God in My Everything by Ken Shigematsu

            How best to tell about this book? It appears to be a book built around  a journey to

get to know God better. The suggestion is given by the author that we need to set up our

lives as a journey.. In this journey he should see our life in a pattern or framework.

            The author, being of Japanese background, refers to the monks of Glendalough, a monastic community, and the Samurai warriors for the discipline needed to sustain this journey. The point he tries to suggest is we need to live a ecosystem type existence.  In this system we are to be aware of the inter-connection of  all of life.

            He sections the presentation into five areas. First-The rules we need to govern our life  Second-the roots we need such as Sabbath observance, prayer and Bible reading Third- The need to relate to other people. Fourth- The need to refresh ourselves through sleep and play Fifth-The need to reach out to others.

            At the end of the book he has included an appendix of what rules look like.

I see this book as needed for study groups on Christian growth. Shigematsu writes with a pastor’s heart seeking to help fellow Christians go deeper in their spiritual journey. For those who want to do the study , this is a book for them. .

Men On Strike by Helen Smith PhD

    

   Men seem to be opting out of life. Fewer are getting married. Fewer are really working in the workforce. Few are leading their families.

            More are wimping out when it comes to asserting their leadership. With this behavior they are endangering women.

            You would think a book on this subject would be written by a man. Yet this book is written by a woman. From that perspective it is refreshing. It is not that a man couldn’t write this book. It is a case of  man being feminized and finally fighting back by dropping out. By dropping out I take to mean men not pushing himself forward

        They drop out because they don’t want to be harmed by the  myriads of laws, attitudes and backlash against them. Just looking at the paternity cases. The woman just has to say this man is the father and the man has no way to fight back or even get visitation rights. The cards are stacked against him because he is a male, Dr. Smith points out.

            But now men are fighting back. In their rational and logical mind they decided to drop out. If they don’t get involved in the first place, they figure, they can’t get hurt. If the woman won’t play according to the rules, then they don’t start the play. Everyone for himself.
           No longer women and children first.  That was the rule before feminism went wild. Rules used to be women were to be protected but now women want to be in the army, in the men only clubs, in the stressful employment positions., just to mention a few areas that used to be areas men could be themselves in

Women have places they as women can associate with their own sexes without men. It seems men are no longer able to let their hair down, so to speak.

            “Our society is made better by men who are productive, happy and treated with fairness. We have only ourselves to blame if we do not turn the tide of the war on men.”, Smith concludes.                                                      

            A chapter is here on what can be done to fight back. I recommend the book to anyone wanting to understand the shift in  society.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

The Heretic's Daughter

         It is not easy to be an historical novelist, I am sure. And when the period of time you are covering in your novel is still very much controversial, it is especially not easy.

            The period Kathleen Kent handles in her novel “The Heretic’s Daughter’ is the period in American History known as the Salem Witch Trails. The issue is not the amount of information available but the  interpretation of what really went on there.

            Kent tells this in the first person viewpoint of one girl caught up in the hysteria. Her family is one of those accused of being witches. As the story begins she is an adult looking back. She is recounting  the days before and during the time period.. When this happened she was a nine year old.

            Since it is from the viewpoint of a child we are spared the gross goings on. But we do view the dungeon and share in the mindset of the prisoners.

            Each chapter is a three to four month period of time.  The writing style is recounted as a diary, journal account. It is somber and moves along.

            Some stood up and spoke out against the mindset of the time, but the hangings still went on.

            The story takes us through the years of the Salem Witch Trials and into the days after.  I would recommend this book for people who enjoy a good story . Nothing new is revealed. It is a work of fiction.

           

The Heretic's Daughter: A Novel

Pandora's Lunchbox

            Have you ever wondered what is in  that fast food you consume? Or have you ever stopped to look at the ingredients of  the frozen food you buy at the market? Someone has.

            Melanie Warner has spent some time looking at the food industry and has written up  her findings in this delightful book.

            Food science. That is what the discipline is called that studies how to mix food so that it doesn’t spoiled at a normal rate. A good case in point is the daily Spam we have. It doesn’t age. It was first manufactured to be K rations for the troops in war time. I am sure if anyone has the first can of spam it is still eatable.

