Books January - February 2015

Fiction
1 - 2 - 3. Uglies, Prettties, Special - Scott Westerfeld
4 - 5. Land of Stories books 1 and 2 - Chris Colfer
6. The Swish of the Curtain - Pamela Brown
7. Maddy Alone - Pamela Brown
8. Golden Pavements - Pamela Brown
9. The Blue Door Venture  - Pamela Brown

Fiction for my Kids (not counting picture books)
1. Haffertee Hamster - Janet and John Perkins
2. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Barbara Robinson

Nonfiction
1. One Thousand Gifts - Ann Voscomp
2. 102 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum - Cathy Duffy

More Books

Book Review time!

1. Stepford Wives. Short summary: weird town where all the women are extreme homemakers with no time for anything else but scrubbing and cooking and serving their families.

I've seen (and actually own) this movie. As usual, when I ran across the book on paperbackswap recently, I had to get it because I just have a thing about reading the books that movies are developed from. Primarily because the books are nearly always substantially better. But not always. As was the case here.

Its an interesting read, and I think would have been a better read if I hadn't already known what was going on. I did not like the feminist movement attitude throughout the book of "only robotic women would possibly be the kind of women who really find fulfillment in caring for their home/family". Granted, the book took it to the extreme, but the undercurrent of anti-homecaring women was still there. And frankly, the movie end was far better. More, the good guy wins, and therefore, less depressing. Wouldn't recommend it.

2. Life of Pi. Short summary: son of a zookeeper is on a boat with his family, moving from India to Canada while transporting some of the (now closing) zoo's animals with them. Ship sinks, he winds up in a lifeboat with several very odd companions--including a tiger. Survives for months.

This is one of those books I've heard all sorts of mentions of, and again finding it on paperbackswap the other day, I ordered it. Great read. Fascinating story and the writing itself is fantastic. If you want a quirky, somewhat mysterious, insightful, thought-provoking read, go for this. Now how they are going to turn this into a movie with substance, I'm really not sure. Because what drove the book was not the action (I mean, come on, the guy is stuck on a life boat for months--how much action is there really!) but the language and insights. I don't know how well that's going to translate into screen.

3. Alex Rider. So I admit to being a sucker for young adult fiction. While I love a good "grown up" novel, I enjoy the easy-reading, perspective, and frequently simpler or faster pace of good young adult fiction. This summer, Turtle was reading through this series of books. As I'd not heard of it, and my sometimes reluctant reader was absolutely devouring them, I figured I'd better get in on the action. And action it is. Decent writing, good story line, it's a teen MI6 agent. Hard to explain, and despite the implausibility of the book, the stories feel plausible. If such an oxymoron can exist. Mystery, action, adventure...loving this series. (just picked up book 5 for Chris from the library this morning).

4. The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. Short summary:  Glady Aylward was a young, single woman in England who felt called of God to go to China. Despite being told no, she overcomes a bunch of obstacles and ends up going any ways. She serves as a missionary in the remote regions of China with all sorts of crazy adventures, and ends up saving about 100 children from the Japanese occupation of China.

Growing up, I watched this movie more times than I can count, but I hadn't seen it in years. Then, on Netflix the other day, I found it! So I settled in for a bit of nostalgia, and to introduce my husband to a good movie. The movie was every bit as good as I remember, and afterwards we started talking about how the whole story is based on a true story. I got intrigued to know the "real" story of Gladys Aylward, and so snagged myself this book. And wow, as much as I love the movie, the full story of her life is even more incredible.

5. Children's Literature. Our favorite library finds of the last few months for Blueberry were the following:

• Poppleton. A multi-book collection of rather mundane stories about a pig called Poppleton and his friends. Cute despite the mundane. And I love the fact that they're old enough to not be entirely politically correct.
• Love the Baby! love, love, love this book. So cute. Its now on my "to own" list. About a little rabbit who gets a baby sister and is told by everyone to love on his sister. He doesn't want to because everyone keeps doing all of his special things with her. Until he eventually caves and does love her. Great illustrations and super sweet writing.

Books, Books, and More Books

So here's some of my recent book saturation.

1. How to Embrace a Minimalist Wardrobe--Making the Most Out of Your Closet! by Kristen D. Smith. Pretty good read. Some interesting links. I like that she's very practical. I've looked at some minimalist clothing concept books before, and they tend to lean to the theoretical--which is irritating.

