May 1, 2024 • 37 mins
In this episode of the Christian Book Blurb podcast, host Matt McChlery interviews author Bryony Wood about her book, The Sound of Musings, which explores the connection between the Sound of Music movie and God. Bryony shares her love for the film and how it inspired her to write a devotional book. She discusses the symbolism in songs like 'Edelweiss' and 'Climb Every Mountain' and how they relate to Christian themes. They also chat about her love of food, games and her new-found passion for Morris Dancing! Listen now.
Links
This episode was kindly sponsored by Standing in the Storm: Living with faith and cancer
Help keep this podcast on the web by simply buying me a coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattmcchlery
Get yourself a copy of The Sound of Musings from St Andrews Bookshop
Sponsor an episode of this podcast Click for Advertising info
Visit Bryony Wood's Website
Visit Matt McChlery's website mattmcchlery.com
Takeaways
- The Sound of Music movie can be a powerful tool for exploring Christian themes and deepening one's faith. Songs like 'Edelweiss' and 'Climb Every Mountain' in the film contain symbolism that can be related to God's love and our journey of faith.
- The intermission in the film mirrors the intermission in God's story, where we are living in the 'now but not yet' of God's kingdom.
- The Sound of Musings book offers a rich resource for churches and individuals to engage with the film and explore its spiritual themes.
- Bryony Wood provides downloadable study guides and offers live events and retreats based on the book.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Sponsorship 04:28 The Inspiration Behind The Sound of Musings 09:14 Finding God in Films and Books 23:08 Getting to Know Bryony Wood 30:52 Extras: Resources and Events 36:02 Conclusion and Sponsorship
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is Christian Book Blurb brought toyou by author and songwriter Matt McChlery
Get a behind the scenes glimpse into thelives of some of your favourite Christian
authors, hear about their books and faith.
Also, why not check out my website,mattmcchlery .com.
This episode is sponsored by the memoir,Standing in the Storm, Living with Faith
(00:22):
and Cancer, by yours truly, Matt McChlery.
You can grab yourself a signed copy frommy website, mattmcchlery .com.
You can get it anywhere online, or indeed,from your local Christian bookshop.
Hello and welcome to this episode of theChristian Book Blur podcast, where we like
(00:43):
to encourage you in your discipleship onebook at a time.
as we meet some amazing Christian authorsand learn about their books, their lives
and their faith.
Well, I'm your host, Matt McChlery.
Thanks for joining me today.
And on today's show, I'm going to betalking about the sound of music movie and
God with the author, Bryony Wood.
(01:06):
So let's welcome Bryony to the show.
Hi Bryony.
Hello, Matt.
It's really good to be here today.
Thanks so much for joining us.
I can't wait to chat all about the soundof music, Phil.
I mean, just saying those words, all of asudden loads of songs jump into my mind.
It's fantastic.
So thanks for joining us.
(01:27):
It's clear from the book that you'vewritten called The Sound of Musings, see
the planned words there?
Very clever.
The Sound of Musings, that the Sound ofMusic movie,
you must love it and having read it,there's this real love for the film.
(01:47):
So how did you come to fall in love withthe Sound of Music movie so much?
I was about eight years old when I firstwent to watch the movie.
In fact, it was my first experience ofcinema and I remember sitting between my
mum and my grandma and I was absolutelyenthralled by the huge screen in front of
(02:08):
me and the story unfolding.
And there was something about Maria thatreally inspired me.
I wanted to be like Maria.
I wanted to run across the hills dressedin curtains and twirl and anybody that
ever came to my house afterwards, I'dstand on the coffee table and I'd serenade
(02:30):
them with all the songs, bearing in mind Ididn't have and still don't have the best
of voices.
So I do remember people kind of...
laughing behind cushions as I was singingwhatever song.
And shortly after that, it must have beenChristmas or my birthday, and I was given
the LP.
(02:50):
And it was the only LP I owned betweenbeing the age of eight and being about the
age of 12.
And so I played it constantly.
And it was, but I didn't have the officialLP.
I had the kind of cut down cheap version.
that didn't have all the songs on it.
So there were some songs that I only eversaw when I actually watched the movie, but
(03:14):
I had to wait till I was, it was Christmasin 1978 that the film was first shown on
British television.
And I had to wait till then before I sawthe movie again, because of course in
those days we didn't have videos and DVDplayers, we had to wait for it to come on.
And so it was a, it was a,
(03:35):
a huge thing to watch it again.
Now I'm the only one in my family thatactually likes The Sound of Music.
So whenever I want to watch it and I'vegot a DVD of it, my kids and my husband
go, oh, you're not watching that thingagain, are you?
And they all walk out.
So for years, I thought I was, it was myguilty pleasure.
I thought I was the only one that everliked it.
(03:57):
And it was only a few years ago when I washaving a conversation.
with my then Bishop, Bishop Martin inLeicester and said that I just love the
sound of music and his face lit up and hesaid it was his family's favorite movie.
And I suddenly realized if a bishop likesit, well, perhaps I could admit to liking
(04:18):
it too.
And one thing led to another and here weare.
That's really fascinating.
That's fantastic.
Thank you.
And for our listeners as well, if you area Sound of Music fan,
Why don't you pop over to our Facebookgroup, search for the Christian Book Blurb
fan page on Facebook and join our group.
And why don't you share your favoritesound of music moments or your favorite
(04:42):
song or something like that.
We can really get a great discussion goingaround this.
Briony, why a devotional book?
The sound of musings is a devotional book.
I mean, there are Christian themes in themovie, but they're not particularly
strong.
So why a devotional?
I didn't set out to write a devotionalbook.
(05:04):
I set out because at that time I was aparish vicar and I'd been on holiday for a
significant birthday and I'd said becauseit was my birthday I wanted to go to
Salzburg and we had an amazing week inSalzburg and seeing the place and doing
all of that and I suddenly realized thatwhen I came back to the parish that
(05:27):
so many people loved the sound of musicand they'd been to Salzburg.
And then we ended up having a themedbirthday party and everybody came dressed
as nuns and I made little cakes withraindrops and roses on it and we had brown
paper packages.
We had so much fun.
And I thought, this is a really good thingto use as a Bible study.
(05:50):
And I thought there's been lots of Biblestudies done about different films, but I
couldn't find one.
on the Sound of Music.
So I thought, well, I'll write one.
So I started to write what I thought wouldbe a six week Bible study for my own
particular parish.
But by the end of the first song, as I satdown with a pen and paper in one hand and
(06:13):
the remote control in the other, and Ithought, right, I'm going to watch the
film and see what comes out of it.
