Love Wins: illustrated poetry inspired by biblical truth

A look inside Love Wins reveals a compilation of insightful poetry, complemented by masterful illustrations, created by Christ Church Pastor Dan Schiel (the poet) and Grace Ellen Schiel (the artist and Dan’s wife of more than 30 years). Most were created over the course of a five-year period from 2003 through 2008 but there are a few illustrations painted in 2011 which are not associated with a poem. The text presented with those 2011 illustrations is accompanied with part or all of the scripture text for a Sunday sermon. Love Wins is primarily a visual book, and the illustrations themselves drove much of the selection from nearly 300 original illustrations spanning the last eight years. From those, we have chosen 150 to present here. Since each of the illustrations is closely associated with a scripture passage, we have presented them in biblical order beginning with Genesis 1, and featuring the poetry/illustration pair Keeping Time on page 1. As you browse through, you’ll discover a blend of Old and New Testament insight, as well as a dose of contemporary events like 9-11 revealed in the illustration Ground Zero on page 137, and a few others. The table of contents is in page and biblical order, but if you want to look up either a specific title or associated scripture text, we have indexes for both at the end of the book. Love Wins is a book intended for the contemplative spirit within you. We invite you to pick it up any time you need a respite from your busy world. Immerse yourself in the poetry, absorb the visual feast alongside it, and ingest the actual scripture from your favorite Bible. Every page here is a new adventure in The Word ... an escape from the tumultuous world … which you won’t find anywhere else. We’ve also designed each page as a composition unto itself, anticipating that it will help you filter out the daily distractions and give you rest in the Word of God. So … grab your slippers and your most comfortable Bible, find a quiet spot, and turn to any page that captures your fancy. Blessings!