Christian Book Blurb

ep58 - Exploring the Connection Between The Sound of Music and God with Bryony Wood

In this episode of the Christian Book Blurb podcast, host Matt McChlery interviews author Bryony Wood about her book, The Sound of Musings, which explores the connection between the Sound of Music movie and God. Bryony shares her love for the film and how it inspired her to write a devotional book. She discusses the symbolism in songs like 'Edelweiss' and 'Climb Every Mountain' and how they relate to Christian themes. They also chat about her love of food, games and her new-found passion for Morris Dancing! Listen now.
Links
This episode was kindly sponsored by Standing in the Storm: Living with faith and cancer
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Get yourself a copy of The Sound of Musings from St Andrews Bookshop
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Visit Bryony Wood's Website
Visit Matt McChlery's website mattmcchlery.com
Takeaways
The Sound of Music movie can be a powerful tool for exploring Christian themes and deepening one's faith.Songs like 'Edelweiss' and 'Climb Every Mountain' in the film contain symbolism that can be related to God's love and our journey of faith.
The intermission in the film mirrors the intermission in God's story, where we are living in the 'now but not yet' of God's kingdom.
The Sound of Musings book offers a rich resource for churches and individuals to engage with the film and explore its spiritual themes.
Bryony Wood provides downloadable study guides and offers live events and retreats based on the book.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Sponsorship04:28 The Inspiration Behind The Sound of Musings09:14 Finding God in Films and Books23:08 Getting to Know Bryony Wood30:52 Extras: Resources and Events36:02 Conclusion and Sponsorship
 

ep57 - Building a Healthy Marriage with Claire and Steve Musters

In this episode of Christian Book Blurb, host Matt McChlery interviews authors Claire and Steve Musters about their book, Grace-Filled Marriage. The couple shares their personal journey of building a healthy marriage and the challenges they faced along the way. They discuss the importance of hard work, taking responsibility, and dying to self in a marriage. They also emphasize the need for open and honest communication, seeking support from trusted friends, and relying on God's grace. The book offers a refreshing perspective on marriage, addressing the hard stuff and providing practical advice for couples. Claire and Steve also chat about their love of music and going to the theatre, watching The Great British Bake-Off and Dragons Den with their kids and they share what their favourite worship song at the moment. Listen now.
 
Links
This episode was kindly sponsored by St Andrews Literature Festival:  stalitfest.co.uk
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Get yourself a copy of Grace Filled Marriage from St Andrews Bookshop
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Visit Claire Musters' Website
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Takeaways
Building a healthy marriage requires hard work and effort.
Taking responsibility for one's actions and attitudes is crucial in a marriage.
Dying to self and prioritizing the needs of one's partner is essential for a thriving marriage.
Open and honest communication, seeking support from trusted friends, and relying on God's grace are key elements in a healthy marriage.
Marriage is a mission field, and couples should strive to support and encourage each other in their individual and shared journeys.
Marriage is a reflection of Christ and the church, and sacrificial love is at its core.
Marriage preparation courses, cultivating friendships, and having a shared vision for the future are important for couples starting their marriage journey.
Complacency can be detrimental to a long-term marriage, and regular check-ins and intentional efforts are necessary to keep the relationship strong.
For those who have experienced a breakdown in their marriage, it is important to seek healing individually and give space and time for reconciliation.
There is no condemnation in Christ, and God's grace can restore broken marriages.
Claire and Steve Musters have written other books on topics such as grief and lament, and their books can be found on Claire's website.
Chapters
00:00 Building a Healthy Marriage: The Importance of Hard Work14:28 Dying to Self: Prioritizing the Needs of Your Partner26:01 Healing and Reconciliation: Restoring Broken Marriages with God's Grace34:29 Other Books by Claire and Steve Musters: Grief and Lament

