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The Swan House By Elizabeth Musser
Reviewed by Peggy Greenawalt
My heart's desire is to create beautiful stories of hope, faith, forgiveness and love--sprinkled with history, mystery and much more--thereby offering my readers 'entertainment with a soul'. -Elizabeth Musser
Elizabeth Musser is a best-selling author of Christian fiction. A graduate of Vanderbilt University and now living in Atlanta, she has chosen the South for her book settings. The Swan House and its sequel, The Dwelling Place, are novels of compassion and self–discovery.
The Swan House, is about teenager, Mary Swan Middleton, who lives in a beautiful home in the best part of the city, with parents who love her, and attends a good private school. When she is touched by tragedy and reeling in grief, Mary Swan seeks to uncover a mystery about her family that will ultimately help her heal and turn to God. The story takes place in the 1960’s and Musser’s historical accounts are vivid and compelling.
The Dwelling Place follows with the story of Mary’s youngest daughter, Ellie, and continues the journey of faith and forgiveness. More recent novels by this author are Searching For Eternity and Words Unspoken. All these can be found in the WHPC library.
The Pulpwood Queen's Tiara Wearing Book Sharing Guide to Life
By Kathy Patrick
Author, Kathy Patrick lives in Jefferson, Texas and is a hairdresser, but she is also an amazing advocate for books and reading. In January 2000, she opened the first ever Hair Salon/Book Store and called it Beauty and the Book, and has started book clubs all across the nation. Her work received national attention, and since then Kathy has written her own book, The Pulpwood Queen's Tiara Wearing Book Sharing Guide to Life, which celebrates female friendship, sisterhood, and the transformative power of reading. It includes life principles and motivational anecdotes, funny and heart-warming friendship stories, and lists of books that have inspired Kathy throughout her life. Kathy just celebrated her 10th Anniversary Girlfriend Weekend Author Extravaganza. Six women from the WHPC Daytime Book Club traveled to Jefferson for this January event. Authors, Elizabeth Berg and Pat Conroy were two of the many authors that spoke and brought their books to sign. Below is a photo of the group with Kathy Patrick. They are from left to right Marguerite Dabbs, Cile Ramey, Kathy Patrick, Nikki Kriss, Gloria Hoover, Vada Boehme, and Shirley Smith.
The Pulpwood Queen's Tiara Wearing Book sharing Guide to Life can be found in the WHPC library. Stop in to check out this book and others that Kathy recommends.
For WHPC Library hours and book club information go to: www.whpc.org and to learn more about Kathy's work go to: http://www.beautyandthebook.com/ |
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer By Tracy Kidder
Reviewed by: Peggy Greenawalt
Way before Haiti endured the earthquake of January 12th, 2010, infectious disease specialist from the United States, Dr. Paul Farmer was passionately helping Haiti eradicate tuberculosis, HIV, and build a better medical community, that is still operating today. He worked tireless hours striving to change the level of medical care and inequality to the very poor of Haiti. His non-profit called, Partners In Health (PIH), is located just outside of Port-au-Prince and is presently treating many earthquake victims.
From Dr. Farmer’s long journey and ongoing struggles grew this great story. Mountains Beyond Mountains written by Pulitzer Prize winner, Tracy Kidder, is a book inspiring feelings of humanity and admiration. The passion of Dr. Farmer is amazing and remarkable, and the reader learns much about the country’s geography and politics.
In this world where it is easy to feel as though we are helpless in the face of everyday tragedies and inhumanity, the story of Dr. Paul Farmer and his colleagues is a poignant reminder of the power within us to contribute to a better, more just world. This story of a passionate doctor and his desire to make a difference is one you will not want to miss reading. Also look for Tracy Kidder’s new book in the WHPC Library, Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgetting.
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Reviewed by: Peggy Greenawalt
In October of 1982, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed one week in November as National Alzheimer's Disease Week. One year later he proclaimed November as National Alzheimer's Disease Month. At that time, he did not know that he would join 4.5 million Americans, who are currently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Thanks to contact, Debbie Wilder, and many other incredible volunteers, WHPC is making a difference with their ministry called The Gathering. One thing among many that has been done in cooperation with the WHPC library is to create a book cart for our church and those involved in these weekly groups. It contains many non-fiction as well as fiction books that can help those dealing with Alzheimer's Disease and their caretakers.
