Review: The Elven Stones: Abundance: An Elven Legend Quest

The Elven Stones: Abundance: An Elven Legend Quest by P. A. Wilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book so that I could review it, what follows is an honest review.

I am expanding my horizons and have decided for a little bit of fantasy. The Elven Stones: Abundance, is the second in a series of books by P. A. Wilson. I will read anything but so often books in a series rely on you to have read the previous story. So going in I was a little worried, not having read the fist story. I should not have worries. The author did a masterful job of weaving what we needed to know of the first book into the narrative of this one.

In this world, elves are not as plentiful as they were. They do not seem to be giving birth as much to keep the population growing. We find out that it because the stone of abundance, one of the three elven stones, is missing along with another one. The guardian of these stones wants to put them back into their rightful place, but first they have to find them. The problem is the guardian is near the end of his lifespan. Into our story come the two stars of the previous story, elves who were orphans who have a vested interest in finding the other missing stone, the stone of the orphans, so they can gain back the credibility they lost when it disappeared. That story obviously has to wait for the next book.

At times, I wished the story moved along a little faster. However, the adventure quest turns into an epic journey. And while two stories are advanced here, the choice for a new keeper and the quest for the stone, both get the time they need. And they both come to a conclusions that satisfies but leaves you wanting to know what happens in the next book. The ending, while a surprise, was hinted at throughout the whole story. I just did not see the clues.

I would recommend this book to any who are into the fantasy world of elves and other races. It is also just good as a light reading fare.

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Review: LEADERSHIP: As Seen Through the Eyes of a Follower

LEADERSHIP: As Seen Through the Eyes of a Follower by George Vucin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I want to thank Dog Eared Publishing and Net Galley for a chance to read this book. It was provided by them and this is my honest review.

Leadership books can be a little tricky to write. Most all of them I have read tell you how to be a leader, and that is OK. But to have a leader, you have to have a group of followers. That is where this book differs from most other leadership books. The follower is not ignored. In fact, you are taught that what you do as a leader can affect your followers.

To often a leader wants to stay with the style that got them where they are. The reason for that is simple. It worked before so it must work now, and no one likes to change. The thing is, as you move up the ladder, the people that report to you change, and you have to know how to change with them.

Leadership principles are discussed. In that way this book is no different than any other leadership book. What is different than most is that once they are taught, then the view of the different types of followers are talked about. What works for one type of follower will not work for another. And they type of people change with what you do.

An example of my own life shows a major point of this book. I work retail on weekends, I have for almost 10 years. Started out in the back room unloading the truck each day I worked. This store rotated managers around about every 6 months. We worked well with one type of manager, but rather than send us that type, the ones that would roll up their sleeves and work with, we often got the ones that would come in, say do the work and then move on. Now I work on the sales floor and that is the way the management works. If you had a manger doing the work with you, then it would be looked at as he did not think you could do the work yourself.

This is the core I got out of this book. Be the manager the people who follow you need you to be. I have been involved with volunteer leadership with churches I have attended for years now. This is the book that I wish I had years ago. What worked in one place did not work in others. I had to learn to change.

I recommend this book for anyone looking at being a leader of any sort. It is excellent in teaching what one needs to know.

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Review: Beginnings: Driving with Anna

Beginnings: Driving with Anna by Anna K. Payne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a short series of five very powerful devotionals. If one were to take a few minutes each day and to read and meditate on them, there would be a change in their life.

Each devotional follows the same pattern. A short story from her life, some scripture, a prayer and then a place for you to write notes for yourself about what you have learned.

I recommend this to Christians and those seeking for answers to things in their life. Even if these devotionals do not highlight problems you face in life, just reading the scriptures may help you to focus on what you need from God.


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Review: Blindsided

Blindsided by Tom Bierdz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As a start us story for what appears to be an interesting series, this tells the story of a psychiatrist who is driven to succeed, a wife who is left behind and a son who decided death was better than life. This is not an action heavy story, but there is some action to it. It is a story of the grief that happens when a child dies and nothing is left to hold a marriage together. What will happen and why are the core parts to this story.

I enjoyed it though I can say I honestly see why some people might not. It was a short read, maybe an hour and a half, but is packed with character development.

I would recommend it to anyone interested in a quick short read about people.

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Review: Avenging Angel

Avenging Angel by Angelique Conger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a short easy to read ebook. It took me less than an hour to read.

There is so much of the Bible that many of us who read it would like to know what happened. We know, for example that Adam and Eve had children, many of them . What happened to them and the children? This author has pieced together in her mind stories of the woman of the Bible, ones that we know are not necessarily true, but give us idea of what could have been.

In this story we look at Eve in her later years. Finally able to take a journey with her husband they travel to teach the grandchildren about God, and during this time Adam is taken hostage. What will Eve do to get her husband back. Trust me when I say, the author does not paint a picture of a meek woman.

For the most part it was a good read. In a few places I though it could be tightened up a bit but it was for the most part well written.

I would recommend it to Christian woman. Though I am a guy and liked it, I am not sure for the most part that most men would like it.

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Review: 4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace

4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace by Johan Twiss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book of this book for review. What follows is an honest review.

All I can say is WOW!.

Johan Twiss has written a second book that has held me interested till the very end. There is no classification for this book. It has ,a little bit of sci-fi, a little bit of psychology, a little bit of fantasy, a little bit of a lot of things. But all that adds up to make a lot of good.

Our hero, Arron has a rare form of meningitis as a young teen, leaving him paralyzed, and unable to move. His doctors think he is brain dead and is moved to a nursing home. If you think this is far fetched, it actually has happened. It is from that real life story that the author came up with the idea for this story.

To keep from going completely insane, Arron creates a world in his mind that he can travel to and do so many things. Only there can he feel complete because no one really treats him like he is alive.

From this life of solitude a room mate is given to him, Solomon, a former jazz musician, who is in his late years, having survived the depression, World War 2 and other events of history. Now in his twilight years he begins to suffer dementia.

So as one is wanting to start his life, one is ending his and reliving his glory days. The interesting thing is that Solomon can talk to Arron. He hears what Arron says in his mind and that is a wonderful thing for Arron, now he can communicate, even if no one believes that they can talk.

To tell you much more gives the story away. But it is a great story, and it is amazing how the author has once again not wasted one word. An interesting thing for me was the whole story was told from Arron's point of view. So much I have read of late has chapters that go back and forth and tell the story, this is all Arron telling the story.

I recommend it for all. I think everyone could get something out of this story. As I said before, not one word is wasted, and all weave together to tell a fantastic story.

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Review: The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life

The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life by Erwin Raphael McManus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In The Last Arrow, McManus takes an obscure story from the Bible (I have mentioned it to many and most have no idea it is in the Bible) and creates a rich story for how one should live their lives. When Elijah is near death, the King of Israel calls Elijah to pray for him and Elijah gives him two tasks. Shoot an arrow out a window and then, to take the rest of the arrows and strike them on the ground.

