Homespun: Amish and Mennonite Women in Their Own Words, ed. by Lorilee Craker

I requested Homespun: Amish and Mennonite Women in their Own Words, edited by Lorilee Craker, primarily because I recently read an Amish romance and I know very little about the customs and beliefs of the Amish. I was hoping it would contain essays that were specifically about Amish and Mennonite traditions -- kind of a "Here's what we believe and here's what we do," type of book that would walk me through what it's like to be a woman living with a particular belief set and whatever goes along with those beliefs, whether that may mean going without electricity and modern conveniences or eating certain foods. What little I know of the Amish (I honestly know nothing at all about Mennonites) has been gleaned from the occasional fiction read set in an Amish community.

Homespun was really not at all what I expected it to be and for a while I was pretty much convinced I was going to abandon the book. And, then one of the essays changed my mind. The essays are divided into sections, each one written about a certain one-word topic:

• Welcome
• Abide
• Testimony
• Wonder
• Kindred
• Beloved

Those first few essays, I confess, came off as preachy to me. They didn't necessarily tell stories of "welcome" but would talk about what each woman believes "welcome" means within the context of her faith. They came off as a bit preachy. But, then I got to page 33, "On Appreciative Overnight Guests" by Linda Byler. Instead of describing her belief about the meaning of the chosen word "welcome," the author told a story about a time when one of her daughters came for a visit. It was funny, charming, and delightful. She playfully poked fun at herself in a way that's infinitely relatable.

We're supposed to be herrberg gerny: a Pennsylvania German term that means "be generous in hospitality." I certainly was. I was pious, devout, and well meaning. True, I did send our guests to bed with bombarding acorns, roaring traffic, mattresses like plywood, and a breakfast casserole that was a bit heavily salted, come to think of it. 

But it is a night that will be repeated many times. Everyone is already enjoying a good laugh about it. Hopefully it'll never be lost among the many humorous stories of our family's history. 

~p. 36

And, that was it for me. I was hooked. Yes, some of the essays are a bit on the preachy side and I'm pretty sure that in most cases I learned less from the essays than I did from reading fiction. It would have been particularly helpful to know what each woman's background was. Whether they were Amish or Mennonite was not always mentioned. It wasn't till I got to the end of the book, where each author has a brief bio, that I realized there was a place I could have flipped ahead to in order to find out which community the author hailed from.

But, some of the essays were quite informative. I particularly loved those that were closer to storytelling, in which the authors basically planted me in their shoes and went about their day. And, the "wonder" section spoke of miracles, which I always love. I was less enamored of the essays in which the essayists listed what they believed one should do to be hospitable, show love, share their testimony, or keep a household that Jesus would approve of. The book is as much inspirational as it is factual. I was looking for more of a factual read. But, in the end -- like any book written by a large number of authors -- I did find some favorites. I was particularly excited to find that there was more than one essay by Linda Byler. I'd love to read an entire book of her essays.

Recommended to a specific audience - I wouldn't particularly recommend Homespun highly to someone who was in search of a learning experience about what it means to be Amish or Mennonite. It's not a fact-based book so much as a peek into what each essayist believes a certain word to mean and how she applies that meaning to her life. But, Christians looking for inspiration and who like to read about Christian living will likely find it enjoyable and it would make a nice addition to a church library. The one thing I really learned about Amish and Mennonite women? They're not so different from the rest of us.

My copy of Homespun was provided by Audra Jennings for an I Read With Audra book tour.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Prodigal: A Ragamuffin Story by Brennan Manning and Greg Garrett

I couldn't find an image that really showed the beautiful cover of The Prodigal: A Ragamuffin Story, so I snapped my own.  Isn't the cover pretty?  

The Prodigal is a modern retelling of the Biblical story "The Prodigal Son".  Jack Chisolm is a television evangelist based in Seattle.  Known as "the people's preacher," Jack has grown a following based on the theme "We have got to do better." 

When Jack makes a very public mistake and his fall from grace is publicized nationally, the church asks him to apologize.  Instead, Jack refuses to say he's sorry or even acknowledge that he has done wrong. In response, Jack is sent packing.  His wife is paid a large sum to keep quiet and disappears with their only child while Jack returns to Mexico, where his error in judgment occurred, to drink himself into oblivion, locking himself into his hotel room. Jack has hit bottom and doesn't know where to turn when his father arrives to take him home to Texas.

Jack has not been home in ten years and has refused to take his father or sister's calls after a public embarrassment, so he's surprised to find his father willing to take him back in, scandal and all.  As Jack begins to recover from his darkest hour and ponders where he's gone wrong, he works in his father's hardware store and tries to quietly help out local people in need.  But, his notoriety follows him and there are many hurts that need to be addressed before he can move on with his life.

The central issue in The Prodigal is the same as that of the parable, a lesson that God's grace is there for us, no matter how badly we've failed, something that applies to anyone and everyone and which was apparently the common denominator in Brennan Manning's books (I've read only The Ragamuffin Gospel and it's been quite a while).

Recommended, particularly to Christian readers of all stripes. The combination of solid storytelling, a great theme and Greg Garrett's breezy writing style make The Prodigal a nice, light read with a purpose.  Jack's stubborn refusal to admit he's done anything wrong is patterned after that of Lance Armstrong but Jack is quite different.  The fictional Jack Chisolm is a man of faith and it doesn't take him a long time to realize he's made mistakes that have hurt a lot of people.  The big struggle for Jack is in accepting that he can still be forgiven and turn a hard lesson into something meaningful. He's helped along by Father Frank, a man who has himself lived through a dark time and learned from his mistakes.  I loved the fact that Jack doesn't get off the hook completely. Not everyone is willing to forgive and forget.  But, like the Biblical lesson, his father is willing to let go of past hurts and accept him as he is.  Lovely.

You can read all about the collaboration between the two authors in the interview, here:

"The Prodigal" and Brennan Manning: An Interview with Greg Garrett

Other books I've reviewed:

Crossing Myself by Greg Garrett
No Idea by Greg Garrett


©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Snow on the Tulips by Liz Tolsma

In the winter of 1945, 10 men are lined up and shot by Nazis for their part in the Dutch Resistance.  One of them survives and makes his way to a house nearby, where his wound is dressed and he is turned away.  Still bleeding, Gerrit stumbles to the home of widowed Cornelia and her brother, Johan.  Corrie doesn't know the first thing about how to treat a bullet wound, nor is she certain she can trust the local doctor, so she fetches her sister, Anki, a nurse (which leads to a secondary storyline I won't dive into).  

