Spirit Husband Book – with first chapter
What people are saying about my new book, Spirit Husband:
It is well written and the dialogue is crisp. Sometimes it is humorous and at other times it grabs you. Very intriguing concept, as far as Jesus, being a character. Some people will love it. Others will hate it.
Mark of Kennan
I like all of your Jesus Adventure Stories, but I really like this one, because Willow is a prophetic reflection of many of the independent and rebellious men and women who think they know Jesus, but don’t, who fill the contemporary church.
Greg of Mohawk Lane
I like the way you explain things. And the story is really interesting! Just like with that other story, the female character was so interesting and real, I wanted to meet her.
Rod of Curtis
Your book is good! I immediately read it a second time. It is a complex story. I really identified with the character, Willow!
Pamela of Riverside
The raffle has ended.
Spirit Husband Book Raffle,
Compliments of my character Willow of Ladysmith!
Larisa of Milan, Italy
Marie of New Castle on Tyne
Jeanie of Shelbyville
Chaplain Broch of the Ashland Region
Maureen of Tonawanda
Greg of Mohawk Lane
Mark of Kennan
Adam of Almena
July first, the digital version of Spirit Husband will be on sale for two days, for 99 cents, at Amazon. Don’t miss it!
Audio with more information about Wayne O’Conner’s book, including characters and abridged prologue and raffle information:
Link to the paperback and digital editions of Spirit Husband at Amazon: Find out how Willow gets captured by a Spirit Husband and is rescued!
Chapter 1,
Sunny Dix and Granny T
Warning: This work is Adult Christian Fiction, a genre often written by the best-selling authors Bodie and Broch Thoene. It is intended only for mature audiences. Many instances of adult themes can be found in scripture but are not as embellished. The limited instances found in this material are not meant to be provocative, but to underscore the seriousness and gritty realism of the consequences of indulging in New Age occult practices and forbidden erotic activity.
In Jesus Name, I bind Alf and his associates, and Sunanda Jesus and his associates, from attacking, tricking, trapping, following, or tormenting any who read or hear this story. I also pray, in Jesus name, divine protection, from any type of demonical attack, from any demonical entity, that would be sent against any human reader because he or she has or will read or hear this story.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it.
Ephesians 5:25 KJV
If we do not continue in faith, he still remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself in us.
Philippians 2:13 Father’s Life New Testament Version
Willow was a young Christian lady of about thirty years of age. She visited church once or twice per month and felt that she had a strong relationship with Jesus. Really, she knew about Jesus, rather than having a relationship and was quite worldly and had a very weak and average Christian walk.
Willow did read her Bible occasionally and listened to Christian radio shows once or twice per week. She was tall and slender but with a slight belly. Willow resembled the art history pictures of Venus on the half shell – that is she had a slight belly, even though otherwise thin. Willow was attractive, but only in an average way. She was very smart, but also eccentric. Willow had dated a few men, and was sexually active with them, but after finding a New Age Christian website, that promoted celibacy for Jesus, she eagerly joined the cause.
Originally, her name had not been Willow, but she had changed it when she became a member of BobbleHead Jesus Group. Their Jesus was a very seeker friendly Jesus, who taught about crystal magic, fortune-telling and that Hell was just an allegory.
This false Jesus taught a very watered-down gospel where you could do just about anything you wanted, as long as you invited him into your life. And there was even the possibility that you could climb ranks of the cult and one day be invited into his inner sanctum and meet him face to face!
One Sunday Willow visited her church. She hadn’t attended in several weeks. To her surprise there was a guest speaker, a minister who prayed for people and gave prophecies. Willow was at the same time apprehensive and a bit excited.
When the offering plate came around she smiled and put in her customary George Washington offering. The guest speaker, a short plump black man with a bow tie and a silver tooth, named Sunny Dix, smiled his warm, winning smile. He was teaching about how Jesus not only wanted to save us from our sins but wanted us to submit our lives to Him and let our carnality be cleansed.
Willow frowned. That’s not my Jesus! she thought. My Jesus values my independence. We have a great relationship and He loves me. Willow forced a cheery smile, and out of respect listened to the plump little black man, again, even though she believed he was a false preacher.
Suddenly Preacher Dix stopped in the middle of his sermon and pointed towards the back row of the church. “You back there! You with the scarf with the peace symbol and the strange pinback button of the funny looking Jesus with the gem in his hand.”
