Stumbling On Open Ground by Ken Mansfield

I will start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed reading Stumbling On Open Ground by Ken Mansfield. I was very touched by the spiritual insight he gained and shared while going through his cancer battles. I especially loved the intro to each chapter by his wife, Connie. Ken's story is very interesting, kept my attention, and was easy to read. I definitely got a lot of spiritual help from the book. However, my only complaint was that this book tended to be rather confusing to me. I am in my 20s and not a rock and roll fan, so all the talk of Apple Records and names he mentioned didn't mean anything to me and just confused me further trying to piece together who was who and what was going on. Also, the actual details of his cancer battles tended to be very sparse and disjointed - I often found myself wondering what was happening during the story as it jumped around quite a bit and on one page he had a year to live and then onto the next chapter he's been cancer free for 5 or more years. A little more detail and explanation about the events during his cancers and treatments would've helped lessen this confusion, as well as being more clear about who he was talking about with the Apple records business. Overall, I do recommend this book. His story is Job-like in its intensity and trials. I was encouraged by his strong faith through unimaginable pain and suffering. I was uplifted by his prayers and insights that he shared. I received a copy of this book from Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Surviving Death

Image
Surviving Death by Leslie Kean is an investigative journalist's deep dive into the afterlife and all of the current scientific studies and evidence we can examine. The back cover says: "“While exploring the evidence for an afterlife, I witnessed some unbelievable things that are not supposed to be possible in our material world. Yet they were unavoidably and undeniably real. Despite my initial doubt, I came to realize that there are still aspects of Nature which are neither understood or accepted, even though their reality has profound implications for understanding the true breadth of the human psyche and its possible continuity after death.” So begins Leslie Kean’s impeccably researched, page-turning investigation, revealing stunning and wide-ranging evidence suggesting that consciousness survives death. In her groundbreaking second book, she continues her examination of unexplained phenomena that began with her provocative New York Times bestseller UFOs: Generals, Pi
Read more

Can I Just Hide In Bed 'Til Jesus Comes Back?

Image
I'll admit - I wanted to read Can I Just Hide In Bed 'Til Jesus Comes Back?: Facing Life With Courage, Not Comforters by Martha Bolton and Christin Ditchfield mainly because of the cute cover (I mean, just look at it!) and the fun title. I often just want to hide in my bed with junk food, books, and Netflix and retreat from the world and responsibilities. However, I know that hiding in bed really isn't the answer to life's problems. I figured I'd pick up this book and see what Martha and Christin have to say about facing life head on. The back cover says: "Depression, fear, a sense of unworthiness, and unfulfilled dreams can make women retreat to their beds—figuratively and literally—and refuse to face life. Yet most of the time, hiding in bed makes matters worse. Who needs emotional bedsores? Authors Martha Bolton and Christin Ditchfield gently show women how to climb out from under their emotional bedcovers, face their fears and doubts, and step into the l
Read more
Forgiving Our Fathers And Mothers by Leslie Leyland Fields (with Dr. Jill Hubbard) is one of the best books on forgiveness I've read in a long time. Each chapter details a different aspect to the parent/child relationship and need for forgiveness, followed by a word from Dr. Jill and study questions. I really enjoyed this format. It was like getting to the heart of the matter with Leslie, and then visiting a professional psychologist (Dr. Jill) to process your emotions afterward. Leslie uses her own real life story, plus the stories of others who have had difficult relationships with their parents, plus plenty of Scripture, to trace the path to forgiveness and healing. This book really hit home for me. Warning: it will probably make you cry! Leslie's story, as well as all of the others, were alternately emotional, touching, sad, horrifying, and redeeming. I liked how Leslie brought practical tips to questions such as, "Do I have to forgive?", "How do I forgive?
Read more