God with Us
A Walk Through the Gospels
By Margaret Montreuil

      In God in Sandals: When Jesus Walked Among US, the remarkable fictional biography of the life and death of Jesus Christ, Margaret Montreuil enraptured, as her beloved Jesus Christ did, with stories that conveyed profound truths. In the companion book God with Us: A Walk Through the Gospels, she gives us deeper understanding, so that we step into the role of John, James, and the other apostles---except for that guy Judas---and explore Jesus' teachings. Montreuil provides imaginative essays and point-of-view pieces from characters in her book, from the apostles to Mary, mother of Jesus, to Pilate to a Levite priest who witnesses the earthquake (caused by the flight of Satan and his demons) when Jesus dies and ascends to Heaven from the cross. Montreuil includes her own meditations and poetry even as she invites the reader to journal and compose similar meditations, poems and prayers.

     The book follows the chapter progression of God in Sandals, and at the beginning of each chapter, provides a list of Bible passages for the reader to meditate and pray with. The devotional chapters are neatly and elegantly organized into Montreuil's meditations (which include verses and passages from other religious writers), followed by "Wonder Just a Little," where she invites us to think about what we've read, to ponder and contemplate. It's here that Montreuil exhibits the creativity she praises in Jesus. In the companion to Chapter 5, Heaven's Carpenter, she discusses nature and the wondrous creations of God:

      "Porcupines were made not to cuddle, nor were the jellyfish meant to hold. Turtles and horses-could creatures be any more different? What a wild imagination!"

      Montreuil asks us to see with the same heart and imagination, meditating on Jesus' life and on Scripture. She provides intriguing exercises of mind and of faith, and lastly, she invites the reader to journal. In the end, she challenges the reader to continue devotional journaling. If you are Christian or Jewish, this book can only deepen your faith. If you are a different religion, or are spritiually seeking, the book can open your mind and your heart.