            Warner has a pantry where she puts food to test how what time does to it. Most of the items in the pantry fared well over time. Others decomposed.

            She tells about some chicken nuggets she bought that over time liquefied.

            The reason it is done is the price. You can buy more of the processed food at a lower price than the real thing.  You can buy a cheaper loaf of bread that has had air blown into it than the bread without preservatives. If you are trying to save money which one would you buy?

             She tells the story of how Kraft Cheese now is  made of a milk substitute because after research it was found it was cheaper to make it artificial. Add emulsifiers and preservative and. call it processed cheese.

            Allergies can come from eating processed foods. The ingredients are not natural. This is one effect processed food can bring about.

            Be aware of what you are eating. You need to read this book to be informed. And then you can make your decision to go processed or whole foods.

Pandora's Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took Over the American Meal

A Walk Through The Dark by Eva Piper

            I got this book to review thinking  I  may not like it since it seemed to be just another out of the body experience tales, or so I thought. I was pleased to discover that I liked it. It surpassed my expectations..

            It is more the story of growth through suffering as experienced by a caretaker. This caretaker is the wife of Don Piper, the man who actually died and was brought back to life after ninety minutes through prayer.

            Do I have your attention now?

            Up until that day when the 18 wheeler smashed into the car Don Piper was driving, the roles were pretty standard. But from that day on the roles were changed. Eva had to be the one who made the decisions and the plans for the family. Her world was turned around. If it wasn’t for the support she got from her church family she may not have made it.

            I found her section on how to relate and talk to a caretaker- ask how are you doing? How can I help you? What do you need done—very instructive. I enjoyed  her advice to people who come to cheer up the caretaker. The section alone is worth the time spent reading the book.

            I would recommend this book for everyone to read before they have a time of darkness.

            I received this book free from BookSneeze to be reviewed. I was not required to give a positive review. The opinions expressed are those of the reviewer and not those of the publisher.
        To get a copy of this book use this link:

A Walk Through the Dark: How My Husband's 90 Minutes in Heaven Deepened My Faith for a Lifetime

Runaway Emotions by Jeff Schreve

Recently our pastor has started a series of messages on toxic emotions. So it is good to receive a book to review on that subject.. Schreve calls them Runaway Emotions but it amounts to the same thing It is emotions that work themselves out in actions and these actions keep us less then God meant for us to be.

            The thesis is that negative thoughts and internal feelings act as alarms to alert us to a need we have to work on.

            Have you ever had times of frustration? When things just don’t seem to go right? Shreve offers you the truth that God knows and cares and has a reason for allowing you to be where you are.

            Schreve uses stories of people from the Bible to illustrate each emotion so we will understand what that emotion looks like. He also offers some advice to cope. These emotions are common to man. So there is no problem identifying. .

            This book will be useful for general reading and should be on the bookshelf of a person who needs reinforcement and encouragement.

            This doesn’t seem to be the book you can hand to a non-believer you are trying to witness to when he asks you how to handle emotions. This seems to be written for a person who believes there is a God and that He is involved in a persons life..

            I am a book review blogger for BookSneeze. They have sent me a copy of this book free to be reviewed on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review. All viewpoints are those of the book reviewer and not the publisher.   
   To buy a copy of the book use this link.
 Runaway Emotions: Why You Feel the Way You Do and What God Wants You to Do About It

Two Grammar Books You May Have Missed

Then other day I was just thinking about this blog, well ,all my blogs.. and about my writing style. That , of course, made me think about my two grammar books I use to refresh myself.
   I am not sure they are still in print or even being offered. If in print I will give links so that you, my reader, will be able to get a copy for yourself
 The first is a small one that has become a classic.
 It is the basic Stuck and White, Elements of Style

.

Well, what do you know. It is still there.


The other grammar book I use is Grammar for Smart People by Barry White.
... That one exists also.

So that means I am using  books that you can also. I highly recommend them to you. It is a painless way to recall what you thought you knew when you were being forced to memorize principles of grammar.