ep56 - The God Who Sees You with Georgie Tennant

In this episode of Christian Book Blurb, host Matt McChlery interviews author Georgie Tennant about her book 'The God Who Sees You.' The book is a devotional that speaks to those who feel unseen and draws inspiration from biblical characters who may have felt the same way. Georgie shares her personal experiences of loss and grief and emphasizes the importance of vulnerability and finding identity in God. She also discusses the value of recognizing God in the ordinary aspects of life and addresses the topic of doubt. They also chat about Georgie's love of reading her Kindle in the bathtub, enjoying chocolate mug cake and Marvel movies with her family and meeting friends in cafes. Listen now.
Links
This episode was kindly sponsored by Michael T Gowen's book series 'Daniel: Being distinctive in uncertain times' and 'Daniel: being faithful in uncertain times'
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Get yourself a copy of The God Who Sees You from St Andrews Bookshop
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Visit Georgie Tennant's Facebook Page
Visit Matt McChlery's website mattmcchlery.com
Takeaways
The God Who Sees You is a devotional book that speaks to those who feel unseen.Vulnerability and weakness can be sources of strength and authenticity in our faith.Recognizing God in the ordinary aspects of life can deepen our faith and appreciation for His presence.Doubt is a natural part of the Christian journey and can be addressed through honest reflection and seeking support.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Sponsor00:30 Introducing The God Who Sees You01:27 Target Audience04:12 Living with Weakness05:46 The Value of Vulnerability07:36 Recognizing God in the Ordinary09:28 Self-Image and Finding Identity in God11:51 Knowing God Sees Us in All Circumstances13:16 Dealing with Doubt15:39 Structure and Format of the Book22:20 Encouragement for Those Feeling Unseen25:09 Getting to Know the Author30:05 Future Projects32:21 Conclusion and Sponsor
 

ep55 - Finding Strength in Weakness with John Hindley

In this episode of Christian Book Blurb, host Matt McChlery interviews author John Hindley about his book 'Weakness Our Strength: Learning from Christ Crucified.' The conversation explores the misconceptions surrounding strength and weakness, the role of weakness in creation, and the importance of embracing weakness instead of running away from it. Hindley emphasizes that strength is found in dependence on God and each other, and highlights the significance of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection in understanding weakness and strength. We also chat about John's love of science fiction books, doing DIY projects and his predictable restaurant ordering habits. Listen now.
Links
This episode was kindly sponsored by The Transparent Truth by Martin Whitehouse
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Visit Union Publishing's website to find John Hindley's book
Visit Matt McChlery's website mattmcchlery.com
Chapters
Chapters
00:00 Introduction00:48 Introduction to the Book03:14 Misunderstanding of Strength and Weakness04:36 The Role of Weakness in Creation07:01 Embracing Weakness08:28 Strength in Dependence11:13 The Weakness of Jesus12:39 The Crucifixion and Strength16:06 Embracing Weakness Leads to Strength21:53 Future Perspective on Weakness and Strength25:28 Getting to Know the Author30:14 Becoming a Christian33:05 Current and Future Projects36:22 Conclusion and Sponsor

ep54 - Discipleship is for Everyone with James Poch

In this episode of the Christian Book Blurb podcast, host Matt McChlery interviews author James Poch about his book 'Holy Grit: Gaining Traction on Life's Journey with Jesus.' The conversation explores the definition and importance of discipleship, the role of walking with others, and the concept of grit in discipleship. They discuss roadblocks to discipleship and the mentoring relationship, highlighting the organic and individual nature of the process. Iman, a member of James' church, shares her discipleship experience and the evolving nature of her journey. They also discuss James' love of food and cooking as well as his photography hobby. Listen now.
Takeaways
Discipleship is a lifelong journey of walking with Jesus and walking with others in God's church.
Discipleship goes beyond attending church and acquiring knowledge about the Bible; it involves a deep and meaningful relationship with Jesus and others.
Roadblocks to discipleship include unforgiveness, pride, disobedience, unanswered prayer, and condemnation.
The mentoring relationship in discipleship is characterized by active listening, accountability, and mutual growth.
Discipleship is for everyone, but it requires trust, patience, and a willingness to learn and grow.
Links
This episode was kindly sponsored by the fictional novel 'The Mantle' by Mark F. Hobson PhD. 
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Visit James Poch's website regen.church
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction00:30 Discipleship Defined03:21 Mutuality and Trust in Discipleship04:18 Introduction to the Book 'Holy Grit'05:46 The Illustration of Grit in Discipleship06:44 The Uncomfortable and Determined Nature of Discipleship09:02 Roadblocks to Discipleship12:56 The Mentoring Relationship18:46 Iman's Discipleship Experience20:12 The Evolving Nature of Discipleship21:56 The Role of Mentors23:50 The Family Nature of Church25:43 Lessons Learned and Doing Discipleship Differently27:36 Individuality and Organic Discipleship29:29 Getting to Know James Poch31:20 Hobbies and Interests35:34 Future Projects and Equipping Churches42:12 Conclusion and Contact Information
 