The king strikes them three times then stops. God never said how many times and to stop at three was not good. He should have kept striking, but he does not. He stops at three, and though the king could have won over his enemies, now he will only have three years of success.

Some might think this is petty of God. But in our lives we have to learn that we have to do what we are asked of God until there is nothing left, until the last arrow is gone. And that is the basis of the book. What have we done that if we had not stopped, we might have been given the victory in.

Throughout the book are examples of other events in the Bible, most from the life of Elijah, as to exemplify each point he is making. We do not get from God because we do not ask specifically what we need, we stop before we start, we settle for the life we have in place of the life we should have.

I recommend the book for all, but I know it will appeal to the Christian people I know. The lessons learned can and should be learned by all. But the Christian message is not compromised and I am sure that will turn a few people off.


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Review: 30 Red Dresses

30 Red Dresses by Johan Twiss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was not a book I would have picked up on my own. The title suggest a book that might appeal to female readers. The description indicated a subject of human trafficking. But a strange thing happened. I offered to advance read a different book for the author and I got sent a copy of this book with that cover. It was an honest mistake, but I realized it as soon as I started it. The writing style drew me in.
An 8 year old orphan in the care of her abusive uncle is sold into a brothel. A man on a book tour to Cambodia has to take refuge in the same during a flood. Their paths cross.
This book grabs you and will not let you go. Writing is clear and concise and no word is wasted. You start to feel something for each person in the story. You either love them or hate them, there is no in between.
I recommend this to everyone. Considering the subject, though we are talking about sex trafficking, there is not real sex that takes place in the book, There is more violence in the book than sex. It is safe for all to read. Grab a copy and have your life changed.

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Review: Pineapple Beach House: A Pineapple Port Mystery: Book Five

Pineapple Beach House: A Pineapple Port Mystery: Book Five by Amy Vansant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ms. Amy has another winner in this interesting series. In fact I think other than book number one, this was the best one. It is nice, even though some of the regular cast is there, we get to get away from the series namesake of Pineapple Port. Even thought the cast is slimmed down we pick up a few others along the way to make up for the ones left behind.

The premise is that Charlotte, her boyfriend, his uncle and two of the husband.wives who raised her in the retirement home she was double orphaned in (read the early books to make sense of that sentence) are going on a working vacation over the Thanksgiving holidays. They agree to repair a beach property owned by a friend in exchange for use of it. Except, it is on the South Carolina coast and there is a huge storm out there. Things get interesting when they find a finger in frozen trash. Did I forget to say there is Nursing Home (Elder Careolina.... get it, North Carolina.... if I have to explain it to you it is just not funny!), that seems to be missing a few residents?

With the weather bad what is a private detective in training going to do? Do I really need to ask? You got it, since the police cannot come to them, they are going to solve the mystery themselves.

This is a fun book, though by the description you might not think so. Amy does a wonderful job of making this cast of characters come to life. I recommend it to anyone wanting a fun mystery. As I have said before, this is not a cozy mystery series. It does not have violence or sex, but it hey it has body parts (just wait till you see the part about the eye!)
As part of the author's street team I was allowed to read the book for free. This is an honest review. If I thought it was bad, you would know it.

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Review: Old Earth or Evolutionary Creation?: Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos

Old Earth or Evolutionary Creation?: Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos by Kenneth Keathley
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

IVP press and Netgalley provided a copy that I could review.

I always though that the problems with evolution and the like came down to Christians v. science. I was wrong. In the middle are Christians who are scientist, and even then they cannot agree.
I may have oversimplified the opening point, but I think that it gets the point across. Even among people of faith, there are varying levels of what they believe just as their are people of science.

This book is an attempt at dialogue between two groups of Christians as they discuss things that matter to them in the attempt to have scripture and the world seem to co-exist in a relevant way.
Though they try to imply that this is a series of moderated writings, it comes across as a series of public debates. BioLogos and RTB has sponsored a series of these moderated by the Southern Baptist Convention so it is not that much of a stretch.

There were many times that I was able to push through and read a lot at one sitting and be interested. Other times I just felt that I was fighting my way through the material. I suspect that was more me and the topics that I seemed to have an interest in. I would imagine that the same would be true for others as well. This is not a book that you will have an interest in every topic.

The layout is familiar for each topic:
*moderator introduces topic
*one group speaks
*other group speaks
*moderator brings up rebuttal topics
*one group speaks
*other group speaks
*moderator sums things up

Each chapter a different subject. Each one covered in detail.

I liked the format, and I especially liked that they could disagree on a topic and not get disagreeable. They were polite and even talked about points of agreement that they had.

I am not sure I could recommend this to anyone I know. Maybe someone taking a philosophy class would enjoy it. I enjoyed the book but I am thinking that this might be an acquired taste for me.

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Review: Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions

Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions by Mark Driscoll
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this audio book years ago from Christian Audio (http://christianaudio.com/) as part of their monthly free audio book. For some reason I never listened to it but chose to go through some of the books I had and gave it a listen.
Mark Driscoll was the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington area. When this was written/recorded I am sure the church was still very active. Within a few years Mr. Driscoll would step down from the church because of claims of him bullying staff members. The church would at that point close it doors within a month. Not having been a member and not knowing much about him, this is all from what I read from sites like Wikipedia. I would tend to think it was true based on the tone of this book. While in a few places he says this is what I believe, the majority of the book is he way it is, take it or leave it.' That is where the problem starts because of what this book is supposed to be.
The theory behind this book is that the church opened up a web site to ask people to post their questions about Christianity and then people could vote on them. The top 9 questions questions would get a sermon based on them. I find it hard to believe that the number 1 question was about the emergent church, but I will have to take him at his word. The topics were wide ranging from sex and birth control to dating to the way churches should be run. Through it all Mr. Driscoll tells you how it should be. While I agree with him on quite a few things, I do not with all. So now, am I less a Christian just because I do not agree, or maybe I am not a Christian at all.
The main problem with a book like this is that it tries to tell you what Christians should be, but in the 2000 years since Christ died, every generation has tried to tell us that. Why should his book define it any better than any others. In listening to it I felt like I was back in my Catholic days and I was having to take what the Pope said because the Church said he heard from God.
The recording was OK. I have heard much better readings of books than this one. Mr. Driscoll read it himself. I would think that he would have had a better understanding of his book, but often there are pauses where there should not be and where they should be, they are not.
I cannot not really recommend this book. I gave it three stars because the content was for the most part OK. The attitude of the author comes through quite clearly.

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Review: RASPUTIN'S LEGACY

RASPUTIN'S LEGACY by Lee Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this book as an advanced reader book. In exchange I offered an honest review.

One of the nice things about being able to read eBooks is that I can look at a lot of different types. When I was much younger I read a lot of different types of books. As I got older with less time to read, most of what I read was for school or work. I am now coming around to reading a variety of books. Rasputin's Legacy was a book that looked interesting so I picked it up.