2. A Manual for Writers of Research Paper, Theses, and Dissertations, Eight Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers by Kate L. Turabian  Why am I listing this? Well, I have spent an awful lot of time in lately, but really it's because (for anybody who actually is a nerd enough to care about this), they finally have good details on how to cite electronic books (ie Kindle types). Made me happy!

3. Secrets of Professional Organizers Volume 3: Leading Experts Talk About Decluttering, Organizing & Simplifying Life  by Donna Smallin Kuper   This isn't a minimalism book, but I've found it an interesting read. Its basically a bunch of interviews with professional organizers.

4. The Five Love Languages of Children  by Ross Campbell   If you've ever read the five love languages book, this is just as good--just kid-centric.

5. Unschooling Rules: 55 Ways to Unlearn What We Know About Schools and Rediscover Education  by Clark Aldrich   Really good read. I'm still not sure exactly where I stand on the unschooling/homeschool concept, but this book was really fascinating and has given me a lot to think about.

6. Simple Living - 30 days to less stuff and more life  by Lorilee Lippencott  I like her writing style a lot. Some good links in here. I'm trying to work my way through this one.

7. The 4 Seasons of Marriage: Secrets to a Lasting Marriage by Gary Chapman  I do enjoy Chapman's perspective on marriage. This book is as good as all his others.

8. So, You Think You Wanna Homeschool?  by Tiffany Manlee  One thing I really appreciate about this book is the sheer practicality. She lists (and links) state laws regarding homeschooling, plus tons of ideas and resources. Love it!

Presumptive! Mere Churchianity not C. S. Lewis Standards

When I picked up the book Mere Churchianity by the Internet Monk, Michael Spencer, I was drawn to the book’s title. Not necessarily in a good way, more in terms of wondering “Who is this guy who thinks so highly of his own writing that he would label himself as C. S. Lewis’ equal?”

Then as I read the book description, I found myself intrigued. I am very familiar with the movement of people who are leaving the church. Whether it is that they question whether they are welcome because of the cliques that often seem to drive the church body or because they question the apparent values of “the church” (bigger, better, glitzier), the fact remains that I know an awful lot of people who are questioning “the church” as it exists today.

So, with a bit of skepticism and a bit of intrigue, I read through the book.

Overall, I would have to say I was not impressed.

The basic principal of the book is that Christians need to be living a life centered on Jesus and not on “Christianity” as the church teaches it. In other words, get into the Scriptures, realize who Jesus actually is, and live based on that criteria instead of the “rules of religion” that most (at least Spencer seems to indicate “most”) churches preach instead. I don’t entirely disagree with this concept. I have seen too many churches in which the rules and regulations are more important than people. I have seen too much show and to little reality. The problem is that I have also seen Christians in these churches who are following Christ. Do we condemn all people who attend church buildings because that automatically means they are not following God? I would hope not. But that’s what Mr. Spencer seemed to indicate in this book. And I have seen an awful lot of people who have left the church because they didn’t want to follow biblical principles—but it was easier to blame the church than to examine their own beliefs.

I found Spencer’s logic a bit off from the beginning when he uses the story of the Prodigal Son as his basis for his arguments. In this story, he describes the son who did not run away and have to be forgiven by his father as being a “strait-laced, do-the-right-thing, outwardly conforming” individual. OK. Yes, this son did not run away. He did not squander his inheritance. And yes, he did struggle with the blanket forgiveness his father displayed for his younger brother. But it’s stretching the story a bit for Michael Spencer to simply assume that just because the son stayed where he was, served his father to the best of his ability, and didn’t need a big party or show of forgiveness, he was therefore only “outwardly conforming” or “strait-laced” or any of the other derogatory angles Mr. Spencer portrayed him as.

Unfortunately, as this story of the backbone to the rest of the book and gets referred to over and over throughout the rest of the book, it makes the rest of Michael Spencer’s points a bit suspect.

In fact, the first two chapters of this book give a nutshell representation of how the rest of the book went for me. (To read just the first chapter--the Introduction--click on this link: The Dairy Queen Incident). I would read one chapter and find myself thinking that I agreed with this Internet Monk. He had some thought-provoking, biblically sound points. But then the next chapter he would go on to say things that were not so reliable, in fact were not even always logical, and were often more blanket statements that would be great for someone who might be reading the book simply looking for somebody to back up their personal resentments.

