Book Review: Finding My Heavenly Father

Written by Jeff Reuter
Reviewed by Donald James Parker –

Does a book have to be extremely well written to be of worth? I think not. I would not classify this work as a masterpiece of extraordinary quality. In fact the prose displayed is much closer to average, run of the mill, and mediocre. It was not written to provide the readers with exercise in mental and lingual gymnastics and help stave off diminution in mental prowess. It was not penned with the goal of bringing shock and awe to your reading experience. You won’t need your thesaurus or dictionary to probe into the meaning of multisyllabic words. The author intended it to be a reflection of himself, down to earth and unpretentious, a prophet called to deliver a message of substance without any hype. How appropriate that I penned, well keyboarded, these words on Christmas Eve, the night we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus in a humble stable to two very down-to-earth parents.  God has a way of using the little things and little people in life.

This first person non-fiction narrative tackles a fairly complex message and reduces it to simple language to help people grasp the concept that God is alive and working through His people. The journey of the author is a beautiful demonstration of how a life yielded to the Savior pays rich dividends, not necessarily financial, but always in the area of character and true contentment. The author could have ended up like many of his friends, living a life seeking pleasure and creature comforts and enjoying stunted growth as a child of the King. God must have planted a seed of dissatisfaction in his soul long ago. Nothing that he did brought him lasting joy-until he encountered his heavenly father. That dissatisfaction was like a grain of sand inside an oyster. The irritation of that sand produced a beautiful pearl of great price.

The trek started out with an earthly father who needed to enroll in Remedial Fatherhood 101. That class would have been filled by men of the World War II generation who seemed to lack the ability to demonstrate love. As a result, a whole generation of sons and daughters grew up with a sketchy concept of a loving Heavenly Father. Ironically Jeff had been a disciple of Jesus Christ for many years before he discovered the Father’s love. Playing church, even as an active participant in the roles of Sunday School teacher and pastor had not filled him with satisfaction. His heart ached for something more. He found that he had a God-sized hole that only God could fill. And after that he discovered a God of power and might that not only loves His children, but blesses them richly when they come to Him in faith. The Bible says that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. This is Jeff Reuter’s witnessing of the great work done in his life by a loving Creator. This is material that can help others overcome as well.

We as humans seem to always be on a journey of discovering. We’re always trying to find a spouse, a job, the perfect house; you fill in the blank here. Some of us are always trying to find a good movie to watch or a book to read. I truly believe that as Christians the excellence of either is directly proportionate to the closeness it brings us to our Creator and how it teaches us to follow the commandments that have been etched in stone, and hopefully in our hearts.  Perhaps reading about Jeff’s journey will inspire you to take a higher path and to elevate your search for meaningfulness beyond typical human trivial pursuits. I recommend this book for that reason. Just don’t compare the verbiage with Shakespeare.

Book Review: Digitals

Written by Ronie Kendig
Reviewed by Nora St. Laurent

Back Cover: Step into the boots of a former Marine in this heart-pounding adventure in life and love. Colton “Cowboy” Neeley is a Marine trying to find his footing as he battles flashbacks now that he’s back home. Piper Blum is a woman in hiding—from life and the assassins bent on destroying her family. When their hearts collide, more than their lives are at stake. Will Colton find a way to forgive Piper’s lies? Can Piper find a way to rescue her father trapped in Israel? Is there any way their love, founded on her lies, can survive?

Review: While delivering an astounding high energy, nail-biting suspense story, Ronie Kendig has mastered the art of having the story’s message pierce your heart and her quirky endearing characters feel like family. I was thrilled and couldn’t wait to read the review copy I received, which is the second book in the “Discarded Heroes” series. I’ve read all of Ronie Kendig’s book so far and think Digitals is her best work yet.

This author masterfully weaves the right amount of action, adventure and romance that pulls at your heart strings, keeps you intrigued and wanting to read more. This novel begins with a bang – literally explosions from the start – as Colton is in the middle of a flashback. The Nightshade’s team is heading for another mission impossible; will Colton Neeley be up for it? He’s struggling with flashbacks and no sleep. Now the team leader has him in therapy sessions to see if that helps…maybe he should just give up this gig!

