Unexpected Altars

From the Publisher:

Everyday moments become sacred altars where God meets you.

Do you sometimes wish you could hear from God? Do you feel like you are too insignificant for Him to care about your daily battles with loneliness, grief, change and doubts?

God talks to each of us - from the young husband and father who accidentally torched his home, to the claustrophobic pastor making her way through a historic tunnel in Israel, to the mystery author having a close call with a stink bug.

God can speak to us through that soft voice inside your head; or the perfect words for your circumstance uttered on Sunday morning; or He can come to you in a powerful revelation.

Turn your doubts into divine encounters. Discover how God is speaking to you today through these 101 inspirational faith stories. These stories will transform your doubts into powerful encounters with God´s grace, guiding you to find Him in unexpected places.

Unexpected Altars is a collection of stories of faith from real people, just like you, who have experienced God´s grace and presence in their lives. Their authors pray that this Christian devotional will inspire your daily spiritual life.

Start your journey to find God in the unexpected! Order Unexpected Altars today!

Fans of Jesus Calling, Embraced: 100 devotions to know God is holding you close, and Chicken Soup for the Soul will want to add Unexpected Altars to their TBR list.

Buy the book:

https://amzn.to/46czNWa

Website: https://oaklandcommunity.church/home

This review turned into an article. I include the short version and the rest below.

My Review

4 stars

“We are the ones who control how we react.” Page 144. 

I am an atheist, being born in a Catholic family and a European country, I understood early that by becoming an atheist I broke the fact that I was chained to only one school of thought. That is why I am an eclectic reader (artist) and my blog is intentionally called Therearenobadbooks 

I had a great time reading this project and writing my review after taking into consideration what enriched me chapter after chapter. My review does not focus on the authors’ personal opinions. It is not my place to change anyone’s mind, but to inform, provide tools and allow choice with those tools.

A more technical analysis of the book: it’s short, very easy to read because each entry is about 2 to 3 pages and the font is quite large and comfortable. It is written by 26 authors, from their personal experiences and points of view. At the end of each, we get a conclusion/thought/prayer that showcases the point or moral of their story, most of the time in the format of giving thanks with valuable and short lessons.

Did it provide me with a good time, insightful and valuable lessons? As an artist who has kept Julia Cameron’s The Artist's Way with me all my teen and adult life, I can say that this one brought me back to the nostalgia of reading something that feeds my spiritual hunger.

While Julia promptly advises us at the start of her books to read the word God as we prefer, God or another spiritual force, what entity or ideal that feels closer to your heart… this one is mainly focused on the ideals of this church and its followers.

The first 60% of the book is quite light, and the authors tell us their stories, very short episodes, life experiences, in a way that we can relate to and apply to our lives even when we have not experienced that specific type of situation. As the book advances closer to the end, the climax is done with stronger and more (so-called today) problematic themes. Still, there is no reason to feel them as an attack or seen as a cardinal rule or thought. They are presented as personal events and perspectives, and we have to consider the person’s culture, religion, beliefs… and so much more before we can make any judgment. I am always curious about what people with a different routine and background from mine think of our current times, of the things that never change and the things that we try to change. What is modern today for us will be history to the next generations soon.

I came out of this book feeling enriched. Whether I agree with them or not, it presents a lot of different stories, some quite fun, that made me smile. And some words happened to be what I needed to hear this month. It felt like calling our mothers and getting a bit of their life experience and wisdom that seems common sense, but we keep forgetting in our daily lives when all feels like it's crumbling. Considering this, I felt the tone went from more positive and uplifting chapters at the start to more precise targeting ones at the end regarding themes. There is also some repetition of themes and ideals, which I do not mind. I am glad everyone had an opportunity to bring forward their story. 

I would suggest that you approach this book like a self-help read, one of those we grab when we want seashells, tarot cards, palm readers, priests, gurus, teachers… (whichever authority you respect to gives us that hand) to tell us all is going to be ok, that a miracle will happen, a sign from a higher existence will manifest, like if that best friend could come back from their grave to tell us those words they always said with heart. 

