The Valley of the Dry Bones

In The Valley of the Dry Bones, Jerry B. Jenkins overlays the ancient End Times prophecies of Ezekiel onto the landscape of modern California. After a 17-year drought, multiple earthquakes, and uncontrollable wildfires, the state is desolate. The United States President declares the state uninhabitable and irreparable, directing California's 39 million citizens to relocate. From the air, California looks like a vast abandoned sand box, but to a few groups of people, it's their home. With less than 1% of the population remaining in California at their own risk, the holdouts encounter a clash of cultures, ethnicities, religions, and politics that pits friend against friend with the future of California at stake.


My review:

  This book wasn't quite what I expected. I was thinking it was going to be a suspense novel, but it wasn't. The novel is sort of dystopian as it takes place after the state of California becomes pretty much a wasteland.

  The book was interesting enough, and had a different type of plot than I usually read. It was sort of a survivalist type story. I liked the characters, and the book held my attention well enough; but when I was done reading it; I asked myself aloud "what was the point of the book?" Maybe it needed a different kind of ending, but I did not feel that satisfaction I feel upon finishing a great book...... I just felt like the story had no point, and no real ending, and I found myself wondering why these people didn't just leave the desolate state as there didn't seem to be many people there for them to bring to God.

  It IS written well, but it just needed something more than it had in my opinion.

About the author:

Jerry Bruce Jenkins is an American novelist and biographer. He is best known as co-author of the Left Behind series of books with Tim LaHaye. Jenkins has written over 180 books, including mysteries, historical fiction, biblical fiction, cop thrillers, international spy thrillers, and children's adventures, as well as non-fiction. His works usually feature Christians as protagonists. In 2005, Jenkins and LaHaye ranked 9th in Amazon.com's 10th Anniversary list of Hall of Fame authors based on books sold at Amazon.com during its first 10 years. Jenkins and his wife Dianna have three sons and eight grandchildren.


The Valley of Dry Bones is available from Worthy Publishing.

Thanks to Worthy for the review copy.

Tyndale Rewards Program

 If you like to read and get free stuff, I recommend signing up for Tyndale Publishing's Rewards Program. There is no cost, no gimmick, no requirements of any kind.

 Ways you get points:

1) Link to the program site on Twitter or Facebook and put the link to your tweet or post on the program site. You can do this 5 times in a month and get 10 points each time you do it.

2) Post a review of a Tyndale product on Amazon. Again, 10 points 5 times a month.

3) Surveys, 10-25 points usually

4) Sign up for a newsletter

5) Listen to a podcast occasionally, usually 20-25 points

6) Get a unique link for people to sign up through and get 10 points for each person. They get 25 for signing up.

  And a few other ways that come up occasionally.



 What can you get?

1) Fiction books:

The Susan May Warren book is 70 points

The Francine Rivers book is 130 points (I assume it is hardcover)

2) Bibles:

The One Year Bible is 200 points.

The Solo Message New Testament is 80 points


  There are books for kids and youth, and audio books, Adventures In Odyessey CDs,  and Bibles...... the items vary at times. The thing I want next and need 75 more points for is the dramatized Oliver Twist on CD for 200 points.


  If you're interested, sign up under my link and you'll get 25 points to start with.

Click this link and follow the instructions.

Lessons From the East by Bob Roberts Jr.

What if our western view of church isn’t God’s view of church?

That’s the disruptive question church planter Bob Roberts Jr. wrestled with while connecting with top global church planters and pastors. Over time, his global experiences convinced him western believers would benefit from:

taking our faith beyond Sunday to every dimension of life; shifting from a Christian worldview to a Jesus prism; and moving from religious leaders to disciple leaders. Lessons from the East invites you into the larger story God is telling around the world. It just may change your view of church and the global Christian community.

My review:

  I often feel we aren't doing church right here in America, and we American Christians are too self-centered in general, but especially in worship. Since I have had these thoughts, this book intrigued me.

 I'll say right up front I didn't agree with the author on everything he said, but he makes a lot of sense in this book. He is well traveled and has visited a lot of churches and church leaders across the globe. There are a lot of stories about how churches are growing and God is moving in churches across the world, and yet we seem so stagnant here and many churches are slowly dying.

 One can tend to blame our country, but as the author shows; it starts in the church. He packs a lot into this book, and there is much to be learned from churches in other countries: how they worship, how they do small or cell groups, how they grow churches, and even things like spiritual gifts... he leaves no stone un-turned.

 I am not a church leader, but I found the book helpful, convicting, inspiring, and very engaging. This would be a great book for our American churches to study and make some changes in how we do church.