One popular novel on the cart, that was read in the Daytime Book Club, is called Still Alice by Lisa Genova. It is a moving tale about the devastating effect Alzheimer's can have on a family. (A portion of the sale of each novel will go to the Alzheimer's Association). The book draws you in and explores Alice's life, mind and heart, but as terrible as her story is, there is also hope and humor. Author, Lisa Genova, has a degree in neuroscience, so she is equipped to deal with the subject. She discusses the science of the disease and medications, but she also weaves a tale that will keep you reading.
The main character, Alice, is a Harvard professor with early onset Alzheimer’s. The story is told from her point of view. It deals with the symptoms of the disease, the importance of support, and the family dynamics that can occur. The reader gets a clear understanding of how this disease affects family members and caregivers. It is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time but informative and compassionate. Take time to read this book and visit our library cart for more information on this disease.
The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers By Harry Bernstein
Review by: Peggy Greenawalt
After 67 years of marriage, author Harry Bernstein lost his wife to cancer. She was 91, and he was 93. Mourning his loss, he turned to writing to ease his grief, and has now published his 3rd memoir at age 98. The Invisible Wall is his first tale highlighting his childhood days during WWI in the small impoverished mill town of Lancashire, England. It tells the love story of his older sister, Lily, who is Jewish and her romance with Arthur, who is Christian. Filled with amazing character development and vivid descriptions, the reader gets an appreciation of living on a street divided invisibly by faith during the early 1900’s. The relationships Harry had with his loving mother, his difficult father, his five siblings, and his diverse neighbors immediately grab hold of you, evoking emotion and interest. This is an insightful story filled with love, friendship, and sadness, and a chronicle of anti-Semitism that will surely tug at your heart.
Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together By Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Review by: Peggy Greenawalt
Sometimes you pick up a book, and it moves you more then you could ever imagine. That was this book! Denver Moore, a African American sharecropper in Louisiana, hops a train in the 1960’s leaving his modern-day slavery to settle in Fort Worth. His life changes and he becomes an angry and bitter homeless man, and then it changes again when he meets Ron and Deborah Hall in a local soup kitchen. How God works in their lives and connects them is inspirational and emotional. Lessons in love, faith, hope and life are shared in this true and beautifully written story.
If there is one book you take the time to read this year, make it this one. It will inspire you, make you think, help you change the way you see others, and change your heart. It truly is a tale for men, women, and even teenagers, and one book I will pick up, read again, and share over and over with family and friends. Visit WHPC library to check out the book or the audio CD set.
Why Me? A Doctor Looks At The Book Of Job By Diane M. Komp, M.D
Review by: Elizabeth Montgomery
Why Me? is a look at an Old Testament book in the bible many consider a “hot potato” and others refuse to read at all. This book on Job is beautifully crafted full of stories, scripture, and quotes. Because it is divided into 17 short chapters with excellent questions at the end of each chapter, it would lend itself quite well for use in a bible study or discussion group. For all who have ever struggled with the inequalities, pain, and suffering in the world around us, this slender little book is food for our souls, helping to answer age-old questions of why, why me, and where is God? Check this book out from the WHPC Library.
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Review by: Peggy Greenawalt
This fiction story takes place in Minnesota in the 1960’s. It weaves a tale of a caring family, experiencing hard times but with a strong belief in miracles. Told from the viewpoint of Reuben Land, an 11 year old asthmatic boy, this beautifully written and poetic narrative is filled with relationships, adventure, faith, hope, grace, and most of all heart. To those of us who already believe in God’s miracles, this book is an entertaining but joyful experience.
From the Library of C. S. Lewis By James Stuart Bell and Anthony Palmer Dawson
Review by: John Doty
C. S. Lewis was the most influential Christian writer of the 20th Century. His writings inspire a wide range of Christians, Protestant and Catholic. Who inspired C. S. Lewis?
Lewis loved books. What he called the ‘old books’ nurtured his mind, spirit, and imagination. His conversion to Christianity began with his respect for writers he admired (such as George MacDonald and G. K. Chesterton) in spite of the fact they were Christian. Lewis acknowledged his debt to writers that shaped his Christian life and inspired his own writing.
Bell and Dawson have compiled selections from writers who influenced Lewis’ spiritual journey. The book can be a source for devotion and insight into those who helped shape C. S. Lewis. It is available in our church library.