Short summation: If you want a book that will challenge you to go back to the basic principles of Christianity—CHRIST—and to be wary of getting caught up in the man-made rules and ideas of what the church is, this is a great book to read. But read with caution. Evaluate every statement. Consider the logic of it. Reread the scriptures mentioned yourself and make sure that what he saying actually is biblically based and not just personal opinion.

Final Note: If you’re not familiar with Blogging for Books, it is a book review program in which I got a free copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for reviewing it.

Daybook - November 6 and 7, 2010

Outside my window...the leaves are almost all gone from our lovely red tree. It's brilliant sunshine out; however, it appears warmer than it actually is. Friday, the high was in the 40's! We're supposed to warm up the next few days and then plunge back into cooler weather again. Boo hiss! On a happy note, boots are now in season again!

I am thinking...that I'm not really sure what happened to 2010. It's November already, and this fact is puzzling me. It seems like just yesterday that it was November 2009 and a hope that I had was only still a dream--and is now reality.

I am thankful for...a husband who cleaned up diapers, and ran the dishwasher for me last night while I went to bed super early with Blueberry. And then who took her this morning so I could sleep in.

From the learning rooms...[or in our case--the learning brain]...Blueberry is discovering her thumb (sometimes confused with her entire fist). She is also, apparently, beginning to teeth. This has made for a few fussy days. How long does teething last? Her little brain is working all day long, every day. The other day, when Skyping my parents, we could see her really registering their images as being peopleish. That was definitely a first and rather fun! Oh, and she is discovering the charms of the squeal. Most entertaining.

From the kitchen...comes a successful GF adventure! Growing up, one of my family's favorite meals was Navajo Tacos (sometimes called Indian Fry Bread). I've tried to make GF Fry Bread before and not been happy with the results. Edible but quite dense. I'm so proud of myself as I figured out what a good flour mix would be to make the Fry Bread better, and it worked! Really good tasting bread (confirmed by my brother and sister and sister-in-law: non GF eaters, and two individuals who also grew up eating Fry Bread on a regular basis--that's always the test is if someone who doesn't have to eat GF likes the GF goods). Experimentation success! Give self pat on the back.

I am wearing...jeans and a new nursing sweatshirt. I needed some clothes more conducive to breastfeeding on the go, so with my husband's blessing, I spent a bit of money and got three nice tops that should help that area. Very cute and functional.

I am creating...plans and dreams for the next few months. Thanksgiving (to Austin--can't wait to meet the newest little cousin and of course spend some time playing with other cousins and catching up with a wonderful Aunt and Uncle--also, first long car ride with the Blueberry, could be interesting), Christmas (to Arizona--first airplane ride with the Blueberry), and then hopefully a trip in the spring back to Arizona. Why all the trips to Arizona? My APs are currently residing in the big city of Phoenix (Sun City to be more exact) for this year, teaching at the Native American Bible College there. They live very close to Chris' grandparents, so we're hoping that the spring trip we can coordinate seeing them as well.

I am going...to shop at our new Price Cutters tomorrow. Very excited about this store. It is super close (which we have a Dillons and a WalMart that aren't horrifically far away from us, but still a good 10 minute drive). Close, as in, maybe a two or three minute drive. If it weren't for the rather large road to be crossed, it would be easy biking/walking distance. And when Blueberry and I briefly stopped in on Friday, we found it has a fantastic GF section! And, just to make me even happier, they have some international sections in which the UK section had this delightful drink that I've always loved drinking whenever in England--Ribena. Bit expensive, but a fun treat.

I am reading.. .The Little Prince (not done yet) and The Hermit of Eyton Forest (new author for me--Ellis Peters; mystery series set in medieval England--enjoyed the first one I read, now to go back and start at the beginning of the series!)

I am hoping...to continue on this (apparently) better nap pattern for Blueberry this next week. Been reading information on baby sleep patterns and I realized that I've not been catching her early enough during the day to get her to lay down for a nap before her second wind kicks in. So far it has been successful, or at least more successful. So that's been a blessing.

I am hearing...the chatter of my silly little daughter. She really is a very social girl! Must take a break to have a conversation with her. Makes Chris laugh at us.

