non-fiction

Monday, no secondhand faith…

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Patricia

A Black Cat Book Review

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Firsthand by Ryan and Josh Shook

Brothers Ryan and Josh Shook were raised in the Church, sons of a preacher.  All they knew was their family’s Christian faith.  Somewhere in their teens they began to question the authenticity of their personal beliefs.  Did they really believe or were they simply worshipping  God with their parents faith, a secondhand faith?

What followed was a time of searching, doubting, drifting, and lots of questions.  They tell some stories about themselves duringfirsthand the time they were sort of wandering in the wilderness that are open and honest.  They  realized they were not going to be satisfied with anything but firsthand faith.  Not just the faith of their father but faith they owned, firsthand faith.

The book is written primarily for teens and young adults that are Christian but questioning the validity of their beliefs and the basis of their faith.  The book asks the questions young people, and many older folks, are asking themselves and gives insight on how to find the answers.  With personal reflection and comments from other young people the brothers don’t  answer the questions directly.  They do point the reader in the direction of the answers with “Think about It” and “Might Try This” sections of the book.

This is a good book for anyone looking for faith that is not just a mask but one that is real from the inside out.   Personally, I liked chapter 5, “Trashing the Checklist” and chapter 6, “Question Everything” the best.  The Shook brothers make what may seem to some  like radical suggestions.  But if read to the end none of it is really radical but it is really solid.  The key is to not stop reading; you must read the whole to understand the parts.

I think this would be a good book for a teen group study.  It is written in an easy conversational style that will lead to discussion.  It has good honest feedback from young people who looked for answers to their questions and doubts and found what they needed.  Overall a book worth reading.

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This book was sent to me by WaterBrook Multnomah, as a gift, for participating 
in an online survey before the book was published.

Categories: books, Christian, Monday, non-fiction, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Wednesday, a story of love and faith…

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Patricia

A Black Cat Book Review

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Heaven Hears by Lindy Boone Michaelis

Lindy Boone Michaelis, by her own admission, had an almost fairy tale life.  She lived in California, the daughter of Pat Boone,  nothing really bad had ever happened.  Until June 2001.  It was then that tragedy struck.  Her son, Ryan Corbin, fell through a skylight and landed on the cement floor three stories below.  What follows is her story of love.  Her love for her son and the Lord.  Michaelis writes a heart wrenching story that is filled with courage, suffering, despair, hope, and above all faith.  Her faith, the faith of her son, parents, sisters, husband, and a world of people she didn’t know.

Days after the accident while Ryan was still in Intensive Care in a coma with massive injuries the beginnings of a world-wide prayer vigilhh began.  Larry King, a friend of Pat Boone, offered a few minutes of his program to Pat and Lindy.  They would tell a bit of what happened and Ryan’s fight to live and their belief that a miracle would happen.  They asked for prayers for Ryan and those caring for him.  

The healing of Ryan was not instantaneous, he is still recovering today, but that he is alive is a testament to the power of prayer and the love of a mother.  Lindy did whatever needed to be done to see her son survive.  She had a remarkable support system in place.  Her husband understood her need to be with Ryan even when it meant leaving him and their other children and moving miles away so Ryan could get the therapy he needed.  Her mother stayed with her most of the time seeing to it that Ryan always had family with him. Her sisters stayed in touch constantly.  Her father was with Ryan whenever commitments allowed him.   

Lindy’s mission to see her son well again was not without its problems.  Her other children felt abandoned and let down by her though they understood why she wasn’t there for them like they wanted and needed.  He husband at times questioned her single-minded focus on Ryan, and friends didn’t understand.  Lindy is honest in her telling of the years and the toll they took on her family.  She is rebuilding her relationships with them one day at a time.  But she is brutally honest when she says that if she knew what her single-minded devotion to Ryan would do to others in her family she doubts that it would change anything.

She knows that because of her parents help she and her husband were able to care for Ryan in ways that other people are not able to care for those they love.  Knowing that brain injured people often have little in the way of financial resources the Boone/Michaelis family has started Ryan’s Reach to help.

Though Ryan’s recovery is remarkable he has a long way to go.  Perhaps more remarkable is the love of his mother and how she clung to her faith in a God  and the hope for complete healing.  She has no doubt that Heaven Hears prayers and answers them…one day at a time. 

This book was sent to me by Tyndale House Publishers without charge in exchange for this review.

