Against Nothingness

Speaking of giveaways, Kristina has one going at her blog as well. You should check that out too! http://mommyingmonkeys.blogspot.com/2011/07/busy-bags-and-giveaway.html

Just wanted to remind you all again to enter my 'celebrating 100 book reviews' giveaway.  Details can be found here .

Mark Horne. J.R.R. Tolkien (Christian Encounters Series) . Thomas Nelson, 2011. 160 pgs. Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church.This particular book is, obviously, a highlight of the life of J.R.R. Tolkien. It is not a full biography, rather it is the outline of his life and a chance for you to 'meet' this famous author. The book is organized chronologically, with heavier emphasis on the early parts of Tolkien's life. It concludes with a brief look at his legacy. As a 'Christian Encounter' this is a decent book. Horne writes well, and one feels as if one gets to know Tolkien a little bit by the end of the book. As far as I know, though I am no expert, this is an accurate look at Tolkien's life, and it was certainly interesting. My only complaint was that I felt as if Horne worked a little bit too hard to relate nearly all of Tolkien's life to Th...

Jeremy Kingsley.  Getting Back Up When Life Knocks You Down . Bethany House, 2011. 123 pgs.  The title of this book is very revealing. This is a book of encouragement for when 'life knocks you down.' In each chapter, Kingsley explores a crisis (set backs, rejection, pain, denial, anger, bargaining, responsibility, forgiveness, guilt, and worry) and how working through it in perseverance can lead to growth in many ways. He also fills each chapter with practical advice on how to work through that crisis or problem.  To be honest, I did not enjoy this book. There isn't anything glaringly wrong with it; no heresy, no mis-use of statistics or sources, no terrible writing. It's just that there isn't anything really right with it either. This is a Christian self help book, and while there is certainly much of the book that points to God, there is also too much of the book which points to our selves. Furthermore, it is overly simple. For example, Kingsley offe...

As you may have noticed, I posted my 100th book review yesterday! I want to celebrate this fact by doing another book giveaway.  Not just any giveaway though, no, that would not be good enough for you, my loyal readers!  Instead, I will be giving away your choice of (almost) any one of these 100 books. The only condition is that I refuse to give away a book that I rated as "not recommended." Sorry, but I simply won't do that to you. Trust me, it's for your own good. You also cannot choose the kindle :)  Here is how the contest works. You have one week from today, until noon PST on Wednesday August 3rd, to enter the contest. In order to enter all you have to do is tell me, in a comment, which book you would like to receive.  And in case you find browsing through 100 book reviews a daunting task, let me help you. If you ever take a look at the bottom of my posts you will see descriptive words known as labels or tags. If you click on them you will be tak...

Jerry Root and Stan Guthrie.  The Sacrament of Evangelism . Moody Publishers, 2011. 288 pgs.  Root and Guthrie offer a way of looking at life that makes us open to God's presence everywhere. They then apply to evangelism. The result is an entirely different way of thinking about evangelism; it is not about us doing anything to God, but about allowing God to do things to us. It is about going out into the world, finding that God is already there, and engaging with His ongoing activity. Through four sections, each with five chapters, Root and Guthrie explain this world view, explore it's implications, and offer some practical advice on actually doing it.  Suffused with wisdom and humility, The Sacrament of Evangelism was an exhilarating read. It is evident that each section of this book seeks to open the readers eyes to God's presence and strengthen in the readers heart a desire for God. This combination perfectly illustrates what Root and Guthrie ar...

     "But if God is so good as you represent him, and if he knows all that we need, and better far than we do ourselves, why should it be necessary to ask him for anything?      I answer, what if he knows prayer to be the thing we need first and most? What if the main object in God's idea of prayer be the supplying of our great, our endless need - the need of himself? What if the good of all our smaller and lower needs lies in this, that they help to drive us to God? Hunger may drive the runaway child home, and he may or may not be fed at once, but he needs his mother more than his dinner. Communion with God is the one need of the soul beyond all other need; prayer is the beginning of that communion, and some need is the motive of that prayer. Our wants are for the sake of our coming into communion with God, our eternal need... We must ask that we may receive; but that we should receive what we ask in respect of our lower needs, is not God's end in making...

