Category Archives: Non-fiction

Review: Chasing the Wind, by Robert White

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Chasing the Wind, by Robert White (Word Alive Press, 2011)

This attractive gift book is subtitled “Finding Meaningful Answers from Ancient Wisdom,” and it’s a look at the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes.

What does a small book written hundreds of years ago have to do with us today? Author Robert White says it looks at a lot of the same issues we face now:

“… the meaninglessness of wisdom, wishes and work; the futility—or chasing the wind—of desire and deeds; and the eternal and temporal curses and joys of toil, treasures and termination. As pessimistic as Ecclesiastes seems, the Teacher leaves us with hope. Only once we’ve chased after the wind and become weary of the meaninglessness found under the sun do we come to the end of the matter.” (p. 10)

The end of the matter, in the words of Ecclesiastes, is to “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” Ecclesiastes 12:13b, NIV*.

As such, the book takes an honest look at some of our questions and struggles, and works them through to a perspective that seeks God first.

Chasing the Wind is a short book, only 100 pages long, and it’s an easy read. I appreciated the references to the song “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas, and I loved the way Robert illustrated Ecclesiastes’ “all is meaningless” lament with a quote from the original Star Trek series. (Bonus for geek readers!)

This is a book for readers of all ages and experiences (the Star Trek illustration is explained, so everyone will get it). Each short chapter ends with a handful of questions for personal reflection. The aim is to leave us with a perspective of hope and a focus on God rather than on self.

The unpublished manuscript of Chasing the Wind won the Word Alive Press 2010 publishing contest in the non-fiction category, and was published in March 2011.

Robert White is the editor of ChristianWeek Ontario and writes the “A Matter of Faith” column in the Guelph Mercury. You can find Robert on the Great Canadian Authors site, or watch his interview on 100 Huntley Street: part 1 and part 2.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

*THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Review: Dog Only Knows, by Barrie MacFarlane

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Dog Only Knows

Dog Only Knows, by Barrie MacFarlane (Createspace, 2011)

The subtitle of this slim book is “How to Find Love, Hope and Happiness in an Uncertain World.” The story is written in an endearing voice, from an elderly Labrador Retriever’s perspective as he looks back on life with—and lessons learned from—humans.

Marley the dog (named after reggae singer Bob Marley and with no relation to the Marley and Me movie) was born in Ohio, moved to Los Angeles, then immigrated to Atlantic Canada. I like what he says in one of the early chapters:

There is a reason and a purpose for all life… your life has a purpose, although it may take a search to find it… You don’t have to search frantically. It’s intended to be an adventure. (p. 6)

As he tells highlights from his life story, he shares what he’s learned about common subjects: fear, loyalty, trust, forgiveness, grief, change, attitude, love etc.

Dog Only Knows is a life-affirming book for the general market. Short chapters open with pithy quotes, and they often have a gentle, encouraging message. As one might expect, there are plenty of funny pet shenanigans.

At times Marley speaks directly to young reader, but it’s also a pleasant read for adults. It would make a good family read-aloud story. In places the language can be complex, and an adult reader could make any explanations if needed.

This is the first book I’ve read produced through Amazon’s Createspace, and the only issues I see are about copy-editing. It’s printed on sturdy, cream-coloured paper that’s easy on the eyes. (I’m not a fan of the bright white often used in print on demand.)

There’s a real Marley, and the book is based on his escapades. We can credit his human friend Barrie MacFarlane with providing the thoughts and commentary.

Barrie MacFarlane is a Canadian author who has a strong appreciation for the way animals lift the human spirit. Dog Only Knows is his first book, and you can find it on Amazon: Canada and USA.

 [Review copy provided by the author.]

Review: Fearless, by Max Lucado

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Fearless, by Max Lucado (Thomas Nelson, 2009)

Fear, it seems, has taken a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversize and rude, fear is unwilling to share the heart with happiness…. Fear is the big bully in the high school hallway…. Fear herds us into prison and slams the doors.

Wouldn’t it be great to walk out? (Fearless, page 5)

I always expect a Max Lucado book to be inspiring, encouraging and worth reading, and this one’s no exception. Max traces fear to its root danger: “Fear corrodes our confidence in God’s goodness.” (page 9) We believe the lie that we’re alone, or that God doesn’t care or can’t help.

