Faith – Page 8 – Leah E. Good

May 9, 2014

Book Review: This Present Darkness

I forgot to mention this last week, but this month’s theme is spiritual warfare. Talk about an intense genre! Today’s review comes complements of my brother. I wanted to include This Present Darkness, but didn’t have time to read it. Thankfully he did, and he was willing to review it. Enjoy!

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A small town pastor attempts to hold a struggling church together while the town’s newspaper man tries to figure out mysterious happenings at the local college. Both men are unaware of the supernatural battle taking place in their families and neighborhoods. Tal, a mighty angel captain, struggles to get the Christians to provide the prayer cover he needs to do his work as he battles an ancient foe. Can the newspaper man and pastor hold the town together and can Tal defeat his demonic counterpart?

Peretti’s book is fascinating and exciting from the first pages. He makes the spiritual battle seem real, and it makes you think of just how little we really can see and understand of what is happening around us, and how effective prayer is. This is definitely a very intense book that is probably best for readers over age fourteen.

May 2, 2014

Book Review: Cloak of the Light

Cloak of the Light is one of those “impossible to categorize” books. It’s not quite sci-fi, not fantasy, not allegory. My brother purchased this at a homeschool conference last weekend, devoured it in a day, and declared it one of the best books he ever read. He described it as Spider Man meets Frank Peretti.

Life has thrown Drew plenty of curveballs, starting when he lost his father at age twelve. He doesn’t believe in God. He doesn’t believe his best friend’s conviction about the potential of alien life either. Not until he sees an other-earthly invader with his own eyes. In an experiment goes wrong, Drew gets zapped with the equipment used to see into the other realm and soon discovers that he can now see into it without a machine. He finds himself observing a battle between dark and light invaders. Who are these mysterious beings that are invisible to all eyes but his own? What do they want? And what can one young man do against a force of evil that can affect the hearts of men?

I found the start of this book a little slow, but my brother said it drew him in from page one, so I’m guessing it’s a matter of personal preference and level of criticalness. If you’re like me, just view the first few chapters as an extended prologue and rest assured it will pick up soon. Chuck Black makes it clear in the afterword that this book is not intended to be an interpretation of actual spiritual warfare, but rather an imaginative, gripping story to help readers think about spiritual warfare as they might not have otherwise. I fully enjoyed the story and look forward to book two!

April 19, 2014April 19, 2014

Visit the Grave (an Easter poem)

The story of Mary Magdalene visiting the tomb of Jesus early on the morning of His resurrection has always intrigued me. Of all the people involved in the discovery of his empty tomb and victory over death, Mary Magdalene stands out. Jesus had impacted her life in such a huge way, casting seven devils out of her (Mark 16:9). He had given her hope. How she must have grieved his death. She must have questioned everything, searching for something to cling to. And yet something drew her back to his grave. She couldn’t even wait till dawn. She went to the tomb while it was still dark (John 20:1) and was the very first person Jesus revealed himself to. I wrote this poem about her several months ago but saved it to share now. I figure you all will have more time to read it today, though, so hear you are. 😉 And while you’re at it, you might want to read Dawn for My Soul, last year’s Easter poem (also written from Mary Magdalene’s perspective).

How can I ever sleep again?
My hope, my light, my Lord is dead.
My cheeks are wet, my words unsaid,
I cannot stay upon this bed.

Oh how I miss Him, gone three days,
Without Him life is but a haze.
My purpose buried in His grave,
His presence now is all I crave.

The darkness heavy on this morn,
It matches well my soul forlorn.
While others sleep I slip away,
My vigil keeping where He lays.

My soul, oh, must you break again?
My journey to his grave in vain.
The stone rolled back, my Savior gone.
They took Him by the break of dawn.

The others come and see this thing,
We mourn together our lost King.
The others leave, but still I stay,
I look into his burial cave.

The empty grave now fills with light,
Two angels stand before my sight.
They ask me why I shed these tears,
I tell them He’s no longer here.

And then the gardener speaks my name
My heart will never be the same.
My ears can hear, my heart now knows,
That Jesus vanquished all his foes!

My hope, my light, my Lord is back,
My heart no more shall ever lack.
My Christ arose, and so shall I,
Be ever with Him in the sky.

April 11, 2014April 11, 2014

Book Review: Cobra Strike

“And don’t do anything stupid like try to run,” he said. “I’d hate to have to get rough.”

Roy Linden can run like a deer, but his tongue is another story. His stutter prevents him from making friends and keeps him labeled a loner. His running isn’t doing him much good either. Everyone in his small Kentucky hometown thinks he could be great in football, but without a decent quarterback, no one outside Johnstown will ever see him. Roy’s luck changes when legendary high school quarter back Waymen Witley moves to town. Together, Waymen and Roy are unstoppable on the football field. But Roy has plenty to distract him from his growing fame. Birds have been dying on his Gram’s property. Roy knows something is wrong with the water, but he can’t get anyone to listen to him. Something strange is going on, and someone high up is pulling strings to keep it quiet. Roy fears his gram is in danger. What will he decide when he starts receiving threats?

I’m not a big football fan when it comes to the sport itself, but I seem to enjoy a lot of football stories (Facing the Giants anyone?). I first read Cobra Strike several years ago and enjoyed it enough to re-read it out loud to my mom. I enjoyed it again as I re-read it this week. It’s a quick read (I suspect it may have been written as a hi-lo book), but totally worth it. Let me know what you think! Bonus points: Cobra Strike is written from a Christian perspective!

