Good Piece of Entertaining and Thought-Provoking "Biblical Fiction"

When Jesus Wept Jerusalem Chronicles, The Volume: 1

By Bodie and Brock Thoene

I was intrigued by the title and brief description of this book but was still prepared to be disappointed. I have read a lot of disappointing pieces of Biblical Fiction lately. But I was very pleasantly surprised as I read this book to find that it was unique, imaginative, intriguing, Biblical, though-provoking, and an excellent story.

I *really* enjoyed how the author made a full character out of Lazarus and his family. If you've ever seen the movie Barabbas, you'll see how completely on the other end of the spectrum this Lazarus is from the awful depiction of him in that film. And the things postulated about what happens after death and what life must have been like for Lazarus (as well as the young girl who Jesus also brought back to life -- she made a cameo appearance in this story) after he had experienced being in the afterlife and then was dragged back to this present world.

What impressed me most was the authors’ ability to write a story on this theme that was not terribly predictable and which kept me wanting to find out how things were going to end DESPITE the fact that I already knew the basics of the inevitable ending from the story it parallels in the Bible. This is not easy to do with Biblical fiction and I applaud Bodie and Brock Thoene for this book. 

I'll be very interested to see what they come up with for Volume 2...

BATHSHEBA Bathed in Grace

I did not enjoy this book at all.

I was intrigued by the title and then even more intrigued by the description as I LOVE Biblical fiction and I really enjoy thinking about the stories behind the women of the Bible so I was really looking forward to getting into this author's mind on these topics.

I found that the short stories in this book read more like a highschool type essay on the subject rather than an engaging piece of writing. The characters lacked compelling depth and instead had odd thought monologues and plot points that didn't seem to make sense or stay consistent with the narratives found in the Bible.

I started with Bathsheba's story and was not engaged enough in it to be able to finish it so I moved on to Leah's story because I have always been intrigued by Leah. But her story really lacked anything which helped me to identify with her character's heartache or provide me with any new thoughts on what her life might really have been like.

I cannot recommend this book for purchase.

It's Helpful to know "The Story of the Voice"

The Story of the Voice
By David Capes, Chris Seay, and James Couch

I have counted myself very blessed to have been able to read from the Voice Bible translation almost exclusively lately. I'll be honest, I didn't think I'd like it at first and every serious Bible reader I've tried to introduce it to since has had serious reservations about acknowledging a "paraphrase" of the Bible (and don't even get me started on the difficulties associated with suggesting they actually read it!) But I can say without any hesitation that I *love* the Voice translation and have come to trust it as a safe and reliable rendering of God's Word to His people. That being said, Id like to stop being ridiculed for having gone over to the "dark side" or loose side when it comes to Bible translations and that's where "The Story of the Voice" comes in.

I must admit that I probably would never have purchased this book; not because if isn't *excellent*, but because the idea of spending money on a book about a translation (when said translations has a perfectly comprehensive forward included with it) is a little much for my frugal mind to agree to. But I am so glad to have it.

The story of this translation is truly fascinating, and it's important to be able to get into the minds of the people behind this work in order to understand the thought process and prayer that went into some of the more startling translation/rendering decisions.

Get it. Understand it. And I challenge you to walk away from the Voice without a new respect for this controversial translation. Then pass the Story on to the next person who you think would benefit from stepping into the Story of Scripture.

Sisters in Faith Bible, King James Version

Sisters in Faith Bible, King James Version
Edited by: Michele Clark Jenkins and Stephanie Perry Moore

I was skeptical at first about *yet another* bible devoted to Black people. But I was (somewhat) pleasantly surprised by this Sisters in Faith Bible because it wasn't quite like all the others.

I like that this Bible doesn't pander to stereotypes about coloured women, nor does it ignore the real issues that women face regardless of colour. I think that any women would benefit from the devotional helps included in this Bible because they are relevant to us all.

But at the same time, this is yet another example of a publisher publishing another bible just to sell more bibles to the same old people and I'm getting really tired of that. I truly suspect that the reason that the bible remains the best selling book of all time is not because more and more people are buying it, but because Christians keep being told they need to get this new bible and that new bible because of the added content. This is saddening consumerism at its core. And the Sisters in Faith bible is an excellent example of this because of the way it is put together: clearly this bible isn't meant to be given to a new believer or someone who is far from God because its only available in the King James Version. Any new believer would be discourage by that, no matter how many excellent helps are included. This bible is obviously marketed towards the enthusiastic older coloured believers (of which I count myself one), but those people already have a bible, I guarantee you.

