Sabotaged by Dani Pettrey

If you are searching for adventure, suspense, intrigue, romance and characters with Christian morals then Dani Pettrey's book "Sabotaged" is the book you are looking to read.  Her story opens in the majestic state of Alaska with the exciting Iditarod trail sled dog race.  This event has taken place every year since March 3, 1973 and continues on March 7, 2015 for nine to fifteen days depending on whether they take the northern or southern route.  The race begins in Anchorage, Alaska and finishes in Nome, Alaska.  The mushers, the sled drivers, usually have sixteen dogs tied to their sled.
  One of the main characters, Frank Weber, entered the race.  However he was ambushed and told that unless he performed a specific job his daughter, Meg, held hostage, would be killed.  The story unfolds with the entire Iditarod working crew searching for Meg and Frank.  Read "Sabotaged" to discover why Frank was singled out to perform this job and what the details of the job involve.  The search crew risk their own lives as the villains continually block their attempts to save Meg and Frank.
  This book is the fourth in a series called "Alaskan Courage" written by the author.  Not having read any of the other books in the series I struggled with keeping the numerous characters straight.  I recommend start reading the series with the first book called "Submerged".  Having said that I still enjoyed reading this story.  I could visualize the characters struggling to survive the extreme Alaskan elements in order to pursue their mission of search and rescue.  The author portrays many of her characters as trying to put God first in their lives.  The story held my interest to the end.  Therefore I recommend reading "Sabotaged".  I give this book four stars.  This was a free book given to me by Bethany Publishing House, and the opinions are strictly my own.

Blindsided By God by Peter Chin

  Do you ever wonder where God is in certain situations?  This book really resonated with me, because I see good people suffering due to no fault of their own.  The author addresses that question through relating a year in his and his families life.  Peter Chin became a minister after attending Fuller Seminary.  He has a wife, Carol and two daughters, Sophia and Katie.
  The author begins his story in the year 2010 where a series of events caused him to doubt his faith and whether there was a loving a caring God.  He moved his family from Connecticut to Washington D.C. to start a new church plant in the D.C. area.  Peter and Carol were of Korean descent and moved into an all black neighborhood in Langdon, Va. where there was a high crime rate.  Upon occupancy they realized that their house had been vandalized by squatters stripping it of a garbage  disposal, sinks and ceiling fans.  "Thanks God!"  The next main event happened when Carol miscarried their third child.  "God if you are there why are you causing our family to suffer?"  The new church plant was not going well because of too few members.  "God I am a good person, and I have dedicated my life's  work to you.  Why have you deserted me?"  Then Carol was diagnosed with a very aggressive and deadly form of breast cancer for many woman Carol's age.  The Dr. informed them that the best course of treatment would be to have a mastectomy and undergo chemotherapy and radiation.  However just before the surgery the surgeon discovered that Carol was pregnant.  The anesthetic for surgery and the chemotherapy could harm the fetus, but doing nothing or delaying treatment could be detrimental  to Carol.  "God are you there and do you even care?"
  Pastor Chin's faith hit rock bottom as he was overwhelmed with feelings of fear, anger and abandonment.  In trying to find answers to his questions he pours through the Bible looking for comfort.  Through his study he saw that Jesus, before he was arrested, cried out three times to God his Father "Take this cup from me, but not my will but your will be done."  When Christ realized that was not God's will, he gets up and does what he came here to do.  Pastor Chin sees that it is ok to go through a period of lament but remaining there and wallowing in self pity was not beneficial for him or his family.  He had to accept the situation and proceed in what he felt was God's will.  Through his brokenness he relates how he became a better pastor, husband and father.
  I enjoyed how he interjects humor throughout his story, and it is an interesting read.  You get caught up in all the tragic events happening.  I found the scripture text he quotes helpful when a person goes through trials, and we all go through trials.  I highly recommend reading this book, and I think it deserves five stars.  I received a free copy of this book from Bethany Publishing House, and this review is strictly my own opinions.

Transforming Discipleship

The author of  "Transforming Discipleship" is basing the premise of his book on the scripture text Matthew 28:18-20 from the Bible which states "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations . . ."  Greg Ogden was a lead minister of a church for a number of years, but went back for his Doctorate and afterwards taught at the college level.  Ogden believes that the church has failed to bring Christians to maturity in Christ and to educate them to carry out Christ's great commission of making disciples of new believers.  He divides his book into three sections.  Section one reveals several reasons for the failure to mature and make disciples.  Section two relates the methodology of Jesus and the Apostle Paul in maturing people in Christ and turning them into disciple makers.  Section three applies Christ's methodology .  First you develop a relationship as a friend studying the word together to learn how to live a Christian life, and second you hold each other accountable for those requirements.  Ogden has also adapted Christ's model by using a matured Christian to prayerfully select two or three individuals who are willing to commit to a covenant relationship structured around a Bible based curriculum.  By using the above  methodology, Ogden has seen Christians transformed into Christ's likeness and the making of disciples.  I see value in this approach and am inspired to try Ogden's methods.  I would give "Transforming Discipleship" five stars.