The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky By Farah Ahmedi
Review by: Bev Scott
This is a compelling story of an Afghan girl’s journey of faith and determination to change her life and the life of her mother. Her story begins in Kabul, Afghanistan during a war between the Mujahideen and the Soviets. Farah, the author of this story, is seven years old when she tragically steps on a landmine on her way to school. Her life from that point on changed forever. As the years unravel, we are told by this heroic young girl a story of courage, hope, and endurance that is hard to comprehend in one so young. Farah exposes her faith in her God and her determination to leave behind the only world she knew. This is her attempt to ‘leap across the sky” and encounter a new world, America. As this immigrant girl experiences all the adjustments of living in an unfamiliar culture; her story reminds us of the struggles our ancestors experienced coming to this country. She discovers in the end that “the other side of the sky” is sometimes a mirror image of a dream. As winner of the Good Morning America’s contest for new writers, Farah has written a book to be read by all ages.
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Review by: Lauren Weldin
When I was referred to this book by a friend, I was expecting a romantic story with a cheesy ending. Instead, I was reminded of the unconditional love God has for me.
Francine Rivers retells the biblical story of Hosea as a heartbreaking romance between a prostitute and the virtuous farmer who marries her. Redeeming Love begins with the Gold Rush of 1850, and its rambunctious atmosphere of greed and desire. Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child, has learned to distrust all men, who see her as a way to satisfy their lust. When the honorable and spiritual-minded Michael is told by God to marry this “soiled dove,” he obeys, regardless of his doubts.
As Angel learns to love him, she begins to hope again, but is soon weighed down by fear and returns to her old life. She is back to prostitution, away from her husband’s determined love, and frightened of the truth she no longer can deny. Her ultimate healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael Hosea does…the One who will never let her go.
More insight into the relationship God longs to have with you awaits those who read Redeeming Love, available in our church library.
Why Men Hate Going to Church by: David Murrow
Review by: John Doty
The Christian Church has been accused of being a male-dominated, patriarchal organization, founded by men, and run by men. The truth is, with the exception of men’s events and pastors’ conferences, whenever Christians gather women are typically in the majority.
Most adults at church on Sunday are women. Most visitors to the church during the week are women. Most volunteers for committees, teaching or serving in the church are women.
In Why Men Hate Going to Church, by David Murrow, a Presbyterian elder, argues that the reason for this gender gap is not that there is something wrong with men, but rather there is something wrong with the way the church relates and ministers to men. If we expect men to become a more vital part of the church, we need to change the culture of the church rather than wait for men to change. We need to engage men as they are not as we would like them to be.
Don’t bother reading this book if you don’t want to be challenged to think differently about the church’s outreach to men. The book is a prophetic call to change the way churches relate to men. The church cannot be a vibrant organization if it fails to meet the spiritual needs of half of the population.
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Review by: Peggy Greenawalt
This is a timely and well-written novel taking place in Afghanistan and giving the reader a real glimpse into this country’s history and political turmoil. One follows the central character, Amir, as a boy through adulthood, during the 1970’s and 80’s Soviet involvement and invasion. His private struggles of loyalty, friendship, love, and redemption hold ones interest throughout the story. Because today Afghanistan is a part our church’s mission program, you will not want to miss this gripping tale that paints a vivid picture of a country in need.
God’s Secretaries by Adam Nicholson
Review by John Doty
Most of us accept that no work of genius was ever created by committee. Most inspiring works of art result from one person, Beethoven, Shakespeare or Michelangelo. Yet the most influential book in English is the product of a committee of near-anonymous scholars, whose work was pieced together to form the “Magnificent English Cathedral”. A cathedral built of the Word of God.
In God’s Secretaries, Adam Nicolson brings to life early 17th century England and the forces that lead to the King James Bible. James VI of Scotland, a Presbyterian, became James I of England, defender of the Anglican Church. His adopted motto came from the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” In commissioning the Authorized Version, he sought to peacefully unify church practice while suppressing the anti-royalist Geneva translation favored by Puritans.
Most English clergy accepted the Authorized Version. Separatists rejected the new translation, left England, sailing eventually to New Plymouth on the Mayflower. It is a great irony that those we consider our founders are those who rejected the translation of the Bible now most revered by American Protestants.
More insight into the creation of the King James Bible awaits those who read God’s Secretaries, available in our church library.
