If God is Good...

I don't want to put it down, but I have to. I am only a tenth of the way through. There is just so much my brain can absorb and digest at one time!

Randy Alcorn has written a thought-provoking treatise, tackling the age old question: "If God is good, why is there suffering and evil?" He challenges us to see spiritually the big picture of who God is and what He is doing in the world.

A few gems gleaned so far from If God is Good...

• "Believing God exists is not the same as trusting the God who exists." (pg. 12)
• "...most evangelical churches have failed to teach people to think biblically about the realities of evil and suffering." (pg. 14)
• God did not say trusting in Him would ward off all evil and suffering (pg. 38)
• "We shouldn't wait until suffering comes to start learning about how to face it any more than we should wait until we fall into the water to start learning how to scuba dive." (pg. 39)

Alcorn shares stories from people who have been through deeply painful circumstances, including himself, yet whose faith in God has grown deeper and richer. He quotes from many non-Christian sources and Christian writers, and loads his writing chock full of Scripture to continually point the reader to the God who holds all of us in His hand.

I would recommend If God is Good... Be prepared to be challenged.

2009, hardbound from Multnomah.

You Were Born for This

Bruce Wilkinson, whom you may recall authored The Prayer of Jabez, has penned a new book, You Were Born for This. In it, he lays out a handbook of sorts, using seven "keys" presented to Christians for encountering and delivering miracles to those in need.

I am not sure I really liked this book as it almost seemed at times that God is put in a box, and we need to know these keys in order to unlock the box for God to work in the lives of others. In fact, Wilkinson speaks much of people "partnering" with God in order to make miracles happen. I guess it was the term I didn't like, as "partner" seems too much like being on an equal footing with God whereas I view myself as His servant. I thought referring to heaven as "Mission Control" whereby God is planning what miracles should occur and who should be the one to bring them about, kind of a cocky attitude, but it did get across the author's point that God wants to use people to reach others in their time of need.

You Were Born for This is written to suggest readers open their spiritual eyes and spiritual ears and be more aware of God-nudges; you know, those times when a thought unexpectedly drops into your mind to speak to or do something for another person and you are not quite sure why. In Wilkinson's eyes, our response is determined by the amount of our faith, and we can either limit or release God to act.

2009 hardback from Multnomah.
see: http://bit.ly/wGT7l
I have one copy to give away.

Stray Affections

Haven't gotten a chance to read this yet, but here's a basic summary:

In Stray Affections, the last thing that Cassandra expects out of her Sunday is to be mesmerized at a collectors’ convention by a snowglobe. She’s enjoying some shopping time, with husband Ken at home tending their brood of four young boys, when she’s utterly charmed by the one-of-a kind globe containing figures of three dogs and a little girl with hair the color of her own. She can’t resist taking the unique globe home—even if means wrestling another shopper for it!

The beautiful snowglobe sparks long-dormant memories for Cassie, of her beloved Grandpa Wonky, the stray she rescued as a child and the painful roots of her combative relationship with her mother, “Bad Betty” Kamrowski. Life in Wanonishaw, Minnesota is never dull, though, and Cassie keeps the recollections at bay, busy balancing her boys, her home daycare operation, and being a good friend to best pal Margret. But after a strange—flurrious, as Cassie deems it—moment happens with the remarkable snowglobe, Cassie and the people she loves are swirled into a tumultuous, yet grace-filled, and life-changing journey.

“As a believer, I know the power of forgiveness and new beginnings, and of a God, and family and friends, who love me the way I am,” Charlene Ann Baumbich says. “The heartbeat of change flows through those wonderful gifts.”

With the quirky, close-knit Midwestern small-town feel that made Charlene Ann Baumbich’s acclaimed Dearest Dorothy novels so popular, Stray Affections invites readers to experience the laughter and the healing of second chances.

WaterBrook Press is the 2009 publisher, in paperback. I have one copy to give away.

These are also video links of the author introducing the book:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=101927788491

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWwya52SkjU

Deadlock

It's the Sunday after Annabeth Cooper married Whip Langford, the "Outlaw Marshal". Since there is no time for a formal honeymoon, they will be having a celebratory supper with the Brockman household after church. We find them all on their way to Riverton, where chief U.S. Marshal John Brockman is due to be guest preacher at the morning service.

Up ahead, the party spots Deputy Sotak on his horse. Intending to ask him if he would like to accompany them to church they head for the point where their trails will intersect. All of a sudden the scene of an ambush by outlaws unfolds before them. One is killed and the deputy is wounded. John and Whip head immediately to his side. Hearing the commotion, a couple of ranchers show up and the marshals borrow their horses to pursue the other outlaw. Whip quickly heads home to get his timber wolf, Timber, to help in the pursuit. After much territory is covered, Timber indeed helps them to corner Fortney. Having a captive audience while he transports the prisoner to jail, chief Brockman uses the time to preach the gospel. Fortney wants nothing to do with it.

And so begins Deadlock, the second book in the "Return of the Stranger" trilogy by Al and Joanna Lacy.

While I think the language is somewhat stilted, it's a fun and easy read. If you don't know the salvation message, you should have it memorized by the end of the book! The characters of Deadlock simply believe in Jesus as their Savior and walk out their faith. From an acquaintance who has never thought much about it to a prisoner about to be hung, they are determined to use the Scriptures to show each person the choice before them being heaven or hell, and their need for Christ.

Outlaws, bank robberies, a kidnapping or two and a walking miracle: that's what awaits you in Deadlock.

New from Mutnomah, 2009 paperback.
If interested, I have one to give away.
Purchases can be made at www.familychristian.com and www.christianbook.com.

MELTDOWN

CIA agent Walker (code name Phoenix) is heading her first Special-Ops mission. Task Force Valor is seeking the source of a liquid explosive believed to be stockpiled and distilled in the Chernobyl area. After spending more time in that wasted dead zone than they want, they discover the explosive is gone. It's been moved and possibly shipped to the US. Their suspicions are confirmed when reports of explosions across the country reach them: an internet exchange outage in the Silicon Valley, a train derailment and the Hoover Dam among the list of successfully hit targets.

Meanwhile, retired Colonel Michael Lafontaine has begun a campaign to discredit the weaknesses in homeland security. He starts with a press conference urging a new commitment to the war on terror and calling upon politicians to have a backbone when dealing with terrorists.

MELTDOWN switches from Task Force Valor and their undercover operation in the Ukraine to the terrorist activities happening in the US. This is action-packed book is filled with mystery, fun, and faith all rolled into one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Chuck Holton.

Offered in paperback by Multnomah.