There are also some double standards and inconsistencies in beliefs. All makes for a great philosophical discussion more than a religious one. In many ways, Julia Cameron approaches some of these themes as ways to unlock creativity, which fascinates me because here they are focused on accepting God. There is even a specific chapter in this book that is going to upset many readers, which mentions that the same action/object/event can be described as a sin or salvation. Black or White. I prefer to think that life is not a football (soccer) game with two rival teams fighting, but one co-op game where we all face the difficulties of the world. Maybe it’s my dreamer-self speaking.

Here are some core terms and points that I will be developing in my full-length article in my blog: choice, willingness to listen, feeling invisible, facing a new schedule when retired, what is a priority in our daily lives, being open-minded, un-minced words, community, accepting help, getting the information on first hand and forming your own opinion instead of taking the interpretation of others as written in stone, feeding body and soul, your life matters (don’t forget this one), the importance of geography in the telling of historical events, and inviting mistakes as powerful lessons, reacting positively to a catastrophe to turn the negative into positive (if you are familiar with Morning Pages, this is one of the best parts of this exercise). Unlike Julia’s book, which actively includes exercises to complete, this book never tells us to follow specific homework. There are no exercises. Only shared personal opinions.

When you read approximately 50% you can already discern that from all the 26 POVs, the narrator JoAnne Alexander is the pastor at the Oakland Church along with her husband and she seems (to me, don’t forget even reviews are personal opinions based on our own experiences and life) the most prominent in this book and the one to bringing forward the hardest subjects. If you are a reader who benefits from knowing ahead some triggers, this is the POV to be aware of. But the book is built to bring enlightenment, not to attack. I felt that it made me a better person to have read it and mulled over the questions it touched. 

There are many more themes, which I will provide in my full version.

There are some POVs who even bring forward the reference to Harry Potter, Narnia, Thomas Edison, Einstein, Frozen, Grinch… 

My favorite chapter is probably the one closer to the end (because I am a Julia Cameron fan, I made it into homework, and an exercise, that may help me go back to sleep when I often wake up with running thoughts at 3 am each night. (If a deepening dissertation of my thoughts on this book is something that may enrich you, continue reading, or simply read this book and propose your own personal perspective on these personal interpretations and stories.)

Going Deeper:

I am going to guide you through what I thought as I binged this book this morning. I got some color stickers to bookmark the pages and a fluorescent marker for my quotes, and I think I found one great quote on every two pages. Some I immediately question with my sharp detector of double standards, but I found that double standards and agendas are a very American way to be.

It starts with the willingness to listen. I am in a phase of my life where I feel quite invisible. My computer auto-corrected to invincible (I wished it were true.) Who has not felt this before during their life? Especially in moments of loneliness or catastrophe. This is such a relatable feeling at any age. 

I like that one of the POVs speaks of life as a retired person. She needs to fill in all the new blanks, and here is something I underlined:

“I need to remember that I am not called to do everything everyone thinks I should do (…) listen (…) live in the present. If my heart is at peace about my activity, then I am probably engaged in the correct activity or conversation.” 

This made me think. How many times do you feel like you are listening to an audiobook without paying attention or finishing that dreadful book because you have to? Who imposed that on you? You did. Listen to your heart. 

Another good idea from another chapter: Be present. I love this. Having an open mind and being present in the activity we are performing, whether it is a house chore or calling a friend. Be present. Weed out the activities that are a waste of time. 

We need people. Yes, humans are social beings. It’s sad that we created and use social media to destroy each other with the worst of us, instead of supporting each other, knowing we need others. We should learn to ask for help and learn to receive it.

This one is one of my favorites:

“…it is not that uncommon for church ladies or gentlemen to place the foundation of their Christian beliefs in the hands of others. It wasn’t until I read the Bible myself, that I realizing I have been reliant on other’s interpretation of what they have read… it’s very easy to be misled due to someone’s misinterpretation due to ignorance or twisting of scripture to fit a theological or political agenda.”

Don’t be lazy or busy getting the info for yourselves.

That quote above agrees with my core beliefs about why I am reading this book and have the blog I have.

Here is why I do not accept someone telling me:

Don’t read this book because it has a chapter that mentions this or that.

I will make that decision myself. Perhaps the person can warn me in advance of triggers or the tone, but the decision is mine. That goes for reading a book that is of religious strong beliefs or… smutt, grim dark, horror, memoirs, picture books, graphic novels… I cannot make a core decision to speak about a subject if I have not sampled enough to say this is for me or not. I often have romance recommendations on my blog, and I am 100% not a fan of romance plots. But to make a recommendation, I need to be educated.