Fearless addresses the most common issues head on: the fear of not mattering; of disappointing God; of lack; fear for our children; of challenges and worst-case scenarios; of violence, the future and death; even the fear that God is not real—or that He might not stay in the “box” where we’d like to contain Him.

There’s value in articulating our fear, in looking at it plainly. We can see legitimate need for concern, and we can see when we’re slipping into paranoia. Putting our concerns into words makes them more manageable, and it helps us to pray

Max Lucado gives us nuggets of Scripture to counter the fear, and I think the wisest way to use this book is to prayerfully memorize those bits of truth that are most relevant to our personal struggles. He also gives us practical suggestions, like his “Eight worry-stoppers” in chapter 4.

The discussion guide at the end of the book is another valuable tool for individual or group use. And as Max says, the truth in these pages isn’t something to be absorbed in a one-time exposure. “The parched soil of fear needs steady rain.” (p. 33) We’ll need to re-read it, to reassure ourselves of the message and to let it sink into our spirits.

Fearless is definitely a good weapon for our daily living needs. It’s an easy, well-written read that does justice to the seriousness of the issues. You can read the first chapter of Fearless or listen to the first Fearless sermon here.

New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado has written a number of award-winning books and is a Minister of Preaching at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. Visit his ministry website, UpWords, to learn more about Max and to be encouraged. The site offers daily devotionals and other resources.

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Two other strong resources for defeating fear in our lives are Moving from Fear to Freedom by Grace Fox and So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: LEAP for Faith, by Gary Cox

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LEAP for Faith, by Gary Cox (Bryler Publications, 2011)

The Christian life is a journey, which Eugene Peterson has dubbed “a long obedience in the same direction.” Believers need to grow spiritually. We also need to respectfully and responsibly share our faith with family, friends and co-workers. In-their-face agendas build walls, not relationships.

So how do we grow? And how to we encourage those who are spiritually interested but not ready to make a full commitment to a God they’re only beginning to suspect may exist?

Part Bible study, part spiritual workbook and part novel, LEAP for Faith takes a fresh look at these perennial questions.

Canadian author Gary Cox addresses spiritual growth in the form of LEAP: Look and Listen, Explore and Examine, Acknowledge and Accept, Practice and Pray. And as Nick, one of the book’s main characters, says, it’s not a one-time sequence:

“P is both the last and the first step. With prayer you go back to looking and listening for God at work in your life. Seeking to discover what he wants to teach you. It’s a cycle, and each cycle expands your understanding and deepens your relationship with the Lord.” (p. 246)

The book contains 27 short chapters that follow the fictional case study of Troy, a man beginning to wonder about God, and Nick, his Christian friend. Each chapter ends with personal-application discussion questions and with Scripture passages to consider.

For new Christians or those considering the faith, there’s a helpful section at the beginning called “My Bible” that demystifies the process of looking up Scriptural references and offers suggestions on Bible reading and accessible translations.

Older-in-the-faith Christians will find Nick’s gentle model of teaching an encouragement, and the simple but logical LEAP system is easy not only to share but to apply in our personal devotions.

I found it a helpful book, easy to read and to follow. Troy and Nick are fictional examples illustrating how the LEAP process might play out in real life. It would dilute the focus of the book to bring a fully-featured novel into play with subplots, detailed characterization and the traditional conflict and plot arc. Allowing their journey to follow a straight path makes an easier teaching tool.

The only negative I found in the book was the need for more copyediting. My husband and I bought four Bryler Publications books at the same time, and the three we’ve read to date all had editing/formatting errors (one was missing an entire chapter) so I’m thinking this is a publisher issue.

LEAP for Faith can be used in private study or in a six-week group setting. Additional resources and videos for groups and group leaders are available on the LEAP for Faith website. The first two chapters are available for preview here.

[Review copy from my personal library. Disclosure: the author is a personal friend.]

Review: Promises You Can Count On, by Natalie Gidney

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Promises You Can Count On, by Natalie Gidney (Word Alive Press, 2009)

Bible promise books, complete with a helpful index, are great resources, and every Christian’s bookshelf should have one. But you only need one.

