If your goal this new year is to get closer to God, Marvin Stovell’s new book could help you get there.

I Choose the Best Room tells of Mr Stovell’s transformative spiritual journey and provides insight into how others can find special purpose and the plan God has for their lives.

“The underlying message I hope to pass on is that in order to experience the best that God has for us in this life, He first gave us His best — Jesus Christ, His Only Begotten Son,” said Mr Stovell, also known as gospel reggae artist Geneman.

“Once we receive the gift of His best by becoming born-again, He then requires something from us — a life of complete surrender to His call and purpose, in conjunction with a life of complete obedience to Him and His Word.

“This will be accomplished only through the help of His Holy Spirit, who lives within those who have received Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.

“Together, they will bring us into the best that God the Father has for us — now on this Earth, and in the eternal life which is to come.”

It was more than a decade ago that Mr Stovell was first inspired to write a book after awaking from a powerful dream in October 2006.

Then in May 2013, while riding into work, he heard the Holy Spirit whisper the title of the book to him.

The first shipment of I Choose the Best Room, published by AuthorHouse, arrived on the island last week.

Mr Stovell feels the message of the book is especially timely considering the challenges facing many individuals today.

He thought his book could bring some answers to people in the world pursuing spirituality and truth.

“I’m a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ and this book is centred around Him and my personal journey with Him, who in my eyes happens to be the most controversial spiritual figure of all time,” Mr Stovell explained. “Jesus who declared to be and proved that He is the absolute and only ‘way, truth and the life’.

“With these things said, I know that something written in this book will help and have an impact on those reading.

“For instance, I know that many people suffer from substance abuse, be it alcoholism, doing hard drugs — crack cocaine, heroin — or smoking marijuana.

“In this book, I talk about when I used to be on that bad road and how I was set free from that particular bondage.

“I know that a lot of people will identify with that aspect of my life, and because I am completely free from those vices [habits] and that lifestyle, I believe my book will appeal to those who want to be free but feel there is no way out.

“When I speak of these things though, I don’t speak in judgment to anyone, because I have lived it and truly understand its power.

“But there is a power that’s greater, and it’s Christ’s power that I now live from.”

Even the process of writing this book strengthened Mr Stovell’s personal faith.

It helped him to step out of his comfort zone and trust in God to take him through the book publishing process.

“I had to trust the Lord as I shared personal and intimate things concerning my life, believing that He would truly use them to help, bless and lift up someone else,” Mr Stovell said. “No matter how uncomfortable it got for me to be transparent.

“I had to trust Him as I shared personal revelation and understanding given to me by the Holy Spirit concerning Christ, His Word, myself and the times we live in, knowing that people will either gladly receive it or harshly reject it.”

Mr Stovell admitted he was new to this kind of writing, however his song writing skills helped him to get the message across in the book.

“Through writing this, God taught me that He is truly limitless, and that He desires for us to experience ‘no limitations’ by trusting Him to take us where we have never been before and leaving the results to Him,” he said.

“Seeing the final book product in print feels great, even though I’m still processing it.

“I really enjoyed the journey, and the staff at AuthorHouse Publishing UK, were awesome to work with from beginning to end.

“The feedback from those who read it has been very positive so far. Most people say that once they picked it up they couldn’t put it down and that it was a good journey from one chapter to the next.

“One of my friends bought it online at Amazon, and said she read it in one day. Later she came to me at my job and bought a signed hard copy.

“I think that’s so cool. God is Great and worthy of all honour and praise.”

I Choose the Best Room, $20, is available through Mr Stovell, as well as at Brown & Co.

• To order call 332-0672, e-mail genemanoriginal@gmail.com or message Facebook: Geneman Original. The books can also be purchased online at http://www.choosethebestroom.com/ (AuthorHouse), www.amazon.com and Barnes & Noble online bookstore