Don’t let others dissuade you from getting to that waterfall (a reference to one of my favorite chapters of this book) because one person could not do it and does not want you to go through it, or because their interpretation is misleading.

There is a problematic chapter closer to the end, at the climax of this novel. This is where I congratulate the one assembling the order of these stories, making the hardest themes the part in the hero’s journey where it is all or break, and sometimes a major step back. A child inquires about something very hard to deal with, and the mother provides an answer. What I take from this chapter is the following: it’s not what the question was about. To me, it is about how well we must be prepared never to run away from the hard questions. What will I answer my students or my younger family members if a hard question is brought to me? Thank you to the author of this bit for bringing to my attention that this may happen, so I want to be educated as much as possible about our modern hard/problematic questions. So… as this book suggests: don’t be lazy. Get the information correctly. That goes for politics as well as any other less problematic subjects. 

Feeding the soul is as relevant as feeding our minds and spirits. Julia Cameron has great insight into this one. Although the authors in this book are pointing towards God and accepting God, I see the message more like a welcoming into our lives of beauty, peace, joy, love, community…

Some stories are funny, like comparing our relationship with God (or with our goal in life to be happy) with the relationship between our dogs and us. Imagine: I know what is good for you, although you do not understand. Don’t eat chocolate because it will kill you, but here is your treat if you obey me. Sounds like taking a sword to our free will, but in one particular aspect, I totally agree with this philosophy. Here is why: please apply this to when you are learning new languages, a musical instrument, wanting to excel at any sport, or marriage, anything that needs you not to quit, to go through the most horrible trials, but trust the process, you will be rewarded in the end. (Sometimes). Apply to whatever you must overcome in your life. I never had a dog, but I played the piano, and I represented my country in a European Championship. It was my choice to go through these trials and push forward… the reward was a lesson in humility and a broken finger, but I would do it again. No one can take away that journey and all the lessons.

Embrace mistakes. If you are an artist, this is number one or two on your 10th Amendment tablet. Mistakes allow you to experiment, to deal and learn from what does not work, so you can finally test and start doing what works. I wrote an entire book on this subject in my Never Give Up (a notfrombrazil companion book tips to get things done). 

This book has a good perspective on facing a bad situation or what to do when plans do not go as expected. It should not be a block and force us to stop. Turn the game around and use what you have in front of you to make it positive. Even in the worst outcome. By stopping fighting, you can move on. Just do the best with what you have. See it as a new opportunity. I like this one a lot too, but I confess it’s harder sometimes, and it takes time to deal with whatever I need to deal with in order to move forward or let go. I go through periods of silence that can last days (ask my husband), and what I am doing is dealing with it, so my next actions are not more destructive than what is already happening. 

Reaching out to others is another of my difficulties. I am a very proud person, and by reaching out, I feel I owe this person forever, but this book brought up one relevant aspect, and I truly believe people in our current society prefer to pay and give money away than give their attention. Give your time. Money is always a way to ease some burdens, but sometimes, all we need is the gift of having someone’s time, help, or someone doing something for us that we can’t. I treasure that kind of loyalty more. 

Another interesting point this book makes, and very easy to understand, is… when you do something or go for something, go with all that you are. The author of this chapter mentions a bridge. When you want to cross a bridge, you do not send your arm and left hand. You cross it with your whole self. It is a fun analogy and efficient. How many things do we do in our daily lives that we only put one finger or half an ear into? When was the last time you put all of yourself?

In our modern society, we have less and less quality time with our families. Work, activities that fill the day, and others that we think are a priority. Time consumes our time, energy, mood, and creativity… Movies show young married couples having to schedule time for dates and spending the night together, which looks like a parody, but maybe not so much. Thanksgiving is probably one of the few nights people sit down together as families, and the joke is that it ends badly. This book points out the necessity to make time for the family. Dinners with family. Instead of sitting in front of a TV, holding our plates, without speaking, because no one should interrupt the actors in the box.  

