Jeanette Evans Lewis presents these short writings “to give healing to the broken hearts of this world,” as she notes on the back cover of her book. Designed to inspire the reader, each entry includes a numbered title, a meditation, and a related scripture verse. The author states that the book, which includes a personal biography, was “written under the authority of the Holy Spirit God’s Word to you through me.”
Most compositions, none rhyming, average about 100 words and fill only a third of the page. Many entries, center-spaced and more prose than poetry, contain grammatical and wording errors that cause confusion (“Jesus made it possible for us to know his vows ‘A, E, I, O, U’ and sometimes ‘Y’ because without the vow of God, his Word would not work or go forth” [sic]). Each piece precedes its foundational verse, which hinders immediate understanding, and the author writes in all three tenses—first, second, and third person. Biographical information in the back would read better as an introduction.
The index, interestingly arranged by phrase and not individual word, concludes the book. A few of the 143 selections hold obvious insight (“Say his name slowly—‘JESUS.’ Don’t you hear him say Jesus and Us? …Our name is in his name”). A whimsical recipe—with ingredients of joy, peace, and love—ends with “…and carefully placed in the finer fire oven of fervent heat of the Holy Ghost and cooking until he says well done [sic].”
The author’s obvious desire to reach hurting people would be realized more fully if the book, offered with humble encouragement, were presented in a devotional form with corrected language mechanics. As it stands, it is likely to have difficulty reaching a wide audience.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
