Spiritual Honey

Bernard of Clairvaux, the twelfth-century monk who wrote that "Jesus is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, a cry of joy in the heart," was both a mystic and a reformer. His writings reveal a mystical theology that Thomas Merton, a monastic heir to Bernard’s Cistercian reform, says "explains what it means to be united to God in Christ but (also) shows the meaning of the whole economy of our redemption in Christ." Critical of the monastic opulence of his times, Bernard exhorted his monks to consider that "Salt with hunger is seasoning enough for a man living soberly and wisely." Martin Luther believed that Bernard was "the best monk that ever lived, whom I admire beyond all the rest put together." Bernard's zeal and charisma led to the reform of Christian life in medieval Europe. Today it is reported that Pope Benedict XVI keeps Bernard's treatise Advice to a Pope close at hand for spiritual support. Honey and Salt is an original selection for the general reader of Bernard’s sermons, treatises, and letters.

Spiritual HoneyRestoring the Spirit follows the lives of Ray and Mary Ann Minjarez from childhood sweethearts through forty years of marriage. Their love story takes them through the devastation of sin that comes close to destroying their marriage and their lives. You will walk with Mary Ann and Ray separately as they each tell their story, touching every human emotion. You will see how Jesus showed up and saved them just in time.

Spiritual Honey Restoring the Spirit follows the lives of Ray and Mary Ann Minjarez from childhood sweethearts through forty years of marriage. Their love story takes them through the devastation of sin that comes close to destroying their marriage and their lives. You will walk with Mary Ann and Ray separately as they each tell their story, touching every human emotion. You will see how Jesus showed up and saved them just in time.

This book is based on collections passed through generations from my mother, Bea, my grandmother, Honey and my great-great grandmother, Maah. It shares Maah’s journey from the Upcountry of Abbeville, South Carolina to the Lowcountry of Charleston and the sayings and food that fed their lives. My family loved to cook and share their meals with others and this book incorporates Honey Bea’s family’s recipes for simple meals from days gone by and their sayings, and stories for wisdom along with the Gullah Geechie heritage. At the end, I want to encourage you to research, preserve, write and publish your own family’s story.

"This is a loving, powerful tribute to women everywhere. A lovely response to the negative images the media tends to portray women as. I love the analogy of the bee and woman. What a creative way to explain our complicated life journey!" Wendy Matthews, educator. "The author cleverly uses the origin of bees to illustrate the nuggets of truth as God would have women to be. This is illustrated in Proverbs 31. A wise woman will heed these words, for a woman who fears the Lord; she shall be praised." Dr. Patricia R. Williams, retired educator, and author of Hurting & Healing; Husbands, For Wives Only, and The Perfect Woman's Flaw. "She is part of a plan to bring gifts and preserve nature, assist in the production of something good, and to put forth a life-sustaining, life-altering substance." Chapter One "True beauty comes from within. It has distinct qualities that make the woman's outer vessel even more beautiful." Chapter Fourteen ............................................................................................................................................ What if there were only a few moments left on your life journey? Would you say your life has been meaningful and significant? Did you contribute to humanity and accomplish your life mission? In The Nature of Honey, the woman receives an invitation to return to nature in simplicity, positivity, and wisdom. There, she will find strength and beauty-gifts and hope-and realize her life mission. When she follows her true path, she sets out on a more spiritual journey.