Lance Hahn's The Master's Mind

This book was the first one I have ever received that I could not read. From the beginning, the author casually invoked Nazi Germany, the worst example of human beings in the last century, as the bar he could make you climb over. That is the lowest bar possible. If you are not better than that, you have no reason to be reading anyway. And even if it somehow was acceptable, neither Nazi's nor any others who commit atrocities can serve as an example of insecurity, depression, or confusion, which are the very things he supposedly structured his book around.
Of those three problems (insecurity, depression, and confusion), one of them is a medical condition. I don't imagine any doctors prescribing reading books about Nazi's in any capacity to treat depression. Nor should they. Confusion is so entirely vague that there's no way to address it at large. And insecuriy? Are "hope, strength, peace, joy, and love" the cures to that? Again, not the case. Insecurity is a battle within oneself, not a cosmic struggle. He says he wants to show us how much God "wants to strengthen our minds to enable us to rise above the noise..." but to make that statement is to belittle the reader, to count their very real problems as just "noise." It's disrespectful.

Book Review: Gordon MacDonald's Ordering Your Private World

How do you review a book that says nothing? It's like the author keeps repeatedly trying to say whatever the reader wants to hear, jumping from point to point. The book starts with discussing how being "driven" can be dangerous to focusing on your inner world only to end up to get a lesson on how to prepare to pray. Never does the "private world" ever make sense. Is it our conciousness? Is it time with God? It is kept vague.

Provided Summary: One of the great battlegrounds of the new century is within the private world of the individual.The values of our Western culture incline us to believe that the busy, publicly active person in ministry  is also the most spiritual.

Tempted to give imbalanced attention to the public world at the expense of the private, we become involved in more programs, more meetings. Our massive responsibilities at home, work, and church have resulted in a lot of good people on the verge of collapse.

In this timely update of his classic Ordering Your Private World, Gordon MacDonald equips a new generation to live life from the inside out, cultivating the inner victory necessary for public effectiveness

A book on meditation would be much more suggested than this. By the end of the book MacDonald focuses on topics like keeping a journal or focusing on the time of the day to pray, but till then whatever the private world is, doesn't make much sense. Instead, the book talks about the downfalls of being a driven person, whatever that means, at the beginning. Essentially, it is saying don't be a narcissist, but he never puts it in those terms. Warning people away from being driven is much more dangerous when you never clarify what is the opposite of being driven is.

Prayer and journaling seem obvious conclusions by the end of the book too. It isn't the first time a book like that has given step by step instructions on how to incorporate those into your life. This is just another book to pick to put into your crop of books already providing a way to put those into your life. I typically provide quotes from books, but I found this one to be so repetitive on the subject matter I didn't find them conducive to any points to make about the book. 

The book is under 200 pages, but it's the longest 200 pages I've had to manage. The most popular biblical characters you always hear about dot the book from Paul to David, and if I hadn't already the points made about them before then it might have been insightful. People already use those guys to make the same points over and over despite the long list of other people in the Bible. Jesus gets a quick mention though as he always does, but no one really knows how to talk about Jesus since his message rarely matches the point they want to make about these books anyways. As telling as that is it never seems to resonate. 

This book was provided by Herald Press in exchange for a review. 

Book Review: Beth Moore's Get Out of That Pit

What's left of Christian bookstores provides many options for self-help books that read like fortune cookies accompanied by a tight smile and vacant eyes to greet you on the cover. I'm still not sure how people decide whether it's Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Max Lucado, or as I'm about to discuss Beth Moore, they want to inject them with short verses strung together to create a peppy theme. It seems quicker just to shake a Magic 8 Ball and let an answer surface to the top. Considering this book runs for $16.99, I think it's cheaper to buy the ball.

Provided Summary: From her first breath of fresh air beyond the pit, it has never been enough for Beth Moore to be free. This best-selling author and Bible teacher who has opened the riches of Scripture to millions of longs for you to be free as well—to know the Love and Presence that are better than life and the power of God’s Word that defies all darkness.