Friendship Cake by: Lynne Hinton
Review by: Peggy Greenawalt
First in a trilogy by Lynne Hinton, this is a charming story of five Christian women that live in a small North Carolina town and all attend Hope Springs Community Church. A committee is formed to create a cookbook, but the greatest recipe that is shared is the bond of friendship. Through trials and tribulations, Hinton weaves a story with healing, faith, hope, redemption, and love. Many southern recipes are interspersed throughout the book, which readers will want to try. It is a novel with simple sweetness that lingers long after it is read.
“The Verdict Is In” Christianity on Trial by: Vincent Carroll and David Shiflett
Review by: John Doty
In Christianity On Trial, Vincent Carroll and David Shiflett consider common modern indictments against Christianity and review the basis for the accusations. Christianity has been accused of being fundamentally hostile to women, racist and anti-Semitic, ultimately responsible for the Holocaust. Christianity has been accused of encouraging ignorance over scientific inquiry and advance, being also responsible for environmental catastrophe. The authors honestly address tragedies that have been perpetrated by some invoking the name of Jesus Christ, but they also argue that to focus on these alone misrepresent the historical record and the true contribution of Christianity to the world.
Taken as a whole, the history of Christianity demonstrates that it has been the major force for positive change in society in the past two thousand years. Christianity is responsible for most of the progress that has occurred in regarding women as truly human and not chattel, in the abolition of slavery, and the rights of minorities. Due to reverence for the created world, Christianity made possible the first steps of the scientific revolution. It is no accident of history that science arose in a Christian land.
The verdict is in—Christianity has been the most positive force for change in human society over the past two millennia. The case is well presented in Christianity On Trial, available in our church library.
Leading Women to the Heart of God by Lysa Terkeurst (Editor)
Review by: Nancy Pickett
Do you have a heart for God, and a desire to lead Women? Learn how to take ordinary settings and transform them into intentional teaching opportunities. Explore ways of determining your own strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Never again overlook the ministry that God has gifted you for in your own family, secular job, and church. God doesn’t call the equipped, but equips the ones He calls. Never underestimate how God can grow and raise up leaders that may seem unlikely at first glance. God desires for all women to be vibrant leaders no matter what our leadership role. This book offers practical suggestions on how to make that happen.
101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck
Review by: Margaret Hicks
Have you ever cried out to God in joyous adoration, in deepest despair, or in grateful praise? Of course you have, many times! Have you ever felt a song in your heart to accompany your words? Most likely not, but this is how hymns are born. Our voices are raised to God in words and music. Those hymns that we have perhaps sung and loved since childhood arose out of someone’s prayer, and each one has a fascinating story behind it. Did you know that the wife and four daughters of the man who wrote “It Is Well With My Soul” were involved in a shipwreck and only his wife survived?
This triumphant hymn was written near the place where the tragedy occurred.
What prompted him to emerge with such a serene and steadfast faith? There’s much more to his story, which you can read about, along with the engrossing lives behind 100
other hymns in 101 Hymn Stories. They will add a new dimension to your enjoyment of these well-loved tributes of devotion to our God. Maybe you, too, will be inspired to
leave a lasting memorial for future generations to treasure.
Three Weeks With My Brother By Nicholas and Micah Sparks
Review Joan Burk
Anyone who has read novels by Nicholas Sparks knows his depth of writing about love. Three Weeks with My Brother, his first nonfiction book, describes a tour around the world exploring the beginnings of remote civilizations. Nicholas and his brother, Micah, decide to take three week trip together.
Interspersed with humor and travelogue are chapters about their family. The two boys and their sister grew up moving from place to place with their parents. Their father, a strict and not-so-warm professor, often did not have a close relationship either with his wife or his children. The mother, however, reared her children with wisdom in conditions close to poverty. Can you imagine never seeing a doctor or dentist?
Nicholas has five children, one who is handicapped. Micah has lost his belief in God and rarely goes to church. Three weeks away from daily obligations gives the two brothers time to reconnect, share the faith that Nicholas has maintained, and reflect on the fun times growing up as well as on their shared tragedies.
It is a well written, easy to read and hard to set aside.
