House-call Books

I would have given a much lower score based on an HPL feel scale; but I must admit the product is solid even if it has nothing to do with classic CoC; its a totally different game.
That other type of flavor game was mainly to appeal to people that:
1) Felt uneasy to play in the 20s
2) Wanted more fire power or modern organized resources
3) Were fan of X-Files even if DG came a bit before the TV series, the popularity grew much after that

So its a good game to play Mulder and Scully or even men in black kinda investigators with those sunglasses and Steyr rifles
Its definitally Modern horror type and not for the classic HPL type of game fans

This amazing game (and just plain interesting read!) is currently back in print. You can pick up the new edition, converted to D20, by heading to the publisher's web site. Pagan Publishing and TC Corp have done a great service to its fans by releasing this reprint!

I don't have a long, thoughtful review to write. Just wanted to say this is the BEST RPG idea/supplement I've ever seen. Intelligent, thoughtful, scary, fun...get it get it get it!

This is the best RPG suppliment I have ever read, bar none. It's a great READ, even if you are not a gamer. Interesting background, lots of plot hooks as well. The group that did this book are great writers and are loving what they do and it shows. If you are into Horror, X-Files, Call of Cthulhu, ect...buy it to read, if not play.
The book is curently out of print, but I understand that it will be reprinted in 2006 as a hardcover with d20 rules. Anyone wanting to write or publish an RPG should read this book and use it as an example. A MUST.

DELTA GREEN is the modern adaptation of Call of Cthulhu. Drawing on the same body of UFO lore and paranormal activity as the X-Files, DELTA GREEN has tapped into something very deep. And of course, once you have a successful RPG, you might as well start the fiction flowing, right?

Dark Theaters has some fairly lenghty short stories, designed to flesh out the world of DELTA GREEN. Some clues and hints are elaborated on; what exactly happened during the fabled raid on Innsmouth in 1928? What was the final mission of Gen. Fairfield? We find out more about the summoning by the Karotechia that was a dress rehearsal for the end of the world, but the entirety of the episode remains tantalizingly removed.

Dark Theaters, like the rest of DELTA GREEN fiction, is about what it means to be human. Or not human. The monstrosities which are called up and cannot easily be put away serve to highlight our humanity. But in the end, humanity is just short-hand for a fundamental incomprehension of the universe. We are carrying on a rear-guard action against reality, buying our fellow-man time for ... what? To say that humanity loses in the end is to pretend that there are other players, rules agreed upon, some validity to having tried and lost. Life is a game of solitaire, and we're not playing with a full deck. All is meaninglessness, a blowing of the wind.

And yet humanity means staying in the game. Like Lucifer, the real patron saint of lost causes, we know that we will lose and darnit, we are going to keep playing the hand we were dealt. It gives meaning to life, death, and the passing of the seasons, the sacrifices we have made and those we have sacrificed, to play by the rules, even if there aren't any. So let us cheer for the hero and jeer for the villain, and not go gently into that dark night.

Great historical book of the middle east telling the every day life of families life during war which you never hear in the news or history books and very historically correct. The region now is still very much this way and its not too mushy of a romance so great for men to read also.

Don't expect this love story to go where you think. Amin Maalouf unfolds a tale of hopes, joys and disappointments, in which the deserving stumble and fall, the undeserving rise up - or is it the other way around? Just when you are ready to catch your breath, his story line diverts you down a different path. The narrative within a narrative shows how the human will can struggle against overwhelming odds. The tribulations of star-crossed Muslim-Jewish lovers - Ossyane and Clara - keep the drama on edge, right to the very end.

This is the third novel of Amin Maalouf which I have completed, first was Samarkand and second Leo the African , I cannot really rank them may be because there is no comparison and all of them are written in different historical perspectives.
Ports of call is a love story of Ossyane, an ottoman muslim by blood, born in Beirut and Clara a jew both of them meet in France in second world war days at a comrades home and this single meeting becomes a cornerstone for their marriage which takes place much later, they live together for a very brief period and then live for decades with new drawn boundaries between them, to meet again only. I read this novel continuously to complete it but then at last ten pages I left it for one more day because I did not want to finish this beautiful story so quickly.
It is one more very well written novel by Amin Maalouf.