By the end of the first song, The HillsAre Alive with the Sound of Music, I'd
written four separate
reflections and thought this has got sucha lot in it and for a film that's about
(06:34):
nuns we don't think of it as a Christianfilm but embedded in every song and in
every scene in every character there is somuch that speaks about God's love and I
guess I've got a
kind of a quirky brain.
I've done lots of short thoughts, youknow, thought for the days, pause for
(06:57):
thoughts for radio, hundreds of them overthe years.
And my brain kind of links weird thingswith God and it's just how it works.
And I realized that that's what was goingon here, that everything spoke about a
different aspect of God's character, butit also linked in with a really specific
Bible passage as well.
(07:20):
So I didn't set out to write a devotional.
I set out to try and link something thatwas very real on screen as a story, a film
that people could equate to, but how theycould then think about that for themselves
too.
And I was originally going to call itRaindrops on Roses, but I was sitting at
(07:42):
the computer one day and it was a real Godthing that this whole sense of the sound
of musings.
and I just knew that's what it was, youknow, to be called.
And God, this is such a God thing.
He has really shaped it and guided everyword.
And just before we started recording thisepisode, we were chatting about sort of
(08:06):
anniversaries and things.
So what's significant about the timing ofthe release of the book?
And what significant thing in the world ofthe sound of music is happening just
around the corner?
Again, when I first started writing thebook, I hadn't realised, but it became
quickly apparent that in 2025, it will bethe 60th anniversary of the film's
(08:33):
release.
And when I looked back and saw how theworld responded to the 50th anniversary or
the 57th anniversary, I began to realisethat the 60th will be huge.
And last year we got the news thatChristopher Plummer had passed away, but
Julie Andrews is still very much alive andlinked with the sound of music.
(08:56):
So it is my hope and prayer that nextyear, as the world celebrates 60 years of
a film, an iconic film that is lovedacross the world, that this will be a
gateway.
for people to be able to access anotherway of watching the film and linking the
(09:20):
film into their own journey of faith.
Speaking of linking films to journeys offaith and things, how can we as
individuals be more open to hearing Godspeaking to us through things like films
or books or whatever it is?
(09:40):
Even if they're not sort of...
know, have that Christian label or thatchurch label on the side because when you
pick up a Christian book you kind of go,oh yes, I'm expecting to learn about God
here.
But when you just pick up, you know, anovel or a fantasy novel or whatever it
is, you're not necessarily doing that withthe intention to hear from God or to learn
(10:05):
something about God.
But in your experience, how can we
we kind of turn all of life's experienceinto listening to finding God in it.
I think when we remember that we're body,mind and spirit, that God gave us a heart
(10:25):
to feel and a mind to think and that wehave an intellect but we also have a
spirit that's open to his spirit.
and his spirit works in the world and itworks in us before we even know because
that's why we end up finding anddiscovering about him because the spirit
(10:47):
has been opening our hearts and our mindsto discovering about him.
So when we remember that, we can watchthings and ask God to open our eyes to
what we see around us.
There's a...
a really lovely story in the Bible, anaccount of when a young boy called Samuel
(11:10):
was in the house of Eli and he'd beengiven into the service of the Lord and he
keeps on hearing this voice calling him,Samuel, Samuel, and he thinks it's Eli the
priest that's saying, you know, that'scalling him, he needs help.
But then they quickly realize thatactually it's God that's calling him.
And he says, speak Lord for your servantis listening.
(11:32):
And I think if we have that perception ofspeak Lord, for we are listening, that
actually God still speaks to us.
And he doesn't just speak through thewords of the Bible, he speaks through
creation, he speaks to other people.
He speaks through the joy of a newbornbaby and looking at how wonderfully
(11:55):
they're made or the splendor of themountains or a sunset.
He speaks in so many ways.
And certainly he can speak through filmsand books.
Yeah, that's great.
Thank you.
Now there are 52 chapters in your book,The Sound of Musings.
So we won't be dealing with them all onthe podcast today.
(12:16):
So there has a big hint for anyonelistening to this go and buy the book.
But I would like to touch on a few of thechapters if I may.
I'm the first one.
has got to be for me the chapter calledEdelweiss because this is personally my
favourite song in the film.
(12:38):
Can you tell us what prompted you to thinkabout, you know, how have you linked that
song Edelweiss with Christianity or ourdiscipleship?
What's the link that you found there?
When I watched Edelweiss, I must admit itwas one of those that wasn't quite
quite so obvious as some of the otherones, but like you, I love this film.
(13:04):
I have an Edelweiss necklace that I wasgiven as a nine -year -old.
I have the two -cent coin that I broughtback from Austria that's got the Edelweiss
written on the euro coin.
I've got a bag with Edelweiss on it.
It's kind of a thing.
I've got Edelweiss in the garden.
It's all about Edelweiss.
(13:27):
So,
It's a very small, simple song.
And I used to sing it to my children whenthey were babies.
Just before you tell us the link, we'vebeen talking about this Edelweiss thing,
like everyone knows what it is.
And when you say you've got it in thegarden.
So what is Edelweiss, first of all, inreal life?
(13:49):
And then it's a song that they sing aboutthis, this thing in the movie, but what,
what is Edelweiss in real life?
Well, Edelweiss is a very small flower andit grows really high on the mountains.
And it's beautiful.
(14:10):
It's a white flower with...
You could think it looks like a daisy, butit doesn't.
It's very specific.
And the thing about Edelweiss is that thetradition was that if your lover...
gave you a bunch of edelweiss, itsymbolized courage and bravery and love
because they would have to have gonereally high into the mountains to collect
(14:34):
the edelweiss for you.
And that was the link that then I couldbring in to the film because it speaks
about courage and bravery and love.
And we see the captain singing it with thechildren after.
Emil, and it's after kind of the turningpoint where he's become softer and music
(14:58):
has come back into the household afteryears of his grief where there was no
music.
And so he sings it to the children andthen they're harmonizing.
And that's a really lovely image of howthere's harmony coming back into the
family through this love of music, througheverything that's going on.
(15:21):
And then, if you remember at the end ofthe film, the family are doing this
festival performance and the Nazis arethere waiting to take the captain off
because they're going to get him to bepart of their naval command.
And the family sing about it and what theyknow that nobody else knows is that they
(15:43):
are going to make a bid for freedom.
So symbolizing the love he has for thecountry that he serves, but also his love
for freedom and righteousness as he'sgoing to escape from that Nazi stronghold.
So there's huge amounts in there.
So I think it's really symbolic.
(16:04):
And so I talk about the symbols that wehave in church that help us to think about
God's love in a way that...
we can equate to and we can understandbecause quite frankly, God's love is so
huge and so magnificent that we needsomething symbolic to be able to hold on
(16:28):
to, to give us a glimpse of what thatmeans.