The Nazis have left their victims to die, but when they return to fetch the bodies and discover that one man is missing, Cornelia realizes she has put all of her family in danger.  And, when Gerrit asks her to send a message to his friends in the Resistance, her refusal will mean even more danger for Johan. But, Corrie can't bring herself to send Gerrit away; and, when she starts to feel attached to him, she fears the war will end up taking everyone she loves.

Snow on the Tulips is, at its heart, a Christian romance based on a true event.  There was a real-life Gerrit, a man who was lined up with other Dutch Resistance workers and shot, and a real-life Corrie who nursed him back to health.  But, the true story and WWII are backdrop.  Snow on the Tulips is a story about finding the courage to help others at risk of one's own life, a tale of romance, a story of faith.  

Snow on the Tulips was a "liked the idea more than the execution" read, particularly because I found the WWII scenes were often unconvincing.  There were some little oddities that didn't sit well with me.  For example, Johan is a 20-year-old guy who has managed to hide from the Nazis as they've slowly gathered all the men who are fit enough to put to work.  He's spent most of his adult life at war and he is often forced to hide beneath the house.  And, yet, he's silly and impulsive. He often acts more life a 5-year-old having a temper tantrum than a 20-year-old who has spent 25% of his life at war.  When Nazis are regularly raiding houses in his area, he is implausibly halfhearted about staying out of sight and sometimes even noisy and boisterous.  I had a little trouble both tolerating and believing in Johan. I also thought there were a few too many convenient escapes and near misses.

There were, however, a lot of realistically tense scenes and Snow on the Tulips is nicely paced, with clear writing and an excellent flow.  Writing-wise, it's good.  In spite of a little difficulty with suspension of disbelief, the pages flew.  As a WWII book, I  thought the story was weak but it was solid enough that I gave Snow on the Tulips a 3.5/5 rating at Goodreads. I would recommend Snow on the Tulips particularly to fans of romance.  

I got my copy of Snow on the Tulips via Litfuse Publicity and they're having a super giveaway. Click on the link in my sidebar to enter to win a copy of the book and a $50 Amazon gift card! 

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Cat That God Sent by Jim Kraus (the full review, this time)

The Cat That God Sent by Jim Kraus

Copyright 2013 

Abingdon Press - fiction/inspirational

336 pages

Source:  Abingdon Press, for tour

My apologies to the publishing company for the review delay.  It took me a little longer to recover from jetlag than I'm used to.  

The Cat That God Sent is about a young minister, a cat, and the people in the minister's new church.  Jake Wilkerson lost his last job because he was having a crisis of faith and when he lost his job he also lost his fiancée.  

Now, hired at Church of the Open Door in Coudersport, PA, he is a little nervous but hopeful that the new job will be a turning point in his life and ministry.  But, he's still questioning God.  

Petey is a beautiful cat who lived in a bad home and was dumped because his owner thought he'd be safer on his own.  He's roamed for a while and now he's found his own calling. God has sent him to Jake.  Petey doesn't know why Jake needs him but he knows God will find a way to make him useful.

There's also a lonely veterinarian named Emma and a young woman (teenage, as I recall -- it's been a few weeks since I finished the book) who was ditched by her boyfriend.  Forced out of the car, Tassy had little money and only a couple changes of clothing.  

Jake happily takes Petey in, when the cat selects him, and when Petey becomes a fixture in church, showing up on the same seat to listen to Jake's sermon's on Sunday, the congregation suddenly wakes up.  New people arrive to see the cat who listens to sermons.  Tassy also shows up and lives nearby.  When Tassy's secret causes Emma to flash back to her horrible past and Jake's crisis peaks, what will happen?

What I loved about The Cat That God Sent:

In spite of its flaws, which I'll get into in a bit, The Cat That God Sent is charming and touching.  I loved the characters, especially Petey.  It's the unique, funny, small-town atmosphere and the hodge-podge of nutty characters that make The Cat That God Sent special.

Petey is intuitive.  He goes where he's needed, when he's needed.  He's a very smart cat and, having had a couple of extremely sharp little kitties, I found it a lot less difficult to buy into his story than some people might.  You can think of him as the magical touch to the story  Obviously, it's a tale with a Christian theme, since it takes place in and near a church, but The Cat That God Sent is so much more than a story about a few people and a preacher in crisis.  It's a sweet story of a group of people who all have their own concerns and secrets and niggling problems with faith or something from the past that haunts them and how the cat and the preacher help everyone find their missing faith as the minister finds his own with outside help.

I actually closed this book with happy tears in my eyes.  It's funny; I wasn't sure I'd like it, at first, and then I simply fell in love.  The Cat That God Sent is a lovely, heartwarming tale I will most likely hang onto for a reread.

What I disliked about The Cat That God Sent:

When I first opened the book, I found a lot of grammatical errors were annoying me and the characters all sounded alike, at least at the beginning.  That's because the author has a bit of a writing quirk.  All of his characters (including Petey the cat) ramble.  Here's a random example:

Does Coudersport have a furniture store?  It is spring.  That means garage sales.  I guess it would be okay for a pastor to look for bargains at a garage sale.

--p. 44

That's a touch of Jake's thought process, not as rambling as many of the interior monologues, as he realizes the parsonage (a small apartment attached to the church for the minister to live in) is not well furnished so he's going to have to buy a few pieces of furniture to make his new home livable.  In that same thought process, he incorrectly uses the word "begat" instead of "beget" (wrong tense), a few sentences later.  The point is, everyone thinks like that. When you're in someone's head, regardless of who it is, that person rambles on, questioning things and answering his own questions.  It's annoying, at first, although the author makes it very clear whose head you're in.  But, as I got into the story, I began to simply not care.  I became accustomed to the style and didn't love it but wasn't bothered by it.

The Cat That God Sent charmed me; I guess that's all there is to it.  And, the further you get into the book, the more the characters become distinguished from one another.  I did have trouble with a few of the church members getting tangled up, but they weren't so prominent that it was a problem and The Cat That God Sent is a book that requires a cast on the large side.  The thoughts of those sitting in the pews are important to the book's underlying theme, about how we can find faith in the strangest of ways but it's still every bit as meaningful as if we'd been hit by a bolt of lightning and stayed faithful ever after.  

