Thursday, June 19, 2008

SisterChicks in Gondolas by Robin Jones Gunn

I try to read one of Gunn's sisterchicks books every once in awhile. She does a great job of hiding spiritual truth into the story - just like real life. God is always trying to teach us something as we walk through our days.

Gunn takes us to Italy with her sisterchicks as they try to find new meaning in their lives. One sister is divorced and now an empty nester and the other is struggling to find normal after her husbands car accident. This trip to Italy is a chance to serve as cooks for a misssionary conference. The women learn about waiting on God and listening. They find the balance in a faraway land as they discover that their lives are not over yet and they can still serve in so many ways.

I enjoyed this book. A refreshing change.

Shadow Women by Angela Hunt

I was just cruising the fiction aisles and found this title by Hunt. She is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. This was a historical fiction work – which takes tons of time for any author. I truly think that she did a great job.

This is the story of Moses through the eyes of the women that raised him, loved him and followed him. Each of these women changed as a result of knowing Moses. They all needed him for different reasons.

His Egyptian mother needed him so that she could find her place as an Egyptian queen. In the end, she would sacrifice that to set Moses free.

His real sister, Miriam, found value being related to him an honor and a priveledge. God dramatically showed her that to be a leader you must serve.

His wife, Zipporah, knew him the best as Moses struggled to find out who this “Yaweh” was. In Midian and Egypt, many gods were worshipped and Moses just did not believe that a god worth serving would be so small. They soon both found out how powerful and amazing this “Yaweh” was and still is.

I was amazed by this recounting of the story of Moses. One thinks that you have read it before and there is nothing new. Yaweh was not a very forgiving in this moment in history. He expected and demanded complete obedience from those that followed him. He would and did separate the believing from the unbelieving many times during the 40 years in the desert.

Hunt did a great job of following the bible story and adding those emotions that draw you in and help you feel more connected to the real people of the bible. I truly enjoyed this book.

Edge of Darkness by Tim LaHaye and Bob Phillips

This is the fourth book in the Babylon Rising series. It is an interesting mix of intrigue and prophecy. I have followed the professor, Murphy, and his adventures from the beginning. LaHaye and Phillips do a great job at making him likeable. I can visualize a movie like Indiana Jones with a biblical twist. This book ends a little in the middle of the story. The main enemy is killed but is replaced by "the Seven". Supposedly the ones that will control the world when all is aligned.

Not as good as the books before it, but a good quick read all together.