Christian Book Review THE AFRICAN PROSTITUTE by Dr. Patience Turtoe-Sanders

The African Prostitute
Dr. Patience Turtoe-Sanders, author
Celebration International Life Ministry
ISBN: 1-4257-5434-1

Recommended Book

Have you ever wondered how some people who experience major difficulties in their lives are able to keep a good spirit? Are you curious about those who are successful despite all the problems that come their way?

Dr. Patience Turtoe-Sanders is one such person, and it was her faith and hope in God that brought triumph over tragedy. Born in Nigeria, Dr. Patience now writes Christian, faith-based stories as a part of her ministry. You can view her website by going to www.DoctorPatience.org.

The author of nine books, Dr. Patience is the founder of Celebrate Life International Ministry and also hosts a local cable television show. The book I read is titled, The African Prostitute. I don’t read much fiction, but this story captured my interest and I read it through until finished—because I wanted to know what happened next!

It is the story of two families bound by cultural custom but changed through their faith in God. It is also a story of salvation, commitment and forgiveness without taking a superior moral ground that looks down upon those caught up in sin.

The story is told through the lives of two girls in their youth, Becky and Janda, both in large families living in poverty in Nigeria. Becky comes to Jesus Christ through the pastor of The People’s Church who was himself converted from dishonesty to faith. Becky’s strong faith influences her family and others around her.

Both Becky and Janda are struggling to find the needed tuition money to keep themselves and their siblings in school. Becky believes that without a doubt God will provide. Janda, however, at the suggestion of her father, believes the only way to provide is through turning to prostitution.

It is at this point that an unlikely turn enters into the story, and the question becomes, who is going to cast the first stone? Can the faith of one girl nearing adulthood change the lives of a whole village?

This book held my attention. I recommend The African Prostitute, and think it suitable both for adults and senior high youth, women and men, for Christian homeschooling families, Christian youth groups and Christian book clubs, it is an excellent book for discussion and also cross-cultural teaching and ministries.

babamarusia is Mary Katherine May, who with husband Rick owns QualityMusicandBooks, a Christian music, book and gifts webstore. The retail location in Minneapolis, MN is currently in the process of relocation.

Review Robert Wright THE EVOLUTION OF GOD by babamarusia

The Evolution of God
Robert Wright, author
ISBN: 0316734918
Little, Brown & Company, publisher

As a Christian, should I walk into a bookstore and see the bestselling book titled, The Evolution of God, my interest would mostly be tweeked enough so that I would read what is on the dustjacket endflaps. Right from the start, however, I would have at least a pre-notion as to whether I would consider the book's information authoritative, since God does not evolve. God is, was, and always will be the same.

I am not surprised that a cursory browse of the web immediately brings up descriptive terms such as "brilliant," and though perhaps my reaction to Deborah Solomon's New York Times interview should be the same, it isn't. What escapes me is how someone who works for the Times (and perhaps I am assuming too much), who should have some degree of logical thought, can ask such questions as to whether Mr. Wright has "insight into President Obama's life."

There is nothing for me to comment upon about the complete content of The Evolution of God because I haven't read it and most likely won't. What I can comment upon is the interview on Bill Moyer's Journal that I watched. I believe that the questions, answers, and comments gave a fairly clear picture upon which this book is based.

There is something very sad about Robert Wright. Mr. Wright for all intents and purposes was raised in a home where facts were presented in a black-and-white fashion. Right and wrong. This is the way it is because we say so. Our thoughts will be your thoughts and there will be no wiggling left or right. At a young age he accepted Jesus as his savior through an altar call. Then, it seems, the age of thinking came along and the author discovered that he disagreed with what he had been taught.

Well, okay, there are very few youth who do not get to the point of thinking on their own. I recall a conversation with my own mother when she told me I had to think and do as she did. My response telling her that I wouldn't is still clear in my mind. As time went on and the consequences of going my own way included a definite level of rejection, it was clear that there was no going back in some respects, but not in respect to God. God hadn't changed. Because I was now thinking on my own, the relationship between God and me actually grew.

