Customer Reviews:

• "This poetic agglomeration, representing the reflection of my golden years and the experience of a lifetime, is published, not for its profundity, but rather for its simplicity. This is primarily a collection that concerns itself, with the joys and the struggles of life and faith. The words here in gathered, sifted, and composed are inspired by the Master Poet, the Author and Finisher of our faith. It is His gifting that enables human creativity to flow." - L.V. Newman

• "This collection of poems was a delightful surprise for me. I love the way the author honors his wife, mother, sister and family members with his expressions of love and respect. His depth of character and experiences in life are revealed in a way that draws the reader in to share and enjoy his careful insights." - Loretta Green

• "Larry Vern Newman is a man raised in faith from birth and a retired minister whose poetry praises and honors God, the giver of all life. He writes in a variety of poetic styles as he reflects on the world, his faith, and his Lord.

"Balances, Expenses, Profit, & Loss" is one of my favorites because of the poem's structure and sentiment. I quote one verse here:

        The balance, expenses, the profit & loss
        Look different, redundant, when viewed through the cross.
        For Jesus accounting is not just a game,
        He's cancelled all debts and what others would claim.
        I'm sorry, he said, when I asked about mine,
        You have none, but with you I'm sure that is fine.
        We have only one that is open you see,
        And that's for my Father, my Father and me.

"Forgiving" is a tender demonstration of how God wants humans to behave towards each other. I chose one brief excerpt from this fine poem in example:

        Friend, don't you see forgetting is part
        Of releasing the soul and freeing the heart.
        Without the forgetting forgiving can't start.

"Son of Man" is a delightful word picture of Jesus the man, lest we forget He was fully human:

        Worker of wood, this Mary's son,
        Is he creator, the holy one?
        Sent by the Father, with us to stand,
        Calling us brother, taking our hand?

"Words" is a stark but humorous commentary on rhetoric – words – spewed by talking heads, news anchors, and politicians. Consider this excerpt:

        Anchors, once used to hold against a rising tide
        now wax eloquent with fluent verbiage as meaningless
        as their miscued name, are now the tide themselves
        inundating with a flood of inane and hollow prattle.

Christian believers live in the real world and must work, breathe, and make sense of what they see around them every day, just like their fellow humans. Newman's sensible and compassionate poetry is a gift from his heart to yours." - Laurel Johnson, Midwest Book Review