Archive | June 2016

Take Me With You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Jun12

Road Trip Bonding

TakeTake Me With You by Catherine Ryan Hyde is a gentle coming of age story. It is a road trip where so much more is seen and felt than just scenery and climate. Bonds are formed that will last a lifetime.

Catherine Ryan Hyde shows that being a father is more than just the biological act. A true father  is someone who loves you unconditionally and who will put you first. For children, for anyone, being made to feel second class is deeply distressing. It is possible that a perfect stranger may behave more like a father than one’s real father. Sometimes when our biological fathers let us down, there are others to step into their shoes.

The book is about a journey of discovery. It is about experiencing new things and discovering who you are. The journey is more important than the destination. “It’s more about being than doing. When you find a place you like, you just be there.”

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Leaving by Julia Wilson

Jun9

A Short Story

JesusThe room was bathed in glorious sunlight. Dust particles bounced through the air, twinkling like fairy dust as the sun hit them. I glanced around the room. My room. In the corner was my comfy old chair. The royal blue had faded. The seat had an imprint, just the same size as me. My patchwork cushion that I made in the third year lay squished at the side of the chair. I ran my hand across the arm – smooth, warm velveteen. How many times had I done that? I was going to miss that old chair.

My eyes strayed towards the cushion. I picked it up and hugged it close. It felt familiar. Should I take it? No it would only remind me of here. Of the place where I belonged. I reluctantly placed it back in the corner of the chair.

I continued my journey around the room. My eyes took in the window. The brilliant white nets blinding my eyes in the sunlight. Outside lay the green grass of my childhood garden. It looked so lush. The rain in the night had refreshed it.

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The Autobiography Of Martin Luther King jr by Clayborne Carson

Jun8

An Incredible Man Of God

MLKThe Autobiography Of Martin Luther King jr by Clayborne Carson is an amazing read. Clayborne Carson has taken Martin Luther King’s notes, speeches etc and turned them in to a powerful read about Martin Luther King’s life from the cradle to the grave.

Martin Luther King was a fighter. He fought using love. Gandhi influenced him to take the path of non violence. Gandhi resisted with love not hate. “An eye for an eye just succeeds in making the whole world blind.” Martin Luther King inspired thousands of Negroes to take the same path. They had a hope that there would be change. They had a love for each other and for all mankind.

Martin Luther King was the son. grandson and great grandson of a preacher. He knew God and he knew that he must not take his focus off Him. “Keep Martin Luther King in the background and God in the foreground… You are a channel of the gospel and not the source.” Wise words from Martin Luther King.

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The New Rulebook 3 by Joy Ohagwu

Jun5

Transformation And Restoration

RulebookThe New Rulebook 3 by Joy Ohagwu is a contemporary Christian thriller and the final book in the series. It can be read as a stand-alone.

There are many themes within the novel, a major one is forgiveness. Forgiveness is often hard to do when one has been wronged and is still being wronged. However unforgiveness will keep us trapped in the past. Sometimes we need God’s help to forgive others. Likewise it can be hard to receive forgiveness. Sometimes our sins just feel too bad. “You’ve done horrible things and it’s too late for you.” No-one is ever beyond the reach of God. Jesus went to the cross for all our sins. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

God is in the business of restoring lives and repaying back the years that the locusts have stolen. “God not only uses broken people, He seeks them out.” Joy Ohagwu explores this theme within the novel.

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