Reading Lolita in Tehran By Azar Nafisi
Review by: Joan Burk
This is not really about the book Lolita. Reading Lolita in Tehran is an account of seven courageous women students, committed to learning, who gather surreptitiously at the author’s home in Tehran, prior to the time the author went into exile. The purpose was to read and discuss literature classics such as Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, Madame Bovary, and Lolita. These book groups were a crime in Iran. It is chilling to read of “clothes” police, touring the streets in open jeeps to arrest women who might have nail polish or colored socks, let alone be without required coverings. The young women, who gathered to learn and study in the privacy of Professor Nafisi’s home, become very real to the reader, and he or she understands, cares, and aches for their release. “Should I leave my homeland?” they ponder. “What would happen to my family?” they anguish and consider.
The author, Azar Nafisi, currently a professor at Johns Hopkins, was expelled from the University of Tehran for refusing to wear the veil and for insisting on teaching Western classics in her literature classes. She left Iran in 1997. Reading Lolita, published in 2003, is a powerful view of Middle Eastern philosophy toward women in Iran, as well as a glimpse of the difficulties they have accepting their repressed fate.
A Case for Christmas By Lee Strobel
Review by: Peggy Greenawalt
Lee Strobel, a journalist and the author of The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, The Case for the Creator, and The Case for Easter takes a fascinating look into the story of Christmas in his new book The Case for Christmas. Strobel, a Yale graduate, was an atheist until 1981. His Christian wife inspired him to investigate the evidence that eventually convinced Stobel that Christ was the Son of God. He takes an in-depth look at the facts behind Christmas through Luke 2:8-18, researching the truth on Jesus’ birth, Herod’s decree, and Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. Through intense research, he helps the reader understand what happened at Christmas 2,000 years ago. Not only is this a book to help believers reaffirm their faith, it is a wonderful gift to share with friends and family who might be questioning their own beliefs.
After Anne By Roxanne Henke
Review by: Joan Burk
From its beginning, After Anne is a compelling saga of friendship between Anne and Olivia. How does this relationship unfold? It is resisted by one, gently encouraged by the other, and becomes all encompassing to their lives. The women’s involvement supplants their emotional estrangements from their husbands. The friendship is humorous, poignant, loving, resentful, dependent, rewarding, heart-warming and heart-breaking.
The author quotes Proverb 18:24 ...there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. This proves to be true, particularly because Anne’s twin sister is emotionally distant. Even Anne’s mother seems unconcerned for Anne, when Anne’s need for her is overwhelming.
To the detriment of her own family life, Olivia absorbs herself with Anne’s needs. Finally, faith comes to faithless Olivia through Anne’s steadfast knowledge that God is with her in the face of continuing adversity. God’s caring love begins to permeate Olivia’s life and family, strengthening her marriage as well as her understanding of her children. Anne’s personality and friendship remain an influence, long “after Anne,” urging Olivia to tell this story.
This is the first in a series of books called Coming Home to Brewster, and one you will not want to miss reading.
Keys of the Kingdom By A. J. Cronin
Review by: Joan Burk
J. Cronin’s classic novel, The Keys of the Kingdom, survives by its powerful message of faith. Its principle character, a young Englishman named Chisholm, loses his parents in a tragic accident. Raised by unloving grandparents, Chisholm becomes little more than a household slave, deprived of schooling. His one piece of good fortune comes along as his Aunt Polly, who adopts Chisholm and sees that he gets his education. Later, the woman Chisholm hopes to marry dies by her own hand. Seeing no future, but with faith that God will mold his life, Chisholm joins the priesthood.
He endures struggles throughout his lifetime, thirty plus years of which is served as a missionary in China. Every hardship assaults his faith--poverty, pestilence, famine, torture by warlords, and continual lack of appreciation for his work by his Bishopric.
Father Chisholm wins souls to Christ by his patience, quiet manner and courage. A prominent, unbelieving Chinese benefactor at last says he is ready to join Father Chisholm’s religion: “The goodness of a religion is best judged by its adherents. My friend, you have conquered me by example. ...I shall be content knowing that in our Master’s garden our spirits will one day meet.”
As Christ said to Peter, Matt.16:19, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” -- authority to open the doors of Christendom to all.
Mother Teresa: A Simple Path Compiled by Lucinda Vardey
Review by: Joan Burk
Mother Teresa: A Simple Path is a compilation of quotes from Mother Teresa and from others working with her Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa inspires us to transform our beliefs into actions, in order to improve countless lives, and to give dignity to the dying. It is a moving, sincere message.
Mother Teresa’s definition of a grounded person is one who finds “a proper balance between (one’s) strong will and complete surrender to God’s will. Balance is brought about through prayer: “it depends…on God’s grace and my will” to accept Him.
