Detours and Standing Stones

Some friends and I were conversing about how our lives had not followed our original "plan" but had been full of detours as God changed our plans to fit His Plan.  Afterward I started thinking about some of the authors and books that helped me see and accept these detours as a good thing.  I decided to write them down as 'standing stones' - a record of God's faithfulness to future generations.  (Joshua 4:1-7, 20-24)

Here are a few of titles that I came up with:

• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
• Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard
• When God Writes Your Love Story by Eric & Leslie Ludy
• When God Writes Your Life Story by Eric & Leslie Ludy
• Moulder of Dreams by Guy Rice Doud
• Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C.S. Lewis
• Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy
• A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall
• A Rose In Bloom by Louisa Mae Alcott

There are others but these are a few that have challenged my faith, gave me a new point of view and/or gave me an example to follow.

What books have impacted your life?

Who Needs Thriller Movies?

Have you read any of Joel C. Rosenberg's books? He has been on the New York best-seller list quite a few times but I hadn't read anything by him until now.  Wow.

I have just finished The Copper Scroll and it was way better than the last movie I attended for suspense and thrills.  The clock was into the early morning hours when I turned out the light...just had to read one more chapter and then one more...

His storyline is so well crafted and so realistic that I almost forgot it was fiction.  It is kind of alarming in some ways because of his depiction of future events and discoveries in the Middle East - especially Israel and Jerusalem.  The plot is so well thought out that all you would need to do is change the characters' names and it could be tomorrow's headlines.

If you haven't read them start them in order:
The Last Jihad
The Last Days
The Ezekiel Option
The Copper Scroll
Dead Heat

I didn't realize they were a series and started with the last one first!  I could follow the plot but some of the back-story of the main characters and history of events wasn't as clear as if I had started at the beginning.

In my humble opinion these are better than the Left Behind series and I highly recommend them.

Quote for the Day

When I get a little money, I buy books; And, if any is left, I buy food and clothes.

Erasmus

Snow, Snow, Snow

This winter feels like we're living in Narnia under the rule of the White Witch -it is always winter and never Christmas!  The drifts on the road are now taller than a pick-up truck in places. If the joy of new snow has lost it's luster read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. It captures the wandering adventures of a little boy named Peter as he explores his snow-covered world.

If you would rather count your blessings of food, shelter and warmth read The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  When you read it in the middle of a winter storm the determination and strength of that little house takes on a whole new meaning.  Make sure you have plenty of hot chocolate on hand to keep you warm while you read!

More tools from Google

I have recently discovered this website books.google.com

It is a great place to search for all kinds of books. If the book is an older one you can actually read it right there on the site.
I've started reading one of George McDonald's books there. It is a scanned copy of Malcolm from 1896. The Scots dialect is a bit difficult but I like the challenge of it.

His books are hard to find so I snatch them up when I come across them.

What out-of-print books do you wish they would republish?

If You Cannot Read All Your Books

If you cannot read all your books, at any rate handle, or as it were, fondle them, peer into them, let them fall open where they will, read from the first sentence that arrests the eye, set them back on the shelves with your own hands, arrange them on your own plan so you at least know where they are. Let them be your friends; let them be your acquaintances.

Sir Winston Churchill

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Book Club Titles

When I lived in Pipestone I belonged to two book clubs. Since moving I have not kept up - so here is a list of books that I need to read yet.

• The Shepherd's Prayer by Richard M. Barry
  
• The Uncommon Woman: Making an Ordinary Life Extraordinary by Susie Larson
  
• Summer of Light by W. Dale Cramer
  
• June Bug by Chris Fabry

What books do you suggest for next month's book club meeting? I'm always looking for "good discussion" ones.