Kevin answered me with a kiss.
And then another.
And then another.
And then all the kisses ran together into one long kiss until I couldn’t breathe. The intense look in his eyes was full of desire. “I told you I wanted to celebrate being a new man.”
He scooped me up and carried me back to the master bedroom, the whole time kissing my face, my neck, my lips. I thought I would melt. He lay me down on the bed, covered with lavender rose petals, and slowly undressed me, kissing me the whole time. Everywhere.
My body was singing. And so were the birds, and the ocean, and the sun, and the trees and all of creation it seemed.
And heaven and earth moved.
All . . . day . . . long.
Reader’s Group Guide
1. In deciding whether she should tell Bishop about Kevin’s sexuality, Monica says that if God gives her a sign, she’ll tell him. Trina tells her she’s fleecing God and recommends that she learn to hear from the Holy Spirit. “Fleecing” refers to a passage in Judges where Gideon asks God for a sign to prove what He said was true (See Judges 6:37-40). Is fleecing wrong? What are ways of hearing from God and confirming His will for our lives?
2. Trina refers to Love and Faith as a gay-friendly church. What does she mean by this? What should be the approach to homosexuality in the church? Monica states that Bishop wouldn’t want Kevin as his minister of music if he knew about Kevin’s sexual orientation. Should known homosexuals be allowed to hold positions of leadership in the church?
3. Trina says on repeated occasions that sin is sin and that homosexuality shouldn’t be treated any different than any other sin. She equates Kevin’s problem with homosexuality with her past problem with fornication. Is homosexuality a worse sin than others? Why are homosexuals treated differently than individuals with sin issues in other areas?
4. Through her conversations with Bishop Walker, Monica discovers that his motives are impure. She has to calm herself down and remind herself not to disrespect her pastor. How should one respond if they discover that their spiritual leader is wrong, has improper motives, or doesn’t have their best interest at heart?
5. Monica stops going to church because of the incident with Kevin and her disappointment at Bishop Walker’s response. She later tells Alaysia that she’s fine with God, it’s just His people she’s not sure about. She later laments that she doesn’t know how she allowed her fallout with Kevin and Bishop to cause her to fall out with God. How can being hurt in the church, especially by a spiritual leader, affect one’s spiritual walk?
6. Monica’s best friend in college, Alaysia, was unsaved and made bad lifestyle choices. Alaysia’s habits affected Monica—she drank alcohol and smoked marijuana. Should Christians be friends with unsaved people? If so, how should they respond to their unsaved friend’s ungodly lifestyle habits? Monica’s friendship with Alaysia, in spite of causing her to sin, ultimately resulted in Alaysia’s getting saved. Does that justify Monica’s drinking and smoking?
7. In referring to her abortion, Alaysia admits that she can’t overcome the guilt of having done something so wrong. She sarcastically says that Christians can commit any sin and just have to ask forgiveness, but have no remorse when they do wrong. Does God’s grace and forgiveness make it “okay” for Christians to sin?
8. Initially after the incident, whenever Monica feels stressed or sad, she reaches for food. When Alaysia comes to visit her in Atlanta, Monica reaches for alcohol from the mini-bar when she’s dealing with upsetting thoughts. Later in the story, she admits to Alaysia that she’s eating cookies to make her feel better, and Alaysia tells her to use something else. What other bad habits do individuals use to deal with negative emotions? How does Monica eventually learn to handle negative emotions?
9. Monica admits to Alaysia that her questions about the Bible and Christianity make her feel like a “raggedy Christian.” After a brunch Bible study with Khalil, Monica feels as if Alaysia knows as much about Christianity as she does, even though she’s spent her entire life in church. Why is this? Do you think the average Christian possess enough Biblical knowledge to minister to the unsaved?
10. While Alaysia is struggling with her decision to become a Christian, she mentions several obstacles that have blocked her. She doesn’t understand why a good God would allow so many bad things to happen. She also says that present day Christianity is nothing like she would expect it to be based on the things she’s read in the Word. She also says that Christians “flake out” when it’s time to have faith. How can the attitudes and actions (or inaction) of Christians affect the unsaved around them?
11. Monica becomes frustrated with being single and cries out to God that she knows that she should be satisfied with Him being her husband, but she desires to have a husband “down here.” What does it mean to be satisfied with one’s singleness? Does it mean her love for God is any less if she desires a husband?
12. While reading the book, Touching A Dead Man, Monica feels convicted when she realizes that judging people struggling with homosexuality is just as much of a sin as homosexuality itself. Has this book at all caused you, the reader, to examine your ideas, thoughts, feelings and prejudices toward homosexuals? If so, how? How can a change in attitude in Christians affect the deliverance of individuals struggling with homosexuality?
Urban Christian His Glory Book Club!
Established January 2007, UC His Glory Book Club is another way by which to introduce Urban Christian and its authors. We are an online book club supporting Urban Christian authors by purchasing, reading, and providing written reviews of the authors’ books. UC His Glory Book Club welcomes both men and women of the literary world who have a passion for reading Christian-based fiction.
UC His Glory Book Club is the brainchild of Joylynn Jossel, author and Executive Editor of Urban Christian and Kendra Norman-Bellamy, author and copy editor for Urban Christian. The book club will provide support, positive feedback, encouragement, and a forum whereby members can openly discuss and review the literary works of Urban Christian authors. In the future, we anticipate broadening our spectrum of services to include online author chats, author spotlights, interviews with your favorite Urban Christian author (s), special online groups for UC His Glory Book Club members, ability to post reviews on the website and amazon.com, membership ID cards, UC His Glory Yahoo! Group and much more.
Even though there will be no membership fees attached to becoming a member of UC His Glory Book Club, we do expect our members to be active, committed, and to follow the guidelines of the Book Club.
UC His Glory Book Club members pledge to:
• Follow the guidelines of UC His Glory Book Club.
• Provide input, opinions, and reviews that build up, rather than tear down.
• Commit to purchasing, reading and discussing featured book(s) of the month.
• Respect the Christian beliefs of UC His Glory Book Club.
• Believe that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God
We look forward to the online fellowship.
Many Blessings to You!
Shelia E. Lipsey
President
UC His Glory Book Club
**Visit the official Urban Christian Book Club website at www.uchisglorybookclub.net
Urban Books, LLC
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My Soul Cries Out copyright © 2007 Sherri L. Lewis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the Publisher, except brief quotes used in reviews.
ISBN: 978-1-6016-2996-8
This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is entirely coincidental.
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