A few weeks ago I posted this.
I finished reading both books very quickly because they are page-turners. Here are my reviews.
Blind Sight
This novel is a page-turner with a unique secondary story.
Thomas Kent made a promise to his buddies in his college Bible study. He couldn't imagine that years later, after he'd lost all he loved and his faith, he'd be called upon to keep that promise.
Kent receives the coded message to pick up a package, and the garbled answering machine plea, "save my children," and his life changes once again. Can he save the Bishop children, Justine Bishop, and the United States of America from the evil cult intent on ruling the world one person at a time? Can Thomas Kent find his lost and bruised faith?
Though not perfectly written, this is a suspenseful and compelling read. Kent's anger at God and the struggle to forgive God are mostly realistic and thoughtful. A few timing issues or rapid mood swings slowed down the page turning every once in awhile but overall, this was a fascinating story with a strong message.
As far as the unique secondary story goes, a man found one burned, weathered Blind Sight page lying against a tree. The location of that tree was the former site of his razed home after the burning of his house and the horrific murder of his family. James Pence went on to co-author Terror by Night with Terry Caffey and Blind Sight was re-released.
Terror by Night
Terror by Night is chilling.
The author, the only survivor of a horrific triple murder and house fire, tells a story that is unimaginable.
The Caffey family was living the classic nuclear family existence. The only sign of trouble with their 16-year-old daughter was her boyfriend and some choices she was making. The events that unfolded are nauseating. Not that the author shares gory details to the point that the reader feels the need to take a shower. There was very little gore. But the horror that a seemingly well-adjuste
d young woman could make the decisions to help/plan/participate in the death of her family rocked me to the core.
As horrifying as this story is, there is a fascinating secondary story of Caffey's faith jolt/jostle and his journey to peace and forgiveness.
Not for the weak-kneed. This story is very disturbing so be warned. However, the cloud is silver-lined and a thing of beauty once the sun begins to come rise.
E-mail forwards. Some days I get so many that I barely even pay attention.
But this one is cool.
In Iowa in July of 1918 two photographers organized this amazing photo. Read the story here. And the same photographers...Arthur Mole and John Thomas shot other photos on display here.
Last week Rob's eyes were giving him some grief since he'd been working so hard on the drywall he slapped up for his new office and my new living room. Drywall dust, lack of sleep, you know the drill.
So he thought he'd go ahead and drop some soothing eye drops into his bleary and scratchy eyes.
Who'd a thunk that the bottle of ear wax soften
er would look exactly like the bottle of eye drops?
Really.
So he drops a dollop into each eye....and begins to realize his mistake when the pain. The PAIN ! kicks in. Through squinty little slits he reads the reality of his error. Then commences rinsing under the faucet for a very long time, mentally kicking himself for the bad decision. The burningly now clear bad decision.
Good news...the many minutes of rinsing coupled with the like-a-baby crying definitely got all the wax out of his eyes though. However, his first complaint worsened a bit during his unhealthy little detour.
When I got home, I noticed that his eyes looked REALLY bloodshot. But I didn't say anything. He was working with lots of dust. I didn't want to be mean. Then 23 mentioned that she'd been there when he'd grabbed the wrong bottle. A truly good wife would not have laughed. I'm obviously not a truly good wife.
And he's nice enough to let me tell the whole world. Note to all of you, before putting anything in your eyes, read the label first. Unless, of course, you have earwax in your eyes. Then go for it. But I'm planning on hiding the Q-Tips.
Reviews to follow....: ) 
Starving for Jesus
Fasting provides healing for those experiencing the storms of life
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—There is perhaps no more devastating a force of nature than a severe storm. Trees are blown by high winds, homes are damaged by lightening and streets are flooded by heavy rains. When the skies are finally clear and the damage has been assessed, the hard work of restoration begins. Clearing the debris from the property is the first step toward moving forward after the storms are gone.
In this life, intense circumstances and experiences can cause internal storms of such devastating severity that recovery and restoration seem like hopeless rescue attempts. In such cases, even believers can lose heart and feel completely overwhelmed by the storms of life. The Fasting Journey, by Peter Holmes—a man for whom fasting has become a way of life—is a journal of experiences and a guide designed to help those who’ve experienced how difficult it can be to clear the debris when the devastating storms of life hit.
