Tea with Hezbollah Giveaway

Congratulations to Eric of Pensacola, Florida, the winner of Tea with Hezbollah by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis. Check back Monday for another book review and giveaway.

Tea with Hezbollah

Jesus, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., among others, all taught us to love our enemies. With this in mind, the authors, Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis, decided to see if it's possible to love one's enemies. Tea with Hezbollah, Sitting at the Enemies' Table, Our Journey Through the Middle East is the result of their exploration. The authors met with leaders of the Muslim world . . . often time the extremist Muslim world . . . to find out what they think about the "love your enemies" teaching. The authors wanted to know how they felt about it, did they think it possible, how is the non-Muslim world not loving them, etc. Tea with Hezbollah is an ambitious work to understand "our enemies" in order to love them, and perhaps, for them to get to know and love us as well.

This is not an "us versus them" book as evidenced by one of my favorite lines in the introduction:

We [the authors] are both Christian. We both cringe at being called Christian, because in both of our worlds, Christians are the bad guys who either slaughter civilians or destory civilization in the name of God.

The authors frequently inserted transcripts of their actual interviews with various Muslim leaders which was facsinating and lead to their credibility because they didn't always put words in the mouths of their subjects.

I would definitely recommend Tea with Hezbollah. You can purchase it here:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307588296

Giveaway: I have one copy of Tea with Hezbollah to give away. To enter the random drawing, please send your name and mailing address to seewhykinsman@gmail.com. The winner will be drawn Friday, January 22, 2010. Good luck.

Below is the summary from the publisher:

Summary:

Is it really possible to love one’s enemies?

That’s the question that sparked a fascinating and, at times, terrifying journey into the heart of the Middle East during the summer of 2008. It was a trip that began in Egypt, passed beneath the steel and glass high rises of Saudi Arabia, then wound through the bullet- pocked alleyways of Beirut and dusty streets of Damascus, before ending at the cradle of the world’s three major religions: Jerusalem.

Tea with Hezbollah combines nail-biting narrative with the texture of rich historical background, as readers join novelist Ted Dekker and his co-author and Middle East expert, Carl Medearis, on a hair-raising journey. They are with them in every rocky cab ride, late-night border crossing, and back-room conversation as they sit down one-on-one with some of the most notorious leaders of the Arab world. These candid discussions with leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, with muftis, sheikhs, and ayatollahs, with Osama bin Laden’s brothers, reveal these men to be real people with emotions, fears, and hopes of their own. Along the way, Dekker and Medearis discover surprising answers and even more surprising questions that they could not have anticipated—questions that lead straight to the heart of Middle Eastern conflict.

Through powerful narrative Tea With Hezbollah will draw the West into a completely fresh understanding of those we call our enemies and the teaching that dares us to love them. A must read for all who see the looming threat rising in the Middle East.

Author Bios:

Ted Dekker is the author of many nationally bestselling novels, including Bone Man’s Daughters, The Circle Trilogy, Thr3e, and House, which was coauthored by Frank Peretti. His unique style of storytelling has captured the attention of millions worldwide. Visit him at TedDekker.com.

Carl Medearis is the founder and president of International Initiatives, LLC, an organization that promotes cultural, educational, and commercial exchange between the East and the West. He is an advisor on Arab affairs to the members of the U.S. Congress and leaders in international business.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Primal -- Book Review

If you've read this blog for awhile, you know that Mark Batterson is one of my very favorite authors of all time. His knowledge is so diverse; he's one of the most well read people I "know"; and he has the rare talent of making the most complex ideas accessible to everyone and seeming to do so without any effort! His newest book, Primal, is fabulous -- as expected.

Mark takes the Shema of the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:5), the most important commandment according to Yeshua/Jesus (Mark 12:30), and discusses how one can truly love God "with all your heart, soul, mind and strength". In typical Batterson fashion, he explains loving God with your entire being by drawing not only on scriptures, but also psychology, science and real life analogies.

