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<\/p>\n Sharp, a minister for more than forty-five years, wrote most of the book. Bacon, recently retired as chair of ACU\u2019s journalism department, edited it and contributed the chapters on obituaries and news coverage. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe live in a world where people too often need the ministry of comfort,\u201d Sharp writes, which \u201cputs skin on the love and presence of God. Being in the right place, keeping silent vigil, or sharing caring words helps keep the trial of loss from becoming an occasion of hopeless despair.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Buried Treasure?<\/strong> \u201cIt seems every generation of Americans loves treasure stories,\u201d writes David C. Lewis in the introduction to his new book, <\/span><\/span>The San Saba Treasure: Legends of Silver Creek<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> (University of North Texas Press, $19.95 hardcover). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n For Lewis, the book is the culmination of a personal quest to learn more about an 1868 venture by four treasure hunters who set out from San Marcos to search for several thousand silver bars supposedly buried in an abandoned mine near the San Saba River, close to the present-day town of Menard. One of the searchers was Samuel Fleming, an ancestor of Lewis\u2019s. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Up front, Lewis states, \u201cAfter researching the legend for over two years, I don\u2019t believe the treasure ever existed.\u201d But, he continues, \u201cThe people who looked, the things they did, and the history of the area are more interesting than any treasure they were looking for in the first place.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lewis delves into the legends of the supposed buried treasure and the various men and women over the years who sought, unsuccessfully, to find it. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWould it not be a shame,\u201d he ponders, \u201cif every legendary treasure was found? A world without any tales of buried treasure, that are yet to be found, would strip away one more wonder from life.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lonestarliterary.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/article_body_images\/5a%20TX%20Reads%20ComfortWhenShadow.jpg\")
Comfort When the Shadow Falls: Encouraging the Dying and Those Affected by Grief<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> by Eddie Sharp in collaboration with Cheryl Mann Bacon (Abilene Christian University Press, $19.99 paperback) includes personal experiences, appropriate scriptures, and down-to-earth advice on such topics as: ministering to the one dying and to the family of the one dying; sudden death from traffic accidents, violence, and suicide; how to organize a funeral service; the value of a good obituary; and dealing with the media when a death is newsworthy. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lonestarliterary.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/article_body_images\/5b%20TX%20Reads%20sansabatreasure.jpg\")
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