Our hero, with the interesting name Atcho, has done a service to the Russian/US relationships during the Regan era that took place during the first book in this series. To the authors credit, this not one of those books that you have to read the rest of the series to understand this one. What little you have to know is conveyed in a quick and concise style as it is needed.

Because of his service to both countries from the first book, when a man claims to be a descendant of both the czars of Russia and Rasputin, a mystic to the last of the czars, Atcho is chosen to try to stop him. Why? Because in the first book, Atcho had killed him, or so he thought. Also, the CIA and the KGB can not act openly, so things have to be done rather secretively. And, by the way, the man happens to have a nuclear bomb.

With the backdrop of the cold war, our hero and his team, some willing but not all, try to make there way to stop the takeover of Russia.

Stay till the end. Some people are not whom they seem to be in this story.

Writing is clean, and true to the characters. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good suspense story. Except for the violence, it is one that I could recommend to most people I know. Of course, a cold war era book has to have some violence so that is to be expected if you pick it up.


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Review: Pineapple Land Wars

Pineapple Land Wars by Amy Vansant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To start with, the copy of this book I received was in exchange for an honest review.

So, our story of the Pineapple Port detective continues. I said in my review of her first book, this has the makings of a ensemble cast comedy. (Netflicks are you listening?) This does nothing to change how I feel. The characters stay true to the form set up for them in the opening three books. So there is no surprise there. The surprise is in how this author can take some of the typical things in life and weave a great mystery story out of them. I recommend that if you do not know the players then you should look at books 1 to 3 in the series. Basically, Charlotte is a 25 year old woman who lives in a retirement neighborhood called Pineapple Port. If you have to ask why, well you need to read the early books in the series. She is trying to get her Private Eye Licence (again, read the early books) and helps her boyfriend's and her neighbor's husband the police man to qualify for the hours.

Into all of this a man falls off a balcony on to the mast of his boat and dies. Was it a murder or an accident. Our hero is hired to find out but only because the owner of Pineapple Port wants to buy the land that is up for sale because of her death and so does someone else. Who ever solves the mystery and some other silly events, will get the land.

My only down side to the book is that the bad person still gets to go free again. But a good villain is a horrible thing to waste. The good part is that we are introduced to a two legged cat. Yes, I said that right.

Recommenced it to people who are looking for a light mystery with a lot of humor.

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Review: Lily

Lily by Anna K. Payne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Short, quick read.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There are really two stories that are going on here and the intertwine with each other. Lily is at the end of her rope. She is divorced three times and pregnant with her third child, all from different dads. She is invited to a Bible Study and wonder why God would ever want her.
Meanwhile she witnesses a murder during a freak storm at the beach and now the killer is out to get her, and she keeps calling the undercover cop who rescued her, she just does not know why.

Will Lilly make until the end of the story or will the bad guy kill her? Will the cop and Lilly ever realize how they feel? Will Lilly accept Jesus? I am fairly sure you can guess the answers. But take a look anyway.
Recommend to those who want a light simple read of a Christian nature. While I have seen some call it a cozy, to me a cozy has a mystery. This is not a mystery in that we know who did it. It is more a drama of what will happen in the day to day life of the title character.

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Review: Pineapple Puzzles

Pineapple Puzzles by Amy Vansant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third in the series of Pineapple Port and the characters are much the same. Before I go further, I was given a copy in exchange for an honest review. I am also part of the author's street team that promotes the series.
Amy has again written an interesting story. There is a murder out there who is killing people and making them look like accidents. Then, so that people know, the killer is leaving pieces of a puzzle behind as a sign that it is them doing it.
Charolette, our hero, is trying to figure out the person doing the killing as part of her training for being a private eye under the auspices of her neighbor the police chief and her boyfriend's uncle, Samus, who was a private eye at one time. Telling you much more of the story gets to giving clues to how it ends.
The one gripe I have about this, and it is the reason it only got 4 stars, is that the ending did not wrap things up. Someone who should be in jail is not. I suspect that is so the author can set things up for a future book but I am old school and like my stories not to be continued. Still, it is not a bad ending, and I have seen a lot worse than this in stories that I have read lately.
I recommend to anyone who wants a fun, light-hearted mystery. Though the series has been promoted as a Cozy, I would not recommend it as a Cozy. It is not bad, just there are some things in it that do not fit in the Venn diagram of what makes a Cozy.


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Review: The Last Librarian

The Last Librarian by Brandt Legg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am not sure where I picked up this book, just that it was in my  library and it looked interesting.  I was a little hesitant in reading it at first.  It was coming across as a 'save the whales' type of book. That was just the leaning of the author I am sure.  In reality, a book about saving books has to be a little bit about saving the environment.  I get ahead of myself.
Our story takes place in the near future. There has been a natural disaster, a plague, that has killed off a large percentage of the population of earth. In order to survive, the war that naturally follows, a one world government is created.  As that government flourishes so does the population of the earth, and the prosperity as well.  In order for things to continue to flourish, the government puts rules in effect for everything from reproduction to reading.
Everyone also has their own computer devices.  They do everything for them.  Even provides them the books they are going to read.  This makes the needs for libraries a thing of the past.  One small device can hole a library of books.
Eventually all the libraries are closed, except for one. And the Last Librarian is soon going to be out of a job. Or is he, a close friend has discovered that words are being changed in books and comes up with an idea to save the most important books in the library.  It is a race against time and the risk of losing his life but our hero takes it on.
Fun stuff in the book comes in the form of quotes from authors we know. Liberal quotes from Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 are scattered through out the book.  Another thing scattered through out is cussing, but it is safe  cussing. It reminded me of the original Battlestar Galatica.  In order to get cussing past the censors, they made up a few words.  Same here, but I am sure that it was not done to get it past the sensors.  There is one moment of intimacy hinted as well but I had to read the paragraph twice just to make sure I read what I thought I read.  This book is safe for kids, though I am sure many would get a little bored with it.
My only real problem was the ending. In order to make sure the second story would have a place to start we are left with many of the plots in the story left hanging.  If I could have I would have taken off a 1/2 star for that. 
In the end a good book. It is kind of long (or seemed so to me).  I would say that any one looking for a good adventure story would like it. 

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Review: Purgatory of the Werewolf

Purgatory of the Werewolf by Brian S. Ference
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dorian wakes with a weird dream, he was destroyed by a large wolf, but here he was, in the forest, naked, bloody, but alive. He could not really understand what was going on. He feels renewed, healthy, and whatever scars he had were now gone.
So starts the Purgatory of the Werewolf, the second in the Wolf of Dorian Gray series. I have not read number 1, but I was allowed to review an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.
The book held my interest, which is saying a lot as I am not much of a horror/supernatural reader. I may have to track down book number one for a look at it to see how Dorian got this way in the first place.
Dorian does realize that he is the beast and with help, takes steps to distance himself from the population so as not to kill anyone else. It takes him to a British ship where he helps to battle the Chinese during what is the Opium wars of the late 1800's.
The author takes time to set each scene up, painting it with enough words but not too many as to over do it. Likewise, the points of view of each person telling the story ring true to the person they are. It was clear that the author took some time to put thought into each person.
While there is a small amount of violence in the story, that would be expected when you are telling a story of a werewolf. There are also some battle scenes. All of the violence is necessary to advance the storyline.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes horror/supernatural types of story but would not limit it to them. I did find it an enjoyable read.

