5 comments about Where Rivers Change Direction.

1. These are two feelings I got from reading this memoir. Life in NW Wyoming is not easy. Days are spent with horses and one's life is taken by horses. In fact, if you love horses this is a great book.
   
   One thing that kept creeping into this book is the distance the author had toward his parents, especially his father. Little but dialogue is written about the father, but he comes across as callous and more worried of turning the boy into a real man. The boy, in turn, writes about his concerns about the man he will become. At times that dragged on too much.
   
   Still, it's wonderful prose written in a manly tone. For rugged cowboys and ranchers it's a perfect read.



2. What an unrelentingly gripping series of stories -- life, death, animals, boys, girls, men, women, horses, snakes, water, wind, earth, blood, fire and sky. Mark Spragg's style is a bit like David Hockney doing his photograph collages. He doesn't show you everything, just bits and pieces to make the whole. He lets you put some of the pieces in place. What a style. It's shot through with his own strong character and some compelling scenes of raw Wyoming life. The stories follow an amazing arc that you don't see coming until the last chapter and then you just kind of want to start all over again, and meet the boy that became the man. Beautiful stuff. Look, I'm not really out here trying to sell my book at every corner but the people who told me about Mark Spragg are readers of my book, "Antler Dust." I had three recommendations from "Antler Dust" readers to check out Mark Spragg, mostly because, I believe, of the detailed outdoors action and the fact that my book takes place in a neighboring state, Colorado. I am going to read more Mark Spragg but for others who like him, please also consider Antler Dust.



3. I'd worry about peope who don't hurt themselves laughing while reading Wapiti School. My goodness, these stories are terrific, sometimes tough and bitter, sometimes perfect poetry. Just wonderful.



4. Mark Spragg writes beautifully, even poetically, of teenage life in a Wyoming family struggling to make ends meet by catering to "dudes" come West for the seasonal fishing and hunting. His collection of stories is varied, but all are tied to the splendor of unshod love for the land and for the horses he rides through a journey that will steal your heart.



5. The author writes excellent prose with innumerable well turned phrases and descriptions. The subject matter is primarily his adolescence on a Wyoming dude ranch and hunting guide service that his family, Pennsylvania expatriates, operated in the 1960s, some vignettes from his adult life and descriptions of friends and conditions in windswept Wyoming. The chapters are actually a series of essays rather than a progressive narrative with the ones about life and work on and around his father's ranch, where he essentially lived as a hired hand in the bunkhouse with hardened wranglers from about the age of fourteen, being the most interesting.
   
   I enjoyed the book principally due to the excellent writing and colorful recounting of the author's experiences as a real "cowboy" in an era when most of us male baby boomers only experienced the same thing through ubiquitous western TV shows and movies of the 50s and 60s. It was a life in another era when so many of us grew up in boring suburbia. I recommend it for these reasons.
   
   But maybe I missed something because I never came across any explanation for the author's seeming sense of hurt, isolation, melancholy and general unhappiness that begins, for unstated reasons, during his college years.

5 comments about The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House.

1. Although I've always known that Billy Graham was a charismatic evangelist, I didn't realize just how spiritual, humble, forgiving, and influential he was until reading this book. Not only was he allowed into the "inner sanctums" of powerful United States politicians and other movers and shakers, but he was also admitted entry into places in the world where others would not have been allowed. At the same time, he cared about "the least of these" and always felt his #1 mission in life was to spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
   
   Although he could easily hobnob with the presidents and their wives, he never lost his humility and the sure knowledge that God is in control of our lives. Whether golfing with a Bush, swimming with Johnson, or praying with Nixon, he did so in a spiritual role, not a political one. As the authors bring out, Graham didn't need fortune or fame. He saw himself as their pastor, their advocate with the Father. Presidents aren't as free as the rest of us to go to the Baptist church around the corner or the Catholic one downtown, so Billy Graham felt it was his responsibility to go to them...and go he did. Plus, I learned that no matter who the president was, Graham believed that he was God's divine choice and was thus supportive, even after Clinton's misdeeds and Nixon's Watergate situation.
   
   The most recurrent theme that I picked up is that regardless of what he was exposed to, Dr. Graham remained the evangelist sure of his purpose. Interestingly, however, the pundits and press and other religious leaders all had their criticisms...even when he was clearly doing what the scriptures admonish us to do. They even criticized him for being too forgiving, too conciliatory, not judgmental enough. HUH???
   
   Sure of his mission, I've got a feeling that Dr. Graham doesn't worry about such criticisms. His message is that everyone wants to be loved and that God loves us each and everyone, even the ones who disappoint, hurt, or criticize us.



2. A fascinating read and deservedly praised, I found this book hard to put down until Chapter 31 on Billy's acquaintance with the Clintons. That chapter had a false ring - a different tone from the rest, that smacked me in the face. With so few comments there in Billy's words, as were heavily used in the chapters about other presidents, the writers droned on and on in their attempt to paint the Clintons as good as the rest. After their fairly even-handed (and exhaustive) work on both the humanity and duplicity of Nixon earlier in the book, I was unpleasantly amazed. Of course, most of the others are dead and gone, while Mrs. Clinton is running for a third term as co-president, and this makes it worse. The chapter sticks out as an effort to rub some of Billy's good character onto the Clintons by association. It didn't work.
   