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Categories: Black Cat, books, non-fiction, Uncategorized, Wednesday | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tuesday, the language of blessing…

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Patricia

Black Cat Book Review

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The Language of Blessing by Joseph Cavanaugh III

In his book, The Language of Blessing, Joseph Cavanaugh III wants us to know that everyone in this world is one of a kind.  He wants us to know who we are and what gifts and talents we have been given.  And he wants us to know that each person is meant to bless others with these gifts and talents; this is the language of blessing.  He says, “I want to convince you that what you offer is so rare that it has never been given before and it will never be given again.”

With many personal stories, Cavanaugh, shares the sadness of not being affirmed as a child andlanguage how it affected how he viewed life and how he lived.  These are stories many have lived in one form or another.  Childhood is where we learn what we have to offer and when we are not blessed with affirmation we often think who and what we are is of little value. “After all, you cannot give to others what you have not received yourself”. With application activities after each chapter questions are asked to help us see the error in some of our thinking and given encouragement to use the lessons taught in the chapter to begin seeing and using our God-given gifts. 

George Barna writes in the forward, “Joe will also introduce you to some self-assessment inventories, which will enable you to invest yourself more heavily in using your strengths rather than inefficiently striving to overcome your weaknesses.”  This approach is what was most new and surprising to me…and most welcome.   

Once we know what we have within ourselves, and the importance of sharing who we are and what we have to offer, we can begin to use the language of blessing to affirm others.  As the author writes, “To deny your God-given gifts, talents, and intelligences is to deny His workmanship in your life.” 

This is an easy book to read, not a scholarly tome, on how we come to think of ourselves as we do, right or wrong.  And how to accent the positive and build on it and how to recognize the negative and erase it.  Well worth reading.

This book was sent to me by Tyndale House Publishers without charge in exchange for this review.

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Categories: Black Cat, books, Christian, non-fiction, Tuesday, words | Tags: , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Monday, life is bitter and sweet…

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Patricia

A Black Cat Book Review

All That Is Bitter And Sweet by Ashley Judd
and Maryanne Vollers

Before reading Ashley Judd’s book what I knew about her:

  • she is beautiful
  • daughter of Naomi Judd, sister of Wynonna
  • award-winning actress
  • once one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood
  • married to a race car driver
  • has homes in Tennessee and Scotland
  • has no children

After reading her book I now know:

  • she had a difficult childhood
  • her mother was self-absorbed and often neglected her
  • college graduate
  • has a Master’s in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
  • was in rehab for depression and codependency
  • political activist and humanitarian
  • woman of deep faith

Taken from diaries she kept while traveling Africa and Asia as the Global Ambassador for Population Services International the book proves Ashley Judd is more than what you see.  She writes openly about her childhood and how those memories drew her to work on behalf of poor, sick, and disenfranchised women and children of Third World countries.

The accounts of her travels with PSI are hard to read;  the violence and horror is not unexpected. However, the accounts of her often unhappy and sad childhood are surprising. Though she has a good relationship with her mother now, as a child she was often neglected  and  was shuttled between family members, attending thirteen schools before graduating from high school.  Judd writes honestly about those times and it is easy to understand why she struggles with depression.

Judd’s writes about her family without extremes or excuses or blame and reveals some secrets in a straight forward way.  She went through a lot when a little girl and is a strong woman now, perhaps because of it.

There is some mention of her career as an actress and her private life now, but, clearly this is a book about the passion she has for her humanitarian work and how it led to her political activism.  The stories she tells of the women and children victims of sexual violence and slavery are chilling.  They are not second-hand stories but stories from Judd’s meetings with the victims in their own environments. 

Her first trip with PSI began a journey of not only commitment to the forgotten and uncared for victims of abuse but a journey of self-discovery and deepening faith.  This book is well worth reading not only to be made aware of the unspeakable that is happening everyday in the world but also as a testament of the survival and courage of those living it.   And it is the story well worth reading of a quiet dismissed little girl who grew up to be a woman of insight, courage, passion, faith, and determination to make the world a better place.

Ashley Judd is not just a pretty face.

 

Categories: books, memoir, Monday, non-fiction, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | 15 Comments

Tuesday, who do you trust…

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Patricia

A Black Cat Book Review

Trusting God by Sharon Jaynes, Gwen Smith, Mary Southerland

This is a thoughtful and interesting book written by three women as a devotional and bible study.  The authors are  Girlfriends in God.   They share stories from their lives openly in an engaging and conversational way.  Almost like talking with your girlfriends.  Their stories tell you about who and what they are about, and more importantly, about the One they trust.