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Review: Pineapple Mystery Box

Pineapple Mystery Box by Amy Vansant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another good book by the author.
Some may think that these are cozy mysteries, they are not. A Cozy implies to me that this might be a book you could tell your pastor you had read. These books have a little hint of violence and/or innuendo, but they are safe.
In book two, Charlotte is now trying to be a private eye. As the youngest of the retirement community she lives in (25, do not ask, read the books to find out why), her friends get her set up on a case because someone has switched all the Halloween decorations in their community. But all of a sudden one case blossoms into three and she (and her chalkboard wall) are on the way to solving all of them.
Declan, her maybe boyfriend is their as the owner of the pawn shop move into a Taco Bell name Hocko Bell (take a run for the hoarder) along with his ex-girlfriend who wants him back, or at least the pawn shop. At one point in the book he literally becomes the butt of some of the best jokes in the book.
If you like your mysteries on the spooky or serious side, this book is not for you. If however you love a good laugh, then his book is for you.
I want to tank Ms. Amy for a copy provided for an honest review. In further disclosure, I am part of the street team she has put together to advance her soon to be released 5th book. This is an honest review however. If I though the book was bad, you (and she) would know it.

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Review: Volunteering: A Guide to Serving in the Body of Christ

Volunteering: A Guide to Serving in the Body of Christ by Leith Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the Netgalley web site and the publisher, Zondervan in exchange for an honest review.
A short quick guide but with a lot of information in it.
I have been in volunteering in one way, shape or form in the 35 years that I have been a Christian. I have led departments (sound) and been a background person (kid's ministry) and a little bit of everything in between. I did not think that this book could tell me a lot about it, but I wanted to get some new ideas and thought this might do the trick. I was surprised and not disappointed.
While most of my Christian ministry of late has been online and this book deals with the local church, a lot of the material can be used for the online world.
The book deals mostly with the one in the trenches. One thing that it talks about finding your gift so you can serve effectively. So often we do not know where our gifts are and so if we do volunteer we do it in the wrong place, get discouraged and never volunteer again. So the authors encourage you not to quit but to seek someplace else to use your talents. There is even a guide to what your spiritual gift could be.
One think I liked that is not talked much about is that the authors gave a whole chapter to burnout. I speak from experience, it is real in Christian ministry volunteering. They talk about sensing it, and what to do about it from both sides, the leader and the person who volunteers. This was a powerful chapter.
I recommend this book to any who will be leading or volunteering in a Christian ministry. If you are a breathing Christian, this means you.

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Review: A Matter of Life or Debt

A Matter of Life or Debt by Edward S. Blythe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I like to pigeon hole my books as I read them. Some I know in advance what they are because of the description. Others, the description does not give a good idea, so I tend to try to figure them out as I go along, they usually fall into mystery, science fiction, romance (do not read many of them), etc. I think you get the idea. And there falls my first bit of trouble with this book. It does not fit any category that I have in my thinking. This does not make it a bad book, it just means that I do not know where to pigeon hole it.
We open at a time years ago, the people who are the leads in the book each have their own voice as they tell the story. Each speaks true to his character. This has been a problem with some books I have read as late, telling the story from the eyes of the character but not staying in it. Here they stay true to who they are as we listen in on their thoughts. The author has a good eye for the people he has populated this world with.
We journey with them, as they go through high school, military, prison, marriage, struggles, etc. While at times there seems to be a little too much information, looking back after it was done, it really was necessary.
I do not know why, I did not see anything that tipped me off, but the guy who was the big bad guy at the end was the one that I expected it to be, I just did not expect the ending as it was. It left me wanting to know what happened to the main focus of the story, Levi. Did they live happily ever after, did he go back to work on the border patrol? I would assume that there will be another book by the author to let us know. While the story did wrap up, it would have helped to know what happened to the main characters afterwards. That is why I knocked it down one star.

Recommend it people that like to look at character studies and what makes people tick. Thank you to the author for letting me read it in advance.

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Review: Into the Storm

Into the Storm by Amy Quick Parrish
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I received this book for free and voluntarily reviewed.

Into the Storm picks up where book one left off, a few months later. It has a much different feel than the first book does. We know the characters so other than a few references to bring readers up to date that have not read the first one, we can get into the story.

While the previous book dealt with establishing Jamie and seeing how she was able to learn her powers. Book 2 deals more with time travel. I love time travel, have since I was a kid, but I have finally hit a time travel story that I did not like as much as I have others. The main downfall here to me was there was so much of it. We did not go back in time to one point and stay there. The characters seem bounce around time like a ping pong ball in the middle of a game. It got a little hard for me to keep up with where they were. At one point, near past, next 20 years ago, then to the present then to the deep past then almost to present again, if you understand what I am trying to say.

Other than that, the book is well written. The characters appear to stay true to form. While the time travel was confusing, the plot moved along and was interesting. We get to see into the background of one of them and that helps us to understand him better.

This is a YA book and I am a much older person, so maybe the time travel bouncing would appeal more to the younger crowd. The story did hold my interest. And that takes a lot for me.

Recommend it to people who have read book 1, and to others if you want a good story line of travel through time trying to right wrongs.

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Review: Pineapple Lies

Pineapple Lies by Amy Vansant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I had second thoughts about accepting this book. We are going to make fun of us old people (I am 64), and yes fun was made of them, but that is OK. They make fun of themselves as well.

The premise is one that could be a TV comedy show. I can see an ensemble cast doing great justice to the cast of characters in this book. Charlotte is in her mid 20s and lives in a retirement community. She is able to do this because her grandmother (who she moved in with when mom died) passed away leaving a young teen in a group of retired people who love on her. Now she is feeling she has to do something with her life so she paints the wall of her kitchen so she can make notes about herself. As she digs up her backyard to make a garden, a skeleton shows up and now she has a purpose, find the killer.

While most of the story is told from the eyes of Charlotte some of the others tell the story from their points of view as well. The author nails it hear. Each voice is quite clear. Charlotte can be scatter brained, we get to see that in her random drifts in to other topics that have nothing to do with what she should be doing and become a neat side trip in to other areas. Declan, her not quite a boy-friend (who is the son of the person she found) is another voice we hear from. His tends to be business like, and that makes sense as he owns the local pawn shop.

There are enough turns and twists that you will keep changing who you thought did it. While the ending was not as clean as I thought it would be it did make a lot of sense as to how the body got where it was.

Though it has some innuendo, there is no real sex, which made the book an enjoyable read for me.