   Several times during that chapter, I did put it down in disgust, wondering what happened here? I know spin when I see it. For what purpose did the writers, after relating so much that sounded genuine about all the presidents up to that point, think they needed to con readers into accepting that; while we were subjected to an amoral sex offender and his socialist wife for eight years, they were really just as normal, good Christians as all the others. Pandering to them in such a book included the writers' insinuations that Billy Graham supported the Clintons and approved, for example, of abortion and homosexuality along with them, which he emphatically did not. The way the writers gloss over the criminal conduct of the Clintons, a pass they certainly didn't give Nixon, defending and excusing them on and on ad nauseum, speaks volumes. The comparatively few words of Billy himself on that period, when it was he being interviewed for the book, is noticeable, too, in a look at the chapter. Note that Hillary bragged on several occasions what a personal help Billy had been to her, with no corroboration from him other than a meeting in 2005 in which he mentioned "private time". Yet by this point, we know his own self-imposed rules about that. Hillary's stories of "huddling with" Billy are as blatant lies as so many of her other stories, judging by what Billy himself says. But her stories are presented as accurate with no input from him, in contrast to the rest of the book.
   
   In giving the writers license, Billy was too trusting - as he often was because of his basic love for and trust in people. But I was so put off by this whitewash, I had to put the book down for a few days. Later I glanced back through the chapters, because I had also been struck by the short space given to President Reagan's term in the White House after he and Billy had been friends for 30 years. Yes, I was right - amazing how little space was given to those more recent years, compared to presidents before him.
   
   I learned a lot that was new; Carter's dislike for Billy despite professing the same religious beliefs, LBJ's real fondness for him. I was entranced by the new look at Eisenhower, saddened at the way Nixon took advantage of a genuine friendship, pleased to learn things I hadn't known about Bush 41 and the whole family. For the writers to push their personal bias in my face near the end came close to spoiling a great read for me. It is a wonderful book except for Chapter 31.



3. This biographical piece is considerably different from other works written about Billy Graham's life. Just As I Am (autobiography) and other histories of the Billy Graham Crusades evolve into hagiographies where Graham has faults but these are downplayed. This book tries to be as balanced as possible portraying some glaring weaknesses such as Graham's heavily favoring various presidents and presidential candidates, even in public, while not legalistically endorsing them.
   
   The insights into various presidencies is also very informative and shows them in ways that are probably consistent with what can be publically known but with nuances that may have been previously unknown. Certainly other Graham biographies have not entered into this level of detail.
   
   On balance, this is a genuine attempt to present Graham as he really is, particularly in relation to the presidents of the past 60 years. Those who are looking for a spiritually uplifting journey may be disappointed. That does not appear to be the point of this book.
   
   But for those who are not fans of Graham, and would like to know him better, this limited biography is very valuable



4. Given the enormous financial and investigative resources available to Time magazine reporters Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, it shouldn't be too much to expect historical accuracy in this biography. Then again, Time has been an uncritical cheerleader for Graham's ministry since the day in 1950 when publisher Henry Luce visited the young minister, then a houseguest at South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond's mansion, and decided to join William Randolph Hearst's efforts to "puff Graham." Time has a substantial investment in Graham's ministry, having run more than 600 stories about his career. Unfortunately, historical accuracy isn't one of the strong points of a book that is otherwise a pleasant enough read. People make mistakes, of course, but when they tend to fall in the same direction, one begins to suspect a hidden agenda. On the other hand, simple sloppiness can't be ruled out, as when they place Graham at Bob Jones College in Greenville, S.C., for his first year of higher education. When Graham dropped out during his freshman year that school was located in Cleveland, Tenn. The subtitle tells you all you need to know about the story between the covers. The book begins with Graham's rocky relationship with Harry S. Truman and ends with his fatherly embrace of George W. Bush. Those attracted to the preacher will find nothing to dislike, but also little that is new. This is the same generous tale told by Graham's publicity team in countless books, articles, movies, advertisements, TV appearances and, of course, crusades. According to this account, from Eisenhower forward, all of the presidents have sought Graham's counsel in varying degrees, and discovered a deep well of comfort and spiritual wisdom. The authors make mild forays into Graham's political mistakes and spend a long while on his purported close friendship with and later betrayal by Nixon, but the poking is gentle and Graham emerges as an older but wiser hero. The mistakes and omissions are telling, however. Careful to paint Nixon as the agent of darkness, they write: "The beloved Ike, Nixon charged, was `a far more complex and devious man than most people realized.'" Thus they imply that Nixon was even nasty to sweet old Dwight Eisenhower. But this can only be a deliberate misquote. In his book SIX CRISES Nixon actually concluded the sentence "and in the best sense of those words." His intention was to PRAISE Eisenhower. It is important for Nixon to be the sinner because the preacher the authors have chosen to present was supposedly suckered into long-term support for Tricky Dick, and was devastated when he learned that Nixon had deceived him. Much to Graham's enduring dismay, his back-room politicking had been tape-recorded and would come back to embarrass him over and over again through ensuing years. Nor have all of Nixon's notorious tapes yet been released. Graham's support for civil rights is painted as enthusiastic and heartfelt, but his actual record is far from clear. The authors repeat Graham's assertion that Martin Luther King, Jr., endorsed his arms-length approach to integration, without corroborating evidence, and neglect Graham's reaction to "I Have a Dream" in 1963. Graham conducted a press conference the next morning and said, "Only when Christ comes again will the little white children of Alabama walk hand in hand with little black children." Concerning King the authors also claim that he delivered volumes by Gandhi disguised in Billy Graham book jackets to imprisoned Freedom Riders in Mississippi. This is another example of either the authors' incautious research or eagerness to hitch Graham's wagon to King's star. According to Taylor Branch, writing in PILLAR OF FIRE (which the authors cite as their reference), the transporter of disguised books was Rev. Edwin King, a white preacher of no known relation to MLK. Lest it be overlooked elsewhere as it is in THE PREACHER AND THE PRESIDENTS, Graham's nonprofit enterprises have profited nicely from the high profile that presidential palavering has, in no small part, afforded him. While his annual personal income from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association only totalled a bit over $500,000 in recent years, he enjoyed a well-appointed "log cabin" estate in Montreat, N.C., with high tech communications gear and an indoor swimming pool, a vacation home in the posh country club community of Pauma Valley, California, and controlled tax-exempt properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars in North Carolina alone. Nor do these figures include income from books, recordings and television appearances, and may not include the receipts of the individual LLCs created for each of his crusades. To top it off, he bragged that he "never paid for a suit or a hotel room," though he seems to have preferred lodging in various mansions, both public and private, to the common discomforts of life in commercial rooms. THE PREACHER AND THE PRESIDENTS offers comforting fiction disguised as history. It is, without doubt, a book written for believers.



