Vanishing Act

Nora is huddled in a dark Lincoln Town Car parked in an alley when she hears her father's voice outside. Yanked out of the car by one of her kidnappers, she is face to face with her father and the thugs. Suddenly there is a scuffle. When the gun fires, Nora jumps into her father's car and turns the key. In reverse down the alley as fast she can go, she manages to turn around and speed forward. Her father's lifeless body lies on the ground behind her. Thus begins Vanishing Act, Liz Johnson's second book.

A year and a half later agent Nathan Andersen is relying on various tips and trails as he searches for Nora. She has competently disappeared, but the FBI knows her abductors are also searching. One of the biggest criminals in the Portland area is at large and does not want to take a chance on being behind bars for life.

The current trail leads Agent Andersen to a small town where he strikes up a friendship with Danielle, a local mechanic who is teaching an auto shop class at the local community college. In the class, we are introduced to a few quirky characters who are more than they seem.

Both Danielle and Nathan have buried problems in their pasts, much having to do with fear and regret, and erected walls around their hearts. Tough situations have caused them to rely less on God and more on themselves. Now they both are drawn back to Him and seeking guidance through prayer. And, it seems the time has come when each needs a confidant. Can Danielle trust Nathan after she has been confronted by a student, run off the road, and her apartment torn apart? Can Nathan get past his training as an agent and let Danielle know him more personally?

I like Johnson's quick action, witty conversations, and descriptive passages. The names of her "bad guys" are fun, too; Goodwill, Lurch, and the Shadow. Mystery, suspense, romance, inspiration, and fun are all rolled into one fast reading book. Vanishing Act.
I think you'll like it.



Paperback, 2010, published by Steeple Hill Books.
It can be purchased on Amazon.

Shades of Morning

Marnie Wittier runs the Books and Brew coffee shop, a gathering place for the locals in Pacific Grove, California. She lives a quiet life and usually makes just enough money to cover expenses. Her loyal following asks nothing of her other than to host baby showers and other parties from time to time and that's just the way she likes it. They do not know her past and she does not volunteer much information. She feels as though she's been given a second chance by God to start a new life and her kind-heartedness and compassion leads her to do the same with others.

Everything is going along great, until her past catches up with her in the form of a lawyer's letter. After 15 years of no contact with her sister in Maine, she is informed that Rose died, leaving instructions for Marnie to become the guardian for Emmit, her 15 year old son. The notification by Taylor Cole, Rose's lawyer and Marnie's close friend whom she abandoned so many years ago, throws her for a loop. She's been found, and Emmit is going to be on a plane to California in a few days.

Unnerved but with strong ties of family loyalty pulling at her, she does the right thing and meets the plane. Totally unprepared for the task of raising a teen, she is even more dumbfounded when she discovers Emmit is a Down's Syndrome child. He challenges her daily as she learns to love him. The most frustrating moments occur when he continually gets into her "regret box", triggering memories of her earlier life.

I like the way Marlo Schalesky develops her characters and teaches us along the way. Marnie and Taylor both learn that hanging on to past sins, regrets, and fear keeps us from being whole. God wants us to to give up these things and be totally free to live in Him. We also can recognize, as the main characters do, that God gives us gifts but sometimes it takes difficult situations before we see the truth of those gifts.

While I enjoyed the book and read with anticipation to learn the whole story behind the characters, I did not particularly care for the ending, The surprise twist was a little too "mystical" for me, for lack of a better word. Other than that, I enjoyed reading Shades of Morning.

2010 paperback by Multnomah.

The Bridegrooms

This latest book by Allison Pittman is light hearted and enjoyable. The whole story takes place in a week's time. There is a double meaning in the title; not only was it a story of bridegrooms destined for each of four sisters, but also the name of a traveling baseball team.

Mysteriously one night, when the oldest daughter was 8 and the youngest just a baby, their mother left and did not return home. Fast forward to their current life, where the daughters are grown, the "baby" is now a teen, and possible marriage is on the horizon. Vada, the oldest, has mothered each of them up to this point, with some help from their doctor father and their loyal housekeeper. She has a steady if not "exciting" beau, and her closest sister has secretly put out an advertisement for possible suitors; sort of like eharmony.com only in 1898!

On game day during the game between the Brooklyns Bridegrooms and the Cleveland Spiders, a spectator is hit by a home run ball and carried to the house to be doctored. Tense moments ensue.