Beth’s journey out of the pit has been heart-rending. But from this and the poetic expressions of Psalm 40 has come the reward: a new song for her soul, given by her Saviour and offered to you in Get Out of That Pit—friend to friend. This is Beth’s most stirring message yet of the sheer hope, utter deliverance, and complete and glorious freedom of God.

Beth Moore covers all things "pit" in this book. Purposely in a pit, accidentally in a pit, shoved in a pit; you name it she has got you covered on pits. If you are tired of my usage of the word "pit" already, then imagine reading this book. The word is used so much it can distract you from what is being implied throughout the pages, which I'm sure wasn't directly the intention, but it harms whether intended or not. In giving people the gear to try to climb out of that pit it places the blame on some groups I find concerning such as the mentally ill, the disabled, and people with addictions. The problem with trying to write a book summed up in a little over 200 pages is that it doesn't give each sensitive issue its own focus. Addressing someone who has dealt with atrocities such as rape or murder is very different than addressing someone who is affected by a family member with a mental illness or has a child with a disability. Putting them in a list to address to the reader how they might be in a pit because of that person seems insensitive. Suggesting that disabled family members with disabilities put you in a pit is akin to being a victim of a crime is insensitive. Being a victim of abuse can hardly be the same as being the caretaker of a dependent loved one. Circumstances (a.k.a. "Pits") aren't one size fits all. Neither are the ways to provide advice.

Moore writes on page 25, "Like my family of origin, you can be thrown into a pit by a loved one suffering from mental illness. I cannot adequately voice the fear that can be incited by someone with serious bouts of irrational thinking." 

This is all the book states on dealing with mental illness, and it paints a negative portrait without any further story. Dealing with mental illness isn't easy for the person experiencing the illness and someone who loves them. I would know because I've dealt with a mental illness since the age of 6. It's never spoken that the person with the illness themselves can be thrown in a pit.

Is it possible for people to relate to the stories Moore gives? The majority of the stories she provides about herself is a trip to the cabin in the mountains, a Florida fishing trip, how she only stays in hotels because RVs can smell, and an awkward golf lesson with a friend. These are the examples she gives to make herself relatable. These examples are so unrelatable to the reality of what most people experience, particularly those in the "pits." She doesn't want you thinking the poor and rich experience the pain of the "pits" differently, but these examples don't help affirm we all mesh in the same pit. Nowhere does Moore mention how you climb out of the pit of worry you can't feed your family tomorrow, that your electricity is going to be cut off, or you can't afford the gas bill in the winter. Those aren't the pits that are unhealthy relationships or past demons you can't shake for a better tomorrow. It isn't addressed how you see the light at the top of the pit when you're in those situations.

It's true that everyone feels pain. Pain is pain no matter what causes it. What Moore says is dismissive of how individual experiencing pain is though. The book overall promotes a selfishness about oneself. The book provides such vague advice packed with Bible verses that you could draw any conclusions for yourself.

This book was provided by Handlebar Marketing in exchange for a review. 

Book Review: Hanna Schott's Love in a Time of Hate

The inspiring story of  Magda and Andre Trocme is a story many might be unfamiliar with. It's one that needs to be heard because their story makes a statement without needing to point out it was a statement.  The Trocme's did have personal accounts they had written about their lives, and Magda would later submit those unfinished memoirs to Swarthmore College in Philadephia. German Journalist Hanna Schott draws from those written accounts, other written historical work about Le Chambon during WWII, and firsthand accounts of survivors still living in Le Chambon to write about the couple who hid Jewish refugees in their village during WWII. Because it is a story adapted by Schott there are added questions, feelings, and focuses making it more so what she personally took from their story than told through their eyes.

Summary: Love in a Time of Hate tells the gripping tale of Magda and AndrE TrocmE, the couple that transformed a small town in the mountains of southern France into a place of safety during the Holocaust. At great risk to their own lives, the TrocmEs led efforts in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon to hide more than three thousand Jewish children and adults who were fleeing the Nazis. In this astonishing story of courage, romance, and resistance, learn what prompted AndrE and Magda to risk everything for the sake of strangers who showed up at their door. Building on the story told in Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, German journalist Hanna Schott portrays a vivid story of resisting evil and sheltering refugees with striking resonance for today. 