…“he’d had enough. Was it worth it? Was it worth it to sear images into his brain and live with them night after night so someone half a world away could sleep when he couldn’t? Was it right? Sacrificing his peace for theirs?”

This story beautifully shows how God uses flawed characters to get his work done; he doesn’t need us, but allows us to be part of his plan. Piper Blum is a woman with a few secrets she has to keep; her life depends on it. Piper can’t let anyone close. Then she meets Colton Neeley and his daughter in a surprising way. She likes Colton and thinks he’s handsome, but she has to stop thinking like this. Colton senses she isn’t telling him everything, but he doesn’t press her for answers – he knows all too well about secrets. He has a few he doesn’t want to share either.

I’m amazed at how every time I read Ronie’s books, she captures the male bonding moments in battle and the teasing teammates are involved in – all in a male point of view. I often forgot that a woman wrote this book. It’s so believable! The pace of the story and Ronie’s well-timed humor in the middle of some combat situations, allow the reader to experience the effects of war, and the suspense and drama before something else happens.  It kept me on the edge of my seat as this author gave me a glimpse into the emotions, struggles and agony military men and their families go through.

I was engaged in the story hook, line and sinker from the very first page. I cared for her main characters Colton, Piper, Mickey and the rest of the Nightshades team. Warning to readers: You will lose hours of sleep, as you won’t be able to rip yourself away from this novel, its message and the characters. They will become your friends and you’ll find yourself cheering for them. This book is a keeper and Ronie Kendig is an author to watch, she’s getting better by the book!

Book Review: The Hand of Fate

Written by Liz Wiehl and April Henry
Reviewed by Nike Chillemi –

The Hand of Fate is the second in the Triple Threat series. While I enjoyed the first book, Face of Betrayal, to my mind, the second book is better. Perhaps the authors simply hit their stride. The three main female characters are stronger and more developed in this book.

I love talk radio and this book catches the immediacy of the medium. Abrasive, opinionated, and self-centered, popular Portland talk-show host Jim Fate receives an envelope at the station and when he opens it, a powdery substance sprays in his face (possibly sarin), shortly thereafter killing him.

The members of the Triple Threat Club put their heads together to solve the broadcaster’s murder. Allison Pierce, a federal prosecutor, happily married and at the beginning of her first pregnancy, who is  also a practicing Christian. Nicole Hedges, the FBI special agent who is the lead on this case is a single mother, was brought up Christian, but is now an agnostic. Cassidy Shaw, a popular crime beat TV reporter feels she’s aging, is abusing prescribed sleep meds, has a tendency to hop from bed to bed, and had a relationship with the victim she’s trying to hide.

At first this appears to be a terrorist attack on the entire city, as sarin is that deadly. The downtown area is evacuated and there are injuries, heart attacks, and several deaths as result of the general evacuation. The pregnant Allison finds a tiny Hispanic girl who’s been separated from her mother and carries the child several miles to safety. After several hours of panic, medical personnel determine the substance is not sarin and the city is safe. Now the Triple Threat Club swing into action to find out who killed Jim Fate.

Fate, a combative, right wing, shock-jock, who we learn about posthumously, is a fascinating character. As the three women investigators look at the suspect list, they realize a shorter list would be one with people who liked the man.

Christian characters in this novel pray and seek solace in God, but the book is not preachy nor is there any heavy theology. A question that pops up in the last book is answered here. Why Nicole turned her back on God. While the novel is not too graphic, this is one of the scariest and most brutal parts of the book, which I can’t go into as it would be a huge spoiler. Cassidy continues to do stupid stuff, like combining a sleep aid with alcohol and falling asleep in a bathtub full of water — and her friends, like in the first novel, find they must rescue her…literally.

The identity of the murderer comes as a total surprise, as does the motive for the murder. One of the seemingly normal, career driven characters has an agenda, and well hidden underlying emotional issues.

I recommend Hand of Fate to murder mystery readers who enjoy novels that utilize contemporary, topical themes as sub-plots and back-story.

