Tales of the NOT Forgotten

God is a great storyweaver.  One weave or strand is weak but He brings so many weaves into our lives to make us stronger and better.  One weave that I have been blessed over the years to have been able to meet and hear her heart is Beth Guckenberger. 

Beth's heart for the orphan is overflowing.  You may have read it from Reckless Faith or Relentless Hope two fantastic books she has written.  You might have been privilege to experience it by working along with her and Back2Back Ministries (www.back2backministries.org) on one of the multiple sites spanning the globe.

Beth has always had a way of bringing the stories of the children come alive.  She can bring you up, tear you down, give you a glimpse of hope, or a glimpse of pain.  But in it all she shows how God's story has never stopped.  His plan, His will, and His provision will win!

Beth just had a new book come out in press from Standard Publishing.  Tales of the NOT forgotten is a book written for young adults to capture them in how the master Story Weaver has each of us in His plan.  I bought this book for my 9 year old who is traveling with me this year to visit the Monterrey Campus of Back2Back.  Dakotah, my daughter, has heard the stories.  She has seen the pictures and even communicates with one girl around her age who lives in Casa Hogar Douglas.  I want her to fully be captured by the James 1:27 call.  But mainly I don't want my child to ever think that she is Forgotten.

So anyways, I got this book for my daughter.  But of course I had to read it first.  I picked it up and could absolutely not be pulled away from it.  In a matter of about 2 hours I had digested the entire book.  What an AMAZING title.  These stories are fresh, amazing and well written about children who Back2Back serves.

In it all I was challenged about what the StoryWeaver has for me.  Through all my life things and people have been woven into my life to help me, to challenge me and make me who I am and mold the passions I have for the orphans. 

Beth starts this book with the story that started this journey for her and her husband Todd. 

While reading I was drawn back to 2004 and a trip I was on with a non-profit to China.
One of the first homes that we visited, it was a stone building.  There was a room with one window near the roof.  I was walking down the path in the tale of the group, really just asking God to help me be prepared for what I might see.  Prepare me to love these kids even if I am overwhelmed.  As I was walking I clearly heard singing coming over the breeze to me.  "I am a promise.  I am a Possibility. I am a Promise.  With a capital P...."  To this day I am unsure where it came from.  I didn't find a single child there who spoke English. No radios to play a tape.  Nothing that could have emanated those words that calmed my spirit and set my heart on the roller coaster that it has been on for the last 12 years.   It was definitely God.

Zhihong and me

Zhihong and the glasses

Later that same trip I met a young girl named Zhihong.  I have mentioned this story in previous blogs but the short version was this:  She was the age or my niece, around 12 or 13 I thought.  We had journeyed to a home for Mentally handicapped adults, and met her.  At first I thought she was the workers child, but shortly found out she lived there.  I spent the afternoon jumping rope, playing hide and seek and other games with her.  At one point she saw my sunglasses and stole them from me to wear.  When I didn't chase she gave them back to me.  I in turn motioned for her to keep them. 
So all day she had them and ran.  When it came time to leave she tried to give them back, so I grabbed Sherry our interpreter who told her they were a gift.  At this the tears came and the story broke.  She had been forgotten.  She and a friend had lived at 2 other homes where they had been sexually abused so they were sent here.  Her friend had been adopted leaving her by herself and her 13th birthday was fastly approaching which meant she would be made to leave the home.  This gift was the first gift she had ever received.
I have prayed for this young girl who now would be about 20 years of age.  I pray that she knows that she is NOT FORGOTTEN. 

We never know the weaves that God puts in our lives and how they will effect us later on in life.

It has been 8 years since I was in China on that trip.  Almost 8 years to the day.  And in hopefully 2 months I will be making a trip again to that same area to bring home 2 little children whom God has NOT FORGOTTEN.  Why?  Because each one of the 148 million orphans of this world are a Promise.  A Posibility.  A great big bundle of Potentiality just waiting to be given the chance.

Buy the book, buy many.  Read them, give them away, share them...  Start a revival. 
God is wanting to bring hope to these children, and that hope begins with YOU.

ARE YOU LISTENING?