When I bought this book I was sure that Amin Maalouf wasn't going to be able to write something as good as "Leo Africanus"; I was wrong!!! Even though these two books are totally different, the author managed to make something brilliant out of a love story.
The author wrote the story in a really simple and exciting way; He permits the reader to imagine everything in a clear and perfect way.

This is the most outstanding of all the Maalouf novels I have read- and I must tell you I read almost all. This is probably also because the novel starts at my birthplace Adana, a southern town in Turkey. The novel is loaded with overflowing emotions. Not only I read it once every year but also I have gifted it at least 3-4 times.

A friend gave me this book to read and I haven't been able to put it down. I have done extensive research on my family geneology and my maternal Great-Grandparents were some of the very first settlers in the Dakota territory. I have documentation that matches the book content so Lauraine Snelling did her research well. I, being raised in Minnesota and my Mother born in Fargo brought back so many memories about the Bjorkland family traveling through Alexandria, MN (where my Mom's aunt lived). These settlers lived through some unbareable times and they had to be very strong to survive it. Don't judge the writer about all the deaths as that actually did happen back in those times. They didn't have the medicines and doctors we have today and they died from the simplest illnesses and injuries. I can't imagine how they survived those winters. I know it got brutally cold (30 and 40 degrees below zero). Can you imagine living in uninsulated dwellings through those temps.

I am very anxious to read more books of these series and will recommend them to anyone.

I purchased this set of books for a family member because I enjoyed them so much myself. Our family has connections to Norwegian pioneers in the Dakotas so they were even more meaningful to us.
Exciting and realistic, the stories show the trials and the courage of the early emigrants as they struggled to establish their homes in a new land. Uplifting to see how their faith in God helped them through their ordeals, and also how important the strength of family and friends were to them.

I enjoyed this series very much. Lauraine Snelling has a very good way of introducing new characters to the main story line that continue to make each book very enjoyable and the people believable.

The way that Bible Scripture and Godly lessons are weaved throughout each book, makes these books not only "good reading" but "good for your soul" books too.

Once I started I just couldn't stop reading. She writes in a way that you can see what she describes, and feel what the character is feeling. I have read all 6 in the series, plus the 3 in the Return to Red River. Can't wait for the following books that are to follow. You won't regret buying this series.

I bought this set of three books, and couldn't do anything but read, until I finished them!! My father imigrated to North Dakota from Sweden in 1905, and the book is so real, it brought back so many childhood memories, even though it is set 20-30 years before. The isolation and the harshness of the freezing temperatures of the winters was so very real, even though we were a family of ten children.But the love and respect that families had for each other made all the hardships worth while, and this love will stay with me forever. My grandchildren have a great heritage, and ask me many questions, as their life in California in the 2000's is so very different. The land my father homesteaded is still in our family, and is now in the 3rd generation. It has increased to over 2000 acres, and still sustains the Nelson family, and the 2 generations who live on the land.We had lots of Indian graves on the land ,and our father taught us to respect, and never disturb them. The Indians were still around when he first arrived from Sweden. What an adventure back in time!!!! Can't wait to get the continuing series!! Thanks, Ms. Snelling!!!

I received this book years ago, and I still remember how I poured over the pictures for hours. It is such a creative book and I wish my friends' children could have a copy. I also wish I knew where mine went!!

My absolute favorite book as a child. My dad is an architect, and he used to read this book to me at bed time. I brought it in several times in a row for show-in-tell until I was pulled aside by the teacher and asked to bring something else. I lost my copy in a typhoon when I lost the rest of my house in high school. I hope the publisher reissues it!

The story of Henrietta, the architect, is way beyond charming. She designs homes for a squirrel, trout, cat, mole, fox, lizard, owl, pig, and many more-- all to suit their personalities and lifestyles. (Henrietta is a very creative mouse.) The illustrations by Doris Susan Smith bring Henrietta's creations alive and make you want to study them for hours! It's a beautiful book and DEFINITELY needs to be re-issued.

