The River

I used live in Florida, and I purchased a copy of this book at a church event where the author was. It was a stunning event! The story turns around a man who recounts his childhood years; his dad guided tours down rapids on the Colorado River. When the main character was 5, yeah, you know what happened to his dad!! And Gab never forgave the river or his dad..not until now. It is a surprising read, considering this is the first book by this writer BUT he has lots of experience with song writing. It is basically the story of one mans childhood life that centered around the river that claimed someone very precious to him(spoiler alert) and how he comes to terms with forgiveness. It is the story of how he dealt with the pain and fear of the river. If you enjoyed The Shack; you have to read this book...its a great read for all you fiction buffs out there!! I do not care for fiction, but having already read this book I thought I would give the author a hand and tell everyone what I thought about it. It is a trying emotional telling. If you enjoy drama you will enjoy this book!

The Money Smart Family System by Steve Economides and Annette Economides Published by Thomas Nelson

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, Thomas Nelson in exchange for a review. The book is very good and stays on topic from cover to cover. Many points were common sense to me but I did find the book enjoyable. They are known for running a house hold below budget. They suggest things like having a routine and buying used items when ever possible and bartering and haggling when making major purchase items. Honestly, go talk to an Indian man and you will learn more about saving money. No one is more frugal than an Indian, and I refer to someone from India. Of course they rightfully talk about giving God His 10% and I will say this: I heard an old lady at my church say back in 2008 that God expects His 10%, and when you give Him more than that He will bless you for it. That is completely true. For my own intake on this book I would have given it a one star. But for the help it can offer to people who have not worked for 15 years for several Indians I believe this book could be a real treasure trove of information.

12 Unlikely Heroes by John MacArthur

This is a very enjoyable book. It is full of background information that you wont get from a regular Bible. Likely you would get it from an archeological or an Historical or chronological Bible, but you wont get the details from a regular Bible (and rightfully so, as the Bible is the Word of God and the focus is justly on God and not the people He picks to use). People stumble through life due to those little road blocks we all encounter called, crisis situations. It is common for people to feel like we are not good enough for God, that surely He can find someone more qualified or skilled. This book encourages the reader to consider that God is always in control and He can use anyone who will put their trust in Him. God gifts us all with talents. Sadly, some people never discover theirs but some people seem to have an innate sense of just knowing what they are gifted at. The easiest gift to see might well be the gift of drawing. Put a pencil in my hand and I can draw you a fine figure of a stick person. Put the same pencil in the the hand of 2 of my cousins and they can draw you anything you want to see, mirror image. But many gifts are hidden from us until we need those gifts to do Gods work. The common expression is that god equips those He calls. Yes, that is true: however, God equips many of us long before He calls us into service. Sometimes we have to die for God, and often we must be willing to die for God, and I dont refer to lip service, I mean we literally have to take a chance on death to serve God in many situations. A hero, is someone who steps up to the plate and risks their life to do what god needs for them to do to advance his kingdom. Queen Ester, could have died for what she did. Moses, could have been killed for going against the pharoah of Egypt. The author did not pick the 12 that I would have picked, as Daniel is my favorite prophet, and I would have picked Noah, and Im not sure I could have stopped at 12. Sampson, I thought was a great inclusion in this book. The biggest encouragement that this book offers, is that God can use anyone willing and if you think that you are not good enough you need to think again. God likes making His heroes out of every day people; Jesus, was not born into a rich family and He saved us all so dont let a little thing like being poor stop you when you see an opportunity to do something good for God. The author has written a great work in this book as it encourages the reader to move forward for God. His writing is a tad dry, but very factual and even if you are a daily Bible reader you will still be encouraged. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS IN A SLUMP: THIS BOOK IS THE GIFT YOU WANT TO GIVE!! If you know someone who is laid up, you would be hard pressed to give them a better gift to occupy their alone time. It is hard bound with a dust jacket, and mine will have a permanent place on my book case!!