Movie Review: Journey to Paradise

By Donald James Parker –

A few months ago I was assigned to review a novel by Robin Shope for The Christian Pulse. After reading three of her books to decide which one to review, I chose The Valentine Edition. A short time later, the announcement was trumpeted on Facebook that one of her other books, The Christmas Edition, had been selected to be made into a movie by Salty Earth Pictures out of Wisconsin. I was looking forward to seeing this unique romantic plot brought to life on the screen, and on Christmas day I got the opportunity to watch this flick, which was renamed Journey to Paradise.

On Christmas Eve, I had gone to watch the newest Narnia movie. The shock and awe cinematography and special effects in that film were still indelibly etched in my memory banks the next day as I beheld the obviously small budget film from Salty Earth. It was impossible not to make a comparison between the senses scintillating scenes in The Dawn Treader with the plain Jane look of Journey to Paradise as the opening scene unfolded on the main street of the small community of Paradise. My heart sank because I didn’t want this movie to be a clunker.

The action then flashed back a week into the past, and the story began to share with the viewers the events that led up to the dramatic conflict that director and screen writer Steven Zambo used to try to grab people’s attention in the opening. It was toward the end of the movie that the present and the past merged at the onscreen fight between the antagonists. At that point the story moved on to catharsis and resolution, as all happy endings must. The movie followed the book quite closely, though it deviated sharply in one aspect. The original story took place at a small local newspaper, whereas the film version upgraded the Collins’ family business to a small television station named Paradise Seven. That change did not detract from the story. The mystery concerning the identity and motive of Joe McNamara, who didn’t just coincidentally drop into the TV studio to win a job and the heart of the owner’s daughter, was not only preserved but enhanced by strategic scenes of flashback and use of a DVD player.

Like the cinematography, the acting was a notch below the typical fare from Hollywood. This is something to be expected since the entire budget for this film is probably lower than the salary paid to a single middle tier star for one movie. Overall the ambience reminded me of a soap opera or perhaps a television show from the fifties. The absence of major conflict in this movie gave it a feel of Leave It to Beaver. One member of the cast did stand out to me. Matt Koester as the boy wonder was excellent. His boyish good looks and ability to ooze passion and compassion reminded me of one of my favorites, Jim Caviezel. The rest of the cast grew on me as the movie progressed.

Hollywood movies normally have a bigger than life feeling to them. The acting typically exaggerates real life. Watching a movie where the characters seem like everyday family and friends might seem a bit on the boring side. We usually want to escape from our daily mundane existence to something bigger and more exciting. This story didn’t provide that escape from real life. Perhaps that is a good thing. We sometimes consider our own lives bereft of excitement and of little significance. We muddle through life with the mistaken notion that life is comprised of many meaningless moments with a few blockbuster events thrown in. Somehow we miss the fact that in the small challenges we face every day to fight the good fight and run the good race lies the essence of life. In addition many fail to perceive that without God in the equation, the pursuits of the common man are indeed trivial.

As a lover of small communities and a big advocate of family owned businesses, I found that the threat of a big city chain putting Paradise Seven out of business in this flick heightened the stakes. Also I’m always a sucker for a good romance, and this story fit the bill. This was not just a sanitized fluffy love story where profanity and sex are conspicuous by their absence.  This movie contains a Christian message which was not kept subliminal. There was not a lot of mention of Christ, but the small segments that bring the gospel and the Bible to light emphasized nicely the importance of embracing Jesus Christ. A couple of scenes showcased the Bible as a prominent focal point.

So despite a less than auspicious opening and only a modicum of conflict, the ingredient which characteristically makes a movie memorable, this movie burrowed its way into my heart. In comparing this flick to The Dawn Treader, I found that I liked these movies about equally but in different ways. Journey to Paradise is definitely a movie suitable for family viewing, though modern kids may have trouble getting into it. In my heart I would wish that movies like this would help turn back the clock and return our society to a kinder and gentler time when themes of true love and family prevailed. But I’m convinced that will never happen. Instead movie studios like Salty Earth are needed to help shine a light into the darkness that threatens to engulf our world. These types of movies will be instrumental in taking the gospel to all nations on Earth and then the end will come.

Visit the Salty Earth website at www.saltyearthpictures.org where you can buy a copy of this movie.

About the reviewer: Donald James Parker is a novelist and computer programmer who resides in Tennessee.  Check out his website at www.donaldjamesparker.com