Well I can say enough good things about this book, It has been my favorite for as long as I can remember, it as the first present I ever gave to my best friend Kristin, I think it was her 3rd or 4th birthday. Now one of my close friends has become a teacher and I would love for her to share the joy of this wonderful book in her classroom! I am trying Ginny!

Please, someone in the publishing business . . . check out the reviews here . . . and think about reissuing this book. My friend and I loved this book and it also became a victim of being loaned or lost. (She blames me, I blame her . . . it's ugly!) Everywhere I've looked for old copies, this little book runs $150-350. My friend also went to UC Berkeley, and became an architect and this book played a key role in her later interest.

You know this book has really refreshed my convictions on the beauty of singlehood and I can't wait to dive into this book with our Single's Ministry SOUL. The book gives a serious wake up call on just how much purpose and fulfillment resides in the single status. So what are we waiting for?!?! I felt motivated, encouraged, many times humbled, and overall convicted to embrace my life the more. I was one of those waiting to buy a house when I got married. I'm currently praying about a two year plan to own my first home! Bro. Cavanaugh Bravo!! and Praise God for your obedience to hear a clear plan for the single Christian adult. Please share this book with singles in your ministry. It covers so much and brings about radical change, not only in your natural needs, but the mindset...which truthfully controls a great deal of our decision making.

Cavanaugh's book has valuable insights and a solid, pragmatic approach to the subject. My only complaint is that it can get a little redundant at times. I used it as a resource for a 6 week study with a small group and it was generally well received.

I wish I could have read this book when I was in my thirties. During my thirties, I struggled a lot with my single status. Now as a forty something single woman, I realize that God may have something better for me than marriage. I realize that marriage cannot make you happy. One must be happy and content with Christ. I am a complete, whole person regardless of my marital status or station in life. I wish books like this were in Christian bookstores before the Internet came into being. It used to be extremely difficult to find books dealing with single people and the Christian life. Many churches don't help the situation either. They tend to make single people feel inferior, like if they are less than adult if they aren't married and have 2.5 kids and live in the suburbs. In the New Testament, Jesus Himself was a single adult in His thirties. He reached out to the people who were downcast, sick and oppressed with all sorts of afflictions. I am sure some of these people were single adults, like the man who was infirm for 38 years, Lazarus, Mary Magdalene, and others. Jesus was very tender and compassionate to these people, who were probably outcasts in the culture that they lived in. I wish that more churches would reach out to single adults in every stage of life and began to affirm them as worthwhile people. One need not to have a spouse in order to be whole and complete. Many people today get married for selfish reasons, only to end up in divorce court later on. In his book, Mr. Cavanaugh states that being single is not a curse or a sign of failure and that marriage is not God's ultimate will for one's life. I really enjoyed this book and it has helped to start a healing process in my own life. I want to be able to serve Jesus Christ in the best way that I can, with the time that I have left on this earth.

This is by far the best book I've ever read concerning life as a single Christian adult. Author Michael Cavanaugh deals with so many of the problems that we face in the world today. He raises a Godly standard, and in simple, straightforward language, he teaches and encourages his readers to fight the good fight of faith. The book takes a no-nonsense approach, and shows how compromise very often leads to misery, but walking in the way that God has set before us will strengthen us, and give us His peace and fulfillment, whether we ever marry or not. I've read it four times, and plan on reading it again.

If you are single, you must read this book. I found this book on a bargains table at a Christian Ed conference. Now, I wish I had bought all the copies!! The book made me cry time and again as I recognized my selfish attitudes about my singleness. I now realize that being single is a unique opportunity to get to know God better, free from distractions. And for those of you who, like me, thought it was a book for people who expect to remain single for the rest of their lives, it is not. But it will help you to be content, whatever your situation. It will help you to realize what God's purpose is for your life, and it will bring you peace and joy and hope for the future. Please get this book back in print, I want to give copies to all my single friends, so it can bless them as it blessed me!

