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As a homeschooling veteran, I review middle-grade stories to help parents, librarians, and teachers choose good books.
Look for author news here too!
Miracles in Mozambique
So how would you feel if you, full of anger, helped beat a man to death and landed in jail for it. The next day the very same man that you beat to death appears at your jail, unscathed, credits Jesus, and says he is forgiving you and dropping all charges. Would you give your life to Jesus? This murderer did.
Winter by Keven Newsome, a review
It’s a supernatural tale–will God transform a troubled young woman into an Elijah-style prophet?
Two alternating stories about Winter Maessen unfold in this book, separated by three years.
A free e-book for your e-reader
Today’s featured free Christian fiction ebook is Julie Cantrell’s Into the Free, a literary novel of the South that’s gotten five stars at Amazon on 20 reviews.
What is your gift in the body of Christ?
I’ve been studying 1 Corinthians 12 about spiritual gifts this week, along with lots of other folks around the world in Bible Study Fellowship.
Why do we cry?
Some researchers looked into the question of what makes music listeners cry. British psychologist John Sloboda asked music lovers to identify passages that set off a physical reaction. Looking at 20 such music passages, he found that 18 of them contained an appoggiatura. That’s fancy music-speak for a note that lands just off the target and then slides home.
I get so tired…
Do you have a problem with getting tired doing the Lord’s work? I do. I’ve been struggling with it lately. How much is too much? What do I need to accomplish in my personal life, vs. my church work? How can I balance them? These questions have been driving me nuts because I can’t seem to answer them. And I find myself getting tired.
Fay Lamb on “the chive check”
Before you start your day, do you look into the mirror? It’s only natural. We want to see if anything needs to be fixed in order to make us fit to be seen. The mirror does not make us presentable. The mirror does not make us ugly or beautiful. Our reflection simply shows what we look like. Once we acknowledge what we see, we set about fixing whatever needs fixing. I call this a “chive check.”
Giving thanks by Joy DeKok
Sometimes I want a new miracle – a diet that works even if I don’t work it, a cure for female hair loss, a cure for diabetes, and politicians who will do what they promise. I want God to show me what He’s been up to.
MLK day: how am I helping the kids in the projects?
I went to a Martin Luther King commemoration yesterday. The speaker, an associate professor of architecture at Washington University, challenged us all. Bob Hansman, who is white, is an artist and activist who set up his art studio in the Clinton-Peabody Housing Project and challenges his students to work there with him.
A free ebook: a drama of first-century Rome
Our featured free ebook today is The Master’s Wall by Sandi Rog, published by DeWard in 2010, Christian fiction set in first century Rome. At Amazon it’s got an average rating of five stars on 55 customer reviews.
What would you wear to a hobbit birthday party?
My friend and coffee shop proprietor is planning a hobbit birthday bash for Sept. 22. I have a long time to plan what I’m going to wear. But I’m puzzling over it. What do you suggest?
The goat story
We were surprised though that one of the goats had leaped out of the pen and came to greet us personally, like a dog. We went to find the other one, which was still bleating. Well, turns out he had his head stuck in the fence. He wasn’t in big trouble yet, but he wasn’t happy.