That’s why Promises You Can Count On takes a different approach. Natalie Gidney focuses on ten essential promises, including peace, salvation, grace and joy, and invites readers to “claim them and watch and see what He can do.” (p. 6)

This slender book is ideal for new believers or for those considering faith in Jesus Christ. It’s also a good refresher for more seasoned Christians. Each chapter draws on a number of Scriptures to explore one of God’s promises. With an easy conversational style, Natalie looks at what this promise can mean in our lives, and she offers candid examples of what it’s meant in her own.

Naturally, salvation is one of the early topics. It may surprise some readers, then, to see forgiveness rounding out the number ten spot as the final chapter. But as Natalie explains, forgiveness is something that’s required of us as well as something we need from God. That can be a hard truth to hear, and I think she’s wise to build up to it.

In some ways, forgiving others—or ourselves—isn’t possible until we’re sure we can trust God’s promises. So it makes sense to immerse ourselves in them first and grow our faith.

Promises You Can Count On was a finalist in the Relationships category of The Word Guild’s 2010 Canadian Christian Writing Awards (for books published in 2009).

Canadian author and speaker Natalie Gidney blogs at Promises for All. You can watch her interview on 100 Huntley Street: part 1 and part 2.

[book source: my personal library]

Review: One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp

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One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully, Right Where You Are, by Ann Voskamp (Zondervan, 2011)

One Thousand Gifts is a rare book: at once a very personal story of one woman’s journey, and yet it’s everywoman and everyman’s story. It’s a journey we can all join.

Which of us hasn’t struggled with ingratitude? It is, after all, Satan’s oldest lie. It can root so deeply that we don’t even see it anymore.

Listen to how Ann Voskamp describes it, describes the too-familiar wretched state and the haunting questions that lured her out of it:

“If I’m ruthlessly honest, I may have said yes to God, yes to Christianity, but really, I have lived the no. I have. Infected by the Eden mouthful, the retina of my soul develops macular holes of blackness…. One life-loss can infect the whole of a life…. Now everywhere we look, we only see all that isn’t: holes, lack, deficiency.” (p. 16)

“How do we choose to allow the holes to become seeing-through-to-God places? To more-God places?

“How do I give up resentment for gratitude, gnawing anger for spilling joy? Self-focus for God-communion.” (p. 22)

For Ann, the answer started with a Greek word, eucharisteo [yoo-khar-is-teh’-o], which means ‘thanksgiving’ and which contains the root words of ‘grace’ and ‘joy’. From reading her Bible, she discovered “Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—always precedes the miracle” (p. 35). And that’s what God proved in Ann’s own life as she kept her friend’s challenge to list 1,000 blessings—gifts—from God.

She came to this point in her life with more pain than some of us have: the most significant cluster in the form of losing her younger sister as a child. But whether you’ve lost more or less, whether it’s been taken from you or you’ve given it away, you can find healing in these pages.

Read the book slowly, let it encourage your spirit by its message and by the poetry that is Ann Voskamp’s prose. Walk with her as she learns to thank God for the sweet blessings—graces—in her day. Keep walking as she learns to see His grace in the painful moments, to practice what she calls the “hard eucharisteo” by giving thanks even when what He gives doesn’t look like grace to our eyes.

If you like simple, plain language and straightforward sentences, this may not be the book for you. I’ve included some excerpts to give a feel for the flowing language. And be aware that poetic language often uses imagery for a soul’s intimacy with God that strictly-literal thinkers may find difficult.

But if you’re one of the many who choose to read this book, you will be challenged and changed by the example of an ordinary Canadian woman who dares to have a heart like King David’s and to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving to God in the good and in the bad—not denying the pain, but trusting the Master Designer not to waste it.

This is how Ann describes what she discovered in her list of now well over 1,000 gifts:

“In eucharisteo, I count, count, count, keeping the beat of His song, the love song He can’t stop singing, this long song of longing. That He sings love over me?

“What else can all these gifts mean?” (p. 204)

One Thousand Gifts is a book to read contemplatively, and to keep near to read again. My friends are buying extra copies for their friends rather than lending a copy they might not get back. I can see why. Click here to read an excerpt from One Thousand Gifts. And here’s a link to the book trailer, which is a gift in itself.

Canadian author Ann Voskamp writes a daily encouragement blog at A Holy Experience. She’s also a regular contributor at the DaySpring blog, (in)courage.

Oh… my list? I’m at #33 today. And loving it.

