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Showing posts from March, 2015

Review: D.L. Moody: A Life by Kevin Belmonte

Review: D.L. Moody: A Life Kevin Belmonte Moody Publishers 2014 Belmonte has told Moody’s story so well that only the toughest will not shed a tear in the final chapter.   The narrative reads like good fiction.    Moody was a member of an exceptional generation in Western history.   That generation saw unmatched wealth and poverty, invention, education, and opportunity---for some, but not others.   Think of the stories of Charles Dickens to imagine this period, or the US before the Civil War and after.   Moody knew the hard side of this period, especially after his father died leaving his family destitute.   But for family and community who knows what Moody would have become. However, his hardships made him more attuned to those around him. So as it turned out, we who are living a century later still partake in his legacy and his life’s work.   What did I not like about this book?   I did miss his family, and especially his wife and her influence.   Maybe someone

Review: More Than Just The Talk: Becoming Your Kids’ Go-to Person about Sex by Jonathan McKee

Review: More Than Just The Talk: Becoming Your Kids’ Go-to Person about Sex Jonathan McKee Bethany House Publishers 2015 At last!!   It’s OK to say “sex” and not spell it or find some euphemism for it.   And this is a biblically based book.   We’re off to a good start already.   McKee has two primary themes throughout the book.   Don’t freak out, and talk to your kids often.   He admits the conversations can be awkward since most of us have grown up whispering about this subject.   The kids today, just like we were once upon a time, need good information and guidance related to sexual behavior delivered in a loving environment in rational discussions.   What is appropriate, how far, what about same sex attractions, are certain practices really sex?    There’s more, but you get the idea.   As he makes abundantly clear, the messages found in the media are giving the wrong signals to whoever watches or listens related to sexual behavior and perceptions.   He uses cu

Review: HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes

Review: HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes Broadway Books 2015 Whether you are a fan of Hillary Clinton or not reading this book will open your eyes to more than just HRC.   She is not an incidental character in this book, but definitely not the only one of interest.   I found myself recognizing names and making connections that I missed somewhere down the line of the last few years since the tenure of the Obama’s in the White House.    HRC gives a view from the inside of just who Clinton is and how she operates.   I must say I do admire her ability much more than I did before reading this book.   She can navigate well in the political arena on her own power.   But apparently, she has more than her own resources to rely upon there.   Her husband figures largely in her political career too.   Like he quipped many years ago, they come as a two for one deal in politics.   That partnership did not seem to extend to her