Saturday, August 25, 2012

Be Equipped to Understand the Times – Read “Implosion” by Joel C. Rosenberg


When Joel Rosenberg’s newest book “Implosion” was released I was excited at the prospect of reading it.  Joel’s fiction books are riveting and interwoven with Bible prophesy.  I wanted know Joel’s take on the economic and spiritual decline of our nation and answer to the question is America mentioned in Bible prophesy.

Initially, I was concerned that “Implosion” would be very depressing, but instead I found it interesting, sobering, personally challenging as a Christian and hopeful because God gives second chances. 

Joel did an excellent job in explaining why he and many other experts believe our nation is at a tipping point.  Have we gone past a point of no return?  Every day we see the effects of the economic crisis impacting people and business all around us with home foreclosures and businesses going under.  Just turn on the TV news for a half-hour and you’ll see the devastating affects the moral decline in this nation.  Has God taken His hand off this country?  Have we sown to the wind, only to reap the whirlwind?

To answer these questions and more, Joel covers a lot of ground.  One of the most interesting chapters was “America’s Rising Anxiety” in which we learn that people from all walks of life, from both sides of the aisle, believers and unbelievers alike who are seeing what’s going on in the nation and are deeply concerned.  I was most incredulous about the chapter “The Case of the Optimists”, but Joel did an excellent job in presenting the optimist’s view in seeing how our nation has overcome perilous times in our history. 

As a Christian, the chapter I appreciated most, the one that set the tone for the rest of the book, “The Third Lens” in which Joel shows the importance and necessity of viewing current events through the lens of Scripture.  From there some of the topics Joel addressed included “Signs of the Times”, “Are We Living in the Last Days” and “What Happens to America in the Last Days”.  The chapters that are the most sobering are the different scenarios on what might happen to our nation, like financial implosion, war, terrorism, natural disasters and the rapture.  It was fascinating reading about the first and second great awakenings in our nation and it brought me hope that perhaps we will be the beneficiary of God’s mercy once again.

As a Christian the most challenging chapter was “Will America Experience a Third Great Awakening?”  In this chapter Joel encourages Christians to experience a personal revival and tells how we can get right with God. 

I highly recommend this book, to anyone who sees our nation on the brink of “Implosion” and wonders “Can American Recover From Its Economic & Spiritual Challenges in Time?” 

A complementary copy of this book was provided to me by Tyndale House Publishers to read and review.  I was under no obligation to give a favorable review in exchange for this book. 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Of the World

On Saturday I stopped by the library to drop off a movie and was chatting with the librarian. Someone else was returning a movie that they like and highly recommended it.  The librarian asked if I wanted to check it out.  I brought it home and my husband and I watched it on Saturday night.  

Vain
Empty 
Devoid of lasting or eternal value

Godless
Sin exalted 
Self-worship

No awareness of God 
Except to use His name in vain

To quote our friend Harry, there's ninety minutes of my life I'll never get back again.  



Sunday, August 12, 2012

Washington DC & Virginia Trip 2012


                                               
Good golly can  it be four months since we went on our trip to Washington DC & Virginia earlier this year?  Indeed it has been.  With busy days and time being at a premium, it was a challenge to sit down and put our pictures into a video. 

This was like a dream trip.  I never would have thought I would get to go to Washington DC.  It was a quick trip and one I hope to repeat and spend more time in our nation's capitol city. 

The east coast and Washington DC are so different than southern California.  I was captured by the beautiful architecture and nature.  Some of our favorite places were Arlington Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial the World War II, Korean and Vietnam War Memorials. 

I was grateful to be able to see my cousin's name Richard Frank Dusseau on the Vietnam Memorial.  He died within 2 months of his arrival in Vietnam.  A sobering reminder that our freedom comes at a price.

I am so grateful to the men and women of our military for their sacrifice and bravery to protect and defend our nation and the freedom that God has given us through our founding fathers.

Thank you to our family members whom we were able to spend some time with: Nathan and Molly Connor and their children Kylan, Madison and Caleb and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law Ron and Carol Jackson who made the trek from Louisiana. 

It was a special and memorable time that we will treasure always. 

Fatal Witness by Patricia Bradley – Interesting Plot, But the Story Got Bogged Down

  I enjoy suspense and mystery novels and was excited to read Patricia Bradley’s newest book Fatal Witness , the second book in the Pearl R...