The Bottom Line:

Highly recommended - The Cat That God Sent is flawed in some ways, with plenty of grammatical errors and a quirk of the author's, making absolutely every character's thoughts ramble, but it's funny and sweet and heartwarming.  You may disagree with how you think Tassy's story should have ended (I don't) and the book is definitely a book with a Christian theme, but it's also a really enjoyable story.  Even some Christians may find it a stretch the way the minister suddenly finds his faith in the end, but I wouldn't warn anyone away from this book because it's just, flat fun.   

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Stars Shine Bright by Sibella Giorello

The Stars Shine Bright by Sibella Giorello is a book I was supposed to review for a blog tour roughly two weeks ago. Boy, did I drop the ball on that one.

I requested The Stars Shine Bright because I am absolutely in love with the Raleigh Harmon mysteries -- very odd for me, since I burned out on mysteries around a decade ago. They are all beautifully written and the latest installment is no exception.

Book Description:

In The Stars Shine Bright, FBI agent Raleigh is sent to uncover a possible race-fixing scheme at a horse track called Emerald Meadows. But, not long after Raleigh arrives, horses begin dying and Raleigh's life is threatened. Are horses being killed to fix races, or is there more to what's going on at the race track than a mere attempt at improving betting advantages?

While Raleigh rushes to find the answers before her undercover assignment time runs out, she must also deal with the growing awareness that she might just be engaged to a good man for all the wrong reasons. At the same time, Raleigh must learn to live with the hard facts of her mother's mental illness.

I never seem to manage to mark quotes in Sibella Giorello's books because I get sucked into them like the U.S.S. Enterprise gets sucked into wormholes, but you can trust me when I say Giorello's writing is absolutely stunning. Her mysteries are complex enough to satisfy without being so twisty that you find yourself feeling like you must be missing significant brain matter and her conclusions are satisfying. The main character is always getting herself into trouble and she's always in an emotional tangle, which also makes you want to continue following her to see whether she'll get herself out of the latest bind. I just love Raleigh.

One caveat: Raleigh Harmon is a Christian and Thomas Nelson is a Christian publisher. If you don't like being in the head of a Christian and can't respect her opinions, you might feel like the books are a tad preachy. I'm a Christian, myself, and I did feel like there were times The Stars Shine Bright might briefly have turned off the average mystery reader. But, I also like to look at Christian books the way I do anything else. I get just as weary of atheist characters telling me why they don't believe in a higher power, at times; but, if it's just a part of their characterization and it makes sense, no big deal. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, atheist, whatever. I'll read anything if the story is good. And, the Raleigh Harmon series rocks.

Highly recommended to mystery lovers, Christian or otherwise. The Stars Shine Bright is the 4th book in the Raleigh Harmon series. I have the first in e-book form but have not yet read it. I began with the 2nd in the series and didn't feel like I was missing anything but I do recommend reading the books in order, if possible.

Other books I've reviewed in this series:

• The Clouds Roll Away (#2 in the Raleigh Harmon series)
• The Mountains Bow Down (#3 in the series)

In other news:

I am going to try to knock out at least one review per day till I'm caught up. I have a couple children's books I haven't added to my sidebar, as well.

Cat pic of the day (pardon the moving mess):

Izzy says, "If the human doesn't bother to place all the toys in convenient locations, one must fend for herself."

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

True Courage by Steve Farrar (thoughts; not a full review)

True Courage: Emboldened by God in a Disheartening World

By Steve Farrar

Copyright 2011

David C. Cook

234 pages, incl. bibliography

I have mixed feelings about True Courage. I'm currently on page 151, so I haven't finished the book but I feel like I've read enough to talk about it. Some of the reading has already been a struggle and I'm considering just setting it aside. I almost didn't bother reading past the introduction, which I found extraordinarily negative. The comment that stopped me in my tracks:

Things will not get better and better.

They will get worse and worse.

And then the Lord Jesus will return and set it all straight forever.

--from the introduction to True Courage

I believe Jesus will return, but I don't hold a lot of stock with people who believe they can say for certain that we are living in the "end times". A lot of civilizations have fallen, world wars and ecological disasters have devastated the planet, and yet humanity has still soldiered on. We are definitely living in a time period that is turbulent. Does that mean it's the beginning of the end? Only God can say, in my humble opinion.

However, I decided that 21 pages of introduction was simply not enough to stop reading the book. I needed to give it a better chance. So, after a few days of pondering, I picked True Courage up, again. It never did make it into my sidebar and even if I finish I don't think I'll say anything more. I've read enough to know about the author's style and what he has to say to form my own reaction. You can read the first chapter of True Courage, here, to get an idea of Farrar's writing style and theme.

What I like about True Courage:

The author is good at telling stories about his own challenges, how prayer has often led to surprising results that some may even refer to as "miracles" and how he learned from them. He also shares plenty of stories about other people. I particularly liked reading about a time when Winston Churchill was so desperate to talk to evangelist Billy Graham about hope that he made the Duke of Windsor (the former King of England) wait while he spoke to Graham. In at least two cases, stories quoted from other books have been so interesting that I marked books in the bibliography for future reference. A good portion of the book refers to Daniel and his life in Babylon. I absolutely love the book of Daniel, so I've enjoyed those references.

True Courage is also fairly light reading. Steve Farrar apparently ministers mostly to men in the same way Beth Moore has a women's ministry, but you don't have to be male to enjoy his writing.

What I dislike about True Courage:

Too many catch phrases have gotten on my nerves. This is the main reason I've found the book frustrating. I have a tendency to set repetitive books aside and this author has repeated the words "acts and facts" and "flummoxed and flabbergasted" so many times I've begun to grind my teeth when I see them. Okay, not literally, but the repetition is annoying and the most common reason I tend to ditch instructional non-fiction books is heavy repetition.

However:

Having said what I like and dislike about True Courage, I've just talked myself into finishing the book. I neglected to say what it's about, although the title pretty much speaks for itself. In general, I'd say it's less about courage than faith. Daniel's faith was so strong as to be courageous, though, and Daniel's story provides the framework for the book.

