About The Book
Spirit-Driven is a collection of song lyrics and spiritual poems that capture the journey of the soul as it experiences union with the ever present God who speaks to us through personal revelation during times of intimacy through prayer.
BlogTalk Radio Live Podcast July 24, 2018:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/modernliving/2018/07/24/spirit-driven-with-kathleen-calhoun
Reviews
http://www.pacificbookreview.com/spirit-driven/
Reviewed by: Liz Konkel
Pacific Book Review
Spirit-Driven: A Collection of Song Lyrics and Poems is a stunning collection by Kathleen Lizardi-Calhoun, who expresses a passionate and emotional message about God, salvation and faith, presented through each poem. Spirit-Driven has a personal tone to it, exploring what it means to be a light for others. Lizardi-Calhoun’s writing in this collection has a lovely hymnal quality, with each poem flowing with a lyrical style and rhyme scheme.
Lizardi-Calhoun’s style has an empowering tone with a variety of poems which has an inspiring message. Themes of salvation are specific in several poems, first explored in “A Mighty Hand” which reads like a prayer, asking to be saved from what’s referred to as a drowning nation. The mission of God is also highlighted in several of the poems and lyrics with a focus on God’s power and grace while also defining what a mission under God means. To deal with the world’s problems, the poem highlights how to achieve an inner peace. Several poems pull messages from Bible verses, specifically in “Christ in Our Place” which focuses on Hebrews 5:6-11, and explores salvation by going into surrendering lives to God, the joy of living in the kingdom of God, and prospering in a new life. “Come to Jesus as You Are” is similar in tone to “Christ in Our Place” as it explores specifically salvation in a way which teaches to come as you are to the Spirit and praise. This is also seen in “Come to Me” which explores the idea of broken people finding solace with God as the North Star, a healer, and strength.
The poem “Be a Light” focuses on what it means to be a light, stating to “be salt and light to others” which means to not just spread the word of God but to reach out to others as a light in the darkness. “Be a Light” focuses on the central theme that comes up often in the collection about leaving past sins behind and moving forward in the Spirit with a new wisdom and grace. This idea is also prominent in the lyrical style of “Be a Prophet for Me” which is about being a light to lead others to the Spirit and to love others. “Divine Love” furthers this message describing a wave of forgiveness by following the ways of the Spirit and creating a new passion which will in turn reach out to others. “Embrace Your Call” focuses on the Spirit guiding prayers while opening people’s eyes to the truth. Several of Lizardi-Calhoun’s poems focus on the idea of faith eyes which means having one’s attention fixed on heaven.
Lizardi-Calhoun has a passionate style, using descriptive words throughout, including compassionate, praise, thanks, and blessings. This collection has several empowering messages that teach and worship, imbuing each poem with a personal voice. A few of the poems have a story-like style, but this is mostly seen in “Homeless to Saved.” While it maintains a rhyme scheme, it’s set apart from the others in the collection with a more prose style that unfolds a story. This is a quick read so beautifully written you practically sing along as the words that strive to heal. This isn’t a collection to persuade but one that simply sets out to inspire and to find solace within the words. Spirit-Driven is a wonderful connection full of empowering messages and a lyrical style that has a hymnal tone that explores the idea of hope and salvation.
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent
Hollywood Book Review
Awarded to books of excellent Merit
Spirit-Driven: Volume One – A Collection of Songs, Lyrics, and Poems is a riveting and inspiring assortment of poems from Kathleen Lizardi-Calhoun. Her collection of poems and song lyrics will be impactful for readers. Spirit-Driven is a mixture of song lyrics and poems about a narrator’s faith in God. Some of the poems have words from God’s point of view, like “ By My Stripes” “ My word is your power/In the storm, raise it to me/You will have strength/In that hour/I will set you free.” Many of the poems and songs detail the joy the narrator feels now that they have faith in God, as in “Christ in Our Place: “ By the King, we are justified/ By His blood, we are saved.” Poems also detail how people should have faith and should come to Jesus just as they are in their lives in poems such as “Come to Jesus as You Are.”
Lizardi-Calhoun’s writing is very emotional and heartfelt. Her writing is evocative and imparts important lessons about being kind to other people, especially vulnerable people. In poems like “Help Save the Life of a Child”, the narrator of the poem details how they want to help children have a more spiritual life with God. In “Homeless to Saved,” Lizardi-Calhoun writes about a narrator that helps a homeless person find their faith and saves their life. She writes profusely about her faith, but in an elegant and subtle way that is not preachy nor overbearing to readers.
Spirit-Driven would be best for readers who want to learn more about faith and express their devotion to God. The poems would be best for readers of Christian ministers like Joyce Meyer or TD Jakes. The songs in the text, like “Faith Eyes” and “Heavenly Eyes” are inspiring and would be ideal for fans of Christian gospel artists like Chris Tomlin or Kirk Franklin. The poems can be read in Bible study groups and the songs can be sung in church choirs as well. Even people who aren’t religious can be moved by the themes of unconditional love, forgiveness, and kindness throughout the book.
Spirit-Driven is an excellent collection of poems and songs that will warm readers’ hearts and motivate them to help others. The book is a beautiful expression of faith that all readers will love.