I assume since it is stated in the summary the story provides "striking resonance for today" means the message to take away is how similar we're treating current refugees in 2017 to how the Jewish were treated during WWII.  We see the example of Magda and Andre who despite the risk of their safety was determined to act on what they thought was their religious duties and provide shelter and safety to those who had nowhere else to go. They didn't compromise their own religious convictions in the wake of many challenges despite the tough questions they had to ask including, "when is deception okay?" The task of weaving the story in with a message to continue in a modern day context is mostly in the introduction of the book. 

Vicki Reddy, founder of We Welcome Refugees and executive producer of The JUSTICE Conference, writes of how she connected to Love In a Time of Hate to the current refugee crisis, "I keep asking: Where is the church right now? Where are the followers of Jesus? What are doing in response to the greatest humantarian crisis of our time?"

There are obvious accounts of what happened to directly show all the dynamics to stir the audience in what they see today too in the book. While I find it compelling, inspiring, and a scary tale of what we see occurring in society today, I also hesitate to ever use someone else's story to make a point they can't directly speak on now. We can assume with almost 100% certainty Andrea and Magda would have responded the same to the refugee crisis of now, but we don't need to make that statement because we can see it in their actions.

As easily as we can interpret Magda and Andre's story of one about love and peace found through their belief in Christ, someone can just as easily argue their positions for war and nationalism drawing from the Bible. I would know since I've had the arguments defending refugees against those citing the Bible as reasons we shouldn't. How do you respond to people of the same religion who oppose how you identify with Christ when they are spending hours in churches trying to understand and sympathize with the atrocities of King David, a man even described as being after God's own heart, in the Old Testament as a powerful military leader who made some "mistakes" in war? I've even had people cite Jesus himself as a reason you bear arms by taking just taking a chunk of the context in Luke 22. Then Exodus 22 reads a lot like the "Stand Your Ground" laws in states like Florida or Oklahoma. It wasn't for lack of reasons based in the Bible that people scoffed at Andre choosing to be a pacifist in the reformed church during his era, though I find it an admirable quality about Andre.

The story of Andre and Magda themselves is inspiring as it is, and I would have loved had the book dedicated more time to the Trocme's time in Le Chambon. Almost 150 pages discuss Andre and Magda's childhood, their meeting in the U.S., and they eventual landing in Le Chambon, but only a little over 100 pages discuss their life hiding Jewish refugees in the village. I never could get the whole grasp of their sacrifice because it was all so brief, especially the part where Daniel Trocme was taken by Nazis with the children he housed to a concentration camp, where he eventually died. Plus, Andre and Magda weren't only inspired and in the company of Christians, which showed a unity far beyond what could be captured in the book. Daniel was nonreligious and made that sacrifice, the Trocme's still let children at the school they founded practice their Jewish rituals, and the Trocme's were admirers of Gandhi. They had even planned a honeymoon trip they couldn't make to see Gandhi in India. I would have loved to have seen more of the letters from Andre and Magda to read more of their philosophy and what drew in particular to the Gospels?

Andre and Magda do have a timeless, heroic story. Even if we eventually mature as people regarding the current refugee crisis, and rise up to the do the right thing we will be using this story again and again because war will inevitably continue to cast citizens to the side.  Stories like Andre and Magda's don't need my added commentary to know what the right thing would have been to do then and now. They already show it through their actions. We hopefully will always find it in ourselves to do the right thing when helping others and put our own fears aside to do so, especially when we've never known fear like people pushed out of their homes and across the sea only knowing that floating into the unknown is better than the home you've always known.

This book was provided by Herald Press in exchange for a review. 

Perdeaux Fruit Farm - Travelers Rest, South Carolina

If you're near Travelers Rest, South Carolina during the summer or in the fall then you might want to make a stop by Perdeaux Fruit Farm. We stopped by in early July and by then it was already too late to find a lot of summer produce because they had been cleared out, but they have other seasonal fruits and products that they sell throughout the year. I would just call ahead to see what is available. Thankfully, a few peaches were available, so we grabbed some of those and they were delicious. We discovered this place on our South Carolina Agritourism Paspports, which led us to 15 farms.