5. This book is a must read for people who want to learn about ultimate influence

5 comments about Signs and Wonders.

1. I was so fascinated with this book as a gift that my husband gave me for Christmas, that I in turn gave it to my Mother, Step-Mother and Grandmother for Mother's Day this year... knowing they would all thoroughly enjoy it as much as I have... I have the fortune of my husband reading a few chapters to me in the evenings every now and then... and even if he re-reads some of the same passages, it is still so wonderful to hear it again... You will not be disappointed, and if you pay attention you will see her strategy as it were.



2. I HAVE HEARD MY FATHER TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK FOR MANY YEARS. BUT HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET A COPY AS IT WAS OUT OF PRINT. I WAS SO PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO GET ONE. THE BOOK IS SO INSPIRATIONAL. I LOVE IT.



3. Etter was a champion of the Faith. She lived through great emotional hardship and still served God unwaveringly. Through her God healed and spoke to a generation. She was the grandmother of the Pentecostal movement.



4. Bearing the emotional wounds of a tragic childhood, Maria Woodworth-Etter embarks upon the journey of motherhood only to lose her children, one heartbreak after the other. The sufferings of her life were so great that sorrow nearly broke her. I have read her book but I still don't undertand how she managed to endure. Who would have thought that God would chose such a person to imprint His Name and dispaly His power upon a generation?

   If God wanted to prove that He choses the weak and foolish things of this world in order to confound the strong and the wise, He found His vessel of choice in this little woman, Maria Woodworth-Etter.

   A shy and timid woman, barely able to utter a word in public, Maria Woodworth Etter became one of the most legendary vessels of God since the early church age. When she took the platform and opened her mouth He filled it with His Words, and with power. Her natural voice was small but when the anointing of God came upon her she could be heard clearly from a great distance. Travelers passing through the villages where her meetings were taking place would find themselves falling under the "slaying anointing" or "falling down anointing" as custom would call it, as they came near her meetings. Record has it that railroad men finding passengers falling down mysteriously would suddenly realize that Mother Etter was preaching nearby, and they would understand what was happening to these passengers in their railroad cars. In both the Old and New Testaments it is recorded that there were times when people could not stand in the Presence of the Power of God. And this was just one manifestation of her ministry.

   Some of the greatest miracles of God ever recorded were wrought in the ministry of this unlikely little woman. An awesome record of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost in her generation, this book is an inspiration. If He did it once He can do it again. And if He could use her, perhaps He could use...well.

   For every student of the great moves of God this book is a must read, and a keeper for your library. You won't want to part with it. I predict that you will make a special home for it on your shelf alongside the works of John G. Lake, Smith Wigglesworth, Kathryn Kuhlman and the few others like them.

   Not sure that you believe in miracles but would like to read about them and about the people used to perform them? This is a great place to begin. But remember, faith does not come from reading about miracles, it comes from knowing the miracle giver, and by reading His book. The books of Maria Woodworth-Etter will point you there.




5. An anointed(still!)record of the meetings of Maria Woodworth-Etter(1844-1924)in her own words and sermons as well as contemporary reviews, testimonies of healings, and eyewitness accounts of the real power and presence of the Holy spirit . Though the coming of the Lord for the church may not have come as soon as she seemed to be saying, I believe she spoke as the Lord directed in a prophetic voice. I would recommend this book to any one searching for God as well as to those who long to see His power today.

No comments about Cross and the Switchblade, The, 45th ann. ed..

5 comments about A Man Called Peter: The Story of Peter Marshall.

1. Peter Marshall was a man of God and yet he contemplated suicide in the play, "A Man Called Peter," based on this book. One of the school plays during the year I took Dramatics class and we were able to watch rehearsals. He was an inspiration to all who knew him. Some of his sparkling observations in our country are expressed here where he had a great ministry as minister to the presidents (before Billy Graham), he began in Birmingham, Alabama, as a newspaper reporter. He believed that each of us is responsible for helping our Christian brothers and sisters, especially the weaker ones.
   
