Friday, July 27, 2012

Running for my Life by Lopez Lomong with Mark Tabb

Running for my Life by Lopez Lomong with Mark Tabb is an amazing true story of the life of Lopez Lomong from his childhood kidnapping during church services in his home village in Sudan to his life in the USA as an Olympic track star.  Lopez, no matter the kidnapping, the starvation, or the hard work never gave up.  When he was in the refugee camp he made the decision to be baptized and the chaplain renamed him Joseph.  Lopez identified with Joseph of the Bible who was also kidnapped from his family and placed into slavery but God had meant it for good.   Lopez also believed God had a better plan for him and believed that God meant his life for good.  This book bells of that better plan that God had and how hard that Lopez worked to get there.  He always appreciated it whenever anyone helped him.  Though he has much materially in America he never forgot the Sudan village from which he spent his first 6 years.  He now helps provide precious water, food, education, and medical needs for that village which they so desperately need. 
I loved this book.  It is the best.  It made me proud to be an American and sorry that I don’t appreciate my country as much as Lopez does.  Thank you for reminding me just how truly blessed that I am to have spent my entire life in the USA.  Because of reading this book may I never take for granted my many blessings.  You’ve just gotta read this book.
I received this book from Booksneeze for this review.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Beyond the Farthest Star by Brodie and Brock Thoene

Beyond the Furthest Star by Bodie and Brock Thoene is a great story of young Anne Wells and her family.
Anne Wells has in her 16 years had better times than many and worst times than most girls her age.  She is currently living one of her low times of spending time trading off with her mother sitting with her dad, the local pastor, who is now on life support in the local ICU and has been for the last two weeks.  The ventilator keeping her father breathing reminds her of Darth Vader’s breathing.  This story is Anne’s family story leading up to this point in her life.  Anne and her family love each other and this is their story of how they learn to love and support each other and lean of the support and love of God.
I love this author duo so I expected to like this book and I sure was not disappointed in the story as written.  It tells of how we as a society treat our children and then expect them to grow up ok.  Our children are strong and flexible but they most of all need to know the love and unconditional support of their family and a strong background of love and belief in God.
I received this book for this review from Zondervan.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Mondays with my Old Pastor by Jose Luis Navajo

Mondays with my Old Pastor by Jose Luis Navajo.  Mr. Navajo tells of his time of making his decision to continue on with being a minister in the work of the church.  He has become burned out and is thinking that this may not be cut out for him.  He decides to illicit help in making this choice by going to visit his old pastor, who had spent his ministry at that same church.  After spending a Monday with him and his wisdom, Mr. Navajo spends the rest of the Mondays that his pastor is able with this wise man of the Scriptures.  

This book will fill your heart to the brim and overflow with wise and loving thoughts through which to live your life.  Not often is there a religious book that grabs your attention so that you cannot put is down but this is the one.  This book should be required reading not only in seminary but also be owned and encouraged to be read by those wishing to join the church.  It is not just the pastor who works with God but rather all of the members.  Most books that I read I pass on to others and once read never read again.  This will not be such a book.  This one will remain in my library.  Everyone should have their own copy.
Irecieved this book from Booksneeze for this review.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Love in Disguise by Carol Cox

Love in Disguise by Carol Cox is  a story that blends romance, humor, and mystery in one book.  Ellie Moore in the opening has just lost her job, her home, and had no family, friends, or money on which to fall back.  The only possessions she had was her dilapidated bag which contained her few possessions and a small trunk of stage costumes given to her from her last employer, an actor.  When she is down to her last dime she hears of an opening at the Pinkerton Detective Agency for a woman agent.  With absolutely no detective skills or training, Ellie manages to get the job using her acting skills and the costumes in her trunk.  She heads out for the silver mines in Arizona which have been beset by thieves.  Ellie has to use all that she knows about people and the costumes in her trunk to work to solve the theft ring in Pickford Arizona in the 1880's.
I was excited to find this book using the Pinkerton Detective Agency as a large base of this novel.  The Pinkertons have always interested me and to read a novel using this agency as a base sounded good.  This story is one of life in Arizona in 1880 for an unmarried woman on her own.  Ms Cox has delivered a well written story on the life of a female detective working undercover solving crimes and finding a good man to love.  Thank you Ms Cox for this good read.
This book was provided for this review by Bethany House a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

The Bride Wore Blue by Mona Hodgson

The Bride Wore Blue by Mona Hodgson is a delightful novel set in the time of settling the west in Colorado.  Ms Hodgson depicts Vivian as a woman who has made mistakes in her young 18 years and feels that she is no longer desirable to men as a woman of good character.  She feels that God would view her as unredeemable.  She also feels that as an adult she should be able to stand on her own two feet without help from anyone.  Vivian decides to move out to Colorado in order to live close to her 3 sisters.  Her mother had already died and her father had just moved to Paris and refused to let her go with him.  Vivian finds that forgiveness is possible and that grace abounds where there is love both of her family and those who befriend her in the community. 