Many youth and young adults go through a period of time where they re-think the belief systems that they have been taught. What is sad about Robert Wright and the comments he made related to his book show him to be a little lost boy who still hasn't found the way back home--because he is still relating to the world from the perspective of the age he was at when the light went on that he had ownership of his brain. The fact is, he is lost. I pray he will realize that there are alternatives to a black an white God who brings only reminders of a judgment day or no God at all.

Though the rejections that come with change can be painful, in the end there is one who offers something far better, and that is the loving one, true God. God loves and that love doesn't change. God doesn't change. Though I disagree with Mr. Wright, and recognize his extreme effort in manufacturing this misguided philosophy, my wish for him is that he will have peace always in his thoughts as can only be received from the Heavenly Father.

babamarusia is Mary Katherine May, who with husband Richard owns the Christian music and books webstore, www.QualityMusicandBooks.com.

Review YOU WOULDN'T LOVE ME IF YOU KNEW Jeannie St John Taylor 9780687657865 Recommended

You Wouldn't Love Me If You Knew
children's story picture book
Jeannie St. John Taylor, author
Copyright © 2009
Abingdon Press, Nashville TN
ISBN 978-0-687-65786-5
Retail price (paperback): $10.00

Recommended Book

It is not uncommon people sometime in their adult life to do something that they feel is so bad that it is nearly impossible to speak it out loud. There are also the instances when a person has not been the wrongdoer, but still inappropriately places shame and blame within their spirit.

What we can forget is that this also happens to children. We shouldn't wait until a situation arises to talk about such times. I believe that parents and educators--both in church and school, need to bring the subject to the foreground. This most likely at some point with the use of this book enable a child who has been carrying a weighted load to seek forgiveness.

I am not surprised that the little boy in the story had to whisper what had happened in his mother's ear. There are some problems so personal that even do that may be too difficult, and it will be God only to whom we speak. Lastly, whether we know or do not know what it was that the child did, is not the issue at hand. The reader should notice that the boy is not even given a name other than "boy."

What the story addresses is the shame and guilt, and need for forgiveness. I believe that NOT knowing may reach even more children than if we did know what the boy did wrong. Children--actually, even adults, who read this story who are in a similar situation can then more easily place themselves in the position in which the boy finds himself, and receive permission to forgive themselves.

Hello! I am babamarusia (Mary May), and together with my husband Rick we own the webstore http://www.qualitymusicandbooks.com/. Our retail store in Minneapolis, MN, is current in the process of relocation.

Christian Book Review CHURCH ON FIRE! Pastor Morris Vaagenes 9781607023241 Recommended Book

Church on Fire!
Pastor Morris Vaagenes, author
ISBN 978-1-60702-324-1
Retail price: $15.00

Recommended Book

Pastor Morris Vaagenes, coming upon his 80th year of dedicated Christian life, recently became the interim Senior Pastor at the church where my husband and I attend. Never having attended a large church in my life and knowing that Dr. Vaagenes had pastored not only a large church, but a HUGE church with multiple locations, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

If you have never attended a mega church, or if you have become jaded by all those television preachers that seem to only what your money (though not all preachers on TV are in this category), you are in for a big wonderful surprise.

This book is not about how to grow a mega church as much as it is about a life dedicated to our glorious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is about a human being not afraid to get down on his knees and beg for deeper faith, the Holy Spirit, and understanding. It is about celebrating what God has done, and about a man who needed to get out of the way so that God could do HIS work.

Morris began life in Madigascar, with his parents who had come from Norway through America as missionaries. He went about life with his brother, Carl, speaking Malagasy in everyday life, English at home, and praying in Norwegian. He has spoken to large crowds, seen the miraculous wonders of the Holy Spirit in real life, and still desires to serve--when others would have stepped down to relax and enjoy the "pleasures" of life.

You will read about being sustained in sorrow, turning to God in loneliness, and be encouraged to stay the course and serve the one Lord and Master of all, the GREAT I AM.

To purchase this book through Quality Music and Books please CLICK HERE.

Hello! I am babamarusia (Grandma Mary), and together with my husband Rick we own the webstore www.QualityMusicandBooks.com. Our retail location in Minneapolis, MN, is in the process of relocation.