It's a lovely bible, but lets get together as followers of Christ and encourage our publishers to figure out how we can reach the lost, not get money out of each other.

Christmas Stories

Christmas Stories
Heartwarming Classics of Angels, a Manger, and the Birth of Hope

By Max Lucado

I should begin by saying that I'm not a huge fan of Max Lucado. I have read some decent writing by him, but with his nonfiction stuff I just get the feeling that he's trying to sell books rather than put out new helpful fresh material for his readers.

BUT, I have always been blown away by his fiction work. His kids stories are beyond compare so I was intrigued to get a chance to review his new collection of Advent stories, especially since a friend and I are celebrating Advent together this year and it was really nice to be able to make it special by incorporating this book into what we are doing.

The first story really set the tone for me. It was a longer one, a few chapters long, but it had all the elements of a great story in it. A mystery, conflict, even a hint of romance and a fantastic climax. The stories rolled on from there. Some long, some short, but all brought out a different aspect of the true significance of the Advent/Christmas season in a way that gave me something new to meditate on with each story -- which is just what I wanted since I was looking forward to digesting this book slowly as I savour the Saviour during this Advent season. It dovetails so nicely with my Advent scripture readings and prayers.

Thanks Max, I really enjoy this one. Keep it up with the fiction.

The Respect Dare

40 Days to a Deeper Connection with God and Your Husband

By Nina Roesner

While I have really enjoyed reading this book, I was a little disappointed with the format.

I guess what I was hoping was that the book would give an idea of something different I could do each day that would be a blessing to my husband for that day and would, in turn, help us to develop a natural habit of respect between us as a result. What the book actually does is give a different respect-related principle to keep in mind for each day (which begins to be a little on the overload side after a few days) with some specific suggestions here and there. Don’t get me wrong, its ALL helpful, but I don’t find that the content of the book is conducive to a “principle per day” format. I kinda get the feeling that Nina only used that format to sell books because its popular right now – and I can understand that since the only reason I picked up this book was because I was hoping for a practical guide to 40 specific days of different specific ways to show respect to my husband. And that’s what I didn’t quite receive from The Respect Dare.

The Purpose Driven Life

The Purpose Driven Life

What on Earth Am I Here For?

By Rick Warren

I should start this review by pointing out that I never read the original “Purpose Driven Life” put out 10 years ago by Rick Warren, but I do know that its ridiculously popular and that I always meant to get around to reading it. And now that its been republished and updated, I can say that I’m glad that I did!

The Purpose Driven Life is a 40-day read but I would not call it a “devotional”. Warren intends for the reader to embark on (and commit to) a 40-day journey of intentionally exploring what the reason is for their existence in this world. It starts with the truth about who God is and what he wants and moves to more specifics about our life.

The basic outline of the 40 days is divided between these basic premises:

• We were planned for God's pleasure
• so your first purpose is to offer real worship.
• We were formed for God's family
• so your second purpose is to enjoy real fellowship.
• We were created to become like Christ,
• so your third purpose is to learn real discipleship.
• We were shaped for serving God
• so your fourth purpose is to practice real ministry.
• We were made for a mission
• so your fifth purpose is to live out real evangelism.

And the daily reading explores the issues within each premise.

Unfortunately I wasn’t given 40 days to review this book but I can say that I have been changed even by what I have made it through so far. Even though Warren’s premises are simple enough to digest, the way they are set out really capture my desire for meaning and purpose in life and help me to understand the bigger picture of what God has intended me for in the grand scheme of the world.

There are some new features to the updated version of the book that deserve mention. At the beginning of each chapter is one of those scan squares that you can point your smartphone to and it will take you to a website dedicated to that day in the book (or you can just type in the URL if you don’t have a smartphone or scan reader). Each day’s website has a video introduction by Warren and then a 40 minute audio message that is supposed to expand upon the message. I think this is a great idea in theory, but really, I don’t have time for a 40 minute message every evening/morning… so I actually got stalled in my 40 day journey because I wanted to hear each audio message, which meant I couldn’t go on to day 3 when day 3 came around because I still hadn’t had time to listen to the message from day 2 (and so on). I’m still not sure how I’m going to deal with that. I’ll probably just keep going through the days and just save the audio messages for after the 40 day reading experience.

I am really enjoying the 10^th anniversary edition of Purpose Driven Life. I think I may give away copies of it this Christmas.