[Review copy source: my personal library]

Review: More Questions than Answers, by Eleanor Shepherd

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More Questions than Answers: Sharing Faith by Listening, by Eleanor Shepherd (Resource Publications (a division of Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2010)

No matter  how secure our faith, we all have questions, issues, things we don’t fully understand.

In More Questions than Answers, Eleanor Shepherd reminds us that honesty about these very things is the beginning of a journey that benefits us as well as the friends with whom we walk.

“When walking with our friends, we encourage them to explore faith with us. We admit that our knowledge of faith is incomplete, but it is growing. We want them to join us as together we test our spirituality and meet for ourselves the ultimate truth, Jesus Christ. We call our journey together spiritual accompaniment.” p. xvii

Spiritual accompaniment is unconditional friendship. Our non-Christian friend is not a project to be discarded if she doesn’t come to believe as we do. Nor is our Christian friend to be set aside if he doesn’t grow as fast as we’d like.

We benefit personally from accompanying others. We learn not to be threatened by questions we can’t answer—God doesn’t vanish in a puff of smoke if we can’t explain Him. Our faith doesn’t vanish either. By honestly and prayerfully facing them, we grow deeper in our faith.

More Questions than Answers is divided into three sections:

The Listening Process addresses the art of listening. It includes basics of psychology, counselling etc, but always at lay-person’s level.

Discovering and Sharing Faith teaches how to go about spiritual accompaniment, illustrated by personal examples. It warns of the obstacles we may face.

Finally, The Source reminds us to listen to and rely on God. There is a short Bible study to develop our spiritual listening skills, and a shorter “Gospel in a nutshell” to help us answer when a friend asks how to become a Christian.

This is a book for Christians who want to be more valuable spiritually in the lives of those around them. It isn’t evangelism-by-the-numbers; it’s investment in the lives of those God gives us.

I appreciate books like this that emphasize faith conversations rather than confrontation, and that teach us to value the whole person.

Canadian author Eleanor Shepherd is a retired Salvation Army Officer now serving with Opportunity International Canada in Quebec. You can catch up with Eleanor at her blog. She also contributes to the Canadian Authors Who are Christian blog.

[Book source: my personal library. A version of this review first appeared in Faith Today Magazine, Jan/Feb 2011.]

Review: The Tender Heart of a Beast, by Michael “Bull” Roberts

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The Tender Heart of a Beast, by Michael Bull Roberts (Trimatrix Management Consulting Inc., 2009)

Michael “Bull” Roberts experienced overwhelming trauma and abuse as a child and a teen. As an adult, he dealt a lot of pain to those who crossed him. His purpose in this autobiography is neither to portray himself as a victim nor to glorify his successes as a crime lord. It’s to show how a loving God finally brought him to faith.

Michael tells his story in a conversational tone as if over coffee or in an interview. He avoids graphic detail and leaves much unsaid.

The Tender Heart of a Beast is a slim book, under 200 pages. The first half tells Michael’s story. The second is a collection of his unedited articles from Beyond the Walls prison newsletter, offering a window into his heart and to the challenges of a new Christian. There are also a handful of photographs, and it’s easy to see the difference in Michael’s eyes now that he belongs to Jesus.

What’s troubling about the book is that it’s non-fiction. It really happened, and this once-sensitive and fragile young boy endured so much from people who should have valued and nurtured him.

Reading how God drew Michael long before his conversion can encourage us to persevere with the hurting and angry people in our own lives.

The book is also a cry for Christians and churches to reach out to the outcasts—and to welcome a man who still looks dangerous but who is now uniquely equipped to share the Gospel with people who’d never listen to a preacher in a suit:

“How does a smelly, greasy biker or homeless person become a well-dressed, well-groomed example of the love of God? Well that’s easy. It’s up to you to love him, clothe him, mentor him and help him to the cross every time he falls until he becomes the man God has planned for him to become.” (p. 168)

I think I hear Jesus saying the same.

The Tender Heart of a Beast won a 2010 Canadian Christian Writing Award in the Books: General Readership category and an honourable mention in Books: Culture. A dangerous man. A chance at redemption. Heaven's Prey.

Copies are available from the author. For those who just want to hear Michael’s story, DVD copies of his testimony are also available. To order books or DVDs, please use this link to email the author.