Around the house...my piles are still in existence. This last week was not very helpful towards tackling them. In truth, it was a rough week. Not entirely sure why. Teething baby definitely had something to do with it. And, I guess we did have a lot going on. Had MOPS on Tuesday morning, then I had to go into work to get my "Blue folder" during work chapel (certificate they give to people who are leaving, marking how long they've worked at the university). Thursday was dance (I was so tired, I will admit to having to leave a bit early), and Friday we left Blueberry with a wonderful babysitter while we went to see TSO. Made for a very, very late night, and Saturday was a very sleepy day around here.

One of my favorite things...baths. I love hot baths. My talented brother is supposed to be installing a new (and much needed) hot water heater soon, and I'm looking forward to being able to take a long bath again. Our current water is ok during the summer, but as soon as it gets the tinsiest bit cold around here, our access to hot water diminishes rapidly. Most frustrating.

On a side note of baths--Blueberry apparently takes after her mother and also loves baths. Loves them so much that if you really want her to throw a good temper tantrum, take her out of the bath!

A few plans for the rest of the week: Well, as it is Sunday, I'm looking at this next week. Need to go grocery shopping. Still working out my insurance. Have to take Blueberry for a shot on Friday (boo). Don't have much in the way of plans beyond that. At least, not plans outside of the house. Around home--clean! Put away piles! Start working on Christmas presents/cards. And play with my ever-charming daughter.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...


Want to join in? Go check out The Simple Woman's Daybook.

The Mrs Poirot

My parents have bred in me a love of mystery stories. Whether in a book (physical or audio) or as film, I grew up surrounded by detectives, adventures, suspense, hidden clues, quirky characters, and all the other elements that comprise an excellent mystery.

These mysteries ranged from young adult/children's literature like Nancy Drew, Edith Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven series (which, incidentally, I picked up a copy of each of those series from PaperbookSwap the other day and was delightfully pulled back into those childhood worlds), or the mystery-lite of Patricia St John's books, to more adult mysteries like Agatha Christy and all the various types of mysteries that would show up on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery nights.

Whenever my parents are back here in the US, they go through an inordinate amount of books on tape because of the amount of driving they have to do while they are here. So, when visiting them recently, I was not at all surprised to find in their cars various books on tape/cd checked out from the library. I was even less surprised that some of them were mysteries.

Well, one of those mysteries was Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled which I enjoyed immensely. Upon arriving back home and looking for something new to read, I obtained for myself the first book in this series: The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax. And I have to admit to having fallen completely, head-over-heels in love with Mrs. Pollifax.

In terms of beautifully portrayed character, she reminds me of Agatha Christy's Hercule Poirot--the chubby little Belgian detective with the perfectionistic tendencies, perfect manners, and keen mind. While the suspense in the book is high and the mystery quite well developed, the book is also hysterically funny in parts as you deal with the character of Mrs. Pollifax who feels almost oxymoronic with her surrounding circumstances. After all, the character is based upon a quirky, white-haired, 60ish year old woman who is involved in various charities and other volunteer activities, yet who feels she has nothing to live for but is not quite ready to commit suicide. She goes to the CIA and very pleasantly inquires as to whether or not she can volunteer as a spy for them, thus fulfilling a life-long dream. And it just goes from there.

Read, relish, and enjoy!

Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.
~ Mortimer J. Adler ~

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 9)

#1 - Why is it that no matter how long or nice of a vacation you've had, you always go back to work feeling tired? Or maybe that's just me? Either way, it's been a long week at work. And I feel like I want another vacation!

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#2 - In a previous post, I had mentioned laughing at the people on the plane who were sharing their entire life stories in far too much intimate detail with complete strangers. To quote myself, I said, "They don't seem to realize the small, small world of airport." I had further proof of that fact on my trip back home.

First of all, I'm sitting in the airport in Washington, innocently reading a book, waiting for my flight, and a couple of Asian ladies sit down next to me. They quickly start gabbing away in Thai, so after eavesdropping for a couple of minutes, I decided I should let them know that their conversation was not quite as private as they thought it was (they were speaking really loud!), so I leaned over and introduced myself--in Thai. Thought the younger lady would fall out of her chair, she was so startled!

We had a nice little chat, and then after awhile, I settled back into my book.

Well, after a few minutes, I look up and there's this guy standing relatively close by, waving at me. I looked at him, puzzled, for a minute before it dawned on me that I did know this person. He is my husband's new boss (and incidentally, he used to be the head of the program for missionary kids with our mission, so I know him from way, way back as well). Well, not only were we in the same airport, but we had the exact same two flights back to Missouri.

