Books by Mary Austin

Lent can be one of the more difficult church seasons to go through, but if God is right there alongside us the whole time, there is nothing to worry about. Mary Austin assures us that God is with us everywhere that we go this Lenten season, and that Jesus is closer to us than ever, even in this time of his fast approaching death and betrayal. However, this does not stop Jesus from being selfless, as he continues to do God's work and form stronger bonds with his disciples. In the same way that we do not want to be alone during this Lenten season, Austin encourages her audience to also be there for Jesus, letting him know that he is loved: "This week, as we come into Holy Week, let us see Jesus as he is, and keep him company in this journey of suffering. And may he go with us, in every place where we feel abandoned, lost, fearful, doubting…so we know that we are never alone" ("Never Really Alone").Austin continues in the idea of emphasizing that nobody is alone during this Lenten season, not even the disciples of Jesus like you and me. Although we may have our doubts, our fears, our lack of faith throughout our lives, Jesus does not turn away from us. "Jesus sees all of this in his friends, as he sees it in us, and what does he do? He comes closer" ("Feet and Hearts").Sermon titles include: Fifth Sunday in Lent: "Seeing What We Don't Want to See" (John 12:20-33) Second Sunday of Easter: "Growing into Our Scars" (John 20:19-31) Seventh Sunday of Easter: "Gifts You Can't Return" (John 17:6-19)Eighteen sermons based on the Gospel lessons from the Revised Common Lectionary (Cycle B) for the seasons of Lent and Easter are included in this single volume. The reader will find these messages inspiring, thought-provoking and comforting. The content of this book will be useful for personal devotions, for a study groups and for sermon preparation.

Americans are mired in idolatry. This is perhaps at no time more evident than during the Christmas season.What idols do we worship? We often point out the consumerism that eclipses the meaning of the holiday, but as Mary Austin points out, there are others that might escape our notice. Perfectionism, that belief that if we can host the perfect holiday party or keep a perfect house, for example;thesefalse gods, we often believe will offer us wholeness. Busy-ness, too, can give us a false sense of worth.These sermons use the words and actions of Paul to call out these false gods, to reveal our idolatry and its cause: our longing for the true source of peace. Once we have determined the cause of our love/hate relationship with the Christmas season, we can begin to pursue the counter-cultural cure. Meeting God at the Mallting God at the Mall shows us there is no obstacle too great to prevent us from finding our way back to the peace we can find only in our loving Savior.Sermons herein include: "Joy on an Elephant" - The story of how Caroline Casey learned to rejoice in disability (Philippians 4:4-7) "The Holy Spirt Brings Everyone to the Party" - The story of a WWII soldier who delivered an enemy flag back to its home (Acts 8:14-17) "Nose Hairs and Disney" - The story of an adopted girl who found belonging in her new family (1 Corinthians 12:12-31a)Mary Austin is Pastor and Head of Staff at Westminster Church of Detroit, her most recent position in more than two decades of professional ministry with a focus on bereavement. She holds a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Austin's previous work can be found in several blogs, and previous publications such asCall to Worship, a publication of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and Bereavement Magazine. Austin is also a regular contributor for The Immediate Word, an online sermon site from CSS Publishing Company. She lives with her husband Carl Smith. They have one adult daughter, Lucy.

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One-Smoke Stories is a collection of folk tales from Native American, Spanish Colonial, mestizo, and European American peoples of the Southwest retold in the enthralling words of one of the bestselling writers of her day, Mary Austin.

One of the joys of going on a trip is coming home to share with others your adventures and experiences. Mary Austin felt that way, so when she took an extended trip through an area of the American Southwest, she recorded her impressions in The Land of Journeys'' Ending. This is no ordinary travel book and she was no ordinary tourist. Her book goes beyond the descriptions of flora and fauna of the land between the Colorado River and the Rio Grande. It also covers the history, culture and customs of the area. Austin includes not only figures from the past but people she met on the trip. While the book is now decades old, it is timeless and still valid. Humorously, in the author''s preface to "The Land of Journeys'' Ending" Austin said, "If you find holes in my book that you could drive a car through, do not be too sure they were not left there for that express purpose." Her statement rings true today as much as it did back in 1924.

In 1903 when "The Land of Little Rain" was first published it became an instant success. It has continued to attract and enchant readers ever since that time. It was one of the first books to be written in a popular style about the animals, plants and people of a Southwest desert area. Mary Austin wrote it from her own observations and experiences in the field. She lived the book. It is also one of the first to express the need for the conservation of our natural resources. Carl Van Doren once wrote that Austin should have the degree M.A.E.--Master of American Environment. The book, a work of authenticity and originality still has meaning for twenty-first century readers.

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - I confess to a great liking for the Indian fashion of name-giving: every man known by that phrase which best expresses him to whoso names him. Thus he may be Mighty-Hunter, or Man-Afraid-of-a-Bear, accor-ding as he is called by friend or enemy, and Scar-Face to those who knew him by the eye's grasp only. No other fashion, I think, sets so well with the various natures that inhabit in us, and if you agree with me you will understand why so few names are written here as they appear in the geography. For if I love a lake known by the name of the man who discovered it, which endears itself by reason of the close-locked pines it nourishes about its borders, you may look in my account to find it so described. But if the Indians have been there before me, you shall have their name, which is always beautifully fit and does not originate in the poor human desire for perpetuity. Nevertheless there are certain peaks, cañons, and clear meadow spaces which are above all compassing of words, and have a certain fame as of the nobly great to whom we give no familiar names. Guided by these you may reach my country and find or not find, according as it lieth in you, much that is set down here. And more. The earth is no wanton to give up all her best to every comer, but keeps a sweet, separate intimacy for each.

Describes the epic journey the author undertook in 1923, when she left her East Coast home at the age of fifty-five to travel through the south western United States, the area where she lived as a child and where she would later retire. This book gives an account of a woman coming full circle, finding solace in the broad landscape of her youth.