From Out of the Sand
by Steve Sieting
Citi of Books


"No matter the depth and how darkness abounds
The Holy Spirit is present and wants to be found."

Writer Sieting offers a vibrant memoir, intertwining poetry, prose, family tributes, and a clear connection to God, Christ, and the inspirations inherent in holy scripture. His mother and father provided him with early church involvement. Accolades to both, as well as to his wife, Lynn, are part of this literary journey. He boldly focuses on his early setbacks in school as he struggled with a handicap involving verbal limitations. Honest autobiographical segments and poems such as "Mountains," "Trails," and "Oh, to Walk in the Woods" explore these challenges realistically and symbolically.

Joining the U.S. Navy, the author's engineering skills came to the fore, presaging a lengthy career utilizing manifold aspects of those abilities. Through the years with Lynn's loving support, family joys, and the underpinning of his strong religious beliefs, Sieting overcame bouts of depression and episodes of illness, including cancer and heart disease. His poetic works, both poignant and powerful, portray the positive aspects of his faith-based life, some having been sent to him, he avows, as visions from Jesus, whose oversight and compassion are notably celebrated, as in the poem "With Me Every Step, Every Day": "I found the Savior who died for me. / Jesus Christ paid my penalty. / With Jesus I am never alone. / He is my precious cornerstone."

Though Sieting assiduously asserts that writing did not initially come naturally to him, his verses and memories reveal that deficit now overcome. The wide variety of incidents and imagery presented clearly convey his Christian aptitude and the character of someone who, pressured and often tormented by earthly exigencies, has nonetheless kept his eyes on higher possibilities, his footsteps on higher ground. Sieting's straightforward, stirring collection has the potential to invoke deeper delving for those sharing his religious faith, and guidance for all who seek fresh trails to truth.

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