One Devil To Another by Richard Platt

I am a lover of C.S. Lewis in general, but one of the first works of his that really sunk its literary claws into my mind and held on was his rendering of a demon’s conversations in Screwtape Letters.

Since then there have been a small number of works that have tried (And primarily failed) to duplicate or recreate the intimate nature that Screwtape Letters brought to us as the reader.  

So it is with my above admiration for Screwtape that I read One Devil to Another by Richard Platt.  I have to say, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book… I mean who can ‘recreate’ a master work such as Screwtape Letters.  It’s like the sequels that Hollywood makes and expects us to love. 

Here is the publishers take on One Devil to Another:

As One Devil to Another is an astonishing debut work that C. S. Lewis’s biographer and foremost Lewis authority Walter Hooper calls “a stunning achievement, the finest example of the genre of diabolical correspondence to appear since this genre was popularized by C. S. Lewis.” Enter into this chilling and diabolical tale, one that reveals the very tricks and strategies of Hell. Through a series of letters between devils created by Platt, senior devil Slashreap trains his young protégé, Scardagger, to win an individual soul away from Heaven and into their clutches. As the devils plot their way to triumph, they reveal the spiritual dangers and risks we face in today’s society. Their frighteningly accurate perspective on issues such as contemporary technology and sexual mores is interwoven with timeless matters such as the power of prayer, the purpose of suffering, and the promises held out by Heaven . . . and Hell. Destined to become a modern classic, As One Devil to Another is a brilliantly written, deeply unsettling perspective on twenty-first-century society . . . a glimpse of ourselves through the eyes of those who have embraced their underworldly existence.

So being a self proclaimed Lewis Purist what did I think???  I loved it.  From the beginning of the book, reading the first 5 chapters in a matter of min’s, to the end of the book I was drawn in.  I felt as if I was reading a top secret stash of letters between these demons.  This work, as Walter Hooper says, “reads as if C.S. Lewis himself had written it.”

This book will not only keep your attention but will instruct you in the possible thinking of the demon’s that may be tempting you! 

Thanks to Tyndale for providing me with a free copy in order to review.

Also I have a FREE COPY of this book to giveaway as well to a lucky reader of this blog.  To win please:

1)      Comment on this post (Either on Facebook or on the Blogger feed)

2)      Consider following my blog

I will then pull a name out of the list of those who comment on this post!

You may forget their names; but you won't forget their story

100 years ago almost to the day, on April 14^th, 1912, time stood still; the world listened as reports came in, and then the world mourned.

On that day a ship sank, many died and the exact truth of what occurred is very difficult to confirm; yet there was one item that shone out among this darkness.  A group of 8 men, many of whom didn’t know one another before this trip, all joined together in their musical prowess to lift the spirits of those trying to save their lives.  This group of 8 men were undoubtedly proven to be playing almost non-stop until the final moment that the ship sank.

All 8 men, from different walks, backgrounds and religions stood up to bring some sense of peace into the foreboding.  And in the end with the sounds possibly of a now immortalized Hymn “Nearer My God to Thee” these men succumbed to the ocean.

I have recently finished a book that “The Band that Played On” by Steve Turner.  I received this book free from the publisher as an E-book to give my opinion on it.  Obviously since I picked it, I was interested; as well if you see one of my previous posts which was on another book about Titanic lore I had found myself wanting more info as we came nearer the 100^th anniversary.  Anniversary though is not a savory word for this tragedy.  It implies celebration, might I call this the 100^th year memorial of the event.

The book pieces together the often hard to find and very minimal information about these 8 men.  All came from obscurity.  None had real ties with the others.  Yet they all became the hero’s to a nation in grief.

You will find yourself gripped by the simplicity of their stories;  the humanness of these men who left families, fiancés etc… and gave their lives.

The question I was left wondering is would I do the same?  Would I knowingly play on while the final boats that could save my life floated away?  Would I boldly play as those lifeboats rowed to remove themselves from the pull of the boat on its un-inevitable sinking?  Would I with sane mind and body be able to go through such suffering?

These men did.  These men chose to do so.  These men show that breeding, strong families or nationality do not make a hero.  The choices we make during pivotal moments are what make the hero’s.