Need a nice cute romantic mystery, this might be a book to enjoy and I will enjoy making a run at the rest of the series.

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Review: Spirit-Empowered Theology: A Concise, One-Volume Guide

Spirit-Empowered Theology: A Concise, One-Volume Guide by Charles Carrin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

To start with the review, I got asked to review this book as part of a 'Blog Tour' I received an advanced copy of it through the author agent in this respect and from NetGalley.

When I read a nonfiction book I try picture where it would be used at. Christian books are usually a type of self help book or a Christian Education (aka Sunday school) type of book. This book does not meet either of those. While it is scholarly it is not something that would be used in higher education either.
Simply put, it is a encyclopedia of sorts. The author has put together what he thinks are important questions that should be asked and answered by all Christians. I will say the collection of questions are good, the answers brief and understandable and should be a good reference for the average Christian.
There is one 'but' though. Not all Christians believe the same. His theology leans towards the charismatic/pentecostal teaching. I have no problem with that. I believe much the same way. I have only small difference with what he says but that may be just a matter of semantics. Others who differ strongly with the pentecostal teachings can get a lot out of the other parts of the book, but that could be a stumbling block to many denominational members.
I think this is a book that should be in every Christian's home as a good reference book when questions about certain things come up. I recommend it to all. It may help non-Christians understand some of what their friends are talking about.

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Review: Heart Of Destiny: Book One Of The Heart Of The Citadel

Heart Of Destiny: Book One Of The Heart Of The Citadel by Susan Faw
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An engaging fantasy adventure. Magic has been banned, or so it seems. 12 young girls go missing from the 12 provinces of the known world, that is run from the citadel. There is bad on the way, but who are the good people and who are the bad.

Engaging to the end. And a setup for a future series.

I received a free copy as a beta reader. I looked for editing problems. This is an honest review.

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Review: Mars Journey: Call to Action: Book 2

Mars Journey: Call to Action: Book 2 by Bill Hargenrader
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This picks up prior to where book 1 left off. It was a little confusing, but I understand why we could not have the events at the beginning of the book appear in the timeline of book 1.
Newer characters take the field and established ones get some depth to them.
The author does not ramble on about a scene like a lot of what I have read lately. However, if the words are necessary he is not afraid to use them either.
Since it is free for a review for book 1, which was free, there is not a lot invested here but your time, and the books are both short reads. Just because they are free does not mean they are not worth your time.
Recommend to all who like science fiction. Worth your time.

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Review: Mars Journey: Call to Action: Book 1: A Science Fiction Thriller

Mars Journey: Call to Action: Book 1: A Science Fiction Thriller by Bill Hargenrader
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Was given a free copy, as I believe all the copies of this book are. It is an introduction to a series of books ( I would call them short stories individually). There are people who will complain about buying three 'books' (actually eBooks) but in the end, right a review and get book 2. Only one you are paying for is book number 3.

Characters to me were believable. We are set down in the middle of a disaster in the making, and we are forwarded to the point where plans are being put into motion for a Mars mission. While set in what could be considered current time, it has to be some short time into the future.

Enjoyed the book and recommend it to all. Good solid writing. Looking forward to book number 2.

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Review: Jackie Robinson: A Spiritual Biography: The Faith of a Boundary-Breaking Hero

Jackie Robinson: A Spiritual Biography: The Faith of a Boundary-Breaking Hero by Michael G. Long


I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I want to thank Westminster John Knox Press and NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

I am not sure that I would call this a biography. I would call it a history book whose central figure would be Jackie Robinson. He had a tremendous impact on history and the period of time he was alive was certainly one that needs to be reviewed, especially in what this book talks about, civil rights. It is a history of the civil rights movement. Many times we branch off on the people and events that are part of his life, but we always come back to it.

This period of time is important to me. Jackie broke the racial barrier in the late 40's and I was born n the early 50's. While I grew up in this time frame, until we get to the 70's much of it was new history to me. And a lot of it rung true to me. I can remember my father telling me that the negro needed to have his rights. I also remember, when a negro family moved in to the area and I went to play with them, I came home with a beating from my dad that I was never to go to that area again. So I can say that much of the problems between the races that is talked about was quite evident in the years I grew up.

The book is not political. It is a history of what happened. And it all revolves around Jackie Robinson. I would gladly recommend this book to anyone. It is not a book that preaches at you, but faith was a part of his life.


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Review: The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I enjoy reading something different and this was. I borrowed it as an eBook from my local library. I did not realize until I was finished that it was considered a YA book. I think there is something for everyone in this book.
I loved the fact that Death was the narrator. A non-spoiler spoiler, everyone dies. I am not going to tell you how, but remember that Death is telling the story.
I have seen people complain about the language in the reviews. I did not notice, maybe because I do not speak German. Taking place in World War Two Germany, we follow the story from the country that lost the war. And we follow the story as Death tells us about the 'Book Thief', a girl who really does not steal a lot of books.
Enjoyable fiction. Take time to read it.


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Review: Millie's Angel

Millie's Angel by Kim Petersen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free and voluntarily reviewed.

I enjoyed this book for most of it. It was an interesting character study of people and how they reacted to each other. I felt compelled to continue reading it even though I kind of figured out what was going to happen to the various characters. The only big question was what would happen at the very end to one of the characters. We could see the wheels being set in motion long before they happened. It did not end the way I expected it would, but that is OK.

The characters were well thought out and showed growth and development throughout the book. The progression of the years in the story flowed easily with what looked like some very natural breaks in their struggling lives.

Some might say if I though that well of everything, why do I only give it three stars. I guess I would have to say that I do not mind a little preaching at but when you spend pages trying to teach me your spiritual philosophy that I get put off. Most of the book I could see hints of New Age philosophy and that was OK. I am not going to put an author or a book down just because I disagree with what they believe to be true. If I did that, I would only read what I myself would write. I also expect the authors I read not to try to force their beliefs on me as well. I was interested in the characters and how things would progress but then all of a sudden, Millie, our main character goes on and on and on about her (and I suspect the writer's) point of view on how our world is all one stream of consciousness that we form our world around us with our thoughts. I felt like I was reading an advertising brochure for a new age religious organization. I felt like I had an investment in these people and now that I was hooked I was being spoon fed the belief of the author. Take that chapter (and it seemed like it was a whole chapter) and pull it out of the book, I would have given it a 4 star, maybe even a five star review.

To be clear, I do not begrudge the author her point of view, not do I think she is a bad writer. As I said, I enjoyed much of the book. I do not remember why I picked this out of a list of books to look at, only that it looked interesting.

I could recommend this to people only with the understanding that it does become a recruitment for the author's beliefs.

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Review: Shattering Time: Book 2

Shattering Time: Book 2 by K.J. Waters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free and voluntarily reviewed.

I love a good time travel story. The other day I found reruns of a 60's show called Time Tunnel. I loved the movie 'Final Countdown' as well as 'Time after Time', both obscure to many. That said, when I had a chance to read a time story as an advance copy I decided to go for it.