One of the POVs speaks of the Chosen One vs the Dark Lord. The author is speaking of Jesus, but giving us the highlight plotline of Harry Potter. I love this chapter because many readers say I do not read fantasy or that it is not real. They say they only like fiction and contemporary themes in real life, not escapism, or ghosts, or things of the devil, but fantasy authors are great historians, great readers, and students of life. They get inspired by the most iconic and relevant facts of all schools of thought, religion, history, philosophy, politics… and so on. I dare say we act like bridges between those who shut down other people’s ideas just because they have a label. We will always get inspired by the good and the bad provided by all types of people to create our fantasy worlds. I am glad about that. I am glad we artists and authors of fantasy worlds are not canceling thoughts, culture… because we do not agree with other opinions. We use them as themes for our dark, grim or epic, uplifting fantasy quests. Let’s cherish these references instead of silencing them.

Do you get angry? I do a lot. (I blame perimenopause, lol) My anger has different levels and affects me physically, making me sick. It comes from the injustices I see, feel, in being aggravated, ignored, or even surprised in a bad way. But it’s worse that we carry this anger inside until we find a victim to deposit it all. Have you experienced the damage unwarranted anger can cause to someone? I have. Have I caused it? I have. Have I chosen to apologize? I did. It means that I cannot deal with all things on my own, but blurting it out in the wrong way is not the way. One thing reading middle-grade books taught me is to recognize and apologize with all of myself, not just half my left eye.  

Making others miserable just because I can is not a solution, and adding un-minced words ends in abandonment.

So, I’ve been speaking of Un-Minced words. One of the POVs gives us this chapter explains that speaking all that is on your mind, without filters and with a lack of empathy for the damage it will do to others, will lead you to loneliness. I understand the author’s point of view. If you hurt or offend anyone who reaches out to you, you find that door closes more often in your face. But from my personal experience, I can also assure you that the opposite will lead you to loneliness. Agreeing with all that is said and done will make you look fake to people, and they will not see any kind of authority or trust in what you say. I am terribly afraid of this, not because I want to please others, but because I do not like conflict, and I tend to see the positive in the negative first and fall into despair when I can’t make the positive part work. I can see the intention, although the execution may not have been the right one. Thus, Therearenobadbooks. I always grow from the experience of reading something. We often have extremes in our society. Starting with the white lies (which offend me profoundly, because I can tell I am being lied to, for laziness or because I am not worth the truth) against the frontal aggressiveness of what bullies describe as facts and truths, everyone-was-thinking-it… so-I'll-said-it. I remember asking my mother when I was about what freedom was. Where did my personal space begin, and where did my invisible personal space (the things I listened to when verbally attacked) start or end? And where another’s freedom ended. This was very hard for her to explain, but she tried. From that point forward, I had in my head that my arm’s length is the only space I can protect and affect, and defend from intruders. I still do. And when that tiny space in this world is violated, I am fearless in protecting myself, no matter what. I do not offer white lies. I offer different perspectives. I do not offer hard truths or aggressiveness (unless I am having a breakdown. Please do not punish me. See it as a plea for help.) I apologize whenever I do wrong, because it’s something I owe myself, a correction of an infraction of my own beliefs.

Have you found reward in small acts? This book reminded me that small acts in our daily routine can be rewarding. Something you will find in Julia Cameron’s books as well. Now I force myself to get out of the house at least 15 minutes, to go get that something that I forgot on purpose, to force myself to walk the next day. I notice a caterpillar, a flower competing with another, a child smiling at me, a crooked tree growing towards the sun, a painting someone did with love and it now at the thrift shop window waiting to be noticed, one or many tiny thing, small as they are, can be perceived by someone like the authors of this book as a sign from God, or to their prayers, or just proof that not all is terrible and the same day after day. 

What have you noticed today?

The POV of one chapter asks. “Do you, like me, have a few lessons you could learn from a toddler?” Absolutely. I am amazed at how rapidly they adapt to the strangeness and violence (I mean one thousand activities daily, schedules, people to interact with, changes in weather, anything) to face one day without caffeine or drugs. It is a miracle that they are not crying more or making more tantrums. That is why I always try to read one kid’s book per week or pick up a picture book and return to the basics. As artists, we do this a lot, return to the basics when we are lost, revise techniques, and ask again why we are doing this. Keeping myself as a child inside my mind and heart helps me to be a better artist, an empathic adult, and a book reviewer. Even if you do not have kids, have you played with children recently? You will be amazed at how light you will feel after. I used to love teaching because of that. To me, they were my children. My arms’ length personal space would always grow to the size of the classroom, and I would be a dragon to fight for their access to knowledge, well-being, while their parents were away. 

