Book Review : The 13th Tribe by Robert Liparulo

I joined a blogger program to receive, read and review books. Great. Free books.

I began to read Robert Liparulo's book, "The 13th Tribe".  Great.  Christian Fiction. Suspense. Page turning adventure.

Then I moved and began a season of extreme busyness by taking care of many children.  Great.

But...not so productive when it comes to following through on an agreement to finish a book and review it.

Now I've moved again. Now I can review again.  Now I will review a book I finished months ago.

I chose Robert Liparulo's book because I am a fan of Ted Dekker's and have enjoyed his variety of fiction styles. I especially enjoy the pace of each of his books that keeps you wondering and longing to read more.  If I was a person to stay up all night...I would read his books all night long. Liparulo's book was recommended by Ted Dekker and seemed to be reminiscent of the suspense, intrigue and thought provoking reading I was used to with Dekker.

The 13th Tribe is definitely a page turner and is full of twists and adventure. Through a supernatural tribe of immortal beings that have been around since the time of Moses, the reader is drawn into a familiar path of mortal desires, longings and failures. Lives that were designed to worship God, that were supposed to love and follow Him, took a path that lead them away from the very love they sought.  Their hearts were darkened and unable to see the truths of God right before them. 

I found the story very engaging and intriguing. I was touched by the (mortal and immortal) character's searching for God and reminded of the many who are seeking, but become encumbered by personal desires that overshadow their search. They end up down the wrong path leading them to separation from the one person who can fulfill their deepest need.

Personally, I am a bit uncomfortable with the premise of this immortal tribe coming directly from the Bible because it makes me feel like the author is adding something to the Bible.  I highly doubt it is the author's intent, nevertheless, it gave me some uneasiness.  Yet, I find that the book is not spiritually deep and not intended as a theological allegory, but rather a means to share an interesting story while imparting interesting thought provoking ideas about seeking God and following His path, not our own.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely read another of Liparulo's fiction titles. 

Note: This review is based off of a complementary copy of the book from the Booksneeze program with the intent of reading and reviewing it. 

Book Review : The Love & Respect Experience : A Husband-Friendly Devotional that Wives Truly Love

A generally good book for spouses willing to work on and improve their marriage.

Emerson Eggerichs best-selling and life changing book “Love & Respect” has been followed by the book “The Language of Love and Respect: Cracking the Communication Code with Your Mate” and now a Love & Respect devotional tailored to be enjoyable for both husbands and wives.  This lovely imitation-leather bound book is a great addition and can be beneficial in keeping the concepts learned from the book and / or seminars alive and worked out in marriage.  

Wives are generally more interested in reading a devotional book with their spouse, as they are more likely to desire the emotional connection that comes from doing so.  Dr. Eggerichs purposed to tailor this book more towards men with the thought that the wives would follow along.  He cautions the wives in their expectations after first encouraging husbands.  This is followed by suggestions for using the devotional book on your own terms.  Rather than 365 devotions to complete every day for a year, he recommends going through at your own pace and provides a variety of suggestions such as; reading it together or separately and taking notes, using Insights for discussion starters, and so on.  My husband and I decided to take one chapter and read it repeatedly for a few nights until we were ready to move on.  This gave us the opportunity to let the concepts stick a little better and perhaps think of new ways to act it out.

I have read, and thoroughly enjoyed, the “Love & Respect” book.  My husband and I also attended the DVD seminar through our church.  Both were great and I would go through them again as a refresher.  As a result, I found the devotional something handy for the purposes of continuing to practice the concepts taught.  Had I not read the book or gone to the seminar, I might have found the information to touch lightly on subjects that really need further coverage.  The intent is surely more to encourage spouses to follow the principles and to see the blessings of them in a marriage.  It should be noted that while the book discusses biblical principles and each chapter begins with a scripture passage as a theme, it is not a book that delves deeply into scripture by any means.