I was not disappointed, well not a lot shall we say. Like most books lately it is part of a series of books. In reading any of these, if you do not start with the first one, you can get confused. Here I was book 2. However, the author was able to work the basic storyline of book 1 into the opening chapters in a way that I did not need to read it. And I can see that there is another book brewing, but this one left with a complete story.

I have two major problems.
1) Sex. Ok, I understand it sells books. It seems like there were multiple sexual acts described in full detail. I cannot see most of them led to the the continuation of the story. Only one really. Others could have been covered with how the heroine though back of the night they shared or something like that.
2) Out heroine who seems to be a got it together 2o something, seems to not have it together in romance at all. She seems to hate her boyfriend but stays with him (Stockholm Syndrome). And yet seems to fall in love with her soul mate(s) time after time (pun intended).

The science nature seems plausible even though we know that time travel can not be done. Historically it seems accurate based on what I know. Story wise, great characters that appear well thought out.

Would I recommend it. I would if you can get past the over use of sex in the story. I might have give it another star if it had been toned down.

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Review: Murder at the Jolly Jester

Murder At The Jolly Jester by Ian   Thompson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Name sounded interesting and I received this book from the author as part of a promotion.

I am thankful for one thing in this book. While there was some romance hinted at there was not any sex scenes in it at all. So many of the fictional books that I have been reading of late feel that there must be sex in it for it to sell.

There is a murder at the Jolly Jester, a pub in a quaint English town. One of the regulars has been murdered. So now we have a physical game of Clue going on. We know what they did it with, just not where, how it was done and who did it, as well as how did the dead body get into a locked room. The proprietor of the Jester knows he cannot trust the police to clear his name so he goes to investigating it himself.

I was slightly disappointed in the ending. I did not feel that it fully led to its potential, i.e. not enough pointed to one of the bad guys. But it did make sense.

Good light hearted read that has just enough to keep you going.


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Review: One Nation Without Law: The Rise of Lawlessness, the End Times and the Power of Hope

One Nation Without Law: The Rise of Lawlessness, the End Times and the Power of Hope by Phil Hotsenpiller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

To start with the review, I got asked to review this book as part of a 'Blog Tour' I received an advanced copy of it through the author agent in this respect and from NetGalley.

The title and the subtitle say it all, so if you are one that does not read the subtitle, then make sure you do. I did not notice it till just now. What do I mean by that? The book is divided up into three parts.
1. Rise of Lawlessness
2. The End Times
3. The Power of Hope

So as I said, the name says it all. As I had just sort of read the name (not the subtitle) I was very confused when the book seemed to take an abrupt right turn and move from lawlessness and the history of it and then went to a discussion of the end times. That is not the fault of the author, it was my fault for not reading the title clearly. I want to make sure that you are aware of it. If you are like me, end time prophecies can get to be a problem. In that respect I was not prepared for the end time discussions

The book held interest to me, even through the end times discussions. I had to just leave it as ones persons decision based on the way he interpreted the Bible. It is funny that we can all read the same scriptures and come up with different ways of what we think they mean.

Part 1, the rise of lawlessness was the best part of the book for me. Starting with Adam and Eve and coming up to the present time, we can see that there has always been lawlessness. We can also see that as we progress in time, things are getting worse. But we always have the power of hope. We are not left defenseless. We have the power of prayer and the armor of God. We are not to just roll over and let the end times come.

The book was well balanced, talking about the three parts with equal measure. It was a pleasure to see this because so many books on end times focus on one of these over the expense of the others, usually focusing on prophetic looks at end times. With a balanced look at things it makes it a book that I would like to keep in my library.

If you have a need for a good book on the end times, this would be it.

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Review: The Furious Longing of God

The Furious Longing of God by Brennan Manning
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is Brennan Manning as he usually is. That is not necessarily a bad thing. Manning can be an acquired taste. It is one I enjoy.
His basic story is this. You can not sin so much that God can not forgive you. We are all ragamuffins and God loves each one of us. We have to learn to walk in that love. For people like Brennan, this can be hard, because sometimes we do not love ourselves and we get self destructive.
I would suggest it to all as a look at what I think that Christianity is all about, it is not about religion but relationship. Still, that will shock some people and they will not be able to handle it. Guess what? God still loves them anyway.

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Review: Deliver Us from Me-Ville

Deliver Us from Me-Ville by David A. Zimmerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book was OK. I read it over time so I am sure that helped in losing something in translation. It is a look at us. We tend to put ourselves on the throne and move Jesus off. When we do that, then we are in Me-Ville. The object of the book is to get us out of there and on the way to Thee-Ville
Part of the problem with the book is that I kept feeling that the author was trying to paraphrase what other people had written. In other words, the book, though original, was not an original thought but an explnation of what others have written. He seems to quote Bronhoffer a lot. While he was an interesting man from what I have read about him, I might just read his books and skip this one.
Last chapter I felt was the best. But what can I say.
Recomend for my Christian friends. Not sure others would want to read it.

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Cape Zero: The Fall

Cape Zero: The Fall by Nicholas Woode-Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Got a free copy that the author was giving out as a promotion. In general, Zombie stories are not my cup of tea. I like my zombies cute and functional like on the TV show iZombie. So I approached this with a little bit of skepticism. Still, I thought it would be interesting to try something new.

Zombie culture (except for the above mentioned iZombie is that zombies are mindless unthinking creatures who just attack people. The author here introduces classes of zombies. Some are blind and do not seem to be as intelligent as the others. Then their are sighted ones. They seem to be able to reason things to some degrees. Why are some different? We are never told why, we just have to accept it. And that becomes a stumbling block for me when all of a sudden, some of the sighted ones figure out how to use tools including weapons to accomplish their goals. How? Why?

We follow Peter, a lone wolf, who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Zombies start to over run the area that he is in and he takes sanctuary in abandoned apartment that he finds. This could make for a boring book a large part of the book deals with a fish out of water story. He realizes he needs others to survive, and though he is a lone wolf, he joins a group base on knights and squires. He seems to move quickly up the ranks.

I can forgive a lot of that. What I do not like, is s story that ends but does not end. I realize the author is trying to get me to buy the next book (might be why I got this free one), but I just hare that we are left with mini-cliff hanger. The story does wrap up and there is a completion, but it is set up for the next book.

If you like Zombies and survivalist stories, then you will enjoy the book most likely. I thought the book was OK. You will have to decide.


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Review: Movies Are Prayers: How Films Voice Our Deepest Longings

Movies Are Prayers: How Films Voice Our Deepest Longings by Josh Larsen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Standard disclaimer. I got an advanced copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank them and IVP books for the ability to be able to read it in advance.