So the Edelweiss is something reallysymbolic that when we are brave enough to
seek God's love, we can find somethingincredibly real.
and as the song goes you know may we bloomand grow forever.
(16:50):
Yeah wonderful that's great thank you.
Now Climb Every Mountain is another songthemed chapter where you tell the story of
something from your childhood in thatchapter.
Can you kind of just retell that to us nowbecause I really enjoyed that.
(17:11):
Well, when I was a little girl, as I said,I had this one LP and I used to play it
all.
But when it came to climb every mountain,I would lift up my record player's arm and
skip it onto the next track, because Ithought this song was really boring.
It was like really dirty and boring, youknow?
(17:32):
So I didn't like it because I loved LonelyGoat Herd and Do Re Mi and all that
exuberant stuff.
Because when I was eight, nine, 10, 11,12, I didn't understand about the power
that this song carried.
I hadn't come to terms with, you know, theway that life has ups and downs and that
(17:56):
we have to deal with these things.
But it was as I got older and I'd climbeda few mountains of my own and I had to
ford some streams and follow my dreams andall the things that Reverend Mother sings
about.
And I began to realize the depth that's inthis song.
And when I do an event in church and wehave this song playing, it becomes a
(18:22):
worship song.
And frequently I see people move to tearsas they link what they're going through or
what they've gone through.
And it reminds them of the power of God'slove.
You see,
In life there are times when we wish wecould skip over something that's hard,
like a song track, but we can't.
(18:44):
We have to go through it.
We have to go through the valley of theshadow of death.
We have to climb the mountain.
And so this reminds us that when we're inthat, we're not alone, that we have
somebody with us who is holding us everystep of the way.
That's great.
And that's so true.
(19:07):
Now I was intrigued, you wrote a wholechapter in your book about the
intermission of all things.
I mean, wow, you even got something fromthe intermission, which is fantastic.
Now this isn't something many modern daycinema goers will be familiar with.
(19:30):
So first of all, what is an intermission?
This old fashioned thing, what is it?
When you used to watch a film at themovies in the olden days, like when I used
to watch The Sound of Music, there wouldbe a space halfway through when everything
would go blank, a bit like the advertbreak now.
And it would be a chance for everybody togo into the loo and buy an ice cream or
(19:54):
whatever, which The Sound of Music is along film.
It's almost three hours.
So, you know, it would be a welcome break.
But there's something about it that reallymade me smile.
You see,
The intermission is very much part of thefilm's pace.
Maria has arrived at the von Trapp Villa.
(20:16):
Maria leaves the von Trapp Villa.
And without spoiling the plot too much,Maria returns to the von Trapp Villa,
which echoes the accounts of Jesus' life.
You see, he had always been, we see fromJohn's Gospel that Jesus,
had always been.
(20:37):
He was the one with God the Father and Godthe Spirit that spoke all of creation into
being.
There was never a time when he wasn'talive and real, but there was a time when
he chose to step onto the earth as part ofour humanity.
He arrived as a baby.
He left when he was crucified and...
(21:01):
resurrected and then ascended into heavenand the Bible tells us that he will
return.
So we are living in the intermission ofGod's story because we know that we're
living in that kingdom bit of now but notyet.
You know, it's been started but it's notfully completed and there will be a day
(21:25):
when God's kingdom will be completed.
So we are living between the intermissionof the beginning of this kingdom with
Christ and then the conclusion of it atthe end of all time.
The intermission of all of that.
That's really, that's really clever.
And we are, you're right, we are living inthe intermission.
(21:47):
So I hope everyone's enjoying theirpopcorn while we wait for the next bit.
to begin again.
And speaking of intermissions andintervals, we are just about to take a
short break ourselves.
You see how I did that?
That's great timing.
That's clever, man.
Only before, haven't you?
And so join us on the other side of these.
See you soon.
(22:09):
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(22:32):
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books and authors.
Hello, welcome back to the ChristianBookbiller podcast.
I've been chatting with the author BryonyWood all about her book, The Sound of
(23:17):
Musings, where we've been talking aboutthe sound of music, movie and God.
So do go and get yourself a copy of thatbook, especially ahead of the special
anniversary, 60th anniversary year of thefilm, which is happening in 2025.
Right Bryony, this is the part of thepodcast.
(23:37):
where we get to know you a little bitbetter.
We know you love to sound a music movie,but I'm sure there's more to you than just
that.
So what do you do for fun?
What do you enjoy doing?
I love to play.
I've always had a kind of a mischievousspirit, I suppose.
And I love to dance and play and laugh andplay games.
(24:03):
Last night, I'm not sure whether the...
My family, they certainly don't know thisyet, but last night I discovered something
that I think will become a big part in mylife.
I was looking for something that was, giveme a bit of exercise because I need to do
more exercise.
I love being with people.
So I wanted something sociable, but Idon't, I'm not really a gym bunny.
(24:27):
So I thought if I went dancing, then thatwould be a good way.
So some friends dragged me along to thelocal Morris dancing.
thing last night.
And I had a whale of a time bouncing andskipping all evening.
And I woke up this morning with a hugegrin on my face because it was such fun
and really good exercise.
(24:49):
So anything that makes me smile, whateverthat may be, I love spending time with my
family and my grandchildren.
I love flowers and being out in creation.
You know, I just love life and life in allits fullness.
Speaking of board games, do they featurevery much?
(25:10):
They do.
Less board games, but more things.
If I'm allowed to give things likeRummikub and Quirkel and Backgammon, my
husband and I, we've got a caravan and wego away in our caravan or spend evenings
at home.
And in fact, it's one of the things I talkabout in the book about praying and
playing together, I think is somethingthat really enriches our relationship.
(25:35):
Um, but it's that playing, I think when westop being childlike, we lose something of
the joy and Jesus, you know, talks to usabout being like a child and that's not
being, you know, in infantilizing us.
It's just, let's keep engaging.
I mean, you know, I could be known to behula hooping in the back garden just to
(25:57):
loosen up my back and, and have a bit offun.
So anything where there's a bit of fun.
I normally ask, what's your favoritemovie?
But we know that one.
Yeah, there's quite anything with a, Imean, I have to say that my music
playlist, again, it's not often playedpublicly because it is rather cheesy, but
(26:19):
I love songs that make me want to danceand sing along to them.
So anything that's got a bit of fun.
How about something to eat?
I love food, which is why I need to domore exercise.
I love.
cooking and it's a family joke that Imight start with a recipe that starts off
(26:41):
being a chicken curry but it ends up beinga beef stroganoff or something.
I have a pathological incapability offollowing a recipe.
It starts off with something and theremight just be one thing that's left of the
original recipe.
I love cooking because I love havingpeople around.
(27:02):
And it's the way that I relax and, andjust enjoy.
I love the process of it, but I love theend result of hospitality.