  I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

   Lessons From the East is available from David C Cook Publishing.

Thanks to Handlebar for the review copy.

Naming Our Abuse by Andrew Schmutzer, Daniel A Gorski, and David Carlson

A stunningly vulnerable look at the horrific realities of sexual abuse and how to overcome them. Male sexual abuse is increasingly in the news, from scandals in the Catholic Church to exploitations at Penn State. Yet books and programs about healing are still overwhelmingly oriented toward the female survivor of abuse. As men who experienced childhood abuse, the authors of this book are uniquely qualified to address the healing process of male survivors.

Using the metaphor of a car accident, Naming Our Abuse leads the survivor from the Wreck to the Accident Report to Rehabilitation to Driving Again. This four--step model illustrates that healing is a process to be nurtured rather than something that can be healed in a single telling. Following the authors' examples, readers are invited to find solidarity with other male survivors and develop an understanding of their own wounding through journaling exercises.


My review:

   Occasionally I will review a book that doesn't pertain to me, but is one that has something I want to learn more about or is something I review just to help get the word out about the book to people who it may pertain to. This book falls into both categories.

  The book is written by three men who were sexually abused as boys by adult males. One was abused by his own father, one by a priest, and the other by a vice principal and drama teacher. It is heart wrenching to read their stories, which are told in as brief of details as possible. The authors set the book up as a car accident, with each author relating their own story in relation to that section.

The first section is "the wreck", the actual abuse.

The second section is the "accident report", where they try to grasp the extent of their abuse as survivors.

The third section is "rehabilitation", the earnest desire to heal the broken areas of their lives.

The fourth and final section is "driving again", where the abuse survivor adapts to life and have come through support groups and counseling,

  Each section is followed by questions for the reader about their own abuse.

 The book ends with a letter from each author to their "little boy selves".

   I was never abused - thankfully - but I can still appreciate the book and these three men coming forward and stripping themselves bare to tell their stories and help others who have gone through the same thing, The book is honest, compassionate, and very helpful. And it isn't just written for men who have been abused. Friends and relatives of abused guys would do well to read it, and it would be a great tool for pastors. I highly recommend it.

 I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.


Naming Our Abuse is available from Kregel Publishing.

Thanks to Kregel for the review copy.

Wise Guys by Kent Evans with a giveaway

For guys, more than ever, it’s a confusing world. Your GPS doesn’t offer any maps showing how to get to the point of wisdom -- and who likes asking for directions anyway?

But there are ways to get that guidance you need. The answers may be all around you, in the form of guys you already know. Wise guys. More experienced guys. Better-traveled guys. Could there be ways to tap into their invaluable knowledge without enduring dull lectures or taking pages of notes?

Kent Evans has surrounded himself with these wise guys. They have shown him all the back roads on the way to wisdom. With a great deal of humor and an endless supply of stories, he wants to show you how to gather life-enriching truth from the guys in your own circle.

My review:

  There are a lot of books out there for women, and the Christian book market seems to aimed at women. This book though is just for men. Women could read it, but there really isn't much for women in it. Sorry ladies. :)

  The idea of this book is that we men tend to try to do everything ourselves and have the idea that it is unmanly to seek advice or help from other guys. The author covers such things as how to correct gently, always be asking, exercise tangible grace, and many others covered in the 17 chapters.

 Each chapter discusses how to learn the topic from other guys, often with the author relating personal stories. That is followed by a Lessons Learned section that discusses how to apply that topic to your own life, and the chapter ends with questions to consider.

 This isn't a long book. Maybe they figured men have a shorter attention span when it comes to reading..... but it is packed with helpful advice and information on how not to be an island and try to figure life out on our own, but instead to seek out from men around us how to live and be the kind of men we should be.

 The book was interesting and very informative. I found it very helpful and saw a lot of areas that I could learn from other guys in.

I was given a copy of  this book in exchange for my honest review.

About the author:

KENT EVANS is the board chairman and co-founder of Manhood Journey, a ministry that helps fathers and mentors build the next generation of godly men. Kent has personally experienced how the guidance of godly men can change the course of a life. Today he is blessed with a solid 20-year marriage, four wonderful sons and a fulfilling life largely because of what he s learned from other men. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky, and can be found on Twitter @manhoodjourney.


Thanks to FlyBy Promotions for the review and giveaway copy.


Giveaway:

Courtesy of FlyBy Promotions, I have one copy of Wise Guys to give away.

To enter, simply comment on who you would give the book to if you win, including yourself.

I will pick a winner 10 days from today on June 5, using Random.org

Silence In The Dark by Patrica Bradley

Bailey Adams is running for her life . . . again.