"Never Call Retreat" is the third and final volume of Bruce Catton's classic Centennial History of the Civil War. This volume was published in 1965. Although the details may have been improved upon by later scholarship, "Never Call Retreat" endures as a superb reading experience based on Catton's matchless presentation of history as dramatic literature.

Catton picks up the narrative in December of 1862, with the bloody slaughter of Burnside's failed assault at Fredericksburg. Whatever chance for moderation might have ever been possible, the Emancipation Proclamation and the rising casualties create an remorseless tide toward total war.

In the West, Grant will grapple with the Confederate Fortress of Vicksburg, enduring a series of failures before finally and dramatically laying successful siege to that city. In the wake of Vicksburg, Grant will be directed to retrieve the failure of Chickamauga by breaking the Siege of Chattanooga. His success there will cause Lincoln to summon him to command of the Union Armies. Sherman will be left in the West to take Atlanta before marching to the sea through Georgia.

In the East, Burnside and Hooker will each have a turn as commander of the Union Army of the Potomac, and each will be badly beaten by Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. George Meade, summoned to the command of the Army of the Potomac as Lee invades the North, will be just good enough to hang on and win at the three day trial of Gettysburg. The arrival of Grant as supreme commander will presage a bloody year long struggle between the two great Eastern armies, ending in the Siege of Petersburg, where Lee's Army will slowly bleed nearly to death before finally surrendering at Appomattox in April 1865.

Catton does not neglect the politics, North and South, behind the fighting. In the South, Jefferson Davis struggles to forge a unified war effort with a Confederate Government too decentralized to marshal the necessary resources. Abraham Lincoln, his Union counterpart, struggles to bring the Union's superior resources to bear while maintaining a democracy and holding off a defeatist opposition. Linconl will win reelection in 1864 after surviving the darkest hours of the nation's will to reunite the country.

Catton's narrative moves easily between theaters of war, detailing the struggles of very human leaders in the face of great challenges while placing those struggles in the context of the great themes of the war. Catton's superb narrative captures the uniqueness of an American Civil War.

This book is highly recommended to the student of the Civil War and to the casual reader, both of whom will enjoy this volume and series.

This last work of Bruce Catton's "American Civil War Trilogy" will not leave you disappointed. His work is especially compelling, interesting, historically accurate, exciting, and informative. I especially enjoyed his account of the war during the period of 1863, as this was such an important period of the war. I am unable to give the proper credit due this trilogy and will leave it to those more worthy of this task. When you reach the last page of "Never Call Retreat", you will wonder to yourself,"What can I read next that will be so important a work on the Civil war?"

Catton's trilogy is excellent at delivering an overview of the Civil War to you. His narrative is descriptive and flowing. He is accurate and provides the general and the anecdotal. Because of the scope of this trilogy, it is necessarily broad. So, you won't get a detailed, blow by blow account of incidents or battle order. What you will get is dynamic, moving history. Your interest for further study will be picqued.

My husband received Bruce Catton's American Civil War Trilogy as a gift and he said that he didn't want to see it end. After finishing Volume 3, Never Call Retreat, I agree with him completely. I can understand why it remains so popular almost 50 years from when it was first published. The Civil War trilogy is a scholarly work, but reads more like a novel.

Never Call Retreat starts after the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) and the author will take us through some of the most momentous events to take place during the Civil War including the Emancipation Proclamation, the Battle of Gettysburg, the fall of Vicksburg, the siege of Charleston, the presidential election of 1864, Sherman's March to the Sea, the surrender at Appomattox, and Lincoln's death. He also shows how even before the war was over, Lincoln was debating reconstruction and how the Confederate states could best be reunited with the Union. But it's the additional information that Catton provides that makes these books so interesting. He tells us about the deficiencies of the southern railroads and how that handicapped the Confederacy. He relates how the Union and the Confederates still traded goods (especially cotton) despite being at war. He gives examples of how military technology was more advanced than the soldiers using it. All of these different facets provide a more in-depth understanding of the war.

