The Return

It is so good to see Dr. Hunt back in the saddle again. His work is among some of the best, if not the best out there in the area of prayer. Seeing the Unseen is no exception. His candor and his knowledge of prayer show forth in this short book like a beacon in the night. He shares with his readers his years of experience in prayer without all the fluff that accompanies other books I’ve read on the subject. He makes it clear that the occasional prayer meeting will not suffice if you seriously want to see the unseen, grow in faith, and know God better than you do at this moment. He also doesn’t promise instant prayer warrior status either. He makes it clear that growth is a process, that takes time, and that it takes practice. But he also makes it clear that the end result is well worth the effort. So what didn’t I like about this book? Not much really. I could have done without some of the introductory stuff, but it was interesting. Slows down the rapid consumption of wha...

Must be time for another non-review entry.  Good intentions to visit more often just aren't enough.  It's all I've got, though.  Yes, that was a very lame excuse.  It'll have to do. So what have I been doing that takes up all my time?  Recently, I've been pushing to get a course done before the end of the month.  Tons of reading and three papers later I'm almost there.  Need the final and a "reflection paper" now.  Close, very close to reaching the finish line.  I think I'm beginning to get the hang of how to do these independent study courses.  Beginning, I say.  They are much more work than the online versions.  By about two papers at least and several progress reports.  Believe it or not I am enjoying this.  Learning a few things along the way too.  Start another course first part of July, but it's an online one.  Need the rest from this one. Got a jury summons.  Suppose to be some sort of privi...

Randy Alcorn uses edited excerpts of Spurgeon’s sermons about heaven in this devotional and adds some of his own content. They make wonderful compliment to Spurgeon. For those who are not familiar with the life and preaching of Charles Spurgeon, Alcorn introduces him throughout this 50 day devotional. The introduction carries a short biography of his life and work, and then Alcorn weaves other fascinating bits of information into his content. But…this isn’t a book to glorify Spurgeon or Alcorn. Its theme is God and the Heaven that He inhabits and shares with His children. The first few readings are situated in the place where the focus on heaven is the most pronounced, after the death of someone near and dear to us. Sadness gives way to joy as the reader progresses through these opening days. And it continues that way throughout the rest of the book. Alcorn’s comments and illustrations help reinforce the encouragement or exhortation that Spurgeon provides. There are a few en...

I downloaded this book for review, but didn’t get to it right away. What a sad mistake. This probably the freshest Christian writing I have read in a long time. Bravo for the author! It inspires, reveals a lost history and lets the reader inside some of the Eastern religions in a way I had not seen before. There’s an impressive group of recommendations for this book but I generally don’t pay much attention to them. For some reason I did this time and it isn’t the usual list that congratulate each other’s work. He has drawn praise from a wide range of readers. I literally anticipated reading the next page and chapter. A rare thing for me. Reading about something that some in the West have taken for granted or dismissed from the perspective of a people that did not have such a book was humbling, indicting, and awesome. It had been a long time since I have experienced such uplifting work. Read this book! is all I can say. This book was provided for me for review from BookSn...

An endorsement from Chelsea Cain on the back cover of this book says, “This book will make you smarter about the craft. Period.” I totally agree with that opinion. This is a book that covers ground I not seen in other books about how to write the novel you know you can. Maybe the other books I’d read had this information, but he explains it in a way I can understand more clearly. I discovered why one of my forays into such an endeavor was minimally successful and the other attempts much less so. There is much to commend this book to the DIY group of novelists out there. His repeated, and I mean repeated insistence, that all the core competencies must work together is so important I cannot omit it. Seems reasonable, but in the pages that surround all that insisting I found that even some of the foundational ones were weak or missing in my attempts. How about yours? Please read this book. Go the extra mile or so up front and see if he’s telling you the truth. He does cover...

Wow!  It's May already.  Not sure how that happened, but the calendar says it's so.  Part of last month was a vacation and a nice one too.  The quince, as they called it for short, came off without any major glitches and the honoree was sooo pretty in her fancy dress.  It was definitely her evening to shine.  And shine she did.  A little girl, no more.  She has officially joined the ranks of young lady.  I guess in the old days this was a signal for the suitors to line up for their evaluation as possible marriage material.  Not so nowadays, but the custom remains anyway.   Had some time in the Hill Country after the party and some relaxation was just what the doctor ordered, in a manner of speaking.  There was no doctor or any order from one, but the time was nice.  Didn't know why the skies were so hazy, but discovered later that range fires were burning all over the state.  They didn't get much news coverage,...

Now that was a pretty wild ride---I mean read. It’s written in the style of several of the business books I’ve seen lately. Fast paced, high energy, and packed with all sorts of stuff. I liked it. If you are looking for some overall theme it is probably something along the lines of a wakeup call in your life, or at least five distinct areas of it. Cooke is a media guy and understands how to connect. In fact in one of his microbursts he states that he starts with knowing who he’s talking to before he starts his communication. Now that sounds pretty sensible, but it doesn’t happen in some circles as often as it could. He’s got all the right words and hooks you right from the start. That isn’t to say that he does not deliver substance. He definitely does, repeatedly in this book. My advice is to give it a decent first read and go back to some of the areas that need attention now. Oh, I think he mentioned that too. Each Jolt! is neatly packaged and nearly independent of ...