“Our aim,” she says, “is to quench the thirst of Christ…” People are lonely and hungry, not only for food. They thirst not just for water but also for the Word of God, “for knowledge, peace, truth, justice and love.”
One day Mother Teresa stopped to minister to a man living in a box. She took his hand in her innate loving manner. The homeless man told her it had been a very long time since he had felt the touch of another human. Small efforts to touch the flesh as well as the soul were hallmarks of Mother Teresa’s ministries.
Mother Teresa’s Simple Path is this. It begins with silence.
The fruit of Silence is Prayer.
The fruit of Prayer is Faith.
The Fruit of Faith is Love.
The Fruit of Love is Service.
The Fruit of Service is Peace.
The Church is our family. We are all His children. She chose the name Teresa for her admiration of St. Theresa of Lisieux, “the little flower of Jesus.” St. Theresa was noted for ordinary accomplishments extended with extraordinary love. “The only way to cure loneliness, despair and hopelessness is with love.” Multitudes of indigents, dying alone, were touched by Mother Teresa’s caring hands and therefore able to die in peace. She admonishes us, not to judge people, but to determine their needs and act to offer that help.
Mother Teresa pleads, “Take time to be friendly. It is too short a day to be selfish. … It is not how much we do, but how much love we put into the doing.” She prays, “Dear Lord, shine through me…that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence…”
A poem in her children’s home in Calcutta states, in part:
ANYWAY
People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Blue Like Jazz By Donald Miller
Review by: Joan Burk
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller is a collection of sober essays examining his faith. His primary concern about life is that he spends 95% of his time thinking about himself. Mr. Miller concludes very early that he needs a “God-honoring change,” so that his universe does not lie so predominately within himself.
Although his dissertations tend to be repetitive, he understands that the majority of well-adjusted people wind through dark valleys to find spiritual joy. For example, people want to be different – maybe inside, or with different clothes, shorter hair, or another career. God says He will make us new, but do we really want to start over?
Christianity offers decisions, he reflects. Our decisions determine the way our individual stories resolve. The author accedes that true Christians turn the other cheek, do not keep account of wrongs, and love others, “regardless of their indifference or hostility.” He tries to last a week without thinking a single negative thought – but his natural desires override his desire to be a nice person.
Mr. Miller is a believer with questions. He wants to give something to God but is overwhelmed with what he considers a massive war against poverty, hate, and injustice.
He is so cynical and insecure that he fears his friends who like him would not like him at all if they really knew him. He is afraid to get married, lest his wife should get to know him and not like him any more.
This author truly wants Jesus to “happen to him.” His prayers are that we each will see God in our lives, and the songs we sing together will be true and beautiful. Donald Miller's challenge is to bridge the gulf between his cynicism and his idealism.
The Apostle Paul Series of Lectures by The Teaching Company with Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson
Review by: John Doty
The Apostle Paul remains one of the most influential figures in the foundation of Christianity and the cultural history of the West. His writings are preserved for us as Scripture. In fact, Paul is the principle author of the New Testament. His writings account for 13 of the 27 books in the Christian Canon. Yet for many, Paul is a figure of controversy. He is often blamed as the source of Christian anti-Semitism, misogyny, and prejudice.
What is lost in the debate about Paul is why he wrote his letters. His letters are Scripture to us, but were written to real people to address specific concerns and needs of early Christian communities. Paul’s primary concern is not Christian theology, but the stability and integrity of communities of faith.
In a series of lectures from The Teaching Company, Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson guides a reappraisal of Paul’s ministry, writings, and profound influence. By focusing on the context for Paul’s letters we begin to hear Paul’s voice anew, speaking to real-life situations and genuine community crises. Paul’s writings were meant to address specific problems of first century Christian communities. It is a testament to Paul’s character and witness that he can also speak to us in the 21st Century.
The Mending String By Cliff Coon
Review by: Peggy Greenawalt
Unfortunately, the author, Cliff Coon, passed away before he learned that he won the 2005 Christy Award for this beautiful best “First” Christian novel. His wife accepted the honor in-lieu of his absence. Mr. Coon uses his years of experience raising six children to help write this compelling story.
The Mending String is a tale of relationships, love, and forgiveness. Pastor Clayton Loverage, a widower living with his teenage daughter, Ellen, enters into a very difficult time in his life as he faces challenges with members of his church and a daughter that tests his ability and wisdom as a single parent.
