BEHOLDEN Review

"A book that makes you examine your Christian walk. This story is told through the lives of everyday people which makes it very relatable. The author takes a look at the "little" things that we allow into our hearts and lives that eventually grow to overpower our thinking, attitudes, viewpoints, choices, etc. and eventually lead us away from our Lord Jesus. This book forced me to think about my daily choices and brings home the fact that there is a spiritual warfare going on for our minds and hearts.

This is a MUST read, especially for those who want to make their lives count. I will be re-reading this book at least once per year!

I received this book as a prize in a Facebook online book club (BRAB) giveaway." - Severine Bryan-Johnson

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Stop and Smell the Roses

We have been created to be sensual beings. Not so much as to be led by our senses, but to enlist them in our appreciation for all that God has given us. Our sense of hearing, taste, smell, sight and touch are avenues that are to be taken in order to bask in the splendor of the Creator and His creation. There are myriads of brilliant colors that are pleasing to the eye and many levels of sound all around us. There are countless delicacies to tantalize our pallets and bouquets of fragrances to tickle our olfactory nerves. And, there are varying degrees of textures that will not leave our sense of touch bored and disenchanted.

            God has taken into careful consideration, our “need” for things to appeal to us. We are not left without a witness and a testimony of His greatness. Evidence of His existence is all pervasive in our tangible world and those intangibles that have yet to be discovered.  We are inundated with things to be explored … we will never stop being amazed at what He has done; however, the Bible tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. All that we unearth has been and what was discovered is yet to be seen. God is aware of what we do not know. He is never surprised because He is in every living thing. The atmosphere is alive with Him. Therefore, what we experience (at any given point of our life and living) is God.

            He cannot be missed. We are made up of living matter, so what we see is God. We breathe in the air around us, infused with life forces. In Him we live and move and have our being. We cannot escape the Creator of all living things. In what we would consider the absence of sound, is still sound … it is just outside of our natural selves to experience it; therefore, God can be heard on all levels. Imagine if this is the reason that God wants us to step outside of our “natural” inclinations – so we can enjoy and experience Him in new and amazing ways. There is so much that is missed when we think that God is just what can be experienced sensually.

            It is true that if we were just to experience God on the level of what we can observe, we would never run out of reasons to give Him glory. However, it is not where He desires for us to remain. We are not to approach Him with what can be perceived. He wants to reveal to us those things that cannot be ascertained through our carnal discoveries. Therefore, He speaks to us in the deepest parts of ourselves; that place which cannot be engaged by our five senses. We use what we can sense, naturally, to spark a level of curiosity that beckons us to lift ourselves above. He wants us to come up higher and go deeper.

            So, as we continue to discover and uncover that which can be sensed and manipulated, let us not forget to marvel at His splendor. We have our five senses to help us appreciate the Creator. He has given us these things to spark wonder and awe. Every natural sight and sound is filled with Him. As we think on these things, don’t forget to stop and smell the roses. 

Someone Died Today

The hustle and bustle of everyday living is going on. In syncopation there are those who are waking from slumber, those who are lying down in rest, and those who are making the most of the daylight they have left. Neither of them are taking note of the other, yet their lives are making up the fabric of NOW. We are all loving and loathing, eating and drinking, crying and laughing, and running and walking in perfect harmony – individually cooperative. And, without our perfect knowledge of the other, we are living and dying.

Someone died, today. While we are going about the business of our day, there are those who are mourning the loss of someone great (or not so great). While we are begrudging our jobs, our hair, our clothes, our spouses, and our lives, someone is taking their last breaths. We find moments to complain about our lot and what we will never have, there is someone who doesn’t have tomorrow to make a change. We lose ourselves in what would have or could have been while that one person is out of time – it will never be.