I wanted to read this book because I think of myself as a bit of a movie person. Another reason was that my church (life.church) does a series each July called At The Movies where our Pastor takes clips from movies and builds a sermon about them. I expected a kind of insight that Pastor Craig Groeschel gives in the movies. Well, I am not as much of a movie person as I thought I was, and the insight given was not like my pastor's at all. This last fact is not a horrible thing. It is just that they have two different ways of looking at things and I was not expecting the difference.

The book made me want to look into some of the movies mentioned in the book. In fact, it may be worth picking up just for the lost of movies from the book listed in the appendix at the end.

Each chapter starts with a view of a type of prayer and talks about how a particular shows that type of prayer so that we can get an understanding of what he means. For the most part, these movies are relatively well known so as to help us by giving us something familiar. From there he shows us written clips from other movies, here they may be a little bit more obscure, to give us clearer details of the idea, and then rounds it up with going back to the into film to wrap things up.

One of the things that I did a lot of was looking up films to watch later as I read the chapters. The way a silent movie was talked about made me want to rent it right away and watch it. Even though I did find it on an online service to rent I did hold off as there were many other good ones mentioned as well.

I have read many books on the types of prayers that exist. As usually no two books reflect the same list of prayers, and this book did not disappoint in that respect, his list is different also. What was interesting is the way that he weaved these prayers in a story. It is a well know story of creation, then the fall. Followed by redemption and then restoration. Each of the type of prayers follows in those categories. Creation: praise. Fall: yearning, lament, anger. Redemption: confession, reconciliation, meditation/contemplation. Restoration: joy. In the end, the last chapter shows you them all in one movie as a journey.

My only complaint was chapter length. While I did not go back and see if they were evenly spaced out (I suspect they were), there seemed to be some chapters that I wanted to go on longer and felt they were cut short. Other chapters I felt went on much longer that they needed to. This is most likely my fault and not the authors. It is just where I was at when I read those chapters I think.

Recommended for Christian friends and those of my friends who are not antagonistic to the faith and also like movies. I look forward to any books this author may put out in the future.



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Review: Lilith

Lilith by George MacDonald
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book was an interesting read. I can see where C. S. Lewis got his inspiration as Mr. MacDonald was an author that Lewis had read.
The story can seem to drag in places, but I think that is the nature of the time period that it was written in. The authors that I have read of this era seem to like to say a lot of words to say something simple.
If you cannot stick with the story through the long opening sections which seem to make no sense, than I would not recommend the book. It is an allegory of what life is and where we are all going. You take out of it what you put into it.
Not recommended to everyone. You have to want to read it.

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Review: Sex and Money: Pleasures That Leave You Empty and Grace That Satisfies

Sex and Money: Pleasures That Leave You Empty and Grace That Satisfies by Paul David Tripp
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I really did want to like this book. I wanted so bad to like this book. But it just was not there for me. For the record, for the average Christian who does not think that they need this book, this could be an eye opener to their lifestyle that they are not aware of. That is, if they could get past the title that they would skip over because they do not think that it would apply to them.

So what was my problem with this? In an unofficial capacity I have a ministry to men with addictions. The title screams that this would help me help them, especially those with sexual addictions. Mr. Trip tells us over and over that we should turn away from out problems (rarely does he call them addictions) and put Jesus back on the throne as we move ourselves off of it. Now, this is good advice, I have no problem with that. The problem is a person with addictions needs to hear this but also needs to be given steps in the natural to overcome their problems. Mr. Trip does not offer anything like this at all. One without the other is not a real solid teaching in my estimation.

Except for a few chapters it is mostly about sexual problems in life. Change the statistics and put in other addictions and this book could have been about any pair of addictions that you want them to be. The book is really that generic. Basic quote from the book to sum it all up:

“The dynamic of addiction is that if you look to something that God created, to give you what it wasn’t intended to give you, either you get discouraged quickly, and wisely abandon those hopes, or you go back again and again, and in so doing, you begin to travel down addiction’s road."

In other words, you take the creation and replace the creator with it.

I think that the only chapter I liked really well was chapter 4 that talks about 'The highest pleasure'. He tells us why we are wired for pleasure and how to get Godly pleasure.

For the average user this book will most likely be OK. I really can not recommend it for anyone who is working in ministry to people like this or to the families of people with addictions. They will repeat the things to the addict thinking they are helping and the addict needs help, not just words.

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Review: Into Dust

Into Dust by Amy Quick Parrish
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this book for free and voluntarily reviewed.

I have not read a lot of YA fiction, mostly because I am a much older person and the idea was kind of strange to me. A web site I visited offered some e-books for reviews so I scanned what was there and this one seemed interesting to me. When gifted the book I found out it was a YA book. I am thinking that I may have to start reading more because like another one I read the quality is quite good. On top of that, the age range indicates there will be a low of non-existent amount of sex. However, romance is still up for grabs in general it seems.

I have been a comic book fan for years and that is what interested me in the description. Janey, the lead character in the story, is a young girl from the Mexican side of the Texas border who loves her dad and comic books. She notices a resemblance to her dad, a masked vigilante (she does not know about this), and the comics she loves. Eventually, events lead to her father's death as he is fighting the drug cartels, and that is when the powers he had transfers to her. Eventually she moves to the Texas side of the border where her mom is from, and has to learn, with help from a tutor, about the powers she has.

It is funny in many ways because that part of comic book heroes is rarely looked at. The training she must go through to become the hero she needs to be. The fish out of water type experiences are quite well written, as are the times that she seems to doubt herself and her newfound abilities and the person who is training her as well.

The use of two different points of view in this story, both her and the person training her, is a little jarring at first but at least it is introduced early on in the story so that it is well established by the middle of the book.

My only complaint may be because of the medium that I was reading it in. Because one of the powers she had in pushing/receiving the thoughts of others the thoughts are often in italics. I have no problem with that but there were several times in my copy where words were in italics but not thoughts, and other times that thoughts (though they were from either person's narrative, not their thought dialogue) that they were not that way. By the middle of the book, it seemed to be standardized. I am thinking that it may be just the nature of the e-book and as I was able to read around it I did not see it as that much of a problem.

All in all, quite good. recommend it anyone who would be looking for a good story of comic book heroes and supernatural. May even want to take a look at the second in the series.