So food and my natural choices would bethe things that all are really unhealthy.
So I have to work really hard at having ahealthy diet.
I try and honor my body as being a templeof the Holy spirit, but sometimes it feels
(27:27):
a little bit like it's bursting at theseams.
Have you got any family?
Yes, I have a husband and we are about tocelebrate our 35th wedding anniversary.
I have four children, two of which I gavebirth to and two of which I inherited when
(27:47):
my husband and I got married.
And they're all really precious.
They're all adults now, all doing verydifferent things.
They all have their own joys and we lovespending time with them.
They get on really well.
It was through our children meeting.
that my husband and I got together.
So their bond is really good.
(28:08):
And I've got five grandchildren agedbetween 19 and five.
So always a joy to have them love there isI've got a photograph of me smiling with
an arm full of grandchildren.
But what you can't see is that we'rewatching the sound of music.
And it was one of those moments when Ijust felt that my
(28:31):
my world was so brimming of joy that I wassitting with grandchildren introducing
them to the sound of music.
I was going to ask have you made them alloutfits out of the curtains yet?
Yeah they really wouldn't wear them.
They tolerate but they they recognize thatgrandma's going off on one a bit really.
(28:54):
And whereabouts in the country do you livein?
In the UK so you haven't quite...
built yourself a house in Salzburg justyet.
So whereabouts are you now?
I live smack bang in the UK.
I live in Robin Hood country inNottinghamshire and it's an amazing place
(29:15):
to live.
It's a place where people tend to drivethrough to somewhere else.
But actually what we've got here is thisplace with a huge amount of history.
I was leading a church service on Sundaybecause I'm still a priest in the Church
of England.
So I cover churches that are inInterregnum or the Vicar's Sick or
(29:37):
something.
So I was covering a church on Sunday andthe bell was tolling every 15 minutes.
And that bell had been in situ and I can'tremember if it was 1432 or 1452.
So I was hearing a bell.
that had been heard all that time in thatvillage.
(29:59):
And it was a bell that when the sister ofHenry VIII, Margaret Tudor, she was sent
as a 14 year old to marry King James inScotland.
And she stayed nearby and she would haveheard that bell.
And I love the history of Nottinghamshire.
(30:21):
We are, I often do a service at
Babworth Church which is where the PilgrimFathers all came from amongst other
churches around here.
So the history here is incredible.
Oh really fascinating.
Coming back to your writing and the bookThe Sound of Musings, I know we chatted a
(30:44):
bit before we started recording thisepisode so I know you've got lots of
interesting things coming up and lookingat your website...
There's already loads of stuff going onaround the book that people can access,
like downloadable study guides and sort oflive events that you can do and all sorts
of other fun things.
(31:04):
So why don't you tell us a little bitabout the extras, the extra bits that kind
of can accompany the Sound of Musingsbook?
Well, you're right, Matt.
The book is just the beginning.
In a way, I'm more of a speaker than I ama writer.
What I found is that I'm not the onlyperson in the world that likes the sound
(31:26):
of music.
And it's an incredibly rich resource forchurches to be able to offer a mission
focused evening where we have a lot offun, lots of laughing, and it's a way of
gently introducing faith and talking aboutlife, love and faith to people who are
(31:48):
perhaps on the fringes of church.
and to see them come along and engage andthen have the conversations with them
afterwards.
I'm an evangelist, so it absolutely fillsme with joy to see how the book could be
used for that.
But it's also a book that although it'svery accessible, it's a book that goes
(32:10):
deep.
And so if you've been in church for 30, 40years, you can still get new insights into
God's love.
and it seems to work at the differentlevels.
I always felt that church should operate abit like the film Toy Story that works at
a level that children can cope, but alsoadults love.
(32:32):
And that's what I wanted to write.
And so this book has, I've done it withdiscipleship days.
And in fact, I've got the first of my,some retreats coming up.
So I'm doing a week long retreat based onthe sound of musings.
at Scargill House in North Yorkshire andthat's going to be in June and we will be
(32:53):
doing a lot of creative things, a lot ofthinking, a lot of praying, a lot of
singing, a lot of walking up hills forthose that want to and actually really
engaging with the whole message.
So again, there is so much that we can dowith this and the study guide I decided
(33:15):
rather than...
publish it and sell it separately.
I wanted to give a resource to the church.
That was free.
And when I was a vicar, I was alwayslooking for resources that weren't cheesy,
that weren't too prescriptive, that wouldgive people an opportunity to come
together, to invite their neighbors aroundif they were just wondering what church
(33:39):
was all about, to be able to explore someof the themes.
And each one of the six sessions stands onits own with a film clip.
But you could do all six or you could justdo four or you could add an extra one and
have a sing along a sound of music night.
So there are so many things that peoplecan do as a missional thing or as a
(34:03):
discipleship thing.
And I just love it when churches throw meup and say, come and do this with us.
And I'll go anywhere.
I do go anywhere.
You climb every mountain.
I climb every mountain.
I've even shared it in Australia when Iwas in Australia last year.
That's fantastic.
(34:23):
And where can people find you online toaccess these downloadable resources or to
book themselves on a retreat or to buy thebook or where can people find you?
Well, I've got a website, which isbryonywood .com.
So that's b -r -y -o -n -y, would, .co.uk.
(34:47):
They will also find it if they putthesoundofmusings .co .uk because I also
made sure that people can access it thatway as well.
But you can buy the book from, you canorder it from any shop.
You know, shops can order it through theirregular channels.
You can get it through Amazon and...
and other online like Aslan and Eden, EdenBooks.
(35:11):
You can buy it from me.
And if you buy it from me through thewebsite, I sign it, but I wrap it in brown
paper packaging tied up with string andsend it anywhere in the UK.
I have sent copies to Australia.
I've sent copies all over as people havewanted it.
(35:31):
And then we just do that.
as the postage requires.
But it's all on the website and as I sayyou can get it through any other bookshop
as well.
That's wonderful and what we'll do for thebenefit of our listeners is I will put a
link to your website in this episode'sshow notes so that people can just scroll
(35:51):
to the bottom wherever they're listening,find the show notes and then click on the
link and it'll take them to where theywant to go.
So we'll do that as well.
Well, Bryony
Thank you so much for joining us today andfor sharing your love and passion for the
sound of music and for God.
So thank you for joining us.
It's a pleasure.
Thank you so much, Matt.
(36:14):
And it does seem funny saying thank you toyourself, but hey ho, there you go.
That's the situation I find myself intoday.
A special thank you to the memoir,Standing in the Storm, Living with Faith
and Cancer, a book that I wrote thatsponsored the show.
today.
Don't forget, you can grab yourself asigned copy from my website, matbikleria
(36:35):
.com, get it anywhere online or indeedorder it in your local Christian bookshop.