Primarily, I believe this book is helpful for someone who is willing to look at the part they have to play in a marriage and consider changes of their own.  If both spouses are willing to work at their marriage, the concepts presented here are foundational and potentially life changing. If your marriage is already rocky, I do think that reading the book and working through the devotional book, on your own, could be of great benefit  as well because we all have something we could improve on and areas in our life that need Christ to a deeper degree.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review : When the Hurt Runs Deep - Healing and Hope for Life's Desperate Moments by Kay Arthur

When the Hurt Runs Deep: Healing and Hope for Life’s Desperate Moments
by Kay Arthur

    When I think of someone trying to bring hope during times of another’s great distress, I tend to anticipate trite words and an inability to connect with the sufferer and understand real deep pain and heartache.  Maybe it’s because I’ve seen several well-meaning people say things to hurting friends or acquaintances that don’t bring any real hope or healing to a situation.   Because of this, when I speak to others to encourage them in tough situations I am conscientious to consider their pain as very real and something I may or may not be able to relate to.  I don’t always know what to say either, but when I can relate to the person and/or to the situation, it makes the conversation much more meaningful.  In addition, it brings about great opportunities to share how Christ has worked in my heart to heal me and how He continues to be my source of peace and strength during challenging times.   In this book, readers get a glimpse of Kay Arthur’s personal life and the pains she has experienced.   She connects with the reader and you get the sense that she shares from the heart.        

     More importantly than sharing her own stories, Kay takes the reader through the experiences of several figures in the Bible (such as Joseph and Job and of course Jesus).  By sharing their experiences we can see examples of others who suffered real neglect, betrayal, abandonment, injustice etc.  We can also see how God works and what that means for us as believers.  Throughout the book the reader will learn more of God, what His Word says and how to find real hope.

       Two things stood out to me the most in reading this book.  The first was the sheer amount of scripture and the ability Kay has to draw the reader to a deeper and closer relationship with a loving Creator. She even takes a chapter to address the question many have when they experience suffering or think of others in dire circumstances, that is “What kind of God allows our pain?”   Kay Arthur is a well-known teacher of God’s Word and one that teaches by getting students to mark words, phrases, names, locations and other things in scripture passages.  This method helps to bring out various points a reader may have missed and help to get deeper in God’s Word.  Her writing in this book is well done as she is able to focus on the topic, yet weave in times to get out your Bible’s and start marking!   If you wish to make the book a personal or small group study, there is a study guide in the back as well.

     The second thing that stood out was the little boxes interspersed throughout the book for Healing Truths.  These are great summaries of the information she shares as well as great reminders and words of encouragement.  At the end of the book she lists these all together.  It would be great to print these off with some scripture and post them somewhere where I will read them often.  Hmmm….

     Finally, I love that after the study guide, at the very end of the book, Kay has included several pages of practical helps.  Sometimes we can know the spiritual things, but we miss taking practical steps to get us through painful times.  I hope and pray with Kay that her book, and the Lord’s Word, minister to the hearts of many who are hurting.

NOTE : This book was received free of charge by Waterbrook Multnomah for the purposes of a review through their Blogging for Books program.

Book Review : Living Life in the Zone : A 40-Day Spiritual Game Plan by Kyle Rote Jr. & Dr. Joe Pettigrew

Buy or Preview Living Life in the Zone

Living Life in the Zone is an easy to read book that provides short snippets of encouragement and challenges to men in a number of aspects of daily living. These are provided as short chapters utilizing various sports analogies and terms that should make the information easily relatable and readable for many men. For those who are put off by the thought of a heavy study in theology, yet recognize their need for personal spiritual growth, this book may fit their needs and may even provide a spring board for further study, prayer and growth.

Though I am not a sports fan, or male, I find that the regular format used for each chapter will really help to draw in many men who otherwise would not pick up a non-fiction book. Most chapters are about 6-8 pages in length and provide an appropriate introduction to each topic followed by scripture to support the message, examples from other lives (mostly prominent sports figures) and personal challenges for further introspection.

