Winter Light: A Christian's Search for Humility

by Bruce Ray Smith

In this book, which is one man's journal and is written in a style somewhere between prose and poetry, Bruce Ray Smith journeys into his own heart in search of what makes a person, against all odds, proud. Drawing on Scripture and writers as diverse as Shakespeare, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Jean-Paul Sartre, Smith seeks to find what makes us proud, what can make us humble, and finally, what can make us whole. In the honest pages of Winter Light, I found the prideful secrets of my own heart revealed. As I read I breathed a quiet, “me too.” Bruce Ray Smith’s par- ticular quest for humility gives voice to our common longing for transformation. We want to be changed, but the heart is deceitful above all things. We want to know God in our very bones, but there is a cost. With poetic and personal style, Smith offers a deeply insightful reflection on pride and humility that flows from the narrative of his life and prayers. Winter Light is that rare kind of book, where literary writing meets lived, biblical theology. It's a treasure! Andi Ashworth Author, Co-Director of Art House America Nashville, TN I commend Bruce Ray Smith’s book Winter Light. Once I had begun to read I could not stop―both be- cause of the raw power of the content and because of the brevity and starkness of the style which match the subject so well. I was deeply moved by its sometimes painful honesty and by the moments of profound joy that light up these pages. Bruce is acutely insightful in his analysis of our ar- rogant and self-centered manner of living and of our need to recognize our spiritual poverty and to discov- er our dependence on the support and love of oth- ers. This slim volume deserves to be widely and often read. I know that I will return to it again and again and use it as an aid for my own self-reflection and prayers. The endless patience and grace of God shines a bright light across this bleak landscape of the heart. Jerram Barrs Professor of Christianity and Contemporary Culture Resident Scholar at the Francis Schaeffer Institute Covenant Theological Seminary St. Louis, Missouri When Martin Luther penned the first of The Nine- ty-five Theses, “When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ said, 'repent,' he meant that the entire life of believers should be one of repentance,” he gave a gift to us all, for he cast a glorious light upon the blessed path to close communion with our Triune God. Winter Light modeled that life of repentance with a ruthless beauty and searching vulnerability that I find rare in Christian authors. Because Bruce Ray Smith found God’s searching grace a holy gift (Acts 5:31), I was encouraged as a reader to do the same. He helped me to kiss the blade of God’s convicting grace and pull it in. I have been significantly helped in my repentance and faith by this work. I am a thankful debtor to the author, a brother I have not met, but who has helped me “find the old paths, and walk in them.” Joe Novenson Senior Teaching Pastor Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church Lookout Mountain, GA Brother Lawrence himself could well have written this story; and those of us who find strength, hope, and instruction in Brother Lawrence's words will find those same things here in the confessional words of Bruce Ray Smith. Phyllis Tickle Editor, Author, Playwright, & Compiler of The Divine Hours Millington, TN

Genres: Memoir, Christianity

152 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2011

About the author

Bruce Ray Smith was born in Dunedin, Florida, in 1952. He spent most of his life as a teacher, and eventually acquired a Ph.D in English literature, from Washington University in St. Louis. Though unquestionably a Christian living in, and struggling with, the twenty-first century, his love of seventeenth-century English prose is evident in his first book, Winter Light.

The part of his life most relevant to Winter Light began in 1980, when he returned from L'Abri Fellowship in Greatham, England (he was a student, not a teacher), to join a small group of Christians who had moved to,and formed a church in, a poor, racially mixed neighborhood on the north side of St. Louis. Most of them, who were young then, are still in the same neighborhood thirty years later, and remain a tight-knit community. Bruce chose not to pursue an academic career when he realized that the meaning of his life was tied, in every way, to his church (Grace and Peace Church) and his neighborhood.

Reviews

[Matt Redmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Full disclosure: I am an author for Kalos Press and received a free copy of this book for review.)

When I was asked to write a review for Winter Light, I got nervous. This is the first release from my publisher and I have this ridiculous desire to be honest about what books I like and don't like.

What if it's bad?

Thankfully, I loved this book enough to swallow it whole. The whole time I read, my heart beat like a hammer in my chest with conviction and catharsis. I could not stop reading, though it was painful sometimes. Painful, like the way a good novelist describes a broken heart all too well.

It's a book about one man's quest for humility. A journal. He call's it his "winter journal."

I cannot remember if it was Thomas Merton or Eugene Peterson who I heard talk of the "interior life" for the first time. "So that's what it's called." Bruce Ray Smith gives us a glimpse into his and it worked like a mirror. A mirror reflecting back not only my own lack of concern for my pride but my own need to want humility.

Is it written well? Yes, very. It has the rhythm and style at times of poetry and the best of prose.

This book is not a sermon, lecture or manual. Thankfully. But a confession of oceanic depth of the very thing we all need to plumb but have the fear of doing so. Smith dives into his own pride and need for humility with honesty, intensity and a raw elegance. Without exhibitionism.

