Wonderstruck Press Releaserevised
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“Feinberg turns exegesis into an art, delivering findings that invite the audience to touch, taste, smell and see God’s handiwork throughout the Scriptures and in their own lives.” —Christianity Today FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kelly Hughes, 312-280-8126 [email protected] New Book Shows How to Overcome Holy Indifference with Holy Awe Author Margaret Feinberg Invites Wonder into Everyday Life Margaret Feinberg, named one of “50 Women to Watch” this year by Christianity Today, has dedicated her writing and speaking career to helping people recognize God’s presence in even the seemingly mundane moments. In her new book, Wonderstruck (Worthy Publishing, $14.99 paper, December 25, 2012), she calls Christians to recapture their sense of awe, showing that it is possible to regain the missing spark of holy mystery in the day-to-day. Feinberg suspects she's not the only one whose sense of splendor and delight has faded with the demands of modern living. Succumbing to exhaustion, we miss the wondrous displays that reveal more of God. Holy awe is replaced by unholy indifference. Recalling how the beauty of the Northern Lights mesmerized her when she lived in Alaska, Feinberg still scouts the sky in hope of catching another glimpse of the wonder. “It occurred to me that this is the posture we’re supposed to take in our spiritual journeys,” she says. “God delights for us to cup our hands in prayer and scrunch our faces against the vault of heaven in holy expectation that he will meet us in beautiful, mysterious ways.” From hiking the Scottish Highlands and praying for “pixie dust” to forging new friendships around an old, rustic coffee table, Feinberg shares stories about how she’s reconnected with wonder in her own life. The stories are vintage Feinberg: compelling, whimsical and profound. She guides readers through ten sources of wonder, such as: • Creation: “The outdoors is a divine elixir,” Feinberg notes. “Spending time outdoors has a way of shifting our perspective from inward to outward as we see the delicacies and intricacies of God’s creations.” • Rest: Sabbath helps us rediscover God as “the source of peace amid activity, the source of quiet in the noise.” • Friendship: When Feinberg and her husband moved to a new town, their attempts to make friends fizzled until one night they gathered with new acquaintances around an old, rustic table in their living room. “We all need a table, a place where we gather to be fully and truly ourselves. Without such a place we may lose track of our souls. If you want to seize the wonder of friendship in your life, find your table.” -continued- Wonderstruck/page 2 • Forgiveness: After being embezzled, Feinberg struggled with the “absurd” absolution that Jesus suggests. But she found that when she declined an opportunity to join in a lawsuit against the embezzler, she crossed the threshold from captivity to liberation. • Abundant life: Feinberg tells of Cactus Jack, a colorful, cigar-smoking, jelly-bean-eating professional poker player—and her grandfather. “He didn’t just color outside the lines, he scribbled outside, but in the process he laid hold of God and helped others do the same,” she says. “Too many of us play and pray it safe.” Wonderstruck is an invitation to drink in the fullness of life—and a how-to. The book concludes with a “30 Days of Wonder” challenge. A different activity is suggested for each day, and participants can share their stories and photos through social media, on www.facebook.com/ margaretfeinberg, Twitter.com/mafeinberg, and Pinterest.com/mafeinberg using the hashtag #livewonderstruck. Feinberg also recommends songs for each of the ten wonders explored in the book, so readers can build a playlist to provide musical inspiration for the journey. In addition, a seven-session Wonderstruck Bible Study produced by LifeWay will help readers go even deeper into the wonder. Margaret Feinberg is a popular Bible teacher and speaker at churches and leading conferences such as Catalyst, Thrive and Extraordinary Women. Her books and Bible studies have sold over 600,000 copies and received critical acclaim and extensive national media coverage from CNN, the Associated Press, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and many others. Margaret lives in Morrison, Colorado, with her husband, Leif, and their superpup, Hershey. http://margaretfeinberg.com/ Worthy Publishing (www.worthypublishing.com), a division of Worthy Media, Inc., is a privately held company whose mission is helping people experience the heart of God. Worthy is an independent voice in Christian publishing, managing editorial, marketing, publicity, sales and distribution from its home offices in Brentwood, TN. Worthy focuses on a boutique list of new books each year, crossing a broad spectrum of genres, including fiction, Bible study, current events, devotionals, biography, leadership, specialized Bibles, as well as spiritual and personal growth. # # # Wonderstruck: Awaken to the Nearness of God by Margaret Feinberg Worthy Publishing $14.99 paper, 978-1-61795-088-9 In stores December 25, 2012 Suggested Interview Questions for Margaret Feinberg author of Wonderstruck Worthy Publishing, December 25, 2012 What was your inspiration for writing Wonderstruck? Wonder means a lot of things to a lot of different people. How do you define wonder? What do you think prevents people from experiencing a sense of ‘holy awe’? What are the ill effects of failing to nurture a desire for God's wonder in our lives? How do you personally experience God's wonder? Have there been seasons in your life where God's wonder was void? What did you learn during that season? How did you come out of it? In difficult times, we often ask “why?” You say God answers with a “who?” How can shifting our focus from “why” to “who” help us regain a sense of God’s presence? How can spending time outdoors help overcome spiritual atrophy? You tell of how your Energizer-bunny pace caught up with you, resulting in burnout. What did you learn about the wonder of Sabbath rest? You once gave up something unusual for Lent. Will you share that story? How did a coffee table play a pivotal role in helping you experience the wonder of friendship? Your grandfather, Cactus Jack, was quite a character! How did this feisty, cigar-smoking poker player model the wonder of abundant life? You’ve designed a “30 Days of Wonder” challenge for your readers. How does it work? Why did you decide to include recommendations of songs for each of the ten wonders explored in the book? What are some of your favorites from the Wonderstruck playlist? Tell us about the Wonderstruck Bible Study. For an interview with Margaret Feinberg, please contact Kelly Hughes, 312-280-8126 or [email protected].