ep53 - The Language of Love with Dr. Gary Chapman

Summary
In this episode of the Christian Book Blurb podcast, host Matt McChlery interviews Dr. Gary Chapman about the language of love. They discuss the importance of celebrating relationships, the difficulties in relationships, and the role of selfishness in causing problems. Dr. Chapman shares his personal experiences in marriage and how changing his attitude transformed his relationship. They also delve into the concept of love languages and how understanding and speaking each other's love languages can improve relationships. Dr. Chapman explains the five love languages and how they apply to various relationships. He also discusses the influence of Christian faith on love languages and the importance of apologizing and forgiving.
Takeaways
Celebrate relationships by cooperating with special days like Valentine's Day.
Selfishness is a major obstacle in relationships; love requires an attitude of service.
Understanding and speaking each other's love languages can greatly improve relationships.
The five love languages are words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch.
Links
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Visit Dr, Gary Chapman's website 5lovelanguages.com
Visit Matt McChlery's website mattmcchlery.com
Chapters
00:00 Introduction00:59 Valentine's Day and Celebrating Relationships02:30 The Difficulty of Relationships03:55 Difficulties in Marriage06:21 Changing Attitudes and Improving Relationships08:15 Reconciling Biblical Roles and Serving Each Other10:40 Discovering the Love Languages13:35 Overview of the Five Love Languages16:30 Primary Love Language and Changing Circumstances19:28 Love Languages in Various Relationships21:27 Identifying a Child's Love Language23:23 Influence of Christian Faith on Love Languages29:38 Apologizing and Forgiving in Relationships34:25 Upcoming Projects and Where to Find More Information35:23 Conclusion

ep52 - Discovering God for Yourself with Russ Ewell

I had a wonderful discussion with author Russ Ewell about how we can discover God for ourselves, based on his book 'He's Not Who You Think He Is'. We speak about how to build relationship with God as well as how to form a deeper connection with Him. We also discuss his love of music, basketball and his favourite TV show Downton Abbey. Listen now.
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Visit Russ Ewell's website russewell.com
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction00:55 Why do we need to discover God for ourselves?04:56 What's the difference between God and religion?07:31 Nones and Nuns08:01 How can emotions be a barrier to discovering God?13:43 How can we rebuild emotional lives in a positive way?17:03 How can we discover God for ourselves?21:14 Interactive book24:42 Ad Break25:53 Russ Ewell's favourite things30:01 Downton Abbey31:55 Upcoming Projects34:47 Where to find Russ Ewell online

ep51 - Truth-Telling and Cancel Culture with Katherine Blessan

Author Katherine Blessan takes some time out from an Air BnB retreat to chat with me about truth telling and cancel culture - two big topics that are explored in her novel 'T for Tolerance'. We also talk about her love of travelling, how the Holy Spirit communicates with her as well as her involvement with the social enterprise 'Kaleido Arts For Wellbeing'. Listen now.
Thank you to See Miracles for sponsoring this episode.
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ep50 - Preparing for Revival with Malcolm Macdonald

Welcome to our 2024 New Year's Special episode! I chat with author and church leader Malcolm Macdonald about his passion for revival and his book 'Saturated with God'. We also speak about the importance of prayer and a return to a dependence upon Jesus for every Christian. He shares his heart for the local church and we hear about his involvement with the New Wine Festival and his love of watching rugby from his armchair. Listen now.
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Visit Malcolm Macdonald's church website stmarysloughton.com
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ep49 - Forgiveness with Chris Fabry

We could all use a bit of forgiveness in our lives, as well as learning how to give it away a little better too. In this episode I chat with award-winning author Chris Fabry about his new novel 'Saving Greyson'. We chat about forgiveness and reconciliation as well as Alzheimer's disease, working on talk show radio, rattlesnakes in the back yard and the new Kendrick Brothers movie coming out in 2024. Listen now.
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Visit Chris Fabry's radio website https://www.moodyradio.org/programs/chris-fabry-live/
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ep48 - Soul Care for Parents with Anna Hawken

Anna Hawken shares her heart as well as practical tips on how parents can learn about God and about being His child by observing their children, based on her book 'Being God's Child: A Parents Guide'. We also chat about Christmas season mayhem, how to hear God's voice, the importance of asking questions as well as the Great British Bake Off (also known as The Great British Baking Show in the USA), food and friends. Also, can you help us to decide which is best - brownies or pastries? Listen now.
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ep47 - An Advent Journey for the Whole Family with Rachel Yarworth

Rachel Yarworth talks about how we can celebrate advent as a family and her new book that she has compiled containing the writing of 25 different Christian authors, 'The Jesse Tree Anthology'. We also chat about home-schooling, seeing dolphins, her love of Cornwall and a precious family advent tradition she has in her own family. Listen now.
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ep46 - Hearing the Christmas Story Through Mary’s Voice with Amy Orr-Ewing

In this episode I chat with acclaimed theologian, author and speaker Amy Orr-Ewing about how Mary, the mother of Jesus, is uniquely placed to tell the nativity story as we discuss her new Advent devotional book 'Mary's Voice'. We discuss advent, the role of women in the church. her love of coffee and art as well as some of her favourite family advent traditions. Listen now.
This episode is sponsored by the book 'Wonder - An Advent and Christmas Collection'
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ep45 -Your Worth is not Defined by how Useful You Feel with Liz Carter