How do you feel about hoarding? In a way, there is always something we are hoarding. Those clothes we never use but are from special dates we do not have the courage to give away. The book expresses kindness and gifting all of that so that it can bring joy to others as well. No need to continue to pay for a storehouse of things that exist in our memories. This is very hard for me. Since I was a child, it’s hard to give away the memory of the physical object attached to the memory, so I still have books and things from when I was 5. So, Marie Kondo all of it, especially as we are approaching the twilight of our lives. But be prepared that others may see it as trash and will not cherish it as much as you do. The book brings awareness of hoarding. The rest is from my experience. When I moved across the ocean, I selected specific items that I wanted my best friends to keep as a memory of me. They were items that meant a lot to me, but to them, they had no meaning attached, thus garbage. They refused them, which hurt a lot. But I minced my words and let it go. 

I appreciate that in one of these chapters, the author brings awareness to trauma and mental health. The need to see clearly. The author finds in God or the idea of religion the next step, to see clearly, and only then to be ready to accept professional help. I am grateful that it did not stop with only finding reason in God. Seeing clearly leads to realizing when it’s time to request help. Professional help is one of the hardest and most important steps to take. Call it God, or good sense, but do not stop there. Thank you, author, for that. 

There is one chapter that is quite pleasant. I mentioned above in my short version of this review. The authors went through a hard path to find this waterfall, but the path is very difficult, the weather does not help, and in the middle of the way, someone tells them to go back, because it is not worth it. Don’t let others think or make assumptions for you. Experience things. Here, they reached their goal only to discover that the person must have quit half the way, and they were rewarded with the refreshment. This is so important to me. It is at the core of why I cannot DNF (quit) books. I do not mind giving my time. It is never a waste of time, even if I get to the end, and dislike the plot decisions. I cannot just quit halfway or skip chapters, because this is going to destroy the rhythm of a novel, which the author planned. How can you feel about the climax of the story if you have not suffered the path with the characters? Focused on what they had to accept or quit to reach those decisions. Unfortunately for me, I am an author who builds symphonies like the Bolero de Ravel (you have to read it all to get the crescendo, or the end is just noise). In my fantasy books, to get the full experience, you cannot skip pages or POVs because they all contain little clues and are all ingredients to the best cake ever. Try chocolate cake without chocolate. You can, but it is not my cake. For my ends to make sense and have the emotional weight they have, you must go through the trials with all the characters and all the chapters. Many times, I am convinced that a book has a low score for me, but the last four chapters change my mind, and I give it 5. I am always happy when that happens. I nee,d and I want to have the full experience. 

One of my favorite chapters towards the very end is when the author of this POV imagines: “…what God would say to me if he could write me a letter.” This one I turned into an exercise for myself, because Julia Cameron also suggests this. Write a letter to yourself and mail it to yourself. What would God, a departed mother, friends, an enemy, an aggressor, an estranged someone, a loved one… say to you? Can you write all these letters? I wrote what my child version would say to me now, and added another from my teenage version, and mailed them to my house.

Found family is a trope adored currently in the book community. Characters who build their families on a quest or during a hard time with people who bring them joy. We also have friends we call siblings in our daily lives. Why not embrace them as family? Why not consider them home? I liked this chapter too.

I find it curious that Pastor JoAnne Alexander indicates that we look at the same action or object or whatever from different points of view. True. For example (these are my words, my analogy), to be awakened and embrace the spiritual guidance of God, to be woke and aware. I love an open mind.

Yes, I love an open mind, an eclectic mind. I do not impose my thoughts or the idea of being open-minded. I just declare that it’s my preference. I can hear other opinions. I will still have my own, and it will not be easily destroyed. I respect others. And I am glad they have theirs as well, at my arms’ length personal space, and I can choose to walk away or not. My choice. 

One chapter made me laugh with the thought of all the years and years of fun stories of people who make live nativities must have. The animals aren’t always cooperating… This is one of the last chapters, then it follows with the Christmas ones, and I appreciate it is indicated that Christmas is from 25th to January 6th, because I love to celebrate King’s Day and I am still in Christmas mood.

Thank you, Lauren and author,s for including me in this tour. The stories made me think of myself as a person in society in deep ways this weekend.