Absolutely beautiful Bible! We got two-- one as a baptismal gift for a Catechumen family if we can wait that long to give it to them! Very high quality, and beautiful icons. The leather is very soft. Highly recommend!

The icon itself is fantastic. Very nice. I was expecting it to be the same thickness as the other icons I have bought. This is probably on me though as i didn't read the specifications carefully.

An excellent comparison of the beliefs of the Orthodox Church with other Christian and non christian religious beliefs. I learned a great deal and the book is a good companion volume with Father Josiah Trenham’s ‘Rock and Sand.” It made my Orthodox faith stronger.

William Lewis

Great for prayer!

We received Laurel and the Wind free in exchange for our honest review, and as soon as it arrived my children gathered around. They especially enjoyed the beautiful, quality pictures (my 6 year old even has a favorite!) and the story was lovely. There's not a conflict per se, but the climax of the story is absolutely beautiful. The vocabulary is higher-level, so this makes the perfect read-aloud for smaller children and an easy read-alone for kids around 7-8. It is also very much Orthodox, but would not be strange to Protestant or Catholic ears, although it is definitely religious in nature. Regardless, highest recommendations!

“Of Such is the Kingdom” is a beautiful blend of theology drawn from the Scriptures and the Church Fathers; descriptive explanation; and practical suggestions for the Church as a whole. Whether or not the reader’s immediate family is experiencing a disability, this book will be helpful. After all, the Church is our Family, and our Family is definitely experiencing disability. The most Christ-like way we can approach our Family is by doing all that we can to learn about, support, help, and love every member therein. Kinard offers insights that will help the Church to do so, one member at a time.

Laurel and the Wind by Gaelan Gilbert

Illustrations by Ned Gannon


A book review 

In our digitally heavy world, where our senses are somewhat numbed by media overload, it is absolutely a breath of fresh air to read a book that is, in my opinion, a work of art that engages our imagination.

When my 8 year old son saw this book, he dropped down everything he was doing, and was mesmerized by the intricate cover. Like a moth to a flame, he started touching the book, feeling the weight of it and its hard cover, and smell the pages, as he gasps air of wonder. “Wow Mom, this is a beautiful beautiful book!”. 

It is a beautiful book. From its cover, where it depicts a girl inside her boat, floating above an ancient-looking city, to the poetic storyline that threads the main character, Laurel, the wind, a dream, to her discovery of life and hope, and God’s blessings to her as she wakes up and comes home to herself. Every page is filled with beautifully illustrated images, rich in vibrant colors and breath-taking landscapes, where one could use their imagination within the imagination of a mystical enchanted wonderland that enlightens the reader’s senses: from sights, sounds, smells, to heart warming feelings. 

I would highly recommend this book for both adults and children, as it is both alluring and magical for all ages. And definitely recommend it as a bedtime story must-have for parents who want to send their children off to sweet dreams filled with hope, joy and love.

This book is a must to have. I really enjoyed reading this book and doing the exercises. I was hesitant to buy this book at first but I'm glad I did. But it now. I'm 110% sure you won't regret it.

This is an intensely deep analysis of the Psalms as told through the essays, notes, and journals of an Orthodox translator and lover of language and poetry, compiled by his wife after his death and recently published. I cannot begin to describe the genius of this man who obviously loved God, loved Scripture, loved language, and absolutely reveled in the place where all of those things meet: in translating the Psalms. He prayed through the entire Psalter every week for years, and it shows i his writing. He understands them intimately! In this book is not just a commentary and analysis of the Psalms but on life in general, for he found true life to be defined in the Psalms, using them as a way to discover more about God, history, and ourselves.

This book is not for the casual reader. It is highly technical at times, exploring the details of translating Hebrew and Greek as well as grammar and the patterns of poetics in a way that is very dense and scholarly. But there is a passion to it which you can feel, and even when you can't always follow the amazing leaps of logic that the author gives, you walk away edified and feeling closer to God.