Where Catton is especially talented is in analyzing the characters he writes about. In book one, Lincoln begins to stumble through his presidency. By book three, his genius shows through and he is in commanded of everything from his cabinet to the military. Catton also is a good judge of military leadership. Lee and Grant were brilliant, but many of the officers on both sides were uninspired, reticent and lacking in military skills. In Never Call Retreat, the Confederates are especially plagued by poor leadership in the Western Campaign. "John B. Hood was uncomplicated, and when they gave him Joe Johnston's army, he assumed that he was expected to go out and fight. This he did, and as a result the South lost 20,000 good soldiers, Atlanta, the presidential election and most of what remained of the war."

Catton also has a special skill in taking complicated situations and describing them with simple eloquence. In talking about the Gettysburg Address, he writes that Lincoln "spoke of liberty and equality instead of victory, as if these words alone could give meaning to what had been done here, and instead of dedicating the ground he called upon those who stood there to dedicate themselves to something that might justify all that Gettysburg had cost them." In describing the end of the war, he writes that after Appomattox, Lee "rode straight into legend and took his people with him...The cause that failed became The Lost Cause, larger than life, taking on color and romance as the years passed, remembered with pride and heart-ache but never again leading to bloodshed. Civil Wars have had worse endings than this."

The Civil War may have ended in 1865, but as long as Bruce Catton's works are still in print, he will continue to turn younger generations into Civil War buffs. What better way can there be to honor our nations past?

In "Never Call Retreat", the third volume of his Centennial History of the Civil War, Bruce Catton writes of the last two years of that horrendous conflict. As he did in his first two volumes in the Centennial triology, Catton effectively covers the social and political aspects of the war, as well as the military. A work of this scope is, of necessity, a top-down view of the Civil War, focussing on the principal commanders and their subordinates. Yet, Catton is able to impart to his readers the confusion of battle; we can almost smell the powder smoke and hear the racket of musketry. As always, he writes with an elegance and an eloquence that many historians aspire to, but most cannot hope to match. Catton never loses sight of the war's ultimate, and higher, purpose and he poignantly brings home to us the human cost of our bloodiest conflict. Perhaps nowhere is this sense of loss brought home more forcefully than in this passage about Lincoln's assassination:

"No one will ever know what Abraham Lincoln would have done--with Stanton's scheme for military government, with radicals like Wade and Sumner and Stevens, with any of the separate aspects of the intricate problem that lay ahead--because it was at this delicate moment (about half-past ten on the night of April 14) that Booth came on stage with his derringer. Booth pulled the trigger, and the mind that held somewhere in cloudy solution the elements that might some day have crystallized into an answer for the nation's most profound riddle disintegrated under the impact of a one-ounce pellet of lead: the heaviest bullet, all things considered, ever fired in America. Thinking to destroy a tyrant, Booth managed to destroy a man who was trying to create a broader freedom for all men; with him, he destroyed also the chance for a transcendent peace without malice and with charity for all. Over the years, many people paid a high price for this moment of violence".

Four decades after its publication, this book, and the two that precede it, still stands as one of the best introductions to the war that defines us to this day.

A skilled writer, Franklin, who has had years of experience with youth, addresses the topic of female's perception of her own beauty. This book is aimed at single or married ladies, in hopes that they will learn to define beauty the Lord's way and pass it on to the younger ladies around them. I was watching out for "self-esteem" (as opposed to Christ-esteem!) talk, since I imagine that would commonly be discussed in this arena. But for the most part I was quite pleased with Franklin's treatment of the topic. She teaches women to find their beauty in Christ and to listen to the truth of God's Word rather than the lies of the world or even just people who speak carelessly. The following are a few quotes from the text:

"Scripture is the mirror of beauty through which we view ourselves."

"In worship, false pretenses and artificial longings--our own or those of others-- fall away before a holy, awesome God. When I stand and consider the majesty of His name and the works of His hands, my weight, my height, my cup size, and my hairstyle cease to matter."

"The world is all too ready to plant its philosophies regarding women and beauty in the hearts of young girls.. .the message is...a girl's sexuality is her beauty. However, it is a message of death. Satan desires to destroy the hearts of young girls through the destruction of their bodies."