The bottom line:

I would not tell anyone to avoid True Courage. While I don't agree with everything the author has to say (occasionally, in fact, there will be a statement that actually makes me a little angry) and it seems as if the author is spending a lot of time saying the same thing over and over, again, it has some solid scriptural grounding. Be forewarned that the book is very repetitive and the author does not specifically say so, but he is apparently of the camp that believes we're living in the final years of the last stage of civilization before Jesus returns.

A side note:

Given the earthquakes, tsunami, volcano, massive destruction from tornadoes and historic flooding in progress on the Mississippi River (the worst is, at this point, nowhere near us but flooding has already begun in Vicksburg) . . . well, who knows? Combine that with political upheaval and economic disaster and you do have quite a volatile mix.

In other news:

This has been quite a week in the South. I am grateful that in our area there were only downed trees and power outages -- no hits from tornadoes. My heart goes out to all of the people affected by the massive storms that spawned devastating, killer tornadoes.

Personally speaking:

We've had a sick kitty and a between various appointments, errands and little sleep from the noisy storms, it's been a pretty tiring week. Miss Fiona had half of her shots on Monday. They always hit her hard, so it's not unexpected that she's been hiding and eating very little. It's still distressing, though, to see her so sluggish. On the plus side, she's been very cuddly. During yesterday's early round of noisy storms, Fi was completely freaked out. Her response was to knock things off the bedside table. After she'd climbed across me to knock things down, several times, I picked her up and plunked her on my tummy. She immediately sank down and relaxed as I rubbed her ears and neck. Since she's not a lap cat, that was a real thrill for me.

Tomorrow's Fiona Friday pic will be from last week. I haven't taken a single picture of either cat. When she hasn't been hiding and we haven't been cast into darkness by storms, I've been out of the house. Hopefully, I'll be able to squeeze in a review or two before my Fiona Friday post.

What I'm reading:

Having unplugged for a couple of days because of the weather (I checked messages from my iPad, Petunia), I have also not updated my sidebar. In addition to The Lightkeeper's Ball, which I actually set aside for a few days, and True Courage, I've just read the intro to Till I End My Song: A Gathering of Last Poems, ed. by Harold Bloom.

This is not as ominous as it sounds -- not death-bed poetry but sometimes simply a poem that marked the final effort of a poet before he abandoned poetry or poems which, "were intended to mark the end, though the poet survived a while longer and continued to work." The editor says, ". . . knowledge, not pathos, is my purpose in gathering this anthology," and, "everything in this volume is here because of its artistic excellence." Regardless, I'm looking forward to digging in and hope to find a poem to share by Saturday.

I'm also reading the mental_floss Genius Instruction Manual for pure fun. The cover says, "Disguise Yourself as a Genius!" I don't think I'm going to be able to do that after reading the book, but maybe if I reread it a few times I'll be able to fake genius. Probably not. I live with a guy who has 3 degrees and occasionally have had to hang out in a room full of professors. I find it's best for me to just shut up, smile and nod a lot. At any rate, the mental_floss Genius Instruction Manual is good for plenty of laughs.

It's about time for a kitty fix:

Here's a picture of Isabel that makes me smile . . .

Last bit of silliness:

A thought from the husband, whose plane was diverted, yesterday, due to 30+ knot winds that caused a forced landing in August, Georgia and who is carefully watching the flood news through his workplace: "Maybe they were right about 2012 and we should lay odds the world will end." My response, "Yeah, but who exactly would be around to collect on that?"

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

High Points and Lows by Austin Carty

High Points and Lows: Life, Faith and Figuring It All Out

By Austin Carty

Copyright 2010

Plume - Nonfiction

Essays/Religion/Memoir

200 pages

Austin Carty's website

I started confiding in people close to me, telling them that I was going to forego acting and move back up to North Carolina, where I could live cheaply and focus on writing. Invariably, every one of the people I confided in told me to grow up, to get back in school and focus on getting my degree.

Everyone, that is, except my dad.

I told my old man how everyone I knew was telling me I was foolish, that I was wasting my potential and that I needed to get a degree and get a real job. Very calmly, he said something I'll never forget:

"Austin, everyone wants to tell everyone else how to live their own life."

--p. 48 of High Points and Lows

I'm going to quote the cover blurb because I think it's a good one:

In these funny and moving essays, Austin Carty traces his own stumbling journey toward adulthood and true faith, drawing on lessons from pop culture and Christianity. Whether he is failing miserably at his first real job as a [barback] nightclub gofer, explaining how Saved by the Bell has ruined our youth, or struggling to come to terms with the death of a beloved friend, Carty demonstrates how finding the courage to be ourselves is the best way to forge a genuine connection with friends, family, and God.

My thoughts:

I loved this selection of essays about Carty's personal experiences and how each of them has touched him spiritually and led to new revelations that have gradually helped him become a confident Christian and a man who is paid to speak about his faith.

I don't watch Survivor and never have -- I'm not a fan of "reality" shows -- but I was fascinated by his memories of time spent on the show and how his candid comment that he'd just had an extremely spiritual experience (while on camera) made certain people sit at attention. Suddenly, he wasn't just another contestant on Survivor. He was now known for his Christianity.

There were several times I had to look up pop culture references because Austin Carty and I are not of the same generation and at times I couldn't relate. The book speaks mostly to people of his age (maybe late 20's?) or younger, but he has a lot of interesting things to say. I'm going to let him speak for himself and make the rest of this review a series of quotes. I liked this book a lot because he cuts right through religion and pretense, to the heart of Christianity -- Christ, himself.

It is true that we all have different sacrifices we need to make in order to pursue what we really love. And it's true that some of us have tougher roads than others. But the point is not about the difficulty of the journey; it is about the power of perseverance and the spiritual reward we receive through doing what we have to do in order to keep our dreams alive.

--p. 51

But here's what I am slowly beginning to understand about Christian spirituality: it's not a debate.

There is no argument--no words, no creed, no doctrine, no nothing--that is going to convince someone that the whole Jesus thing is real. Only the Spirit of God can do that. If God is not the instigator of the conversation, then trying to convince someone about faith is like throwing darts at a brick wall.

--85

I imagine a menacing red devil with pointy horns and a swirling, dark chocolate beard standing before his demon minions, pronouncing, "I have figured out how to get them, boys. It's called credit!"