I liked this book.  It tells a story that all need to hear at some point in their life.  At some point everyone needs forgiveness and that it is only the pride in us that causes us to believe that we can make it on our own if we just work hard enough.  We all need to recognize that even those who judge others as being beneath them would not make it in life were it not for grace of others and of Jesus Christ.

I received this book from Waterbrook Press for this review.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Blue Moon Bay by Lisa Wingate

Blue Moon Bay by Lisa Wingate is a novel about Heather Hampton a well known Seattle architect.  Her young life was marred in high school by her dad forcing her to move with the family in her senior year to Moses Lake, his hometown.  Then her dad dies by mysterieous means which no one will talk about.  She feels shunned by her classmates which is nothing new.  As soon as she graduated she left town for college, does well and eventually get a high power job of which she is proud.  She is in line for a great promotion which hinges on selling the family farm of which no one has ever had any desires to keep.  Suddenly the last few days before finalizing the sale her mother and her ne'er to well brother start dragging their feet.  Heather quickly gets on a plane to make her family see the importance of quickly getting things settled.  Heather instead of following her plans to quickly sell finds out background details of her family, falls in love and finds she must learn the truth about herself and her family before she can move forward in her life.  Heather finds that money and prestique are less important to her than the people who love her.
This is a good book about family and love and what matter most.  Heather finds that her family is maybe not as bad as she thought and is reminded that she loves them.  She finds that many if not most of her problems in Moses Lake are her own doing and that if she would just look at the reasons people are the way that they are and accept them that her life would have been much better than it was. 
I was provided this book by Bethany House Publishing Group which is a division of Baker Publishing Group for this review.

Material Witness by Vanetta Chapman

Material Witness by Vanetta Chapman is a part of the Shipshewana series.  Callie opens her quilt shop on a September morning during the Shipshewana's Fall Festival.  This festival is a big week of fellowshep as well as money making opportunities for the Amish community as well as the English.  This was a week looked forward to and planned all year long.  However, interupting this festival time was the murder of an elderly shop owner.  The murder happened to be witnessed by young wheelchair boung Aaron, a seven year old son of one of the Amish women who assists Callie running her shop.  The community along with law enforcement work together to protect the community from further harm as the unknown perpetrator threatens both Callie and Aaron's life while at the the same time demanding the large sum of money that he thinks that Callie has and Callie knows nothing about or where it is.
This is a great story of English and Amish working and living together as a community.  There is a small part of the story that has a love interest but the biggest part of the story is the solving of the crime before the criminal commits another murder.  Great story of interest especially to women of all ages including teenage girls.  It is a great read. Hard to put down.
This book was provided to me by Zondervan Publishing for this review.

Material Witness by Vanetta Chapman

Material Witness by Vanetta Chapman is a part of the Shipshewana series.  Callie opens her quilt shop on a September morning during the Shipshewana's Fall Festival.  This festival is a big week of fellowshep as well as money making opportunities for the Amish community as well as the English.  This was a week looked forward to and planned all year long.  However, interupting this festival time was the murder of an elderly shop owner.  The murder happened to be witnessed by young wheelchair boung Aaron, a seven year old son of one of the Amish women who assists Callie running her shop.  The community along with law enforcement work together to protect the community from further harm as the unknown perpetrator threatens both Callie and Aaron's life while at the the same time demanding the large sum of money that he thinks that Callie has and Callie knows nothing about or where it is.
This is a great story of English and Amish working and living together as a community.  There is a small part of the story that has a love interest but the biggest part of the story is the solving of the crime before the criminal commits another murder.  Great story of interest especially to women of all ages including teenage girls.  It is a great read. Hard to put down.
This book was provided to me by Zondervan Publishing for this review.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Jackson the Iron-willed Commander by Paul Vickery

Jackson the Iron-willed Commander by Paul Vickery is a book from the General's series.  It tells a quick short overview of Andrew Jackson's service to this country starting with his birth to poor immagrant Appalachian farmers from Northern Ireland.  He lost his father before he was born and his mother and siblings by the age of 15.  He was already a soldier for this country and had been since the age of 13.  This book centers on his amazing rise through the military ranks and his political rise to the presidency of the United States and ends with his death at his home, the Hermatage.

I enjoy reading history and so I enjoyed reading of the life of Andrew Jackson.  Whether one agrees with his politics now or not one must admire a man who lived his life working hard for his beliefs and his country.  This story tells both the good and the bad regarding President Jackson's life.  I enjoyed that though his man lived so many years ago there has never been anything brought to light regarding marital indiscretions.  He loved his Rachel until the day he died.  His Christian beliefs never left him though he may have not done things as we would in modern society today.

I recommend reading this book to all who enjoy reading the history of our country especially military history.