book review: Simple Secrets to a Happy Life by Luci Swindoll

Title: Simple Secrets to a Happy Life
Author: Luci Swindoll

Excerpts from the Amazon product description of Simple Secrets to a Happy Life

"Is it possible to stay full of life, laughter, love, and the Lord through eight decades in this crazy world? Is that even realistic? Yes! There is hope, and Luci Swindoll is living proof.

 With heart and humor, this best-selling author and beloved speaker lays out the truths that can help us all become a little more creative, organized, healthy, and happy. This is not a complex prescription for how to become superwoman. These are simple secrets, the wisdom produced by years of walking with God and living well....

Luci has spent eight decades accumulating the stories, memories, verses, and practical tips that make up Simple Secrets to a Happy Life. Whether traveling the world or building life-long friendships, singing in the opera or working for Mobil Oil, every step has taught her a little more about how to love God, love her neighbor, and love herself."

 My review:

The title of Luci Swindoll’s latest book, Simple Secrets to a Happy Life, does a good job of describing this inspiring and practical volume. In it the almost-octogenarian author shares fifty of those secrets under the broad headings of The Basics, Developing Your Style, Achieving Balance, Living a Good Life, and Staying Connected.

In addition to topics one would expect to see in this type of book (like “Let people know you care,” “Write down the important things,” and “Look for ways to help”) are surprises like, “Know for sure you’re insured,” “Cook something special for yourself,” and “Draw a picture to understand” (where she suggests sketching and drawing as activities to help us understand what we see in the world around us).

Swindoll’s writing style is warm, friendly, and encouraging. The stories she tells on herself make the book relatable to life, interesting, and authoritative. Sometimes they add humor. But more often than not they have an “ouch” quality that makes it easy to see why they have stuck with her and underline the important life-lesson they illustrate. For example, there was the time she got an invitation for breakfast from a co-worker, said she’d attend, but come Saturday morning simply stayed away, rationalizing that it wasn't all that important. Later she discovered that her friend had anticipated her visit all week, prepared for it at length, and was deeply hurt by her no-show — told in Chapter Two: “Be On Time for Everything.”)

Themes that flow through her “Secrets” are contentment, gratitude, generosity, faith, openness to adventure, common sense, self-awareness, independence, hospitality, and graciousness. It is inspirational cover-to-cover with an uplifting and positive take-away for whatever life-stage you’re in.

Simple Secrets to a Happy Life would be good to read any time, but would be an especially great choice for when you are at a life crossroads like graduation, starting a new career, marriage, retirement, or simply as preparation for making the next set of New Year’s Resolutions. Rereading it annually probably wouldn’t be a bad idea either! Now, where did I put my sketch book and pencils?

(I received a digital copy of this book as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review.)

Book facts: (Hardcover edition)
Title: Simple Secrets to a Happy Life
Author: Luci Swindoll
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, March 13, 2012, 224 pages.

• ISBN-10: 1400203538
• ISBN-13: 978-1400203536

book review: A Passion for God by Lyle Dorsett

Title: A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer
Author: Lyle Dorsett

Cover copy:

"Pastor A. W. Tozer, author of the Christian classics The Pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy, was a complex, intensely private, deeply spiritual man, and a gifted preacher whose impact for the kingdom of God is immeasurable. In this thoughtful biography, bestselling author Lyle Dorsett traces Tozer's life from his humble beginnings as a Pennsylvania farm boy to his heyday as a Chicago pastor- when hundreds of college students would travel to his South Side church to hear him preach and thousands more heard his Sunday broadcasts on WMBI- to his final pastorate in Toronto.

From his conversion as a teen to his death in 1963, Tozer remained true to one passion: to know the Father and make Him known, no matter what the cost. The price he paid was loneliness, censure from other, more secular-minded ministers of the times, and even a degree of estrangement from his family. Read the life story of a flawed but gifted saint, whose works are still impacting the world today."

My impressions:

I sought this book out when I heard about it. I was for many years a part of the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination, where A. W. Tozer was regular fare. I have read his books and many are part of my library. Now I almost wish I hadn't read this biography. For it has taken the gilt off Tozer for me.

My greatest disappointment in reading about Tozer was that he was, well, every bit as human as all of us are. His humanness displayed itself in the somewhat thoughtless and cold relationship he had with his wife. Oh, I know it was a different era, and men treated their wives differently during those days. Still ...

I felt sorry for Ada, about whom Clara Moore (the young wife of a youth pastor who served alongside Tozer in the 1950s remembered: "Mrs. Tozer coming to church freezing from the long cold walks in the winter" because Aiden refused to buy a car (A Passion For God, Kindle Location 1775).

Author Dorsett summarizes, "The conclusion is inescapable that the more time Tozer spent with God, and said yes to invitations to travel and speak, he drove a wider gulf between himself and Ada .... Neither the seven children nor the men who know Aiden well believed he was intentionally hurtful. On the contrary, everyone was convinced he loved his wife. But he hurt her deeply and apparently did it throughout their marriage" (Ada's 1973-1974 letters are cited as source material here, KL 1782).