Willow gulped, “You mean me?” Chitwinks! He must have eyes like an eagle, complained Willow silently with one of her favorite coined euphemisms.
“Yes, you. Anybody else in the back row, or the whole church for that matter, have a scarf of that description?”
“Oh, yeah. Probably not.”
He said, “Young lady. Jesus wants you to know something.”
Very timidly she said, “O.K.”
“Thus, says the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jesus you met personally recently is not real. But I am real, and I know you. I designed you to be a little strange so that you could serve me in a special ministry.
“But you can only do that ministry with the help of another servant. He is older and wiser than you.
“First, I must show you I am real and who I am.
“Second, you must decide whether it is worthwhile for you to serve me as Lord. Because unless you serve me as Lord, and get rid of many foolish notions about me, that you are carrying around, you will not be able to serve Me in the ministry I have called you to do.
“You asked Me to save you once, several years ago, but you never took the time to read your Bible and get to know me, learn what I expect from my servants, and how to have a relationship with Me.”
Dix, after a long pause, shook his head, and went back to preaching, “In Romans 6:7 we are told that we must die to sin. If we don’t submit our sin to Jesus it will hinder our prayer life and therefore we will not understand Jesus’ will for us and when we pray for protection or for our needs, we may not get them.”
Willow tuned the old black man out. Obviously, he doesn’t hear from Jesus. I am one of Jesus’ chosen ones. I know secrets that that old black man doesn’t know and never will. I am a Lightworker for Jesus and I use crystals to empower my prayers!
As soon as the service ended, Willow headed for the door as quickly as she could, hoping to get a way before anyone asked her any questions or gave her any more strange words.
Just before she was about to make her escape, Granny Tempi, popped out of the shadows and placed her tiny cold wrinkled hand on Willow’s arm. “Hi Willow. It is so nice to see you in church. Where’s the fire? You should stay awhile and mingle.”
“Oh, Hi Granny T. There’s no fire. I am just late. I have to…uhh..meet a friend.”
“Yes, Willow. I know you must meet a friend. Your best friend. Next to Jesus, that is.”
“Oh no, Granny T! You’re not going to play matchmaker with me!” She laughed lightly. “Seriously, I joined a group of enlightened Christians, and one of the words they gave me, is that I needed to become celibate for Jesus. I have vowed to never marry and reserve myself for Him.”
Granny T said, “No, no, Willow I don’t have any guys for you to meet. I do have a word for you though, like traveling prophet Dix did. ‘You will meet the older servant of the Lord that will help you. It will happen within thirty days. It will be at a funeral in a cemetery. He will wear a red cross wound in silver and a white cross surrounding a red cross. You will also meet Jesus. The real Jesus. Very soon. He will sing you a strange song.”
Willow laughed, “I think you have been taste-testing the communion wine in the root cellar just a wee bit too much! Thanks for seeing me out, though, Granny T. I must hurry. I’m late.”
Granny T. laughed, “Oh, Willow, you’ll actually meet your girlfriend today unexpectedly and you’ll be early. But that friend you know, the friend I just told you about, in my word, him you’ve never met.”
“What?” stammered Willow.
Granny T, a sly expression on her face, replied, “Oh, don’t mind me, Willow. I am just a crazy lady, don’t you know. Have a great day girl!”
For a minute there I thought she had you, Willow girl, she thought! Liar liar pants on fire! Granny T. was just jerking your chain! And I twerked and jerked all the way to work! She got me good on that one!
Out the door Willow went. She whispered to herself, you need to find yourself a new church Willow girl! When she climbed into her car, Willow thought, I’ve got some time to kill. Maybe I can catch a movie. Even if I do that, I’ve got another hour to kill, after that. I know there is that quaint little coffee shop not too far from the cinema. Yep, I have been wanting to check the place out for a few months now.
When willow arrived at the Upside-down Umbrella Coffee House and ordered almond milk expresso, she sat down alone at a table in the back corner.
An old friend Kyra came in the back door. She spotted Willow immediately. Both ladies ran into each other’s arms, eliciting a few stares from other customers, as they squealed and hugged each other. Following their surprise reunion, Kyra turned about, dashed to the counter at the front, and ordered a triple sweet French Vanilla Steamer from the counter lady. Willow followed.
Willow’s eyes popped when Kyra turned away from the cash register attendant and said cheerily, “This is an unexpected meeting, Willow my friend!”