Holmes shows us how fasting is a death of self and an act of intercession that God uses as a spiritual weapon to clarify and unleash His purposes of healing for those trapped in bondage to sin. Because of the understanding God has given him through fasting, he has helped many find answers to their most complex and deeply entrenched problems. Holmes writes, “For me, fasting has been both a highway to the Lord and a treasure-trove of ideas of how the Lord sees things and how we need to learn, while earnestly at His feet. Having based this book on my own personal experience, my intent is to broaden it into a guide for others to learn how to fast.”
Holmes discusses the biblical aspect of fasting both in the Old Testament Scriptures and in the practices of the early church. He explains different kinds of fasts for us to consider (even non-food fasts), explores purposes for fasting and tells us how our fasting will impact those around us. In The Fasting Journey, we are called to fast as a way to find out what really controls us and to hear God’s voice with a clear, focused ear.
Dr. Peter Holmes has led a number of businesses and organizations, including a startup in the environmental biotechnology field cleansing contaminated soil with colonies of natural microorganisms. He and his wife Mary have helped plant four churches in the UK and Europe and served the Lord in ways from full-time service to local church leadership, trusteeships and foreign missions, most recently amongst genocide victims in Rwanda. Peter also runs an extensive ministry offering training in wholeness and maturity in Christ, and he has written a number of books on these topics.
The Fasting Journey by Peter R. Holmes
Authentic Publishing September 15, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60657-018-0/203 pages/softcover/$15.99
Truth Like a River
Unique new book explores assumptions about truth in creative ways.
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—Whether you’ve noticed or not, a war has been raging for years over the nature of truth. Many involved in this battle claim that truth is “relative” and is made up of some mixture of facts, feelings an
d experiences that form individual realities. Others reject this “whatever” approach in favor of “absolute” truth, a rigid and uncompromising set of morals and values that frame the foundation of existence. The end result of this battle is a stalemate of inflexible systems where each side loses and neither system is closer to a grasp of the true nature of truth.
Through the River, a new book by Jon and Mindy Hirst (with Dr. Paul Hiebert), encourages us to examine our assumptions about truth and helps define how those assumptions affect our relationship to the world at large. In so doing, the Hirsts offer a new perspective on truth that allows us not only to better understand how we view truth but how we might become better equipped to communicate truth in a combative culture. Their claim is that “our ability to struggle through the concept of truth in today’s world is crucial to determining our success in the Christian life, our relationships and our kingdom work.”
Through the River is a challenging and fascinating book that takes the reader on a poignant journey through River Town, providing a gripping view on how people can live in close proximity while having radically contrasting views. River Town’s three communities live and act so differently because each group is using a distinct set of assumptions about truth (truth lens). This journey exposes the eternal consequences of how our truth lens influences whether we tell others what we know, insist that others accept what we know or resign to keep what we know to ourselves.
In short, Through the River offers a view of truth that seeks to solve the compatibility issues between worldviews and capitalizes on their strengths in such a way that each becomes better without becoming the same.
Jon and Mindy Hirst are the co-founders of Generous Mind, a think tank designed to help people make their thoughts count. The late Paul G. Hiebert (1932–2007) was Distinguished Professor of Mission and Anthropology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and previously taught at Fuller Theological Seminary. Through the River is Jon and Mindy’s unique approach to Dr. Hiebert’s important and groundbreaking studies in truth.
Through the River by Jon and Mindy Hirst with Dr. Paul Hiebert
Authentic Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-93406-803-8/201 pages/softcover/$14.99
Discover the Spirit-Driven Life
In his new book Unexplainable, Don Cousins (co-creator of the bestselling Network curriculum)teaches readers how to experience what only God can make possible in our lives.
What’s the real reason behind whatever we’ve accomplished in life—whatever we’ve been able to become and achieve and fulfill? Is it our own hard work, our own talents and abilities, our own perseverance? Or have things happened in and through our lives for which none of those factors can account? In Unexplainable: Pursuing a Life Only God Can Make Possible (David C Cook, September 2009), trusted author Don Cousins guides readers in how to experience lives of such remarkable quality and impact that people who watch them have to shake their heads and honestly say, “There’s really no explanation for it—except God!”
Cousins, co-creator of the Network curriculum, believes that this kind of living is impossible—until we bring God into the equation and “lifeshift” our values away from worldly standards to be more in sync with God’s initiatives. “We must discover and cultivate lives that can be explained only by God’s participation…so that He’s the only explanation for our lives,” says Cousins. “In Unexplainable I explore how we can attain the kind of lives where God Himself becomes the all-fulfilling dynamic behind our unshakable contentment, our profound significance and our abiding success.”