I enjoyed the descriptions of life with sisters: their qualities, quirks, and loyalties. It reminded me a bit of Little Women. I enjoyed the descriptions of the clothing, routines, housekeeper and the local "coffee shop" if you will, where coffee and delicious pastries were available for a dime or two. Mysterious characters, conflicting emotions and a satisfying ending made for a simple but fun book.

2010, paperback, by WaterBrook Press.
I have one or two copies to give away.

This Little Prayer of Mine

This Little Prayer of Mine, by Anthony DeStefano, is a very simple, colorfully illustrated book for children. It reinforces the knowledge that God listens to and answers prayer, even if you are a child.

With simple rhyming prayers, sometimes for help facing fears or asking forgiveness for unkind behavior, This Little Prayer of Mine also reminds children to be thankful in prayer and to express their joy and hopes for the future to God.


Hardback, 2010, by WaterBrook Press.
I have one copy to give away.

Dug Down Deep

Editor of a magazine for homeschoolers, speaker at teen conferences, having a contract with a Christian publisher to write a book , Joshua Harris found himself living the "evangelical American dream." However, he realized it was only a surface faith that he portrayed, not one with a deep spiritual foundation. He began searching Christian doctrine and mentoring with respected preachers. And, he learned what it meant to have a sure foundation.
Dug Down Deep is the story of Harris' search and awakening to the truth of the gospel. For example, he says we are all theologians, but the main question is whether what we know about God is actually true or a conglomeration of false ideas. Our whole life can be wrong because of an incorrect foundation.

On our foundation: "Being a Christian means being a person who labors to establish his beliefs, his dreams, his choices, his very view of the world on the truth of who Jesus is and what he has accomplished..." (pg. 19)

On sanctification: "Christian growth can't be defined by whom we don't want to be like. It has to be defined by becoming like Jesus...It has to be built on real, Bible-rooted conviction." (pg.170)
"The truth of God's adopting love for me means I'm not obeying to get into his family or even to stay in the club. I obey because I'm already in." (pg. 173)

On the Holy Spirit: "To be indwelt by the Spirit of the living, eternal God is a greater gift, a more overwhelming honor than any position, any possession, any amount of wealth, or any human achievement." (pg. 186) "The truth is that there is no such thing as normal or nonsupernatural Christian living." (pg. 187) "But we can never settle for merely knowing doctrine....We need the power of God's Holy Spirit to give us 'strength to comprehend'....God's love for us..." (pg. 191)

On the doctrine of the church: "So God doesn't come out on a big stage once a year to prove himself to the world. He does something so much riskier and more daring....he makes us the show." (pg. 197)

I now know the story called "The Room" was his own dream. Harris also disliked an old tale about a train conductor who sacrifices his son in the gears of a bridge so people on the train could be saved, equating that somehow with Jesus and the cross. I never liked that story either, but could not figure out why it bothered me so. Now I know it's because it wrongly portrays Jesus as a victim.
Dug Down Deep, by Joshua Harris, is a thoughtful, well written story of a personal search for a sure foundation. It's worth reading.

2010 hardbound by Multnomah.

Here Burns My Candle

This is the first novel I have read by Liz Curtis Higgs. Here Burns My Candle is the story of a Lowlander family in 1745. Lady Marjory Kerr has taken up residence in Edinburgh, along with her two sons and their wives.

She and her hand-picked daughter-in-law, Janet, love to participate in all that the upper society has to offer. The death of her husband has left her fairly well off with income from lands around a country estate. That was his love; hers was the city life and all it had to offer. While keeping her gold hidden under her chamber floor, in her heart she hides the guilt she feels from urging her husband to keep them in a fashionable residence in the city. Her sons can do no wrong: she spoils them and their wives, providing them the money to live on and a place of residence.

Lady Elizabeth Kerr, on the other hand, married Lord Donald Kerr out of love. She is a Highlander by birth and therefore from a different social level. She is an expert seamstress and busies herself much of the time with beautiful stitchery. She is not as enamored of social standing as are her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. She is kind hearted and humble. She secretly worships the moon as taught by her family, though she dutifully attends church services with the Kerrs. Unbeknownst to herself and the rest of the family, her husband has secrets of his own.

Here Burns My Candle is rich with description. At one point I felt like I should make scones and have tea! I liked the way the characters developed through adversity, and how they came to know or come back to the one, true God. Well-researched Scottish history made me think I should dig into a history book on my own.

Love, betrayal, loss, redemption; all rolled into one satisfying novel.

WaterBrook Press, 2010, paperback
I have one copy to give away.