In a twelve week format, each week has five devotionals that start with a truth from scripture, then a short thoughtful devotion, and ends with a prayer.  The sixth day is the bible study part.  There are questions for reflection and space to write your own thoughts and insights.  The devotions seem light and easy reads until you get to the questions the Girlfriends in God ask.  The reflections of day six are, at least for this reader, heavy-duty, thought-provoking, sometimes very difficult questions to ponder.

I found the devotions were short enough to read in just a few minutes yet left me with much to think about; where I have been, where I am, and where I want to be in my experience of trusting God.  And as I said, the study part takes some work.  Work worth doing.

The book can be read simply as a devotional or you can include the sixth day “Now It’s Your Turn” as a bible study.  However you decide to use Trusting God, as a personal time with God, sharing with a friend or prayer partner, or in a small group study you will learn a lot about yourself and why you can trust God.

Trusting God
was sent to me free of charge by
Waterbrook Multnomahin exchange for this review. 

Categories: Black Cat, books, non-fiction, Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | 8 Comments

Friday, I liked it, I really liked it…

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Patricia

A Black Cat Book Review

The End by Mark Hitchcock

With his overview of the end times, Mark Hitchcock has taken a difficult, often confusing, and always controversial subject and written about it in a refreshingly simple way.  That is not to say his book is simplistic, but that it takes complex prophecy and presents it in a way that is easier to understand than what most authors write. 

The End is written to be understood not only by scholars and intellectuals but also by the layperson who does not have a seminary or university background.  In a conversational way, with many scripture references and citing many scholars and experts of eschatology, past and present, Hitchcock brings light to prophecy that often seems unknowable.  He gives the different views and chronology of the Rapture, the Millennium, and the Tribulation;  what they are, what they mean, and how they will unfold.  He gives the strength and weaknesses of all the views and tells the reader his thoughts and opinions and why he believes as he does.

Where many authors tend to sensationalize the prophecies of the end times Hitchcock writes thoughtfully and carefully about things found in scripture that are not easily understood.  He takes what can be dark and frightening and brings it from a science-fiction-like genre to non-fiction  reality.

This is a book for Christian believers and for those who are not Christian in their beliefs.  For believers it is insightful and encouraging.  For unbelievers, perhaps, it will help make the unbelievable believable.  Anyone who reads The End will find it well written and thought-provoking.

This book was sent to me, without charge, by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. in exchange for this review.

Categories: Black Cat, Friday, non-fiction, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

Sunday, Named By God, a review…

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Patricia

A Black Cat Book Review

 

Named by God by  Kasey Van Norman

Like all of us Kasey Van Norman has a past.  Like most of us, there were good times and bad times; times she was on the right path and times when she lost her way.  Unlike a lot of us she has overcome her past, lives in the present, and looks forward to the future.

Of her past, Van Norman writes openly and honestly and doesn’t feel sorry for herself.  She has faced her short-comings and failures, asked for forgiveness, and has forgiven.  She encourages us to do the same by looking at who we were and why, to learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others in our lives, and to see God in all of it.  See how He was there with us and what He was doing for us, through us, and often in spite of us, to accomplish His plan.

She then brings us into the present.  And once again, like all of us she has her ups and downs and like most of us she questions the why of things.  But unlike many of us she does not question God’s love for her or His grace in her life.   And she tells us how she has come to this understanding.

She writes, “In order to be transformed, we must come to the realization that it is not enough to simply believe in God; we must believe God.”  and  ”In order to take another step in transforming our present, we must presently believe in God’s ultimate plan for our lives.”

In the redeemed believer the future is assured and Van Norman tells us to be filled with the Word, know our gifts, and use them in service to others.  She writes that we are not to give the future just an occasional thought but to embrace it.  Because of  what  our future holds she wants us to know that how we live is important not only for our own lives but for the lives of others.

Named By God is engagingly written with personal stories and experiences with no excuses for when she went off the path on her own.  She uses scripture to reference and explain what she is saying.  Van Norman did not overcome her past to live in the present and embrace the future by herself and she knows it.  She gives God the glory!

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This book was sent to me by Tyndale House Publishers at no cost to me in exchange for this review.

Categories: Black Cat, books, Christian, non-fiction, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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