Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Flight To Heaven

"Flight To Heaven" by Capt. Dale Black

Another one of those died and gone to heaven books. Don't know if you believe it but this is the third one that I have read. It is about a nineteen year old boy who has his flying license and is in a plane with two others. The plane crashes and he is the only survivor. He has extensive injuries. He doesn't understand why he survived and survived only to suffer. God does a lot of miracles healing he broken body and through it and vowes to serve God completely. He tells about the brief time he spent in heaven after first being taken to the hospital. Most of the book is about how the crash changed the direction of his life. He went on to do amazing things for God. Truthfully I was more fascinated with what God did with his life than the heaven experience. "I wasn't going to get faith by simply praying for it. Faith would come by believing and then acting upon what God said in His Word." Sometimes I forget the acting upon part. I do the believing and not a lot happens. I need to remember I have to do something. "Growth can be a lonely place, but it is a necessary place." Growth is sometimes hard but who wants to remain stagnant? "I knew then and have always known since that although I am small, I am connected to a very big God." Yeah for a very big God, I know I need Him.

Change Your Brain Change Your Life

"Change Your Brain Change Your Life" by Daniel G. Amen, M.D.

I read this book to see if I could find some insight into my daughter who has been having some difficulties all around. This was an eye opening book for me. Dr. Amen is a psychiatrist and a neuroscientist. He does these brain scans on the flow of blood in the brain and finds out all sorts of things. I want everyone I know to get one of these scans! He states that even what is considered a "minor" head injury can damage the brain. The book has pictures of a healthy brain and then other pictures of brains such as drug abuse, ADD, Alzheimer's and such. It is unbelievable the difference. He says that many addicts after seeing the picture of their brain on drugs stop using as they can see how much is being eaten away. It is amazing what the scans reveal and then in turn the medicine and therapy that follows help people finally be able to function in the world. He helps the most extreme cases and even uses the scans for severe marital problems. The book is filled with many checklists and prescriptions. It shows how anxiety, depression, anger, obsessiveness, or impulsiveness could be related to how specific structures in your brain work. The book does have a lot of medical jargon but he tries to break it down so the every day person can understand. I found this book fascinating.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Mosaic

"Mosaic-Pieces of My Life So Far" by Amy Grant

I didn't know Amy wrote a book! She is my long time favorite Christian singer, I grew up listening to her and attended a handful of her concerts when I was young. I will admit when she crossed over to pop and got a divorce I lost interest. But have since put my judgements aside and treasured her music again. And after reading her book I'm sorry I ever judged her in the first place. Who am I to judge? It's not like I had a clue what her life was like! Anyway, my dad got this book for me for Christmas and it was really good. She writes about her life and her music, sometimes offering us insight as to the lyrics of a song. "Salt water is the greatest component of our world, yet some people have never seen an ocean. That doesn't change the ocean. It is constant and powerful, and like the love of God, whether we're immersed in it, standing on the shore, or a thousand miles away, it remains." I think that is a great picture of God, no matter where we may be with Him, He is always there, waiting for us. "Did I live this day in a way that honored the One who gave me this day?" Oh what a great question to ask at the end of the day or even to start your day with that prayer. "I love you, but I can't say I always understand you. What I can say is that I welcome you. I welcome you, and whatever you bring to the table is enough." Vince said this to Amy and wow how profound. That even if you don't understand me, because heck, I don't even understand me all the time, just love me and let me be enough. I love that. "The life which gives multiplies itself; the life which absorbs destroys itself and others. All nature is built upon the plan of giving. The sun gives its light and heat, the bird its song, the lilac its odor, the orchard yields its fruit for the good of man, the field its grain for the same purpose. If a man is not a giver, he is out of harmony with his surroundings. If he makes a dead sea of himself, he becomes fatal to anything that seeks life from him." Amy's Granddad wrote this and I love how it connects us with nature and what God created. God created us like Him and He gave. We were created to give and in giving we are made whole. If you love Amy and her music you will love this book.

The Christmas Promise

"The Christmas Promise" by Donna VanLiere

The last read of my Christmas break. Another quick, fun and uplifting read. It was filled with so many good tidbits. "This story is about how a promise from one person to another shows us the true meaning of faith, remembrance, and love." A promise can be a big thing to keep and Gloria waited seven years for her promise to be fulfilled but she never lost hope. She moved from the painful life she once knew to a new town where she helps those in need and where her past collides with her future. "Maybe that's what the truth does, it beats the living hell out of us until we do something about it." Truth will have its way of finding the light. "Shame is a bully; it likes to hang around, tapping us on the shoulder from time to time; then it pounds us in the face." And God never meant for us to be filled with shame, He takes those burdens, those ashes and turns them into beauty.

Friday, January 6, 2012

The Christmas Bus

"The Christmas Bus" by Melody Carlson

Good, quick read. Edith is sad that her family can not come for Christmas but she decides to open her B&B up to strangers for the holidays. She asks God to bring the guests and He does, just not quite the guests she would have picked. I love the theme of this book, Could you be entertaining angels unaware? You never know whom the Lord will place in your path or for what reason, it is just our job to love those that He does put in our path. This is not always an easy task but when you think about how special they are to Jesus it becomes an easier one. "Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it!" Hebrews 13:1-2 The Message

Monday, January 2, 2012

Life Everlasting

"Life Everlasting" by Robert Whitlow

I picked up this book as soon as I finished the first because I needed to know how it would all end. Baxter, after falling off a cliff, opened his eyes for the first time in months. But the battle is just beginning. Sometimes it takes a battle to bring things into the light. Alexia Lindale is the lawyer who needs to find her way through the deception yet not give up on her client. "I believe the universe is in the hands of the Lord as Creator. If that's true, then there is a divine connection between sounds, words, pictures, music, and all other forms of creativity that are submitted to His authority. Our job is to find practical ways in which God can use our creative gifts to advance His kingdom on earth." How can my gifts be used by Him? How can yours? I don't think there is anything more fulfilling than using the gift that God gave you and giving it back to Him by using it for His glory. "No matter the past, the eternal future belonged to the God who lived outside time. In that future, enemies could embrace as friends; those separated by hate could enter into glorious unity." And oh what a day that will be.

Life Support

"Life Support" by Robert Whitlow

A man falls from a cliff and is barely hanging on to life. His wife wants to pull the plug to keep her secrets. His father wants him alive for money. Alexia Lindale the lawyer takes on the biggest case of her life, a case of life and death. This book starts out going right into the action and keeps you turning pages throughout then leaves you hanging at the end (but don't worry there is a second book). "Why couldn't the same mighty rushing wind blow onto these shores? Wasn't Jesus Christ the Lord of the whole earth?" I think sometimes we hear of miracles afar and believe they don't happen in our lives just somewhere else. But Jesus is the Lord of the whole earth and He does do miracles in our everyday lives, sometimes we just have to look harder for them. "Faith and the presence of Jesus is the recipe for miracles." "Jesus doesn't seek adoration because he's insecure. He receives it because he's worthy." And oh how worthy He is. "I hope people see a reflection of Jesus when they meet me. That's how God works. He uses people to show the world what He's like." I am often times not a good example to the world of who Jesus is but I continually pray that He would shine brighter and brighter in me. "As a Christian, I believe my relationship with God should satisfy me, and in many ways it does, but the link between a husband and wife is unique in the universe." Marriage is a means to holiness and that bond is incredible when the spouse is chosen by God. This book was a good read and wasn't too predictable. If you like a little lawyer, love and mystery this book is for you.