A Most Inconvenient Marriage

  Our story opens with the siege of Vicksburg bringing to conclusion the Civil War.  Our heroine Abigail Stuart is forced to leave her Ohio home for reasons I will not disclose.  Abigail moves near St. Louis, Missouri and finds employment nursing confederate prisoners at Gratiot Prison.  One of her favorite patients is an arm amputee who is dying from gangrene.  Because this soldier values the care and dedication of his nurse he makes an unusual proposal.  He offers to marry Abigail leaving her financially secure with his farm, stock, prized horses and a family to love and be loved by.  In return she is to care for his mother, ailing sister and the farm.  Abigail accepts his proposal and becomes Mrs. Jeremiah Calhoun.  At the death  of Jeremiah, Abigail moves to his farm in the mountains of Missouri and that is when the story becomes intriguing.  After two months living with the family, a soldier shows up claiming to be Jeremiah Calhoun.  However it is not the man she married.  So the story unfolds with Abigail struggling with remaining in a complete strangers home and unwrapping the mystery of who she married.  Can she find the love and companionship that she is desiring?
  The author Regina Jennings  weaves in the poverty, unusual language and the colorful culture of the Ozark mountain people of the Missouri.  Some of the charm is the women smoking pipes and the
slang vocabulary strange to anyone from outside of the area.  The Hatfield's and McCoy's come to mind because of their distrust of anyone outside of their mountain hollow.

  I enjoyed reading about the color and quirks of the local people and would recommend "A Most Inconvenient Marriage".  The only negative comment that I would share is I feel sometimes the author jumps from one event to another without giving a good connection between the two events.

  The opinions of this review are strictly my own of a free book that I received from Bethany Publishing House.  I would give this book four stars.

The Christmas Story

Ever have a Christmas wish you could die for?  Remember in "The Christmas Story" the little boy who wanted a Red Rider BB Gun.  Well our story opens with this prayer from a twelve year old Eddie.  "I know that Mom is working hard and money is tight, but please, God, if I could just get a bike for Christmas then everything will be better.  I'll do what ever you want to prove that I'm worthy".  Eddie's Dad died unexpectantly of cancer when Eddie was nine.  So life was hard.   His Mom worked several different jobs to keep a roof over head and food on the table.  Needless to say the longed for red Huffy bike with black banana seat never appeared.  Instead a hand knit scratchy red wool sweater appeared in its place.  Through a series of additional tragedies Eddie's whole world is turned upside down.  The author does a terrific job of weaving humor, heart break, anger, loneliness, guilt, and a twelve year olds selfish attitude thru his story.  It is so easy to turn angry and bitter and blame God and every one else when life deals you a bad hand.  However Eddie is able to overcome these negative attitudes thru the persistent love of family and friends.  I really liked Glen Beck's "The Christmas Sweater" because of his ability to portray his characters with human feelings we have all experienced.  Glen does a Paul Harvey at the end of his book.  If you remember Paul Harvey's famous line "The rest of the story is . . . . "  Glen puts an unexpected unique twist to end the book.  I give this book a high five.

The Story

Many churches are using the book "The Story" by Max Lucado and Randy Frazee for a whole church study and individual Bible and small group studies.  The book begins with Genesis the first book in the Bible and ends with Revelation the last book in the Bible and puts this material in the format of telling a story.  The authors use a unique approach.  They place God in what they refer to as an upper story working to full fill His plan of salvation.  Likewise they place man in a lower story context living out his daily life.  The separation between the two stories is a result of mans sinful nature and disobedience toward God.  The book relates how God because of His love for His creation is working in the upper story to enter into the lower story to restore the lost relationship between Himself and man.  In my opinion the book is a good read for people who are seeking to gain more knowledge and better understand the Bible.  For people who are more familiar with the Bible the necessity to read this book, I feel, is not as great.  I give this book four stars.

Like Dandelion Dust

Have you read any of Karen Kingsbury's stories?  If not I recommend that you read her book titled "Like Dandelion Dust?.  It is an easy read and it held my interest from the first to the last page.  Her character's feelings run the gamut of fear, anger and joy as they struggle with extremely difficult problems.  Kingsbury's characters first try to solve their problems on their own.  But in the end they rely on Biblical principals to sort out what is best.  I enjoy how Karen keeps us in suspense as we are watching this process unfold.  In this story we are dealing with a wife who realizes that she is pregnant after her husband is just incarcerated for five years for domestic violence.  Since she doesn't want to bring a child into a family where the mother is sole supporter working two jobs and the father is in prison, she puts the baby up for adoption.  Five different lives are turned into complete turmoil after the father is released from prison.  He learns he has a four year old son living in another state with different parents and he wants his son back.  Read "Like Dandelion Dust" to see how each individual copes with the crisis.  Lets give this book five stars.