"There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it." - George Bernard Shaw Last weekend the young adult fellowship at our church went camping. Our theme was "Mute." We wanted to take a break from the noise and have a chance to "be still and know God," to paraphrase a classic. According to scripture, stillness and quiet are necessary to hear and know God. Yet, most of us find these two things extremely difficult to endure. We spent two days away from home, without electronic devices, and away from some of the noisy clutter of our normal day-to-day, and this was itself a stretch. As we started the car for the journey home the radio came on and one of the men breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Ahh, music!"  (To be fair, this individual is a musical person) Of course, knowing this part of human nature was what drove us to 'mute'. We tried to be as helpful as possible and ask p...

Warren W. Wiersbe.  On Being a Leader for God . Baker Books, 2011. 144 pgs.  I have posted quotes from Warren Wiersbe  before . Here is a man experienced in ministry, having served for over 60 years, offering his advice on being a leader for God. Wiersbe begins his book by defining leadership: "Christian leaders are people who, by faith, willingly use their character, abilities, authority, and opportunities to serve others and to help them reach their fullest potential, to their benefit, the benefit of the organization, and the glory of God." He then spends the rest of the book exploring each part of this definition in detail.  I have long been a fan of On Being a Servant of God  by Wiersbe. It is one of the books I try to give to people starting out in ministry and I make all of my interns read it. I was pleased to find that this companion volume, which compliments Servant  without repeating it, will be going on that same list. Wiersbe offers ...

Ian Morgan Cron .  Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me: A Memoir. . . of Sorts . Thomas Nelson, 2011. 240 pgs.  "This is a memoir, but please understand that (to any writer with a good imagination) all memoirs are false... we can always imagine a better detail than the one we can remember. The correct detail is rarely, exactly, what happened, or what should have." John Irving.  Cron opens up his memoir noting that it is a memoir, not an autobiography nor a history. It is the story of his life, told through memory tinted glasses, as only our own stories can be. As stories go, Cron lays out an engaging and thought provoking story. Growing up with an alcoholic father who also worked for the CIA, and all the attendant pains of both of those facts, Cron has much to tell. Here, then, is the story of his growing up.  As a story, this book was excellent. Cron touches on, and explores, deep themes of forgiveness, love, reconciliation, and many others. Stylis...

The number, generated on random.org, was 172.  This makes FLORIN the winner!!!  Congratulations :) Also, for anyone nearby, you can grab the other copy from me any time to read. 

For the first time in the history of my blog I am giving something away.  Thomas Nelson, the publisher of Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me: A Memoir... of Sorts" by Ian Morgan Cron, has not only sent me the book to review myself. They have also sent me a second copy to give away.  I haven't finished reading it myself, but I am half way through and thoroughly enjoying it.  Here is how this will work. I have chosen number between 1-1000. Post your guess. One post per person. The first one to get it right OR the person who is closest as of 11pm PST on Sunday, July 10th will win the book.  Obviously, I will need a way to get in touch with the winner. Once we figure out who that is, we can figure out the best way for that via comments.  Good luck everyone!

Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson.   Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You've Only Heard About . Thomas Nelson, 2011. 208 pgs.  "Rumors of God is a call to Christians seeking a vision of the life God is calling them to, one that transcends the shallowness of our culture." So begins the copy describing this book. Whitehead and Tyson take the reader on a 10 chapter journey through rumors of the life God wants for us: rumors of an abundant life, a different dream, generosity, love, grace, freedom, commitment, community, justice, and hope. Their prayer in this book is the prayer of Habakkuk 3:2: "Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy." Rumors is a book about vision. It is a book through which you can catch glimpses of God's calling. This is as it should be, for we all see as through a glass darkly. Whitehead and Tyson have done an impr...

June has been the month that wasn't. I don't know why, but somehow I anticipated June being a relaxing month. It was to be a month of less rushed time of immediate needs and urgent priorities and, therefore, more slow time to catch up on reading, thinking, planning, etc. It wasn't. It was to be a month of writing, working on my ordination materials, and getting ready for the fall.  It wasn't.  Instead, I have posted fewer times than any month since December, and that is at least partially an indication of how much other stuff I have been doing. In fact, since restarting my blog, this is my second slowest month for blog posts. The real kicker is that we are now halfway through the year.   Ahh, well. Top 3 Posts of June: 1. Blogtour: "The Next Story" by Tim Challies  - I am fairly certain I owe this traffic to  http://engagingchurchblog.com/ . They flagged my post as "don't miss this challenging review." 2. "Spiritual But Not Religious....