20 of 1001 Books: H.G. Wells' The Time Machine

After reading The Time Machine, I'm unsure why our 12th grade AP literature teacher had us read Timeline instead of The Time Machine. I don't even remember her mentioning H.G. Wells that pioneered the genre. Don't get me wrong, as an 18 year old I found more Timeline to be enjoyable, and even to do this day I remember it as a good book, but Wells seems to have more historical and literary aspects to explore when teaching.

Summary: An unnamed explorer recounts his travels to a group of men. These aren't just any travels though, but his travels through time. In the world he travels to he finds to different races. The Eloi who he finds some welcome with, and the Murdocks, who are scary and he believes are keeping his time travelling machine from him. Beyond the debacle of trying to get his time machine back, the explorer also sees a scary tomorrow in the future race if men don't change their ways. The hatred between the two groups has cast them apart from each other, and in different realms.

I should be honest and admit that I do have Spark Notes open while reading through older books, especially if they were written before the 1900s. My skill in reading the style is lacking, but I think it's slowly building as I practice reading slower. The Time Machine for the most part, I read just fine. It's not one that is too complicated to read. My main problem is that I'm not a huge science fiction fan, but I understand it's a popular genre. This also builds up more of a respect I can have for what H.G. Wells did for people who love the genre, by giving them the genre.

I've also come to enjoy exploring how writers then conveyed the way their own narrators in the story told their stories. In Frankenstein the book is a man writing to his love about a man they found stranded on an island with his monster. In The Time Machine it is an explorer telling his tale of a future land to other men, perhaps in the hopes of warning them away from a future he saw, but only one person seems to have any further inkling to explore the explorer's tale to heart. For most the books from then it doesn't seem people just imagined telling a tale as if it was happening in that moment. It was people referring to their past in the form of storytelling.

Credit: dlee at Free Images

You probably won't realize how innovative the book was unless you think of the time it was created in. No cars existed yet, electricity was just being explored, and a book like this is invented. It also shows that people have always perceived earth to have an inevitable Dsytopian future that still has yet to be seen. Not saying it isn't further dsytpia than what was, but nothing like The Time Machine and many others have seen thus far.

It is also interesting all the possible political undertones in the novel. I'm not familiar with British history, so I would know very little about what Wells' implies in his novel as far as his own views, but if you're familiar with the time of then, you would surely pick up on it.

The Victorian England setting and the weaving of technology seem a surefire way to inspire subculture fans, including steampuns, even to this day. In a way it's sort of awe inspiring and intriguing just how much Wells left an impact on the earth. In writing a book about the future and it's destination he actually spun many things into the world that I wonder if he even expected?

Vacancy Always Welcomes at Valley Courts Motel - Tryon, North Carolina

You're always going to find vacancy at the Valley Courts Motel. I noticed I had a fascination with old motels on the trips we've take to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is surrounded by abandon motels that once were probably popular with the public. We were one our way to Pearson's Falls when I noticed a motel on the way, and on the way back I asked Brandon if he wanted to stop. The hotel is listed as being in Tyron, North Carolina.

Chauga Narrows - Sumter National Forest, South Carolina

Length: 1.2 miles / Difficulty: Easy

I've had to become more aggressive with the watermark usage since I've had photos used, and I don't remember anyone asking me.  You don't realize how serious you should take it till it happens. This weekend we did a hike to Chauga Narrows near Mountain Rest, South Carolina. The falls are within the Sumter National Forest. It was a little rainy that day, but it feels like forever since we've made it to a waterfall we hadn't seen.

21 of 1001 Books: Guy de Maupassant's Bel Ami

Bel Ami was the book I picked up next on the 1001 list. I'm not sure why I was drawn to reading this one next, but it turned out to be an unexpected intriguing read. The story centers around an unlikable cast of characters and shows the depth of human depravity. In a way Breaking Bad reminds me of the same sentiments. Anyways, the story shows how far one many will go to get what he wants, and also enjoy the attention on the way there.

