In 2015 Guyanese-born author Erwin K. Thomas, PhD, has self-published A Weekly Encounter: Fifty-Two Meditations of Hope through Amazon's CreateSpace. It is a carefully crafted and meant to bring joy to those desirous of growing in the Christian faith. Through this devotional God's promises, blessings and future hope are lifted up for those persons seeking solace and peace of mind. These meditations are guides to a successful and weekly walk in individuals' prayer life to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Many readers will be comforted by pertinent biblical verses and quotes from well-known and famous personalities. These quotes will touch and enlighten their social, cultural and spiritual quests. Through these meditations they will be treated to the thinking and comments by historical figures like Thomas Jefferson, Eleanor Roosevelt, William Shakespeare, John F. Kennedy, Pope Francis, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Billy Graham, Desmond Tutu, Aristotle, Voltaire, Confucius and many more. In their own colorful styles and ways these individuals were able to capture the grandiose nature of the loving God of the universe.

These devotions are presented in ten sections - The Church, Love Conquers, Light Is a Force, Precious Gifts, Live with Dignity, Cultural Attributes, Our Real Home, Superb Joy, Team Spirit and Selected Readings. Some of the Christian topics explored are the human condition, hidden saints, vision of leadership, images of God, faces of love, pioneer of salvation, cherished lives, our marvelous gifts, blessings in disguise, American culture, your earthly journey and more.

Individuals have the option of reading one meditation and reflecting on a biblical verse at the end of each week that is relevant to the devotional topic in Thought of the Week. This one-of-a-kind collection will sustain a reader throughout an entire year. For in it lies beliefs on the Holy Spirit, quotes of world-renowned and successful personalities that are sure to pique persons' interests. Individuals will learn more about the scriptures, divine mysteries, living godly lives, their hopes of salvation and the joys of a heavenly paradise. Each quotation has been carefully selected and is particularly geared to elaborate on the content of every one of these meditations.

At the end of the book the author took great care in deciding on the entries for the Selected Readings. It was through these cited works that he was able to shape these devotions. These citations were drawn from a mixture of contemporary Christian thought, theological teachings, spiritual classics and prayer books. With these devotions there was an attempt to capture the essence of major Christian faith traditions – Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and non-denominational Christian church groups. Interestingly some of the Christian resources listed in the Selected Readings were found at local libraries, Barnes & Noble Bookstores, church bazaars, used bookstores and Thrift Stores - Goodwill, Salvation Army Hampton Roads and CHKD outlets.

For over 25 years Erwin K. Thomas – a PhD graduate from the School of Journalism, University of Missouri – Columbia has been an academician and journalism professor at three universities in the United States – most recently at Norfolk State University, Virginia. While living in Brooklyn, NY, he worked as a desk assistant at CBS Radio News, NYC. After retirement, in 2010 he served as vice president of the Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR) – Old Dominion University, Virginia Beach, and is presently a member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Religion Media Interest Group. He has published three previous books, the latest on the Mass Media 2025 was by Greenwood Press (2001) and co-edited with Brown H. Carpenter. Thomas is married to Mary Barta Thomas and they are parents of Matthew J. Thomas of Charlottesville,VA. He and his wife Mary are life-long members of the Church of the Holy Apostles – an ecumenical community of Episcopalians and Roman Catholics in Virginia Beach.

Description of Book....

"Forty Days of Grace is a prayer devotional full of wisdom orchestrated by God to manifest His purpose through a chosen nation. As you read Forty Days of Grace, God will daily impart into you revelation and knowledge for strength and encouragement. On each page God depicts His grace given for you to complete the work He has chosen for you to do. Everyone who takes the journey through Forty Days of Grace can anticipate receiving God’s triumphant Victory. As you travel within the pages of Forty Days of Grace - A Prayer Devotional, the power of God is unveiled for you to know that His Grace is Sufficient and for you to daily experience His Abundant Grace."

Title: Forty Days of Grace: [A Prayer Devotional]

Author:  Kim Y. Jackson

Publisher:  God's Glory of Grace

Reviewed By:  Arlena Dean

Rating: Five

Review:

"Forty Days of Grace" by Kim Y. Jackson

Why I read this book....

I did a blog on my blog pager about this author and she offered her audience a chance to win a free copy of her novel..'Forty Days of Grace' and I was one of the winners!

What I enjoyed from the read...

This was some very beautiful prayer devotional's that I have ever read.  I was moved by each days reading that you are given each day.  The reader will be imparted the revelation and knowledge as you are given strength and encouragement for a total of forty days with one receiving 'God's triumphant Victory.'  These daily readings presented to the reader were  done so uniquely each day with the reader getting a revelation for just that day.  I also loved how that after each days devotion one will had a place to write for there daily prayer requests.

Memorable Moments....

"As you travel within the pages of Forty Days of Grace ~ A Prayer Devotional, the power of God is unveiled for you to know that His Grace is Sufficient and for you to daily experience His Abundant Grace."

(Originally written August 5th, 2013)

Back in the spring, David asked if I’d be interested in writing a review of his latest book, “40 Days of Praise: A Hymn Devotional”. I was still reading “Devotions From Genesis” by Nicole Vaughn, so I let him know that if I did do his study, it would be as one who did it each day rather than a quick scan through. He was ok with that, so a few months later, here we are.

Being of the musical persuasion in my worship and intimacy with Christ, I looked forward to this devotional, to see what songs he’d pick and what truths would be drawn from them. Many of the hymns David picked spoke of reaching the lost. There are many hymns in the ancient and modern hymnals that speak to a wide range of thoughts, doctrines and persuasions, but for David, the focus was largely on the concept of what drives us to fulfill the Great Commission. Hymns of concecration such as “Take My Life and Let it Be” were familiar to me, while hymns such as “Master, the Tempest is Raging” were new. I always find it so amazing how God inspired people down through the ages to speak to the timeless issues of dedication, conflict, the storms of life, etc. To see how these people wrote of the struggle and of how God spoke to and met them in that struggle is always a comfort and encouragement to me.

If there was one thing about this devotional that caused some dismay, it was the lack of intentional Scripture reading accompanying each hymn. Various devotionals did reference Scripture, but some only alluded to it with no reference that could be looked up and read as part of the day’s session. To that end, this is a devotional best reserved for those who have been journeying in the faith awhile and who would rather spend time reflecting on God’s inspiration to others than on what God might say directly from the Scriptures. For the solid Christian, the ability to do their own study on this matter is not out of the question, but for the new, young, or struggling Christian, it would be better to pick this devotional up at a later time on deeper spiritual footing.

There were no other concerns with this devotional at all, and I ended up journalling about how Day 25 touched me already. Feel free to read that in earlier blog posts here.

Thank you for this copy of your devotional David, and may God use it to bless others as it blessed me.