When Bailey Adams left Logan Point two years ago she thought she was getting away from her problems. Running into her ex-fiancé Danny Maxwell was not part of the plan--neither was being chased through the city by the local drug cartel, the Calatrava. Now despite her best efforts, Danny is her only chance of escaping the people chasing her and getting back to Logan Point safely. Can Bailey find the strength to face what's coming? And in the midst of the chaos, can she keep herself from falling in love with her rescuer all over again?

With lean, fast-paced prose that will keep you turning the pages, Patricia Bradley pens a superb story of suspense and second chances.

My review:

   This is book four in the Logan Point Series, and though they are the only books I have ever read by Patricia Bradley; she has quickly become one of my favorite authors.

  One thing I like about a series, is the same setting is usually used and some of the same characters. This book brought back some of the same characters, and though part of it was set in Mexico; most of it was set in the same location as the other books.

 I enjoyed this book a lot, and read it through in one setting. The plot was great, there was a lot of suspense and action, and some romance, The bad guys were not obvious in this book, and there were a few surprises along the way to me. I appreciated the Christian angle of the book, and the non-cheesy way that was handled.

 I don't know if there will be more books in the series, or if this is it.....if it is the last book, this was a great finish to the series.

I was given a copy of  this book for my honest review.
About the author:

Patricia Bradley is the author of Shadows of the Past, A Promise to Protect, and Gone without a Trace. Bradley has been a finalist for the Genesis Award, winner of a Daphne du Maurier Award, and winner of a Touched by Love Award. Bradley is a published short story writer and cofounder of Aiming for Healthy Families, Inc. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America, and makes her home in Mississippi. Learn more at www.ptbradley.com.


Silence In The Dark is available from Revell, part of the Baker Publishing Group,

Thanks to Revell for the review copy.

Bearing Witness, by Charles E. Moore and Timothy Keiderling. with a giveaway

What does it cost to follow Jesus? For these men and women, the answer was clear. They were ready to give witness to Christ in the face of intense persecution, even if it cost them their lives. From the stoning of Stephen to Nigerian Christians persecuted by Boko Haram today, these stories from around the world and through the ages will inspire greater faithfulness to the way of Jesus, reminding us what costly discipleship looks like in any age. 

Since the birth of Christianity, the church has commemorated those who suffered for their faith in Christ. In the Anabaptist tradition especially, stories of the boldness and steadfastness of early Christian and Reformation-era martyrs have been handed down from one generation to the next through books such as Thieleman van Braght s "Martyrs Mirror" (1660). Yet the stories of more recent Christian witnesses are often unknown. 

"Bearing Witness" tells the stories of early Christian martyrs Stephen, Polycarp, Justin, Agathonica, Papylus, Carpus, Perpetua, Tharacus, Probus, Andronicus, and Marcellus, followed by radical reformers Jan Hus, Michael and Margaretha Sattler, Weynken Claes, William Tyndale, Jakob and Katharina Hutter, Anna Janz, Dirk Willems. But the bulk of the book focuses on little-known modern witness including Veronika Lohans, Jacob Hochstetler, Gnadenhutten, Joseph and Michael Hofer, Emanuel Swartzendruber, Regina Rosenberg, Eberhard and Emmy Arnold, Johann Kornelius Martens, Ahn Ei Sook, Jakob Rempel, Clarence Jordan, Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, Tulio Pedraza, Stanimir Katanic, Samuel Kakesa, Kasai Kapata, Meserete Kristos Church, Sarah Corson, Alexander Men, Jose Chuquin, Norman Tattersall, Katherine Wu, and Ekklesiyar Yan uwa a Nigeria. 

This book is part of the Bearing Witness Stories Project, a collaborative story-gathering project involving Anabaptist believers from many different traditions."


My review:

  Occasionally I run across a book that I believe all Christians should read; and this is one such book. The book is very well written and goes from martyrs in the early church to modern day Christians and the persecution they face.

 This is a fascinating, convicting, and a bit scary of a read. I am familiar with some of these stories, but it was still amazing to me what these Christians went through instead of denying Christ, and what the Catholic Church did to those who dared read the Bible in English or teach adult Baptism. As I read these stories, I found myself wondering how well myself and other American Christians would do in the face of true persecution and threats of loss of life. The idea scares me a bit. I was also convicted of my shallowness and felt a new resolve to deepen my walk with Christ,


Courtesy of FlyBy Promotions, I have one copy of Bearing Witness to give away.

To enter, simply comment on this post. I will pick a winner 10 days from today on June 3 using Random.org.