Book Review: It Is Not About Me

Written By Michelle Sutton 
Reviewed By Donald James Parker 

Sex is something very special that God created for bonding a husband and a wife as well as for producing offspring.  Not many teenagers are going to learn about the intimacy/bonding aspect of Mother Nature in entertainment media today. Michelle Sutton fills that gap with It's Not About Me. Her heroine, Annie, has a boyfriend who is the son of a pastor. However, the PK (preacher's kid) almost fits the stereotypical bad boy image which a few wild-oat sowers over the years have cemented in place due to their rebellion regarding the strict lifestyle of a Christ follower, especially the family of a pastor who is to set the example for the flock. In this situation Tony is stuck in the middle between the gospel of "Do unto others" and the gospel of "Do whatever feels good."  The major struggle in the book is the tug of war of two brothers for Annie's heart, but a more critical story within the main plot, in my eyes, is Tony's struggle to accept the lifestyle promoted by his parents and the Lord of their lives.
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Movie Review: Come What May

By Donald James Parker 

Yesterday morning I got an email containing a link to a movie. My mornings before work are consumed doing email, etc.  I don’t have time to watch movies, but for some reason I opened the link and saw the movie was divided into segments. After deciding I had time to check out the first segment, I got hooked immediately and couldn't stop. I didn’t quite get to the end of segment five by the time I had to leave for work.  I ended up taking my lunch a little early just so I could get back to it since my mind was on it all morning. It made that much of an impression on me.
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Book Review: A Passion Redeemed

Written by Julie Lessman  
Review by Michelle Sutton  

Lessman has a knack for drama and angst with a heavy dose of passion. This story is no exception. And like a soap opera, you never quite know who will end up with whom and what will happen next. There is not a boring page in this entire novel. The tension rocks! There is a lot of pain and anger, as well as joy and deep sorrow. But the longing is what gets to me.
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A Movie Christmas with Hallmark

By Donald James Parker  

Two years ago I had a very lonely Christmas.  On Christmas day I was entirely alone for the whole day.  Needless to say, my Christmas spirit was at low tide.  I spent twelve hours that day watching television.  I never changed the channel that Christmas holiday, but my heart was changed.  If I knew who to contact at Hallmark, I'd love to thank them for helping me avoid morphing into Ebenezer Scrooge that year.  Their menu of funny, romantic, and inspirational movies took the place of my Christmas dinner (and celebrating with family).  In this column I'd like to spotlight a few of the flicks that made my day.
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Amy Hammond Hagberg

By Donald James Parker  

TCP:  How did you get involved in writing How Do You Know He's Real?

Amy: One day in the summer of 2003 my 16-year-old daughter, Kaia , was talking with a boy who lives across the lake from us.  He comes from a blended family – his father had been killed in a car accident several years before.  Justin is a troubled kid – Kaia was trying to coax him into coming to youth group with her one Sunday evening.  His response was surprising.  Justin looked her square in the face and said, “But How Do You Know He’s Real?”

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