When first provided with the opportunity to read this book, courtesy of Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze review program, my initial reaction was that it would be a book filled with little more than words on paper. However, I have come to find great value in this book and believe it has a purpose that could serve to minister to the hearts of many men. My prayer is that it would speak to men in such a way as to inspire them towards further study and growth with their Lord. In fact, I hope that it will be made available in an affordable audio CD solution so that those who are resistant to reading or strained for time will be able to benefit from the guidance and direction offered by Mr. Rote and Dr. Pettigrew.

"Julie & Julia" sort of a movie review from a mom & fellow self-learner

Rarely do I get out to see a movie. Even rarer is it a new movie where I fork over anything over $1. Today's matinee was $7 to see "Julie & Julia" with some friends. The money was worth it, for the chance to get out with some lady friends and to see a decent movie. Not fabulous, but decent.

Amy Adams portrays Julie Powell, a woman who decided to cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook "Masting the Art of French Cooking" in one year. A monumental task that I give Julie great kudos for. As much as I want to try new recipes and improve upon my culinary skills, or lack thereof, I'm not sure I'll ever try many of Julia's recipes. Well, except for perhaps the Bouef Bourguignon and the Buerre Blanc!

Meryl Streep does an incredible job at playing Julia Child. There were many scenes that had me laughing and chuckling throughout the movie and they all centered around Julia's personality characterized wonderfully by Meryl.

It's a foodie movie. It's a bit of a chick flick and it's yet another movie that has me saying, "Why?" Well, I'll explain that part later.

So the movie goes back and forth between Julie Powell who lives in Queen's, NY in 2002 & Julia Child, primarily in France, during the late 1940's and on for the next decade. Julie decides to go through Julia's cookbook in a year and blog about it. Julia Child begins to learn to cook because she loves food. Julie is obsessed with the task at hand and as she goes through the year she feels closer and closer to the Julia Child. Julia out-cooks the men at Le Cordon Bleu, begins to teach Americans to cook French food and works on a coookbook with two other women.

Julie appears to have a great husband who supports her through the whole process, though they have one fight resulting in his walking out for what seems to be a couple of days. When Julie realizes she has been self absorbed and not too nice she blog it, he reads it and he comes back. Julia Child meanwhile appears to have the perfect playful and loving marriage with Paul. They support and love each other through everything and she is truly the epitome of the phrase "full of life."

What is the point of the movie? Mostly just a feel good showing of two people's lives and how they found purpose through the love of food and cooking. Well, that's my take anyway. However, I was encouraged to be more supportive and loving to my own husband. It was encouraging to see the love and fun in the Child's relationship and to see Julie recognize her behavior as not so nice to her husband. May we all recognize how our attitudes and behavior affect others and be encouraged to be more gracious, loving and forgiving.

So, why the "Why?" WHY does Hollywood persist to throw in curse words and add sexual references in movies, especially one like this? Seriously, it was like having them thrown in like a dash of salt. But salt is supposed to bring out the best in food. In many cases, like this film, it ends up being more like acid in cream. It just boggles my mind why anyone feels the need to do that. Those who would get offended, like me, will be offended. Those that wouldn't, wouldn't care if it wasn't there. So who benefits?

I'd love to add films like this to Christian Home Library but I don't feel I can because of a few curse words, sexual references and a couple scenes where the kisses went further...and the camera followed. To remove these would have shaved maybe a minute or two from the film and I could then put the upcoming DVD on our shelves. Not so now.

By the way, before seeing the movie I looked up Julie Powell's most recent blog. She admits to being foul mouthed and she is...frequently. I didn't get very far with it as a result and I don't recommend it.

FINDING MEANING IN LIFE. Part of the underlying theme for the movie is Julie's search for meaning in life. It seems that with a book deal and a movie, she is still looking for meaning. Unless she finds out how much Jesus loves her and cares about her every minute of every day, until she calls out to the very one who Created her to be a masterpiece and testimony of His love, she won't ever find that meaning. No one will.

Psalm 8: 3-4 "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"

Romans 5: 6-8 "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

TO JULIE - HE cares for you more than anyone; any editor, any man, any food, any star. May the most creative and capable lover and creator be revealed to you and may you find the meaning your life was meant to have.