Credit is a deadly seducer promising instant gratification while leaving us with an ever-growing mountain of debt that renders us incapable of enjoying what we've already purchased. Its hook is that it allows us a brief moment of vanity. Thanks to credit, we can buy flashy things we don't need, to impress people we don't care about.

I'm trying my best to be done with materialism, and I owe it to having finally figured out who Jesus is.

For years I understood the God of the Bible as being in the business of financially rewarding those who diligently seek him. One can't totally fault me for this logic: in the last decade there has been a huge push in pop-Christian circles to paint God as some sort of Morgan Stanley portfolio manager who answers people's prayers for cash and success. With the phenomenal success of books like The Prayer of Jabez, and with wealthy pastors from megachurches seemingly representing proof of God's favor, it has become very easy for twenty-first-century Christians to indulge the idea of God as Santa Claus.

--pp. 90-91

It is my experience that if you don't feel like you know Jesus, church is intimidating. It seems like everyone in the building is looking right through you, that they are all judging you and thinking you're full of crap. Feeling like an outsider at church is not really any different from feeling like an outsider among peers or in society. There's no real difference between feeling foolish in a fraternity for being a virgin and feeling foolish in a church for not being able to find Philemon in the Bible. Both situations make you feel left out and insecure. That's why understanding the difference between going to church and knowing Jesus is so important--if Jesus isn't the reason for being there, the church is just another social club, a boring one with strict rules.

--pp. 184-185

The bottom line:

I definitely recommend High Points and Lows. It's fascinating, thought-provoking, at times deeply moving. The essays are kind of a hodge-podge but they all circle around the same theme and I really enjoyed reading Carty's thoughts on Christianity. I'd love to hear him speak.

In other news:

Things are blooming like crazy, down here, so I've decided to return to posting pics of things that are blooming in my sidebar, when I've got anything new worth sharing. My sidebar is so crammed that you have to page down a bit. Sorry about that. I think it means I need to stop reading 6 or 7 books at a time.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Angel Harp by Michael Phillips (DNF)

Angel Harp

by Michael Phillips

Copyright 2011

FaithWords - Fiction

464 pages

(DNF)

I loved the description of Angel Harp: A 40-year-old widow travels to Scotland after realizing she has gradually let her dreams slip away. Intent on trying to recapture the dreams of her younger days and live her life before it's too late, she sets aside three weeks to travel where her heart leads her and eventually settles on staying in a small village.

While living in the village, she becomes swept up in a love triangle involving the local curate and the local duke, which seems to be a repeat of a love triangle that happened in the past. The villagers also become fond of her as she becomes known as the "Harp Lady" and is asked to play or give lessons by various villagers.

Unfortunately, I only made it to page 74 of Angel Harp. My problem? The book was written mainly as internal monologue. The narrator, Marie Buchan, plays the harp and gives lessons. But, almost everything that occurs is internal. Only short bursts of dialogue are interspersed within pages and pages of Marie thinking about her life, her music, and her lost dreams, pondering Scotland and eavesdropping a little, then -- when she meets two people who intrigue her -- wondering how she can get to know a young girl who may be a savant and what's up with that red-headed curate.

I flipped ahead to see if the pattern of lengthy narrative with only occasional dialogue continued and found that it appeared that the dialogue picks up a little, but the book is still heavily narrative-based and internal. It was just too much narrative for me. As I've said repeatedly, I like plenty of action -- even if action simply involves interesting conversations and emotional entanglements, as in a Jane Austen novel. There was simply not enough happening to keep my interest.

Angel Harp is an "inspirational" novel, but at the point I stopped Marie was a former Christian reflecting upon how she'd given up her faith. The curate had told her her beautiful harp music came from God, then convinced her to play in an empty 12th-century church. It was a little confusing on the God front. Marie was raised a Christian and it's not clear exactly when she gave up her faith but her husband was not a believer and it sounds like she became frustrated with church members trying to pray him into belief and worrying aloud about her being "yoked" to a nonbeliever. Then, when he died that sealed the deal. When she describes herself as "not a church person", it's a little hard to reconcile that with her past, as it unfolds. She has no real reason to be wary of playing in church. It's not an unfamiliar setting.

I guess I'd recommend this to people who like a lengthy inspirational romance set in Scotland and don't mind narrative dominating the story. I craved more interaction with people and became impatient with the book quite early on. When it didn't seem to pick up, I set it aside unfinished and I don't plan to give it a second try. You can read a free chapter of Angel Harp to decide for yourself.

My thanks to FaithWords for the review copy.

It's been a long time since I went to Scotland -- 35mm film days! So, I have no shots of Scotland. Instead, you get a picture of Ireland from the air. Hmm. Close enough. See the road leading to something by the cliffs? I like to imagine that's the ruins of a castle. The photo is poor quality, so I can't tell, even when I zoom in on it. But, my romantic side likes to imagine castle ruins by those cliffs, a cold wind off the sea and and couple who just happen to meet as they stand near the ruins, wishing to find love.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore

So Long, Insecurity: you've been a bad friend to us
By Beth Moore
Copyright 2010
Tyndale House Publishers - Christian Nonfiction
352 pages, incl. brief notes

Insecurity is more than a complex emotion. It is a lie about our God-sanctioned condition. While something may cause us to feel sad, confused, angry, or threatened, we have the power to choose whether or not it gets to assault our security. When we decide to be strong willed about what God strongly wills, that, beloved, is the epitome of empowerment. The next time someone says or does something to you that has the capacity to dent your security, instantly think of one of these thoughts toward that person:

--You can hurt my feelings, but you cannot have my security. I won't let you. It's mine to keep. You cannot have it.
--You can criticize me and even be right about what I did wrong, but you do not get to damage my security. It's mine to keep. You cannot have it.
--You might have embarrassed me, but I refuse to let it fall on me so heavily that it smothers my security. It's mine to keep. You cannot have it.
--You may be so intimidating and threatening that I feel I have to hand a lot of things to you, but I refuse to hand over my security. Who you are doesn't get to dwarf who I am. My security is mine to keep. You cannot have it.

I read So Long, Insecurity several weeks ago and simply have been busy and distracted, hence the delayed post. You can read a preview chapter from So Long, Insecurity, here. I thought the book got off to a slow start, but once the author got past a good deal of introductory material about how she came to write the book and why she believes it's such an important topic, I was rather stunned at how meaningful the material was.