Summary: Georges Duroy has been in the military in Algeria, and now is back in France after his deployment. Starting out as a poor ex-military, he's looking to garner power and money in the society. He meets with a former comrade, Forestier, who helps him become a journalist for minor news. Madeleine, helps Duroy with his articles. She is also Forestier's wife. They grow closer as he advances as the paper, until he is advanced to chief editor. Even though he has grown close to her, he also has several other women he is interested in, and Duroy isn't looking for any single commitment.

There have been several versions of Bel Ami adapted to screenplays. Including a movie starring Robert Pattinson, which I'm curious to see as Pattinson seems suiting to the lead character. Actually, the cast of that movie looks good. The other was a television movie.

Back to the story though. The story takes place in France, and for me this added to the intrigue, especially since the culture there, especially in the late 1800s, seems drastically different than American culture and standards. The book was written in 1885 and set in Paris. There are lots of affairs and sex. Not only that, but the novel sets deeper motives than love and lust for the advances.

I was hoping Duroy would get his, but as the world works, so does this novel. Everyone else was justifiably as bad as him, so it may take the sting of his out of his taking advantage of these women's power accordingly. Instead well he goes and does what he need to to keep going.

The story is provocative, and there is something alluring about the characters in the story. Even though they are unlikable, they don't ever seem to be intended to make us like them. Instead of just feels like the lower bottom of the branch of humanity has been brought up in this story to show how far people will and go betray others for what they want.

Don't worry though, you won't walk away from this story as depressed as it seems, but it will be on your mind still. It's one of the better classics, particularly from before the 1900s I've read, so I take that as a positive and a hope for future readings from this era.

5 Things to Do and See in Congaree National Park

Congaree National Park has been on our list to visit for a long time. We were trying to visit before the summer heat spiked up in the city of Columbia, South Carolina, which Congaree National Park is nearby in the town of Hopkins. The leaves were already back on the trees, and it made for  scenic sight walking the boardwalk through the woods. Many people might travel to Congaree knowing it's a national park, but they may not have expectations of what to do or look for once they arrive, so we've made a list of exciting things to see and do while visiting.

Book Review: Judith Miller's The Chapel Car Bride

The Chapel Car Bride is history lens recollecting the times as a sentimental cushion. It would be one thing if Judith Miller didn't share in her biography she is a history buff, but since she does I have to pop the bubble. The absence of New River in the descriptions of West Virginia to the vague mentions of "strikes and unions" leave the reader with an unclear picture of West Virginia and the struggles of the poor.  The way people interacted in the book isn't even realistic to human nature. Perhaps, that is the appeal, but is it healthy?

Summary: With her penchant for seeing the best in everyone, Hope Irvine sees a world full of good people in hard places. When her father accepts a position traveling in a chapel car as an on-the-rail missionary, she is determined to join him in his efforts and put her musical skills to good use by serving the mining families of West Virginia, saving their souls, and bettering their lives.

Luke Hughes shares Hope's love of music and her love of God, but as a poor miner he knows he can offer her no future. Still, the notes she sings resonate in his heart. When she begins to travel with a young mine manager to neighboring counties, Luke can hardly suppress his jealousy. It isn't until he begins to suspect these missions of mercy might be the mine manager's cover for illegal purposes, though, that Luke feels justified in speaking up. But how can he discover the truth without hurting Hope or, worse, putting her in danger?

Long Point Trail - New River Gorge National River, West Virginia

Length: 3.2 miles Difficulty: Moderate 

The weather has changed the past month, and the leaves are now shades of orange, yellow, and red. This left me reflecting on our early summer trip to the New River Gorge National River in West Virginia. The weather still wasn't blazing hot, but the leaves were a lively green. It was a beautiful weekend to spend for Memorial Day weekend hiking in a new state to us. Long Point, near Fayetteville, West Virginia, was the first trail we hiked after waking up that day to explore, and it is my favorite hike we took in the New River Gorge.

Tamassee Knob - Oconee State Park, South Carolina

Length: 4.1 miles / Difficulty: Difficult

Nearing the end of the short fall weather we've had, we hadn't gotten in any scenic views. Mostly the culprit had been the smoke in the area from surrounding fires, which didn't make hiking to any safe. Thankfully, since we hiked to Tamassee Knob rainfall has moved in. Tamassee Knob was a hike I had kept in mind in case I woke up and walked outside to clear air, and a Sunday this past month we did. Despite a slight chill in the air it was just the right temperature for a hike. The hike is near Walhalla, South Carolina. 