I've found myself inspired to follow his example and start reading the Psalter more regularly. I absolutely loved his explanations of chiasm and reading the Psalms with that in mind. I'd learned about chiastic verse in college, but never how to really apply it to understanding the Psalms or even viewing life, history, and the incarnation of Christ in that way! It all connects so beautifully. I also loved his definitions of the 9 LXX words for "law" found in the Psalms, and especially his explanation of "statutes" and seeing God's unchangeable pattern in all of creation. Wow! So much to chew on. I feel as though my perspective on God and the world has changed. I've walked away feeling more of God's love, as if a bit of the author's own love and understanding of Him has washed off on me.

I would recommend this to any student of language, literature, Scripture, or translation. It's heavy but profound and definitely adds a new dimension to reading the Psalms. If you feel you've hit a wall when it comes to your study of Psalms, give this book a try. This author will help you to see so much more.

Laurel and the Wind is a poetically-written dream narrative that started as the author’s bedtime story for his children. The story tells the experiences of a girl named Laurel, who “grew up on a sailboat,” and a dream into which the ever-present wind carries her and from which it also brings her home again. As a person whose standard for picture books is that reading them aloud must sound beautiful and be a pleasant experience, free of clunky wording or the wrong sorts of repetition, I was over the moon about the beautiful, flowing, alliterative quality of the text of this book. Where repetition is used, it creates a beautiful parallel structure and also serves to impress the oral poetic quality upon the mind and ear of the reader, such as in the lines about “A single voice [who] prayed, naming those who still breathe, and those who no longer do.” The theme of the wind, mentioned in the title, is carried ceaselessly and effortlessly through each page, unifying Laurel’s experiences and giving the author a vehicle for the sensory imagery he conveys.

The illustrations are equally breathtaking, full of blues and golds, capturing the both the essence and details of the words in beautiful paintings. Some pages are gorgeous enough to stand on their own as framed art! My favorite is probably two-page spread towards the middle of the book that is bordered by up-close images of beeswax candles and highlights the movement of the priest’s hands with the aer on one side and a view of Laure’s face from underneath, so that the gorgeous fresco on the church ceiling is visible behind her, light streaming in from the many stained-glass windows around the dome.

The story that this book tells is subtle, requiring that the reader pay careful attention to what happens as Laurel journeys back and back into the past in her dream. The wind motif makes it easy to get carried along with her, but the climax of the book takes place more in time than in a physical space, so my children, to whom I read it, had a little trouble adjusting to that transition. The book ends, as it begins, with wind, and when it was finished, I, like my children, was saying, “I don’t want it to end! Read it again!”

Reading the Psalms saved me emotionally in my adolescence. I did not understand why and how until - now in my 50's - I was handed Sheehan's book. It is NOT a light read and the passages about original language and syntax are beyond my grasp. But the parts that make sense to me are wondrous.

I am so grateful for this book. What a detailed, historic, fair-minded education it offers! I walked through the history of Christianity, the roots of all the Evangelical influences in my past and the differences between the liturgical church strands. And then at the end he examines cults, and other world religions. I know so much more now and understand the roots of Christianity and Orthodoxy specifically with so much gratitude. This is a keeper for my library.

Love this book, got some of my answers I’ve been searching!!!

Philo is an ordinary modern-day boy who meets common modern-day struggles head-on, and learns how to face them in a godly way, with the help of the “SuperHolies” (the fruit of the Spirit, each embodied as a superhero). In “Philo and the Faithfulness SuperHoly”, Philo finds himself at boy scout camp for the first time. He struggles to live out the Faith while in such close proximity to other boys who are not Orthodox Christians. The Faithfulness SuperHoly helps Philo choose to continue to live the Faith, even in a tent with other boys.