In Unexplainable, Cousins offers readers a systematic approach to changing the way they live as he guides them through “lifeshifts” for experiencing contentment, success and significance to a degree that’s beyond anything the world offers. Readers will learn the five secrets for finding contentment in life, regardless of their circumstances, and discover God’s criteria for measuring the success of their lives. They’ll also come to see that God has already given them all they need to make a difference in the world.
Intended to create a new movement among all those who call upon God to lead their lives, Unexplainable is a strong complement to Cousins’ previously released Experiencing LeaderShift products. The individual life-change encouraged by Unexplainable will fit hand-in-glove with the organizational change encouraged in Experiencing LeaderShift.
A small-group curriculum DVD for Unexplainable: Pursuing a Life Only God Can Make Possible has also been created to further explore the profound themes and insights found in Unexplainable. Giving the reader and small-group participant a great start in making strategic adjustments in their lives, each of the eight sessions focuses on a section of Unexplainable and offers practical ways to pursue the kind of life made possible only by God.
Unexplainable: Pursuing a Life Only God Can Make Possible
by Don Cousins
David C Cook/September 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4347-6805-6/softcover/256 pages/$16.99
Legendary Clarity
Acclaimed Pastor Brings Experience, Wisdom to Transformation Study Bible
Dallas/Fort 
Worth, TX—As pastors seek to make the Word of God more understandable in an age that is unfamiliar with the Bible, and as growing disciples seek to discover the truth of Scripture in a skeptical culture, there is a great need for guidance in both the preaching and study of God’s Word. Whether you’re a pastor, a seminary student, or a truth-seeking disciple, an understanding of the Bible can be made clear to you with the help of one of the most influential, in-depth, and practical Bible scholars in modern history.
For over thirty years, millions have come to rely on the timeless wisdom of Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe’s “Be” Commentary series. Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary and insights on Scripture have helped readers understand and apply God’s Word with the goal of life transformation. According to Dr. Wiersbe, “It isn’t enough for us simply to read assigned portions of the Bible each day, as helpful as that is. A truly transforming experience involves meditating on what we read (Ps. 1:2), studying it carefully in the light of other verses, and then obeying what God tells us to do (Josh. 1:8).” Now available for the first time, The Transformation Study Bible offers the full text of the highly readable New Living Translation with accompanying notes and commentary from the 50 books in Dr. Wiersbe’s “Be” series.
“The Transformation Study Bible will better enable readers to appreciate, appropriate, and apply the Word of God, which will result in ‘purity, joy, right values, hope, comfort, freedom, new life, peace, guidance, wisdom, integrity, encouragement, and effective prayer,’” states Wiersbe. In other words, if you want to be a new person, knowing and obeying the will of God and becoming more like Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no finer tool to encourage that process than The Transformation Study Bible.
One of the most anticipated and comprehensive study Bibles of the year, The Transformation Study Bible has been a lifetime in the making by a man who is widely known as a prolific and trusted writer and theologian. The former pastor of The Moody Church in Chicago, an internationally known Bible teacher, and someone who has given his life to a deep examination of the Word of God, Dr. Wiersbe lends his vast experience and scholarly insight to the most beloved and revered book of all time. This effort is to encourage believers of all levels to know and love the Bible and to experience the same transformation that has radically changed his life. The result is a Bible that is clear, understandable, and applicable to the lives of its readers.
Dr. Wiersbe writes, “The remedy for discouragement is the Word of God. When you feed your heart and mind with its truth, you regain your perspective and find renewed strength.” By providing a new set of tools for Bible students of all levels, David C Cook and Warren Wiersbe have partnered to provide an essential tool to help bring the “perspective” and “renewed strength” that comes from a life transforming study of God’s Word. This fantastic and long awaited resource will bring more clarity than ever before to the study of God’s Word.
The Transformation Study Bible with General Editor Warren Wiersbe
David C Cook September 1, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1434765307/2100 pages/$24.99
The review for The Transformation Bible Study will be a bit. I plan to read through it this year. For starters I love the New Living Translation which makes the Bible easy to understand in common and modern language. Secondly, I have most of the BE books and Rob and I use them often. We appreciate Wiersbe's insight and simple to understand writing. More later.