   In one of his soul-searching, gut-wrenching sermons, he compared America to his native Scotland: "We have in the United States today a higher standard of living than in any other country, or at any other time in the world's history. We have more automobiles, more picture shows (movies), more telephones, more money, more swing bands, more radios, more television sets, more night clubs, more crime, and more divorce than any other nation in the world." In another, this truism based on Jesus' teachings" God speaks through our circumstances and guides us, closing doors as well as in opening them." All things work together for good for those who love God. The promises of God found in the Bible can give us hope, but many times we do not claim them as our own until we face a crisis.
   
   Andrew was chosen to be the Patron Saint of Scotland, and Saint Andrew's cross, a diaganol white cross on a blue ground, is the foundation on which St. George's cross of England and St. Patrick's cross of Ireland were laid to make the Union Jack. Alec, my youngest (son of the oldest son) was born on March 17 and reportedly looks just like Geoffrey (named after Chaucer). "A tired-ooout rail splitter, crouched over his tattered books, by candlelight at the day's end, preparing for his future, instead of snoring or sky-larking like his co-laborers, Abraham Lincoln cut out his path to later immortality in his spare time. Georgia Sharpe, an admirer of Peter Marshall, wrote: "A stranger entered a church during the sermon and took a seat in the back row. After a while, he leaned forward and asked the elderly man in front of him, "How long hs he been preaching?" "For about forty years, I think," the man replied. "I'll stay then," said the stranger;" he must be almost finished.
   
   Peter Marshall left behind just such home-spun philosophy in his teaching and ministering to the members of government at First Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. and a wonderful wife who shared (as did JoNell Allen) her husband's sermons with the public.



2. Dr. Peter Marshall's story about his rough childhood with the endless desire to go to sea,
   his eventual immigration to America after the LORD's calling him into the ministry,
   his seminary education,
   his marriage to Catherine Marshall (then Catherine Wood),
   his pastorate at N.Y. Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington
   D.C.,
   the birth of his son Peter John Marshall,
   his appointment to the position of Chaplain to the U.S. Senate,
   and his tragic death in 1949,
   are all wonderfully brought to life in this amazing biography of one of America's greatest preachers.
   Catherine Marshall has been a blessing to my life and has brought me closer to Christ through her many Christian books. Dr. Marshall himself has allowed me to probe deeper into the meaning of salvation by faith alone and his audio tape entitled "Can You be Wrong?" available at Peter Marshall Ministries - have been instruments used by God in the event of the salvation of many. His sermons included at the end of this book, especially the one entitled, "The American Dream", has been especially pertinent to issues that still exist in the USA today, and served as my Speech and Debate piece as a high school senior. Although Dr. Marshall was more of a story teller, rather than an exegetical minister, his sermons are up there with Dr. John MacArthur and other ministers who I love and trust. I would recommend this biography over the biographies of any other minister I have read to date.
   If the LORD had this much in mind for a poor Scottish immigrant with nine and a half dollars in his old brown wallet when he arrived at Ellis Island almost 90 years ago...imagine what he could have in store for you and me!



3. I have both the movie and the book. I saw the movie when I was a child and it made an impression on me. I never forgot it. I have a grandson who is becoming a minister and I wanted him to see the movie. I haven't read the book yet, but I will soon. I feel sure it is better than the movie. I believe Peter Marshall was an outstanding minister and we can learn a lot from him. I am now 60 years old. This man has touched many lives over the years even since he died. I also have the book of his sermons. Catherine Marshall has kept his memory going and she is an awesome writer.



