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.

Kiss

Kiss, by Ted Dekker and Erin Healey, is more of a psychological mystery instead of the on-the-edge-of-your-seat spiritual warfare thriller this Dekker fan enjoys. However, the book did have some suspense elements and a mystery to solve so it was still a good story.

The main character, Shauna, wakes up from a comma and struggles to regain her memories from the previous six months, including the terrible accident that has left her brother barely alive. As she struggles to sort the good guys from the bad guys, she realizes that recalling those memories may get her killed.

When she discovers through a kiss (thus the title of the book) that the medically-induced comma and subsequently prescribed drugs has brought about an unusual ability, she uses it to search for the truth about her past and the accident before an unknown assassin takes her out.

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.

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.

Deceit

Brandilyn Collins' Deceit opens with Joanne Weeks' quest to prove Baxter Jackson killed her best friend and his former wife six years prior. It then follows two story lines with the first one taking place in 2010 and the other in 2004.

In the 2010 story line, Joanne uses her professional skip tracing skills to locate the missing Jackson foster child, Melissa, to help her prove Baxter killed her best friend. The second story line begins in 2004 when Melissa moves in with the Jacksons and discovers that the rich, Christian couple are not as they appear to be on the surface.

It was an easy-to-read mystery; however, some of the scenes moved too slow for the speed reader in me. I also figured out "who done it" so there was no surprise at the end. It was not the suspense thriller I expected, but Collins fans will still enjoy it.

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.

First Dawn

Judith Miller's First Dawn is based upon the settlement of two western Kansas towns in the post civil war era.  Nicodemus was predominately settled by African American sharecroppers from Kentucky while Hill City was being settled by Caucasians. Although the story is fictional, the author notes that she made every attempt to accurately portray the harsh circumstances of the frontier settlers.

The story revolves around a small group of first settlers led by Ezekiel Harban and his three daughters, Thomas Grayson, a young man with a secret past, and Miss Hattie, the group's matriarch. The group was sold parcels of land near a town called Nicodemus; however,  when they arrive at an open prairie, they find no buildings and limited supplies. The settlers that stay and fight for the dream of landownership and freedom struggle to survive their first winter on the prairie.

Coinciding with the settlement of Nicodemus is the settlement of Hill City where Dr. Samuel Boyle moves his family. The doctor soon develops a relationship with the people of Nicodemus that bonds his family and the two frontier settlements together.

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.

Where Are You Now?

Mary Higgins Clark's Where Are You Now? is the story of a sister's quest to find her missing brother. The sister, Carolyn, has been haunted by her brother Mack's sudden disappearance and mysterious annual phone call on Mother's Day for ten years.

After Carolyn tells Mack she is going to find him on the latest phone call, her uncle receives a mysterious note in a collection plate that says Carolyn must not look for Mack. This cryptic note turns out to be only the beginning for Carolyn. Her determined search leads her right into the path of the serial killer and a confrontation with someone close to her who has been hiding deadly secrets for many years.

Fans will love this quick read while trying to figure out the killer's identity.

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".

Abomination

Abomination, by Colleen Coble, takes you into the mind of Gideon, a tormented serial killer, who uses Proverbs 6 and geocaching to leave clues about the murders.

Proverbs 6:16-19 lists seven things that are an abomination to God: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a wicked heart, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Geocaching is a game of hiding and seeking treasure using GPS technology. Basically the three rules of the game are: if you take something from the cache you also leave something of equal or greater value, you write about the find in the cache logbook and then you log your experience on the geocaching web site.

In this story, the killer puts one of the verses from Proverbs and the location of a body (the cache) online. However, when one of his victims escapes, he becomes the hunted while continuing to stalk the escaped victim who also has amnesia. Unexpected twists and turns make this read a page turner and the identity of the killer is a suspense-filled surprise. It also brings to light how we all have to guard against the things that are an abomination to God.

Dead Heat

Joel C. Rosenberg's Dead Heat is the fifth and final novel in his geopolitical thriller series. The author's note prefacing the first chapter reiterates that the novel is fiction, but it still makes one wonder about the turbulent world we live in and what role, if any, the United States will play in the end times.

President MacPherson's second term in office is ending, a new dictator is rising in Iraq, Israel is on a urgent quest to complete the Third Temple, China and North Korea forces appear ready to strike and  the world is on the verge of a mammoth disaster. After terrorists attack the United States, Jon Bennett is called upon again to help. But this time he is in a remote Jordanian refugee camp with his wife, Erin, who has contracted a potentially fatal illness.

Although it is a fast-paced, action-packed and thought-provoking read, I add my prayer to the author's that the events stay fictional.

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.

Scream

Scream, by Mike Dellosso, is a thriller that will keep you glued to the pages. The main character, Mark Stone, has his phone calls interrupted by otherworldly screams, the kind of screams that remind him of the weeping and gnashing of teeth describing hell.

When Mark realizes that the people on the other end of his phone calls die shortly after hearing the screams, he begins to search for their meaning. While struggling with his own broken faith and marriage, he receives a phone call from Cheryl, his kidnapped estranged wife. That phone call sends Mark racing to save Cheryl from both the kidnapper and the screams.

A final note from the author points out that while the book was written to entertain, it was also written to challenge us to think about life and death, heaven and hell, and where we will spend eternity. He also gives a call to action: to accept Jesus and then tell everyone about it. A good reminder that the Christian supernatural thriller I'm working on also has that dual purpose.



 

A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity

A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity is the autobiography of Bill O'Reilly, executive producer and anchor of The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel. The author points out in the introduction that he parted from the traditional memoir method to focus on those experiences that shaped his belief system. This lets the reader know up front that the book is not the typical examination of one's life laid out neatly in chronological order. Instead, the book is divided into topical chapters laced with pertinent stories about his experiences.

Since I'm a fan of the television show, I enjoyed reading those stories while learning how the events influenced his belief system. It was also interesting to read about events that happened in previous decades from his perspective. Some things I agreed with and some I did not. Did it dramatically improve my life as claimed in the introduction's title? No. Did it cause me think about the events that shaped my own belief system? Yes.

Fans of The O'Reilly Factor will enjoy the book. Critics will not.

Going Rogue

Going Rogue is Sarah Palin's memoir. Although scrutinized and criticized to the nth degree, I enjoyed the book. I wasn't looking for the errors, exaggerations, and "gotcha" moments I'd heard so much about from mainstream media since the book was published. I was looking for the story of the ordinary woman who became the 2008 vice presidential candidate. The woman who believes in many of the same things I do.

I wasn't disappointed. I learned a lot about how the people and situations in her life led to that momentous event. I also learned a lot about Alaska, a state at the opposite end of the spectrum from my state of Florida. And, I enjoyed the stories and the photographs inviting me into her life.

The parts that talk about the campaign and the events since losing the election that have been so vehemently attacked in the media did not appear to be vindictive to this reader. They were written from her perspective so of course they are subjective to her perception of reality. Isn't that how we all see things? From our own reality.

Conservatives and even many independents will enjoy this look into Sarah Palin's life. Liberals will continue to be outraged.