The hike starts in Oconee State Park, and the hike wanders out of the park into Sumter National Forest. The Tamassee Knob trail seems to be the newest additions of hikes since it was added to the sign after it was it made. 

A 2.1 mile hike leads to the overlook from the mountain of Tamassee Knob. The round trip, out and back hike is around 4.2 miles and it is difficult. Brandon didn't seem to be as intimidated by the hike as me though, and if you're not as afraid of falling then you might find this hike easier than I did. The hike starts easy. The trail is mostly level and everything is clearly marked. The trail is well marked with black blazes to show where the trail goes. 

After branching off to the trail toward Tamassee Knob the trail begins to get hilly, so there is a lot of travelling down on the way, and the leaves made it feel a little slick to me. Once outside of the park the trail becomes very narrow and has steep drops to the side. I became frightened by the view off the side of the trail if I happened to slip. The way back to the car was not as bad though since I prefer going up hill when I fear slipping downhill. 

The hike was well worth some of the few, fall skies we've gotten to see this season though. We could see the South Carolina and North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains. I wish there had been some details about what mountains we could exactly see, but Sassafras Mountain seems to be visible from this view, which is the highest mountain peak in South Carolina. This trail is lightly trafficked, but there were quite a few groups of people on the trail for this hike. By the time we reached the knob everyone was gone though, so we had the view to ourselves and we rested till we knew we had to head back to avoid the early, dark day. Now it may appear the trail continues past the knob, but we met a group on the way that said they traveled further past the knob, but they didn't find any views and turned around. Basically when you've reached the rock you've reached the attraction of the trail.

There is an admission fee of $2 per adult, $1.25 for seniors, and kids 15 and younger are free to enter Oconee State Park. They are open daily till dusk. 

Book Review: Love Letters from God - Bible Stories for a Girl's Heart

Love Letters from God - Bible Stories for a Girl's Heart by Glenys Nellist is everything a person might look for in a book to read their kids. It's beautifully illustrated by Rachel Clowes, has simple messages, and kids love to lift the flaps in books. How this book appears to vary from the other books in the Love Letters from God series is slightly troubling though. The other books feature stories from the most popular people of the Bible like Noah and David, and some we might not be as familiar with like Nathan. The difference is how the women of the Bible are sometimes depicted between the other books stories gets a little different treatment.

Book Review: Lovina Eicher's The Essential Amish Cookbook

I've been adding books with recipes to my shelves lately, so I was curious when I had the opportunity to read and review one. This cookbook has almost everything I imagine you would want in a cookbook. The sections are well divided up, the photos are beautiful, and the directions are straightforward. To keep with the idea of an Amish cookbook we also have parts where Eicher lets us a little in their lives to give it a personal touch.

Summary: Bestselling cookbook author and food columnist Lovina Eicher brings together the best of Amish cooking in The Essential Amish Cookbook: Everyday Recipes from Farm and Pantry. Join Eicher as she shares traditional Amish recipes along with her own kitchen tips and secrets. Growing up, Eicher learned to cook and bake at an early age alongside her mother, longtime columnist and Amish cookbook author Elizabeth Coblentz, and has put those skills to use in her own Amish kitchen as she cooks for her eight children.

Mariner's Nature Trail - Calhoun Falls State Park, South Carolina

Length: 0.5 miles / Difficulty: Easy

Earlier this year we visited Calhoun Falls State Park just as the summer temperatures were heating up this May. Little did we know this would be the last month in a while we would see a good rain too. It seems so long ago now. Calhoun Falls probably sounds like there would be a waterfall in this park, but sadly no. When the lake was dammed a long time ago what might have been a waterfall disappeared.

Book Review: Steve Berger's Between Heaven and Earth

There are a lot of books of recent coming out to discuss the matter of heaven of late. Whether it's to recount an experience going there, particular questions you hear commonly asked about the place, or like this one just focusing why it's important to be Heaven minded. Except of the ones I've read of recent Steve Berger's discussion on the matter seems to be the most repetitive. The better parts are where he discusses his own experiences, but he does that so few times, and focuses on other aspects that just aren't as impacting that the book just seems like a message for everyone to go out an be missionaries.

