I Forgive You, But...: the freeing and healing power of forgiveness

“I Forgive You, But…” 3 Steps that can heal your heart forever by Karen Jensen Salisbury asks the question “Have you ever been hurt, betrayed, used or done wrong?” At some point in life, everyone experiences wounds at the hands or words of others. Staying hurt is not okay. When we refuse to forgive, holding on to the hurt, we end up hurting ourselves rather than punishing the person who hurt us. Karen Jensen Salisbury sets out to present a book about how to forgive, how to turn to the Bible when you’ve been hurt and let the Word set you free. Forgiveness is the God offered do-overs and fresh starts and walk away free from the pain of the past. Featuring the real life stories of individuals who once thought that forgiveness wasn’t the answer, but learned the transformative power of forgiveness. 

Many people think that forgiveness should be given when it has been asked for or when the person is truly sorry. However, what happens when the person never asks or doesn’t think he or she did anything wrong. Karen Jensen Salisbury shows readers through personal stories and Scriptures that forgiveness frees us from bitterness and resentment even when forgiveness isn’t asked for or when the pain remains despite the “I’m sorry.” While I expected a different format, the book is still filled with Scriptures on forgiveness and examples of how unforgiveness affects our daily lives. One of my favorite quotes from the book is “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. Nobody can go back and make a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” What a great reminder! I recommend “I Forgive You, But…” 

“I Forgive You, But…” 3 Steps that can heal your heart forever  

is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Seeds of the Word: an insightful and interesting look into finding God in the world around us

Seeds of the Word: Finding God in the Culture by Bishop Robert Barron is a look into films, books, politics and society and culture as we see evidence of God and the human longing for God. Christians have searched for “seeds of the Word” in their lives and the surrounding culture. Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries which includes a YouTube channel and a documentary on the Catholic faith, Catholicism. According to Barron, no matter how charred or distorted, the seeds of the Gospel are all around us, especially in the most unusual places. Seeds of the Word is a collection of essays in which Bishop Barron finds those seeds in today’s most popular arenas like superheroes, sports and social commentary. Barron also confronts the growing anti-Catholic sentiment and where atheists and the secular world get faith and God wrong. 

Seeds of the Word was given to me by cousins of mine and while I am not a practicing Catholic, my Christian faith has its roots in the Catholic Church as I was baptized as a baby and have my first communion. I have read many books which make similar assertions of finding God in the world around us, I was curious about Bishop Barron’s claims. From the opening article, Bishop Barron is clear, concise and uses evidence from each film, book and social commentary to support his claims as well as his counter arguments. I found Bishop Barron to be very insightful and interesting. From philosophy to Scripture and historical records, Bishop Barron presents the information very clearly and makes sound arguments for his theses. I highly recommend Seeds of the Word for Bishop Barron’s insights and honesty. 

Seeds of the Word: Finding God in the Culture is available in paperback and eBook

Prayers for Prodigals: a 90 day of prayers for prodigal children

Prayers for Prodigals by James Banks is a 90-day prayer guide for parents to pray for their child. A prodigal is a child who has turned his back on his parents, taken from The Story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 115:11-32. Prodigals can teach parents the need for patience, forgiveness, and continual dependence on God in prayer. Mr. Banks has personal experience with dealing a prodigal child as both his children had a prodigal period in their lives. He designed each week with a theme, for instance one week is entitled “God’s Timing.”  Each week opens with a brief meditation and a personal story how Mr. Banks and his wife experienced the prayers for that coming week. Within each week is a day of a Scripture based prayer for your child. Covering the emotional and practical challenges faced by parents of prodigals, James Banks offers a guide for parents to learn to lean on God and allow His movements in their child’s life.

Prayers for Prodigals is a great tool for parents who are dealing with children who may be wandering and rejecting their parents’ help, advice, and guidance. One of my favorite weeks is Week 9 entitled “Waiting for an Answer” in which Mr. Banks reminds Christian parents that God always answers prayers with a yes, no or wait. Wait answers are often confused with no answers and parents must wait on God when we pray. He may answer yes but we may not see the result right away or even in our lifetimes. He provides examples of parents’ prayers being answers years after the parents’ have passed. I also liked that in the book as well as at the end, Mr. Banks wishes to hear from parents who have been affected by his book. Overall, Prayers for Prodigals is a great tool for parents of prodigals and even parents in general to pray for their children as they grow up to be more independent and go out in the world on their own. I highly recommend Prayers for Prodigals.

Prayers for Prodigals

is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

From Sky to Sky: a new book in the Christian science fiction series

From Sky to Sky by Amanda G. Stevens is the second book on the No Less Days series. It is the story of Zac Wilson, a man who cannot die. He and others like him, known as longevites, received a mysterious serum to heal from serious illnesses and injuries and the result was the inability to age and eventually die. Zac soon meets another pair of longevities who are looking for their missing friends, fearing that something has happened to them. Zac helps them search and discovers that someone is killing longevites. Zac is confronted with his anxiety stemming from his longevity and his indifference to God. Will Zac finally listen to the whispers of God? Who is this person killing longevites? How does he find them? Can Zac and his friends find the person responsible before they hurt anyone else?

Marketed as Christian science fiction, I was intrigued when I saw this book, although I wasn’t aware it was the second book in a series. However, if there were references to the first book or knowledge I needed before reading this one, I couldn’t tell. It would still be an advantage to read them in order. Overall, I enjoyed the story. I was intrigued how Ms. Stevens was able to weave God and Scripture into a story that would normally not have any reference to God or religion. The story was slow build and when the individual is revealed to be behind the killings, it was a bit of a letdown. There was no real excitement. Nothing to really pull me in to keep me glued to the page. Maybe if I had read the first book it would be different. If you are a fan of the first book, you will probably enjoy the continuation of the series. If you are interested in the premise, I would recommend reading the first book, No Less Days, and then From Sky to Sky.

From Sky to Sky

is available in paperback and eBook

Seedlings Fables from the Forest: a book with important lessons

Seedlings Fables from the Forest by C.D. Baker is a series of fables about trees. There are five stories which feature a different type of tree and each with a special lesson and Scripture which illustrates the lesson and questions to further the readers understanding of the lesson.

The first story features a blue spruce and the lesson of being thankful for what you have (Colossians 2:7). The second story is about a maple tree who was selfish (Ephesians 4:32). The third story is about a poplar is who too prideful (Philippians 2:3). The fourth story features an oak who was too lazy to work (Ephesians 4:2). And lastly, the fifth story and my favorite, features a beech who didn’t understand how each of us has our own talents (Romans 2:4).

I loved these fables. Each one written beautifully with an important lesson.  The pictures were beautiful and illustrated the actions of the story. When I requested to review this book, I was expecting a different kind of book. Seedlings Fables from the Forest took me by surprised and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the wonderful fables. I highly recommend this book for any family’s or classroom's library.

Seedlings Fables from the Forest is available on Amazon

in paperback for $8.99 or on the Kindle for $0.99