Children who read “Philo and the Faithfulness SuperHoly” will find themselves mirrored in Philo in some way or another. They will understand his hesitancy to pray and read scripture in the presence of others who do not believe what they believe. They will be challenged to make the sign of the cross to activate the SuperHolies in their own life when they run into such difficulties. God willing, they will also begin to listen to the Spirit whispering in their ear as He tells them what is right to do, just as Philo “hears” the SuperHolies; and hopefully they will act accordingly. And if the adults in the room are truly listening to the story, they will find themselves beginning to be mindful of these things, as well.

(Warning: this review may contain spoilers)

Apostle to the Plains is a book worth reading (or listening to, as I did)- both for perspective and building appreciation, as well as for learning a small part of the history of part of the Orthodox Church.

What a book to begin listening to during a time of pandemic! When I first started listening to this, we had been under stay at home orders for at least a month. We have not been to our church for at least five weeks. We were still ordering groceries from the delivery service. I was still going through extreme measures every time I returned home from work or from being out at a store. And while I did not feel isolated because I have a large family, and I was still working, I did feel disconnected.

Then on a 5 mile walk with my two-year-old, I turned on the story and she and I listened together to the story of Nicola Yanney, a Serbian man who immigrated to America with his new wife in the late 1800s. The descriptions of the immigration process, settling into a new home, and of frequent separations from his wife as he performed his duties as a traveling salesman were humbling. As the story went on, the tale depicted loneliness and a true longing for fellowship and worship, as the young immigrant couple labored to build a life and also to maintain their faith - on their own and without a local church or priest. The story reminded me that what we experience in longing for reunion and communion is real, and that it is a feeling that many have felt throughout the years. The sadness when the couple realized they had missed an opportunity to attend a service when a traveling priest visited the nearby town was so poignant, and their joy a year later when the same priest came back had me weeping alongside them. It had been 6 years for them, and it would be many more years, with more sadness and loss, before Nicola Yanney was able to worship and commune again. By the time he became Father Nicola Yanney, he had experienced deep sadness while maintaining his faith.

The story seems to begin again with his ordination. Father Nicola not only took on responsibility for the newly established local church, he also took on responsibility for a vast area of the midwest, traveling at least four months of every year in order to serve other Orthodox Christians. Throughout the book there are tales of joy and sadness and much of the hardship experienced by Father Nicola and his family - the children left behind each time he took another missionary journey. We learn hardship and poverty that he, and they, experienced with grace and faith. The seeming monotony in the middle of the book, as we hear of travels to and from, of baptisms and burials, of discord and of marriages, all add credence to the struggle of this priest, and perhaps of every priest - the pull to worship and to serve and to be there for all in need, while also having a desire to be with family and care for them. In this tale, we hear of the struggle that is present for those in ministry.

We also hear of another time of pandemic, and the impact that had on the world and the church. Father Nicola Yanney served his parishioners during the flu in 1918. We hear in this tale of the precautions taken in different towns and of those who succumbed to the flu, including Father Nicola. The tale is cautionary to us, and encouraging.

In listening to this book, during this time of pandemic, I appreciated more what we do have during this time. I thought with gratitude of my own priest, and our parish, and even of the ease with which we travel when we are able to go to church - though ours is 90 minutes one way, I am reminded of how much joy there is in worship together and look forward to the reunion with those that have become family.

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review. It was time well spent listening. My children enjoyed it as well, though there were times when we would pause to discuss issues of loss, grief, interpersonal struggles and other real-to-life issues that arose.

Wonderful book! It would be a great choice for teenagers, and adults. It was very deep in the beginning and the end. The ending really tricks you, because you would never really think that it would happen. I would recommend this book to my Orthodox friends!

I thought it was VERY good! The story was written in a way that made you want to keep reading. And I LOVED the illustrations!

A refreshingly non-sensational and relevant commentary on a difficult book of scripture to understand.

Very practical and useful for daily life.

I purchased the book for my son and daughter in law who are expecting their second child in July. My daughter in law is not Orthodox yet she did have their first child baptized it was apparent she was unfamiliar with the service/mystery. I gifted the book in hopes she would better appreciated the service of baptism and the Orthodox faith. This book is a wonderful introduction to a portion of our faith.