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He’s Already There
The group was going one way; I was intent on going another. I wasn’t about to eat ice cream this late. That was fattening and I still wasn’t over my eating disorder. Walking away from the retreat group, I headed back to the cabin. That was –until I felt God stop me in my tracks. It was as if I got hit by a 2×4. God placed on my heart, “Turn around. Go back with the group.” I knew to ignore His pull would be direct disobedience. Direct disobedience comes with consequences. So, I turned around and, somewhat begrudgingly, walked all 23-years of me back into that line. And, as…
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A Life Once Dreamed by Rachel Ford
Pulling Together A Life Once Dreamed by Rachel Fordham is a charming Christian historical novel set in 1880. This is a time of exploration and putting down roots. The reader sees this physically and spiritually. The town of Penance is a pioneering settlement. The town grows both physically and its members grow spiritually. It is […]
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Contempt by Michael Cordell
Sacrificial Lamb Contempt by Michael Cordell is a fabulous contemporary legal thriller that will have you glued and guessing. Miscarriages of justice have occurred and the truth needs to be uncovered. The tension rises as clearing murky waters begin to uncover a different picture. The action is fast paced and like any courtroom drama, the […]
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Acceptable Risk by Lynette Eason
Good Hearts Acceptable Risk by Lynette Eason is a fabulous Christian suspense and the second book in the Danger Never Sleeps series. It can be read as a stand-alone. I enjoyed catching up with familiar faces. Lynette Eason is a master of the suspense drama. She had me glued and guessing from the start. Her […]
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12 Substitutions for The Kite Runner
High School Literature: Messy and Grown-Up What’s a parent to do when a book like The Kite Runner gets assigned in school? High school students are learning to read as adults; the high school literature canon reflects that: The Great Gatsby, Great Expectations, Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Shakespeare…. All of these are “adult” books in that they were written for an adult audience. And all of them contain “messy” elements: violence, bad language, sexual promiscuity, trauma, sordid family histories, etc. And yet, the traditional high school canon did not feature books as explicitly traumatic as a book like The Kite Runner. Darkness? Yes.…
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Jason Gray Releases First ‘Reorder EP’ Single, Glory Days
Centricity Music recording artist Jason Gray releases “Glory Days” today (August 7) to digital and streaming outlets globally through http//jasongray.lnk.to/glorydays. The song goes for radio adds next month and is the first single from the third volume of his three-part album, Order Disorder Reorder, which will be available Oct. 2. “I love the way the two different uses of ‘glory’ play together in these verses,” says Gray, referencing 2 Cor. 318 and Romans 53-4 as the inspiration for his new single. “It got me thinking about the phrase ‘glory days’ and how we tend to think of the glory days as a charmed time in our life when everything was…
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Christian Metalcore Band Fit For A King Releases 3rd New Single Locked (In My Head)
The Texas-based metalcore band Fit For A King, has released their third new single, called “Locked (In My Head).” The song premiered on the music website Revolver Magazine alongside a music video that the band’s label, Solid State Records, also published on YouTube. The new single follows two previous songs, “God of Fire” and “Breaking The Mirror.” Listen here Fit For A King’s lead singer talked with Revolver Magazine about the meaning behind the song, saying “It’s a song about understanding that all the mental things we fight through can only be defeated by our own will and perseverance. Along the road, we will get help whether from God or…
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Him And Her Worship Find Hope ‘Even In The Dark’
NASHVILLE, Tenn.–Even In The Dark, the full-length debut from Minneapolis-based husband/wife folk-pop duo Him Her Worship, is set to bow September 4. Grounded in the assurance of God’s steadfast love throughout life’s deepest valleys and highest peaks, the project was written, recorded and produced by Him Her Worship’s Seth and Jenna Herlich. With additional instrumentation and production support from Hotel Eden’s Kelly Warner, Even In The Dark was mixed and mastered by Nicolas Essig (Lana Del Rey, The Chris Robinson Brotherhood) and features 10 selections–seven vocal tracks alongside three instrumental interludes. “This record was written in the quiet moments of a dark season, when the only thing that made sense…
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When you Want Deeply
“You want what you don’t have…” (Ja. 4:2) How many of us desire what we do not have? We want a bigger house, a better husband, a different school year, a more satisfying job, a better family situation… then, life would be good. There are things that I want. I desire them. Badly. Yet, the time isn’t right. Nothing’s changed. I am at a standstill. I believe, one of life’s greatest hurts is mental fantasies, unrealized. We create storylines about how things should be. Yet, the more they are not the way we think they should be, the more hope deferred we feel. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick…” (Prov. 13:12) Our sickness…
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Is The Kite Runner OK for 10th Graders?
Is The Kite Runner OK for 10th Graders? “My 10th grader has to read The Kite Runner for school. Do you know anything about it? Is it okay for him to read?” “My 15-year-old daughter was assigned The Kite Runner for school. I’m not comfortable with her reading it. Can you recommend a substitute?” And so it goes. This is our readers’ number one school book substitution request. The Kite Runner: a Summary The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Riverhead, 2003. 371 pages. Reading Level: AdultRecommended For: Ages 16 and up* (note considerations below)Amir (the narrator) and Hassan grew up together in Afghanistan; Hasan and his father are servants in…
