Secrets of a Prayer Warrior

Secrets of a Prayer Warrior, by Derek Prince, was a practical guide to biblical prayer. The first three chapters discuss the fundamentals of prayer and changing any preconceived and negative images of God.

In chapter four, the author discusses the twelve different types of prayer while chapters five through eight looks at discovering God's will, spiritual warfare and our response to God's purposes. The final chapter is a look at the church.

Subject and scripture indexes are also included for easy reference.

Beguiled

Beguiled is a romantic suspense novel written by former critique group partners Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand. This easy-to-read novel is along the lines of those written by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark with Christian characters included in the story.

Rylee Monroe is a dog walker for Charleston's wealthy when a series of thefts from her clients makes her the prime suspect. Logan Woods, a newspaper reporter working on his own crime novel, is afraid of dogs but attracted to both the dog walker and the story. Their lives intertwine and a relationship develops as they unravel the secrets behind the thefts.

The Penny

Although The Penny by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford is a work of fiction, Joyce has shared glimpses into the abusive relationship with her father during her childhood through her conferences and television shows. In this book, the main character, Jenny Blake, and her sister Jean endure a similar childhood.

Jenny is convinced her life changed the day she found a penny stuck in hot asphalt and is offered a job at the local jewelry store. She soon discovers the owner, Miss Shaw, harbors secrets of her own and an unspoken bond forms between them. At the same time, Jenny befriends Aurelia and her family where she finds the love of family, hears the voice of Jesus for the first time at the Antioch Baptist Church and witnesses the ugliness of racism firsthand.

The Reason for God

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller uses several disciplines, including philosophy and anthropology, to examine the Christian faith on an intellectual level. It is divided into two parts addressing the doubts about Christianity in the first part and looking at faith in the second part.

In part one, The Leap of Doubt, the seven chapters address the following topics.

• There Can't Be Just One True Religion
• How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?
• Christianity Is a Straitjacket
• The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice
• How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?
• Science Has Disproved Christianity
• You Can't Take the Bible Literally

In part two, The Reasons for Faith, the seven chapters address the following topics.

• The Clues of God
• The Knowledge of God
• The Problem of Sin
• Religion and the Gospel
• The (True) Story of the Cross
• The Reality of the Resurrection
• The Dance of God

The epilogue concludes by addressing the motives, the cost and the commitment, and ends with the matter of grace. The book addresses many of the issues while being respectful to the readers no matter what their beliefs.

The Immortal

The Immortal by Angela Hunt was one of those bargain books on sale. Although it was published in 2000, it used the legend of the Wandering Jew to present the return of Christ and the subject of forgiveness and grace in a new way. The only distraction was the switch from first person, Claudia, to third person, Asher, and back. Thankfully, the story moved along at a quick enough pace to overcome it.

The story begins with Claudia, a jury consultant in New York, who moves to Italy to work for a new global company focused on world peace. She uses her interviewing skills to screen potential employees for the company and hires Asher. After they become friends, Asher tells her that he has been wandering the Earth since Jesus time and believes his purpose is to find the potential Antichrist in each generation and witness to him until Christ's return.

Green

Ted Dekker's Green is part of his Circle Series and he notes that this book can be read first or last as part of that circle. Since I read it last, I had to skim back over Black, Red, and White to understand the circle theory and place Green into the circle's sequence.

Thomas Hunter, the main character, continues to travel between the past and the future with dire consequences to both worlds. In the histories, the fall of mankind keeps good and evil in the spiritual realm. But, in the future world, good and evil can be seen, touched and tasted until mankind once again rejects that reality creating apocalyptic results.

The circle's story continues with the The Books of History Chronicles broken down into two additional series: The Lost Books (Chosen, Infidel, Renegade, Chaos) and The Paradise Novels (Showdown, Saint, Sinner).

Obsessed

In Ted Dekker's Obsessed, the death of a Holocaust survivor provides a clue that seemingly makes Stephen Friedman the heir to an incredible treasure. The story flashes back and forth between the 1940s, where two pregnant concentration camp inmates are tormented, and the 1970s, where Stephen becomes obsessed with learning his mother's secrets.

As a fan of Ted Dekker's books, I agree with some reviewers that this wasn't his best book. The characters make weird decisions along the way and it doesn't have that "wow, I didn't see that coming" ending I've come to expect. But, it did give the reader a chilling reminder of the evil of the Holocaust.

And, I disagree with a reviewer that felt this book crossed the line exploring the darkness of evil by portraying characters involved in satanic rituals. Since the "sheer depravity of the deeds" made the reviewer uncomfortable, wasn't that the point? Ted Dekker is known for his confrontations between good and evil so readers that are uncomfortable with spiritual warfare should steer clear of them.

Cry in the Night

Colleen Coble's Cry in the Night takes the reader to Rock Harbor, Michigan (the setting for previous Rock Harbor mysteries) where search-and-rescue worker Bree Matthews and her dog Samson find an abandoned baby in the woods. Bree ignores the objections from Kade, her second husband, takes the baby girl in and continues to search for the baby's mother. But, when her search reveals a strange connection to her first husband's mysterious death, it unravels her faith.