One of my favorite parts, on pp. 37-38, in which she lists some "false positives". She starts with a fill-in-the-blank:

"You know, _________, people who don't know you really well would never be able to imagine that you struggle with insecurity. After all . . . "

This sentence leads into a full page of examples, such as:

. . . you're married to the most fabulous man in the world."

Prominent false positive: A great man would make me secure.

. . . you're gorgeous! I'd give anything to see that in the mirror!"

Prominent false positive: Beauty would make me secure.

I think we all can say that at some point someone has told us they assumed our lives are perfect because of one false impression or another, so that resonated with me. As I was reading those "false positives", I thought of myself but I also often thought of friends who fit into each category. I know, for example, a drop-dead gorgeous woman who is stunningly insecure. The fact that she's beautiful really has nothing at all to do with her self-image.

Moore goes on to describe how women become insecure in the first place and she describes a number of scenarios that had never occurred to me. I felt like I learned a surprising amount about other females -- for example, why some women go out barely dressed in provocative clothing and high heels to places where they're asking for trouble. I never understood that mentality or the fact that it stems from insecurity, sometimes from acting out after sexual abuse. Nor had I heard the male viewpoint about women and their self-confidence or insecurity, which she asked for and repeated verbatim from their emails. It was utterly fascinating.

I thought this book was amazing. It's made me think twice about my inner dialogue, in recent weeks, and I'm planning to save it for at least one reread and pass it around to some friends.

4/5 - Solid, Christian self-help, directed specifically at women (but men could certainly learn from it, as well). Christianity is not a prerequisite for reading this book, but there is plenty of Bible scripture and Beth Moore is a Christian minister/speaker/writer, so those who are not Christian should go into it expecting the author's suggestions to be based on the Bible and Christian beliefs.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bookfool in Green (but, actually, it's moss green)

God Sightings: The One Year Bible in NLT (review)

God Sightings: The One Year Bible
New Living Translation
Tyndale House Publishers
God Sightings Website
1396 pages . . . and I'm not finished

I'm going to go ahead and review what I've read of the God Sightings Bible because it's obviously going to take all year to read it. God Sightings is a Bible divided into 365 daily readings. It comes in different versions, apparently, but I got a copy of the New Living Translation for review.

The God Sightings Bible is not a chronological Bible but a Bible with a unique character in that it's got several readings from different parts of the Bible for each day. In addition to each day's Old Testament reading (in the order of a typical Bible), there's a passage from the New Testament, a passage from Psalms and a passage from Proverbs. I think this Bible is particularly great for people who have already read the Bible from front to back or in chronological order because it's a little less dull than reading straight through.

However, since I tried to read a chronological Bible, last year, and failed (I think because I was also taking Bible studies and doing reviews, I had just a bit too much on my plate) I decided to read not only the God Sightings Bible but another version, the Daily Bible, and compare the two. The Daily Bible I've got is a New International Version and it has some added "devotional insights". It's interesting reading them side-by-side because I've discovered that reading two versions at once is really helpful. Sometimes a passage that isn't clear in one version is plain in another. And, I do like the extra insights, although I've found that the God Sightings Bible is the more readable of the two and there've actually been some errors in the added material in the Daily Bible -- nothing major, but I wouldn't have caught them if not for the fact that I was reading two Bibles at once.

There's a companion guide to the God Sightings Bible, a website (link at the top of this post) where you can discuss the daily readings with other readers, and many churches are meeting to discuss the readings weekly as a Bible study. My church is doing so, but I opted to read on my own. I may change my mind. The great thing about this particular study is that you can dive in any time if you're caught up on the readings since everyone will be at the same place at the same time; and, particularly if you use the website, you don't have to worry about feeling like you're barging in.

As a side, note, there is no additional commentary in the God Sightings Bible. So, if you have no need for study helps or find them distracting, the lack of interruptions can be an added benefit.

When I first received my copy and flipped through it, I asked what the point of this version is and I got an excellent answer from publicist Audra Jennings of B & B Media Group. Audra said the intent is to help see God as "active in our daily lives". The companion guide helps with that. You don't necessarily need to be in a group or meet with people online, but I think it probably is a better idea than reading on your own. Each week, there's something specific to watch for in your daily life. In Week 1, for example, I believe it was "new beginnings" -- a great subject for focus at the beginning of a new year.

I'm not going to give this Bible a numeric rating, in part because I'll be reading it for another 10 1/2 months, but I am truly enjoying the daily readings and highly recommend it, especially to those who are looking for a way to read the entire Bible without getting bogged down in the Old Testament. The mixture of Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs is really refreshing. I've always had a problem with what I call "all those begats" but I'm actually getting through them and not bored. There's a guide for leaders of groups, as well, although I haven't seen it.

My thanks to Audra Jennings of B & B Media for the review copy!

In other news:

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

For our Valentine's Day, we're doing housework!! My husband had blocked off the path to my swap shelf and I managed to both forge a path to the shelf and throw out a lot of junk that was lying in the way. Amazing how papers accumulate if you don't keep up with them. The guys are out and about, right now, so I'm about to curl up to finish The Last Surgeon by Michael Palmer.

We had a really stressful week because of a personal issue and the kiddo's illness, but the snow ended things on a high note and hopefully our "issue" has been resolved. Only time will tell. Kiddo has completely recovered from his stomach virus and is very, very happy not to be sick. He seldom gets ill, so he was just plain angry at the universe. It's nice to see him back to his old, happy self.

Are you doing anything special for Valentine's Day?

Alcohol Today: Abstinence in an Age of Indulgence by Peter Lumpkins (thoughts)

Alcohol Today by Peter Lumpkins
Copyright 2009
Hannibal Books - Christian (nonfiction)
176 pages

I'm just halfway into this book and not sure if I'll continue to read, so I'm going to go ahead and post my thoughts. The author advocates total abstinence from alcohol as opposed to drinking in moderation and the book is about why he thinks abstinence is the Biblically correct choice.

A few days ago, I mentioned that I think the language makes this book self-limiting because it's written in what I would call "preacher-speak", the language of someone who has been to seminary and knows some theological terminology that isn't naturally known to a wider audience. Last night, I took the time to check for a glossary and there is one, but the word I was looking for, hermaneutics, was not in the glossary.