I recommend this book to any girl or women. It helped me identify the underlying issues in my life and actually do something about them. It was inspiring and ultimately showed me how to free myself from estreme self conciousness.

I do not know a woman who hasn't, at some point, fiercely desired to be beautiful but felt she didn't measure up. Our culture shouts this message from the rooftops: "You are ugly and worthless. You are inadequate. You are nothing compared to the girl on the cover of that magazine."

But Regina Franklin says that this must end now. We, the women of today, must put an end to this inaccurate and caustic view of beauty. We must find our identities in Christ and allow Him to give us the beauty that makes us shine, inside and out.

Regina Franklin approaches this topic with infinitely more depth and insight that is apparent in the other "beauty books" I've read. Every assertion is backed by Scripture. Literary allusions pepper the book, illustrating the application of these truths. Mrs. Franklin's style is engaging, and her personal experiences are shared often, making the book more relatable to the reader.

Who Calls Me Beautiful: Finding Our True Image in the Mirror of God exceeded my expectations astoundingly. Please, ladies, if you struggle with a desire to be beautiful, do not pass this book up.

A refreshing look at how to discern a woman's beauty in today's world looking through the lens of God's word and His eternal truths rather than through the lens of outward appearance.

This book was a source of encouragement to me to stop looking at what the world (and all types of media) claims that beautiful is and start to see God's defintion of beauty. I only wish I was able to read this as a teen or while in my 20's. It not only encouraged me but the study questions at the end of each chapter helped to propel me to do something about it. I now have a better self-image than before I read the book and I can now look at media as more fairy-tale than reality.

This is the first book I've read by Bissell and I'll definitely be getting more!

I stayed up until 3AM to finish this book. Then I had to turn all the lights on, I was so spooked. A must read!!

...and for those who haven't discovered her yet, this book is a good place to start. Other readers have summarized the story and mentioned the intense suspense it creates in the reader. I'd like to add that Sallie Bissell's descriptions of the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina are uniquely fascinating and a wonderful addition to the works of other authors about the region. The strong protagonist of her novels, the very bright and modern Mary Crow, is among the most interesting in the mystery/suspense genre and is surely attracting a faithful following. Both Mary Crow and Sallie Bissell get better with each book in the series.

Excellent, dramatic, nervewracking stuff. I highly recommend it. It's just what you need. The craftsmanship of the writing is at the highest level of the profession, and you cannot put it down.

Assistant district attorney Mary Crow is an excellent prosecutor and genuinely nice person but she has one small problem. She keeps seeing a dead man and it unnerves her so much that she is seeing a psychiatrist who believes she's suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The police and the FBI believe that Stump Logan, known conspirator against the U.S. government and the suspect in the murders of Mary's parents died in the explosion at Russell Cove.

Nobody knows that Logan is still alive and Mary did see him three times when he was looking for an opportunity to kill her. He has now come up with a scheme to force Mary to come to him by kidnapping her goddaughter Lily. At first the police don't take the abduction seriously, thinking it is a domestic dispute. As Mary begins receiving e-mails of Lily, she realizes Stump lives and decides to use herself as bait, a risky move that might get her killed.

Sallie Bissell has written as extremely exciting crime thriller about an obsession taken to extremes and the tragic results that happen because of that compulsion. The protagonist comes across as a very sympathetic person, leading to readers rooting for her to triumph over the adversary she knows about and the one who has stayed in the shadows waiting for the right time to strike. CALL THE DEVIL BY HIS OLDEST NAME is a pulse pounding, adrenaline-pumping novel that the audience will remember long after finishing the last page.

Harriet Klausner

I've read this book twice and have given it as gifts to new pastors' wives. The author is very transparent and generous in sharing difficulties she's faced in ministry. Gives a lot of hope and encouragement for those in ministry.

"Even in those cheerless time which will come, we can affirm that they are neither the terminus nor the norm of experience. Instead, they are points of growth from which can emerge a clearer vision of how to reflect the splendor of God and the joys of personal relationships. God means for us to finish strong."