I strongly recommend this to anyone who loves history, loves to hear the story of those who were before.  You will find yourself connecting with all of them.  Yet just as history has forgotten their names, I have somewhat even after reading this report; but in no way can I ever forget that they Played On

The three letter swear word in Church "S3X"

As a guy, I fall into the stereotypical GUY column of "why on earth would I ever read a Marriage book"...

This book was written for me.  First off it catches the attention of the guys out there with the title! Like they say, sex sells... Then it is written primarily to the men by Ed Young, with sections to the women as well.

All through the first couple chapters you can catch yourself going 'oh that applies'  preach it!  And then it hits home.

Having been married for 11 years now and having 4 kids, so many of the 'sexcuses' that are mentioned in this book apply to our marriage.  I read this book thinking of so many things that I wanted to put into play that would bring our marriage better strength and intimacy that would last as we move forward with God's plan for our lives (Adopting 2 special needs children from China).

After reading this book I want to buy cases of them and give them away to all the married couples in our church.  No one tells you that your marriage may grow cold, or monotonous.  Could that be why so many people are getting divorces, especially in the church?  When a bump comes they question their entire marriage?

This book will bring you closer together (IF you follow through with what steps are mentioned); and it will bring you more intimacy as you learn to "become one flesh" or one person.  It is hard to love your spouse as you love your self when you think of them as a separate person and not an extension of yourself... yet this book teaches us to work towards being ONE...

This book will change your life.  And it's not just for married couple either.  It gives advise to those who are engaged or even unequally yoked.  (And rightfully so they set the guidelines that the intimacy part is designed by God ONLY for married couples!)

Here is what the publisher had to say about this book.
The predominant message in our culture is that it's okay to have sex whenever, wherever, and however we want. Sex has become just sex. But while society has taken sex too far, the church hasn't taken it far enough.
God wants couples to make love in marriage-with passion, with purpose, and with pleasure. Marriages aren't experiencing all the benefits that come from a healthy sex life. Couples are facing a barrage of influences that keep them from connecting with each other regularly-the kids, the career, the house, the errands, etc.
SEXPERIMENT shows people that sex in marriage is more than just sex, and it's more than a chore. The Youngs believe it's time to get back to understanding the context of sex in marriage and that it's time for couples to break the barriers keeping them from a healthy sexual relationship. Couples ought to experience the benefits of having sex regularly, intentionally, and creatively. SEXPERIMENT will allow couples to discover that the intersection of God and sex can lead to a life punctuated by exclamation marks! 

Pick up a COPY or 2.  You won't regret it!

What the Lord Requires by James C. Howell

I recently received a small booklet entitled “What the Lord Requires” by James C. Howell.  I received it free from the publisher in order to read and post a review.

This was a very short and simple read.  It was theological yet practical in it’s look at who was the Prophet Micah and what is behind his statement to “Do Justice, love Mercy and Walk humbly with your God.”

The Author did a decent job of detailing the time and scope of the original message and then went into the thoughts behind the three things mentioned in the verse.

Here is what the publisher had to say:

Veteran pastor and scholar James C. Howell skillfully unpacks one of the most powerful verses in the Old Testament, Micah 6:8: "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" In a concise yet engaging manner, Howell illuminates the original context in which this verse was written, asking questions such as:

• Who was Micah?
• What was going on when he spoke?
• How did his listeners receive what he said—and how do we?
• Who is this God who requires?
• What might justice, kindness, and humility look like for us today?

Howell draws his readers into the original experience of the prophet's audience, and demonstrates how Micah's message can still guide us in our lives today.
A Leader's Guide is also included in this book, making it a wonderful resource for both group and individual use.
James C. Howell is Senior Pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the author of a number of books including The Will of God: Answering the Hard Questions; The Beatitudes for Today; and 40 Treasured Bible Verses: A Devotional, all published by Westminster John Knox Press.

So in summary: If you want a detailed book on Justice, check out a different title.  If you want a brief look at an obscure prophet of the Bible, then you found the right book.

Sacrements and Worship

I received the book “Sacraments and Worship” by Maxwell E. Johnson to review from Westminster John Knox Press.  This book was free and not given for me to give a good review but a personal views and opinions on this book.

