Touching Wonder by John Blake

Note: I'm going to meet my family today, which means I'll be away for my computer for a few days. Have a good break everyone!

This short read (I finished it in one sitting), is perfect to get into the spirit of Christmas.

This book is divided into twelve parts, with one interlude. Each part starts with a passage from Luke, taken from The Message translation (if you haven't heard of The Message, it's a translation that aims to convey the essence/Spirit of the Bible rather than a literal translation). After which, it's followed by a narration from the point of view of one of the characters concerned. Finally, it ends with a pray/reflection by the author.

I thought the mingling of The Message with the author's version was very well done. The Message naturally has a story-like feel, so rather than being reading a passage and something fiction, it felt more like reading a continuous story. Each chapter felt fresh, and made the Birth of Christ feel very vivid.

One of my favourite passages was from the Angel Gabriel's point of view. But the passage that made the deepest impact is simply from "an Angel". I would like to share the first paragraph

"To say that His Birth was opposed is to touch the limits of mortal language. The Mighty One has been hated since the pride of the bright one led many away. Your word war comes close, but even then, believe me, you have no idea."

The prayers were really reflections, but since they were handwritten (they look like a note), I found it a little hard to read at times. But they are quite short, so it wasn't that hard to decipher.

Remember,

"The Life-Light will blaze in the darkness,

no more night.

Peace on earth, Peace for us all."