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Review: Hope for the Same-Sex Attracted: Biblical Direction for Friends, Family Members, and Those Struggling with Homosexuality

Hope for the Same-Sex Attracted: Biblical Direction for Friends, Family Members, and Those Struggling with Homosexuality by Ron Citlau
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To start with the review, I got asked to review this book as part of a 'Blog Tour' I received an advanced copy of it through the author agent in this respect and from NetGalley.
When I was asked to review this book I was offered an e copy or a physical copy. I wish I had asked for the physical copy now. I wish now I had asked for the physical copy. This book is rich with content that I could use to help others. NetGalley copies will disappear after a suitable reading time so I will not get to use this book again and will have to take a lot of notes before it does.
Through the church that I go to I have a small online ministry that is to help men with addictions, most particularly sexual in nature. In the last few month I had a few people join that have problem with same sex attraction. When this book was offered to read I decided to take a look.
I honestly did not know what to think. I have reviewed one book about homosexuality that really s aid a lot of negative things about people who do not accept that it is the way God made them. I figured that this book maybe on that side of the political spectrum, or worse, it could have been the 'let's shoot them all' mentality. Fortunately this book did not fall either way. It was a common sense way of looking at the problem that people with same sex attraction(SSA) face.
This book is not for people who are family members or friends of SSA people. Unless you are trying to understand them better this is not for you. It is for the people who are this way or the people who minister to them. And for this book to work, we assume the people believe in Christianity and want to live a life pleasing to God.
The book is divided into parts. The first part deals with the obstacles that the SSA person will face in trying to live as a Christian with this attraction to the same sex. How it is identified is important as the author weaves what he believes is the proper way to identify yourself through the rest of the book.
Section two deals with the ways to deal with these attractions. The author does not purpose a conversion to an opposite sex attraction. If that comes, fine. In the meantime, God may call you to a life of being single. But not to be single alone. Become part of a community at a church that accepts this and will work with you to help you to grow in your Christianity.
The last section is a note to people who minister to these people and also an encouragement to them.
To be honest, a lot of this book, especially the last few chapters, with a little changing of the words, could be written to any people with sexual addictions.
The author does not give pat answers to the problems. This is good because life does not solve things just because we want them to. This is a point that is made throughout the book, especially in chapter 8 where he teaches about using some of the Psalms as prayerful laments. This spoke to me very deeply.
Five starts for this review. I recommend it to people with same sex attraction and to the people who minister to them.

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Review: Four Views on Christianity and Philosophy

Four Views on Christianity and Philosophy by Graham Oppy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Standard disclaimer. I got an advanced copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank them and Zondervan For the ability to be able to read it in advance.
I think in getting this book I bit off a little more than I could chew. That is why it took me so long to read it.
A few semesters ago, I took a Introduction to Philosophy class and have become fascinated with the idea that Philosophy and Christianity have so much in common yet be so different. I was approaching this book as a way for me to explore Christianity in respect to philosophy. I was not really prepared for what I was reading in that respect. That does not make the book bad, just not what I was thinking when I requested it.
The book is a compilation of four ways to look at the two subjects.
Conflict view - philosophy is better than Christianity
Covenant view - the exact opposite
Convergent view - philosophy confirms Christianity
Confirmation view - trying to make philosophy in a Christ centered fashion.

Of the four I feel that the author of the Conflict view did the best in explaining and defending his point of view. Of the four, the confirmation view was the one I tend to adhere to and felt it was handled fairly well.

Each author gives his point of view, the other three get a chance to make their comments and then the original author gives his rebuttal to the comments they have made.

I liked the format, but as I said, I had to take a lot of time to read as I was not fully understanding some of the terms. This is not for the average reader. While good, it is more something that I would expect to see in a classroom.
I do recommend it, but make sure that you have a good grasp of both the theology of Christianity and the understanding of how Philosophy works.

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Review: Are You My Spiritual Father?: Spiritual Fathers And Sons...Or Brothers?

Are You My Spiritual Father?: Spiritual Fathers And Sons...Or Brothers? by Jonathan Brenneman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"I believe spiritual sons are not accepted or embraced, they are born of death, persistence, perseverance and passion. True sonship is earned by aspiring sons, not given by their fathers. So, pay the price."
Unknown Christian preacher that sets up why this book was written.

That sets up the premise of this book. Some teaching that the author has heard. He is not identified not the denomination or any other affiliation. That is my problem with this book. I have been a Christian for almost 40 years and I have never heard a teaching about being a spiritual father/son. To be fair, I have heard of and experienced a pastor that was borderline Shepherding movement. I submitted to him up to a point and then felt that it was getting abusive. It also kept me from going to Bible School. So, yes I have seen abusive teaching in the church. I just never have heard this type of teaching.

The author does try to balance the words of Jesus that 'no man should be called father' with Paul's words of fatherly affection. In doing so he seems to muddy the water a little bit.

I would like to think that the relationship that Paul had with others that he called sons was more a mentoring relationship. I have heard it taught that everyone needs a Barnabas a Timothy in their life. Barnabas was the one who mentored Paul, and Paul mentored Timothy.

It has some points that needed to be made, but since the main point is to refute a teaching that was made by an anonymous person, I can not recommend this book more than 3 stars.

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Review: Microsoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime

Microsoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime by Katherine Murray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Free book from Bookshout so can not complain. It is for an older version of Office 365 (Lync has been replaced with Skype for Business).
It talks more of what you need to do to plan for a good Office 365 Collaboration with Sitepoint more than it does how to use the apps. That is a good idea because most of us know how to use the apps.
It also focuses on the administrator side of things.
It is free, pick it up from Bookshout if you have a need for it.

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Review: Invention: Think Different; Break Free From the Culture Hell Bent on Holding You Back

Invention: Think Different; Break Free From the Culture Hell Bent on Holding You Back by Justin Camp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was given an advanced copy of this book as part of a 'Launch Team'. I was asked to give an honest review.

This is an excellent book for a men's ministry. There is inside each man an inventor wanting to do something great. How do we know what it is that we are to do. We need to train ourselves to listen to the God who created us in the first place. Only through him can we learn what it is that we were invented for so that we can learn what we need to invent. It may not be a physical invention, it may be a need that you meet for others, and in fact it will often be.

The book has 8 chapters to it. The first one is an autobiographical look of the author. What he went through to be a success in his chosen field, and how he still felt that he needed to turn to the one who invented him to find true success. Chapters 2 through 8 look at one inventor, what they had to go through, to overcome, to make it through to create the invention that they had been successful with.

From Edison and seeing that he was not self made, to Bell, who wanted to help his deaf mother hear, Marconi, who had to figure out a way for the noise of the telegraph signals to be overcome, the Wright brothers having to overcome the feeling of not being able to accomplish something, and others. Each chapter brings us their story and how the author feels that we can use this in our lives. And then, we are guided in looking at each story with questions to make us think about why and how these are to influence our lives. The questions are designed to lead us deeper and understand things.

There are also some appendices that some of the chapters refer to. These take us deeper into what we are supposed to see in ourselves, what God is calling us to do and to get us launched out into doing it. These exercises are important.

As noted, the book could be used for men's group but also could be used in it's own as one man trying to find out his call in life.

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Review: Fame is a Killer

Fame is a Killer by Meredith Potts
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is something I had never heard of before. It is a cozy mystery. Short stories with no adult content. It was kind of nice to have that but that does not leave out the fact that to have a good mystery you have to have a good story.
In the end it was any of a list of people who could have done it including the storyteller herself. We know it was not her because she is telling us what she did.
Someone once said that if you kill someone in the third act with a sword, you better have made it available in the first act. And that was my problem here. There was nothing that pointed to the killer as well as no red herrings to throw us off on the other people.
As a quick mystery to kill some time it was OK.

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