The Essential Guide to Healing by Bill Johnson and Randy Clark

This book is both a testimony of the healing ministries of these two authors and a practical guide to help Christians develop a healing ministry in their own lives. Both of these men have been in the Charismatic healing ministry since the 1970s and have seen many miracles.

Especially helpful is their explanation of how the Word of Knowledge operates in their ministries and in other peoples' lives.

Having lived these same decades in which these men have been ministering in a Pentecostal church, I have seen both effectual and ineffectual prayers for healing. Who would not want to learn more so that they could see these marvelous healings these gentlemen describe? I have seen some but not nearly as many as I would like to. I want to dig deeper and this book is a great guide for that pursuit.

Bethany House provided me a free copy of this book to review. Thank you, Bethany House! It is worth its weight in gold.

The Ultimate Prescription by Dr. James L. Marcum, MD

I found this book very interesting. In fact, I read it straight through cover to cover in one day which is unusual for me to do with a non-fiction book.

Dr. Marcum took the Genesis account of creation and paralleled it to God’s plan for our health, essentially the idea that the Bible is our “Owner’s Manual.” He stressed the need for enough clean air in our environment and enough pure water in our systems. He also pointed out some of the problems with current products on the market such as prescription and over-the-counter drugs, scents, cleaning products, processed food products, etc. Basically he is advocating a vegan lifestyle. I am not sure I agree with him 100% that meat, poultry, fish and milk products were not intended for human consumption because after all, Jesus and his disciples ate fish and the Old Testament is full of instructions about how to prepare meat to eat. But for the most part, I found all the information in this book very helpful and it has given me some incentive to change some of my lifestyle habits. I recommend this book to everyone to read because there is some information here that we don’t find anywhere else.

I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale to review.

Tyndale is having a contest!

http://www.facebook.com/NewLivingTranslation?sk=app_121121694568521

Reclaiming Lily by Patti Lacy

This is one of those books that after you pick it up you have to keep reading because you can’t even begin to predict what will happen next. I learned much about China’s cultural revolution and its effect on a Chinese family, about adoption from China, both during Mao’s time in power and more currently. I also found out a great deal about PKD, a deadly kidney disorder. The stories of the Chinese family’s history that are interspersed throughout remind me of my beloved Pearl S. Buck books that I read as a teenager.

Dr. Chang Kai, a Chinese immigrant and Harvard educated doctor searches out and finds her younger sister who has been adopted by an American couple. She had medical information that may be crucial to the young girl’s life. How they meet and how the pieces come together for the adoptee, the adoptive parents, the older sister (Kai) is the heart of the story. Each person has things in their past that is making their present difficult. As they find each other, many of those issues are dealt with. Not the least of these issues is the search for God by both the sisters and the total surrender to God by the adoptive mom.

This story is so compelling I recommend it to anyone who wants an enjoyable read and anyone who wants to gain knowledge when they read. Bethany House provided me with a copy of this book for review.

Love on the Line by Deanne Gist

When Bethany House offered Deanne Gist’s latest book for review, I jumped at the opportunity. I have read every one of Ms. Gist’s books so far and they never disappoint. In fact, they just get better and better. This book was one of those page-turners for which you want to put everything else in your life on the back burner. Georgie Gail is a telephone operator around 1910 in a small Texas town. Lucious Landrum, a.k.a. Luke Palmer, is a Texas Ranger undercover as a lineman for the telephone company. He is trying to track down a famous outlaw and his gang. He is hindered by the fact that the outlaw has the sympathy of the townspeople due to the popular pulp fiction that is circulating and the outlaw’s Robin Hood-like manners during the train robberies.

Add to the mix, Georgie’s campaign to stop the use of bird parts on women’s millinery and Luke’s genuine enjoyment of hunting and some sparks are sure to fly. This story had a lot of interesting twists and turns and had me up late trying to find out what was going to happen next. If you want something far from ordinary and mundane and unlike the formula novels some authors are churning out, then just pick up this, or any other, book by Deanne Gist and enjoy!

This book is a true story about a subject dear to my heart: foster care and adoption. I have been a foster parent and my children are foster-adopt parents. Many of the situations mentioned in this book struck a chord with me.

John and Kelly Rosati became interested in foster care and adoption when he was stationed in Hawaii in the Air Force. Their first experience, a one month foster care stint with an 11 year old girl very nearly put them entirely off the idea altogether. God, however, had other plans and sometimes reluctantly, they began to follow those plans and the adoptions fell into place one at a time. Although they felt happy with two adopted children, eventually two more came on the scene and they now have two boys and two girls. The family now lives in Colorado where Mrs. Rosati works for Focus on the Family.

Anyone considering adoption would do well to read this story and get a taste of what the process entails. It is not an easy process by any means, but there are many waiting children in the United States and if someone is willing to provide them with a family and has the desire and the stamina to go through the process, the rewards are great for all involved. The process varies from state to state but is pretty much the same as described in this book in most states.

This book will be a great resource for adoption agencies, families looking in to foster care and adoption, ministries that support adoption and other related organizations.

In addition to containing a lot of useful information, this book was just enjoyable to read and very well written. I read it through in one day.

A Whisper of Peace by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Wow! Kim Vogel Sawyer has done it again. She has woven a beautiful story encompassing the wonder of God’s Love and an intriguing historical setting. This book takes place in Alaska among the native people there. Clay Selby and his sister, Vivian, go as missionaries to a native tribe and meet Lizzie, a woman with a native mother and a Caucasian father. Their struggles to reach the people in the tribe and Lizzie’s struggle to belong in her mother’s world, along with Vivian’s struggle to reconcile her past all make for an interesting story. This is another one of those books you can’t put down until you have savored the last word. The sweetest part of it is the acceptance of the Father (God) by the people in the story and the firm reliance they put on His care.

Much rich detail in contained in this book and obviously Ms. Sawyer did a lot of research. I love the setting of this story and I love the fact that it is about missionaries. The missionaries of the past and the missionaries of the present are my personal heroes. The wonderful way Ms. Sawyer tells the story of their faith and reliance on God makes it obvious that she has a deep personal relationship with the Father. So many books of Christian fiction just do lip service to God and personal relationship with Him, almost an afterthought added in to make it “Christian.” Not so, here. I was so blessed by this book. It renewed my zeal to see others given an opportunity to embrace His salvation. Thank you Bethany House for giving me this book to review. And thank you Ms. Sawyer for another wonderful book to read. I am waiting in great anticipation for the next one to be published.