“How do we return home when home no longer exists?” Dean Cycon asked in his debut novel, “Finding Home (Hungary, 1945).” His work of historical fiction grew out of research and interviews he conducted in Hungary and the U.S. about what about happened to Holocaust survivors when they returned to their communities after World War… Continue reading A Review of Dean Cycon’s Debut Novel “Finding Home (Hungary 1945)”
Tag: book reviewer
Prayer and Intimacy with God
Christian author and pastor Dr. Timothy J. Keller died today after a three-year struggle with pancreatic cancer. I thought back to his valuable book on prayer, a well-researched, well-thought-out answer to so many questions I had about the topic. Dr. Keller told his family two days before he passed, "I'm thankful for all the people… Continue reading Prayer and Intimacy with God
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Time travel to the past in books and movies often shows what would happen if someone went back to the past and did something that changes things in the future. We all do a bit of “time travel” when we revisit memories of people and places and try to make sense of them in the… Continue reading Before the Coffee Gets Cold
A Fresh Take on Jesus’ Close Friends: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus
On May, 2, 2023, Amy Boucher Pye published a study where she provides a fresh take on the story of Jesus’ close friendships with Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus in "Transforming Love: How Friendship with Jesus Changes Us." She shows how God uses our relationships with others and with Jesus to shape us as… Continue reading A Fresh Take on Jesus’ Close Friends: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus
The Gospel Under Attack
I have a list of Bible teachers I tune in to listen to on YouTube. Allen Parr is on that list. With well over a million subscribers, he hosts The BEAT (Biblical Encouragement And Truth) where he provides succinct lessons in scripture on what God has to say about some of the problems Christian face… Continue reading The Gospel Under Attack
On Getting Out of Bed
Suffering is a normal part of living in this broken world, in broken bodies. Truly, those who have a mental illness would love nothing better than to be rid of it. They often find themselves overwhelmed by thoughts and feelings that lie to them and distort reality. I know this because I’ve been there. Author… Continue reading On Getting Out of Bed
A review of “The Screwtape Letters”
In his satire "The Screwtape Letters," C.S. Lewis imagines a correspondence between demons who do their best to tempt humans away from God and His saving grace. In my review of "The Great Divorce," I hadn't yet read this book, nor completed the last lecture on C.S. Lewis' view of Heaven and Hell. In these… Continue reading A review of “The Screwtape Letters”
A Review of “Don’t Look Back”
I have been on the lookout for words of wisdom to help me stop ruminating over my past mistakes that often steal my peace of mind if not my joy. When I read the synopsis, I knew Christine Caine's latest book might hold some secret knowledge. Christine uses the story of Lot's wife as a… Continue reading A Review of “Don’t Look Back”
How Friendship with Jesus Changes Us
Most sermons and devotionals on the topic of Jesus' friends Martha and Mary of Bethany in the Bible tend to pit the two sisters against each other. A common question for the listener or reader is: “Are you a Martha or a Mary?” And depending on how the person leads, you will bend toward one… Continue reading How Friendship with Jesus Changes Us
Standing up for truth
I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the spiritual life of Dr. (Rev.) Martin Luther King, Jr., while reviewing Jonathan Eig's biography, "King: A Life." Dr. King first and foremost identified himself as a Baptist preacher. He spoke often about Christian, brotherly love, and pacifism as remedies for curing the social ills of… Continue reading Standing up for truth
The Waiting Room 