And thank you as well for listening tothis episode of the Christian Book Blur
podcast.
Don't forget it comes out twice a month onthe 1st and the 15th.
So I look forward to having the pleasureof your company again really, really soon
on the next edition of the Christian BookBlur podcast.
(36:58):
Thank you and goodbye.
Thanks for listening to Christian BookBlurb with your host Matt McChlery.
Do give it a like, give it a share and letyour friends know all about it.
We do hope to see you again soon onanother Christian Book Blurb.
This is Christian Book Blurb brought toyou by author and songwriter Matt McChlery
Get a behind the scenes glimpse into thelives of some of your favourite Christian
authors, hear about their books and faith.
Also, why not check out my website,mattmcchlery .com.
This episode is sponsored by the memoir,Standing in the Storm, Living with Faith
(00:22):
and Cancer, by yours truly, Matt McChlery.
You can grab yourself a signed copy frommy website, mattmcchlery .com.
You can get it anywhere online, or indeed,from your local Christian bookshop.
Hello and welcome to this episode of theChristian Book Blur podcast, where we like
(00:43):
to encourage you in your discipleship onebook at a time.
as we meet some amazing Christian authorsand learn about their books, their lives
and their faith.
Well, I'm your host, Matt McChlery.
Thanks for joining me today.
And on today's show, I'm going to betalking about the sound of music movie and
God with the author, Bryony Wood.
(01:06):
So let's welcome Bryony to the show.
Hi Bryony.
Hello, Matt.
It's really good to be here today.
Thanks so much for joining us.
I can't wait to chat all about the soundof music, Phil.
I mean, just saying those words, all of asudden loads of songs jump into my mind.
It's fantastic.
So thanks for joining us.
(01:27):
It's clear from the book that you'vewritten called The Sound of Musings, see
the planned words there?
Very clever.
The Sound of Musings, that the Sound ofMusic movie,
you must love it and having read it,there's this real love for the film.
(01:47):
So how did you come to fall in love withthe Sound of Music movie so much?
I was about eight years old when I firstwent to watch the movie.
In fact, it was my first experience ofcinema and I remember sitting between my
mum and my grandma and I was absolutelyenthralled by the huge screen in front of
(02:08):
me and the story unfolding.
And there was something about Maria thatreally inspired me.
I wanted to be like Maria.
I wanted to run across the hills dressedin curtains and twirl and anybody that
ever came to my house afterwards, I'dstand on the coffee table and I'd serenade
(02:30):
them with all the songs, bearing in mind Ididn't have and still don't have the best
of voices.
So I do remember people kind of...
laughing behind cushions as I was singingwhatever song.
And shortly after that, it must have beenChristmas or my birthday, and I was given
the LP.
(02:50):
And it was the only LP I owned betweenbeing the age of eight and being about the
age of 12.
And so I played it constantly.
And it was, but I didn't have the officialLP.
I had the kind of cut down cheap version.
that didn't have all the songs on it.
So there were some songs that I only eversaw when I actually watched the movie, but
(03:14):
I had to wait till I was, it was Christmasin 1978 that the film was first shown on
British television.
And I had to wait till then before I sawthe movie again, because of course in
those days we didn't have videos and DVDplayers, we had to wait for it to come on.
And so it was a, it was a,
(03:35):
a huge thing to watch it again.
Now I'm the only one in my family thatactually likes The Sound of Music.
So whenever I want to watch it and I'vegot a DVD of it, my kids and my husband
go, oh, you're not watching that thingagain, are you?
And they all walk out.
So for years, I thought I was, it was myguilty pleasure.
I thought I was the only one that everliked it.
(03:57):
And it was only a few years ago when I washaving a conversation.
with my then Bishop, Bishop Martin inLeicester and said that I just love the
sound of music and his face lit up and hesaid it was his family's favorite movie.
And I suddenly realized if a bishop likesit, well, perhaps I could admit to liking
(04:18):
it too.
And one thing led to another and here weare.
That's really fascinating.
That's fantastic.
Thank you.
And for our listeners as well, if you area Sound of Music fan,
Why don't you pop over to our Facebookgroup, search for the Christian Book Blurb
fan page on Facebook and join our group.
And why don't you share your favoritesound of music moments or your favorite
(04:42):
song or something like that.
We can really get a great discussion goingaround this.
Briony, why a devotional book?
The sound of musings is a devotional book.
I mean, there are Christian themes in themovie, but they're not particularly
strong.
So why a devotional?
I didn't set out to write a devotionalbook.
(05:04):
I set out because at that time I was aparish vicar and I'd been on holiday for a
significant birthday and I'd said becauseit was my birthday I wanted to go to
Salzburg and we had an amazing week inSalzburg and seeing the place and doing
all of that and I suddenly realized thatwhen I came back to the parish that
(05:27):
so many people loved the sound of musicand they'd been to Salzburg.
And then we ended up having a themedbirthday party and everybody came dressed
as nuns and I made little cakes withraindrops and roses on it and we had brown
paper packages.
We had so much fun.
And I thought, this is a really good thingto use as a Bible study.
(05:50):
And I thought there's been lots of Biblestudies done about different films, but I
couldn't find one.
on the Sound of Music.
So I thought, well, I'll write one.
So I started to write what I thought wouldbe a six week Bible study for my own
particular parish.
But by the end of the first song, as I satdown with a pen and paper in one hand and
(06:13):
the remote control in the other, and Ithought, right, I'm going to watch the
film and see what comes out of it.
By the end of the first song, The HillsAre Alive with the Sound of Music, I'd
written four separate
reflections and thought this has got sucha lot in it and for a film that's about
(06:34):
nuns we don't think of it as a Christianfilm but embedded in every song and in
every scene in every character there is somuch that speaks about God's love and I
guess I've got a
kind of a quirky brain.
I've done lots of short thoughts, youknow, thought for the days, pause for
(06:57):
thoughts for radio, hundreds of them overthe years.
And my brain kind of links weird thingswith God and it's just how it works.
And I realized that that's what was goingon here, that everything spoke about a
different aspect of God's character, butit also linked in with a really specific
Bible passage as well.
(07:20):
So I didn't set out to write a devotional.
I set out to try and link something thatwas very real on screen as a story, a film
that people could equate to, but how theycould then think about that for themselves
too.
And I was originally going to call itRaindrops on Roses, but I was sitting at
(07:42):
the computer one day and it was a real Godthing that this whole sense of the sound
of musings.
and I just knew that's what it was, youknow, to be called.
And God, this is such a God thing.
He has really shaped it and guided everyword.
And just before we started recording thisepisode, we were chatting about sort of
(08:06):
anniversaries and things.
So what's significant about the timing ofthe release of the book?