4. As someone related to those who have served in the clergy, I found Catherine Marshall's ardent tribute to her late husband, Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall particularly heartwarming and inspiring.
   As her husband (who became affectinately known as "Twittering-Birds Marshall" because of the flowery phrasing he gave to his wonderful sermons) painted vivid imagery with the parables he told, she paints a vivid image of his all-too-brief life.
   Through her words, we see the winsome Scottish lad who suffers the tragic loss of his father at age four, whose hardscrabble experiences and humble beginnings would lead him to have great compassion for others in similar circumstances, the spiritual depth he developed on the occassions when his Inner Voice saved him from accidental death, the inspiration he received from fellow Scottish churchman Eric Liddell, his Scottish wit, and fun-loving style. He was a man I feel I would have liked, as did many, and had he lived a few more years, he might have been highly instrumental in the struggle for Civil Rights, judging from the deferrence he gave to the writings of African American men of faith, James Weldon Johnson, and George Washington Carver, and his expressed concern for underpriviledged minorities. His sermon, "The American Dream", is still very timely in the modern world.
   Readers follow him through his immigration to the United States, his entrance into the clergy, his meeting of Catherine, the difficulty of finding time to spend with her due to mounting ministerial duties, his marriage, his camaraderie with other ministers, the high emotion of embracing U.S. Citizenship, the use of his sharp sense of humor to win people over to Christ, his enthusiasm for board games, sports, life itself, and also his great love for his family and humanity in general.
   I can hear the melodic trill of his brogue when his quotes appear in the story as his wife recaptures the rhythm of his speech patterns, and each chapter is headed with appropriate Biblical verses that summarize their contents.
   Dr. Marshall was nonimated as Senate Chaplain while serving in the church where Abraham Lincoln once worshipped, and upon his election became a much-loved confidant of Senators on both sides of the aisle. Michigan Senator, Arthur Vandenberg (who himself passed away around the time of this book's publication in 1951), affectionately called him, "Dominie", the Dutch word for "Parson".
   We share the couple's delight at the birth of their son, "Wee Peter" in the years prior to Dr. Marshall's rise to the Chaplaincy of the Senate, the challenges to their faith brought on by Catherine's bout with tuberculosis, and Peter's heart trouble, and see how much prayer meant in their lives at such time. We also see how Peter's illness inspired others to pray. But we are also made aware that not everyone admired the Marshalls and that the Good Reverend was subjected to anti-immigrant backlash as well as misinterpretations of the meaning of his sermons. He had his moments of self-doubt, as does everyone.
   Dr. Marshall's instinctiveness in changing his sermon for the graduating class of the Annapolis Naval Academy, which he gave just hours before the announcement of the attack on Pearl Harbor is formidable, and through his warm, consoling mannerisms, Christ became warm and alive in the hearts and minds of many. Through Marshall's example, many lives were changed for the better.
   We also see how this spiritually attuned couple helped produce some of Peter's best sermons in joint ventures that made their life's pilgrimage a real partnership.
   Five days after his attendance of President Truman's second inaguration, this fine representative of Christ on Earth was lost to the world. But his sweetness, and love for his wife were evident until the very end. As he passed from this life, the Holy Spirit gave Catherine the strenghth to carry on with her life, and to console others. As she worked on her late husband's story, he appeared to her in a dream, providing encouragement, but still letting that sparkling Scottish wit shine through, perhaps more eminently, in the afterlife.
   The last words he spoke to her, "See you in the morning", would carry her through the years.--Through the acclaim of this biography, the 1955 film of the same name in which Richard Todd gave an adorable performance as Peter, an eventual second marriage, the entrance of her son into the Presbyterian ministry, her own success with the novel, "Christy" and other religious literature, and eventually, her own undoubtably happy reunion with Peter in March, 1983.
   Her son honors the rich spiritual legacy of his parents by continuing the family tradition. As did his own father, Peter John Marshall lost his father in childhood, and perhaps strives to know him by following in his footsteps. Perhaps he knows the Senate Chaplain who was his father better than the elder Dr. Marshall knew his father through the availability of the Senate Chaplain's recorded sermons and writings.
   Christ said"...Whosover liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"--John 11:25, 26
   As the life of Dr. Marshall continues to inspire many all these years later, I'll say that I do.



5. The works of both Peter and Catherine Marshall live on even though they are no longer among us. Fortunate for us that their legacy is still available, as we're richer for it.
   Peter was Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, a position he had not sought. He was a Scottish immigrant to this country. This book describes how God orchestrated the circumstances that led to a life of accomplishment from an eternally significant perspective.
   On page 15 she tells us, "Peter Marshall did not grow up wanting to be a minister. That was God's idea--not his." She says often God has to shut a door in order for us to go through the door he wants us to go through.
   Eric Liddell was a significant influence in Peter's younger years. He was the Scottish olympian who was more committed to Jesus than to winning international acclaim.
   I underlined what was said about dreams in the part of the book on Peter's early years. "I learned that just because God loves us so much, often He guides us by planting His own lovely dream in the barren soil of a human heart," she notes. Later on she adds that if the dreams are really of God, even though they may be carried a long time, they often suddenly become reality.
   I also love what the way she describes the book-lined place Peter inhabited. "Books lined one wall--good books--inspiring and instructive--good books--good friends."
   One of several idiosyncrasies I share with Peter Marshall is that we're both "night owls." She says he was usually his best and brightest around midnight.
   Throughout this book on her late husband, Catherine puts her thoughts into a reflective framework. She talks about Jesus and living life with the long view in mind. Along those lines she talks about Jesus, noting that he never refused anyone who came to Him for help. She says even if we lack faith, we can ask Him for it because faith is a gift of God.
   She modifies the phrase which is so commonly cited, "God helps those who help themselves," by writing that actually, "God helps those who trust Him to solve their problems."
   This is a well-researched, well-written, inspiring, faith-building, positive book that will make you a better person from having read it.

5 comments about A Long Retreat: In Search of a Religious Life.

1. My thanks to Andrew Krivak for sharing his powerful journey! I benefited from learning about the discernment process of the Jesuits, how vocations are developed, and how very important the relationships between the "baby" Jesuits are. As a Catholic and a someone familiar with his region of Pennsylvania, his story hit home as a powerful & poignant read graced with poetic language I will revisit often.



2. A LONG RETREAT is a fascinating look at formation in the Society of Jesus. The title of the book alludes to the Thirty Day Retreat that is a part of the beginning and end of Jesuit formation, but it's also a metaphor for his eight years author Andrew Krivak spent in a Jesuit formation program. We meet him as he is about to begin his journey with the Jesuits and continue with him as he begins his theological studies as he draws closer to priesthood. He discusses the discernment process as he enters the order and also the same discernment process that eventually led him to a vocation outside of the order.
   
   Krivak shares a number of experiences and anecdotes about formation with the reader that shows how the writings of St. Ignatius of Loyola and Ignatian spirituality are lived in a day to day context. We also see his initial enthusiasm fro religious life and believe he will persevere as a Jesuit, yet as the book continues, we also begin to see he may be called elsewhere. He also discusses a number of conflicts he has, some rather serious, others trivial, so we always remember we are accompanying someone who is very human.
   