I looked it up online because I'm a curious chick:

Biblical hermaneutics - refers to the study of the interpretation of written texts, especially texts in the areas of literature, religion and law. (Wikipedia)

Actually, the word itself gives you an idea of what kind of territory the book covers. While at this point (page 76), the author hasn't directly referred to any scriptures that pertain to abstinence from alcohol, his opinion/interpretation is that the Bible is a completely and wholly accurate expression of God's wishes for His people. I'm probably saying that wrong, but the author is a Bible purist, as opposed to someone who believes that some scripture -- like the story of Adam and Eve -- is not strictly historical but more along the lines of mythology to explain early events. The author believes that scripture can answer all questions, even about topics that are not directly described because of the time period in which it was written.

Abortion and cloning are some examples of current topics the author mentions that are not specifically discussed in the Bible because of the time period, but to which he believes the answers of whether or not they're morally acceptable can be inferred from Biblical scripture based on what we know of right and wrong. This is tricky territory. I don't typically share my opinion of what I believe about such things outside my family because they're such hot-button topics and, in my opinion, rather private to the individual.

So . . . back to the book. Because the language is a bit tiresome, the book is a slow read. I do think there are some very interesting sections although, in general, I'm not finding the book as illuminating as I'd hoped. I enjoyed reading about America's Prohibition Period, in particular. The author reminds us that Prohibition is commonly thought of as a total failure. That was certainly my understanding, but he has dredged up some statistics showing that it was actually a success in that fewer people drank alcohol and the troubles that go with alcohol consumption (abuse, fights, accidents) also dropped.

But why abstinence rather than moderation? Well, I haven't gotten to a point at which he actually describes how he's inferred that abstinence is preferable. If you're interested in a glimpse of the author's writing style, check out the sneak peek chapter in my previous post. The author has shared his own story, which obviously informs his own opinion. He grew up in a large, impoverished family and his father always had a beer in his hand. The author started sneaking sips of his father's beer as a very young child and, eventually, drank himself into a drunken state on a daily basis -- while he was still quite young.

Why was I interested in this book? Because I don't drink and I guess I was looking for a better reason than, "Alcohol tastes disgusting." Although, to be honest, I have several reasons. By the time I went off to college, I knew I would never drink heavily because of my migraines. If you've lived with intense headaches for many years, it makes sense not to do anything that will give you a bad headache and everyone's heard of hangovers by the time they get through high school. I wasn't interested in taking myself any further into headache territory. My family was also friends with a man whose alcoholism literally ruined his life and then killed him.

However, the author hasn't convinced me that there's anything wrong with moderation -- yet. In fact, I think this passage reflects an irrational assumption:

. . . to limit the biblical record's application to simply "wine" or even alcoholic beverages for that matter neglects the much larger and desperately needed application to an endless parade of intoxicants whose primary purpose is identical to "wine" -- stimulating pleasure. Incidentally, once again we must remind ourselves, unlike the ancients who necessarily consumed grape products specifically for survival, those lobbying for moderately consuming intoxicants today in the form of drinking distilled wines, beers, and other alcoholic beverages are lobbying for consumption distinctively driven by pleasure alone.

My father would have disagreed with that statement. He had a collection of pretty little crystal wine glasses about 2" deep and each night he sipped about an inch-and-a-half of wine, merely because he read that it was good for his heart. Not everyone drinks for pleasure alone, although I'm certain my father also found his evening wine relaxing.

If you're interested in this topic, I definitely suggest that you read the sneak peek chapter before purchasing this book, simply because I found the writing so heavy that I'd recommend checking it out before buying. I can't rate it, not having reached the end, but I do wish the author had referred to some scripture by this point.

One Simple Act by Debbie Macomber (review)

One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity
by Debbie Macomber
Copyright 2009
Howard Books - Christian/Generosity/NF
216 pages

I'm not sure what possessed me to acquire One Simple Act for review, but I'm guessing it was the author's name. I love Debbie Macomber's charming, upbeat romantic fiction and probably thought it would be interesting to read her thoughts on generosity.

Good decision. The topic sounds a little strange, but Macomber is a natural storyteller and there is nothing dry or dull about One Simple Act. She tells stories of her own experiences, good and bad, to illustrate how someone made her day with a small gesture or could have made her childhood easier with a little encouragement (and how the reader can do so). Macomber also tells a lot of stories about friends who have found ways to give of themselves and how those gifts have come back to them, making them feel happier and more fulfilled.

Debbie Macomber is a Christian, so there are plenty of Bible references in One Simple Act and she devotes a final chapter to scriptures about generosity: "Giving God the Last Word."

There's a lot more to this book than I want to go into, but one of my favorite stories was the tale of Richard Paul Evans -- how he wrote his story, The Christmas Box, for family and eventually sold several thousand self-published copies as word of mouth about the story spread. Eventually, word about his story led to a contract and widespread publication. His first royalty check was $4 million. What would you do with a $4 million royalty check? I had to think about that because I was totally impressed with what Evans did. He didn't want all that money to corrupt him, so he prayed about what he should do with the money and came up with an answer. He built a facility for at-risk children, complete with dentist, classrooms, private rooms for children and a medical facility.

I hope I'd allow God to lead my heart in such a direction if I were to ever come into that kind of money. There are a lot more stories like Evans', but there's plenty of focus on the little things one can do to be kind. This is very much a "pay it forward" kind of philosophy.

4/5 - I loved the ideas and anecdotes in this book, the way Macomber seamlessly included appropriate verses. I had to read it in small chunks, as I often do with nonfiction but that's not a negative statement about the book. If you're looking for thoughts on how you can be a more giving and happier person, this is a great little book.

No Idea by Greg Garrett

No Idea: Entrusting Your Journey to a God who Knows by Greg Garrett

Copyright 2009

David C. Cook - Memoir/Christian

220 pages, incl. notes

I read Greg Garrett's first memoir, Crossing Myself, because the promotional material for No Idea sounded fantastic but one book precedes the other and I wanted to understand where Garrett was coming from. Here's how he describes the two:

In my first spiritual autobiography, Crossing Myself, I wrote about my lifelong battle with life-threatening depression, how it almost got me, but how through faith and community, I came to a place where I decided I would go on living.