Being someone who has grown up in the church I thought this would be interesting but stuff I knew.  As well, being a historical buff, ie.. wanting to know the background to what we do and not just doing it from rote memory, I felt that this book would be intriguing.

I underestimated what I would LEARN from this book.

The Sacraments are the ancient and a key part of what we do in church as acts of worship.

The book begins by working to explain the belief in Sacraments, ie.. it is not the ACT that saves or is magical but the WORD or symbolism behind the ACT that is saving or brings us closer to God and His Grace…

It sets out the 7 Sacraments of the church:  “Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, ordination and Marriage.”

We hear a lot about Baptism, and Marriage but what of those in between?

Each in it’s own right is a step to our better knowing, loving and growing in this amazing act of Worship to our heavenly Father. 

Confirmation: The act of growing in our faith and knowledge about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Is this just Sunday Morning?  Is this a class that you can check off?  Or is this a continual, daily ‘dying’, daily reading and daily absorbing more and more of what the word says about our gracious Father?

Eucharist:  Is this a quarterly partaking of the elements?  Or is it a learning, a reminder of His Painful Death and the amazing Grace he shared with us on the Cross?  Do we approach it with rote acts of memory or do we make it special? 

Penance:  Is this a ‘catholic’ thing which caused Martin Luther to his 99 thesis?  Or is this another act of daily dying?  Of daily ‘buffeting’ of our body’s in order to keep in accordance with God’s will?

Extreme Unction: WHAT???  Being of Protestant background sort of explains my lack of knowing this one.  Yet what about the “Anointing of the Sick” that is prescribed by the Apostles?  How does that fit with this doctrine?

Ordination: We know and practice for our pastors

Marriage: A holy sacrament which is not magical in itself except that it portrays the Marriage of Christ and the Church.

So to sum it up: I learned MORE then I expected from history, scripture and tradition about what each of these means.  For anyone interested in the WHY behind our act’s of Sacraments and Worship you must read this book.  It is detailed, historical and will take some time to dig into but it is a treasure trove of information!

101 Things you Thought You knew About the Titanic

I received the book, 101 Things You Thought You Knew About the Titanic by Tim Maltin, as an ebook from the publisher Penguin Books.

As you all know I am a history buff... I LOVE HISTORY!  I am the only person you know who not only has Usher's Annuals of World History but who has read almost the entire thing... (If you don't know what that is...)

Anyways, I loved this book.  With the anniversary of the fateful trip upon us, I was intrigued.  I still remember a neighbor who had the newspaper from that day.  She had been 12 at the time, and she told me what it was like to hear that news personally.  So I couldn't wait to look at this book.  I was amazed at many of the items that are commonly believed about the sinking of the Titanic that are FALSEHOODS or rumors that were propagated early on before the truth made it out.

For example, many of you have heard that they had too FEW life boats to code, when in actuality they had as many as they should via the code of the day.  What about the claim that the Christening of the boat with the bottle of Champagne that didn't break??  WRONG!!  Or that just like in the movie the Irish immigrants were locked down stairs.. WRONG!!!

This book takes the details from a inquiry trial that took place with all involved and the survivors and details their answers and responses...

Here is what the publisher had to say...
Ever since that night, fact has merged with fiction about what really happened. Now, for the first time, Titanic expert and author Tim Maltin gathers together all the key elements surrounding the disaster and presents a fascinating, compulsive and accurate account of what really happened. Taking as his lead one hundred and one oft-quoted theories about the fateful night, Maltin uses eyewitness testimony to rigorously examine each one in chronological order, and in so doing tells the true story of the Titanic and the night she sank with the loss of 1,500 lives.


So If you are interested in truth, and half truths this is a GREAT book for you!

The Big Year....

I am an avid Movie Watcher.  In fact I would say I am a Movie Connoisseur...

Very RARELY do I ever promote the movies, secular or Christian.  Typically there is too much 'junk' filling up an otherwise good film.

Well, the above film surprised me.  The Big Year.  3 people working to identify the MOST birds in one year.
So it was funny, clean etc...  but what really spoke to me was the final message.