   The story contained in A LONG RETREAT is compelling, Krivak tells it in a somewhat poetic manner with beautiful writing. He also writes it in a memoir style rather than a biographical one so the reader enters into his experiences and shares his joys, struggles, and pain. It is also unique in that we hear about the formation process from someone who does not finish with priesthood, and is able to see and share the lessons he learned during his time as a Jesuit. It is also refreshing to read an account of someone who left religious life has his appreciation of both the Jesuits and Catholic Church. While it is not uncommon for a person to have this perspective, all too often the horror stories are the accounts that make it into print which give a somewhat biased and skewed perspective. This is not the case in A LONG RETREAT. If anything, I believe we can expect to see Andrew Krivak become an important Catholic writer.



3. Wonderful memoir! Very well written and poetically conveyed journey. Clear and aesthetically pleasing in its own distillation of the lifestyle and ritual, but also containing many subtle themes which seem to cut across many religious cultures and spiritual journeys. Krivak has written an unassuming and honest story. There is no arrogance of certainty which other authors sometimes seem to portray. Krivak's story is believable and passionate. Thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end and would recommend to anyone inclined to spiritual connection and understanding, whether religious or not.



4. I must admit I like books about people who embark on vocations, religious and otherwise. So no surprise that I wanted to read this book. I've met a few Jesuits, including one enrolled in my doctoral program many years ago
   (he dropped out the first year) and one who (I suspect) was asked to leave.
   
   This book is less about a spiritual journey than a detailed, blow-by-blow account of life in the contemporary post-Berrigan Jesuit order. Frankly, the life seems mostly pleasant, or else the author had such a strong vocation he rolled with the punches. And it's likely the arduous selection process worked.
   
   I must admit I skimmed some of the spiritual angst and introspection sections, but there really weren't very many. Krivak tells a story of very smart, sane superiors, some really satisfying friendships, and meaningful work experiences. Except for some bad food here and there (and escape to the local steak house often was possible), and an uncomfortable bed or two, I didn't get a sense of hardship. Sure, he didn't get his first choice of teaching jobs, but to be able to teach English and writing at all would be a rare privilege for many professors and doctoral candidates out there.
   
   Since the jacket blurb refers to Krivak's new life as husband and father, it's probably not giving away the store to say that he ultimately fell in love and left the order. As his wife noted, he seemed to be more interested in writing and less in being a Jesuit.
   
   I see parallels between his life and the life of Karen Armstrong. I believe both made wise decisions to enter religious orders (call it a true vocation if you like). Both went on to use their experiences to build new lives and careers. Armstrong of course calls herself a "freelance monotheist" while Krivak, at least by the end of the book, remains firmly Catholic.
   
   With my own interest in career patterns and shifts, I enjoyed watching Krivak as he went on the journey.



5. Andrew Krivak's eight-year journey into, through, and out of the life of a Jesuit seminarian is captured in a memoir of poignancy, generosity, and spectacularly wonderful writing. He details with great honesty and sustaining intelligence the external challenges of his formation in the Society of Jesus (graduate philosophical studies, hospital work with AIDS patients, Russian language study in Moscow, and college teaching among other experiences). But, even more importantly, Krivak testifies with conviction about the movements of his own heart and soul as he struggled with the nature of his calling, the meaning of love, and his efforts in prayer and meditation to discern the full dimensions and import of his doubts and fears. One of the most remarkable spiritual autobiographies since Merton's SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN. An utterly captivating volume. I expect to read it again simply to savor the extraordinary beauty of the writing once more. (Disclosure: As a Jesuit myself, I knew Krivak during two years covered in this book. But, I've had no contact with him in over a decade and didn't quite know what to expect before picking up A LONG RETREAT. I'm so happy I did.)

5 comments about Out of Mormonism: A Woman's True Story.

1. This was a very moving account of how a husband and wife get drawn into the Mormon Church. They find work with a nice couple and were attacted to their friend's strong family values and the orderly manner of their lives appealed to them. They are introduced by their friends to the LDS Church. Once in the church, As they were kept busy serving, Judy starts to reflect on contradictions she sees and starts to notice what she was experiencing in Mormonism was not about devotion to Jesus Christ, but was instead about devotion to the LDS church and it's rituals, lessons and doctrines,etc. they began to see cracks in the foundation of Mormonism. They started to see LDS teaching a religion that requires works for salvation.
   
   Each red flag in their mind they suppressed, while they saw what looked to be perfect people living perfect lives. But as their involvement progressed, they learn of the hidden stresses with those leaders who taught them and how they were trying to cope with living up to the impossible standards. The exclusive doctrines of LDS were starting to trouble Judy and her husband, as she and her husband was not finding what they we're being taught in the bible. Once they seen God's grace, that Salvation is not earned it is the gift of God, Eph 2:8,9 what had been blinding them, now the Word of God reveal in - The Bible, brought them freedom and forgiveness for sin.
   
   Judy recounts key insights of how she was introduced into the LDS church that give the reader an illuminating look into Mormonism. The book is so well-written that it was hard to put down.