Someone died, today. They will never hear another ‘I love you’ or ‘Good job’ or ‘I’m so glad you’re here’; nor will they have the opportunity to speak those words. They will never feel the heat of the summer’s sun or the bite of winter’s frost. Do you wonder if they are missing them, now? It makes one wonder if they wish they could wake up early or go to bed late because of work. Are those who once complained about the annoying laugh or the nagging voice or the obnoxious chewing now longing for what once was and will never be, again.

So many of us go about our lives as if we have died. We complain, as if there is no hope for change. We mope around and shed tears over temporal things that will have no meaning, in the end. We look at what is, as if there is no chance for what can be. As long as we are breathing, there is hope for something more – we have opportunities to embrace and look forward to. We can still make plans and execute them. We can still love, laugh, and cry. Our tears are unspoken prayers that can still be answered. We have time. We have opportunity. We have moments that can be enjoyed, no matter the circumstance. We can begin, again.  

Someone was born, today. A shining ray of hope and promise. Joy and exhilaration flood the hearts and minds of those who have anticipated this very moment.  A barrage of heartfelt warm wishes are doled out, freely. Laughter fills the air, as the future is whatever can be imagined. A clean slate has entered our world and our minds are reeling with the thoughts of the future. Plans are written in pencil, leaving room for the ebb and flow of life. Mistakes are welcomed training moments. Failures are expected with the knowledge that a correction can be made. Nothing can dampen the high hopes and exuberant expectations.

Someone was born (again), today. The knowledge that every moment is lived out loud and with our eyes wide open. Nothing is withheld from us, if we are willing to dream (again), hope (again), and believe (again). We can experience the gleeful wonder of a new life beginning the journey of discovery. We can take a fresh look at what had become mundane in our lives. We can appreciate the splendor of color and sound and taste and touch. We can gain comfort in the smile of a loved one. We can appreciate each nuance of ourselves, without the murky judgments of the world surrounding us.

Someone died, today, is true. And, in that same moment, a new life begins. 

A Tribute to Irving Brooks, Sr.

Not once did my father stop looking for me. You see, I was one of those children who was passed from parents to foster parents. When I was ten months old, my mother couldn’t handle the responsibility of being both a drug addict and a mother. She had to make a choice and motherhood was the expendable one. Don’t feel sad for me, it was done with the lot of us; all eight of us – four boys and four girls. I was the youngest; therefore, I was the last of the Mohicans to get the proverbial boot from the nest. I spent years fantasizing about what it would be like to belong and what my father was thinking about me missing from the brood. Isn’t it interesting that I never thought about my mother? I thought it was. I wondered and wondered about my father. I judged my mother, but never thought that he could have been to blame for my removal from the family. Well, guess what? I was right! Imagine that…after years and years of my made up notions, to come to find out that it was true. You see, I was sitting in the living of my very best friend’s home (that had become my home) and the phone rang. She was, Cherrie that is, sitting doing her daughter’s hair – twists and curls – it was beautiful. She stopped to answer the phone and handed it to me. It was my ‘godmother’ calling to give me some news. I had been googled, or searched out by someone making grandiose claims of me being her baby sister. The room grew quiet … a little too quiet, if you ask me. There I was, in the middle of what should have been one of the best moments of my life and there was no pomp and circumstance – not even from me. I think about that moment and wonder about my emotional freedom. It’s laughable, now. I wrote down the number that was being recited to me, then pressed and released the what-ya-ma-call-it (I never did know it was called). Oh yeah, the receiver button! I dialed the number and waited. Ring…ring…ring, “Hello.” I sit and listen to a stranger recant details of my life; details that I had heard from those I had come to mistrust. It was true! My sister, Pat, told me that she had been given the task, by our father, to do whatever it took to find me. He had been having her search for years. And, as you would guess, I met this man. The man I had fantasized about in my youth. He reached out and took my hands into his and said, “Yep, those are the thumbs.” ‘Those are the thumbs?’ Is that all he had to say? So, I said, “What is that supposed to mean?” After all the years of his looking and looking, he still had some reservations and the thumbs sealed the deal for him. I was the daughter that he had never stopped looking for. 