This quote is from the introduction to Gail MacDonald's book-High Call, High Privilege: A Pastor's Wife Speaks to Every Woman in a Place of Responsibility. I like this quote because "finishing strong" is something that I think about and pray for often. At the end of Paul's life he writes to Timothy,

"I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith."
(2 Timothy 4:7)

I remember reading this verse in a Bible class my first year of college and being inspired by Paul's confidence. I talked about it with my professor after class because I was baffled that Paul could say "I have," I asked my professor if that was a little arrogant and assumptive of Paul. At the time I thought most people should say it this way, "I've tried to fight the good fight, I've finished as much of the race as I could, I've done my best to keep the faith." The professor explained to me that through God's power, Paul was able to accomplish all that the Lord had called him to do in this life. God had saved Paul and then had completed the good work He had started in him. He said, "God can do this work in your life too, so that one day you could say these things with confidence."

High Call, High Privilege is a testimonial/autobiography of MacDonald's journey through life in church ministry. Her statement "God means for us to finish strong" is a theme that stood out to me throughout the book. Even when she faced disappointment, testing, pain and brokenness, she viewed them as "points of growth" in her walk with the Lord and was able to find joy in them. Her story was a huge inspiration to me of an example of a supportive wife, loving mother, and gentle and nurturing friend to all around her.

This book is brimming with practical lessons. As I read it I began to put in to practice some of MacDonald's disciplines that have shaped her life and ministry. MacDonald writes in such a personal way-weaving Biblical thought throughout her story-I began to think of her as a mentor to me. Some of things the Lord taught her were so encouraging-

Tend The Fire Within

In the first chapter MacDonald presents this concept of "time at the fire." She tells a story that as a new Christian, she heard an old missionary speak and he said, "Untended fires soon die and become just a pile of ashes." He said that the fire burns in the heart of the one who follows Christ and this flame cannot go unmanaged or it will dwindle into ashes.

MacDonald writes:

"My life was altered by that simple statement...It all begins with the fire within and your heart attitude. Tending the fire within is another way of talking about being open to the presence of Christ. It is what makes me long for his likeness, offers direction and stability, established proper motives and responses. Here is is that the real issues of the Christian faith are thought out and pressed into action." (p. 2)

I really liked this analogy of my relationship with Christ as a fire. John gives us an account of Christ with His disciples that made this concept poignant for me. In John 21 Christ is risen and the disciples see Him and make their way to shore. When they get there He is sitting with a fire and breakfast. This idea of us meeting Jesus at the "fire" to eat and learn is profound. Spending time in prayer with the Lord, studying His Word is vital and this is where life starts. Until this is understood and actualized all we are doing is in vain.

MacDonald closes her thoughts on this concept by writing:

"It takes time to come to the fire, it takes effort to keep the fire burning, it takes a willingness to become quiet enough to hear what God might be saying and it takes courage to snuff out the competing sounds and demands that attempt to shorten or neutralize the effect of the fire time.

But here is the great choice that must be made virtually everyday. Do I give priority attention to tending the fire within, or do I surrender to the alternatives of busyness, hurry, people pleasing, or the seemingly urgent that slowly starves my spirit and my resolve to be the woman God wants me to be? If that fire burns brightly, I share the experience of the disciples; of it dwindles unattended, I am gradually surrounded by a chill marking the onset of weakness and confusion." (p. 5)

Be Hospitable

Romans 12:13 commands believers to "practice hospitality." Hospitality is a spiritual gift (1 Peter 4:9) and one I have seen the Lord develop in my own life. I really gleaned from MacDonald's thoughts on this-

"We decided to use our home as a tool...Gordon and I wanted to know people better and to serve them. We were hoping that people would be drawn to one another as a result of being in our home. Those nights added a warmth and an acceptance in many people's hears that would not have happened had we not developed such close contact."

What a beautiful lesson. This so resounded with me, that I immediately talked with my husband about making our home open to people so that we can know and serve them. I desire those same things MacDonald shares for my home. Too often we feel disconnected and distant from people in our church bodies, even friends, because we allow ourselves to become too busy and closed to be bothered with having to straighten up the house and fix a nice meal. I hope this is something the Lord will continue to work out in our lives as we make ourselves more open to people by being hospitable to them!