Christian Book Review BAPTISM God's Activity of Grace by Morris Vaagenes 1933794011

Baptism: God's Activity of Grace
Morris Vaagenes, author
Publisher: Kirk House, Minneapolis MN
ISBN: 1-933794-01-1

Retail price: $15.00

Recommended Book

There is something different about Dr. Morris Vaagenes' book on Baptism than readers will generally find in the majority of books written on this subject by other authors whose background is, or who are, protestant. As a Lutheran pastor steeped in the doctrines and teachings of Martin Luther, he had no reason to believe otherwise than that through water and the Word, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that children begin their Christian life with this sacrament, and that people of any age are baptized without the practice of full immersion.

Yet, if Pastor Morris has experienced as I have the vocal and written criticism of this practice, it would be enough cause to stop and think--and that is what he did. Here is where his book begins. Dr. Vaagenes, as I have had the experience of knowing him personally, has the gift of being highly intelligent, but more importantly a person who truly listens to God. If you would have the opportunity to hear him speak, you will know that he believes in prayer first and speech second.

Pastor Morris set aside all that he had been taught about baptism and asked, "What does the Bible say?" Some of his insights may surprise you. After examining scripture, looking at every detail carefully including every form of the Greek and Hebrew words used for baptism, he found no reasonable cause to deny infant baptism or insist on full immersion.

I have two reasons for recommending this book.

First, for the cause of unity among all Christians, there is a need for understanding and respect of those who hold the same belief in salvation through Jesus Christ, God and Lord, yet practice their faith in a manner than may be unfamiliar. Second, in becoming mature Christians we need to do more than recite back what others have told us. We need to truly understand our faith practices along with those of others, and why each one of us believes as we do. This comes first from study of scripture, then prayer and meditation, and reading and sharing what is in our hearts with fellow believers.

To purchase a copy of Baptism: God's Activity of Grace through Quality Music and Books please CLICK HERE.

Hello!

I am babamarusia (Grandma Mary).
My husband Rick and I own the webstore www.QualityMusicandBooks.com. Our retail store in Minneapolis, MN, is in the process of moving to a new location.

Christian Book Review REVIVAL GOD'S WAY Leonard Ravenhill 0871236206

Babamarusia's Christian Book Review
Revival God's Way: A Message for the Church
Leonard Ravenhill, author
ISBN: 0-87123-620-6
ISBN: 0-7642-0302-9 (reissue 2006)
Copyright 1983 by Leonard Ravenhill
Publisher: Bethany House
Retail price (reissue): $11.99

How the Church Can Be Brought from Where It Is to Where It Ought to Be

Reviewer: Mary Katherine May (babamarusia)

Leonard Ravenhill puts forth a very discerning look at the church in today's world regarding its flaws and faults. For some this book will come across as extremely negative and be put off. There is a way to take a critical view without being so denouncing of the church as a whole. Being as the church is the Body of Christ, and the Body of Christ is compromised of people, I am not quite sure how anyone can denounce every single person (as it seems) except one's self. Also included are quite a few poems written by the author.

Then again, this may be just the type of writing that you like.

Rick and Mary May are the owners of http://www.qualitymusicandbooks.com/, a Christian book, music and gift webstore. Quality Music and Books retail store in Minneapolis, MN, is currently in the process of relocation.

Christian Book Review LETTING GO OF DISAPPOINTMENTS AND PAINFUL LOSSES Pam Vredevelt 1576739546

Babamarusia's Christian Book Review
Letting Go of Disappointments and Painful Losses
Pam Vredevelt, author
Copyright 2001 by Pam Vredevelt
ISBN: 1-57673-954-6
Publisher: Multnomah, Sisters OR
Retail price: $11.99 Out of Print used copies available online

Recommended Book
Reviewed by: babamarusia (Mary Katherine May)

Audience: Women
Pam Vredevelt is a licensed professional counselor. In this book she relates stories of how healing has taken place in women who have been hurt in relationships--by family members, friends and others. What spoke to me was her story about the woman and the jar. A woman drew a picture of a jar with a big crack down the middle that couldn't be repaired. After experiencing healing and realization of herself as a child of God, the crack was still there, but now with God's light shining through.

I also like that the book is clear and instructive without a lot of extra writing thrown in--I recommend this book.

Mary and Rick May are the owners of http://www.qualitymusicandbooks.com/, an online Christian book, music and gift store. Their retail location in Minneapolis, MN, is currently in the process of relocating to new location.