This was another easy-to-read "who done it" story. The characters draw the reader into the setting while keeping the reader intrigued with solving the mystery.

Without a Trace

Colleen Coble's Without a Trace is the first book in her Rock Harbor Mystery Series. The story takes the reader on a winding road of search and rescue while it weaves a cast of 'who did it' characters into a small imaginary town on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

When Bree Nichols' husband and son disappear in a plane crash, she and her search-and-rescue dog Samson begin searching the wilderness for the crash site to recover their bodies. After months of searching, Bree is forced to come to terms with the fact that she may never find them. Then the town is rocked by murder and the murder becomes strangely linked to her husband's plane crash.

Power Thoughts

Power Thoughts, by Joyce Meyer, offers an updated look at many of the issues addressed in her original Battlefield of the Mind book with 12 strategies to win the battle of the mind.

Based on Proverbs 23:7, it examines the idea that we become what we think. Unlike many of the humanistic books I read in the 1980s that put "me" at the center of using the mind and positive thinking, this book uses a biblical perspective.

As the introduction points out, this book is more of a study guide for practical use, not just a book to be read. Part one contains four chapters with questions to think about and answer for your own situation. Part two focuses on the power thoughts program with questions and scripture to study.

Walking Lazarus

Since T.L. Hines gives away the subject of his book in the title, Walking Lazarus, it is no surprise that the main character, Jude, has died and come back to life. The twist is that it happened three times and seems to have an underlying purpose. Jude has changed his name, moved to a new town and become a recluse near an area where children are disappearing.

As Jude unravels the mystery of his own deaths and the evil lurking around his new hometown, he struggles to hide his identity while being accused of killing children. the book definitely has the one thing most appealing about a good supernatural suspense thriller ... things are not always as they appear while the reader is traveling through the pages of the unknown.

Driven by Eternity

Shortly after reading John Bevere's Driven by Eternity in January 2007, I joined the Christian Writers Guild and began a quest to expand my technical writing career to include writing for eternity. I recently read it again and reflected on how it motivated me. 

The book opens with a discussion about eternity and how, even though we can't comprehend it with our minds, we somehow know internally that it exists. The introduction and the first chapter started my thought processes down a path of contemplating life and eternity, but it was the allegory in chapters two through eight that motivated me to take action.

The allegory is set in the kingdom of Affabel and the school of Endel. At the end of ten years, students are given wealth and responsibility for a five-year period that determines how they'll live for 150 years. The allegory follows five students (Independent, Deceived, Faint Heart, Selfish and Charity) during the five-year period of testing and ends with the day of judgment.

The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar

July is the time to revisit a couple of favorite books that inspire and encourage with the first one being The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar.
Zig Ziglar, now in his 80s, is a motivational speaker with a message of excellence and hope. His classic best seller, See You at the Top, built around the idea that  "you can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want" has been popular in the corporate world for generations.

Zig's life story and the people and events that helped shape him into a world-renown author, motivator and speaker are highlighted in this book. It also gives insight into his life-learned success philosophy of  discipline, hard work, common sense, integrity, commitment and a sense of humor. The last few pages of the book discuss what Zig considers most important and ends with the sinner's prayer.

Prepare to be inspired! You know it is vintage Zig when you see this declaration written before the title page:  "You, ___________, will find the help, hope, and encouragement in this book that will serve as a reminder that if man can take moldy bread and make penicillin out of it, just think what a loving God can make out of you".

The Last Days

The Last Days is one of  Joel C. Rosenberg's geopolitical thrillers where Jon Bennett, a former Wall Street strategist, becomes the point man for an Arab-Israeli peace plan. With the world watching, Jon and his beautiful CIA partner, Erin McCoy, arrive in the Middle East to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

However, before the historic meeting can take place, explosive events send Jon and Erin underground where they facilitate a peace plan in secret. The plan would harness vast supplies of oil and natural gas and make every Muslin, Christian, and Jew in Israel and Palestine wealthy. But men with evil hearts and the countries that support them want no part of peace in the Middle East and launch assaults aimed to kill all those involved with the peace plan.

The scary part about this fictional story is that you can easily imagine it tomorrow's headlines.

Whispers of Winter

Whispers of Winter by Tracie Peterson is part of her Alaskan Quest series. The main characters face fierce weather conditions in an unforgiving terrain and are challenged to trust God through unexpected losses and tragic events.

It wasn't a page turner for me, but if you enjoy reading historical fiction with adventure and romance mixed in, you'll like this one.

Big Sky Dreams series

I picked up Cassidy (book one) and Sabrina (book two) of the Big Sky Dreams series by Lori Wick off the clearance rack. Since I had read a couple of her other books (Bamboo & Lace and White Chocolate Moments) and enjoyed them as light, easy reads and a change from adrenaline-laced suspense novels, I thought I would also enjoy these.