What is your sermon?

If you are a wife of a husband who teaches, you know the rigors that a pastor puts into his sermon. Each week I try to devote myself to helping Bobby prepare his sermon. That doesn't mean I'm sitting with him going over Greek verbs and Bible commentaries. But I try to do what it takes to help him prepare a sermon that will be a tool in God's hand to work in the lives of our students. MacDonald writes about supporting her husband in this way and shares about an insight her husband had about her asking,

"What is Gail's sermon? It's the home she prepares for the children and me. Gail preached her sermon when she cooked a meal...kept the house neat, and planted flowers in the front yard."

I really related to this concept of a "home" sermon. MacDonald writes about how her husband wanted to hear and enjoy the "sermons" in her life. This point was particularly motivating for me because I asked myself, "Do I give myself rigorously and carefully to what God has called me to do?" God has called my husband to preach sermons. He has called me to do something for Him. Am I working diligently to deliver those "sermons" in my life?

I have benefited from numerous other lessons from this book. MacDonald writes about marriage, children, relating better with people, being a godly friend. If you read this book, do so with discernment, as you should respond to everything. Some of her conclusions I did not share-she writes a lot about the temperaments. In chapter ten she reveals a dark time in her life when she struggled through the pain of her husband having committed adultery. For a couple of weeks I couldn't finish reading because I had come to respect this couple so much and then was bulldozed by the grueling reality that this pastor and husband had not kept his calling. I was very disappointed, not by the fact of sin, but that the two of them kept this secret for a time while he still held the position he was no longer qualified to hold. Later they even returned to the position of pastor, so the book's end was not as high as it started.

I would recommend this to any woman who's life is devoted to ministry, not just a pastor's wife. I was sharpened and encouraged by MacDonald's journey and I hope that someday I will be able to look back over so many years and see God's hand at work in my life and our ministry.

This book was very encouraging to me because I felt that the author was my own mentor, as I am preparing to be a pastor's wife. She shared so many personal life expereinces, which I can tell will be relevant in my own life. I am thankful for her incredible encouragement to women and the transparency of her spiritual walk. This book will encourage you too!!

Even for someone not in full-time ministry this book really shows an example of what one could face when you committ your life to God's work. I would recommend it anyone either in ministry or considering it. And though it's for women, any man, either married or engaged to a woman who will be involved in ministry would find it useful to see what she will be dealing with.

This book is thought provoking, encouraging, and convicting. I was changed in the reading of it. Buy it, read it, again and again.

The sound management principles that are prevalent throughout this book are an excellent guide for any type of supervisor or leader. I found it easy to follow, written as a story rather than a management text book or manual.

I would recommend this book to anyone, whether in leadership or not. It is uplifting and optimistic, and encourages the reader to live to his/her fullest potential.

I recently finished reading "How to Build a Business Warren Buffett Would Buy: The R.C. Willey Story." I was so impressed with the book that I am purchasing copies for each of my children and for many of my friends. It was both informative and inspirational. As one who has been involved in higher level management for many years -- I am currently serving as a college president -- the book comes to mind almost daily and reminds me of the importance of integrity and the value of customers (in our case, students). In fact, I am using the portions regarding customer relations as the basis for some training that we are doing in that area. I am blessed to know Mr. Child and Mr. Benedict and this book is the real thing -- it was a quick but inspiring read.

A very interesting story of a man who started out taking over a business to take care of his family, a commitment to "the right thing to do" that laid the foundation of his business. Short read. Interesting to read about persistence and diligence during smooth patches and setbacks. It sort of restores your confidence that honesty and hard work really will get you ahead.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to make it big? This short, easy to read book follows a business with humble beginning to a multi-million dollar enterprise. The time proven values of hard work, integrity and commitment make the difference. The American dream is alive and well! Highly recommended.

Hurray for the little guy in America! He can make it big. This compelling book is short and easy to read. The story is based on a return to values, hard work and dedication. Highly recommended.