This one fell a little short

There are some books that just grab you.  One paragraph into the volume and you are just hooked.  It had been my hope that Surviving your Serengeti would be like that.  Unfortunatly...it wasn't.  Mr. Swanepoels intent was obvious and his message was strong.  No doubt many of you would have exactly the opposite opinion than I, so I hesitate to totally give the book a thumbs down.  But for me, it just never grabbed me, didn't draw me in, and I struggled to draw from it what it was meant to provide.

Be the People by Carol Swain

I must make a few admissions before embarking on my review.

If you were to ask someone at random to tell you what a Conservative Christian looked like, I would be willing to say that they would paint a picture of an upper middle class middle aged white male. I must also admit that this was pretty close to my own assumption.

I requested the book Be the People by Carol Swain based entirely on a brief synopsis provided by Thomas Nelson. I knew absolutely nothing of her other than her name on the front cover.

Upon receiving the book, I opened the back cover to find that the photograph of this lovely Black lady totally set any assumptions I formerly held, out the proverbial window.

Her personal story of triumph in itself would be well worth the purchase of this volume, but within its pages are much more than her story. Within this book is our story, and she pulls no punches in her depiction of where we began, what put our Country in the state it is in, and what very well could be our future.

Her thorough assessment of our founding Fathers and how they assembled this Nation is as honest and fresh a telling as I have seen. She takes an intelligent and probing look at every side of the story of the Christian influence and spiritual background of the formers of our way of life. It is expansive, but I found myself reading through it without being able to put it down.

There are issues in this book that gave me trouble. Being a Father of four, her section on abortion was without question one of the hardest things I have ever read in my entire life. As difficult as it was, I read it. Ms. Swain pulls no punches on the tough issues because, quite honestly, if we are to turn this country around, we must look into the issues that have brought us here. She sees the big picture and challenges her readers to do the same.

The book concludes with the Ten Commandments, The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and The Constitution of The United States of America. As I said, she covers it all, and leaves us with the documents that form who we are.

I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for providing this book for my review. And I would like to thank Carol Swain for blowing up my stereotypes, and offering me a sometimes difficult, but ultimately necessary look at the state of our great nation.

God is going to get your attention

Okay. Most reviews are going to be about the book...of course. This review is going to be about how God used this book, and by nature of what happened to me, hopefully speack volumes as to the quality of Enemies of the Heart.
Here is the situation.
I am 46. I am overweight. I need to get in shape, and try to loose some pounds. I have known this for a long time. Thats the setup.
Now...here is what happened.
My copy of the book was sent to me for review. I opened the box then went downstairs to switch over some laundry. Huffed and puffed my way back upstairs to the kitchen, and, as I always do. I just open the book to a random page. I do this because it gets me past the "hook" that usually occurs at the begining of a book and gets me to the true writing style and content.
What did I turn to? A passage about a guy named Brian, who suffers from reflux (as do I), is overweight (as am I), and is having some breathing and heart issues (as am I). The Doctor puts him on a regimen of walking thirty minutes a day three days a week (which is what my wife has said I need to do). He wants a quick fix for his heart...loose the weight...fix the heart. The passage ends with Brian really not getting it and the Doctor calling him an "idiot".
After reading this, I felt this big unseen finger tap me on the shoulder as if to say, "Can I make it any clearer".
I read the passage to my wife.
When I read the word idiot, she smiled.
This book if for nothing other than confirming what God wanted me to see (which is really the intent anyway) is 5 stars as determined by this self professed "idiot".

Nothing Empty Here

Church in a movie theatre?  You gotta be kidding me...
That was my point of view until I actually sat down and read one of Mark Battersons works.
A lot of books written on Christianity are just empty.  They have plenty of well written passages and some slick packaging...but the words don't always jump off the page at you.
Primal is not a book like that.  This book preaches with the fire or true faith, and will move you, just as all of his other works have.  In the heart of Mark is a burning desire to escape the mundane christian life and the passified state of lackluster church; to rise above the norm and dare to be a radiant follower of Jesus Christ.  Get this book!!!!!!!!

the zen of the common man

I hate being common. Day to day grind is almost mind numbing to me. I have walked for years under the assumption that God did not put us here to be ordinary, but extaordinary. But now...my tune has changed. Now, I see that even in the day to day grind is an enlightenment that shouts of the true nature and plan of God.
I received this book as part of the Multnomah blogging for books program. I picked this book because none of the others looked like my cup of tea. Actually this one didn't either, but I submitted my request and in a few days I had my copy courtesy of this fine publisher.
In a nutshell...this book messed me up. Every thought I held about the normal or average life was presented to me in a way that caused me to totaly rethink me and my position in this world. Great concept, challenging text, and wonderful insite!
If you don't like the ordinary. Pick up this book, but be ready to see the average as anything but.

I am amazed...

Have you ever felt like life wasn't fair?  Perhaps you feel that life isn't going your way or that no one seems to be going along with your plans.  Have you ever felt like you were an outsider or that you were being singled out as an oddball?  Are there issues within your family that are in need of some God sized healing?  Are there things in your life that you say to yourself you just can't do?  is can't a part of your daily vocabulary?  Read this book, Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life by Nick Vujicic.  As the title suggests...it will take all the afore mentioned personal issues and put them into a very clear perspective...I promise you won't leave this book the same person you were when you found it.
Thanks to Multnomah press for giving me this book free in exchange for this review as a part of their bloggers for books program.

The Ale boys feast

Just finished reading The Ale Boys Feast by Jeffery Overstreet.  An engaging adventure to be sure, but if one has read The Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Xanth series, I am afraid you will...as I did, find this imaginative tale...quite redundant.  Great writer...not so great story.