Thin Places Giveaway with Mary DeMuth
Thin places.
The term,ย โthin placesโ has its roots deep in Celtic Christianity. The thought is that there are two layers or dimensions of reality to our existence while here on earth: the tangible, visible world of our ordinary experience and the hidden, unseen world of the Spirit. However, there are brief moments in ones life when the thin curtain separating the two worlds is drawn back and weโseeโ or experience that unseen world.
In scripture, when Moses met God in a burning bush or Peter, James and John had their own “can’t we stay here forever?” mountain-top experience, they met God in a thin place.
At times in retrospect, we glance back at our own lives and see that God often met us in such a thin place in the midst of pain or tragedy. Those times when sometimes we seemed most abandoned by humans and perhaps by God are often the times when He actually drew more near.
Author and friend Mary DeMuth releases this week her new book entitled Thin Places; A Memoir. I first metย Mary thorough our connection at Hearts at Home. My father-in-law passed away and I had to cancel an appearance at a west coast conference. Mary graciously took my place. I watched her launch her writing career, beginning with non-fiction books for moms designed to help them build the Christian family they never had. From there she tried her hand (very successfully, I might add) at fiction, penning a trilogy of books set in the east Texas town of Defiance. Now, she writes a memoir.
Below is a brief description of that memoir Thin Places, followed by a short interview with this amazing writer. And today, Mary is generously offering to give away a signed copy to one of you who leaves a comment, so don’t forget to chime in at the close of this post.
In this moving spiritual memoir โThin Placesโ Mary DeMuth traces the winding path of thin places in her life, places where she experienced longing and healing more intensely than before. From surviving abuse as a latchkey kid to discovering a heavenly Father who never leaves, Mary’s story invites you to a deeper understanding of your own story. She calls you to discover new ways to look for God in the past so that you might experience him more profoundly in the present.
What if you could retrace your life and discover its thin places—โplaces where the division between this world and the eternal fades? Thin places are snatches of holy ground, tucked into the corners of our world, where we might just catch a glimpse of eternity. They are aha moments, beautiful realizations, when the Son of God bursts through the hazy fog of our monotony and shines on us afresh. He has come near to your life. This book will will show you how.
Now, let’s hear from Mary….
Mary, when and how did God nudge you, prompting you to write Thin Places?
A few years ago, everything just came to me. Iโd been through so much healing, and God said it was time to write about the past in a more detailed way. Thin Places, as a metaphor, came in a similar way. I pitched the book to my agent who loved it, then sent it to Zondervan. They loved it too, thankfully. I wrote the book, giving myself the freedom to say everything and anything, with no filter. My editor, bless him, then helped me rein in my meandering thoughts. But giving myself permission to say it all really helped the book. So many times, we censor ourselves before we even come to the page.
How was writing this memoir different from writing your non-fiction parenting books and your fiction trilogy?
In some ways, since Iโm a storyteller, not much was different, only this time I wasnโt writing a novel or a parenting narrative. I was the heroine/needy girl in of the story. The story arc was my own. In a strange sense, I was a character in the story God wrote for me long before the foundation of the world. The difficulty was getting it all down in a cohesive way.
What do you desire for women to learn from walking alongside you in your past on the pages of Thin Places?
I know most of your blog readers are women, but alas, even men are getting blessed by the book, which was one of my hopes. The CEO of Childrenโs Hope Chest, Tom Davis, (a novelist himself) wrote, โI am not the same after reading this book.โ So for anyone reading this book, I pray theyโll see some of their own story in mine, discern the way Jesus breaks through the dark places, and be brave enough to want healing. Healing is a difficult journey, and many of us shy away because of the darkness. We forget that Jesus is the great light in the darkness.
What is one nugget of encouragement you can give others who too have experienced a painful or shameful past?
See your loss as a positive thing. In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Paul asserts that God is only strong in our weakness. Think about that a moment. Weโre running around like crazy people trying to put on this facade of strength, denying our pasts, trying to decorate over our pain, when in actuality itโs our pain and weakness that gives God permission to be strong. Iโm glad Iโm weak. Iโm thankful. Because of that, Jesus comes through all the brighter. Embrace your weakness!
Thank you Mary for sharing a bit with us and for offering a signed book to one of our cyber-sisters today.
You are very welcome!
Okay everyone, I cannot tell you how much this book impacted me. I picked it up a little over a week ago to peruse before drifting off to sleep around 10:oo pm. I needed to decide just where it should go in my ever-growing stack of “books written by both friends and strangers that I really need to read”.
I read the first three pages….and then the reaming 212 all at once!!!!”
Finally cried myself to sleep (in a very good way) at 1:23 am.
Could. Not. Put. This. Book. Down!!!
I encourage you to experience God’s ever-near presence throughout the pages of this painful and beautiful story.
So please leave a comment today. It can be a simple “I’m in!” comment or ย perchance one about a thin place of your own where now, looking back, you can see God was there.
The winner will be announced tomorrow.
Thin Placed Blessings,
I’m in!
I’m almost finished now…Amazing, healing book
Thanks for the reminder that our strength comes from God, we need just to admit that we are super humans, and allow God to work in and through us. I’m sure this book will touch many people.
Sounds like a GREAT book! Hoping to win a copy!
I’m in!
I would love to read this book!
How holy it would be if we were all able to hand our muddied past to Christ, the only one who can wipe our eyes with it and say; “There now, you are no longer blind, you have been healed.”
I love Mary’s writing—Daisy Chain kept me captivated and up all night as I read it.
Her memoir sounds just as enticing and after the events that have occured in my life just in 2009, it is nice to be reminded that God does meet us in those “thin places”. I can’t wait to read it!!!
What a sweet image of our loving Father!! I too have experienced thin places in my life, and recently God has been reminding me just how powerful those moments are…this is where He has blessed me to BE a blessing!!! I look forward to sharing your journey through the pages of this inspiring book! Thank you!
I’m in!
I’m in!
Great article today!! Blessed my soul! Thank you!
Sounds like a great book
I’m in.
I’m tearful just reading ABOUT the book! I love the title, and thank you for the description about the history of “thin places.” In this world we live in, to be in a place of weakness is considered a negative, but I love that God considers it a positive. His greatness shows when we admit we can do nothing without Him. Thank you for the offer to win the book – I’d love to!
This book really sounds good!! I am putting it on my list!
This sounds like a great read! I know there have been a few thin places in my life, and I always find it encouraging and a source of renewal to read of others’ journeys and be reminded of my own. Thanks for bringing the book to our attention!
I’m in
This book sounds wonderful. I would love to read it.
Sounds like a great book! Can’t wait to read it.
This sounds like a book I would love to read, and recommend to family and friends!!
Sounds like a “must read!”
Oh, I can hardly wait to read it…My birthday was yesterday and this book will definately be my borthday gift to myself! Thank you,
Sounds like a fabulous book! I would put it tops on my ever-growing book stack.
Wow! I like the idea of embracing our weaknesses.