About
"Lifestyle Worship - Poems, Prayers & Ministry Resources" is Steve Brown's first book. It is a telling of his journey through faith. Steve is a worship leader, singer, wannabe songwriter, and guitarist at Messiah Lutheran Church located in the Northeast corner of the United States.
His book includes a collection of faith-inspired poems, prayers for a variety of situations, articles on things related to faith - his ministry and his calling, and responsive writings to be used in the church or for home devotions.
Steve runs a blog titled "Worship Ideas You Can Use" at http://sjbrown58.wordpress.com and has two previously published works including an article titled "Two Thanksgiving Litanies" published in The "Reformed Worship Journal" June 2010 and "Speaking in Tongues" published in "Rev Magazine" May/June 2007, page 78.
Steve started blogging in 2008 as a result of being prodded by his Pastor and soon discovered that he could also dabble in poetry and to a lesser extent - songwriting. Steve currently serves as his church's worship coordinator, Website blogger, Facebook contributor, runs the children's message ministry, sings in the choir and is a singer/songwriter/musician on his church's worship team with a passion towards worshiping His savior, listening to and performing contemporary Christian music, and playing the guitar.
Steve is happily married, has one son, a daughter-in-law, and also enjoys working around the house and yard, especially in his vegetable and fruit gardens. His full time job is as a mechanical engineer in the Research and Development sector.
To God alone be the glory!
The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls
Description
<p>Emerging from the long shadow cast by his formidable father, Harold Godwineson showed himself to be a worthy successor to the Earldom of Wessex. In the following twelve years, he became the King's most trusted advisor, practically taking the reins of government into his own hands. And on Edward the Confessor's death, Harold Godwineson mounted the throne—the first king of England not of royal blood. Yet Harold was only a man, and his rise in fortune was not blameless. Like any person aspiring to power, he made choices he wasn't particularly proud of. Unfortunately, those closest to him sometimes paid the price of his fame.<br /><br />This is a story of Godwine's family as told from the viewpoint of Harold and his younger brothers. Queen Editha, known for her Vita Ædwardi Regis, originally commissioned a work to memorialize the deeds of her family, but after the Conquest historians tell us she abandoned this project and concentrated on her husband, the less dangerous subject. In THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY, I am telling the story as it might have survived had she collected and passed on the memoirs of her tragic brothers.<br /><br />This book is part two of The Last Great Saxon Earls series. Book one, GODWINE KINGMAKER, depicted the rise and fall of the first Earl of Wessex who came to power under Canute and rose to preeminence at the beginning of Edward the Confessor's reign. Unfortunately, Godwine's misguided efforts to champion his eldest son Swegn recoiled on the whole family, contributing to their outlawry and Queen Editha's disgrace. Their exile only lasted one year and they returned victorious to London, though it was obvious that Harold's career was just beginning as his father's journey was coming to an end.<br /><br />Harold's siblings were all overshadowed by their famous brother; in their memoirs we see remarks tinged sometimes with admiration, sometimes with skepticism, and in Tostig's case, with jealousy. We see a Harold who is ambitious, self-assured, sometimes egocentric, imperfect, yet heroic. His own story is all about Harold, but his brothers see things a little differently. Throughout, their observations are purely subjective, and witnessing events through their eyes gives us an insider’s perspective.<br /><br />Harold was his mother's favorite, confident enough to rise above petty sibling rivalry but Tostig, next in line, was not so lucky. Harold would have been surprised by Tostig's vindictiveness, if he had ever given his brother a second thought. And that was the problem. Tostig's love/hate relationship with Harold would eventually destroy everything they worked for, leaving the country open to foreign conquest. This subplot comes to a crisis in book three of the series, FATAL RIVALRY.</p>
Story Behind The Book
Today, I want to tell you just how special you are.
First, you are unique and different. God made you that way. There is no man, women or child quite like you. In fact, there has never been anyone in the history of the world like you. You are not one in a million, you are one in six billion. Use these differences to glorify God. Be excited about being different.
God made you to be you and not to pretend to be someone else. God made you with a purpose in mind. Your house, your office, your community, your family, your school, your church - they just aren't the same without you.
God made you with a purpose in mind. He made you to solve a problem in this world. Somewhere, there is a person that only you can reach, a life that only you can touch, a situation that only you can fix, a hurt that only you can heal. This is who God made you to be.
God was delicate and deliberate in creating you. Every detail, every hair, each unique fingerprint and every nook and cranny. He knows your name. He chose you. You are adored. You are famous in His eyes.
God spoke billions of galaxies into existence, but the crown of His creativity - is you. Not the Great Barrier Reef, or Mount Everest, or Victoria Falls - it's you. He fashioned you with the utmost of care. You wear a crown of glory and honor in His immense world. When you look into the mirror, you see scars, pain, wrinkles, misery, despair, sorrow, tired eyes, eyeglasses, thinning hair and a paunch. God sees glory and honor reflecting in your light.
But God also made you with unique quirks, with troubles and with weaknesses because it is through your weaknesses that God is made strong. It is through our weaknesses that we learn to rely on God's graces. In His kingdom, the weakest is the greatest. He can use you in a mighty way.
You are not a mistake. You have too many exquisite details to be a mistake.
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. - Zephaniah 3:17
We all do not serve God in the same way. God doesn’t want to create a drone army of people who walk alike, talk alike, sing alike, look alike, dress alike, or act alike. God wants his people to be unique, chosen, royal and special in every way.
Jesus paid the ultimate price for you. Because you are worthy in His eyes. He has forgiven you - past, present and future. He loves you and He wants you to love Him. There is nothing more remarkable than this. We call this the gospel. It's a huge deal. There is nothing on this earth or in this galaxy that tops the love and the passion that God has for you. You are his dear child.
When you have come to grips with this reality, I am convinced that your lifestyle will also be one of worship. It has to be. There is no other way. This is the reason behind this book.
I am a sinner, I am a lousy Lutheran and I have iconoclastic tendencies, the dreadful list goes on and on; but in spite of this, I am loved so much by my God that He traded His pure, holy, glorious, innocent, powerful and perfect life for mine. He traded it! That's all that matters. I love Him. I dedicate this book to Him.
Reviews
<p>"I’m praying that God uses you as a tool in our Synod." - Heidi Martz</p>
<p>"I cannot thank you enough for sharing your faith and your music with the public. You have been inspiring me for years now." - Christy Kimball</p>
<p>"Your site, Steve, has been a blessing to us." - Jeanette Zimmerman</p>
<p>"God gifts you, he places you, and he gives passion about things. A light is not meant to be hidden. So shine clear and bright friend. But I have to say that the best thing about how you present yourself is that you do it with such humility and respect for others. You understand that too abrasive of an argument ruins the point. It is after all, about people and not winning your point. I really appreciate that about you and your example is continuing to encourage me to do the same. Thanks! God please, some day I would love to play some music and even worship with you. Not sure how that would ever happen in this life, but it would be fun. If not, I am confident the Master would provide a couple of old vets with guitars in heaven. There we will all play like Phil Keaggy. Can't wait." - Pastor Steve Soukup</p>