And what significant thing in the world ofthe sound of music is happening just
around the corner?
Again, when I first started writing thebook, I hadn't realised, but it became
quickly apparent that in 2025, it will bethe 60th anniversary of the film's
(08:33):
release.
And when I looked back and saw how theworld responded to the 50th anniversary or
the 57th anniversary, I began to realisethat the 60th will be huge.
And last year we got the news thatChristopher Plummer had passed away, but
Julie Andrews is still very much alive andlinked with the sound of music.
(08:56):
So it is my hope and prayer that nextyear, as the world celebrates 60 years of
a film, an iconic film that is lovedacross the world, that this will be a
gateway.
for people to be able to access anotherway of watching the film and linking the
(09:20):
film into their own journey of faith.
Speaking of linking films to journeys offaith and things, how can we as
individuals be more open to hearing Godspeaking to us through things like films
or books or whatever it is?
(09:40):
Even if they're not sort of...
know, have that Christian label or thatchurch label on the side because when you
pick up a Christian book you kind of go,oh yes, I'm expecting to learn about God
here.
But when you just pick up, you know, anovel or a fantasy novel or whatever it
is, you're not necessarily doing that withthe intention to hear from God or to learn
(10:05):
something about God.
But in your experience, how can we
we kind of turn all of life's experienceinto listening to finding God in it.
I think when we remember that we're body,mind and spirit, that God gave us a heart
(10:25):
to feel and a mind to think and that wehave an intellect but we also have a
spirit that's open to his spirit.
and his spirit works in the world and itworks in us before we even know because
that's why we end up finding anddiscovering about him because the spirit
(10:47):
has been opening our hearts and our mindsto discovering about him.
So when we remember that, we can watchthings and ask God to open our eyes to
what we see around us.
There's a...
a really lovely story in the Bible, anaccount of when a young boy called Samuel
(11:10):
was in the house of Eli and he'd beengiven into the service of the Lord and he
keeps on hearing this voice calling him,Samuel, Samuel, and he thinks it's Eli the
priest that's saying, you know, that'scalling him, he needs help.
But then they quickly realize thatactually it's God that's calling him.
And he says, speak Lord for your servantis listening.
(11:32):
And I think if we have that perception ofspeak Lord, for we are listening, that
actually God still speaks to us.
And he doesn't just speak through thewords of the Bible, he speaks through
creation, he speaks to other people.
He speaks through the joy of a newbornbaby and looking at how wonderfully
(11:55):
they're made or the splendor of themountains or a sunset.
He speaks in so many ways.
And certainly he can speak through filmsand books.
Yeah, that's great.
Thank you.
Now there are 52 chapters in your book,The Sound of Musings.
So we won't be dealing with them all onthe podcast today.
(12:16):
So there has a big hint for anyonelistening to this go and buy the book.
But I would like to touch on a few of thechapters if I may.
I'm the first one.
has got to be for me the chapter calledEdelweiss because this is personally my
favourite song in the film.
(12:38):
Can you tell us what prompted you to thinkabout, you know, how have you linked that
song Edelweiss with Christianity or ourdiscipleship?
What's the link that you found there?
When I watched Edelweiss, I must admit itwas one of those that wasn't quite
quite so obvious as some of the otherones, but like you, I love this film.
(13:04):
I have an Edelweiss necklace that I wasgiven as a nine -year -old.
I have the two -cent coin that I broughtback from Austria that's got the Edelweiss
written on the euro coin.
I've got a bag with Edelweiss on it.
It's kind of a thing.
I've got Edelweiss in the garden.
It's all about Edelweiss.
(13:27):
So,
It's a very small, simple song.
And I used to sing it to my children whenthey were babies.
Just before you tell us the link, we'vebeen talking about this Edelweiss thing,
like everyone knows what it is.
And when you say you've got it in thegarden.
So what is Edelweiss, first of all, inreal life?
(13:49):
And then it's a song that they sing aboutthis, this thing in the movie, but what,
what is Edelweiss in real life?
Well, Edelweiss is a very small flower andit grows really high on the mountains.
And it's beautiful.
(14:10):
It's a white flower with...
You could think it looks like a daisy, butit doesn't.
It's very specific.
And the thing about Edelweiss is that thetradition was that if your lover...
gave you a bunch of edelweiss, itsymbolized courage and bravery and love
because they would have to have gonereally high into the mountains to collect
(14:34):
the edelweiss for you.
And that was the link that then I couldbring in to the film because it speaks
about courage and bravery and love.
And we see the captain singing it with thechildren after.
Emil, and it's after kind of the turningpoint where he's become softer and music
(14:58):
has come back into the household afteryears of his grief where there was no
music.
And so he sings it to the children andthen they're harmonizing.
And that's a really lovely image of howthere's harmony coming back into the
family through this love of music, througheverything that's going on.
(15:21):
And then, if you remember at the end ofthe film, the family are doing this
festival performance and the Nazis arethere waiting to take the captain off
because they're going to get him to bepart of their naval command.
And the family sing about it and what theyknow that nobody else knows is that they
(15:43):
are going to make a bid for freedom.
So symbolizing the love he has for thecountry that he serves, but also his love
for freedom and righteousness as he'sgoing to escape from that Nazi stronghold.
So there's huge amounts in there.
So I think it's really symbolic.
(16:04):
And so I talk about the symbols that wehave in church that help us to think about
God's love in a way that...
we can equate to and we can understandbecause quite frankly, God's love is so
huge and so magnificent that we needsomething symbolic to be able to hold on
(16:28):
to, to give us a glimpse of what thatmeans.
So the Edelweiss is something reallysymbolic that when we are brave enough to
seek God's love, we can find somethingincredibly real.
and as the song goes you know may we bloomand grow forever.
(16:50):
Yeah wonderful that's great thank you.
Now Climb Every Mountain is another songthemed chapter where you tell the story of
something from your childhood in thatchapter.
Can you kind of just retell that to us nowbecause I really enjoyed that.
(17:11):
Well, when I was a little girl, as I said,I had this one LP and I used to play it
all.
But when it came to climb every mountain,I would lift up my record player's arm and
skip it onto the next track, because Ithought this song was really boring.
It was like really dirty and boring, youknow?
(17:32):
So I didn't like it because I loved LonelyGoat Herd and Do Re Mi and all that
exuberant stuff.
Because when I was eight, nine, 10, 11,12, I didn't understand about the power
that this song carried.
I hadn't come to terms with, you know, theway that life has ups and downs and that
(17:56):
we have to deal with these things.
But it was as I got older and I'd climbeda few mountains of my own and I had to
ford some streams and follow my dreams andall the things that Reverend Mother sings
about.
And I began to realize the depth that's inthis song.
