Update on My Cat Boswell

I want to thank those of you who have written me about my cat and asked how he’s been doing.  The good news is that his diabetes is treatable.  The bad news is that he’s been at the vet for two days now and his glucose levels still aren’t stable.

I left  him yesterday morning and my vet told me it could be a few days before he figures out how much insulin he needs.  When he took his blood sample yesterday Boswell’s levels were still really high at 504.  Not a good thing.

So I’m hoping that I will be able to get him tomorrow.  I’ll let you know.

And it is cool to know that there are so many cat lovers in the blogosphere.  Seriously, cats rock

The Messiah Formerly Known as Jesus – Tom Breen

This book is one that I started reading one night with my husband while we were at dinner. Actually it was both of us reading it. It’s actually a pretty funny book, and all of the current reviews on Amazon are 5 stars. I may actually read this whole book because it kept my interest.

The Messiah Formerly Known as Jesus

Review
In this entertaining gem of religious satire, Breen, an AP journalist, skewers American Christianity from every imaginable angle. Calling himself the ‘Internet Theologian,’ Breen romps through the Bible, religious history, denominational differences. Halloween, contemporary Christian music and spectator sports, among other topics. Some of the book is pure silliness, but other sections achieve that elusive ‘perfect storm’ where humor is sharpened by raw intelligence and a keen knowledge of history and theology. Even Breen’s glossary of terms is hilarious. Heck, even his endnotes are funny and not to be missed. (One says merely, ‘Seriously. Wasn’t Calvin a nut?’) Readers seeking irreverent, laugh-out-loud musings on the sometimes ludicrous intersections between faith and pop culture will want to read this insouciant guide. —Publisher’s Weekly

Prayers for People Under Pressure – Jonathan Aitken

This next book is by a great author by the name of Jonathan Aitken, and published by Crossway Publishers.

I have looked through this book and think it’s pretty interesting. You may too. Here’s the book description.

Prayers for People Under Pressure – Jonathan Aitken

A collection of prayers and reflections that offers you a true path for your spiritual journey and communication with God, especially in times of personal stress. This special volume follows the ACTS approach to prayer—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication—but adds a unique contemplative element as well: your relationship with God.

More About the Book

Jonathan Aitken’s conversion occurred at a time when he was experiencing the pressures of political life, a public trial, pleading guilty to perjury, being divorced by his wife, going to prison, and returning to “normal” life. Amid all the pressure of those years, he was discipled in such a way that he learned the discipline of daily prayer and kept extensive prayer journals. It is from these that he mined the material for this book.

Essentially following the ACTS approach to prayer—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication—Aitken also adds an element of contemplation: Our Relationship with God. His acronym, then, is ACTORS, and his collection of prayers and reflections is accordingly divided into five parts, all preceded by a narrative of his introduction to a life of prayer. “Since direct communication with God in prayer is surely the truest path for a spiritual journey,” writes Aitken, “my prayer is that this small book may help others along that path.”

“Prayers for People under Pressure is for those in the thick of things, and both the selection of prayers and the accompanying reflections are brilliant. Jonathan Aitken’s transparent, unassuming, down-to-earth, in-God’s-presence style as he speaks of God and ourselves has huge force, taking us often to the edge of eternity. This is an anthology I shall treasure and use.”
—J. I. Packer, Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology, Regent College

“Brilliantly written, thoroughly biblical, persuasively convicting, and powerful. I highly recommend it.”
—Robert Wolgemuth, author

Leadership Gold by John C. Maxwell

Okay, I’ve been falling back on getting mention of these books here online. So here we go again. I’m in the process of looking through these and setting up interviews with some of the authors.

This first book is the latest by John C. Maxwell and is called Leadership Gold: Lessons I’ve Learned from a Lifetime of Leading. (I was contacted to interview John this coming Monday, but still haven’t heard back from the Publisher, so we’ll see.)

Book Description from Amazon
Leadership Gold took leadership guru John C. Maxwell a lifetime to write, and it delivers his most valuable lessons from forty years of leading.

A leader among leaders, John Maxwell promised himself early in his career that he wouldn’t write this book until he was sixty. And now it’s finally here. Leadership Gold took Maxwell a lifetime to write, and it delivers his most valuable lessons from forty years of leading. With his signature style, Maxwell comes alongside like a mentor, candidly taking readers through what feels like a one-on-one leadership program. Leadership Gold offers the best of the best, the tried-and-true lessons that no one but Maxwell can share.

New Books I’m Examining

I have quite a few books to let you know about.  The first four are published by Moody Publishers, one of the most trusted Christian publishers in the USA.

The Moody Handbook of Theology – Paul Enns

The Moody Handbook of Theology leads the reader into the
appreciation and understanding of the essentials of Christian theology.
It introduces the reader to the five dimensions that provide a
comprehensive view of theology: Biblical Theology, Systematic Theology,
Historical Theology, Dogmatic Theology, and Contemporary Theology. Paul
Enns provides a concise doctrinal reference tool for newcomer and
scholar. Includes new material on the openness of God, health and
wealth theology, the emergent church, various rapture interpretations,
feminism, and more.

Lies Young Women Believe: And the Truth That Sets Them Free – Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Dannah Gresh

It is a sad statistic that only 9 percent of born-again teens believe
in moral absolutes (Barna, February 2002). The covers of today’s teen
magazines would make yesteryear’s sailor blush. And yet these are the
images and messages that teens are flooded with in print and electronic
media. Lies Young Women Believe will give girls aged 13-19 the tools
they need to identify where their lives and beliefs are off course -
the result of buying into Satan’s lies about God, guys, media, and
more. Based on surveys of over 1000 young women, million-selling author
Nancy Leigh DeMoss teams up with established youth author Dannah Gresh
to speak to teenage girls about the top lies they believe. It isn’t
enough to identify these lies, however. The authors are well-equipped
to lead young women in the skills and the truths of Scripture that
overcome those lies.

Seven Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible – Erwin W. Lutzer

Dr. Lutzer takes the reader on a journey to examine the Bible with a critical eye. With the current cultural onslaught against the authority of God’s Word, we explore the seven reasons why we can unequivocally trust and fully depend on the Bible. Each reason is thoroughly developed in easy to understand language.

Reason 1: Logical – the claims of the Bible.
Reason 2: Historical – the reliability of the Bible
Reason 3: Prophetic – the predictions of the Bible
Reason 4: Christological – the authority of Christ
Reason 5: Scientific – the story of Creation
Reason 6: Providential – the canonical approach
Reason 7: Personal – the power of the Word

The top-selling Seven Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible is revised, expanded and includes Bible study questions at the end of each chapter. A dynamic tool to disciple new Christians and evangelize non-Christians, it is an effective resource for the lay Christian who desires to understand why we believe what we believe.

Christ in the Feast of Pentecost – David Brickner, Rich Robinson

The Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot in Hebrew) is one of the three major festivals of Israel. This book rounds out the series so that all three Aliyah Festivals are covered in this series by Moody Publishers (Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles and Christ in the Passover being the first two books). Studying the Feast of Pentecost helps us understand such New Testament references as “First Fruits” and the biblical view of Pentecost in the book of Acts. Much of what happened as recorded in the book of Acts has either direct or indirect reference to the biblical festival of Pentecost.