Cassidy is about a Token Creek seamstress, with a difficult past, in the Montana Territory during 1880. The story was predictable and slow-moving with an awkward thought thrown in every now and then. It also bothered me when she would refer to one of the characters as "that" lady instead of using a pronoun.

Sabrina is about a prostitute, estranged from her family, who is rescued from the streets by a policeman and his wife. After becoming a Christian, she also moves to Token Creek where she interacts with characters from Cassidy, befriends other prostitutes and eventually becomes involved with the pastor. This book held my attention more than Cassidy, however, grammatical errors in this one also distracted me from the characters and the plot.

This series is probably more suitable for mature teens.

Adam

Adam by Ted Dekker is about a serial killer known as Eve and the FBI agent who is tracking him, Daniel Clark. This one had me hooked from the opening pages and I read the entire book on a Saturday afternoon while doing laundry. Thankfully, stopping periodically to check the clothes gave my eyes enough rest to avoid blurred vision and red eyes.

Daniel Clark is obsessed with finding the serial killer until he becomes one of the killer's victims. When Daniel experiences death and is brought back to life, the case becomes more than a hunt for a serial killer. In the end, Daniel is forced to fight for his life, his sanity and his very soul while battling forces much greater than the mind of a deranged serial killer.

If you enjoy supernatural suspense thrillers, this book will let you (as stated on the inside cover) "Enter a world ... that blurs the lines between fiction and reality ... that will leave you stunned."

Unexpected Visitor

Living in the interior of Florida with an assortment of animals is always an adventure. The blackbirds, blue jays, cardinals, doves, green and yellow vireos, pigeons, mockingbirds, swallows, thrushes and wrens give enjoyment to those who take the time to watch. And, the squirrels chatter and climb in a never-ending search for food providing amusement to the onlooker. How awesome it is when egrets, herons, ibis, hawks, kites and majestic bald eagles make their appearance in and around a dead tree left in place for a bird's eye view of the pond below. What an unexpected thrill to see a bald eagle perched high in the tree and then swoop towards the pond to collect a fish.

Along with the birds and squirrels, visits from giant bugs and spiders, lizards, raccoons, panthers, snakes, turtles and wild hogs, as well as, occasional horses and cows that escape neighborhood fences, should be an expected part of life. Yet, these visits are always startling and make the hair stand on end and the senses react. Such was the case the other day when an alligator made an appearance. The first thought was the safety of my little dog and a mental note to add "gator" to the list of animals to scan the horizon for before going outside. The second thought was "get the camera".

Funny how a sudden encounter with the unexpected can change perspective. Alligators are part of the landscape, but since they hadn't made an appearance until the other day no thought was given to their presence. Now, however, they are in the forefront of thoughts each time the door is opened. I wonder if that is how it is with God sometimes - using the unexpected ... hardship, illness, loss, tragedy ... to bring Him to the forefront of our thoughts instead of life's routines.

The Circle Trilogy

The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker consists of three books: Black, Red, and White. The trilogy is about the main character, Thomas Hunter, living in two worlds. He falls asleep in one world and wakes up in another. Although he isn't sure which world is the real one and which world is the dream one until the very end, he comes to realize his actions in one world has an impact on the other.

I must admit I struggled reading Black in the beginning and had to get past the first several chapters before I was hooked. Once I reached that point I spent several late nights (too late I'd discover the next morning) absorbed in the books and racing to find answers to Thomas Hunter's questions.

The story continues with the The Books of History Chronicles broken down into two additional series: The Lost Books (Chosen, Infidel, Renegade, Chaos) and The Paradise Novels(Showdown, Saint, Sinner). I didn't realize Showdown was part of the this story and read it many months ago. It will fun to go back and scan through it in the context of the chronicles.

Spiritual Thrillers

Although This Present Darkness, Piercing the Darkness, and Prophet were written years ago, the reprints were packaged together and provided hours of action-packed suspense and thought-provoking entertainment.

This Present Darkness takes the reader to the small town of Ashton where a troubled pastor and a reporter team up together to fight the escalating spiritual warfare gripping their town. The angels and the demons watch over the battlefield and also engage in warfare. The book demonstrates how much power and influence demons have over the thoughts and actions of humans. However, in the end, prayer strengthened many of the angels and changed the balance of power.

The sequel, Piercing the Darkness, takes place in Bacon's Corner where a silent and undetected warfare is in the schools as demons attempt to take over the entire town. The reader is thrown into a world of a covered-up murder, a bizarre lawsuit, the search for a missing woman, the appearance of the reporter and his wife from This Present Darkness, and yet another demonic battlefield.

Prophet is a thought-provoking book addressing a controversial issue. An anchorman investigates his dad’s accidental death and discovers a corrupt business being kept secret by the government and the media. This book is very different from the first two, but it still looks at spiritual warfare from a different perspective.

Great books for the supernatural thriller and suspense enthusiast.