In a word, I love this book.

Having said that, I would be remiss with one tiny portion of Mark's book with which I disagree. At the beginning of the book, Mark is trying to explain why this is God's greatest commandments. He says that the Pharisees were guilty of making man-made commandments (they were) and that they created 613 commandments from the Old Testament. The fact of the matter is, GOD created 613 commandments in the Torah (and 1050 in the New Testament). The Pharisees (and priests and other leaders) then added to God's 613 commandments by creating "fences" around God's commandments. Let me give you an example. One of God's commandments was (and is) to honor the Sabbath by doing no work. That's one of the 613. The Pharisees then commanded the people not to carry a needle on the sabbath because if you didn't have a needle, you couldn't work at sewing. For the record, their intent in establishing these man-made laws was not evil; originally they created these "fences" around God's commandments so the people of Israel would not unintentionally break God's commandments.

Aside from that one point in Mark Batterson's book with which I take issue, the rest of the book was truly excellent. Primal will inspire you to go back to the heart of the matter, to what is truly important with respect to your relationship with God, and it will challenge you to serve Him better and more completely. I strongly recommend this book.

Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of Primal to give away, but it's well worth the money to order several copies (you'll want to give them away). Here's the link to purchase this great book:

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601421319

Below is the summary from the publisher:

Summary:

Be Astonished Again

We have a tendency to complicate Christianity. Jesus simplified it: Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we are to live out the essence of Christianity, we must commit to being great at this Great Commandment.

In Primal, Mark Batterson explores the four elements of Great Commandment Christianity: compassion, wonder, curiosity, and power. Along the way, he calls you to be a part of God’s reformation, starting in your own life.

As Mark writes, “Is there a place in your past where you met God and God met you? A place where your heart broke for the things that break the heart of God? Maybe it was a sermon that became more than a sermon. Maybe it was a mission trip or retreat. Maybe it was a vow you made at an altar. In that moment, God birthed something supernatural in your spirit. You knew you’d never be the same again. My prayer is that this book would take you back to that burning bush—and reignite a primal faith.”

Primal will help you live in light of what matters most and discover what it means to love God. It will help you become great at the Great Commandment.

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

Pack Your Own Bags!

I thought I'd share a piece of wisdom from Graham Cooke's A Way in the Wilderness:

There's a difference between luggage and baggage. When you go on vacation, you pack your own LUGGAGE. You are excited and happy and you look forward to the process. You fill it with your favorite things -- the things that make you look and feel good, the things that make you comfortable. And you always leave room to bring something back.

BAGGAGE is always packed by someone else and it makes you feel terrible about yourself. It's the lies other people have said about you -- the life they've given you -- that's heavy and destructive and hurtful.

We need to stop carrying around our baggage. We need to leave it at the cross (the execution stake). We don't want to just empty it out -- we want to leave the whole mess there, bags and all, and burn it!

We pack our luggage with God. God is never past/present with us; He's always present/future with us. We pack our luggage and LEAVE ROOM TO BRING SOMETHING BACK (the future version of us we will become).

I've been listening to an 8 disk teaching series by Graham Cooke entitled, "A Way in the Wilderness". He talks about the lessons God teaches us as we go through "wilderness experiences". Graham teaches to love the "valleys" even more than the mountain top experiences because it's in the times of God's hiddenness that we really learn the lessons of how God thinks. If we can live by faith in the wilderness, we can do anything.

Alan Redpath once said, "There is nothing, no circumstance, no trouble, no testing that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has come past God and past Christ, right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose."

A lot of people I know and love, myself included, are going through wilderness times right now. It's hard. It's unpleasant. It's especially draining when the battles last months or years.

But I have a feeling. A teeny, tiny feeling in the bottom of my heart that a lot of these long, long wilderness times are about to be over. I think we're almost at the end of the valley and starting the climb to the mountaintop.

I hope I've learned well the lessons intended for me.

Book Review and Giveaway

Extraordinary, The Life You're Meant to Live, by John Bevere is an excellent foundations book. Unfortunately, in these times, its message probably contains foundational teaching that a lot of seasoned believers should know, but don't . . . or don't apply it to their lives. Basically, John Bevere challenges you out of your spiritual mediocrity and into a life where you are sanctified, set apart unto God, and, thus, able to move in the full power, promise, blessing and authority promised by God. We get in this rut of thinking, "I can't do great things. Only the first century giants like Paul and John could do such things." Or, "I'm just a sinner, forgiven, but warring every day without progress against the flesh." Extraordinary teaches those beliefs are false -- and shows you how to live life better -- as God intended.

I really enjoyed this book overall. Unfortunately, a few of Bevere's scriptural interpretations were off base (in my opinion), but I'm quite sure I don't have it all right either! This was a good book with a relevant message for all believers, new and seasoned alike.

I have one copy of Extraordinary to give away. To enter the random drawing, just e-mail your name and mailing address to seewhykinsman@gmail.com. The winner will be drawn on Friday, October 9th. Good luck!

You can purchase the book here:

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307457721&ref=externallink_wbp_extraordinary_sec_0817_01

Below is the summary from the publisher:

Summary:

There’s a question that troubles many believers: “Why am I not experiencing more joy, more hope, more satisfaction, more intimacy, more power, more everything in my Christian life--didn’t Jesus promise that?”

He did promise an abundant life, but too many people are trapped by the curse of “the ordinary.” They have accepted the wrong idea that following God means losing individuality, creativity, and a passion for achieving lofty goals.

Nothing could be further from the truth! John Bevere builds a convincing case, straight from Scripture, for a way of living marked by extraordinary experiences and accomplishments—the life God always intended for his children.

Here is a guide to understanding God’s incredible plans, and how to enjoy a life where he adds the “extra” to “ordinary.”

Author Bio:

John Bevere is an internationally popular conference speaker, teacher, and author of bestsellers, including The Bait of Satan, Drawing Near, and Driven by Eternity. His award-winning curriculum and books have been translated in over sixty languages and his weekly television program, The Messenger, is broadcast around the world. John and his wife, Lisa—also a bestselling author and speaker—reside with their family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Visit his ministry website at www.messengerinternational.org.

Book Review: Blue Like Play Dough

Blue Like Play Dough by Tricia Goyer is a wonderful book for moms (or just about anyone, for that matter).

Tricia Goyer was just a teen when she got pregnant and gave birth to her first child. Although the baby’s father fled from the picture, she married a wonderful man who gave her two more children. One day it occurs to Tricia that she is like play dough in God’s hands – being pushed, pulled, and squished into the shape He wants her to be. Some days, she easily molded. Other days, not so much. I love when she talks about “crumbs” in her play dough . . . who among us hasn’t had a crummy day here or there?

Blue Like Play Dough gave me pause on more than one occasion – I felt convicted at how unbending I am, how unyielding I am to God’s will for my life, even when I know without a doubt how He wants me to change and grow. That’s precisely why you don’t need to be a mom to get something very valuable out of this book.

GIVEAWAY: I have one copy of Blue Like Play Dough by Tricia Goyer to give away. To enter the random drawing, please send your name and mailing address to seewhykinsman@gmail.com. The winner will be selected on Friday, August 31, 2009. Good luck.

Below is the summary from the publisher. You can purchase the book here:

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601421524

Summary:
In the everyday stretch and squeeze of motherhood, Tricia Goyer often feels smooshed by the demands of life. In Blue Like Play Dough, she shares her unlikely journey from rebellious, pregnant teen to busy wife and mom with big dreams of her own. As her story unfolds, Tricia realizes that God has more in store for her than she has ever imagined possible.

Sure, life is messy and beset by doubts. But God keeps showing up in the most unlikely places–in a bowl of carrot soup, the umpteenth reading of Goodnight Moon, a woe-is me teen drama, or play dough in the hands of a child.