And when I do an event in church and wehave this song playing, it becomes a
(18:22):
worship song.
And frequently I see people move to tearsas they link what they're going through or
what they've gone through.
And it reminds them of the power of God'slove.
You see,
In life there are times when we wish wecould skip over something that's hard,
like a song track, but we can't.
(18:44):
We have to go through it.
We have to go through the valley of theshadow of death.
We have to climb the mountain.
And so this reminds us that when we're inthat, we're not alone, that we have
somebody with us who is holding us everystep of the way.
That's great.
And that's so true.
(19:07):
Now I was intrigued, you wrote a wholechapter in your book about the
intermission of all things.
I mean, wow, you even got something fromthe intermission, which is fantastic.
Now this isn't something many modern daycinema goers will be familiar with.
(19:30):
So first of all, what is an intermission?
This old fashioned thing, what is it?
When you used to watch a film at themovies in the olden days, like when I used
to watch The Sound of Music, there wouldbe a space halfway through when everything
would go blank, a bit like the advertbreak now.
And it would be a chance for everybody togo into the loo and buy an ice cream or
(19:54):
whatever, which The Sound of Music is along film.
It's almost three hours.
So, you know, it would be a welcome break.
But there's something about it that reallymade me smile.
You see,
The intermission is very much part of thefilm's pace.
Maria has arrived at the von Trapp Villa.
(20:16):
Maria leaves the von Trapp Villa.
And without spoiling the plot too much,Maria returns to the von Trapp Villa,
which echoes the accounts of Jesus' life.
You see, he had always been, we see fromJohn's Gospel that Jesus,
had always been.
(20:37):
He was the one with God the Father and Godthe Spirit that spoke all of creation into
being.
There was never a time when he wasn'talive and real, but there was a time when
he chose to step onto the earth as part ofour humanity.
He arrived as a baby.
He left when he was crucified and...
(21:01):
resurrected and then ascended into heavenand the Bible tells us that he will
return.
So we are living in the intermission ofGod's story because we know that we're
living in that kingdom bit of now but notyet.
You know, it's been started but it's notfully completed and there will be a day
(21:25):
when God's kingdom will be completed.
So we are living between the intermissionof the beginning of this kingdom with
Christ and then the conclusion of it atthe end of all time.
The intermission of all of that.
That's really, that's really clever.
And we are, you're right, we are living inthe intermission.
(21:47):
So I hope everyone's enjoying theirpopcorn while we wait for the next bit.
to begin again.
And speaking of intermissions andintervals, we are just about to take a
short break ourselves.
You see how I did that?
That's great timing.
That's clever, man.
Only before, haven't you?
And so join us on the other side of these.
See you soon.
(22:09):
Hi, I'm author Matt McChlery.
Standing in the Storm is my story ofliving with faith and cancer in 2016.
Packed full of hope, this book will makeyou laugh and cry.
But more importantly, it will help to turnyour heart towards Jesus and give you the
strength to stand within whatever stormyou may be facing.
(22:32):
Standing in the Storm, Living with Faithand Cancer is available wherever good
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Get your copy today.
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Head over to buymeacoffee .com slash MattMcChlery to make a donation.
(22:56):
There is a link in this episode's shownotes.
So go on, buy me a coffee today and helpthis podcast to keep supporting Christian
books and authors.
Hello, welcome back to the ChristianBookbiller podcast.
I've been chatting with the author BryonyWood all about her book, The Sound of
(23:17):
Musings, where we've been talking aboutthe sound of music, movie and God.
So do go and get yourself a copy of thatbook, especially ahead of the special
anniversary, 60th anniversary year of thefilm, which is happening in 2025.
Right Bryony, this is the part of thepodcast.
(23:37):
where we get to know you a little bitbetter.
We know you love to sound a music movie,but I'm sure there's more to you than just
that.
So what do you do for fun?
What do you enjoy doing?
I love to play.
I've always had a kind of a mischievousspirit, I suppose.
And I love to dance and play and laugh andplay games.
(24:03):
Last night, I'm not sure whether the...
My family, they certainly don't know thisyet, but last night I discovered something
that I think will become a big part in mylife.
I was looking for something that was, giveme a bit of exercise because I need to do
more exercise.
I love being with people.
So I wanted something sociable, but Idon't, I'm not really a gym bunny.
(24:27):
So I thought if I went dancing, then thatwould be a good way.
So some friends dragged me along to thelocal Morris dancing.
thing last night.
And I had a whale of a time bouncing andskipping all evening.
And I woke up this morning with a hugegrin on my face because it was such fun
and really good exercise.
(24:49):
So anything that makes me smile, whateverthat may be, I love spending time with my
family and my grandchildren.
I love flowers and being out in creation.
You know, I just love life and life in allits fullness.
Speaking of board games, do they featurevery much?
(25:10):
They do.
Less board games, but more things.
If I'm allowed to give things likeRummikub and Quirkel and Backgammon, my
husband and I, we've got a caravan and wego away in our caravan or spend evenings
at home.
And in fact, it's one of the things I talkabout in the book about praying and
playing together, I think is somethingthat really enriches our relationship.
(25:35):
Um, but it's that playing, I think when westop being childlike, we lose something of
the joy and Jesus, you know, talks to usabout being like a child and that's not
being, you know, in infantilizing us.
It's just, let's keep engaging.
I mean, you know, I could be known to behula hooping in the back garden just to
(25:57):
loosen up my back and, and have a bit offun.
So anything where there's a bit of fun.
I normally ask, what's your favoritemovie?
But we know that one.
Yeah, there's quite anything with a, Imean, I have to say that my music
playlist, again, it's not often playedpublicly because it is rather cheesy, but
(26:19):
I love songs that make me want to danceand sing along to them.
So anything that's got a bit of fun.
How about something to eat?
I love food, which is why I need to domore exercise.
I love.
cooking and it's a family joke that Imight start with a recipe that starts off
(26:41):
being a chicken curry but it ends up beinga beef stroganoff or something.
I have a pathological incapability offollowing a recipe.
It starts off with something and theremight just be one thing that's left of the
original recipe.
I love cooking because I love havingpeople around.
(27:02):
And it's the way that I relax and, andjust enjoy.
I love the process of it, but I love theend result of hospitality.
So food and my natural choices would bethe things that all are really unhealthy.
So I have to work really hard at having ahealthy diet.
I try and honor my body as being a templeof the Holy spirit, but sometimes it feels
(27:27):
a little bit like it's bursting at theseams.
Have you got any family?
Yes, I have a husband and we are about tocelebrate our 35th wedding anniversary.
I have four children, two of which I gavebirth to and two of which I inherited when
(27:47):
my husband and I got married.
And they're all really precious.
They're all adults now, all doing verydifferent things.