After Tozer died in 1963, his wife remarried. Several years later she summarized her view of Aiden and their relationship: "'My husband was so close to God, a man of such deep prayer, always on his knees, that he could not communicate with me or our family. No one knew what a lonely life I had especially after the kids left home.'


How ironic and sad that Ada Tozer experienced such loneliness when Aiden was overheard commenting to a pastor not long before he died, 'I've had a lonely life'" (KL 2152).

Of course the book details as well Tozer's many good points—his piety, his intelligence, his popularity, his magnetism, his disdain for public opinion, and his wisdom. He was exceedingly well-read, refusing to let the sensitivities of some curtail his reading list. He was much criticized for reading early Catholic writers, for example. But he kept reading them anyway: "These saints from Tozer's angle of vision, knew the Lord intimately and he learned from their writings about drawing closer to Christ—even if he did not agree with everything they believed" ( KL 2074).

All in all, I would say that A Passion for God is more a realistic than sanitized, picture of a modern saint whose influence continues into our time.

book review: Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

Title: Heaven is for Real

Author: Todd Burpo

Cover copy:

"A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven. Heaven is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.


Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how reaally big God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit shoots down power from heaven to help us. Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle."

My impressions:

This book has been on the NY Best Seller list for weeks and weeks and I decided to read it to see what all the fuss is about. It's the story of four-year-old Colton Burpo who experienced a near-death event during emergency surgery for an infected appendix.

After he recovered, Colton's memories of seeing angels and a visit to heaven stunned his parents. Over time more and more details trickled out as Colton volunteered information, and his parents questioned him for more. Todd Burpo, Colton's father and the book's author, often relays Colton's details of heaven together with scripture passages that explain or substantiate what the little boy described.

Like all books that describe heaven, I believe we need to read this one with a wait-and-see attitude. For certain, we need to refrain from building our theology of heaven and the after-life on such reported experiences. However, it is interesting to me that several books reporting experiences of heaven say similar things.

For me one test of the value of such an experience is what difference did it make in the life or lives of the people who lived it. When Todd and Sonja Burpo were asked that question, here were some of the things they mentioned:

1. Colton's illness taught them how to be humble and accept help from others.

2. Todd Burpo: "Another way Colton's story has changed us is this: we are bolder. We live in a day and time when people question the existence of God. As a pastor, I was always comfortable talking about my faith, but now in addition, I talk about what happened to my son. It's the truth and I talk about it, no apologies" - page 153.

3. In addition, Colton (now 11 years old) has a new boldness and certainty about God and heaven, reflected in the book's title, which he suggested:
Book editor: Colton, what do you want people to know from your story?
Colton: I want them to know that heaven is for real. (Heaven is for Real pp. 153,154).

book review: Journey on the Hard Side of Miracles by Steven Stiles

I have, in the last year since getting my Kindle e-reader, read many books that I never got around to reviewing. In way that's a shame (for me) because I find I gain a whole lot by going through the review process. It certainly helps me recall books in a way that simply reading them never does.

So I have decided in the next little while, to write mini-reviews of at least some of these books. I will start with cover copy, and follow it up with a few of my own impressions.

Today's book is one I have just finished:

Title: Journey on the Hard Side of Miracles
Author: Steven Stiles

Cover copy:

"We had been WARNED, but we had only wanted to serve God. The truth was that not one person had a clue what would actually happen when we first boarded that tired old bus. With two hundred easy miles to our destination, there was little cause for concern. Yet somehow, despite every effort, our humble band of Jesus People never got there—and we never really found our way home.


Wandering for years, and struggling deep on the hard side of miracles, we knew we must not turn back, for every mountain climbed, every desert crossed, every dark valley and peaceful place of rest revealed an unseen Traveler, the One to whom the journey belonged.


There is a reason to listen to the Shepherd. There is a reason to stay close."

My impressions:

This was an interesting account of a group of Santa Cruz Jesus People who had their beginnings in the Hippie movement of the early '70s. They performed concerts for youth groups and did street ministry around the U.S. using a couple of re-purposed school buses as transportation. Later they set up a church and ministry centre which focused on helping people in crisis from addiction, mental health, and family issues. New Life Centre in Santa Cruz, California continues to this day.

The miraculous happenings that accompanied their travels (and which often involved those school buses) were truly remarkable. But more than the focus on unusual events, I appreciated author Steven Stiles' approach to such miracles. Over and over he emphasized the fact that God performs miracles not for our convenience or comfort, but for His purposes—which often remain inexplicable. In his own words:

"I have come to believe that those special miracles that shake our preconceived realities, and even those quiet miracles we may see day by day, are not for entertainment purposes. They are memories to be cherished, lessons to be learned, and counsel to receive.


They cause our knees to bend and our hearts to yield. They are a privilege to see, and they tell us, sometimes when we need to hear it most, that nothing can or ever will happen in our lives unless it is allowed by the Good Shepherd" - Steven Stiles, Journey on the Hard Side of Miracles, p. 10.

I downloaded this as a Kindle book when it was free. I see it is now $.99. What a bargain for such a faith-building read! (It is also available in paperback and in other e-book formats at Smashwords)

book review: Behind the Veils of Yemen by Audra Grace Shelby

If you’ve wondered what life is like for the veiled women of the Middle East, this book is a revelation. Author Audra Grace Shelby, along with her husband Kevin, were Baptist missionaries to Yemen for nine years. In Behind the Veils of Yemen, Shelby tells the story of that time. She describes in detail the friendship with her language tutor Fatima. She also tells about incidents that stretched her faith like the sickness of her husband and her daughter, and the birth of her fourth child.

I love Shelby’s creative non-fiction style. A skilled storyteller, she helps us experience Yemen and her Yemeni friends, their homes, celebrations, and customs through color, touch, sound, and smell. Using specific detail she recreates incidents in settings as varied as a hospital room, a beach-side vacation cottage, and the home of Fatima. Here we see a Yemeni market:

“We arrived at the suq, an open-air Yemeni market. On one side of the entrance women sat on the ground with round stacks of pancake-like bread. They wrapped them in newspapers and waved as we approached.


On the other side of the entrance four men displayed aluminum trolleys with mounds of glossy dates, pressed together in sticky cubes. They flicked swarming flies with rags tied to sticks and called to us to sample a date.” – p. 75.

Her recall of events and details is quite amazing (she must have kept detailed journals), as is her ability to analyze people and situations. Of Fatima she says:

“She had a manner that was both transparent and secretive, faltering and arrogant, all at the same time” – p. 50.

When she attends a women’s wedding celebration and is coaxed to dance with the women, she reluctantly complies. After she makes her clumsy way across the floor, the reaction of the onlookers surprises her:

“Applause thundered from the crowd of women around me …. They were beaming at me. I realized they were pleased more by my willingness to dance with them than they were by my skills in dancing.” – p. 68.

I enjoyed the book for a variety of reasons.

I loved the glimpse Shelby gave me into the world of veiled women. Never had I imagined that under their black burqas may be vivid caftans, bejeweled silk scarves, even the odd mini-skirt. She introduced me to a vibrant and cohesive female community which is devoutly religious and has its own colorful wedding and funeral rituals.

Despite the exotic setting, Shelby’s story showed me that mothers everywhere struggle with the same things. I ached for Fatima as she tried to find reasons why her almost year-old baby was still not holding up his head or sitting unsupported. One of Shelby’s own mothering crises resolved when she faced the question: “Do you trust Me (God) without having to know why?” It is a question Christian mothers are bound to face wherever they live.

Finally, I found Shelby herself inspirational. I admired the way she parented her kids, stifling her own anxieties in order to keep them feeling safe and distracting them with made-up stories instead of sweeping them into the vortex of her own tensions. Her sensitivity to her women friends’ customs and feelings along with her generosity, kindness, and passion to introduce them to Jesus were beautiful to witness.

I have one little beef with the book. It has no table of contents; thus it’s hard to locate passages one has read without using a bookmark or dog-earing the pages.

The end-matter alerts us to the fact that the name of the author and her family members have been changed to protect friends whose work goes on in the Middle East. You can find out more about the book, the author’s experiences in the Middle East, and her current speaking schedule from her website and Facebook page.

(I received this book as a gift for the purpose of writing a review.)

Title: Behind the Veils of Yemen
Author: Audra Grace Shelby
Publisher: Chosen - reprinted edition September 1, 2011, paperback, 238 pages.
ISBN-10: 0800795180
ISBN-13: 978-0800795184

book review: Fit for Faith by Kimberly Payne

Kimberly Payne’s book Fit for Faith describes a program that develops both physical and spiritual fitness. This holistic program has much to recommend it.

The how-to section that begins the book is divided into three main parts. “Part I: Exercise your body + Exercise your spirit” includes chapters on types of physical exercise (cardio and strength) and spiritual exercise (prayer) with chapters on strategies and goal planning for each. “Part II: Feed your body + Feed your spirit” shares advice on physical and spiritual food (Bible study) with, again, chapters on strategies and goal planning. “Part III: Stretch your body + Stretch your spirit” explores flexibility exercises for the physical body, and journaling as stretches for the spirit.

A 49-page (seven-week) workbook section follows. Each page includes a written prayer, a question that becomes a journal prompt, places to record what exercises were done and food choices made, a “Fit tip” or fact that dispels a common health or fitness myth, and a concluding Bible truth. There is a sample filled-in journal page so the reader has a model to follow.

The book ends with a chapter on maintenance, followed by a list of resources and several appendices, including a list of the 49 fit tips from the daily workbook pages, a home fitness test and several workout programs.

Payne is a seasoned physical trainer and her regimen reflects her expertise and experience. The how-to section is easy to understand, encouraging, and motivational. As mentioned, the combination of both physical and spiritual fitness  addresses the whole person. The repetition and accountability that are built into the workbook can’t help but bring about permanent lifestyle changes in the person who follows this program for seven weeks. I loved the little fit tips.

The Kindle copy I read would need the participant to use a scribbler or separate journal for the workbook section. (I assume the paper book has a physical page for each workbook page, which might make it a better choice for some.)

The only thing I can think of that would make a book like this more useful to an exercise illiterate like me would be pictures or line drawings of the exercises. My copy didn’t have those, though Payne does describe each exercise in detail.

I think this would be a great book for men or women to use on their own or as a textbook for a seven-week fitness program in connection with a Bible study.

book review: Don't Check Your Brains at the Door by Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler

Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler have done a good job of taking the belief pulse of today’s teens. Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door: Know What You Believe and Why is their book for this age group. It identifies and refutes 42 commonly held beliefs about Christianity in an attempt to “…discuss common myths, many of which people accept without thinking, and evaluate them in the light of the Bible.” (Introduction - Kindle Location 184.)

The book is broadly divided into six subject sections: Myths about God, Jesus, the Bible, the Resurrection, Religion and Christianity, and Life and Happiness. Each chapter within those sections deals with one myth.

The short chapters have colorful titles with descriptive subtitles, making it easy to locate chapters by subject (e.g. “The Luke Skywalker God — the Impersonal Force Myth"; "Lily-White Jesus–The Racist Myth” etc.). Each begins with a captivating anecdote or example. The writing style is snappy and the authors come to their signature conclusion, “But that’s a myth” efficiently and without beating around the bush. Each chapter ends with a “Brain Food” section—a deeper look at what the Bible says about the chapter’s subject.

Don't Check Your Brains at the Door has a lot going for it. It does a good job of tapping into common perceptions and beliefs about Christianity. The anecdotes and examples that begin each chapter are interesting and pull the reader in. The authors cite a variety of supporting sources and illustrations, from the quotes of famous theologians to illustrations from sports and entertainment. The “Brain Food” section makes excellent use of the Bible, employing a variety of assignment types (reading, fill in the blanks, checking the right response, character analysis, story analysis etc.).

However, there were a few things I didn’t get. For example, I wondered why the authors chose the order they did for handling these myths. They began with myths about God and Jesus, which they debunked using, among other things, lots of passages from the Bible—and this before they established the credibility and reliability of the Bible, which wasn’t addressed till Chapter 9. It seemed that a more logical order would have been to deal first with the Relativity Myth (Chapter 18) to establish the possibility of the existence of objective truth, then the myths about the Bible to lay the foundation of the Bible as a possible purveyor of that truth, and then the other subjects.

I also wondered why McDowell and Hostetler used so many dated illustrations and examples. They cited lyrics of a song from “Jesus Christ Superstar,” a popular musical from 1971, took life lessons from Elmer Gantry, a character in a book written in 1927, and sports heroes from the ‘50s to ‘70s, and more. Though the illustrations were well explained, I wondered how modern kids would relate. Those old-fashioned illustrations, along with the often dogmatic tone, made the book seem a little like the attempt of a couple of boomers to set their grankids' generation straight.

Finally, I was disappointed with the superficial way in which some of these myths were supposedly debunked. The relativity myth was one. In our time of prevailing postmodernism—a philosophy foundationed on the absence of objective truth—the quoted witty words of C. S. Lewis were what the authors used to make their case:

"Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later. He may break his promise to you, but if you try breaking one to him he will be complaining ‘It’s not fair’ before you can say Jack Robinson.


It seems, then, we are forced to believe in a real Right and Wrong. People may be sometimes mistaken about them, just as people sometimes get their sums wrong; but they are not a matter of mere taste and opinion any more than the multiplication table” – C. S. Lewis, Kindle Location 1174.

Of course they went on to buttress their conclusion with quotes about truth from the Bible, which is all well and good if the reader accepts the Bible as true; not so compelling if he or she doesn’t.

Those things aside, I can see Don't Check Your Brains at the Door being a helpful personal read for teens seeking to make the Christian faith their own, as well as a discussion instigator for parents and church youth leaders.

Title: Don't Check Your Brains at the Door: Know What You Believe and Why
Authors: Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler
Publisher: Thomas Nelson - revised updated edition August 2, 2011, paperback, 208 pages, August 2011
ISBN-10: 1400317207
ISBN-13: 978-1400317202

(I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishing as a free gift for the purpose of writing a review. This review was first published at Blogcritics.org )

This post is linked at Semicolon - Saturday Review of Books: September 3. 

Follow the link to find 64 (so far) more reviews of the books people are reading. 

book review: From the Library of A. W. Tozer Compiled by James Stuart Bell

When Lyle W. Dorsett, A. W. Tozer’s biographer and a fan of his writings, confessed to his friend a three-decades-long habit of reading Tozer, his friend told him he might be getting into a rut. To that friend and us Dorsett replies in the “Foreword” of From the Library of A. W. Tozer Selections From Writers Who Influenced His Spiritual Journey:

“…one cannot get into a Tozer rut. His writings first and foremost point readers to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures in ways that are refreshing. Second, Aiden W. Tozer points us to the writings of men and women throughout church history who have been personally and intimately acquainted with our glorious God because they have learned to truly praise and worship Him” p. 9.

James Stuart Bell has done Dorsett, other Tozer fans, and all who enjoy Christianity’s classic devotional writings a favor by compiling this collection. The authors span hundreds of years from Saint Augustine (354 - 430) to G. Campbell Morgan (1863 - 1945). There are over 200 entries by 35 writers taken from over 90 books.

The entries are short – most are one to two pages – organized within eight topics that reflect the major themes of Tozer’s life and writings: 1] Worship: the Chief End of Man; 2] Prayer and Contemplation; 3] Exhortations and Prophetic Words; 4] Our Counselor: the Holy Spirit; 5] Jesus Christ: Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King; 6] Practicing the Presence of God; 7] On Christian Doctrine; and 8] On Living the Christian Life.

The breadth of writers Tozer loved and quoted may surprise some. Lyle Dorsett in his biography of Tozer says:

“Ironically Tozer incurred heavy criticism from some Protestants by being too irenic and charitable toward Roman Catholics. From their perspective, Tozer erred by celebrating the writings of early church mothers and fathers such as Julian of Norwich, Augustine, Francis of Assisi, and Michael de Molinas to mention a few. These writers, according to some of his critics, were not ancestors of the church universal – they were Roman Catholics. Tozer handled these naysayers the same way he dealt with negative comments from his frequent references to Ante-Nicene Church Fathers or moderns such as Thomas Merton. These saints, from Tozer’s angle of vision, knew the Lord intimately and he learned from their writings about drawing closer to Christ – even if he did not agree with everything they believed” - A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer, Kindle Location 2074.

And so we have in this collection Roman Catholic writers as well as many well-known Protestants like Charles Spurgeon, D. L. Moody, George Mueller, John Bunyan, Martin Luther, C. S. Lewis and others.

The one- to three-page readings certainly enlighten us on the thinking about the Christian faith of other times and provide an interesting contrast to devotional writings of our time. The tone of these classic pieces is generally more reverent, even fearful toward God. Absent is the emphasis on how God caters to us. Instead, the stress is on what we can do to please and honor Him.

Missing too is the fear of turning off a skeptical audience by portraying God as absolutely holy and righteous – even angry at sin. Note, for example, this bit from American Reformation writer Jonathan Edwards’ (1703-1758) sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (Rob Bell, writer of Love Wins, would have a heart attack!):

“The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you and is dreadfully provoked. His wrath towards you burns like fire. He looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire. He is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight. You are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince." – p. 100.

(Of course Edwards doesn’t stop there but goes on to explain that in His very act of holding the sinner above the flames of hell and not letting him go, God is expressing mercy by giving the individual the opportunity to repent.)

The back-matter of From the Library of A. W. Tozer begins with a one-paragraph bio of each writer. As well it has a list of books from which the writings are excerpted and an author index of where to find each writer's selections.

The short readings make this book perfect for daily devotional use. The organization of the pieces in topics make it a good resource of ideas and quotes for teachers or preachers. The clear citations allow for easy identification of the complete books from which these writings are taken should the reader be interested in reading the full-length works.

Christians of all varieties and generations, whether or not they are familiar with A. W. Tozer, will find much to think about in this rich collection.

Read a sample of the book.

Title: From the Library of A. W. Tozer: Selections From Writers Who Influenced His Spiritual Journey
Author: James Stuart Bell (Editor)
Publisher: Bethany House, February 2011, hardcover, 411 pages. 
ISBN-10: 0764208624  
ISBN-13: 978-0764208621


Article first published as Book Review: From the Library of A. W. Tozer: Selections From Writers Who Influenced His Spiritual Journey Compiled by James Stuart Bell on Blogcritics.

I received this book as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review.
 
This review is linked to Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books.

book review: Gray Matter - A Neurosurgeon Discovers the Power of Prayer...One Patient at a Time by David Levy and Joel Kilpatrick

Gray Matter is the story of Dr. David Levy, a San Diego neurosurgeon who has brought prayer into every aspect of his practice. Co-written with Joel Kilpatrick, it is a fascinating read that explores many aspects of body-spirit well-being.

Levy/Kilpatrick take us from a typical session of prayer with a patient now, after years of experience, back to the first rather humorous day when Levy decided this was something he should do. That day he hung around the nursing station, pretended to read the chart and make phone calls, and generally lurked until the coast was clear and he could pray in private with the patient and her daughters.

Gray Matter tells how Levy gained courage and boldness when he saw how prayer brought peace to patients, lightened the atmosphere in the operating room, and improved his own state of mind.

Over time, Levy also became aware of the varied emotional and psychological aspects of health. He tells many stories of people who seemed bound to their illnesses by bitterness over past events. Whenever these patients were open to it, he led them through counseling and prayer to forgiveness and often a renewed acknowledgment of God in their lives.

Not all stories in this book follow a smooth course. Levy shows a true caregiver’s compassion as he agonizes over cases that don’t go well. During these times we watch his faith grow. An example is the situation with three-year-old Annette, whose parents despaired after she became comatose post-surgery. As Levy/Kilpatrick tell it:

“The next time I went to the hospital, I knew I needed to change the atmosphere in Annette’s room. Anger with God is not a small problem in the pediatric ICU, one of the most depressing places on the planet….


‘I was hoping that things would have changed by now,’ I said to them (Annette’s parents) honestly.‘…The fact that I don’t know what to do is embarrassing to me, because I am supposed to know. But I know one thing. I know that God is good no matter what we see in this room. I have decided that, no matter which path we take medically with Annette, we should keep showing up and continue to declare that God is good. We will cry together and laugh together and make decisions together. And we will declare that he is good no matter what happens.’” p. 208.

Soon after that they removed the little girl’s breathing tube and ventilator, expecting her to die. But she survived. Needless to say, her parents were forever changed spiritually by that experience.

These well-told true incidents (though the names and identifying details of individuals have been changed), with their detailed descriptions of medical procedures, will be of special interest to those in the medical profession. This book gave me a renewed appreciation for the skill of doctors like Levy who, with the help of technology, can do amazing things with, in Levy’s case, the tiniest of rogue blood vessels which can so unexpectedly end a life.

But mostly, the book is a demonstration of how impacting, constructive, and beautiful can be the life of an obedient modern disciple of Jesus who is willing to step out and do what in our society seems almost unthinkable and acknowledge God, through prayer, even in the midst of practicing modern medicine.

(Article first published as Book Review: Gray Matter: A Neurosurgeon Discovers the Power of Prayer... One Patient at a Time by David Levy and Joel Kilpatrick on Blogcritics.)



Book: GRAY MATTER: A Neurosurgeon Discovers the Power of Prayer . . . One Patient at a Time

Author: David Levy, M.D. and Joel Kilpatrick

Publisher: Tyndale House, February 2011, Paperback, 320 pages.

• ISBN-10: 1414339755
• ISBN-13: 978-1414339757

book review: Deeper Into The Word: Reflections on 100 Words from the New Testament by Keri Wyatt Kent

In Deeper Into the Word: Reflections on 100 Words from the New Testament Keri Wyatt Kent explores one hundred words/concepts from the New Testament.

Each entry from “Afraid” to “Yoke” gets about a two-page treatment. Within that space Kent covers a lot of ground and, depending on the word/concept does some or all of the following:

* places the concept into its historical, cultural context;

* names the Greek word or words (including derivatives and permutations) that express the idea in the earliest texts, examples of where they occur, and how often they occur in total within the New Testament;

* quotes other writers who shed light on the concept;

* interjects her personal experience and opinion about the word’s meaning and usage.

She ends each section with an inspirational thought (fulfilling the “Reflections” part of the title).

The 100 entries are followed by an index of Greek words. A several-page section of endnotes completes the volume.

When I received my copy of the book for review, I looked immediately for the author’s qualifications to write about this somewhat technical aspect of the Bible. I found none – unless the nearness of a good library and the knowledge of how to use it count. That, for me, is the biggest weakness of the book as a reference: I’m not sure how reliable the information about language, especially the Greek words and their usage, is (although the book is endorsed by both Scot McKnight and John Ortberg so that should certainly give its scholarship credibility).

Kent’s layperson status may also be a strength in that she doesn’t come to the topic as an academic and thus understands what most of us don’t know, will want to know, and gives us just the right amount of information and in a style that is accessible. And, as she says in the Introduction, as well as using it as a reference volume, it can be used as a "tutorial for how to do what has been traditionally called a 'word study.' By reading a few chapters, you can learn this technique and try it on your own" p. 12.

I found the mixed treatment of the subject matter (factual/commentary along with personal/reflection) somewhat disorienting. To my mind, the book has identity issues. Is it a factual reference book? Or a book of personal reflections?

On the plus side, Kent’s writing style is warm and comradely. She doesn’t talk down to readers but neither does she get bogged in technical theology-speak. Though she does have denominational biases she is frank about them. Sometimes she declares them outright:

“I’m not from a charismatic background…. For more examples and rebuttal to the charismatic position see…” (from the endnotes on “Word,” p. 247.)

At other times she reveals her bias by whom and what she quotes. For example in the discussion of the words “Break/Broken” to shed light on Matthew 16:19 (“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose (luo) on earth will be loosed in heaven”), she quotes a paragraph from Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis, and his somewhat controversial conclusion:

“…What he (Jesus) is doing here is significant. He is giving his followers the authority to make new interpretations of the Bible” (quoted on p. 30 from Velvet Elvis, pp. 49-50.)

All in all, the book’s easy-to-understand text and comprehensive handling of so many words/concepts make it a valuable reference. What I like most about it is the explanation of each word/concept within the context of the customs and culture of the day. I can see Deeper Into the Word being a useful addition to the library of the layperson who wishes to deepen his or her understanding of the New Testament’s setting and language.

Title: Deeper Into The Word: Reflections on 100 Words from the New Testament
Author: Keri Wyatt Kent
Publisher: Bethany House, January 2011, 247 pages, paperback

• ISBN-10: 076420842X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764208423

(I received this book as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review. Article first published as Book Review: Deeper Into The Word: Reflections on 100 Words from the New Testament by Keri Wyatt Kent on Blogcritics.)

book review: Transforming Prayer: How Everything Changes When You Seek God's Face by Daniel Henderson

In his book Transforming Prayer: How Everything Changes When You Seek God’s Face, author Daniel Henderson says it’s time we stop coming to God with our shopping lists of needs. A better way to pray, he suggests, is to “seek the face of God before the hand of God” p. 27.

Henderson starts out in Part One by poking fun of the prayer meetings his parents insisted he attend as a child. These consisted of a lot of visiting and discussing peoples’ needs (mostly physical health problems). He quips that people spent many more hours praying for God to keep His ill saints from glory than to save sinners from hell.

Having planted lots of discontent with the old prayer-list-focused type of prayer meeting, Henderson lays the groundwork for a different kind of prayer. In chapters that the explore topics of seeking God’s face and doing everything for His glory, he holds up people like Moses for readers to emulate.

In Part Two he further explains his thesis of prayer in chapters on what it means to abide in Christ and pray in Jesus’ name. He discusses how the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life and God's revelation of Himself in the Bible affect how people pray and what they pray for.

He goes from the theory of prayer (Parts One and Two) to its practice in Part Three. There he shows how the Lord’s prayer can become one’s prayer template. As well he gives advice on how to implement the ideas he has developed. Four key questions (“Who is God? [reverence]; How should I respond? [response]; What do I pray about? [requests]; Where do I go from here? [readiness]” – p. 174) help readers bring focus to prayer and stimulate specific prayers. There is also a chapter that explains how his method would work in an actual prayer session.

Though some of his humor is corny (“I had a serious ‘drug problem.’ My parents drug me to the old-fashioned Wednesday night prayer meeting almost every week” – p. 24), and one or two chapter titles are flip (e.g. Ch. 5: “Glowin’ Moses and a Transformed You”), there is much to like and learn from this book.

Henderson’s teaching on seeking the glory of God and the resultant prayer that is molded by God’s revelation of Himself and His will for us rather than our desires for ourselves is scripturally defensible from every angle. His chapters on praying in Jesus’ name and how our abiding in Him guides what we request are full of depth and insight. My review copy is now full of underlined passages that articulate wisdom about prayer that I am hoping to apply in my own life – passages like:

“Worship is the response of all we are to the revelation of all God is….worship-based prayer seeks the face of God before the hand of God. God’s face is the essence of who He is. God’s hand is the blessing of what He does. God’s face represents His person and presence. God’s hand expresses His provision… if all we ever do is seek God’s hand, we may miss His face; but if we seek His face, He will be glad to open His hand and satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts” p. 27.

and

“The real joy and assurance in prayer comes from the primary focus of seeking Christ’s person and presence prior to His provision. Out of that intimacy of seeking His face, we discover again the wonder of His characters, His heart, His purpose, and His will” – p. 133.

Besides solid teaching about prayer the book has other features that give it value. Inspirational stories of people whose lives have been impacted by using Henderson’s method of prayer are scattered throughout the text. Several relevant quotes of others begin each chapter and Henderson quotes many great theologians and Christian thinkers throughout.

There are also five appendices which discuss prayer-related topics like “Face-to-Face Encounters with God,” “How Jesus Prayed” and others. A chapter-by chapter section of questions and discussion topics at the back of the book make it a great choice for group study.

If you’re dissatisfied with your personal prayer life or looking for a resource to broaden and deepen the prayers of your small group or church, Transforming Prayer is definitely worth checking out.

Read a sample online

Title: Transforming Prayer: How Everything Changes When You Seek God's Face
Author: Daniel Henderson
Publisher: Bethany House, January 2011, 236 pages, paperback

• ISBN-10: 0764208519
• ISBN-13: 978-0764208515

(I received this book as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review.
Article first published as Book Review: Transforming Prayer: How Everything Changes When You Seek God's Face by Daniel Henderson on Blogcritics.)

book review: Voices of the Faithful

Daily meditations that take readers in one week from China, to Africa, to the Caribbean, to Central Asia are what set apart this book of devotional readings. Popular speaker and writer Beth Moore ties them all together in an introduction and short essays that precede each month’s theme. In this way readers explore topics like God’s character, prayer, persecution, spiritual warfare, Christmas around the world, and others.

The first-person vignettes about life in the mission field make for fascinating reading. Take, for example, the opening paragraph from the March 8th story about an incident in Africa:

“After several months in language school, we drove to a neighboring country to visit our future home. A few hours into our journey, a car occupied by four men brandishing an automatic rifle and a pistol pulled us over. Three of them got into our car, forcing us into the backseat” – p. 83.

Or the beginning of the October 30th entry by a worker in the Pacific Rim:

“On a trip to Thailand, my husband had a vivid dream. An angel repeated, ‘You must pray for your house; it is not protected. God had my husband’s attention. He spent the next two days, from time to time interceding for our house and family, asking God’s protection. He stayed longer in Thailand while the kids and I went back to our country” – p. 355.

The main purpose of each daily reading is to help the reader focus on some aspect of the Christian life. They illustrate how similar we are as people in the things we desire, struggle with, and fear. Though the settings are varied, the take-away for Christian living is universal.

In addition these devotions educate about customs, local conditions, beliefs and the missionary enterprise around the world. The provide lots of prayer fodder.

The contributors are identified in some way at the bottom of each devotion (sometimes by name, other times more anonymously as “A worker in (name of country).” Each reading ends with a brief prayer.

The book is a project of the International Mission Board (Southern Baptist Convention) and proceeds of all sales of the book are earmarked for it. An appendix-like section at the back focuses on missions with information about Beth Moore’s Living Proof Ministries, a message from the president of the International Mission Board SBC as well as hints on how to pray for international missionaries and people groups, and suggestions for how churches and individuals can become involved in missions.

I am finding the devotional stories interesting and inspirational – a quick read at the beginning, middle or end of the day. Considering they were written by a collection of nearly 300 people, the writing style is amazingly consistent. My only criticism is with the size of the font chosen for the prayers. It’s tiny!

Altogether this is an excellent devotional to use for a year and then pass on to someone else. But be warned, the writers’ enthusiasm about living for Jesus is contagious. A whole year of readings gives the book ample time to change your life.


Book Facts:


Title: Voices of the Faithful: Inspiring Stories of Courage from Christians Serving Around the World
Author: Beth Moore, International Mission Board
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, December 2010, paperback, 480 pages.

ISBN-10: 0849946247 
ISBN-13: 978-0849946240

(I received this book as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review. Article first published as Book Review: Voices of the Faithful: Inspiring Stories of Courage from Christians Serving Around the World with Beth Moore and Friends, compiled by Kim P. Davis on Blogcritics.)

book review: One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp

“They say memory jolts awake with trauma’s electricity. That would be the year I turned four. The year when blood pooled and my sister died and I, all of us, snapped shut to grace.


Standing at the side porch window, watching my parents’ stunned bending, I wonder if my mother had held me in those natal moments of naming like she held my sister in death” (Kindle Location 45).

In those paragraphs from the opening chapter of One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, Ann Voskamp word-sketches the incident which defined much of her life. Then with deft strokes she moves us forward to her adult self as the wife of an Ontario farmer, mother of six, and fearful, unhappy woman on a quest for joy.

Combining personal story and teaching she takes us on a journey that begins with the discovery of “eucharisteo” – a Greek word that embodies the concepts of ‘giving thanks,’ ‘grace’ and ‘joy.’ At about the time she is contemplating that word, a friend challenges her to name and list one thousand things for which she is thankful. So begins her practice of keeping a gratitude journal where she records her appreciation of everyday life:

“Rays reflecting hues off translucent globes


Sound of spruce cones thumping buckets with spring


Cackle of crows high in the limbs, iridescence on wings


I am a hunter of beauty and I move slow and I keep the eyes wide, every fiber of every muscle sensing all wonder and this is the thrill of the hunt and I could be an expert on the life full, the beauty meat that lurks in every moment.


I hunger to taste life.


God.” (Kindle location 944)

The book is an album of sorts – a series of narrative snapshots from Voskamp’s day-to-day through which she weaves explanations of what she learns about God and time, fear, trust, beauty, humility, service and more. Of course it’s all framed by the practice of seeing, noticing, appreciating and listing – eucharisteo.

She is a masterful story teller with the ability to perceive and communicate the meaningful subtleties of a situation. Her honesty and vulnerability moved me often. It will be a rare mother who will be able to stay dry-eyed through this book.

Her prose is poetic and in a style that reads like a combination of ancient mystic and modern contemplative. She buttresses her points with quotes from sources as varied as often-quoted C. S. Lewis to obscure Alexander Schmemann, ancient Saint Augustine to contemporary John Piper. The result is a rich, stimulating text that begs to be read slowly and savoured.

Thousands read her blog A Holy Experience where she regularly posts writings in a similar vein to One Thousand Gifts. From it has grown the Gratitude Community whose members likewise list, on blogs or in journals, items for which they are thankful to share in a weekly meme.

I have personally joined the Gratitude Community and so the book impacted me on a practical level. As Ann took me to the source of this practice, as I journeyed with her down its twisting course exploring its many tributaries, I came to see in new ways how living with a thankful heart has the potential to nourish all the land that is my life.

One Thousand Gifts is a powerful and convincing apologetic for thankfulness. It illustrates how gratitude to God expressed in attention to His daily blessings can morph from a mere game of accumulating 1000 items on a list to a joyful lifestyle.

Author: Ann Voskamp
Title: One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are
Publisher: Zondervan, 240 pages, Hardcover, releases January 18, 2011. Available as a Kindle download now. 
ISBN-10: 0310321913 
ISBN-13: 978-0310321910


(Article first published as Book Review: One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp on Blogcritics.)