In Tricia’s transparent account, you’ll find understanding, laughter, and strength for your own story. And in the daily push and pull, you’ll learn to recognizes the loving hands of God at work in your life… and know He has something beautiful in mind.

Author Bio:
Tricia Goyer is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including Generation NeXt Parenting and the Gold Medallion finalist Life Interrupted. Goyer writes for publications such as Today’s Christian Woman and Focus on the Family, speaks to women’s groups nationwide and has been a presenter at the Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) national convention. She and her husband, John, live with their family in Montana.

Book Reviews and Giveaway

Stealing Home by Allison Pittman is a fabulous book about love, equal rights and baseball. It’s not nearly as strange as it sounds! When a famous baseball player come to a “dry town” for a month after completing a detox program for alcoholics, he turns the town on its ear. He moves in with the eccentric town spinster and her father and befriends a “Negro” boy with an amazing pitching arm. What happens next is nothing short of heart warming (and, at times, heart wrenching). Stealing Home is a look into the past – pre-Civil Rights era – when life was simple and oh-so-complicated at the same time. This book will keep you thinking long after you read the last page.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a copy of this book to give away, but you can order it from Random House here:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601421364&ref=externallink_mlt_stealinghome_eaj_0408_01
Below is the summary from the publisher:

Summary:

It’s 1905 and the Chicago Cubs are banking on superstar Donald “Duke” Dennison’s golden arm to help them win the pennant. Only one thing stands between Duke and an unprecedented ten thousand dollar contract: alcohol.

That’s when sportswriter David Voyant whisks Duke to the one-horse town of Picksville, Missouri, so he can sober up in anonymity. He bides his time flirting with Ellie Jane Voyant, his unofficial chaperone, who would rather hide herself in the railway station ticket booth than face the echoes of childhood taunts.

Ned Clovis, the feed store clerk, has secretly loved Ellie Jane since childhood, but he loves baseball and the Duke almost as much–until he notices Ellie Jane may be succumbing to the star’s charm.

Then there’s Morris, a twelve-year-old Negro boy, whose only dream is to break away from Picksville. When Duke discovers his innate talent for throwing a baseball, Morris might just have found his way out.

Four individuals, each living in haunted isolation, each harboring a secret passion. Providence brings them together. Tragedy threatens to tear them apart. Will love be enough to bring them home?


Saints in Limbo by River Jordan is a book I almost didn’t read. I managed the first 50 pages and then gave up. It was only after I read other reviews that I was willing to try again. I’m glad I did. Saints in Limbo is a “Southern style” novel – I’m not sure what that means, except that all the characters seem a little crazy! Seriously, this book features Velma, a widow who suffers from agoraphobia, her son, Rudy, who is a womanizer and a drunk, her friend, Sara, who feels she’s losing her life’s purpose, and a young waif of a girl who hitchhikes into town looking to solve a mystery of her own. Velma receives a strange gift on her birthday – a gift that allows her to revisit, but not control or change, her past. Each of the people in her life become entwined in her journeys to the past and, when Velma’s path crosses with the young hitchhiker’s, their futures change as well!

Saints in Limbo is an odd, but wonderful book and I have one copy to give away. To enter the drawing, simply e-mail your name and mailing address to me at seewhykinsman@gmail.com. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 5th.

You can purchase this book from Random House here:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307446701&ref=externallink_wbm_saintsinlimbo_eaj_0408_01
Below is the summary from the publisher:

Summary:

Ever since her husband Joe died, Velma True’s world has been limited to what she can see while clinging to one of the multicolored threads tied to the porch railing of her home outside Echo, Florida.

When a mysterious stranger appears at her door on her birthday and presents Velma with a special gift, she is rattled by the object’s ability to take her into her memories–a place where Joe still lives, her son Rudy is still young, unaffected by the world’s hardness, and the beginning is closer than the end. As secrets old and new come to light, Velma wonders if it’s possible to be unmoored from the past’s deep roots and find a reason to hope again.