Finding God's Purpose in Our Pain

Finding Purpose Beyond our pain is a very balanced and helpful look at why God allows pain in the world. When we are in the midst of a difficult life situation, we are often tempted to ask the question: Why me, God? This book gives an answer.

Pain is an opportunity to grow and to find a better relationship with Jesus. I found the book quite balanced. It provides a framework to look at your life situation and try to see the lessons behind your present troubles. The authors have chosen to deal with several of the most difficult life situations: injustice, rejection, loneliness, loss, discipline, failure and death. In each case, they discuss their experiences with real people experiencing these problems and finding in them an opportunity for growth.

I don't believe this book is the perfect antidote to suffering, but I do think that it has a positive message that can help the sufferer bear his trials and learn from them. I found it a very hopeful book. I'm sure that people can argue with the theology, but the underlying message is clear: Don't wallow in your pain; use it as an impetus to improve your outlook on life.

Engaging Fantasy – But You Need to Be a Fan

Green is promoted as the book that is both the beginning and the end of his latest four book series. Supposedly you can read this book without the other books and still understand and enjoy it. Unfortunately, if you're not familiar with the other books, including his previous books, and the characters, you can find yourself rereading passages to find out what you're missing.

Dekker's forte is in writing action scenes. The end of the book pulls you in and definitely keeps you reading as the characters race to meet their destinies. Unfortunately, much of the rest of the book drags. Some of this is due to the confusion of moving not only between worlds, but between the beginning and the end.

To add to the confusion, there are many unusual characters with specific histories. At times, I found it difficult to keep them, and their various roles in the story, straight. By the end, I felt I had figured out the inhabitants of the future world, but the middle was often rough going, particularly if you had to put the book down for any length of time.

However, if you like fantasy with a Christian background, you'll enjoy the book – and probably want to read the other books in Dekker's series.

Interview on the Author's Show

Don McCauley interviewed me for the Author's Show on my latest young adult novel, Unwelcome Guest at Fair Hill Farm. It's available on the 21st and 22nd of October.

If you're interested, come listen in.

Unwelcome Guest at Fair Hill Farm is available from Amazon.

No Problems, Only Opportunities

Managers, leaders, and YOU should read this book. In Obstacles Welcome, Ralph de la Vega give a blueprint for success. Having worked in the aerospace industry for years, I know Ralph is right. I've seen managers who follow his principles and succeed – against the odds – and I've seen and worked for managers who couldn't think outside the box. Ralph's ideas really do work.

In addition to giving an inspirational message to managers and aspiring leaders, Ralph tells a great story. He faced challenges: hurricanes in Florida, political unrest in South America, and the daunting task of merging two giant telecommunications companies. Each time, the obstacles led to major successes because of Ralph's attitude. I very much enjoyed being a spectator on the journey.

I also found his emphasis on helping the younger generation of leaders excellent. No matter what kind of a business you work in, if you're a manager, people are watching you to model their behavior on yours. It's important to remember that if you want your company to succeed you must walk the image you want to project. Young people and lower level managers will try to follow your example. Embrace Ralph's guidelines and make it a good one.

One Person Can Make a Difference

In this heart warming sequel to “Same Kind of Different as Me.” Ron Hall and Denver Moore tell us what happened after the book was published. The stories of ordinary people suddenly realizing that they can do something to create change were remarkable. God does work miracles if you give him a little opening.

The story of Jose the stone mason was one of the most moving and important in the book. Ron looked at the man and saw a drunk. In an area populated by homeless people, addicts, and the mentally ill, that was what he was programmed to see. The lesson from the story is simple: in order to help people, we have to look beyond the surface and see the real person. However, as with all lessons there is a caution. Safety is an important issue. Few sane people would walk into a cage with a tiger without taking any safety precautions. It's important to help the homeless, but in doing so, it's equally important to remember that these are damaged people. Taming wild animals takes time. Likewise it takes time, patience and understanding to make a difference to a homeless person. I'm glad Ron and Denver made this point. I hope people reading the book who want to give of themselves to help the homeless realize that it's not a “catch and release” program. Consistency and commitment are critical.

What a marvelous book. I hope it continues to encourage people to give more than a few dollars and a quick handshake when they try to make a difference.

Fans of Diamond Rio Will Love This Story

The story of Diamond Rio is one of teamwork and commitment. When lead singer Marty Roe had vocal difficulties, the band didn't drop him. They worked as a team to solve the problem and won. This is a heart warming and inspiring story. Fans of the band and anyone looking for an inspirational story will enjoy the book.

Although I appreciated the message in the book, I felt the story line got lost in the middle chapters. It was interesting to learn about the background of each band member, and in the end, it did contribute to understanding how the group was able to stay together and help Marty. However, unless you are a serious fan, it's easy to stop reading during the extensive biography section.

For me, the end of the book was most interesting. When you read so much about sex and drugs in the music industry, it's wonderful to read about a band whose members are not only committed to each other, but to helping other people through organizations like Big Brothers, Big Sisters. The book is worth reading for that insight, if for no other reason.

Life Without Fear

The world is so full of things to fear sometimes it's hard to see anyplace where fear doesn't reside. We fear street violence, losing our possessions and home, losing our jobs, that our children will be hurt, and most of all we fear death. What wouldn't we give for the secret of how to live without fear? Max Lucado's book Fearless contains this secret. In each of the scenarios I mentioned, Max takes time to examine what we fear and show us that God is the answer. Believe that Jesus Christ was sent by God to give us the message that He is looking after us and we need not be afraid. Prayer and belief are the antidotes to fear.

This is a wonderful book. Each chapter tackles a major source of fear in our lives. Max presents the problems gives us examples of people who let fear rule their lives and then tells us how we can rise above our fears. Prayer is one way we can rise above our fears, but we also need to take action. God often points out paths that in our fear we cannot see, so we remain is bad and debilitating situations. This book can help you rise out of the pit of your own fears. It's well worth the time it takes to read it.

Here's a message from Max: