book review: Ascent From Darkness by Michael Leehan

“One Saturday afternoon as I sat on my red corduroy couch my heart filled with anger toward a God who seemed distant, even cruel. My tiny snatches of knowledge about this God of the Bible had built the picture of a tyrant in my mind’s eye…. Hadn’t God created a fear-based system with the threat of hell that forced people to bend their knees to Him, not out of love, but out of self-preservation? ….

Finally, I said, ‘God, I will not serve You. I will not serve a God of fear and punishment, who forces His victims into submission. I will serve the dark side.’ And I blurted out, ‘Satan, come into my life. You are now my god. Use me, have me, and control me for your purposes.” (Michael Leehan, Ascent From Darkness, Kindle Location 478)

Michael Leehan describes the incident, above, in his book Ascent from Darkness: How Satan’s Soldier Became God’s Warrior. His decision to serve Satan that Saturday was the culmination of years of disappointment and turmoil. His painful, undisciplined childhood was followed by a youth dominated by pain-killers and alcohol. His marriage began happily but ended in divorce after nine years leaving him hurt, lonely, and missing his three young kids. It was shortly after the divorce that he decided to give his life to Satan.

Most of Ascent From Darkness is a description of the next 20 years of Leehan’s life, spent in satanic servitude. It is a disturbing account of occultic entanglement, showing a dedication on his part that would put many Christians to shame. He did things like buy and carry copies of the Satanic Bible to put in church sanctuaries and Sunday School room, and infiltrate Bible studies and home groups to sow theological confusion and seduce women. At one point he observed a long fast to gain spiritual power. His arms were scarred from the numerous cuts he inflicted on himself while absorbed in spirit communication. His deepening involvement led to daytime blackouts when he channeled spirits and nights disturbed by spooky phenomena, fear, and torment. He obsessed over how to carry out his assignment to kill his girlfriend’s pastor and then commit suicide himself.

He eventually broke free in a miraculous encounter with God—an ending that made this dark book worth reading. Though some have criticized it because it deals almost exclusively with the dark years of Leehan’s life, I found the book a worthwhile read for other reasons as well:

• It disclosed the fearful price that Satan exacts in loyalty, obedience and servitude.

• It showed how Satan's promises are lies.

• It illustrated, by contrast, the light, life, freedom, and joy we have in Christ—things it's easy for us to take for granted, until we've experienced (vicariously, through reading about it was experience enough for me) what life on the dark side is like.

• It gave insight into what may be behind many of our society's bizarre and self-destructive behaviours (like the prevalence of cutting, the spirit of lust that has not only taken down lay-Christians but many pastors too, and rampant suicide) and gave clues as to how to minister to demonically oppressed people.

• Mike's spiritual zeal for and commitment to the dark side puts me to shame as I compare it to my zeal and commitment to Jesus.

Mike Leehan’s own words about why he wrote the book are powerful and instructive for those curious about the occult and those wanting to warn loved ones about the dangers of getting involved in it or help them break free from it:

"I have learned the only thing that evil can take over is darkness. Darkness invades our lives when we shut out the light of God's love. But where there is light, there cannot be darkness. Light pierces darkness and illuminates the truth.

We must realize that we are in a world that is spiritually intertwined. There is more to our existence than the obvious. We must open our eyes to see the spiritual realm, which is very real and very powerful. And we must learn the weapons of our adversary, not only to avoid becoming ensnared by darkness but to be able to reach into that darkness to rescue others, like me, with the light. We are instruments of change. We are powerful vessels carrying an eternal cargo of either life or death.

The reason for sharing my story in this book is to demonstrate the power of God over Satan and to show how merciful a God we have in heaven. To give Him the glory and praise, and to demonstrate the power of love over fear, to show the love our Father has for us, to let God's light expose the darkness—but mainly to facilitate the hope that by reading this story, people might turn to the King of Kings!" - Mike Leehan, Ascent from Darkness, Kindle Location 3462.

Title: Ascent From Darkness: How Satan’s Soldier Became Christ’s Warrior

Author: Michael Leehan

Publisher: Thomas Nelson, October 4, 2011, Paperback, 272 pages (Kindle version 441 KB).

·  ISBN-10: 0849947030

·  ISBN-13: 978-0849947032

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

Linked to Semicolon Blog - Saturday Review of Books: July 21.

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: 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: Make Love, Make War by Brian Doerksen

Churches have been singing Brian Doerksen’s worship music for several decades now. In his book Make Love, Make War: NOW is the Time to Worship, released in 2009, Doerksen explains his philosophy of and passion for worship, tells the stories behind some of his songs, and gives songwriters artistic encouragement and technical tips.

Doerksen is no stranger to the Christian evangelical worship scene. Since he published his first song in 1989 (he tells that story in Chapter 3) songs have continued to flow from his heart, to his guitar, to his pen. His choruses, contemporary worship songs and laments have been sung in church services, home groups, gatherings, rallies and conferences around the world. He has been part of dozens of recording projects and he continues to write music with his web site abuzz with offerings of new CDs and DVDs.

Make Love, Make War consists of twelve chapters in which he tells the story of twelve songs. Each chapter begins with the song lyrics. Within the chapter he weaves together the story of how the song came to be written with what was happening in his life (including family, church, personal, and spiritual life) at the time. He devotes large parts of many of the chapters to the theology that grounds the song, quoting lots of scripture.

The chapters end with a section called “Songwriting Tips” where he offers suggestions to songwriters on a variety of topics, like where to find ideas, ways to make the songs musically interesting and integrated with the lyrics, and how to write effective, memorable lyrics. (I was struck by how similar his description of writing song lyrics is to my experience of writing poetry.)

His writing style is warm, conversational, and often casual – the smooth prose you’d expect, with here and there a phrase, sentence or paragraph that gives the reader a sense of his personality. Here, for example, is his little tangent about the expression “rose-colored glasses”:

“It seems to me like someone slipped us some rose-colored glasses so that we don’t see things as they truly are. Let me say something about that expression. I wonder if the first person who used the phrase “rose colored glasses” ever came anywhere near actually growing roses. If you grow roses, as I do, you know this is not an easy task—it’s a battle. Roses are full of thorns, and so the beautiful blooms and fragrance from a rose come at a great price – often the blood and sweat of the gardener! and what color do you see when you look through those glasses? I am guessing they are inferring a pale shade of red…but roses come in every color (except black!).” p. 113.

He explains the scriptural basis of his songs using strong, customary Christian words, not with the studied avoidance of “christianese” seen so often these days.

What sticks with me most about this book is the heart of the man – a heart that is consistent with the kind of person who would write the songs he has written. He is a man who studies, knows and loves his Bible, his family, his church and, most of all, his God. His family situation as the parent of two special needs children has, it seems to me, kept him grounded and, in turn, contributed to the spiritual depth, honesty, and relatability of his lyrics.

His book is full of good advice, not only for songwriters, but for Christians in general. My favorite quote from the book is a songwriting tip from Chapter 3:

“Let God bring you forward – don’t promote yourself and your own songs. This is a really challenging area. You could move through seasons when it is time to be bold and share what God has given you. But don’t start there. Start in a place of hiddenness and service. God knows what you have written, and He is fully able to call it forward at the right time and in the right place.” p. 83.

If anything this book has made me appreciate the songs on the many Doerksen albums we own, more than ever. Make Love, Make War would be a great gift for song writers, worship leaders, and indeed any people that know, sing, and love Doerksen’s songs – and that’s a lot of people these days!

Book Details:

Title: Make Love, Make War: NOW is the Time to Worship
Author: Brian Doerksen
Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition, (August 1, 2009) paperback, 224 pages, (August 1, 2009)
ISBN: 1434766829

book review: Flight to Heaven: A Pilot's True Story by Captain Dale Black

Title: Flight to Heaven
Author: Captain Dale Black, with Ken Gire
Publisher: Bethany House, May 2010 
ISBN-10: 0764207946 
ISBN-13: 978-0764207945



The title and book blurb attracted me to this true story by Captain Dale Black. In it he tells of the airplane accident that almost took his life at age 19.

At first his memory of the accident and its aftermath were almost nonexistent. But as his battered body healed, so did his head and brain. With that healing, recall of the terrifying moments just before impact were soon joined by the memory of an out-of-body experience.

Though he had no actual recall of that experience until much later, when he woke from a three-day coma, he did know he was changed in a deep way. This is how he tells it:

"The nurse looked at me, studying the reactions in my good eye. "Hello, Dale," she said. "How do you feel? Can you hear me?"

This is hard to explain, but I felt an immediate and overwhelming love for this woman. It wasn't romantic. Nothing like that. It was deeper than that, purer. I wanted to talk with her, to thank her for helping me, but I couldn't. Most of all, I wanted to encourage her by telling her just how much God loved her...

That's how I was seeing this nurse. I had never met her, didn't even know her name. It was not a human love, I was sure of that. It was God's love. I felt as if I were a vessel through which His love was flowing. Does she know Jesus?..." p. 38

What sets Black's heavenly encounter story apart from many others is the fact that he decided (after telling his grandfather and on his grandfather's advice) to never speak of it until he felt sure God wanted him to.  Thus he lived for years telling no one, not even his wife, what he had seen.

However, when he did finally know that the time was right to go public, his wife of almost forty years was not that shocked. In many ways it explained why he was the way he was.  She says in a chapter near the end of the book:

"Dale's values and priorities completely changed after the airplane crash... He is sensitive toward and strongly drawn to relationships where there is unity and love at the core.... He studies the Bible from his heart rather than his head and knows it intimately.... He has a quest to understand order in science, but only to understand more about God. He is fascinated with light and the properties of light as well as space and astronomy....Without question Dale has been profoundly and permanently affected by his visit to heaven." p. 184.

Black begins the book with a tense incident from his adult life but then goes back in time and tells the story chronologically. I was struck by this young man's determination to achieve his dream, and his faith that he would recover physically in all the ways necessary for him to become a pilot.  A few black and white photos anchor the narrative in time and give faces to the characters.

Black's account of heaven is uncannily similar to biblical accounts. The way his encounter with the divine impacted his life even before he could recall it and continues to exert its influence, testifies to its authenticity.

I found the book  a quick and compelling read. Black says in the introduction that it took years to write and went through many drafts and edits. Perhaps that's why it slips down so effortlessly — because it's been combed and re-combed until every tangle and snag has been smoothed out.

Black's story made me aware of how much I live in a world of superficialities, and wonder how I would change if I experienced what Black did. I took from it not only the sense that Dale Black is an incredible man but that God is good, faithful, loving, and about His business. In Black's case that involved a preview of eternity. I'm so glad he felt at liberty to tell us about it.

Article first published as Book Review: Flight to Heaven: A Pilot's True Story by Captain Dale Black with Ken Gire on Blogcritics.

Book review: Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go: From Mental Welfare to Mental Healthby Lucille O'Neal

Title: Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go: From Mental Welfare to Mental Health
Author: Lucille O'Neal
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, March 2010, Hardcover, 256 pages.
ISBN-10: 159555307X
ISBN-13: 978-1595553072

Lucille O’Neal shows us that champions can have the humblest beginnings. In Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go, this mother of NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal tells her inspiring story. (Note: The word "Health" in the title above is not a typo. The actual book cover has "Health" in the subtitle, not "Wealth" as it appears on the cover image)

From her earliest memories of the stern discipline of her grandparents and the confusion caused by the absence of her mother, one is impressed by the hurdles Lucille O’Neal had to overcome. Lack of self-love, low self-esteem and absent confidence were what characterized much of her life – especially her youth. Her unusual height (she was six feet tall by the time she was twelve, though a mere 95 lbs.) only added to her misery. Being called names like “Olive Oyl” and “Jolly Green Giant” soon had her walking with a studied slouch. That’s what stood out about Lucille to her pastor one Sunday morning and provoked her outburst in front of the whole congregation: “Lucille, walk like you have somewhere to go.”

That advice along with the encouragement of her mother (they were ultimately reunited) and O’Neal’s own gumption, determination and faith in God brought about the eventual transformation to the Lucille O’Neal of today: mother of a champion (and three other successful kids), college graduate, public speaker, fundraiser for charities, and motivational coach.

One of the things I loved most about Lucille O’Neal was her mothering. What a natural! Though she was only 18 and unwed at the time Shaquille was born, she was a conscientious and dedicated mother right from the start. Later when her family included a husband and three more children, she made sure school and homework came first and ensured she knew where her kids were and that they were busy and active during after-school hours. No way were her kids going to get in with the wrong crowd. During Shaquille’s first season in the NBA, she traveled on the road with him as often as possible.

O’Neal’s first-person telling of the story is like sitting beside this obviously spunky lady and listening to her talk. Here, for example, is her account of going back to school as an adult:

“Though I was completely scared to death at this new challenge in my life, those first few weeks of school were as amazing and soul satisfying as I knew they would be. That’s not to say I didn’t struggle, because I must certainly did. I hadn’t picked up a book in nearly two decades, and I’d left half of my memory back in a beer bottle somewhere” (p. 175).



The story, told in 33 named and numbered chapters, is interesting, entertaining and easy to follow. The 200 pages of narrative also contain a few photos (black and whites, appearing with the text). In the end-matter O’Neal lists forty of her favorite Bible verses and eighteen favorite songs. “A Note From Lucille” contains a snippet from one of her motivational talks, giving us a taste of this mother’s backbone-building optimism:

“While your peers are sitting you will concentrate on STANDING; while your peers are standing, you will stand tall and STAND OUT; while your peers stand out, you will be the one OUTSTANDING. And as a result of your mental wealth state, you will be the example by which all other standards will be measured!” p. 224.

Whenever Lucille was dragging her feet about getting to this book project Shaquille would remind her how inspiring her story could be for the countless people facing the same obstacles and setbacks that she had faced in her life. There is no doubt this upbeat autobiography will accomplish what the author’s son envisioned.

Read an excerpt.

(I received this book from Thomas Nelson as a part of their Book Sneeze program. This review was first published on Blogcritics.org)

book review: Buried Alive by Roy Hallums

Title: Buried Alive: The True Story of Kidnapping, Captivity, and a Dramatic Rescue
Author: Roy Hallums
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, January 2010, hardcover, 256 pages.

ISBN-10: 1595551700
ISBN-13: 978-1595551702

There are some books which you almost dread starting because you know really bad things are going to happen in them. Buried Alive: The True Story of Kidnapping, Captivity, and a Dramatic Rescue is such a book. In it Roy Hallums (with Audrey Hudson) tells the story of his 2004 kidnapping by a group of Iraqi insurgents from an office in Baghdad, the 311 days of his captivity, and his eventual rescue.

The book lived up to all my fears. It is a grueling account of man’s inhumanity to man. But it ends up being much more than a portrayal of humanity at its worst, in large part due to Hallums himself.

From the beginning I was struck by Hallums’ ability to perceive details during his captivity and recall them later. Because he is forced to wear a blindfold throughout and lives months in an infrequently lit underground bunker, he has few visual memories. But he does recall smells, sounds, sensations of pain, and the chain of events in excruciating detail. The fact that he is able to keep track of day and night and document the passage of time using things like the call to prayer of the mullahs and the drone of planes overhead is testimony to the mental toughness of the man.

I was also struck by Hallums’ humanity. During the telling he rarely expresses any bitterness toward his captors. His compassion toward fellow kidnap victims is often evident as they invent ways to communicate (despite the ever-present demand they remain silent). He listens to their fears and concerns and tries to comfort them when they’re hurt from beatings or worried sick about their families. Of course, his main anxiety is for his family in the States and how they are coping with his disappearance.

The narrative in the book goes back and forth between what is happening to Roy and what his family is feeling and doing. We are taken from the early days of their obeying FBI orders to remain absolutely silent about his disappearance, to their attempts to advocate for him as precious time passes and he still hasn’t been found. Such a dual telling gives the story depth and gets the reader even more involved in the situation.

The book accomplishes more than just telling a tale of courage and survival. It illustrates the worldview gap that exists between western and middle-eastern cultures. It helps us understand why many governments refuse to pay ransom and how paying it ends up making life more dangerous for all foreigners in the Middle East. It also helps us understand the apparent indifference of governments in such cases. Though the family is greatly frustrated by the silence of the U.S. government concerning Roy’s case, it is just such secrecy that, in the end, leads to Hallums' rescue.

The book disappointed me in one area, however. The jacket notes promise, “…Hallums’ story of suffering is tempered by his faith and his survivalist perspective.” On the strength of that, I was looking for evidence that Hallums’ faith supported him during this whole ordeal (and I expected it to be religious faith – judging by the kind of books that Thomas Nelson usually publishes). It wasn’t there – or if it was, it was so subtle I missed it. Of course, if another kind of faith is meant, i.e. a faith in people, or faith that he would be rescued – that is in evidence all over the place.

On every other front, though, this is a truly remarkable story. The fact that Hallums had the guts to relive it in order to tell it in book form is testimony to what an extraordinary man he is.

Watch a short video of Hallums' rescue.

book review: Finding An Unseen God: Reflections of a Former Atheist by Alicia Britt Chole

Title: Finding an Unseen God: Reflections of a Former Atheist
Author: Alicia Britt Chole
Publisher: Bethany House, June 2009, paperback, 176 pages
ISBN-10: 0764206028
ISBN-13: 978-0764206023

"All I had to do was survive the hour or two without being caught rolling my eyes, without exploding in laughter, and without initiating a debate. How hard could that be?

… That day on June 26, I sat in a little white building expecting nothing. I was not there to begin a noble search. I was not there to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage. I was not there to find a god; I was there to get rid of a Christian.” p. 150-151

These are Alicia Britt Chole's thoughts moments before she has an experience that rocks her world. She describes what happens and its aftermath in Finding an Unseen God – Reflections of a Former Atheist.

Alicia is the only child of loving parents. She remembers long talks with her atheist father and loyal support from her Catholic mother. Sometime in high school she comes to the conclusion there is no God. She recalls her decision:

“Personally Atheism was somewhat of a balm for my fiercely realistic soul… If there is no God, then we do not have to question him, her or them about why the innocent are condemned and the guilty freed… if there is no God, then we do not have to struggle with why the young mother of three dies and the old molester of hundreds lives to see and abuse his grandchildren – it is simply human sickness striking the weak in different forms.” p. 63.

Through high school, as Chole struggles to fit in with her peers, fights depression and witnesses the despair of her entrepreneurial but impractical father, her atheism hardens. But she does have two loyal friends. Shawny and Christi, the “Bowheads” (nicknamed for the trendy bows they wear in their hair), are her inseparable companions. They are also outspoken Christians but they don’t sway her.

The summer after graduation she visits a childhood friend. It is to stop the nagging of this friend’s mother that she goes to church that fateful June day.

A word-search puzzle provides a metaphor and graphic element for the book. Chole extends that metaphor by telling her story in a puzzle-like way. In successive chapters she switches from past to present and from narrating her story to discussing subjects like what is atheism, how to talk to an atheist, the current state of western spirituality, the reasonableness of faith and more. The Table of Contents gives clues as to which type each chapter is. The chapter titles of the narrative parts appear to the left of the centered chapter numbers, while the discussion / opinion chapter titles are on the right. If you want to read the story chronologically you’d start with Chapter One (pages 15-16) which follows Chapter 52 (pages 11-15). But good luck with that, as the Table of Contents contains no page numbers.

Chole has a distinctive writing style which ranges from chatty and rambling (in some spots the book felt like a transcribed talk), to reasoning and argumentative. But her writing is always lively, exudes personality, and her story is certainly compelling with its “I was there” tone of certainty.

An aspect of the book I found especially helpful was the list of four filters through which she suggests one should view any belief system:

“Is my belief system … consistent (at its core)?
Is my belief system … livable (and not just quotable)?
Is my belief system … sustainable (through life-size pain)?
Is my belief system … transferable (to others)?” p. 88.

I also enjoyed the chapters on five things she especially likes about God.

This slim book is a quick read (it took me about three hours) but packs a big punch. Not only is Chole’s story absorbing but the apologetic chapters discussing faith, spirituality and religion are persuasive and easy to understand. Read the book to open your mind to the possibility that God really exists, or to strengthen the faith you already have, or to learn how to relate to those whose bieliefs differ from yours. Finding an Unseen God would be of special interest to atheists and those who love them.

Check out the book trailer here. To find out more about Alicia Britt Chole and to view study resources that go along with the book, visit it's website.

book review: Holding Fast - The Untold Story of the Mount Hood Tragedy by Karen James

Title: Holding Fast - The Untold Story of the Mount Hood Tragedy
Author: Karen James
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, 2008, Hardcover, 256 pages
ISBN-10: 1595551751
ISBN-13: 978-1595551757

As Kelly James lay alone in a snow cave nearly eleven thousand feet high on Mount Hood, he wondered, “Where the h— is Brian? Come on dude.” His climbing partner, Brian Hall and fellow climber Jerry “Nikko” Cooke had left Kelly a few days earlier to descend the mountain in search of help. It was December, and Kelly was stuck on a mountain in Oregon, far from his home in Dallas, Texas. What had started as a quick weekend trip to practice ice climbing in preparation for tackling Mount Everest had turned into a life-and-death situation unlike any that Kelly had ever faced….