Readers will enjoy this story for the excellent character development as well as the irony, mystery, compassion, and reconciliation. God’s hand in these individuals’ lives brings truth to us all how important prayer and forgiveness is in our relationships. This compelling story will touch your life and remind you to trust God. Look for it in the WHPC library.
Left To Tell By Immaculee Ilibagiza
Review by: Joan Burk
Years of holocaust and genocide in Rwanda evoke shudders at the cruelty of one ethnic group against another. Immaculee Ilibagiza was at her university when the fighting began, Hutus against Tutsi’s. Bands of machete and gun wielding Hutus, encouraged by the government in power, searched for every Tutsi in the land, not just to kill but to slaughter them. Immaculee’s family was educated, community minded, respected, and strong in their Catholic faith. But as Tutsi’s, they would not be spared the horror that befell them.
A Hutu pastor, torn by his allegiances, aided Immaculee and her companions by concealing them in his home. She relates her distress and terror in hiding. Hutu killers roamed the streets while Immaculee and six other Tutsi women were crammed for months into a tiny bathroom, four by three feet wide. They could not make the smallest sound for fear of discovery. She determined not to allow doubt, despair or anger to overwhelm her. Immaculee fought her inner demons with her faith.
“I surrendered my thoughts to God every day when I retreated to that special place in my heart to communicate with Him. That place was like a little slice of heaven, where my heart spoke to His spirit….He assured me that while I lived in His spirit, I’d never be abandoned, never be alone, never be harmed.”
Immaculee’s special relationship with God continued to sustain her as she emerged into a new life after the war. Evidences of God’s intercession for her occur over and over. Her testimony is a remarkable and moving example of the power of prayer and absolute surrender to God’s will.
Immaculee was “left to tell” the world of the 500,000 Tutsi’s murdered. The French eventually sent troops to aid the Tutsi’s, but Immaculee wonders, “where was the concern from rich countries of the west?”
Butterfly House By Marcia Preston
Review by: Joan Burk
Marcia Preston tells a gripping story of the lives of two young girls, who become best friends in elementary school. Each is raised in a household with only her mother. The girls’ fathers are absent from their lives in their childhoods. Neither girl has a sibling, which makes their friendship especially close. Masterful writing interlaces family relationships, the reappearance of the fathers, jealousies, and hidden guilt. Butterflies are the beautiful center around which agonizing events take place. Arson, a suicide attempt, sexual orientations, prison, and abortion each take a toll on the characters.
In the author’s words, The Butterfly House is a story of mother-daughter relationships, and teenage girls, who sometimes find the wrong answers. Now and then, joyful child-like exchanges between Bobbie and her best friend, Cincy, lighten the episodes of heartache and loneliness. It is a page-turning novel of enduring love and redemption.
To relate circumstances that bring the fathers of these girls back into their lives would deprive a reader of surprises in the twists and turns of events. It is sufficient to say that Marcia Preston is a skillful author, with words and plots that keep you reading.
The Jesus I Knew By Philip Yancey
Review by: Joan Buzzard
About three weeks ago, this book caught my eye. Having read it once several years past, something urged me to read it again. Shortly after, Pope Benedict XVI’s book, Jesus of Nazareth was released. It seemed fitting to read Philip Yancey’s book prior to picking up a new one.
Yancey is editor at large for Christianity Today and has written many books that have sold over 5,000 copies around the world. He is a forthright author, admitting his own struggles with faith, and especially the person of Jesus Christ. In this particular book, he was trying to see Jesus differently from the comforting image he had learned in Sunday School. He sought to know Jesus because “he positioned himself as the dividing point of life—my life.” Yancey writes as a means of confronting his own doubts.
The Jesus I Never Knew pursues Who He was, Why He came and What He left behind. Within these major divisions of the book, just about every page challenges the reader to rethink one’s understanding of Christ. Each of us must at sometime answer the question that Christ posed to Peter: “And who do you say that I am?”
In summarizing, Yancey finds five major impressions that he discovered regarding Jesus: He is the sinless friend of sinners, He is God-Man, He gives us a portrait of God, He is a lover, and He gives us a portrait of humanity.
I hope you will be curious enough to check out this book as it will help you rethink your own understanding. If you are ready to be confronted with some intriguing statements and thoughts about the person of Jesus Christ, then The Jesus I Never Knew is the book for you.
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