Jack Black and Steve Martin's characters really wanted to be first, but they were unwilling to do 'whatever it took'.  Owen Wilson's character we watch is losing his 3rd marriage due to his obsession.

the message was clear, family MUST come first before all other hobbies, pursuits etc...

While this isn't a CHRISTIAN film and misses the point of calling on Jesus First!  But still shows that we must set priorities in life!

I am Second!!

I recently received an Ebook entitled I AM SECOND by Dave Sterrett and Doug Bender and published by Thomas Nelson.

I had seen many of these videos, a very catchy websight had been set up a few years ago at www.iamsecond.com.  In fact I have one of the bracelets, plain black with the words I AM SECOND written on it; and boy can I tell you stories about the conversation that the bracelet and Shirt that I wear have started!  Chances to share why I am second since no one wants to be second, it sticks out and draws attention!

So what is the concept?  Stories of those who tried doing life on their own, or life in their own STRENGTH and failed.  The stories of their struggles with fame, fortune, drugs, sex, alcohol, marriage, divorce, porn etc…  You name it an they discuss it.

Their stories are all different, yet in the end they all come together under this one note: GOD IS #1! 

They all came to a realization that they couldn’t do it on their own.  That without God they were in a losing battle.  These are the stories of how people you know like Bethany Hamilton, Michael W. Smith, Brian “Head” Welch, and many more came to a point of utter brokenness in their lives and found God still there waiting to bring them back.

These are their stories.  The stories of Victory, Pain and continued struggles but now they are no longer on their own.  They are now SECOND following the only one who can truly lead them!

This book connects with all who read.  You can see yourself in their struggles, and pains.  Maybe you see your self in their stories and identify with one or more of them.  Then in the end you hear how these people have overcome!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a gift for a seeker, a college student, and adult, a counselor… you name it!  EVERYONE will identify!

I AM SECOND!!!  Are you?

The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson

Circles surround us in life where ever we go.  While the people you know, or see daily don’t look “circular” they can be.

I just read the book “The Circle Maker” by Mark Batterson.  Then I re-read it!  It was that powerful.  It starts and ends with a circle.  The first is a circle from a Jewish prophet names Honi.  The last is a Chalk circle from a revival preacher named Gypsy.

Mark Batterson gives a compelling challenge to all of us: Create Circles in your life.  When I read this I am reminded of the wagon trains of old.  When challenged they created a Circle as it was the easiest to defend, in other words it made them stronger.

The Circles in the Circle Maker are prayers.  Creating a circle, a pray around things, people, problems, even to things as simple as the news.  What would our lives look like if we continually were in prayer for those around us?  For prayer for the person who just cut us off in traffic?  For prayer for that person at work who is always rude?  For prayer for our family?  For prayer that we do not fall into temptations?

I received the Ebook version of this title for free from Zondervan to read and review.  I had actually heard about it from our Pastor prior to that so I was intrigued.  Now I am challenged.  There are many stories of prayer and circles that created change but the one that stood out to me the most is the story of People’s Church in DC.  They had prayed Circles around their building that it would always serve God.  Little did they know that one day that prayer and promise would be passed on to another church.

I want to challenge those of you in Leadership.  It doesn’t matter if you are in Church leadership, Business Leadership, or even Family Leadership.  Do you pray circles around those you lead?  Do you pray for their future?  If we spent more time in prayer would God show up more in our Lives?  Not in a prosperity gospel sort of way but in a MT. Carmel GOD SHOWED UP sort of way?

I want to challenge you all to read this book, share it with everyone you are close to and start circling the things you care about.  For me I am circling:

My Family, My Wife, my children, My Church, Our upcoming Adoption, My children’s friends and their families, my children’s future spouses.

And today I tried to pray circles around those I saw in traffic and let me tell you it made a HUGE difference in the way you look at people.  You begin to possibly see their hurts, their needs, worries and anxieties and possibly start to glimpse what Jesus saw in them!

So What will you Circle?  When and how often will you do it?

God will show up!

One additional item Mark discusses is our Life Plan.  I created mine.  It is powerful! And living in DC mine has one for meeting Mark Batterson personally!  Who knows if or when that will ever happen but "you can't never always sometimes tell"