Book Review: Kabul 24

Everything they did was to help the people of Afghanistan.  The work Shelter Now accomplished was greatly received by the Afghanistan people - so why did eight Shelter Now workers and their 16 Afghan helpers find themselves arrested and in prison?

In Kabul 24, Ben Pearson and Henry Arnold recount the arrest, interrogation, and trial of these Shelter Now workers in 2001.  These people did nothing but help the Afghan people they loved, and now the Taliban has arrested them for reasons that are never revealed to the prisoners or anyone else.

Yet, somehow, these people find a way to worship the Lord God in spite of their harrowing circumstances.  They sing songs praising Jesus, study scripture, and pray.  They remember that God put them in their predicament to bring glory to Him, and show His might and power.  Through their imprisonment, they remember that God cares and loves them and has not forgotten them.

This book reveals that Christians should look to God and depend on Him no matter what the circumstances.  Believers can look at these people and say, hey - they endured all of this and never lost their faith?  I can, too!  This is the message I received from this book.  This book allowed me to see that truly, through God ALL things are possible.  I highly recommend this book to readers everywhere.  You will see Biblical truths fleshed out in a concrete and profound way.  This is truly an unforgettable book.

• Pub. Date: September 2009


• Publisher: Thomas Nelson


• Length:  320 pages


• ISBN-13: 9781595550224


• ISBN: 1595550224

**Legal Necessities:  I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson as a part of their BookSneeze program.  Click the button on the right for more information.

Book Review: Bo's Cafe

Steven Kerner thought he had it all together, but his wife and daughter knew better.  His coworkers knew better.  Even the guy sitting beside him at the bar knew better.  But in Steven's mind, he had all the success and fortune he had dreamed about, and for him, that's all that mattered.

Then he blows up at his wife and she kicks him out.  Steven's seemingly perfect life all of a sudden comes crashing down around him.  Where can Steven turn?

In Bo's Cafe, John Lynch, Bill Thrall, and Bruce McNicol reveal the heartaches and emptiness that often accompanies worldly successful executives who are content to join in the rat race and continually climb the proverbial ladder.

Turns out the guy beside him at the bar, Andy, may have a way to get Steven's life straightened out.  Steven thinks Andy looks like the local president of the Parrothead Club, but begrudgingly tries to forge a friendship with the stranger.

Through a series of conversations with Andy and Andy's friends, Steven discovers that his life really wasn't all that he had convinced himself it was.  Steven had pushed everyone, including himself, away from his true self.  Even Steven couldn't figure out what was causing all of his problems.  Will Steven discover what it will take to get his family, and his life, back?

This novel reveals that worldly success may not be the answer to everything, and may not even be the answer to anything, for that matter.  I highly recommend this novel.  I learned some things about myself, not just through Steven and Andy, but through the others as well.  It is an incredible story, and I fell blessed after reading it and I believe you will, too.  Pick up a copy as soon as you can - you will not regret it!

• Paperback: 256 pages


• Publisher: Windblown Media (September 25, 2009)


• ISBN-10: 193517004X


• ISBN-13: 978-1935170044

**Legal Necessities:  I received this book free of charge from Windblown Media.

Book Review: Talking to the Dead

Have you ever lost someone you loved so deeply you had no idea what to do with yourself in their absence?  I can answer for myself and say that I have, and more than likely you have, too.   Bonnie Grove reveals this overwhelming and inescapable grief in her book Talking to the Dead.

Kate Davis is a newly widowed 20-something who struggles with her grief in such a severe way that I hurt for her myself.  In the months following her husband's death,  Kate begins to hear her dead husband talking to her and eventually screaming at her, which sends her to the breaking point in her sanity.  Learning dark secrets about her dead husband does not help, either.

Kate tries to find a way out of her sadness and disconnected mind through a series of shrinks, as well as a support group.  She eventually meets a pastor named Jack who tries his hardest to help Kate understand that there is a God that truly, truly loves her and wants to call Kate His.

This book gives a thorough and transparent view of not only grief, but a soul desperately searching for some form of relief.  Grove forces the reader to stare grief in the eyeballs in her book - and I applaud her for it.

I found myself feeling sad, alone, frightened, and angry, right along with Kate.  Bonnie Grove has written an incredible novel that has left me feeling breathless and refreshed.  I honestly don't remember the last time I had such a wonderful journey through a book.

I recommend this selection highly!  Please, please read it.  I know I cannot wait to read my next Bonnie Grove book.

• Paperback: 384 pages


• Publisher: David C. Cook


• ISBN-10: 1434766411


• ISBN-13: 978-1434766410

**Legal Necessities:  I received this book from a fellow book review blogger as a featured review on her site.  She received this book for free from Bonnie Grove.

Post One - and so begins this journey

Hello, dear readers!

As I sit on my bed on this rainy Sunday, I begin my journey completely into the wonderful world of blogging!  I have freelance blogged in the past, and as I planned my wedding I maintained a website for our wedding.  I have never had my own personal blog until now, however.

A good friend at my church has recently introduced me to the world of book blogging, and I am thoroughly excited about the prospect of sharing my love of reading with others.  In this blog I will post reviews for the books I read in hopes that you, too, will choose to pick up a book and enjoy the powerful gift that is the written word.  I have also chosen to take this blog a step further in the ways I have outlined below.

You see, I am newly married and newly away from home.  I do not see my family as much as I used to, and I think this will be an incredible tool to keep even more than just my family updated on what goes on with myself, my husband, and his son (my seven-year-old stepson).  So, to all my family and friends, a big hello from the three of us!

I am also eager to share the things that God reveals to me, and how God uses me.  I believe a Christian's existence is not meant to be private, but public.  I hope that some of the words I share will help to encourage others, or, more hopefully, be used to reach others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He alone is worthy of ALL praise, and is the God of my life and of my home.  I think a blog is a useful tool to share God's love, and that is another goal I have for my own blog.

Thank you for stepping into my corner of WebSpace, and I hope you enjoy the posts to come!