""If I could only have been there . . ."" Did you ever wish you could have been among those who actually encountered Jesus in person; mingled, perhaps, with those throngs beside the lake; feasted among the five thousand in a Galilean meadow; crowded along the village street as the carpenter from Nazareth passed by? This month of daily meditations seeks to accomplish just that; to place readers in the ways that Jesus walked; to assist those who pray or meditate their way across this thirty-day selection to experience the many moments of Jesus's ministry as narrated in the gospels, through the eyes and minds, the hearts and emotions of folk-ordinary folk for the most part- whose lives were touched and transformed as Jesus walked their way. For Lent, or Advent, or for any season of spiritual renewal, Faces by the Wayside can set you once again in the presence of the Master. ""Insightful and eloquent writer J. Barrie Shepherd has engaged us for years with poignant meditations and poetry. Faces by the Wayside, written from the perspective of ancient pilgrims, speaks to all of us who are seeking a relationship with Jesus Christ, and joins Shepherd's other works, Faces at the Manger and Faces at the Cross, to form a trilogy of imaginative meditations."" --John Buchanan Editor/Publisher, The Christian Century ""Faces by the Wayside by Barrie Shepherd is a winsomely crafted insightful look into the souls of people who actually encountered Jesus. Shepherd seamlessly weaves the opportunity for the reader to experience a like encounter. We are enabled to ""see and hear and hope for the Life Abundant that Jesus offers."" We must, of course, confess . . . how we reacted when we saw these Faces . . . a very challenging experience!"" --Ann Weems Author, From Advent's Alleluia to Easter's Morning Light ""Barrie Shepherd is our most poetic of preachers. It is a joy to walk alongside Barrie and Jesus for these roadside encounters. A fresh, beautiful presentation of the gospels awaits us here."" --William H. Willimon Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church Author, Sighing for Eden and What's Right with the Church ""J. Barrie Shepherd's depth of insight have encouraged people and his wisdom has helped them to grow in their own faith. The four hundred people that I teach find his books spiritually helpful as well as enjoyable."" --Jane Howington Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church (USA) J. Barrie Shepherd has written extensively in the area of religious studies, is the author of fourteen books and over six hundred published poems. Shepherd has preached and lectured at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, and other universities and colleges and many of the major seminaries, as well as in distinguished pulpits across the USA and Canada, the UK, Europe and Africa.
