A Most Unsuitable Match

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Oct 202011
 

I first discovered the talents of Stephanie Grace Whitson while browsing through my local library stacks about a year ago. So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review her book A Most Unsuitable Match.

Taking place in 1869 and 1870 in the upper class suburbs of St Louis and points west, this was a welcome diversion into a time period I can only conjure up in my mind with the aid of history books and such.

Fannie was born into privilege. She lived in a very nice area of town, had a housekeeper for most of the work, a groundskeeper for the outside and everything she could ever want or need. Well, at least she was lead to believe she had everything.

Much to her society’s chagrin, she keeps turning down a prospective suitor due to her distaste of him. Well, everyone except for her best friend and Hannah, the housekeeper. Most everyone thinks it would be a most suitable match while she insists it would be quite unsuitable.

When her mother dies, she inherits the family’s fortunes. Or as the case turns out, misfortunes. Turns out, her family is about broke, there is no money for anything extra and even perhaps the salaries of the groundskeeper and Hannah. Upon hitting a brick wall with the family’s banker Fannie takes matters into her own hands after finding out that her mother had an identical twin sister. Fannie insists on going out West to find her and seek answers from her. Turns out, her Aunt Eddie had written many letters over the years but her mother hid them all from her. In fact, the discovery of the letters is quite the shock to Fannie who had no clue she ever had an aunt, let alone her mom had an identical twin sister.

Hannah decides to go West with Fannie and the adventure begins. Fannie finagles passage on a steamer headed West piloted by a man who is supposed to be the best at navigating but is the crudest man she’s ever met. The trip is fraught with danger and accidents happen. Fannie meets Samuel Beck onboard the steamer. He is a mysterious man who is searching for his lost sister. After several events, Fannie and Samuel find themselves headed West together, both in search of relatives.

Will they find their relatives? Will they survive the trip? Will hopes be dashed? Will the answers to their questions be answered or will they end up with more? Will Fannie and Samuel end up together? For according to society, that would be a A Most Unsuitable Match considering  the fact he has nothing. Or does he have everything?

This book was a riveting read. I loved the pace of the story, and I never knew what was going to happen as I flipped each page. In fact, I had a few surprises as I read when I can normally see what is coming. I loved it.

I received a copy of A Most Unsuitable Match from Bethany House in exchange for my review. All opinions are mine and mine alone and no other compensation was received.

The Sweetest Thing

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Oct 192011
 

I love history. I love to read historical fiction. So it was with my excitement that I got The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser to review. I am fascinated with the Depression Era as that is when my grandparents were born and I thought this was going to be a terrific book.

I don’t want to give the book’s entire plot away. Which this is going to be hard…Perri’s world is shattered within the first chapter. She lives in a well-to-do family and was quite accustomed to pretty much getting whatever she wanted, attending the best school and being quite the little socialite. Her neighbors take in a niece who’s poor. Mary Dobbs comes from a totally different world. One where faith is supreme, and you give what you have to those who need it more than you do.

The two girls become friends, but can their friendship survive through their drastically different lives? Can Mary Dobbs keep her faith as Perri finds hers?

Honestly, I had to struggle to finish this book. I kind of felt like the characters were forced to come alive. And personally, I thought the plot was way too far fetched. The first chapter deals with extremely difficult issues (well, the whole book does) and you have no time at all to get to know any of the characters and form a sort of relationship with them before tragedy strikes. In a way, the book felt abrupt. I found it hard to relate to any of the characters and really ended up not caring how things turned out in the end.

This book wasn’t for me personally. However, the fact that I got it to read the week of our tornado may have clouded my thoughts on the book as I was already dealing with the emotional upheaval of living in a disaster zone and things in real life looked bleak enough. Real life happenings can cloud perceptions towards anything, including books of fiction.

I received a copy of The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser from Bethany House for the purposes of this review. All opinions are mine and mine alone and no other compensation was received.

Zombie Church, A Review

 Book Reviews, Church, Litfuse  No Responses »
Oct 062011
 

About Zombie Church:

A creative, entertaining approach to resurrecting the undead church.