I had no reason to be nervous. In fact, I breathed a sigh of relief after about 40 pages in thinking, "these are the kinds of books we need in the Protestant, Evangelical world!"

The only problem? I wanted more. Hopefully there will be.

I'll finish with my favorite line - "I do not wish to be a parody of him whose name really is I Am."

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winter Light by Bruce Ray Smith is one man's journey towards humility. In the form of a journal, it exposes deep, honest thoughts about pride and moreover, surrendering fully to God. With poetic prose and an openness so rare I cannot think of a comparison, it provides a much-needed model for Christians of prayer and meditation.

So few have been exposed to rich and meaningful examples of the spiritual disciplines in this day and age. As we rush around, we neglect listening, waiting and contemplation in particular. Smith's insights and experiences expose both our lack of practice and the great impact these disciplines can have on our souls.

There is a great amount of wisdom found in Winter Light, lessons born of struggle and hardship. I know that I will be revisiting it again and again to contemplate and continue to digest all that Smith shares in this short work. Its structure lends well to picking up and putting down, brief thoughts that provide the fodder for lengthy meditations.

Obviously, Winter Light is quite unlike what is typically published in mainstream evangelical circles. It was not written by a guru and doesn't tell readers what to do. But by its example, readers will see how they can lay themselves bare before God and their neighbors, as well. I'd commend it to any Christian. (9/10, I received a review copy from the publisher, but these thoughts are my own.)

[David Bedsole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I acquired and edited this book.

But there's a reason I did. It's remarkable.

From the first page, I was drawn in by the wise and incisive voice of a man who has spent his life looking into things, looking under things, looking beyond things.

I've read the first chapter aloud to several people, and they've had the same reaction. They want me to keep reading, because they hear their own heart's cry from the pages.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I cannot wait for all of you to read it.

[J.E. Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m blown away by this book. Bruce Ray Smith is a skilled author with a full heart and a deep connection to God. His journey toward deeper humility, chronicled in Winter Light, will stir any reader toward a re-examination while offering a companion along the way.

I can’t wait for it to come out in print— June 15, 2011!

(Full disclosure: I am the Publisher at Kalos Press, which publishes this title; however, I do not gain any financial profit from its success.)

[Bo White · Rating 4 out of 5]

not what I expected in terms of actually being a journal...took a while to shift gears...I now have it out on the shelf as something to return to often as company on winter days.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Christians, we sometimes pray for patience, humility, or for God to increase our faith. But we usually don't say it too loudly for fear that God might actually hear us. We even joke sometimes that, "I've learned not to pray for patience," because something always happens to test us and make us stretch patience (and ourselves) to the breaking point.

Bruce Ray Smith prayed for God to humble him, and he apparently did speak so that God could hear him. Smith lost his job and with it, part of his identity. Winter Light: A Christian's Search for Humility is Smith's journal through the first few months of trying to see God's plan for him. This isn't a book with a "happy ending". A major transformation like this is a life-long endeavor. But we get a glimpse of the author being broken, to turn to God to be built back up. Occasionally, we see him fall again.

I admire the author for having the courage to ask for humility in the first place and then sharing his inner thoughts with the world.

About the book
Title: Winter Light: A Christian's Search for Humility
Author: Bruce Ray Smith
Publisher: Kalos Press
Release date: June 15, 2011
Pages: 152
Where I got the book: I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

See more reviews at http://www.livinglearninglovinglife.com

[Chris Canuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Beautiful writing, frightening honesty. A pleasant read, but uncomfortable as well, as I identify so closely with all that the author is saying. This is one of those books that I read and think, "Man, I could have written this book." But the truth is that I probably would never have written this book. It is much too painful to be this honest.

'Winter Light' is the journal of Bruce Ray Smith as he seeks and explores humility and what it means to be humble. It is his reflections on his own pride and sinfulness...It is his journey of repentance and surrender and failure. Who of us cannot identify with that in our own lives, especially as it relates to pride? Most times we probably don't even realize that pride is at the heart of our sin...It is the driving force and the root of our sin. Bruce Ray Smith places his heart upon the page in this book...many times as I read, I felt as if my heart were there with his. I have a feeling it may take me a while to recover from this read...but I plan to return to it often.

**Full Disclosure**
I received a free copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A modest book on humility taken from one man's reflections on his own pride. Some searing light of truth and good literary connections, but it lacks enough of the personal to ground it in reality and give it some direction. So some deep points about humility but his examples are vague, when they even occur (more personal and literary would have been welcome), and the brief book becomes repetitive by the end.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, spare, & heart-breaking book. It is heart-breaking in the best possible way, as it challenges the heart of pride and encourages a heart of humility and rest in Christ. Written in the form of a journal, rather than in narrative - this can take some getting used to, but it ultimately serves the author's purposes.

[Jenni Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and convicting. To be reviewed on my blog soon.

[Winnifred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads giveaway!

Thanks for giving me this book!

It has a lot of deep connection to God and although I am not Christian, I can kinda get a vibe of where the author wanted to say.

4 star!