Beautiful Butterfly, by Seraya Reilly

Heimlich, a character from the Pixar film, A Bug’s Life exclaims, “Someday, I will be a beautiful butterfly, and then everything will be better!” Throughout the movie, the caterpillar never loses hope of his dream becoming a reality. I, too, knew that one day I’d sprout wings and become my own butterfly. I did not simply believe this because of my looks, but I knew my life would be filled with many high points. However, my immediate reality was far less than my ideal of this beautiful creature; so, I had to dream.

I dreamed of being a successful, independent, and happy woman who had everything I could ever dream of, and more. I dreamed inside of my dreams, hoping that one day they would overflow and spill into my reality. The fantasy was amazing, but it was far from the truth. For twelve years I felt trapped in a gray, poorly lit cocoon with nowhere to go and only one place to hide. At times, I felt as if the walls of my life were closing in on me; and instead of the beautiful butterfly, a moth would emerge (sad looking and feeding off things that were not my own, like joy). Life seemed to be offering me a duller version of myself, presenting me with things and telling me that I would never possess them. A disastrous picture was being painted around me and that created a hunger for the life I deserved; the one I knew I could have.

The first change that began to take place, within my protective covering, was my mindset about school. I pushed myself to get the best grades possible and that meant A’s and B’s. Anything less that my goal was a disappointment and caused me to strive harder. I knew my grades would be used as a measuring rod for my future success; the better the grades, the better my chances of morphing into a bright and brilliantly colored young lady. Yet, there was still something missing in my life. My heart seemed only half full and at the time I did not know what was needed to feel complete.

It wasn’t until I was preparing to enter into high school that I began to get a glimpse of change. When I moved from my father’s house and into my mother’s, the summer of my freshman year, something amazing started to happen within my shell. I experienced the freedom to develop into a greater version of myself and shine, even when things were not ideal. I could dance without shame, laugh heartily without holding back, and sing all throughout the house. It was during this time that I gained a sense of family. We spent hours, daily, with one another. We sat down, at the table, and had dinner together. I felt loved and wanted, which is something I rarely experienced in the past. I was turning in my cocoon.

During the first year, I began diligently going after my past ambitions. I wanted to take dance lessons and I quickly achieved my goal. During my second year, at James River High School, I was enrolled in the Jessica Morgan School of Dance. By year’s end, I was a dancer and performed in my first recital.  A month later, my dream of being a boxer came into fruition. I joined American Karate Center and began to train as a kick boxer. I was a part of another family. I have been nicknamed “Pie” because my sensei could not pronounce my name. I have found something that I love and the plan is for me to spar in my first amateur bout in February of 2014. 

5 Star Reviews for HOW TO TASTE IT AT THE END OF THE DAY

"I am speechless....... Superbly written and a must read if grieving. I am recommending this to all of my friends." - Blessed by God, Amazon 

"I loved this book. I can't wait until my tablet gets fixed to get another book by Inez Reilly. Her books will have you on the edge of your seat.....not wanting to put the book down until you are finished reading." - Amazon Reader

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COVENANT Review

"Inez Reilly has written a story in Covenant, which is a mature read and will captivate you from the beginning. We follow the lives of best friends, Micah and Preston, who are both professional men and very successful. While in college they made a pact with one another to abstain from premarital sex, drugs, and anything else that will bring harm to their bodies.

Reilly writes in a style that allows us to see the story develop from various points of views and it makes you feel as if you are in the pages of the book. From the outside looking in, both Micah and Preston seem perfect but they are both indeed flawed and throughout this book we get see the secrets unravel, and where insecurity, jealousy, and envy can take us and the ties that bind us to one another.

Covenant was a quick, enjoyable read and it is my hope that a sequel will be released soon."  -Tiffany Tyler

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