Stirring Up Strife (2010) Read Online Free PDF Page B

passed around."
     
"That's not a bad idea, Bryant." Trish pretended to count her business cards. "Do you think I have enough?"
     
Bryant gave Cooper a flirtatious smile. "I like the young and hip feel of this church. It might look old school, but this church is hi-tech." The light in his eyes dimmed slightly. "Ever since my wife left, Sunday mornings were getting kind of lonely, so I came here to meet some new friends. The band is really good too. I never knew that church could be so much like a party. We really rock out during the service."
     
"That sounds cool," Cooper replied, trying to visualize the combination of a church service and a an Aerosmith concert.
     
"We haven't started our morning's lesson yet, so don't worry about missing anything," Trish said to ease Cooper's mind. "We're waiting for another member to arrive."
     
"That would be Quinton," Jake added. "Big-time banker dude and the best cake baker you ever met. He's probably late because he's frostin' the tenth layer of some awesome chocolate fudge cake." He grinned smugly. "That's why our study's better than everybody else's. We've got the best food."
     
Nathan was still blocking Cooper's path to the door. He cast an amused glance at Jake. "Well, that's all of us."
     
Savannah nodded. "Let's begin so we're not late for worship. I hope Quinton will join us shortly." She turned toward Cooper. "It's a good day for you to jump in, since the theme we're discussing is 'beginnings.' Next week we're going to start a study on Paul's letters called 'Dear Church: Paul's Letter in the Book of Ephesians.' "
     
Trish held out her workbook. "Cooper, you can just run over to LifeWay Christian store and buy one of these there. Then you'll be all set to join our little group."
     
Cooper was slightly baffled by what Savannah and Trish had said. She knew that Ephesians was one of the books in the Bible, but she'd never read it before, and though she'd driven by a LifeWay store on Broad Street, she'd never gone inside. "Sorry, but you've totally lost me. I don't even have a Bible." Feeling that was the wrong thing to say, Cooper quickly amended her statement. "I mean, with me. I've got a Bible at home, but I'm pretty sure it's a kid's Bible. It's full of colored illustrations and I think my name's written on the first page in purple crayon."
     
"My favorite color." Savannah patted the empty desk beside her. "Have a seat, honey. You can share my Bible. Shoot, I can't see it anyway!" She laughed and then waited patiently until Cooper sat down.
     
Savannah pushed a small Bible with a worn red leather cover toward Cooper's side of her desk and said, "I've had this since I was confirmed, so it's kind of like an old friend. I take it everywhere and it's never led me astray. It's my own version of a Seeing Eye dog."
     
"Hey, why don't you have one of those dogs anyhow?" Jake wondered. Cooper thought his voice sounded as if he were gargling gravel.
     
"I told you before. I don't want my blindness to come before me ." Savannah held out her multihued hands. "And I don't want people to buy my paintings because I'm blind. I'd like the paintings to speak to something inside of them."
     
"Anyway," Trish interjected gently, "we're talking about how the book of Mark starts and how it's similar to Genesis." She elaborated for Cooper's benefit. "We were all going to kick off the study by sharing a significant 'beginning' in our own lives. I was going to share the ups and downs of starting my own business."
     
"I wish you'd tell me the secret," Jake answered as he handed Cooper a mug filled with coffee and a small pitched of cream. "I'm tired of workin' for The Man."
     
Smoothing her straight, copper-hued bangs, which looked as though they had been sprayed with polyure-thane and wouldn't budge an inch during a Category Five hurricane, Trish turned an intent pair of violet eyes (which were likely the result of contacts) on Jake. "Is that your new beginning? To start your own plumbing