An Absence So Great

This sequel to Jane Kirkpatrick's A Flickering Light picks up where the first left off. Jessie Gaebele has moved to Milwaukee to become a photography studio assistant to the Widow Johnson. She's 18 with three years of experience behind her and a love of photography deep within her. Her goals are to earn money to send back to her family for their household support (a common occurrence in the early 1900's), save enough money to someday own her own studio, learn as much as she can about the business, and leave behind the adoration of her former boss and mentor, Fred Bauer, a married man with a family.

In An Absence So Great, Jessie struggles as she recognizes an inner voice often telling her "Don't do it" and just as often ignored, to her detriment, while she calculates different possibilities in her mind; those things she can do to generate additional income as she works to gain a respected foothold in what is considered a man's occupation. Often, verses of Scripture which she memorized as a child come back to direct and comfort her. Many of the mistakes she makes come from her desire to be in control and shape her life.

It's kind of a melancholy novel and sometimes I wanted the characters to make different choices. However, An Absence So Great and A Flickering Light are based on the author's own grandmother's life. She gleaned details from interviews, family histories and tales handed down, plus factual research supported by news of the day. Kirkpatrick takes family history and uses her imagination to flesh out what might have been.

Paperback, from WaterBrook Press, 2010.
I have two copies to give away.

Start Here

The Harris twins are at it again. Their first book, Do Hard Things, challenged teens to step out and become "rebelutionaries" by doing unexpected things for God. Now they offer Start Here, full of examples, practical tips and vision.

Have a teen that needs some inspiration or has a desire to serve God in a particular way but is not sure where to start? No idea is too big or too small, according to Alex and Brett Harris.

"When we're willing to take risks, pursue excellence, dream big, be faithful, and do what's right no matter the cost, our actions shout that Christ is worth serving above all others." (pg. 63-64)

Start Here, by Alex and Brett Harris.
2010 offered by Multnomah in paperback.

I have two copies to give away.

Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue

Another fun adventure from Chuck Black, Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue is the fourth in the series, The Knights of Arrethtrae.

Lady Carliss, a Knight of the Prince, sets out to find those responsible for kidnapping her friend Salina's family members. Along the way she is reunited with a fellow knight, Sir Dalton, and realizes her feelings of affection for him have not left, despite all her efforts to ignore them. Meanwhile, Sir Dalton is bitten by a mysterious, vicious, poisonous creature which is able to camouflage itself in any surrounding. She finds herself in a race against time to find the antidote to the poison.

In her search she encounters a powerful Shadow Warrior and uncovers his plot to overtake the Kingdom. Will her faith in the Prince keep her strong? Who are the mysterious Silent Warriors? Can she make a choice between the life of Sir Dalton or many innocent lives?

It's geared toward teens, but if you like to read about knights, mysteries, good vs. evil, and parables of faith, you too will enjoy this winner from Chuck Black.

Paperback, 2010, from Multnomah.
I have one copy to give away.

The Friends We Keep

(note: this is a much belated review since I received the book last fall)

This is an account of the experiences of the author and of other women she consulted concerning friendships. She uses personal stories, cultural references, and historical facts to analyze friendships among women. She tries to answer questions such as why we need other women as friends, what it means to have a safe friendship, and how to embrace whatever a friend has to offer.

I stopped reading about halfway through. I found it rather boring. Susan Zacharias Davis made many references to movies, the majority of which I had not seen. Whatever comparison point she was trying to make about the way women acted towards each other in the particular movie did not mean anything to me. I am not familiar with many of the books she referenced, so again, the connection was lost.

I think I am not one for deeply analyzing relationships. I have friends and am a friend. Some friendships have come and gone over the years, depending on the circumstances and situations. True friends enjoy one another's company, recognize one another's strengths and weaknesses, and value the friendship. I believe God puts us together with other women so we can strengthen them and be strengthened by them.

There are guided discussion questions at the end of The Friends We Keep.

Paperback, 2009 from WaterBrook Press.
If you are interested, I have two copies to give away.

The Golden Cross

Need a little spring break? Want to go somewhere but can't? My suggestion is to pick up a good book or two and lose yourself in an adventure. The Golden Cross, by Angela Hunt, took me to 1642 in Dutch Batavia on the island of Java. It focused on the rough life in and around a wharf side tavern; the girls, the rowdy sailors looking for more than drink, and the opposing gentility who would not dare to set foot in that part of town.

Aidan O'Connor, after her father's death at sea, is left to be raised by her mother as a barmaid in a tavern near the docks. She has learned the skills of conversation, pick-pocketing, and how to deflect unwanted advances by drunken sailors. She also has a God-given talent for drawing and capturing the essence of her subjects. She meets a world-famous cartographer and artist who becomes her mentor. He wants to take her on a voyage searching for a new world to add artistic embellishments of flora and fauna to the maps he will will be making.