This is a fascinating discussion about identity and self-worth that is completely countercultural yet deeply biblical. I chat with Liz Carter about her life and the things she has learnt including that our worth is not defined by how useful we feel centred around her new book 'Valuable'. We also talk about the power of words and her love of the Nintendo Switch game 'The Legend of Zelda'. Listen now. 
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ep44 - Reclaiming Masculinity with Matt Fuller

In this episode I chat with Matt Fuller about reclaiming a biblical view of masculinity within our toxic western culture. We discuss why friendships are important, why the church should be addressing the topic of masculinity and how the bible helps us gain a more positive understanding of masculinity. We also chat about the 'Barbie Movie' (Spoiler Alert) as well as Matt's love of paddle boarding. Listen now.
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ep43 - Can faith and doubt co-exist? with Kat Wordsworth

Doubt is an area we all find difficult from time to time. Can doubt and faith co-exist? Is it bad to doubt, or is it a normal part of the Christian experience? Kat Wordsworth shares very openly in this authentic interview where she discusses these very topics. Based on her personal experiences of faith and doubt, and her book 'Let's Talk About Doubt', she gently unwraps what she believes about this important, yet often silent topic. We also chat about her love of Nutella and the flute. Listen now.
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ep42 - Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes with E. Randolph Richards

Misreading scripture by placing our own cultural bias and worldviews onto it is very easy to do. By recognising the times when our culture gets in the way of an accurate understanding of The Bible, we can learn to read it better. Listen to this fascinating discussion with author, theologian and scholar E. Randolph Richards and start to open your eyes to what The Bible is really saying. Listen now.
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ep41 - Why Less Means More with Cathy Madavan

This episode is jam-packed with golden nuggets on how to live life well. I speak with Cathy Madavan, author of 'Why Less Means More' about how we should define success, our culture's busyness addiction, the importance of prioritising and pressure performance - all from a biblical worldview. We also chat about her love of live music and Christian festivals as well as get an exclusive sneak-peak at the new 2024 Spring Harvest theme book. Don't miss it.
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ep40 - Understanding Rest as Worship with Sam Hargreaves

In this episode chat with Sam Hargreaves about rest and worship and about his and his wife, Sara's book 'The Rest is Worship'. We also chat about Star Wars, music and other creative projects he is involved in all finished off with a Christian Book Blurb first - a song. It is well worth a listen.
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ep39 - Keeping Your Faith in Difficult Times with Heather Leslie Hammer

In this episode I discuss how to keep your faith in difficult times with author of 'Shetland Mist' Heather Leslie Hammer. We talk about her love of the Shetland Islands, her family history and their links to the islands, the Methodist movement and her love of 'Call The Midwife' TV series. Listen now.
With thanks to this episode's sponsor Standing in The Storm
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ep 38 - Responding to Scripture Creatively with Drew Jackson

In this episode I explore creativity and how we can use it to respond to scripture with poet, Drew Jackson. We also discuss poetry as a spiritual practice, his love of New York City and basketball and find out how hip-hop music led to his love of poetry. Drew also reads two of his amazing poems for us on the show. Don't miss this.
With thanks to this episode's sponsor Shetland Mist
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ep37 - Helping children to pray and be a good friend with Gemma Hunt

I am a bit start-struck this episode as I speak with Gemma Hunt (a UK children's TV personality and author - CBeebies, Songs of Praise, Alpha Course etc). This episode is packed full of creative prayer tips and retelling of some of the parables from the Bible within a modern context. We chat about mixed-race representation in Christian books as well as Gemma's love of food and the Great British Bake Off TV Show. You've got to listen to this.
With thanks to this episode's sponsor Kevinmayhew.com
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ep36 - God isn’t finished with you yet with Catherine Campbell

An honest discussion about some of the big things that make life difficult, yet finding God in the midst of it all. I chat with Catherine Campbell about success and failure, ageing, coping with a bad health diagnosis and how when we may think God has finished with us - he really hasn't at all. We also chat about Call The Midwife and her love of women's ministry. Listen now.
With thanks to this episode's sponsor A Truthful Man by Hillary Walker
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ep35 - The eternal power of remembering answered prayer with Richard Gamble

A compelling discussion with author and visionary Richard Gamble about his book 'Remember: Revealing the eternal power of answered prayer'. We also talk about his project where he and his team are building a national landmark in the centre of the country as a memorial to God's goodness, his love of Leicester City Football Club, sausage rolls and the type of holiday he likes best. You have go to listen to this!
With thanks to this episode's sponsor The Dove Stone by PS Daunton
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Watch the video Richard mentioned in the podcast
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