A Match Made in Texas by Karen Witemeyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“There’s a Secret Matchmaker at Work in Frontier Texas!” “In the small town of Dry Gulch, Texas, a good-hearted busybody just can’t keep herself from surreptitiously trying to match up women in dire straights with men of good character she hopes can help them. How is she to know she’s also giving each couple a little nudge toward love?” Continue reading
The Prodigal: A Ragamuffin Story by Brennan Manning
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Prodigal – A Ragamuffin Story by Brennan Manning and Greg Garrett
Zondervan Publishers
Jack Chisholm is “the people’s pastor.” He is the founder and leader of a growing mega-church. His slogan… “We have got to do better”. He can do it all. He knows how to preach, teach, write, and he knows how to chastise people into performing. What he doesn’t know is… grace. But after one night of reckless behavior that causes him to loose everything that is precious to him…. He learns the meaning of Grace.
I LOVE this book! It grabbed me from page one and didn’t let go until the last page. Nothing got done around here today. I thought that perhaps it was going to be one more “formula” story about the fall and redemption of a sinner where everything ends up totally restored and smelling like roses. This book is so much better than that. Continue reading
A Rooster Once Crowed: A Commentary on the Greatest Story Ever Told by Bryant Cornett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“We live in those few moments between the first and the second crow of the rooster – between decision and indecision, between knowing and being known. But do you even care? Small; decisions made today establish our path for all time and yet we people with a piece of this and a taste of that we diet on wisdom from antiquity and gorge on culture that is next month’s joke. This story is an opportunity to gorge on scripture – from Genesis to Revelation – in context it is the gospel of Jesus Christ and an opportunity to see for yourself what it actually is. Rather than what we mold it to be and to finally choose whether or not to care.”
“Through small stories and a modern context, this book will help you understand and decide what you believe about the greatest story ever told.”
A Rooster Once Crowed is truly a fascinating read. It challenged me, in a good way, from the first chapter by asking me to examine how much I really do know about God, Jesus, Heaven, Creation, the Trinity, the Gospels, the Crucifixion…
Using Scripture references, commentary and personal stories, the author placed me on a journey to either accept and re-affirm my faith or to deny it all together by giving me insight into God’s love for Man (me), the Fall due to sin, and the price/debt Jesus paid, His sacrifice, to bring mankind (me) into God’s plan.
In the last chapter, we are given an Invitation to the final and greatest “Dance”. Will you accept or decline? It is hoped that we accept, and if we do… what do we do until the dance? And how do we prepare? That is the crux of it all.
This is a powerful book that, in conjunction with Scripture, brings forth the truths of my/our belief’s and all that that includes. This book truly is nourishment for the soul.
*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the “For Readers Only” group at The Book Club Network, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.
*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Deeper Shopping, Goodreads, and to be featured on my blog at http://titus3.wordpress.com
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Uniform Decisions: My Life in the LAPD and the North Hollywood Shootout by John Caprarelli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“February 28, 1997, Los Angeles, California – After a botched robbery at a Bank of America branch in North Hollywood, two robbers, armed with fully automatic assault rifles and wearing full body armor, fired more than 1,100 rounds as they battled police.
Eleven officers and two civilians were wounded. The two robbers, Emil Matasareanu and Larry Eugene Phillips Jr., were killed by gunfire. Officer John Caprarelli was one of the first officers at the scene.
Before a national TV audience, he confronted one of the robbers, provoking a gun fight and exchanging numerous shots before the gunman fell. Officer Caprarelli was awarded the LAPD’s highest honor, the Medal of Valor, as well as a National Top Cop Award.”
I have members of my family that serve as police officers, firemen and first responders. I have always admired them for their dedication to their chosen fields. It takes a certain type of person to do those jobs; they is not for everyone. And after reading this memoir, I now have more admiration for them. These are dangerous and thankless jobs. They are the ones that run towards the trouble, when we are running away from it. The stories and anecdotes written by the Author give us a small, yet rare, glimpse into the life of a 27-year career police officer – both his personal and professional life.
It is the last half of the book, though, that totally captivated me. Without divulging much of the story… It is the detailed minute-by-minute account of the infamous North Hollywood Bank Robbery. I was totally captivated by the retelling of the account and could hardly put the book down. If you are a fan of police crime drama shows, as I am you will enjoy this book.
“It is said that working the streets as a police officer is hours of boredome sprinkled with econds of terror. I can vouch for that. It was quite a ride.” – John Caprarelli
*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the “For Readers Only” group at The Book Club Network, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.
