Writers and Readers

Writing is an interaction with the page, or screen.
It stares at you, or you at it.
The page is blank, inviting words, the shape of thoughts that have to be mined from a deep interior where the meaning and the mysteries of the outer world are stored.
But it's messier than that.
Meanings are often inchoate, to be wrestled with before articulation.
And mysteries: how uneasily approached, how difficult to render.

But gradually the blankness of the page disappears under the words that try to signify, if only to the writer.
Should the writing be shared with others, the hope is it will signify also to those, the readers.
As every writer knows, sometimes it doesn't.
But when it does, the writer feels joined to community, yielding a sense of connectedness, of belonging to an uncommon humanity that takes seriously its moral and spiritual quests and meanings.
And that gives a grateful heart.

The reader responses below to Talking with God... fill that grateful heart.

      ...a golden bowl full of prayers (Rev. 5:8) that are like casual conversations with a friend, except that the friend is called “Lord.”


     The book breathes the notion that religion is for all of life, and that nothing is unimportant in the eyes of God.


     It teaches us how to pray in a more natural way.

     Here is a devotional that is unlike most I have read.

     ...the book is a "master piece".  You centainly have a speical gift of writing.  The book was a blessing for both of us. 


     That observation—that speaking with God requires integrity of heart and mind—serves throughout as the key to his intimacy with his Father. Thus, these are truly adult conversations. They are not sentimental or Pollyanna exercises.


     This collection is a true gift to “God-seekers.”

     Oh, my, what can I say?  Your book is beautiful! Your tone, subjects and sensitivity speak to the faith that I hold...

      Fear and Mourning really touched me ---a blessing where I am emotionally at this point of my journey.     Talking With God is filled with such "unexpected gifts of grace," closely-observed moments of the spiritual life that surprise us as much with their beauty as with their honesty.


     Talking With God is sincere and unafraid, a much-needed reminder of what faith really means in this age of cliche and polemic.


     It is a book that does not judge or condemn, rather it engages our minds to think, contemplate and explore.


    It zeroes in on the great central themes of the Christian faith.


    He faces both the mysterious parts of God's revelation as well as life's painful dilemmas.


    Henry Baron makes it clear throughout his musings, reflections, commentaries and prayers that he's talking with and not to God. What a difference that little preposition assumes and expects. It's his embrace of that assumption that makes this book such a treasure: we can talk with God about anything and all things.


   Baron writes relational stuff. No pie(ty) in the sky.


   Readers will find themselves speaking to their Father God with that same naturalness they learn from these pages of fluid, sacred conversations.


   It reminds us of the important things in life and brings healing to any wounds we may carry, giving us permission to feel and heal.

...a frankness about life which makes me nod in agreement and ... a talent in connecting words so beautifully that they become meaningful and wonderful to God's children.

I have been amazed at the sensitivity of these talks with God. I have been blessed and enriched by them. Henry Baron has an unusual grasp of the human condition. His talks with God are insightful, honest, raw, disquieting and comforting at the same time. Christians have all kinds of wonderings, questions, doubts, hopes, fears. These talks with God give voice to all of these things. I recommend it highly.
Noble simplicity. Just the right words, usually short words, simple words, but just the right words. 
Henry introduces us to a new genre of prayer--honest cries of the heart.


                               [for complete reviews, see www.exxelpublishing.com and Amazon]

Sometimes the wrestling with words to truthfully render elusive thoughts and feelings and memories and
questions is worth its sweat and tears.