Summary: Steve Berger experienced a tragic loss when his 19 year old son, Josiah, died in a car crash. After his death Berger began studying his son's new home in heaven, and now he is committed to bringing the same hope he has found in one spending eternity there that he has found as well. He gives hope for those who hope to find their loved ones there, and how we will experience God there. He also provides reassurance of not feeling pain again. This book is to give hope to the reader for the beyond.

41 of 1001 Songs: Billie Holiday's Gloomy Sunday

One of the most prominent female figures in music is Billie Holiday, and if you listen to a few of her songs you will understand why. One of her tunes has already appeared on this list from the 30's, and she once again makes a hit in the 40's.  Gloomy Sunday is a beautiful song, and it sets the mood perfectly for what the lyrics capture in the tune.

History: Interestingly this song was a Hungarian song performed in 1933 by Rezso Seress, but it didn't hit popularity till Billie Holiday's version. It was even adapted before her version by another set of English artists. She would perform the tune in 1941 around the time that World War Two was being entered by Americans. It's interesting to think of the things perpetuating around this version in particular.

I love the instrumentals of the tune as much as I love the vocals. The lead in of wind instrumentals give it's a nice jazz tone, and it builds the mystery that is reflected in Holiday's voicing. She has an unique voicing that I haven't heard anything like since.

The lyrical content is sung as if Holiday already has her own personal meaning behind the lyrics. She sings it as if she is singing her own gloomy Sunday tale. The music only gets better as you continue to listen, and not only do the vocals intensify, but so does the music.

The instrumentals aren't projected as well as the song, but I more so attribute that to recording of the time. It's restored beautifully, but still some qualities could probably only be captured by personally hearing it live at the time. The arrangement and composition of the song is beautifully done, and it weaves the idea of a dark fairy tale with the choice of instruments.

I love how by the end of this song every part of the song works together to build the emotions. I can see why the public might have been a bit frightened of this song at the time. In a time where we reflect on as light and positive even going into dark times, no one wanted to push forth the darker roots to be popular sentiments.

Book Review: Faith Sommers' Prayers for a Simpler Life

It's difficult to have an honest discussion about books like this because the author depicts herself in such a sweet and innocent way even when talking about her shortcomings of sin. The way verses were strung together, and the book didn't fully address what the summary says left it underwhelming.   Most importantly does the devotional draw the reader closer to God with the simpler Mennonite life?

The Summary: "Do your quiet times with God feel disconnected from the rest of your overflowing days? Shouldn't our devotions affect how we live our lives? In this 90-day devotional for women, plain Mennonite mother and wife Faith Sommers helps connect your moments with the Lord to the rest of your life. Steeped in the faith of Amish and Mennonites, who maintain that how we live is as important as what we say, Sommers' words hold gentle warmth and wise nudging for readers tired of disjointed living. Offering daily devotions, prayers, journal prompts, and ideas for how to simplify your life and strengthen your faith, Prayers for a Simpler Life guides readers toward a deeper commitment to the way of Jesus."

In the summary, it reads, "Steeped in the faith of Amish and Mennonites, who maintain that how we live is as important as what we say..." In the introduction titled "A Day in the Life", Sommers breaks down their routine as Mennonites. This is where we get most our insight on how Mennonites lead simpler lives. They drive their kids to a private Church school, they bake, sew, write, attend Church on Wednesday, clean, and even maintain a garden. The way the author depicts their routine in the book sounds not too unlike what someone who is not Mennonite might do. Maybe I only have this perception because I grew up on a farm in rural Georgia. The author says at the end of the introduction,"The quote that I put at the heading of this "day in the life" reminds me of a young lady who spent a weekend with us. She needed to study a religion for a college course and chose to interview the Mennonites. After she had been with us for a day, she said, "I had planned to ask you what your religion means to you, but now I realize it's not just a religion - it's your way of life." Praise God. That's what Christianity should be and do!" So what can we learn from Mennonites about leading simpler lives? That particular question never seems to be answered in depth. She describes in detail the things many of us already know about Mennonites, such as their dress or routine or that their children don't attend public schools. She told stories of Paul and Moses as other denominations do. Her devotional seemed to relate those same people to everyday life, but she never showed us how they were to make our lives simple, as the title suggested.

