The power of fiction, the beauty of words, and the God who made us to wield them for His glory.

Deep Calling Deep (Carole Towriss) – Review

~ About the Book ~ Experience the psalms like never before — through heart-pounding fiction!  Praetorian Prefect Sextus Burrus has spent his life fighting for the glory of Rome, but that glory has lost its shine. As both his health and his career crumble, he is drawn toward the seemingly inexhaustible peace of one of his Jewish prisoners, the Apostle Paul.  The moment Timothy hears his mentor and surrogate father Paul has been arrested, he rushes to Rome. Under the looming threat of execution, Timothy struggles to make sense of what is happening. Finally, an unexpected crisis requires him to reexamine everything,

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11 September 2018

By the Waters of Babylon (Mesu Andrews) – Review

~ About the Book ~ Experience the psalms like never before – through heart-pounding fiction!  When Babylon destroys Jerusalem, as Yahweh warned through his prophets, the captives’ bitterness and grief pours out in the Captives’ Psalm:  “[By the rivers of Babylon] we sat as exiles, mourning our captivity, and wept with great love for Zion. Our music and mirth were no longer heard, only sadness. We hung up our harps on the willow trees.” (Psalm 137:1-2, The Passion Translation) A young Israelite woman is among them, captured by a mercenary Scythian prince. Driven toward Babylon by both hatred and hope, she endures captivity

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16 August 2018

Thief of Corinth (Tessa Afshar) – Review

~ About the Book ~ First-century Corinth is a city teeming with commerce and charm. It’s also filled with danger and corruption—the perfect setting for Ariadne’s greatest adventure. After years spent living with her mother and oppressive grandfather in Athens, Ariadne runs away to her father’s home in Corinth, only to discover the perilous secret that destroyed his marriage: though a Greek of high birth, Galenos is the infamous thief who has been robbing the city’s corrupt of their ill-gotten gains. Desperate to keep him safe, Ariadne risks her good name, her freedom, and the love of the man she

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9 August 2018

A Conspiracy of Breath (Latayne C. Scott) – Review

~ About the Book ~ In a richly-textured, controversial and provocative literary work, award-winning author Latayne C. Scott examines: What would it have been like to be a woman, a Gentile, and someone onto whom the Holy Breath moved – to produce what became the mysterious Epistle to the Hebrews in the Bible? “This book changed me, deepened my love for The Breath, and swelled my appreciation for those who sacrificed so much to ensure people like me…could turn the parchment pages and read Truth for ourselves. I didn’t want to leave this story and fear Latayne has spoiled me

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12 May 2018

First Line Friday – 30 March 2018 – Counted With the Stars (Connilyn Cossette)

Welcome to First Line Friday, hosted by Hoarding Books! I have a special selection for you this Good Friday—a book that takes us all the way back to the event that foreshadowed Christ’s death and resurrection: Counted With the Stars, by Connilyn Cossette. In 1 Corinthians 5:7, Paul described Christ as the Passover lamb who had been sacrificed for us, but to understand that reference, you need to understand the festival of Passover celebrated each year by the Jewish people—a festival that was first celebrated on the eve of the Hebrew exodus from Egypt. Counted With the Stars is one of my

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30 March 2018

A Light on the Hill (Connilyn Cossette) – Review

~ About the Book ~ Seven years ago, Moriyah was taken captive in Jericho and branded with the mark of the Canaanite gods. Now the Israelites are experiencing peace in their new land, but Moriyah has yet to find her own peace. Because of the shameful mark on her face, she hides behind her veil at all times and the disdain of the townspeople keeps her from socializing. And marriage prospects were out of the question . . . until now. Her father has found someone to marry her, and she hopes to use her love of cooking to impress

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17 February 2018

A Passionate Hope (Jill Eileen Smith) – Review

~ About the Book ~ Hannah and her husband, Elkanah, share a deep and abiding love, for each other, for their God, and for his tabernacle at Shiloh. Greatly disturbed by the corruption of the priests, they long for restoration and pray for a deliverer. But nothing changes as the years pass. Years that also reveal Hannah to be barren. Pressured by his family to take another wife, Elkanah marries Peninnah, who quickly begins to bear children. Disgraced and taunted by her husband’s new wife, Hannah turns again to prayers that seem doomed to go unanswered. Do her devotion and

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8 February 2018