40 Days with Jerry Apps

Beloved Wisconsin author Jerry Apps has impressed readers with his talent for storytelling as evidenced by a diverse and prolific output of more than 35 fiction and nonfiction books. Whether he is weaving a fanciful tale from his own imagination, recounting a true story of a bygone era, or sharing a memory from his own life, Jerry demonstrates an uncanny ability to forge a connection with readers with prose that is insightful, engrossing, often humorous, and always heartfelt. Jeff Wild, a long-time pastor who served three congregations in southern Wisconsin, counts himself among Jerry Apps' most ardent readers. As someone who has written many a sermon during 30-plus years at the pulpit, Jeff found himself impressed by the spirituality in Jerry's work and how well the author captures the essence of growing up in rural Wisconsin in the simpler times of the mid-20th century. As he sought out and read every book of Jerry's he could find, Jeff became of the opinion that this was an author who embodied a sense of place as much or more deeply than any person he had ever known. Upon his retirement in 2014, Jeff experienced a moment of serendipity-one might say, even divine intervention. He and his wife, Nan, became members of Midvale Community Lutheran Church-the very same church attended by Jerry Apps. Soon, Jeff found himself drawn to Jerry the person as much as he had been drawn to Jerry the author. From there, an idea was born-to produce a book of meditations with Jerry's prolific body of work as the inspiration. With Jerry's permission, Jeff forged ahead to write this volume, 40 Days with Jerry Apps, a daily reflection on such topics as Authenticity, Certainty, Gardening, Pride, Interdependence, and Loss. With selected texts from Jerry's writings serving as the springboard, Jeff makes connections in these entries that emerge from his theologically and biblically shaped imagination. His hope is that readers will find kernels of meaning in these meditations, which will lead them to wonder, to explore, and to make connections in the time and place that they inhabit.