I did not care for the epilogue portions of the book. While they tried to give some background, I felt they were unnecessary.

Intrigue, disguises, romance, and adventure surround Aidan in The Golden Cross. If you want a fun, fast-paced book, I think you will enjoy this.


Paperback, 1998, by WaterBrook Press
I have one copy to give away.

Dancing with My Father

Soothing. That's my reaction to Sally Clarkson's new book, Dancing with My Father. Personal reflection led her to realize, as she was moving day after day through task after task, she was missing something in her life. What was it? Joy. Not happiness, but the joy of delighting in God's presence.

She determined to begin focusing on recognizing how she delighted God and how she could find delight and joy in His presence no matter the circumstance. Dancing with My Father shares her gleanings. "Joy, then, comes in embracing the opportunity to be a part of his world of righteousness and preparing to live with him in that kingdom for eternity." (page 50)

Feeling worn down? Wondering where the joy is in your life? Take a stroll through Dancing with My Father and you will be refreshed.


Published by WaterBrook Press in paperback, 2010.
If you should choose to use them, there are introspective questions at the end of every chapter for more in-depth focus and study.
I have one copy to give away.

Secrets

Jessica Morgan rolls into her new town, literally, by overturning her car and going off the side of the road. She spends her first night banged up and bruised in the Glenbrooke hospital. After her release she finds herself overwhelmed but somehow suspicious of the welcoming kindness of strangers who tend to her, from the handsome fireman/rescue squad member to the new landlord, fellow teacher, and even a child in the store.

In Secrets, author Robin Jones Gunn spins an intriguing tale of romance, mystery, and God's grace. Jessica is hiding something and weaves a web of half-truths, opening up only a little to those who have befriended her, but always managing to change the subject if it looks like they might in innocence probe too closely to her guarded life. As her friend Kyle tells her, "...let me tell you something about secrets....the longer you carry them the heavier they become. "

It's when Jessica consents to be a chaperone on a missions trip to Mexico that she learns the way to be in control of her life is to give it to God.

I spent a lazy few hours on Saturday reading and thoroughly enjoying this fast paced novel.


Published in 1995, by Multnomah, Secrets is the first book in Gunn's Glenbooke Series.

Primal

Mark Batterson poses the question: "Is there a place in your past where you met God and God met you? In Primal, he targets our response and encourages us to remember and focus on the commandment "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." How do we do that?

One way is by getting our priorities straight. "The blessings of God are never ends in themselves...[they] are always a means to an end...blessing others." "...making money is the way you make a living and giving it away is the way you make a life." (page 33)

Another way is to meditate on Scripture and then live out what you learn. I was impressed by Batterson's proposition that creativity is a dimension of spiritual maturity. God is a creator. To become more like Him is to become more creative. "God is always speaking. ..are we listening? Are we taking those God ideas captive? Are we making them obedient to Christ?...Is it possible that our lack of ideas is really a lack of love?" (italics mine)...The more you love God, the more God reveals." (page 128)

Wonder where your original zeal has gone?
Need to be challenged?
Read Primal.


2009, hard bound from Multnomah.

Tea With Hezbollah

Co-authors Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis are at lunch one day. During their discussion the question pops up: "What does it mean to love your neighbor?" After a bit of bantering back and forth about what it would entail if people seriously followed Jesus' teaching in the parable about the good Samaritan, Carl suggests that they go find out what people in the Middle East think. Two years later, after much planning, they start their journey in Cairo, Egypt.

This book is a first-hand account of their journey: a compilation of their travels, dangers faced, conflicting feelings as Dekker's mind starts imagining various scenarios (not necessarily good), and recorded interviews with cab drivers, sheiks, leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas, and bin Laden's brothers, to name a few. Always, they seek to find out what these men believe about Jesus' admonition to "love your neighbor as yourself" and if it is really possible to love your enemy.

Dekker gave a lot of historical background to the ongoing conflicts in various parts of the Middle East, which was helpful. It was a little difficult for me to keep straight, since while the names are familiar, I don't necessarily follow the who, what and why of each area of fighting. It was also a little disheartening, as so many of those interviewed have a disagreeable view of the US, though they were careful to say it was the government, not the people, that they disliked.

If you have any interest in the Middle East conflicts, or really want to find out what the reaction is to the question, "How do you recommend we love each other as he [Jesus] taught?", read this book.


Hardcover, 2010 by Doubleday.
You can purchase this through Random House or Amazon.com