I'm an Official Book Reviewer

About a week ago I applied to be an official book review for Thomas Nelson Book Publishers. I was accepted. They sent me a list of books they would like reviewed and I got to pick one to be mailed to me free of charge. All I have to do is read the book and publish a review on my blog and on at least one other book site such as Amazon.com or Goodreads.com, etc....

The first book I chose to review is called...The Faith of Barack Obama. I figured if he is going to be my next President, I would like to more about his faith. So look for my review on Ombama's faith coming soon.

You to can apply to be a book reviewer for Thomas Nelson, just click on How to Become Thomas Nelson Book Blogger and apply.

Two Good Books to Read

Recently I have read two books that have had a profound impact on my thoughts about "religion" and my relationship with the God of Universe!

The first books is called The Shack by William Young. This book challenges the traditional roles Christians seek to have in relation to God, as well as who God really is and what He expects from His children.

The second book is called Room of Marvels by James Bryan Smith. This book also challenges what you believe about Heaven and a person's personal relationship with God.

Both books deal with the healing of the main character's broken relationship with God. Both books are fairly short in length and easy to read, yet powerful in their messages. I encourage you to read them. They could alter your way of thinking.

Dominion by Randy Alcorn (A Book Review)

I just finished reading the book Dominion by Christian author Randy Alcorn. This is the second book of a series of three. The first is called Deadline, the last series (which I will read soon, I hope) is called Deception. These books focus on three individuals, who are connected through a common friend, and their heart wrenching journeys to spiritual discovery of their personal relationships with Jesus and God.

Deadline focuses on Jake Woods, a journalist, who has to deal with the death of two of his best friends. His journey mainly focuses on abortion and homosexual issues, among others. It is a very good read. It sets you up for the 2nd book.

Dominion focuses on a friend and co-worker of Jake's named, Clarence Abernathy. He is a black man who looses his sister and niece to what seems to be a random act of gang violence. This books focuses on his struggles to find a middle ground between being a successful black man living in a white world and his personal relationships with his family and God. This book mainly focuses on the issue of race, stereotypes, prejudices and racism as a whole. I learned a lot about how blacks see us (me in particular) as white men and I learned a lot about Gangs. This book is a great read, and it made me do a lot of thinking about what I feel towards my fellow man.

The last book will focuses on the life of a detective friend of Jake's and Clarence's named Ollie Chandler. I can't wait to read it.

If it wasn't for the sensitive nature of Dominion I would ask some of my adult students at school about their opinions. But I might have to wait and ask some closer friends at church.

Tears of the Singer

The following is the Introduction page from a book I am writing called Tears of the Singer.
The book is based on a song by the same name that I wrote while in college. (This was one of my original first 5 posts. I am re-posting it now, just because!.)

Introduction

The air was thick from cigarette smoke drifting up from the area around the stage. The soft strains of music filled the backwoods bar. There was a larger than normal crowd this night. “The Singer” was in town. Other singers had visited before, some famous, some not, but no one drew an audience like “the Singer.”
People came from towns and farms miles away just to listen to the Singer. Not just ordinary people, but people with problems they just couldn’t seem to take anymore. People with worries and concerns that kept them awake at night. People with questions that needed an answer. “Why can't my wife quit drinking so much?” “Why doesn’t my husband look at me the way he used to?” “Why can’t I keep a job?” Worries about how to pay bills that pile higher every day. Worries about family members or life-long friends stricken with illnesses like cancer. There were people with fears of abandonment and death. People so overwhelmed with depression that it seemed to smother them. All of them were here tonight. All of them, looking for the miracle.
The crowd sat silent, mesmerized by the appearance of this singer. They wondered could he help them where it seemed God had failed them. They prayed the prayers of the desperate and asked the questions of the lost. “How can someone so young and disheveled help so many,” they would ask themselves. “Can he help me?” “When will he sing the song?”
Suddenly the sounds they were waiting for flowed from the stage. This was it. The Singer was singing the song. There was nothing outwardly special about the song. It was just a simple melody, sung from the heart. But it beckoned them forward. At first there was a little pushing and shoving, but it calmed down quickly for they knew the Singer had enough for everyone. They stood there speechless. Some cried gently as it came their turn to receive the gift. The gift that would make all their worries, fears and sadness fade away like the mist rising from a lake.
They were waiting for the Tears of the Singer.