They all have their own joys and we lovespending time with them.
They get on really well.
It was through our children meeting.
that my husband and I got together.
So their bond is really good.
(28:08):
And I've got five grandchildren agedbetween 19 and five.
So always a joy to have them love there isI've got a photograph of me smiling with
an arm full of grandchildren.
But what you can't see is that we'rewatching the sound of music.
And it was one of those moments when Ijust felt that my
(28:31):
my world was so brimming of joy that I wassitting with grandchildren introducing
them to the sound of music.
I was going to ask have you made them alloutfits out of the curtains yet?
Yeah they really wouldn't wear them.
They tolerate but they they recognize thatgrandma's going off on one a bit really.
(28:54):
And whereabouts in the country do you livein?
In the UK so you haven't quite...
built yourself a house in Salzburg justyet.
So whereabouts are you now?
I live smack bang in the UK.
I live in Robin Hood country inNottinghamshire and it's an amazing place
(29:15):
to live.
It's a place where people tend to drivethrough to somewhere else.
But actually what we've got here is thisplace with a huge amount of history.
I was leading a church service on Sundaybecause I'm still a priest in the Church
of England.
So I cover churches that are inInterregnum or the Vicar's Sick or
(29:37):
something.
So I was covering a church on Sunday andthe bell was tolling every 15 minutes.
And that bell had been in situ and I can'tremember if it was 1432 or 1452.
So I was hearing a bell.
that had been heard all that time in thatvillage.
(29:59):
And it was a bell that when the sister ofHenry VIII, Margaret Tudor, she was sent
as a 14 year old to marry King James inScotland.
And she stayed nearby and she would haveheard that bell.
And I love the history of Nottinghamshire.
(30:21):
We are, I often do a service at
Babworth Church which is where the PilgrimFathers all came from amongst other
churches around here.
So the history here is incredible.
Oh really fascinating.
Coming back to your writing and the bookThe Sound of Musings, I know we chatted a
(30:44):
bit before we started recording thisepisode so I know you've got lots of
interesting things coming up and lookingat your website...
There's already loads of stuff going onaround the book that people can access,
like downloadable study guides and sort oflive events that you can do and all sorts
of other fun things.
(31:04):
So why don't you tell us a little bitabout the extras, the extra bits that kind
of can accompany the Sound of Musingsbook?
Well, you're right, Matt.
The book is just the beginning.
In a way, I'm more of a speaker than I ama writer.
What I found is that I'm not the onlyperson in the world that likes the sound
(31:26):
of music.
And it's an incredibly rich resource forchurches to be able to offer a mission
focused evening where we have a lot offun, lots of laughing, and it's a way of
gently introducing faith and talking aboutlife, love and faith to people who are
(31:48):
perhaps on the fringes of church.
and to see them come along and engage andthen have the conversations with them
afterwards.
I'm an evangelist, so it absolutely fillsme with joy to see how the book could be
used for that.
But it's also a book that although it'svery accessible, it's a book that goes
(32:10):
deep.
And so if you've been in church for 30, 40years, you can still get new insights into
God's love.
and it seems to work at the differentlevels.
I always felt that church should operate abit like the film Toy Story that works at
a level that children can cope, but alsoadults love.
(32:32):
And that's what I wanted to write.
And so this book has, I've done it withdiscipleship days.
And in fact, I've got the first of my,some retreats coming up.
So I'm doing a week long retreat based onthe sound of musings.
at Scargill House in North Yorkshire andthat's going to be in June and we will be
(32:53):
doing a lot of creative things, a lot ofthinking, a lot of praying, a lot of
singing, a lot of walking up hills forthose that want to and actually really
engaging with the whole message.
So again, there is so much that we can dowith this and the study guide I decided
(33:15):
rather than...
publish it and sell it separately.
I wanted to give a resource to the church.
That was free.
And when I was a vicar, I was alwayslooking for resources that weren't cheesy,
that weren't too prescriptive, that wouldgive people an opportunity to come
together, to invite their neighbors aroundif they were just wondering what church
(33:39):
was all about, to be able to explore someof the themes.
And each one of the six sessions stands onits own with a film clip.
But you could do all six or you could justdo four or you could add an extra one and
have a sing along a sound of music night.
So there are so many things that peoplecan do as a missional thing or as a
(34:03):
discipleship thing.
And I just love it when churches throw meup and say, come and do this with us.
And I'll go anywhere.
I do go anywhere.
You climb every mountain.
I climb every mountain.
I've even shared it in Australia when Iwas in Australia last year.
That's fantastic.
(34:23):
And where can people find you online toaccess these downloadable resources or to
book themselves on a retreat or to buy thebook or where can people find you?
Well, I've got a website, which isbryonywood .com.
So that's b -r -y -o -n -y, would, .co.uk.
(34:47):
They will also find it if they putthesoundofmusings .co .uk because I also
made sure that people can access it thatway as well.
But you can buy the book from, you canorder it from any shop.
You know, shops can order it through theirregular channels.
You can get it through Amazon and...
and other online like Aslan and Eden, EdenBooks.
(35:11):
You can buy it from me.
And if you buy it from me through thewebsite, I sign it, but I wrap it in brown
paper packaging tied up with string andsend it anywhere in the UK.
I have sent copies to Australia.
I've sent copies all over as people havewanted it.
(35:31):
And then we just do that.
as the postage requires.
But it's all on the website and as I sayyou can get it through any other bookshop
as well.
That's wonderful and what we'll do for thebenefit of our listeners is I will put a
link to your website in this episode'sshow notes so that people can just scroll
(35:51):
to the bottom wherever they're listening,find the show notes and then click on the
link and it'll take them to where theywant to go.
So we'll do that as well.
Well, Bryony
Thank you so much for joining us today andfor sharing your love and passion for the
sound of music and for God.
So thank you for joining us.
It's a pleasure.
Thank you so much, Matt.
(36:14):
And it does seem funny saying thank you toyourself, but hey ho, there you go.
That's the situation I find myself intoday.
A special thank you to the memoir,Standing in the Storm, Living with Faith
and Cancer, a book that I wrote thatsponsored the show.
today.
Don't forget, you can grab yourself asigned copy from my website, matbikleria
(36:35):
.com, get it anywhere online or indeedorder it in your local Christian bookshop.
And thank you as well for listening tothis episode of the Christian Book Blur
podcast.
Don't forget it comes out twice a month onthe 1st and the 15th.
So I look forward to having the pleasureof your company again really, really soon
on the next edition of the Christian BookBlur podcast.
(36:58):
Thank you and goodbye.
Thanks for listening to Christian BookBlurb with your host Matt McChlery.
Do give it a like, give it a share and letyour friends know all about it.
We do hope to see you again soon onanother Christian Book Blurb.
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