So let me reiterate the sentiment of my previous comment--you have no idea who you might run into in an airport!

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#3 - If you haven't yet seen this article on the squirrel/gopher/disturbed rodent picture crashing, you should do so. I found it highly amusing.

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#4 - I've been intending to mention for awhile now, a delightful way of getting rid of books you don't want anymore. No, it's not burning them. Put the matches down.

My experience with books has been a frustrating one. I love books (if you haven't figured that out yet, you're obviously a new reader to my blog). That has resulted in my having a (rather large) book collection. Now while I'm very protective of the books I love, there are other books that wind up in our collection that I really don't want to keep. But the question then comes--how do I get rid of them?

In the past I've explored various options: giving them to people who want them (sometimes hard to find depending on the book), putting them in with stuff for a thrift store, or selling them to used bookstores. Now, the used bookstores option has not gone well for me. Frankly, they don't give hardly anything for books! And I know they sell them cheaply, but seriously, my book is worth more than a quarter!

Then I discovered a free website called Paper Book Swap. I'm in love with it! You can post books that you want to get rid of on the website, and as other people want those books, they can request them from you. You pay the shipping to send the book to them; however, for every book you sent, you get a "credit" in which you can then order more books for yourself! Essentially, you wind up paying between $2.50 - $3 per book you get (postage costs), but as the website requests that they are decent condition, etc, it's winds up being a good deal. They have a HUGE variety of books, and they also have DVDs and CDs (although I haven't explored that option yet).

So, this is my endorsement of their website!

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#5 - So I was in a chapel service at work (a Christian university with our primary degrees all along the lines of biblical studies, etc) the other day, singing a worship song, and I discovered the most amazing piece of information that I thought would be important to share with all of you. Did you know that King David built the temple in Jerusalem? Yeah, I didn't know that either! Amazing, isn't it?

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#6 - While I'm on the topic of worship songs...is it just me or do most of the more modern (past 10 years or so) choruses nowadays seem to spend a lot of time focusing on warm fuzzies and ignoring topics like discipline, sacrifice, and all the other tricky things that Jesus spent a lot of time actually addressing?

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#7 - I was recently sent a forward with a whole bunch of news clippings/police reports some of which I found hysterically funny. I just had to share a couple of my favorites here because, frankly, they're worth it!

China on the Mind

Almost back to back, I've been reading through two different historical fiction novels located in China. Both of them were highly intriguing, seemingly well-researched, and, I felt, worth mentioning here.

The first one that I read was Forbidden City by Muriel Molland Jernigan. Set in the late 19th/early 20th century, this particular novel deals with the fate of a young woman raised in a prestigious household in China and how she becomes the famous Empress Dowager Cixi. While it's obviously historical fiction, the lady who wrote it was a missionary kid who actually lived in China during the Boxer Rebellion and who is very familiar with details of that time, culture, and people.

I found it to be an intriguing story, well written, with enough details to paint a vivid picture of that world but enough story to round out the characters. The story and character of the Empress is fascinating, and I always love to see portrays of the Western world by those from the East. Her opinion of Queen Victoria, in particular, struck me as rather amusing.

The second novel I read right at the beginning of where Forbidden City starts. This novel, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, is gorgeous. Unlike the other novel, this one deals with the lifestyle of those from poor to middle class Chinese households. Lisa See talks about the research that went into the novel, and all the details that are given from foot binding to the intriguing secret women's writing nu shu are obviously pretty accurate (in the case of the foot binding, disturbingly accurate) and paint an detailed picture of the women's culture of that time period for China.

However, one of the things I really enjoyed about this novel was that even though it is historical fiction, a major part of the story-line is one that most women will relate to, and that is the difficult ins and outs of female relationships. I'm not sure if its because the author, although she is Chinese by heritage, grew up in the USA, and so has, however consciously or unconsciously, merged bits and pieces of her western world with this eastern story, but I enjoyed some of the character portrayals that connected women from any culture and any time to one another. After all, most women have at least one friend they consider extremely close, and most women have to deal with good and bad times in such relationships.

This particular novel was so good, I want to read some novels more by Lisa See and find out if I enjoy her writing in those as well.

So if you're looking for some good historical, ficiton with a nice Chinese-slant to it, pick up both or either of these novels. Well worth the time, I think.