There is something missing in the church today. Stuck in a rut of routines and rituals, the church is caught up in doing what it is “supposed to do” but is lacking the true essence of what it is supposed to provide: life. Real faith–and a real relationship with Jesus–is not about playing by the rules, attending services, and praying before meals. Real faith is more than religion.

Believing there is a way to breathe life back into the church, Tyler Edwards adopts a contemporary and entertaining metaphor–zombies–to highlight and challenge the problematic attitude of today’s believers.

Written for the discouraged, disenfranchised, and anyone unsatisfied with their same-old church routine, Zombie Church challenges readers to turn away from hollow religious practices, which characterize “zombie Christianity,” and turn toward a radical relationship with Jesus.

While other books have addressed legalism in the church, this is the only book that effectively capitalizes on a popular entertainment genre in order to diagnose and correct the problem. Realizing that even his own church is part of that problem, Edwards has written an accessible and often humorous book that will help believers change the Spirit-draining (or life-draining) habits that stop them from achieving a full, fulfilling life in Christ. Order a copy here.

Link to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0825424593/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=sprightly-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=0825424593&adid=1XBB9CNE5N30WACVQ3DX

About Tyler Edwards:

Tyler Edwards is the lead pastor at Cornerstone Christian Church in Joplin, Missouri, where he works to help people learn how to live like Jesus, love like Jesus, and look like Jesus—so they carry out the mission of Jesus to the world. He graduated from Ozark Christian College with bachelor’s degrees in both Biblical Literature and Christian Ministry. He has written articles for Lookout Magazine, spoken at various campus ministry events in Missouri, and served overseas in Mbale, Uganda.

Tyler loves cheesy horror films. He is particularly fond of movies like Dawn of the Dead, The Signal, and 28 Days Later, where zombies run wild and threaten to infect an entire town. Connect with Tyler on Facebook.

My take on the book:

What do you imagine when you think of zombies? For me, I think of evil, of something not edifying and a genre of books and movies that really have no place in the Christian’s life. Never would I picture the church in the context of zombies.

Tyler Edwards, however, thinks that the church is full of them. Not the flesh eating, un-dead creatures prevalent in today’s horror films and books. But of people who go through the motions, not making an effort and turning the Church into something that isn’t living, breathing or being relevant. I will agree, that the American Church has grown increasingly apathetic in recent years especially and some hold to ideas that are not biblical in the least. I have been in several like that over the years. I’m sure a lot (if not most of us) have been to a church like that at some point in our lives.

This book does have several good points. Yes, a good many churches in this country are apathetic and dying. They aren’t reaching the lost, and really aren’t dong what we are called to do (love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength Mark 12;30).

To an extent, this book is just preaching to the choir. And a very limited one at that. With the reference to zombies, I’m not sure that most would be apt to pick up and read this book. I was leery to do so as I don’t feel that is a genre that deserves my attention with my worldview and I’m sure that a lot of others will be turned off by the title alone. There are many other books on the market today addressing the sins of the church, and this just adds to it. At least Edwards took the final few chapters to say what he thinks the solution is unlike some other books on the market. I would add to his solution of basically loving on people and being the hands and feet of Christ that we do need to hold ourselves and each other accountable. As Christian brothers and sisters, we do need to hold each other accountable for our choices and do call each other out on things that we observe to be wrong. That would also help to keep us from slipping down the slope of laziness (hey, someone else will go and do that….) to apathy (as iron sharpens iron…Proverbs 27:17).

You don’t have to take my word for it, go see what others on this blog tour have to say for themselves here.

The publisher is sponsoring a $50 Amazon.com giveaway!

To enter all you have to do is send a tweet (using @litfuse) about Zombie Church or share about it on Facebook!

If you tweet we’ll capture your entry when you use @litfuse. If you share it on Facebook or your blog, just email us and let us know (info@litfusegroup.com). Easy.