February 28, 2014February 28, 2014

Book Review: Never*

“Listen to me, kid. It don’t matter what happens. It don’t matter what anybody thinks or does. All that matters is that you keep fightin’ and never, you hear me? never give up.”

I think this is the first time I’ve given a self-published book a five star rating. I found “Never” through a blog scavenger hunt the author did to celebrate the book release. When I downloaded the free sample, I didn’t know what to expect. The sample definitely hooked me.

Travis Hamilton, a scholarly young man, is an unlikely suspect for murder. When he is convicted and sentenced ten years labor in Dead Mines, his brother Ross is determined to clear Travis. Ross knows his brother cannot survive the sentence, and he knows Travis is not the murderer. But the web of deception is more tangled than either brother imagined. As their journeys increase in difficulty, both brothers turn to moral convictions that must “never” be abandoned, no matter what the cost. Can Travis survive the evil rule of the mine boss? Can Ross reach the bottom of an ever deepening mystery before it’s too late to rescue his brother?

Some of Travis’s experiences in the mine might make this book unsuitable for young children. If it was a movie I’d give it a PG rating. That said, this story was refreshing. Even in Christian fiction, it’s rare to see heroes sticking to what they believe as tenaciously as Ross and Travis. The author did a wonderful job showing principled good winning over unprincipled evil. I’ll be looking forward to reading more from this author.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Author: J Grace Pennington
Audience: Tween–YA
Genre: Historical Adventure
Pages: 318
Publisher: Self-Published

Book Review: Fly Away Home

Happy Valentines Day everyone! In honor of the day, here’s a review of a sweet, newly released love story. Yes. It is a love story and I am reviewing it. Miracles do happen. And, as I said, it’s very sweet. And clean. The giveaway is open to residents of the continental USA. To enter just leave a comment explaining why you’d like to read the book. The winner will be announced on Thursday (or as close to Thursday as my schedule permits).

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Calida Harper has big dreams, a depressing reality, and a pain ridden past. When she’s offered a position as assistant to one of the countries most famous and successful reporters, she knows she’s just had the biggest break of her career. But one false step and she’s out of a job. Matters get further confused as Callie’s emotions begin tying themselves in knots. Her boss, Mr. Burnett, is infuriating and “a darling” all at the same time. His down to earth boyishness and Christian faith remind Callie of things she’s sworn to leave in the past. But when a jealous co-worker presents her with a dreadful either or, Callie must face both her traitorous emotions and her past.

When Rachel Heffington contacted me to ask if I’d like to review her soon-to-be-released book, I was a little skeptical. After all, she presented it as a “christian/historical romance” and I don’t read those! She assured me the romance was clean, and I agreed to give it a try. I’m glad I did. This is as much a story about friendship, trust, and forgiveness as a romance. And the romance aspect is my kind of love story too. Both characters fall for each other’s character and heart instead of lusting over physical characteristics. This isn’t a story I’d hesitate to recommend because of blush factors.

Knowing it was self-published also made me a little wary at first. At the beginning of the book, I occasionally felt the description and historical detail was a bit heavy handed, but I suspect that might have been a result of hyper-awareness more than anything else. Over all the book was well written and well told. Thumbs up.

Note: I received a review copy of this book from the author. I was under no obligation to give a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.

February 7, 2014

Book Review: Red Rain

This month’s theme is self-published books by homeschooled authors. It’s a repeat theme from last January, but all new books.

“The real world won’t accept me, ma’am. I won’t sign the file.”

Summary
The pressure on Philadelphia, her father, and the other Christian’s in their tiny compound is growing. In the government school for Christians, the children are offered an opportunity to be adopted into “normal” families. Philadelphia refuses. She is shocked when she returns home and told by her father that she should have accepted. He’s received word that his services are needed on Mars. The summons is not optional, and Philadelphia is not allowed to accompany him. Mars. The same place her brother went and never returned.

My Thoughts
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I started this book, but it had me hooked from the very beginning. Sci-fi isn’t usually my thing, but stories of persecuted Christians always intrigue and challenge me. So, persecuted Christians on Mars? Why not? When Christians talk about reclaiming the sci-fi genre from the largely amoral path it has taken, this is the type of book their talking about. Who knows. If more Christians pop up on Mars, I might become a regular reader of sci-fi. 😉

January 31, 2014

Book Review: The Door Within

*Reposted Review: First posted August 10, 2012*

“What can I do?” Aidan pleaded. “I can’t fight. I even had a middle schooler beat me up once.”

Aidan is upset about his family moves. Lonely and restless, he ventures into his Grandfather’s basement in search of adventure. He doesn’t expect scrolls to magically appear, but they do. When Aidan chooses to believe what the scrolls say, he becomes part of an adventure bigger than he ever imagined. He enters the land of Alleble, and joins the Glimpses of the realm in a fight against the evil Lord Paragor. Can a teenager from the Mirror Realm save many from death?

Great book! I highly recommend The Door Within and the other two books in the trilogy. I read all three of them in a week! The Door Within gets off to a little bit of a slow start, but stick with it. It gains momentum through the whole book (you won’t be able to put it down), and the beginning is important in the grand scheme of things. Allegorical components add rather than distract from the story, and there’s no magic to worry about.

Author: Wayne Thomas Batson
Audience: All Ages
Genre: Christian Fantasy
Pages: 311
Publisher: Tommy Nelson