post V2 catholic schools and four years of mechanical Christian/pagan living, I came home to the Faith. After ten years of authentic formation in Faith, I still found myself enlightened as though I'd never experienced Roman Catholicism before!

In case you haven't figured this out yet, I can't reccomend this book enough. I owe Amy Welborn a debt of gratitude. That's why I've finally repaid this debt here.

Thank you, Amy. Keep writing. We need you.

By the way, Mira read the book. She liked it, too. It was the first catholic book she read that was as good as any of the modern spiritual books i.e. Max Lucado, etc. I knew it!