I made this meme a few years ago. It perfectly “explains” why this blog post is different than my previous posts: IT IS THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR and STATE/AP ASSESSMENTS. Enough said…
I am not behind on my reading but I am behind on my blog posting; therefore, I will be reviewing three books on this one post. What can I say…
1) One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race and Love by John Perkins
(from Amazon)
We are living in historic times. Not since the civil rights movement of the 60s has our country been this vigorously engaged in the reconciliation conversation. There is a great opportunity right now for culture to change, to be a more perfect union. However, it cannot be done without the church, because the faith of the people is more powerful than any law government can enact.
The church is the heart and moral compass of a nation. To turn a country away from God, you must sideline the church. To turn a nation to God, the church must turn first. Racism won’t end in America until the church is reconciled first. Then—and only then—can it spiritually and morally lead the way.
Dr. John M. Perkins is a leading civil rights activist today. He grew up in a Mississippi sharecropping family, was an early pioneer of the civil rights movement, and has dedicated his life to the cause of racial equality. In this, his crowning work, Dr. Perkins speaks honestly to the church about reconciliation, discipleship, and justice… and what it really takes to live out biblical reconciliation.
He offers a call to repentance to both the church and the black church. He explains how band-aid approaches of the past won’t do. And while applauding these starter efforts, he holds that true reconciliation won’t happen until we get more intentional and relational. True friendships must happen, and on every level. This will take the whole church, not just the pastors and staff.
The racial reconciliation of our churches and nation won’t be done with big campaigns or through mass media. It will come one loving, sacrificial relationship at a time. The gospel and all that it encompasses has always traveled best relationally. We have much to learn from each other and each have unique poverties that can only be filled by one another. The way forward is to become “wounded healers” who bandage each other up as we discover what the family of God really looks like. Real relationships, sacrificial love between actual people, is the way forward. Nothing less will do.
I came across John Perkins in WORLD magazine. I had no clue he was a local civil rights person living in the metro area. I wanted to read this particular book but was hesitate so asked my assistant pastor if he had read it. Not only had he read it but he had sat down with Perkins, as well, to discuss many issues. I borrowed my assistant pastor’s book but decided it was one I should purchase to keep for future reference (and to loan out). Although this book deals with the Church and reconciliation, I think it is great to help any person deal with the concept of forgiveness and healing (regardless of what issue is being discussed). So should you read it? Absolutely, especially considering the present-day circumstances. It is great for all to read.
(from Amazon)
Half-hidden by forest and overshadowed by threatening peaks, Le Sommet has always been a sinister place. Long plagued by troubling rumors, the former abandoned sanatorium has since been renovated into a five-star minimalist hotel.
An imposing, isolated getaway spot high up in the Swiss Alps is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But Elin’s taken time off from her job as a detective, so when her estranged brother, Isaac, and his fiancée, Laure, invite her to celebrate their engagement at the hotel, Elin really has no reason not to accept.
Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge–there’s something about the hotel that makes her nervous. And when they wake the following morning to discover Laure is missing, Elin must trust her instincts if they hope to find her. With the storm closing off all access to the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.
Elin is under pressure to find Laure, but no one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she’s the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they are all in. . .
I originally saw this book at a bookstore. I looked it up and it sounded great (gothic fiction…why wouldn’t it be great?). However, I procrastinated in purchasing it because it sounded too much like The Shining. Well, it wasn’t anything like The Shining. It was not a terrible book but just not what I was anticipating. It read more like a Lifetime movie. I also don’t consider it gothic fiction. I just saw it as a hotel that had an interesting past. So, should you read it? Well, I wouldn’t run out and purchase it. I would suggest check it out at the local library.
3) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
(from Amazon)
A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever―and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
Yes, yes, yes!!!! I loved this book!!!! Now, it did take me about 100 pages to get into it but when I did, I did! The author is an incredible storyteller. The imagery is amazing as well as all the parts just coming together. This is definitely a book that everyone should read this summer. You will not regret it!