The book also claims the devotional is for women. Does this book provide new, insightful ways to be a woman of God? I can't say the information was new to me despite the author implying it should be newish information since the biblical command of submission is ignored nowadays. I can't remember the last time I read a non-fiction Christian book for women that didn't mention submission, so even if the assumption is Christian women are commonly ignoring it the writers aren't. Sommers writes in week 1 of the devotion, "Our children are born into a world that grows increasingly wicked" (P.20). Sommers writes later on submitting, "Submission does not mean following a husband into sin" (P.75). Perhaps there are fewer men seeking holiness to submit to, which is why it appears women are ignoring submission? Onward, though. There are weeks in the devotional that focus on various women from the Bible and their strengths provided by God, such as Phebe and Priscilla. She also devotes a week on what we can learn from focusing on serving. There wasn't anything that particularly tied to women Mennonites though outside of how they dress. The author talks about herself and her friends' relationships with children, parents, and neighbors that portray women annoyed with intrusions, misbehavior, envy, and beauty. Through these examples, women sound petty and rarely does it challenge the reader with depth to question those negative traits about themselves. Sommers writes, "God helps me to act lovingly even when I don't feel like it" (P. 74). We hear "God give me strength," when instead "God, what's wrong with me?" seems more adequate.

When reading the Bible passages for the devotions it should be recommended to read the whole chapter the verse lies in. For week 3 on day Acts 9: 1-9 is the devotion reading, but the devotion also includes verses from Isaiah 59 verse 12 and 13. The verses Sommers includes read as is, "Our sins testify against us:.. In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God. And in verse 16: "There was no man... no intercessor." (P.50) I wanted to share the verses as is, but there is so much edited out it becomes a shadow of what the context reads as. Here is a link if you want to read Isaiah 59 in its entirety. The gist is the people of Israel had challenged God after not returning from exile to their home. The prophet accuses them of what they have done that made God "turn a blind eye to them" (Isaiah 2-8). The people begin expressing guilt in Isaiah 9, but Sommers picks up half a sentence in verse 12 to merge with some of verse 13 to provide her own thought without mention of the particular story. Sommers picks up again in Isaiah verse 16, which begins the passages of God's disappointment yet his mercy for his people. Sommers tells us the verses provide a glimpse without God, but the story of Moses is just as adequate for that and you don't have to mesh partial sentences of verses together. This occurs many more times in the devotional. Why paste together so many verses if another example would suffice? 

Most of all this book leads one to believe you can discover a simpler life from the summary.  The strongest devotional week in this book is Growing toward God, and that is mostly a bias toward plant analogies.  The simpler life seems less about Mennonite women's lifestyles regarding their faith and more about a woman's frustration with her guard over her time, possessions, beauty, and doubt. God is asked a lot for guidance and strength, but never posing the question "why are those things important to me?" 

This book was provided by Herald Press in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own. 

Book Review: Jim Henderson and Matt Casper's Saving Casper

This book is intended for Christians, and mostly Christians who are baffled by how to act and talk around those who are nonbelievers. The niche is small for the book, but I'm also sure that Jim and Matt hope that others will become curious enough to pick up the book just to see where the conversation leads between the two. If you're familiar with Jim and Matt then you also known they have done another book together where they traveled across the U.S. and visited churches together to see how Matt as an atheist would perceive the churches they went to. Now with this book they follow up with his own thoughts of how he perceives Christians in general.

Summary: Matt Casper is an atheist, or currently an atheist he says. He has became friends with Jim Henderson who is currently a Christian as he calls it. Jim hopes that by getting Matt acquainted with the Christian community that maybe the perceptions about atheist and how we approach them can be changed to be more open and learn to treat people as people because if there is something missing from the approach of Christians witnessing to nonbelievers it's that they seem to treat them more like projects than people.