Rebecca St. James

The Merciful Scar by Rebecca St. James and Nancy Rue is what some would call New Adult Fiction (the target audience is 18-24 year olds and the subject matter is adult in nature). However, my church book club, Page Turners, chose it for our April discussion based upon a radio interview of Rebecca St. James that one of our members heard. And though our youngest member is almost 20 years above the target audience and the rest of us are considerably more senior than that, we thoroughly enjoyed show more the novel. Well-written, with complex characters and situations, it definitely opened our eyes to the realities of cutting.

Kirsten is a graduate student with a secret. Her well-covered body does not disclose the cutting she has been doing for years. The physical scars may be hidden, but it is the emotional ones that come out when she has an accident during a cutting episode. Involuntarily admitted to the hospital for a supposed suicide attempt, Kirsten is desperate to get out and to get on with the rest of her life. The only way out is to agree to a 30-day treatment with a former Anglican nun as counselor/spiritual advisor. The ranch and its way of life seem alien to Kirsten, but soon its rhythms and the ways of God become part of her.

Though Kirsten is a self-injurer (cutter), other characters face deep emotional trauma. Guilt and forgiveness are major themes in the novel. Most of our members found the first part of the book hard to get into, but when Kirsten arrives at the ranch, the story really took off and took hold. We found the metaphors of the sheep and shepherd touching and insightful. The characters were easy to connect with and we cared about what was going on in their lives. And there were a few scenes that brought tears. It also brought from us a deep discussion of past experiences and the hope that God can give to His people. Moving and thought-provoking, The Merciful Scar is one we heartily recommend.

Highly Recommended.

Great for Book Clubs (especially young women) show less

Best known for her inspirational praise and worship music, Australia-born songstress Rebecca St. James is busily carving a ministry niche for herself supporting young women who are waiting on God. As a Christian woman committed to maintaining purity in her own life while single, St. James is right there in the trenches and knows the struggles of a woman’s heart. Drawing upon her personal struggles, weaknesses, growth, and victories, she has written Pure: A 90-Day Devotional to help others show more keep their eyes on Jesus and drawn near to Him during this time of waiting.

As a married woman, I found large tracts of Pure as equally applicable to my own life as to that of a single woman. St. James addresses purity from three angles: “Purity of Mind”, “Purity of Body”, and “Purity of Spirit”. Providing a multi-pronged approach that goes far beyond physical abstinence (though it is addressed), the insights and conclusions that are drawn from both St. James’ personal experience and scripture are equally relevant to any believer as they are to unmarried young women.

Each day opens with a topical heading and a section of scripture to focus in on. The Bible readings are taken from the NIV, NLT and modern Bible paraphrase The Message. St. James then shares from her own experiences during “Reflection”, digs into the scripture text in “Looking Further”, and supplies practical actions and prayer points in “Living It Out”. With each daily reading measuring approximately three pages in length, the result is accessible yet thought provoking, providing enough meat to avoid a ‘devotion-lite’ aroma.

While we’ve all been warned about judging books by their covers, I have to mention this title’s design. It’s so adorable, trendy, and fun it’s hard to resist in person. It features a fashionable pink and brown colour scheme, butterflies, flames, cream coloured pages, and deckle edges. Take note moms - your teenage girls would be thrilled to receive such an eye-catching devotional as a gift. I’m 30-years-old and found the whole package adorable and a cut above the masses of books printed each year.

In a culture that champions promiscuity, taking a stand for purity is radically countercultural, and can lead to feelings of isolation. St. James’ sharing of the heart from her daily life and relationship with the Lord provides a sense of sisterhood and camaraderie. There are others who struggle with determining appropriate behaviour and boundaries, controlling their thought life, waiting patiently, and surrendering all to God - despite the outcome. Whether you or a loved one struggles with commitment to purity or are simply seeking to grow in the faith, St. James comes alongside like an old friend: sharing, encouraging, and ultimately pointing to Jesus as the satisfier of all souls.

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com show less

The text of the classic Christmas carol, The Friendly Beasts, in which the various animals describe their gifts to the Christ Child, is paired with beautiful illustrations from artist Anna Vojtech in this lovely holiday picture-book. The book also includes a CD containing narration and singing performance from Australian musician Rebecca St. James...

I enjoy tracking down picture-book presentations of Christmas carols - an annual reading project of mine in the holiday season - and I am quite show more fond of this particular carol, so I was excited to pick up The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol. Although I didn't get a chance to listen to the CD, I enjoyed the book quite a bit. I've run into the artwork of Anna Vojtech before, in Joseph Bruchac's The First Strawberries, and I thought she did a good job here, capturing the devoted expressions of the animals, and the wonder of that first Christmas night. This carol is a popular one - no doubt the animal characters endear it to young children - and there have been numerous picture-books devoted to it, over the years. These include Tomie dePaola's The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol, Helen Ward's The Animals' Christmas Carol, Sarah Chamberlain's The Friendly Beasts: A Traditional Christmas Carol, Laura Nelson Baker's The Friendly Beasts, Charles Causley's The Animals' Carol, and Jan Burlingham's The Friendly Beasts: A Medieval French Carol - to name but a few! As is apparent from the list above, it has been described both as an English and a French carol, owing no doubt to the fact that it combines a medieval French melody with more modern English text. Whatever the case may be, it is a lovely song, and this is a lovely book - one that is recommended to those seeking an appealing picture-book presentation of it. show less

The book's overall theme was prolife, of course, but the more powerful part was the culture in Sarah's workplace. It was so punishing towards women, especially those balancing work and family, that I was waiting for someone to ride in on a white horse and deal with that. Nope, I was disappointed.