So begins Holding Fast: The Untold Story of the Mount Hood Tragedy by Karen James, Kelly’s wife. It is a harrowing tale, all the more so because we know how it will end. Yet James manages to not only hold our attention but inspire us through her retelling of a mountain climbing accident — and its aftermath — in a fierce winter storm.

The book is divided into four parts. In Part One, “The Man Behind the Headlines,” James starts with her imaginative recreation of Kelly’s last hours in the snow cave. Then she goes back in time to fill us in on Kelly’s life to that point, ending with a description of their happy life together just before the trip.

In Part Two, “The Storm of a Decade,” James details what happened during December 10-17, 2006 in chapters the very names of which tell a story: “The Phone Call That Changed My Life,” Our Arrival,” “Signs from Above?” “Give Us a Break,” and “The Worst Day of My Life.” The narrative in this section is divided by subheadings of date and time-of-day (e.g. Monday, December 11, 10:00 a.m.), slowing the pace and putting the focus on how time is passing as the search drags on without a clue of Kelly's whereabouts. James keeps us informed of the weather, what happened at the daily search briefings, and how the family is handling the wait and the media. It is a roller coaster ride of hope and disappointment.

Part Three, “Putting the Pieces Together,” describes the aftermath of finding Kelly’s body. James is amazingly transparent about her journey through grief. Though the story could easily have bogged down in self-pity here, it never does. Instead, in addition to a moving tribute to an exceptional man, it becomes a journal of grief recovery and a testimony to how faith in God can help one come through the darkest time.

Part Four, “A Legacy of Love,” contains Karen’s tributes to Kelly as her husband. In it she shares poems and letters he wrote her.

The hardback edition I read had a heft to match the mid-book color photo section, printed on heavy, glossy paper. There were black and white photos throughout the text as well. The photos and personal writings made the story and its characters come alive.

Cover endorsements from Sheriff Wampler and Steve Rollins, both involved in the rescue, where James’ description of the events is called “the most accurate I have heard to date,” and “the most detailed and inspiring I’ve heard,” encourage the reader to trust this vivid first-person account. James’ experience as a journalist shines through in her skillful storytelling.

I found Holding Fast a quick, absorbing read. It made me see my family with new appreciation and want to tell them so now, while I still have them. The story also gave me a confidence in God’s presence even in tragic situations when our most earnest prayers remain unanswered. James ends the chapter where she tells numerous incidents of feeling God’s presence (from the message she got in a fortune cookie to the name of the bulbs she was planting on the day she got the phone call from Oregon) with the statement, “I believe now more than ever that there are no coincidences and that there is a grand plan in which we all play a role.”

I recommend Holding Fast for the riveting story it is. But I recommend it too for the aftertaste of hope that lingers even after you’ve turned the last page.

Go to Holding Fast for Purpose to hear the song which inspired the book's title, see more photos, read chapter segments and more.

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Book Courtesy Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program.

goodbye pastor don

Today we say goodbye to a wonderful man of God. Don Cantelon, former pastor of CLA and father of our current pastor Brent Cantelon, passed away November 15th.

Although I didn't know him well, the little I had to do with him showed he was a man of hard work, vision and humor. A few years ago shortly after his book The Day I Burned The Hotel Down came out, I invited him to speak at our Fraser Valley Writer's Group meeting (and had the privilege of introducing him). He shared with us some of the experiences he related in the book. He did actually set a hotel on fire when he was a kid. The book is full of stories about pastoring, and holding tent and camp meetings all around Canada. It's a telling window into the life of a Canadian Pentecostal minister. (Earlier this year, he celebrated 60 years of ministry.)

He wrote a second book - Out of the Closet of Depression. He speaks of his experience with depression in the Canadian Christianity column "Moving through depression, back to the pulpit."

I will miss the sight of him, frail at the end, but still faithfully at the altar each Sunday, praying with any comers.

Pastor Don, you will be missed.