Now I Sea!: Spiritual Life Lessons from the Sea

by Jenny L. Cote

Book Overview

Now I Sea! is the log of a cruise along many coasts with God at the helm. It is an exploration of the wonders of the sea and the coast as they relate to the human experience. In this collection of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1414002971
• ISBN13: 9781414002972
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: 1st Book Library
• Length: 316 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Charting a Course with God

Through her book, Now I Sea! , Jenny has taken us to some spiritual ideas and insights we may not have looked at and some we may have seen and forgotten in time. The earlier chapters have an almost playful tone, with the genuine enthusiasm of a wide-eyed youngster pulling the reader by the hand to look at newly discovered wonders. We take sailing trips, encounter rough seas, swim with dolphins, explore the coast, and sense the lure and mystery and power of the sea. We feel the breezes and smell the salt air and hear our ship's rigging creak and groan. We face the storms and baton the hatches and don our slicker and brave the spray and keep our bow into the wind and we survive. The storm passes and we bail seawater and make repairs and give thanks and resume our course. Jenny's book helps us navigate the spiritual seas we all are on, and that God is truly in control. The visual images in the book of seacoast, gulls, sailboats, waves, sand, beaches, and lighthouses stay in our head and the parallels and lessons Jenny draws from those images come to mind pleasantly and often. She offers spiritual insight and wisdom as would a neighbor who is sharing his experiences about a product or service that really works. The chapters dealing with the invasion of Normandy give me chills. I've watched countless times the film clip of soldiers stepping off a landing craft on D-Day under heavy enemy fire and after a few steps one falls hard, face down, and doesn't move. Countless times I've experienced the same sad and sickening feeling of helplessness for that soldier. Jenny's account of the unseen presence of Jesus at that bloody and horrific scene gives us a feeling of reassurance, hope, and reason for those lost in defense of freesom.. I could not wait to recommend the book to friends, to our church family, to our local Christian bookstore and I gladly recommend it to you.

Book shares a personal approach

Now I Sea is a wonderful journey through some very interesting experiences of the author. She provides extensive insight into her growth as a Christian with a personal relationship with God. This is a great book for anyone wishing to stregthen and deepen their own spiritual relationship. While I enjoyed the author's light-hearted chapters and career/life advice, I found the chapter on her experiences on the beaches of Normandy to be the most compelling. In this time of terrorism and war, the caring images of Christ that she describes are particularly comforting; I think this chapter speaks both to those who have lost someone through war or violence, as well as to those who have lost someone through more ordinary means. Whether you love the sea, or, like me, prefer the mountains, this book is a refreshingly personal approach to faith in life.

Even for non-sailors

My husband is the sailor, not I. And I was neither intimidated nor bored by this book. Mrs. Cote's passionate relationship with God and her love of the sea drew me in. The sailing terms and references, quotations from poetry and contemporary Christian music, and illustrations are the just right complement to her prose. "Spiritual Life Lessons from the Sea" is the apt subtitle. Each chapter not only taught me but fed me food for thought. The author's examples of being aware of and comfortable with God are easy to share others. This is the kind of book I can go back to again and again both as a devotional and just for pleasure. I'm looking forward to more books by this new author.

Great Lessons From the Sea

NOW I SEA by Jenny Lynne Cote is a treasure of life lessons learned in the glorious experience of sailing and loving the Sea.Jenny takes the reader on a cruise through her childhood sailing adventures with her family on the Cheasapeake Bay, the IntraCoastal Waterway from Norfolk, Virginia to the Florida Keys,and the Bahamas. You will see her life experiences learned in the crucible young adulthood as she takes you to Ireland, the beaches of Normandy, the South of France, Israel, the gulfcoast of Florida, California, and New York.The reader will gain inspiration from the truths of learning how to put life back together after the storms. As the sea awes us by it's expanse you will be awed by a young woman's grip on life and her determination to squeeze every bit of joy possible out of it.This is a book you will use again and again as a source of of personal encouragement.

A Message from the Author

Ahoy! I hope this note finds you well. If you love the sea and have an interest in seeing how spiritual insights can be drawn from such waters, you will enjoy Now I Sea! This book came about as a result of my travels around the world, and my experiences while being on, near or with people who love the sea. Each person has a place for 'mountaintop experiences' of spiritual growth, but not everyone goes to the mountains. Some go to the coast. I use the context of a cruise along the coast with God at the helm for the premise of this book. I believe the coast to be rich with God enounters, and share what I've experienced in this book. Sometimes the discoveries are metaphorical, sometimes physically literal as we explore the wonders of the sea as they relate to the human experience. In this collection of stories, personal adventures and quiet reflections, you'll cruise along the eastern seaboard of the U.S., soak up some California sunshine, enjoy the Gulf of Mexico and Keys of Florida, sail to the Carribean Islands, walk along the war-torn beaches of Normandy and the sun-drenched Cote D'Azur in France, swim with a wild dolphin in Ireland and visit the ancient seas of Israel and Egypt. Watch God walk along the beaches of birth and death, family and friendships, hopes and dreams, exploration and adventure, life challenges and storms, war and pain, and healing and restoration. Skip along the surface to enjoy the lighthearted crystal blue seas of the soul and plunge into deep waters to reach the rarely touched depths of the soul. Come and 'sea' new things about God and about yourself as you read this refreshing book. Godspeed, Jenny