*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, GoodReads and Deeper Shopping
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Forgotten Road by Randall Arthur
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Nashville music star and family man, Cole Michaels, is persuaded to embrace an “American Dream” Theology that promises comfort, happiness, and success. But when the unimaginable happens, Cole blames God and abandons his faith. More vulnerable than ever, he is clueless that an evil character with an unspeakable secret is using every available resource to find him.
Down every forgotten road is a new discovery. Sometimes pleasant. Sometimes frightening.
There’s no “fairy tale’ Christianity here. But there is a true –to-life drama that will captivate your heart and mind. And resonate in your soul.”
Forgotten Road by Randall Arthur is the first book that I have read by this author and it is unlikely that it will be the last. It is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. It is at times sweet and other times rife with raw gut-wrenching emotion. This book will grab you on page one, touch your heart, jangle your emotions, and not let go of you until the last paragraph. It is filled with Cole Michaels’ personal road to really discovering the truth who God is and how to humble himself not only before God, but before man as well to let HIS light shine through.
I can’t say enough about this book… but to divulge too much would give away the story. You must unwrap this story yourself. I will warn that there are a few paragraphs/pages that are seriously graphic – so sensitive readers be aware.
*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the “For Readers Only” group at The Book Club Network, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.
*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Deeper Shopping, Books A Million, and Goodreads
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A Marriage in Middlebury by Anita Higman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Charlotte Rose Hill enjoys a comfortable life serving up comfortable delicacies, uniquely blended teas, and matchmaking advice for her quirky, devoted customers. The only thing lacking is some to share it with.”
This is a wonderful Christian romance book by author Anita Higman that I truly enjoyed reading. This is the first (but not the last) book that I have read by this author. Very quickly you are introduced to an exceptional blend of characters that make up the friends, loyal customers, townsfolk’s, and former love interest, of Charlotte Rose Hill who runs Rose Cottage Tearoom. The author has an exceptional talent of bringing these characters to life to the point that you want to become friends with them yourself. You will soon wish that you could find yourself sitting in the back of the Tea Room, as an eager observer to the goings-on… rooting for love – both old and new, for secrets revealed, broken hearts reconciled and above all for truths to come to the light. This is a sweet love story that will warm your heart.
*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the “For Readers Only” group at The Book Club Network, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.
*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, Deeper Shopping, Family Christian Stores, Books A Million, and Goodreads
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Some years ago, I came across an article called, “What If Jesus Toured Your Business?” by Buck Jacobs. The summary of the article poses the question to Christian Business owners, “If Jesus took a tour of the organization you run, would He see anything that would distinguish you from your secular counterparts?” The article goes on to where the author invites the business owners through a spiritual audit of the business.
This article got me to thinking. While I am no longer a small business owner, I am about the business of my family, my home, my work and my community. If Jesus knocked on my door today and asked to spend the week with me — would I pass the “spiritual audit”? Continue reading
“Have you I let the gospel of God’s grace move from your my head to your my heart, so that you I know without a shadow of a doubt that you are I am known intimately and loved completely by God?” “A Confident Heart” pg 41.
I grew up in a wonderful, complete, warm and loving family. Mom and dad saw to it that we were in church every weekend, that we attended weekly religious instructions, and received all of the Sacrements of the Church.
I grew up knowing about God. I knew OF Him… I just didn’t KNOW Him. I knew that God loved me. I just didn’t know how deeply and how He truly loved me and how much He longed for a relationship with me. I didn’t know that He wanted a relationship with me that would last for all eternity. All is knew at that time is that if I followed all the rules that that would be good enough to get me into Heaven. Continue reading
The Long Awakening, a memoir by Lindsey O’Connor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The riveting true story of a life-threatening coma, a miraculous awakening, and the long quest to regain what was lost.
From the front flap: “The day our baby came into the world was the day I left. A day that began all smiles and excitement and anticipation and joy ended with running and panic and blood and tears. And then coma.I lay suspended in the deep, my newborn unknown. Nothingness. Layers where dark pulled from below, light called from above, and me, trapped in between, longing to break the surface. To live.
Forty-seven days later when I first saw my husband’s face leaning close to me, I knew where, and who, I was. But other things took much longer to know. Learning to restitch life–and love–when everything’s changed, and finding who we are afterward, can be the longest journey of all.
I’m Lindsey O’Connor, and this is the story of my long awakening.”
I just finished reading this book. This is, by far, one of the best written books that I have read in a very long time. It is a story of being alive just outside of deaths door. It is a story of love and despair. It is a story of returning back to life after being snatched back from the brink. Surviving the 47-day medically-induced coma is just the start to this beautifully written and brutally candid story.Be warned tho, The Long Awakening is no mere memoir…. if you pick up this book you will not soon put it down.
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Saved Because of His Mercy 