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Showing posts from December, 2013

What Once Was Lost

What Once Was Lost by Kim Vogel Sawyer follows the life of Christina Willems, a lady who runs the Brambleville Asylum for the Poor on a Kansas farm. When the worst happens and a fire breaks out, she has to scramble to find a way to keep all those in her care safe and sheltered. Her only option to house Tommy, a blind boy, is to approach mill owner Levi Jonnson. The book goes through the twists and turns of Levi taking care of Tommy and the growing and changing relationship between Christina and Levi. This book is okay, but it's not amazing. It's something to read when you just want something quick, easy, and relaxing. The plot was predictable and at times boring, but solid enough to carry through to the end. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and I find that that can make it difficult to care about any particular one when there's so many to follow. The love story between Christina and Levi was a bit lacking - like other reviews mentioned, they went from disli

The Key To The Middle East

The Key To The Middle East: Discovering the Future of Israel in Biblical Prophecy by Derek Prince is the third edition, previously published under the titles The Last Word on the Middle East (1982) and Promised Land (2005). The author died in 2003. This current edition has been updated by his editorial team. The book is divided into two sections: Historical Perspective and Prophetic Fulfillment, with special sections Chronology of Events in Israel from 1947-2012 and Why Visit Israel? It also contains Notes and an Index. This book is a good place to start when wanting to learn more about Israel and Biblical prophecy. Prince's tone is conversational and the book is easy to read and understand, even for beginners. It piqued my interest in learning more about Israel and what the Bible says about the Middle East. The book did feel a bit dated at times, since it was originally written in 1982. I could tell it was an older book. However, there was still much to take away from reading it

Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage: My Journey to a Deeper Faith in the Land Where Jesus Walked is a refreshing read by Lynn Austin. This book is basically her journal of going through a dry, rough patch in her faith. During the midst of this desert in her faith, she takes the opportunity to take a trip to Israel and visit the Holy Land. This is a beautiful book. The cover is nicely done, and the pages inside are designed well. There are some black and white sketches inside, but some pictures of Lynn's trip would have been appreciated as well. The book is divided into twelve chapters, each chronicling a particular portion of her journey. I loved this book. Lynn's open and honest look at the times when our faith becomes routine or we question our faith was very relateable and something I could identify with. Reading about her trip through the Holy Land was very exciting and she has a wonderful ability to make you feel like you are actually there with her words. You will feel like you were there walkin

Ghost Boy

Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius is a heartbreaking, and at times chilling, but ultimately hopeful story of a normal, healthy boy whose life was turned upside down from something as simple as a sore throat. Martin went from a typical child to basically a vegetative state as an unknown disease went through his body and it slowly shut down. About four years after his ordeal began, his mind began to wake up - but he couldn't move or communicate and nobody knew. He spent a decade trapped in an unresponsive body and unable to let anyone know his mind was back. This story tells a heartbreaking story of how he finally managed to reclaim his life. This is an amazing book. Martin's story is so important because it will change the way people think about and view people who are in what is believed to be a vegetative state. How heartbreaking to know that there may be others who are believed to be completely unresponsive who are, in fact, awake and alert inside. I hope that this story may ch

The Global War On Christians

The Global War on Christians by John L. Allen, Jr. is a very important book for our time. We hear a lot about persecution of Muslims, atheists, etc. in the news, but we don't hear much, if anything, about persecution of Christians. This book promises to uncover and expose the secret war on Christians around the globe. It goes much further than the "persecution" in America, such as the "war on Christmas". No, Christians around the world are being jailed, murdered, beaten, beheaded, and more. Physically, this is a very handsome book. It's a sturdy hardcover with a compelling and well designed cover/back cover. The back cover is plain black with simply the words "It's time to wake up". That phrase basically sums up the main idea of the whole book. I cannot recommend this book any more highly. Buy it, read it, and discover what is going on around the globe, and what could happen in America someday as well. This is the type of book that will give y

Still Lolo

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I recently read Still Lolo by Lauren Scruggs, the Scruggs family, and Marcus Brotherton. I had heard about Lauren Scruggs in the media and was interested in reading the whole story about what had happened to her, so I chose this book. In December 2011, she took a short plane ride to look at Christmas lights over Texas and walked into the propeller blades while disembarking the plane. Several surgeries followed, and she miraculously survived, mostly intact. Still Lolo skips back and forth between Lauren, her twin, her dad, and her mom. It details her childhood, her parent's marriage troubles, her life as a young adult, and of course, the accident and recovery period. I have to be honest about this book, but I'll detail the parts I liked about it first. This book was a very quick read (I read it in about 24 hours), definitely a page turner (since it kept flipping perspectives, you wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next), and very interesting. Honestly, the