Now I Walk on Death Row by Dale Recinella

This book will change your life if you read it. Dale Recinella was a high powered attorney making big Wall Street deals and living the high life when he and his wife encountered the living God. What he began to realize from the encounters was that all that he was doing was benefitting him nothing. The family began a journey into service to their fellow man that led them through many experiences and opportunities for service but ultimately led Dale to minister to inmates on Florida’s death row.

This book is not a prison expose, although it certainly does reveal some things about death row and the death penalty. It is the story of how a man and woman gave their lives over to God’s leading and the extraordinary paths their lives took as a result.

Reading this book changed the way I look at my life and clarified some details of my life. I would recommend it to anyone who is not afraid of any change that may occur as a result. Bethany House gave me a copy of this book to review and I will forever be grateful.

Family Tree Maker Deluxe by Ancestry.Com

I was excited when I got the opportunity from Amazon Vine to review this product. I thought that the latest version of this software would have a lot of new bells and whistles. What I found was a program that is almost identical to the program that I have used for years in its various versions. There is really nothing new or different in the Family Tree Maker Deluxe. The format the information is displayed in is a little different from my program and I really think I like mine better but it really is a nice format that displays the information. The software comes with a companion guide and a Family History toolkit to use in conjunction with it. It also comes with 3 months of free access to Ancestry.com. This sounds wonderful and it would be if you didn’t have to give them your credit card info to get the 3 months free access. I have played this game before and what happens is there is no apparent way to remove your credit card information or to tell them not to charge your credit card at the end of the 3 month period and you end up with a huge charge on your card and they refuse to remove it. While, I would love 3 months of free access I am not falling for this game again. So, the bottom line is, this is a wonderful program and a must for anyone wanting to manage their genealogical data and is comparable to other programs on the market.

Voyage with the Vikings by Paul McCusker

How wonderful! The great Adventures in Odyssey stories are now being extended to early reader chapter books. First in the new series is Voyage of the Vikings. In this story two children are transported by the Imagination Station back to Greenland at the time of the Vikings. As always, a wonderful adventure ensues. You will enjoy the book so much you will more than likely read it all in one setting. Our family has loved to listen to Adventures in Odyssey in the car for years and having these books come along is just icing on the cake. My granddaughter is eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. Tyndale gave me a copy of this book to review. Thanks, Tyndale, it’s another home run!

Paradise Valley by Dale Cramer

I really enjoy reading about the Amish but most of the Amish stories out there are contemporary novels. This one takes place in the 1920s when a group of Amish in Ohio are forced by the local law to send their children to the public schools. As a result, one brave family moves to Mexico to blaze the trail for other families to follow and establish a community there where they can worship freely and educate their children as they wish. Many difficulties accompany the pioneers but their faith is the factor that holds it all together for them. It appears this may be the beginning of a series and, if so, I look forward to further installments.

Dale Cramer is a male author with some Amish ancestry and is a fresh voice in Amish fiction. His research and knowledge add a rich authenticity to his story.

Bethany House offered me this book to review and as always, their array of fiction is wonderful. I am never disappointed by what they send me to review. I wait in anticipation for the next arrivals and my granddaughter waits anxiously for me to finish so she can read them too!

Tyndale is launching The Book Club Hub Newsletter

In honor of Tyndale launching its new book club enewsletter we’re running a 30 day giveaway on our website. The Book Club Hub Newsletter will be an email newsletter geared towards people who are in or are running book clubs. It will feature suggestions, discussion guides and great ideas for your book clubs. You can see a preview by clicking here.

To enter the giveaway you just need to visit the contest page and click on the book you’d like to sign up to win. You can even go back and sign up for both books. Each day is a new giveaway so you can return to the site each day and try to win. Every few days the books change, so check back!

Nicole Baart is a fresh voice in Christian fiction. She has a gentle way of telling her story and her characters make us want to have them as friends. Beneath the Night Tree is the last book of a trilogy but it can easily stand alone. Julia, the main character, tells her own story and the reader feels what she is feeling. Julia is the unwed mother of a 5-year-old boy and the half-sister of a 10 year old boy who is really more her son as well. She lives with her grandmother on her grandparents’ farm. This multi-generational family is loving and well-adjusted and not at all the dysfunctional group that popular opinion might have us believe. As Julia struggles with the idea of making long-time boyfriend, Michael, a permanent part of the family, the father of her young son comes back into the picture. Interestingly enough, no chaos ensues – just a lot of soul searching and praying and prioritizing. And although it’s not a “happily ever after” cookie cutter ending, it leaves the reader feeling content with the results of all that angst. I received a copy of this book from Tyndale for review.

The Strategically Small Church by Brandon J. O’Brien

When Bethany House offered me this book to review, I was intrigued by the title since I have experienced the most “hands-on” ministry over the years in the small churches I’ve attended rather than the large mega-churches. We have moved to different parts of the country and been involved with various sizes of churches, and I have generally experienced more opportunities to be actively involved in ministry in the small churches. The problem is, of course, that pastors are being trained in seminaries in ways to make their churches grow in numbers. Success is measured in the church world in increased numbers. But just as real, genuine success is measured in the Christian life by relationship with Jesus Christ, true success of churches should be measured by commitment to ensuring that relationship in individual members and reaching out into the community and trying to cause that type of relationship to develop for each person reached.

Mr. O’Brien offers examples of churches and ministries where some of his principles have been applied and the resulting successes (successes by a spiritual standard, not a worldly standard). I found this fascinating because I have experienced churches with very small congregations and a dynamic missions outreach and I have experienced mega-churches with little going for them but “inreach” – entertaining each other with parties and outings. No one is saying a mega-church can’t do effective ministry, but at least one pastor Mr. O’Brien cited in this book found that planting smaller churches instead of building ever-larger buildings for his growing congregation led to more effective ministry and that those smaller churches were dynamic forces in their communities. As the author puts it, “small churches are uniquely equipped to carry out what perhaps are the three most important functions of the church: evangelism, discipleship (including leadership development), and passing the faith from one generation to the next.”

I would recommend this book to all pastors and lay leaders who are struggling with the concept of successful church development. It will be extraordinarily freeing for many to realize that success need not be measured in quantity but more important is (spiritual) quality – a reliance on the Holy Spirit to guide and direct the ministry.