Here’s a brief interview with Michael Bull Roberts

[Review copy from my personal library]

Review: Sailing Between the Stars, by Steven James

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Sailing Between the Stars: Musings on the Mysteries of Faith, by Steven James (Revell, 2006)

Sailing Between the Stars is the best book I’ve read in 2010. And I’m writing this in December, not January. I felt safe, understood, reading Steven James’ musings. Not that it’s comfortable reading, but that he talks honestly about many of the same questions I have. He affirms the value of asking the questions, of not trying to pretend we know all the answers correctly and absolutely.

I may have finished the book with more questions than when I started, but that’s okay. It means a lot to know I’m not the only one who has them, and I’ve learned that honest questions don’t cause us to vanish in a puff of confusion. If anything, they let us be more real. And they point us to the Source of all answers, the God who is bigger than our comprehension.

Steven James puts it this way:

“The questions, not the explanations, are what draw me deeper into the wonder of the dance.” p. 164

His writing is gentle and lyrical. If you like Mark Buchanan’s books, you’ll like this. It’s poignant at times, whimsical at others, and there are a few places that had me laughing out loud.

And while the topics aren’t easy to nail down with a “definitive” answer, there’s no philosophical mumbo-jumbo to exclude the average reader. There is one heavy-duty word, agathokakological (follow link for definition), but it’s introduced naturally through an anecdote about a child’s spelling bee and since it describes us, I think it makes the point that we’re more complex than we can understand.

You can read an excerpt of Sailing Between the Stars here.  Here’s a quote from the beginning of the book to set the tone:

“Imagination dwells at the heart of Christianity. It’s a worldview of wonder. …And it’s packed full of paradox…which makes many believers today uncomfortable.” p.19

If the mystery and paradox of faith threaten you, you’ll want to give the book a miss. I don’t know what I’d have thought if I’d read it in my younger days, when I “knew” more of the answers. Now that I’ve begun to be more sure of God and less sure of myself, I found a lot of truth in this book.

In prose and occasional poetry, the author ponders some deep topics: the good and evil in each of us, joy and pain, love and failing, humility, free will, doubt, unanswered prayer. In voicing our common weaknesses, he points to the mystery of Jesus, who alone lived life to the fullest and who came to point us to the Father.

None of these topics are addressed with an “I’ll tell you what to believe” agenda. He just explores them and leaves us to explore too… and to trust the God who actually sees the full picture.

Right now, Sailing Between the Stars is featured at Christianbook.com for $1.99 USD. It’s worth full cover price, but at this price why not buy in bulk for your spiritually-musing friends? It’s also available through amazon.ca. Amazon.com and chapters-indigo.ca are both sold out, and I can’t find it on the publisher’s site. So glad I found a copy when I did. This is a definite keeper and re-reader.

Steven James blogs occasionally on writing, faith or life, at Musings and Meanderings. His website showcases his intense thriller series, The Patrick Bowers Files. I’ve reviewed book one, The Pawn, and I’d love to know what happens next in Patrick Bowers’ life. Still working up my nerve….

[review copy from my personal library]

Review: InScribed, an anthology of Canadian Christian writing

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InScribed, an anthology from InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship (Forever Books, 2010)

To celebrate 30 years of encouraging and inspiring Canadian writers, InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship has released the anthology, InScribed. The 40+ contributors are current or former members, ranging from career journalists and published novelists to the newly-published, and geographically spanning the country from west to east coasts. The anthology comes recommended by well-known writers Phil Callaway, Linda Hall and Sigmumd Brouwer.

InScribed has a good mix of personal experience, teaching/inspirational, poetry and fiction. There’s happy, sad and thoughtful, with a touch of the whimsical for good measure. Most of the articles are very well-written. A few needed further editing, but the passion and promise is enough that they’re still worth reading.

I’ve been a member of InScribe since the days when it was known as Alberta Christian Writers’ Fellowship—Canada-Wide, and the online connection it provided with my writing friends was a great encouragement in my early writing days.

InScribed gave me the chance to read work from old friends (even some I’d lost touch with) and new friends. But its appeal isn’t limited to InScribe members, nor to writers in general. Anyone who appreciates short work from Canadian Christians will find plenty of good reading in this slender book.

Until an online store is set up, copies may be ordered by email. Within Canada the cost is $15.00 CAD plus $2.89 shipping per book. Orders outside of Canada will require more postage.

[Book source: my personal library. And no, I’m not one of the contributors although I’m a member of InScribe.]