Book Review: The Heavenly Man

Imprisoned three times, tortured for his faith, and receiver/witness of many unbelievable miracles, Brother Yun is one of those people who (like David Wilkerson in the Cross and the Switchblade) just astounds me with his faith.

The Heavenly Man is the autobiography of Brother Yun's life in Communist China as one of the initial leaders of the house-church movement there. And it is a really moving and challenging book. As I read description after description of the suffering he has gone through for the sake of the Lord, Brother Yun always came back to the concept that these things have happened to him so that he may be a better believer, a better witness, a stronger testimony of God's grace.

He doesn't set himself up as this person who should be looked up to and admired for his faith. Actually, he openly admits that two of the times he was imprisoned were directly because of his own arrogance in not listening to the warnings of the Lord. But then he goes on to describe how God used each of those situations despite Yun's mistakes.

That part was very encouraging. It is good to be reminded that God really can use any circumstances, even when those circumstances exist because we were foolish enough to not follow the original path He laid out for us. The situation we find ourselves in may be more painful because of our foolishness, but God is still there.

I think one of the most challenging parts of the book, for me at least, was a chapter near the end titled "Reflecting on Four Years in the West." Yun basically pinpoints in the Western church some of the major attitudes and the complacency that is so common. And not in all the churches did he have this experience; although, he did point out that the churches he spoke in that felt alive with the presence of the Lord were those with strong, active missions emphasis (and not just overseas emphasis but local as well).

But he talked about struggling to preach in a lot of the churches because there was no power, no sense of God in the fancy buildings. They are filled with people who have everything, who don't have to lean on the Lord, and so they become arrogant and push the very Savior away that they profess to worship. His prayer is that the Chinese church will be able to "help the Western church rise up and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit." How humbling is that, when we so often puff ourselves up as the ones who are leading the way?

How many others call themselves Christians and yet do not live out their faith? And I'm as guilty as anybody of this. For me, these concepts are ones that God seems to be bringing to the forefront of both my life and even more, Chris' life.

"The first thing needed for revival to return to your churches is the Word of the Lord. God's Word is missing. Sure there are many preachers and thousands of tapes and videos of Bible teaching, but so little contains the sharp truth of God's Word. It's the truth that will set you free.

"Not only is knowledge of God's Word missing, but obedience to that Word. There's not much action taking place.

"When revival came to believers in China, the result was thousands of evangelists being sent out to all corners of the nation, carrying fire from the altar of God with them. When God moves in the West, it seems you want to stop and enjoy His presence and blessing too long, and build an altar to your experiences.

"You can never really know the Scriptures until you're willing to be changed by them.

"All genuine revivals of the Lord result in believers responding with action and soul winning. When God truly moves in your heart, you cannot remain silent....Furthermore, it's only when we step out in obedience and share the gospel with people that we come to know God's blessing in every area of our lives."

I highly recommend this book. I don't care what denomination you are (he's got a good spiel on that in the book as well!), if you believe in a God who moves, who does miracles, who wants us to live our lives in the expectation that He can return at any time, this book will challenge you (and quite possibly make you a little uncomfortable as well!).

Book Review: Cross and the Switchblade

So along with reading the Boundaries book, I have been reading other things (because I really just can't read one thing at a time...that would be boring!).

The Cross and the Switchblade is one of those books. I had heard of this book before but had never actually had an opportunity to read it. Then, a few months ago, my boss brought me a copy back from a meeting he was at, and so, as it is an autobiography, I settled down to read The Cross and the Switchblade during my Lenten fiction-fast.

The Cross and the Switchblade is the story of David Wilkerson and how he came to start the ministry of Teen Challenge. This book really made me stop and think. While the picture painted of the gangs in New York (the original purpose and focus of Wilkerson's ministry) is heartbreaking and gruesome at times, the part that really stood out to me the most is the total dependence upon the Holy Spirit that Wilkerson and his team had to have throughout this experience.

During the first few years of the ministry, Wilkerson literally went day to day without often knowing where he was going to sleep, how to get food, or where even to find the people he needed to find to fulfill the call of God that he felt. And yet he simply prayed. And prayed. And prayed. And somehow, God always came through.

In true confession, there is part of me that feels I don't have that kind of faith, and never wants to be tested to see. But then there's another side of me that yearns to have that kind of faith. But what would I have to go through to get there?