In this book . . . my editor wants me to write about what comes next.

Once you've decided that you're going to live--no mean feat for some of us--how do you figure out what you're supposed to do with that life?

I'm not sure this book actually helped me to discern any sense of direction for myself, but I enjoyed reading the second part of the author's journey. In the first book, Garrett came to the decision that he was being called to be a priest. Several years have passed; he's completed his studies at seminary (while teaching at Baylor) and, in spite of his conviction that he's received a calling, he has not been ordained -- he's done all the requirements for ordination, but he hasn't been through the laying on of hands that gives one the title "priest" or "minister". He can minister in every way except the giving of the sacraments.

But I have come to believe that, as God sees the world, there are no mistakes; everything that happens is a part of a larger plan.

That particular comment has to do with the fact that Garrett's three divorces have kept him from the final step to official priesthood, although he's able to minister. There were two parts of No Idea that I found particularly moving. In one section, Garrett describes his time working as a hospital chaplain. Part of his job as a hospital chaplain involved being with families as a loved one is dying and then praying with and comforting them after the death. Often, he was called to the hospital because the nurses knew someone wasn't going to make it, but it was not his place share that the doctors were expecting imminent death. Instead, he was called in to be present and pray with families after their loss.

I guess this part really moved me because I've been on the grieving end a few too many times, already. Garrett had not, at this point, ever experienced the loss of someone close, but he appeared to do his best to be sensitive and caring. I spent this entire chapter mopping up tears and found myself wishing I could tell him how much a chaplain's presence meant to me when my family and I had nothing else to do but hope and pray for a quick end to suffering. Every little word of encouragement and every offer to pray makes a difference.

I also found Garrett's anecdotes about a homeless person who occasionally dropped by for a handout very touching. But, what I love most about Greg Garrett's writing is his unflinching honestly about the Bible, religion, and the people of the church.

I've resisted letting the Scripture speak to me as insight into God on a regular basis. And I'll confess that I've done this mostly because I haven't liked the way Scripture has been used on and around me in my life, the way others have read it in bits and pieces that corresponded to their worldviews, the way they have read those particular bits literally and focused on the things with which they agreed and ignored the things they didn't.

How can people of faith make the Bible an important part of their lives despite all the ways it's been read and misread, used and misused over the centuries?

We have to start with an understanding that what the Bible has to say is not just what its primary advocates in our culture think it has to say. And reading it in a way that pulls those other things--peace, justice, love, forgiveness, reconciliation, radical faith, daily practice--back to the forefront.

That's the kind of comment Garrett frequently makes in both books. He talks about his frustrations with the church but, at the same time, you understand that the lack of perfection of the church is no longer enough to drive him away. It did so, at one point, and he returned. I think a lot of us can relate to those frustrations; in fact, it seems like the flaws of church bodies, the interpretation and misinterpretation of scripture, and other discomforts with the church are popping up in spiritual nonfiction quite a bit, these days. A lot of us are believers, but can't seem to find our place in the believing world, in other words.

I love Greg Garrett's writing. The subtitle sounds a little like it's a "how-to" and I don't think you can look at it that way; it's more of an autobiographical account of how one man has taken his faith and put it to work. I truly enjoy reading about his experiences, frustrations, and his thoughts on Christianity. Both books are fascinating, moving reads that I highly recommend. I do advise reading them in order and I'm glad I managed to get my hands on a copy of his first book.

Many thanks to Audra of B & B Media for my copy of No Idea.

Nano update: Stuck at 13,297 words. I don't like my story at all. While I do think the idea is great and has a lot of potential, it's just not the kind of book that lends itself to being pounded out quickly, in my humble opinion. So, I'm meditating on whether to continue or to go ahead and switch stories at Day 9. Rough decision. I'm going to sleep on it. Feel free to pummel me with opinions.

Reading update: I hastily read Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix on Friday and enjoyed it till the end, at which point I thought her explanation for the mystery was a little wanting. However, it's the first in a series and I'd like to continue on to the next book. So, I was rather horrified to find that the second book, Sent, will not be released in paperback until August of 2010. Argh! I don't want to mix hardbacks and paperbacks, so I'll wait.

Also just finished: $20 Per Gallon by Christopher Steiner. Having finished the review of No Idea, that means I'm still 5 reviews behind. The other 4 finished books: Found by Haddix, A Climate for Change by Hayhoe and Farley (I'll post a sneak peek chapter, tomorrow, just because I loved it so much), The Bible Salesman by Clyde Edgerton, and Pretties by Scott Westerfeld.

To be honest, I'd rather bury myself in books than write. Go ahead. Chew me out. I'm used to it. :)

The Mosaic Bible - just arrived

I just received a copy of the Mosaic Bible in New Living Translation to review for Tyndale House, a few days ago, and have finally managed to crack the cover to read about it. It has just been released today and you can buy a copy at Amazon for a mere $20.24.

The "mosaic" bit has to do with the fact that this Bible is composed of more than just the Biblical text. A third of the book is devoted to scripture readings, meditations and beautiful artwork. There are some spaces to write your thoughts in that section and the paper is heavier than traditional Bible paper so that if you do write in it you won't poke holes in the paper.

The remainder of the Bible is the full text in NLT and the usual, delicate pages. It has a center column with cross-references, but it's not a study Bible with a lot of explanatory notes. Instead, there's just the text with that narrow column of references. I can see how useful that will be because I took a study Bible to my Bible study on Sunday and that was a mistake. For every day reading, it's great, but when you're simply trying to look up specific scriptures, all those explanatory notes really get in the way. I had a terrible time flipping to the correct scriptures before Beth Moore finished talking about them on the video we were watching.

Point being, I'm really excited about this Bible because it's something I can use right now. I'm going to do a full review, later on, when I've had some time to use it. I did read one of the meditations and looked up scriptures, this morning, and I liked the reading -- love, love, love the beautiful artwork in this book.

In other news: Kiddo is home briefly, icing down his shoulder after a cortisone shot. We'll be returning to school in a few minutes. I had to have his help getting my computer to work because I unplugged a few too many doohickeys during last night's noisy storm and then couldn't figure out where to plug everything back in. My life is so funny. I'll approve messages and reply to them after school.

Wishing everyone a peachy day!

Bookfool on the run