2. This book makes so many wild claims about Mormonism, I am surprised anyone can take it seriously.
   The author is a bitter and vengeful woman who willingly became involved in a religion that she didn't even believe in the first place and eventually left because she could not handle her commitments. She uses extremely misinterpreted Bible verses to back up her beliefs that the Mormon church is untrue. On top of this, she creates an anti-Mormon organization with the intent to indoctrinate Christians with false beliefs about the Mormon church - AND her family's income comes out of this organization ... hmmmmm.
   The book falsely claims that Mormons believe that God has multiple wives, that woman's duty on Earth is to have as many babies as possible, that God literally impregnated Mary, and that God is progressive and changing. All of these are untrue statements and I wonder how she could possibly believe those things, having been an LDS member for 7 years.
   The overall tone is sarcastic, spiteful and condescending to the Mormon way of life from page 1. The writing is so forced and the dialog so unnatural that I believe she has made up a lot of conversations that take place in the book.
   I can't help wondering if God would want one of his children to be so negative and hateful to a group of good people who mean harm to no one.
   
   If you are curious about the Mormon church, then please attend church services or read the Book of Mormon. This woman has an agenda and it makes me incredibly sad to know that people may believe her writings.



3. Ths exposes the secret Mormon teachings which the neatly--dressed Brighamite missionaries will not tell you about. They're instructed "meat before milk" so, they won't tell you the surreal teachings, which diverge wildly from traditional Christianity, such as (1)the idea that a man may become Exalted and get to be a God ruling his own planet, while he and his wife or wives get to crank out Spirit Children to inhabit the human bodies on the planet. Nor (2)the idea that God was once such a man. (This (2) is in direct contradiction to Bible passages such as: "the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change." --James 1:17 (NAB))
   
   The book documents each unusual teaching it exposes with authoritative references to books by Brighamite LDS "Church" officials. such as "Apostle" Bruce R. McConkie's Mormon Doctrine, and the collected sermons of Church President Joseph Fielding Smith: Doctrines of Salvation: Sermons and Writings. Another good reference is Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
   
   It was fascinating; I couldn't put it down.
   
   It has inspired me to do Bible reading more frequently. Thank you, Judy.



4. This story is fine as long as you keep in mind that it is just one woman's perspective. I also grew up Mormon and left the church when I was 27. I do not share her ideas that Mormons are worshipping Lucifer and are a part of a cult. I know them to be good people who are very much living for God. Her descriptions of rituals are all right on as are her feelings a woman goes through as she tries to maintain the perfection the church requires. But not all of us go from Mormon to born-again Christian - so this book is probably for you if you are headed to born-again Christianity.



5. I want everyone who is teeter-tottering on whether the LDS church is for them or not to understand this story.
   
   Forget JS marrying a bunch of teenagers, forget about the uneasy history of Mormonism, forget about DNA and the Book of Mormon, and the contradicting doctrines. All churches have these things in common to some degree.
   
   The most screwed up thing about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the way it treats it's own members and families. It claims to be pro family, but it splits up families and screws with people's lives. It makes them pay large sums of money in order to see a loved one's wedding. It takes, and takes, and takes. Whether it is your time, money, or sanity. It sucks you dry and does not give back anything of value except some pipe dream of a perfect afterlife. An afterlife which the church makes you feel is impossible to obtain, and uses this to heap unnecessary guilt upon it's members.
   
   It's not the doctrine that makes the church a damaging cult. It's the way they screw their members over. Such as not letting a father attend his child's wedding unless he pays $4000 in back tithing. He had to get a bank loan to do this.

5 comments about Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic.

1. This book gave me hope when I had almost lost it. I came to the end of my seminary education and I was ready to throw in the towel. Once you're on the inside of the church, once you necessarily lose all those false illusions about what ministry is really about, you may find you don't have the stomach for it. I look at the church, and how slow things change, and I wonder if there is any hope at all. Niebuhr honestly lays out his own transition from green seminarian to seasoned pastor of hope and grace, radical, but real. It was a breath of grace and peace...just what I needed.



2. I am a HUGE Niebuhr fan, and I strong suggest that anyone interested in politics, economics, social philosophy and/or theology should pick up as many of his works as possible. This book was a real treat for me, to get into peer into his mind in those oh so important formative years as a pastor in Detroit, WOW!
   
   Even when he's just writing random thoughts on the passing scene, he's a fantastic writer. Here you have a demonstration of Bonhoeffer's views of the true Christian life which must "share in the problems of secular life, and teach all men what it means to live in Christ". You see the greater and greater emphasis on the role of repentence and the way Christ's oh so rigorous ethic acts as a judgment on all human behavior as time goes on. This will all become so important as he turns his mind to writing his great theological and social works in the 30's and 40's.
   
   This book is a fairly easy read, none to technical, and relatively short, you can probably read it in 3 or 4 sittings. Pay attention to the way Niebuhr's doubts about his own position become theological fare, informing the way he thinks about theology and life in toto.



3. This little gem was probably my favorite book from seminary. Niebuhr takes you with him on the difficult journey through the first years of his parish ministry and teaches you how to think theologically about really practical dilemmas that arise as a clergyperson. My favorite thing about the book is that it is not written as a memoir, but in the moment, so you don't have an old, brilliant theologian reflecting on his years in ministry, but rather a young, brilliant pastor who doesn't know all the answers and doesn't pretend to. I feel like Reinhold has become a close friend though the end of seminary and my first year working in the church, because he gives words to and insight into many of the struggles I have had.



4. Reinhold Niebuhr's small book, Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic, is perhaps his most famous and popular book. It has informed and helped to shape the lives and ministries of seminarians, educators, ministers and other prophetic and ethical people since it was first published early in this century. Niebuhr recounts with astonishing honesty the difficulties facing those who would do ministry, and act ethically, in the church today. His criticism is not held back from any sacred topics.

