The Fellowship of the Authors

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25


Following my daughter’s brain tumor, for years she was so ill it was impossible for us to attend church, except on very rare occasions. In order to keep a roof over our heads, I took a job managing eleven guesthouses in San Francisco close to the University of California Medical Center. The job required being on site 24-7, which made it even more impossible to make it to church. This scripture in Hebrews often convicted me of not assembling with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I was starving for fellowship and the collective presence of God. Having been a pastor up to the time of Shannon’s illness, I was in shock at my inability to attend church.

I often whined to the Lord about it, but every time Shannon seemed to improve a new crisis would hit her. Within three years after her brain tumor, she had four strokes, a broken hip, and multiple pneumonia's. Through it all, I managed to keep my job, which I shall forever be grateful.

Now, when one is going through like we were, one really needs the support of their brothers and sisters in Christ. At least that is what I had been taught and preached. The more I hungered for fellowship; the more impossible it became to obtain it. I cried bitterly to Jesus about this matter. I was confused by my circumstances. I was thirsty and hungry for the preached Word of God and the fellowship of the saints. The devil used my circumstances to blame me of being unworthy of being in the presence of God’s people. There was not a saved person around me-not an employee, medical staff member, or resident. This went on for over a year.

By the second year, I was so hungry, I started reading every Christian book I could afford and studying the Bible even more. As I read, I began to feel like I was back in fellowship with the saints. I felt like each author was a friend, a brother, a sister. After I had acquired and read over a hundred books, as I looked at the books on my bookshelves, I had a sense of collective presence. They had shared their experiences and insights with me at my time of need. That day I declared them to be “The Fellowship of the Authors”.

I just recently got my library out of storage (which is much larger now). I thought as part of the Cracker Lady’s House, I would write about some of the authors and their books that helped me during those very rough years. It is my intent that they will be as much a blessing to my readers as they were to me.