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Book Review: Lost in the Land of the Midnight Sun
I used to dream of meeting the authors of my favorite books when I was a kid. Now, as I embark on a writing journey myself, I have met some really amazing authors in various groups on the internet. I first met Christina Cattaine back in March through a podcast she co-hosts, the Christian Indie Writers Podcast. I’ll include the details at the end of this post, but let’s get into my review of Christina’s brand new novel, “Lost in the Land of the Midnight Sun.” Main character, Angelica, is a troublemaker according to her father. He is the High Priest and has high expectations of his daughter, who feels…
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6′ of Hope
That’s me in the blue sweatshirt, hugging my friend Alison, just a few weeks after they diagnosed her 5 year old daughter with leukemia. Her world has been upside down and social distancing since Christmas. The rest of the world is catching up with the understanding that our germs might harm someone else who can’t handle them. I’m a hugger, and the thought of not hugging people anymore is really making me so sad. I was honestly having a hard time this afternoon and got a little weepy. It made me think about the studies they did with orphan babes and how the ones that had little to no human…
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Don’t Panic
I began writing this post way back in September just before my 42nd birthday. Those of you familiar with the science fiction novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, will understand the significance of 42, which according to Adams is, “the answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything.” But what is the question? For me, it was never about the fear of “40.” I was glad to be 40 because I knew I would soon be 42. My nerdy heart swelled. But now I’ve been 42 for a few months, and I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about it. “Don’t Panic!”…
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Book Review: Power Up
“Right then, Lexi settled in her spirit to let God carry her and her family. She decided not to spend her energy trying to figure out God or tell him what to do, but to simply hold on to his goodness as truth and trust him.” Jessie Mattis, Power Up I often struggle with how to encourage my kids in their own spiritual lives. Between school work and video games and chores how do we motivate kids to be interested in God’s Word and growing in faith? Author Jessie Mattis has done a wonderful thing with Power Up. Through fun characters and a great story she introduces deep concepts about…
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Faith vs Fear: Praying with King Jehosephat
“I don’t know what to do!” How many times has this been my cry to God? So very many. How about you? In the face of overwhelming circumstances, fear and anxiety threaten to choke out my faith. Imagine my surprise when I heard my own distress call echoed in Jehosephat’s prayer. In this study of 2 Chronicles 20 we’ll learn how Jehosephat prayed and was able to stand in faith despite his fear when three nations attacked. Let’s let God’s Word encourage us and teach us how to overcome fear by setting our eyes on God. 2 Chronicles 20 1After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of…
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Outnumbered: Praying with King Asa
Think about the word outnumbered. It means more in number. Pretty simple right? When we face problems we want simple solutions, like math. If my enemy has 100 soldiers, theoretically I can defeat them with 101. But that’s not how God math works. In Psalm 118 David compares his enemies to being surrounded by bees but declares that help comes from the LORD. Before the time of Asa’s reign the kingdom had split in two. Asa became King of two southern tribes known as Judah, and Baasha ruled ten tribes in the north called Israel. The northern tribes had neglected God and served idols while Asa tore down false idols…
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Reflection: On Fear and Fiction
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on the blog but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing. After devotional blogging through the Fruit of the Spirit this summer I decided to focus on fiction. In October I reviewed some of my favorite classic Christian fiction, Hinds’ Feet on High Places, Redeeming Love, and Pilgrim’s Progress, in preparation to participate in National Novel Writing Month. Since the mid 90’s NaNoWriMo has grown from a group of friends writing in a cafe to an international community of thousands of writers who participate in writing a novel (at least 50,000 words) in the month of November. I’ve been wanting to write fiction for a…
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Book Review: Pilgrim’s Progress
“As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I came to the place where there was a den. Inside, I lay down to sleep, and as I slept, I had a dream.” John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress When I first read Pilgrim’s Progress as a young believer I was captivated by the adventure and all the clever ways Bunyan brought Scripture and doctrine to life through allegory. The story follows a man named Christian, who begins with a burden in the city of Destruction. Bunyan shows the clear gospel when at the “place of Deliverance” (the cross) Christian releases his burden and sets out to journey on the “King’s Highway”…
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Book Review: Redeeming Love
“Oh, Lord, why was I so blind? Why couldn’t I hear? Why did it take so much pain for me to see that you have been reaching out to me all along?” Angel, Redeeming Love The book Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers brings the story of redemption to brilliant life. It is full of struggle, heartache, and revelation. It’s a fictional allegory of the minor prophet book of Hosea from the Bible set during the California gold rush. It follows a girl from the devastation of being sold into prostitution at a young age to her rescue by a man named Michael Hosea, and ultimately her salvation by God. Michael’s…
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Book Review: Hinds’ Feet on High Places
“This is the story of how Much-Afraid escaped from her Fearing relatives and went with the Shepherd to the High Places where “perfect love casteth out fear.” -Hannah Hurnard Fear. We all experience fear. Sometimes it masquerades as anxiety, sadness, procrastination, rationalization, and escapism. It’s easy to read scriptures that tell us not to have fear, but oh so hard to live it practically. From that very first line I was hooked and excited to go on the journey with Much-Afraid. Much Afraid is physically handicapped, having crippled feet that made her limp and a crooked mouth that disfigured her face. The Shepherd (who is Jesus) called her to follow…