Not sure what to tweet/post? Here’s an idea:

TWEET THIS: Zombie Church by Tyler Edwards – a fair-minded & tenderhearted critique of the churchhttp://ow.ly/6Nv05@litfuse RT for $50 to @amazon

FACEBOOK THIS: Don’t miss Edwards – a fair-minded and tenderhearted critique of the church. http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13424384 Written for the discouraged, disenfranchised, and anyone unsatisfied with their same-old church routine, Zombie Church challenges readers to turn away from hollow religious practices, which characterize “zombie Christianity,” and turn toward a radical relationship with Jesus. Share this for a chance at $50 to Amazon.com

I was given a copy of Zombie Church by Tyler Edwards by the Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my reading it and posting a review. All opinions are mine and mine alone and no other compensation was received.

A New Addition to the Debates of Origin

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Jul 012011
 

Have you every shied away from a debate before? Felt like you weren’t adequately prepared for a debate with others, even if you knew you were right? Afraid of making yourself or your cause appear foolish?

Well, in the debate of the origins of the universe, there is a new resource available for you. In God and Stephen Hawking John C. Lennox debates Hawking’s theories presented in his latest book The Grand Design with the use of philosophy and advanced mathematics. I don’t know about you, but most of the creationist materials I’ve seen and read only deal with the fossil record and physical science. This book is a breath of fresh air into this ages old debate. This book specifically deals with the New Atheism that is gaining momentum today.

While I haven’t read Hawking’s book, this book was still easy to follow and did help me to see how the arguement with the New Atheism doesn’t hold water from a logical standpoint.

Lennox starts by pointing out faulty logic and follows his arguments through to their conclusion. He also points out that not all scientists are evolutionists. There are many who believe in creation and their science is sound.

Lennox is also very respectful when he addresses Hawkins in the book. He doesn’t talk down, doesn’t degrade his thinking or him as a person. He just presents his side of the argument in a logical manner that isn’t condescending. I appreciate that. In this debate, enough mud slinging and name calling have occurred and I appreciate not seeing it in this book. This book is also written to be accessible to everyone. While if you aren’t used to terms used in physics and equations, this book may be a bit harder for you to digest, but it will be well worth your trouble. Everyone needs to at least have a basic understanding of the debate upon our origins. This book is a great place to start with logic, philosophy and physics. I would suggest adding this to any upper high school level science curriculum in your homeschool. And having your public school students read it also.

I received a copy of God and Stephen Hawking by John C. Lennox from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my review. All opinions are mine and mine alone, and no other compensation was received.

How Are You Marketing Christ?

 Book Reviews  1 Response »
Jun 302011
 

How are you reaching the world for Christ?

Are you up to date, using methods that resonate with the people you are sharing with? Or are you back in the 1950s and still use a flannel graph?

Do you take the time to know and understand who you are sharing with? Where they come from, what they believe and how they think? Or are you using a one-size-fits-all approach and preaching the same thing to everyone?

Tim Sinclair thinks that we need to target our audience better. In his book  Branded, he explains how we as Christians are generally stuck in sharing our faith in a more one-size-fits all approach. And that well, those methods aren’t working. If they did, wouldn’t more people have come to Christ by now?

As much as I hate to think of the fact that we are in effect, “marketing” Christ, that is what we are doing (or not doing). Advertisers learn who their targeted audience is. They don’t go blindly into a campaign to sell something to everyone. When was the last time you saw a toy commercial aimed towards adults? Never, right? They know that to excite the children over a toy, they need to market to the children. Same with every other product out there.

As Christians, we need to find out who we are sharing Christ with and tailor our approach to them. I’m not saying that we change the Gospel message, we don’t (nor should we.) but we speak and show the people we are sharing with in a way that is meaningful to them.

This book is a good kick upside the head for those of us who have forgotten that we are reaching individuals. That we need to relate each person’s need for a Savior to them. We can tell them what Christ has done for us, we can share the Gospel with them, but we have to remember that what works for your neighbor to understand and accept it is totally different than your co-worker three cubicles over. I highly recommend this book to every Christian out there to revitalize your thinking in your approach with sharing the Gospel.

I was given a copy of Branded by Tim Sinclair as a part of the Litfuse Publicity Group. All opinions are mine and mine alone, and no other compensation was received.

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