Today we welcome Chris Manion to my blog. Chris is very generously giving away a copy (winner's choice of format) to one winner. Please include contact information. USA only.
Playing the piano as a child provided an escape into the world of music away from my five siblings. The baby grand stood in the living and no one was allowed in the living room except adults. My sister and I loved to practice for our next lesson in that light, lovely room that gave us rare moments of peace.
Playing the piano as a child provided an escape into the world of music away from my five siblings. The baby grand stood in the living and no one was allowed in the living room except adults. My sister and I loved to practice for our next lesson in that light, lovely room that gave us rare moments of peace.
One short composition drew me to an imaginary place. As I played the haunting melody, I’d imagine myself lost or abandoned in a field. Loneliness overwhelmed me. A handsome prince approached from the distance as the music swelled. He found me, spoke gently, and offered his arm to swing me up into his saddle. Away we’d gallop. I played that piece a thousand times.
By the time I was sixteen, I sensed I could write. I just didn’t know what to write about. Creatively, I mean. My writing skills came in handy for school reports and team newsletters two decades later in my Pampered Chef business. Although that’s writing, it’s not writing the way I thought of it. The writing I wanted to do was to take a reader away somewhere, to expand her imagination, to go to that place where time stops and all things are possible, where a happy-ever-after ending glistens its promise.
The prince doesn’t find his beautiful princess in all stories. He’s not even handsome in all stories. Does that mean God doesn’t always answer our prayers? I wondered. I thought about God a lot. We went to church every Sunday.
Spirituality often felt like Alice in Wonderland to me. Strange occurrences or subtle Twilight Zone-like experiences occurred to me sometimes like a bunny down a rabbit hole or a queen shouting, “Off with their heads!” I could not make sense of them, but I knew they were real.
After attending a Young Life meeting where the prayer leader played the guitar and spoke about Jesus as his best friend, I wanted what he had. I was raised a Catholic Christian but started studying about Christ and Christianity a bit more once I reached college and adulthood. I wanted to know more about Him.
Of course, life keeps you busy, so that nice-sounding goal slowed to a stop as I tried to prove to the world I was as good as a man in business. Not that it’s much better now, but growing up in the sixties and seventies made one thing pretty clear: women were best at womanly chores of housekeeping and raising a family or, if they felt compelled to work, as secretaries or clerks.
That lonely girl in the field still longed for something to quench that inner longing. As I resumed studying Him in Bible studies, reading from saints and theologians, and dedicated more time to praising Him in song in church choir, my soul’s thirst began to lessen. A relationship began that was no longer sky-God to insignificant girl. My memoir describes a new kind of ride in a field with a handsome man. And then, -- ------------------------------------------------------------
Blurb: Her soul’s longing for God hungered for more than an hour at church each Sunday. Chris Manion found herself climbing the heights of worldly success while God pulled her deeper into Himself. How could she balance the two extremes? One day, on a bench deep in the woods, everything changed.
This cutting-edge memoir from a surprisingly down-to-earth, humble business leader points directly to Christ for the gifts and grace that helped her rise as a leader and wise mentor to her $20 million business team.
Chris Manion’s 30 years’ experience of writing and speaking spans a variety of publishing areas including newspapers, magazines, corporate newsletters, blogs, testimonials, and motivational speeches. Through modern-day parables, mysterious experiences, and memoir (God’s Patient Pursuit of My Soul), Manion points her readers’ hearts to the living streams of God’s grace and love. A perennial student of feeding the soul, her passion focuses on giving simple, everyday terms to spiritual experiences in order to promote conversations about spiritual gifts and God’s desire for relationship with us.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the oldest of six, Chris is an award-winning catechist who retired as a top-tier National Executive from the direct sales industry to write and inspire. She met her husband of forty plus years at the University of Dayton from which she graduated in three years with honors in Communication Arts. They have two adult children and three grandchildren. She loves photographing the beauty of Florida’s emerald coast where she lives.
Links
https://www.ChrisManion.com
https://www.facebook.com/authorChrisManion
@ChrisManionbooks
https://www.pinterest.com/chris7450Photo uploaded
2 comments:
Thank you for sharing the story behind the God's Patient Pursuit. Thankful God filled your soul. Love the song "It is well with my Soul". Thank you for the giveaway.
marilynridgway78{at]gmail[dot[com
congratulations, Marilyn!
Post a Comment