   `I make no apology for being critical of what I love. No one wants a love which is based upon illusions, and there is no reason why we should not love a profession and yet be critical of it.'

   Niebuhr talks about the shock of coming to realise the limitations of his ministry, going from being a fresh-from-seminary full-of-grace minister to a person confronting another person in the 'real world'. He talks about

   `...the difficulty of acting as priest. It is not in your power to determine the use of a symbol. Whether it is a blessing or a bit of superstition rests altogether with the recipient.'

   This real world also presents problems. Parishioners tend to ask practical questions, rather than theoretical ones. They ask, Why won't Jesus heal me? Didn't he heal others? It is in the Bible, after all.

   `I do believe that Jesus healed people. I can't help but note, however, that a large proportion of his cures were among the demented.'

   He talks about the practical limitations of doing ethical ministry and prophesy for the average pulpit preacher.

   `I am not surprised that most prophets are itinerants. Critics of the church think we preachers are afraid to tell the truth because we are economically dependent upon the people of our church. There is something in that....'

   Finally, Niebuhr comes to have realistic expectations of the church and his own ministry in it.

   `The church is like the Red Cross service in war time. It keeps life from degenerating into a consistent inhumanity, but it does not materially alter the fact of the struggle itself. The Red Cross neither wins the war nor abolishes it.'

   Niebuhr in this small work has given great insight. Barely 150 short pages of his journal from 1915-1928 as a parish minister--although he became much better known as a philosopher in later years, this book is most likely his best seller, and the one with the most profound day-to-day impact for his readers.

   A must-read for anyone with a calling to ministry; a should-read for anyone in a helping and caring profession. It gives insight into how to remain human and fallible in the face of a congregation's (and one's own!) expectations of holiness and godly perfection.




5. This is a collection of Neibuhrs short essays. Each one stands on its own as a reflection of reality as applicable today as it was decades ago. I like it so much I am rationing it, reading one or two essays a day and stopping to think about the lesson in each one. These are sermons that are not "preachy" recognizing the human frailities and what should be expected of us. A book for the ages in my opinion

2 comments about Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America.

1. This is an incredible biography of Aimee Semple McPherson, one of America's most important religious leaders. It is a fabulous read (I breezed through it on a long plane ride); it tells amazing stories of supposed kidnappings and faith healings, of sexual intrigue and flappers, of patriotism and anti-Communism. Every chapter was fascinating. Professor Sutton shows how Sister Aimee played a pivotal role in helping to create what we call today the Christian Right. Its ability to connect old-time religion, media ingenuity, and American nationalism does seem to build from McPherson. Great book for the classroom, the airplane, or the beach.



2. I was very curious about the "real" Aimee. I grew up hearing tales about her and her lifestyle. Book was very interesting.

5 comments about Character Makes a Difference: Where I'm From, Where I've Been, and What I Believe.

1. Mike Huckabee is an amazing man, he continues to inspire me with his insight. This book is a must read.



2. Governor Huckabee seemed to have come out of nowhere during the campaign season, to have won Iowa in the Republican Primary. Sometimes that success gets credited to the media (or even to Steven Colbert, Conan O'Brian, and others whose shows he frequented- and who jokingly fought over who "created the Huckabee phenomenon"), but after reading this autobiography on Mike Huckabee, you will understand how he got where he is, why he won Iowa, and how he would lead. It is obvious from reading this autobiography and learning where Governor Huckabee comes from, that he will continue to be a major player in politics.



3. First let me say I'm a Democrat who was raised by social-conservative Republican parents in Texas. That being said I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book last year, but I was half expecting a self-serving bit of prose from a man who was expecting to run for the presidency the following year. But, with summer reading largely consisting of romance novels and cookbooks, I thought I'd give this one a try. I'm glad I did.
   
   Governor Huckabee doesn't pull any punches in telling you where he came from. He embraces his religious roots, talks about his human weaknesses as well as his strengths, and talks openly about the political bickering that goes on in churches and how exposure to such an atmosphere prepared him for a career in politics. Due to his humble beginnings he has a real empathy for the little guy. I think that's why he scared so many neocons when he had some early success in the Republican primaries. A REAL compassionate conservative??? The national Republican party can have none of that! A FAIR tax??? Life isn't supposed to be fair unless you're a CEO!
   
   Mr. Huckabee could be the future of the Republican party given his natural likability and gift for oratory. However, his religious views will no doubt scare off the secular Northeast and West Coast. I'm sure he realizes that, yet he doesn't shrink from his background nonetheless, which is a sign of character in itself. Compare this to Mitt Romney, the blow-dried poll-tested candidate who went down in flames. If you've wondered just what makes Mr. Huckabee tick, try this book. I think you'll come away admiring him regardless of whether or not you agree with his legislative goals.



4. I enjoyed this book very much. Huckabee is a man of character and in this book he tells us what character should look like in our leaders. It also caused me to pause and evaluate my own life. What kind of example am I setting?



5. This book is very well written and comes across as sincerely from the heart. It's a great perspective at an event in recent history where you can hear "the rest of the story", or at least the behind the scenes part. Mike Huckabee just comes across as that guy we've all been searching for who embodies the values missing in our present society and spotlight today. If the phonecall from God dosn't push you off the fence, Character Makes a Difference will.