They returned to Willow’s table in the shadows of the back corner, sat down and waited for their order. As they talked about the factory where they had recently worked together, Kyra asked, do you remember Billy Bee-Bop?”
“Yeah, you’re good friends with him and his wife Kat. I know them, too, of course, Kyra. Well I know Bee Bop. I just don’t know him or his wife like you do. Until I start getting to know someone, I’m quiet. I worked a different shift, you know. And if you hadn’t worked that special swing shift, I wouldn’t have gotten to know you either, and once in a while Billy Bee Bop pulled a swing, too.” Willow added, “What about them?”
“I have good news and bad news,” said Kyra.
“The good news, then.” Willow rolled her eyes. “I have had enough bad news today. Well, not technically bad news, just weird.”
The waitress, smiling under her purple upside-down umbrella cap, carried her large round brown serving tray, with two huge steaming mugs crafted of heavy purple ceramic. The mugs were shaped like upside down umbrellas, on a saucer. Since the saucers were part of the body of each upside-down umbrella coffee cup, they remained attached to the upper umbrella portion of the cup, as the pretty and perky, bubble gum popping, Native American waitress, carefully sat down each cup in front of Willow and Kyra.
Willow quickly sipped her steaming cup of Java and felt the instant rush of the extra caffeine. Hefting the heavy cup, Willow laughed merrily and said, “I’ll have to come here more often. Coffee and a workout! God, they’re heavy! I don’t know how that waitress carries two of them on that round brown serving tray of hers!” Willow smelled the syrupy sent of extra strong French Vanilla from her friend’s cup that drifted across the table with every puff of steam.
Kyra sniffed the fumes, and a slow smile lit her face. She wiggled her nose, sniffed the steamy smoky coils that sailed skywards above her cup, as she warmed her pudgy little hands, on the outer surface, of her purple upside-down umbrella cup.
Kyra laughed at Willow’s humorous comment and replied, “I know, Willow. It’s like drinking out of a cement block! But it is quick and convenient. Pricey, but their beverages are easily the best in the city. Not so much the coffee, but steamers, caps, and lattes. They are simply to die for.
I just moved into one of the upstairs apartments around back of the building, so I spend enough money here to keep the place open all by myself.”
Kyra smiled again, breathed in the French Vanilla steam, blew gently on the surface of her beverage, and concentrated on the creamy waves. Once again, she did not sip the frothy steaming French Vanilla beverage. Kyra added, “I can tell it’s a little too hot to drink yet. I love that scent. Ahh. Where were we? Oh, yeah, the good news! Kat had her birthing.”
“Was it a boy or a girl?” asked Willow.
“Both.”
“So, what is the bad news?”
“One of them was born dead.”
“Oh, that’s terrible news. Bee Bop and Kat must be crushed.”
“They are. But they are trying to focus on the healthy baby boy that survived, Link.”
“What’s the girl baby’s name?”
“Zelda.”
“Zelda, that’s not a common name,” said Willow overwhelmed with sadness for Bee Bop and Kat.
“Yeah, I guess Bee Bop played a lot of the Zelda Nintendo games series years ago.
“Oh, the one with that little elf with the sword and shield.”
“Yea, that’s the elf boy, Link. The female character was Princess Zelda.”
“That makes sense,” offered Willow, “The girl who died was Zelda and the boy who lived was Link.”
Kyra finally took a tentative sip of her beverage. “Ahh. That was great and not too hot! I hate burning my tongue. By the way, the funeral is Friday, will you come with me, Willow? I don’t want to drive there alone, especially to a cemetery!”
Willow hesitated briefly, thought about the weird prophecies of the day, and then took a deep breath before responding. She was about to decline, but then convinced herself that meeting Kyra unexpectedly, in fulfillment of Granny T’s second prophecy, and the fact that she had just been invited to a funeral at a cemetery, was merely coincidence. “O.K.”
“The funeral is at 2. It’s a three-hour drive. They meet in a home church and for some reason it took them a few tries to find a cemetery that would take them in. Not sure if that was the reason, or just two random points of trivia.
“Meet you here at 10:30 AM, grab coffees to go and skedaddle. Paper cups are scads lighter, by the way! That should give us time to have a quick one and still find the cemetery if it is not as easy to find as they told me.
…
Chapter 2,
Willow Meets Wesley