New Releases

The Complete Visual Bible

Stephen Miller
Barbour Publishing, March 2011
Take a stunning pictorial journey through God's Word, from Genesis to Revelation! Easy to read and lavishly illustrated, Miller's compelling guide pairs brief text with gorgeous paintings, brilliant photographs, colorful maps, and striking graphics to highlight key points in all 66 books of the Bible. A wonderful visual experience for the whole family! 528 pages, softcover from Barbour.


Average Joe
Troy Meeder
Multnomah, April 2011
Drawing examples from his own life and the Bible's "average Joes"---including Joseph, Peter, Stephen, and Jesus, a carpenter's son---Meeder reveals the admirable qualities of "ordinary" men who live largely in the shadows yet demonstrate faithful integrity in work, marriage, family, church, and community. Includes a small-group discussion guide. 192 pages, softcover from Multnomah.

Roadside Assistance
Amy Clipston
Zondervan, April 2011
After losing her mother to cancer and being forced to move in with wealthy relatives, tomboy Emily feels adrift from her life and faith. Every day she struggles to understand herself in relationship to her family, her seemingly perfect cousin---and a confusing friendship with the cute car buff next door! Ages 13 to 16. 224 pages, softcover from Zondervan.


Brave Young Knight
Karen Kingsbury
Zondervan, April 2011
What distinguishes a great leader? Is he faster, stronger, or smarter than everybody else? Not necessarily, as one young knight learns. Join him as he competes with other boys to become prince of the land---and discovers that those who have the courage to fight for what is right and true are the real winners. 40 pages, hardcover from Zonderkidz.

Book Review

Love Wins
by Rob Bell
2011 HarperOne


Reviewed by Diane Busch

To begin with, I don't think the book deserves the hype and hate we have been reading about in articles or hearing about on television.  I found "Love Wins" to be a great read that compels us to have our hearts right with God and live out our Christianity--not just use it as a ticket to heaven in the future, but to bring some heaven on earth now, by helping humanity with it's pain and suffering and hunger and poverty and illness, etc. 

In his books and videos, Rob Bell often asks honest, provocative and probing questions, forcing us to think and read and discuss rather than being spoon fed the answers. He often articulates the questions many were thinking but never expressed.   He has a way of making some of us who grew up in the church "rethink" what we've always thought or been taught.  He examines what scripture says and what Jesus said and meant and what the backstory was.  He provides insightful background information which helps in understanding the context in which Jesus said or did things. 

Bell explains interpretations of words from the Greek or Hebrew in which the scriptures were written, where there may have been several different words for something we have only one word for.  Sometimes these subtle differences can give a fresh perspective, such as his interpretation of the story of the Prodigal Son.

There may be a few things in chapters 3 and 4 that you question or don't agree with, but keep reading.  He may answer your questions in a later chapter.  You may find you agree with him on many more points than you disagree.  I actually welcome the opportunity to be shaken up a bit in my thinking, to stretch my mind and be forced to think outside the box of my traditional thought, as long as it is scriptural, of course.  Bell uses scripture to back up all of his points throughout this book.

In chapter 7, Bell states, "God is love, and to refuse this love moves us away from it, in the other direction, and that will, by very definition, be an increasingly unloving, hellish reality.  There are consequences…to reject God's grace, to turn from God's love, to resist God's telling, will lead to misery.  It is a form of punishment, all on its own."  And in chapter 8 he states, "While we continually find grace waiting to pick us up off the ground after we have fallen, there are realities to our choices.  While we may get other opportunities, we won't get the one right in front of us again.  Jesus reminds us in a number of ways that it's vitally important we take our choices here and now as seriously as we possibly can because they matter more than we can begin to imagine.  Jesus urges us to live like the end is here, now, today."

Bell concludes his book with the following: "May you experience this vast, expansive, infinite, indestructible love that has been yours all along.  May you discover that this love is as wide as the sky and as small as the cracks in your heart no one else knows about.  And may you know, deep in your bones, that love wins.

New Releases

I Will Praise You
Rebecca St. James
Provident, April 2011
Grammy winner St. James unleashes another wave of stunning worship songs---for the glory of Christ! Features "You Never Let Go," "Shine Your Glory Down," "You Still Amaze Me," "In a Moment," "The Kindness of Our God," "When the Stars Burn Down (Blessing and Honor)," "Almighty God," "You Hold Me Now," "You Make Everything Beautiful," and the title track.

What if We Were Real
Mandisa
Sparrow Records, April 2011
Mandisa continues to be a voice of encouragement and truth to women facing life's challenges. She returns with her new album What If We Were Real. Featuring the new single "Stronger", the album's theme centers around the masks that each of us wear every day. Mandisa shares that her new record is "all about taking the masks off, and really letting the world see that we as Christians, It doesn't mean we don't go through difficult times, doesn't mean that things are always great in our lives. It simply means we have a relationship with the Savior who is able to bring us joy and peace in the middle of our difficult times."

Weird: Because Normal isn't Working
Craig Groeschel
Zondervan, April 2011
In today's overstressed, overwhelmed, and overtired culture, a "normal" lifestyle isn't what it used to be! Groeschel shares a Christ-centered philosophy on everything from money to scheduling to purity that will help you break out of your regular routine and live according to the abnormal rhythms of God's grace and the truth of his Word.

Orphanology
Tony Merida & Rick Morton
New Hope Publishers, March 2011
Orphanology unveils the grassroots movement that's engaged in a comprehensive response to serve hundreds of millions of orphans and "functionally parentless" children. You'll see a breadth of ways to care with biblical perspective and reasons why we must. Heartwarming, personal stories and vivid illustrations from a growing network of families, churches, and organizations that cross cultures show how to respond to God's mandate. The book empowers:
- churches-to plan preaching, teaching, ministering, missions, funding adoption, supporting orphans;
- individuals and families-to overcome challenges and uncertainties;
- every believer-to gain insights to help orphans in numerous ways.
Discover how to adopt, assist orphans in transition, engage in foster care, partner with faith-based fostering agencies, and become orphan hosts. Along with their families' adoption stories, Merida and Morton give steps for action and features on churches doing orphan ministry, faith-based children's homes, orphanhosting groups, and other resources.

Unsinkable
Abby Sunderland
Thomas Nelson, March 2011
Most teenagers dream about getting their driver's license, having a first date, or graduating from high school. When Abby Sunderland was 13 she knew she wanted to sail solo around the world. Raised in an adventurous, homeschooling family on the California coast, Abby's older brother Zac had already circumnavigated the globe when he was 16. In Unsinkable, Abby and Lynn Vincent (Same Kind of Different As Me, Heaven is for Real), share how Abby's dream grew and how she became the youngest person in the world to attempt this daring journey.

Max on Life
Max Lucado
Thomas Nelson, April 2011
Over the years, Lucado has received thousands of questions in letters and e-mails---and even on coffee shop napkins! In this collection arranged in a Q&A format, he pens thoughtful personal responses to more than 150 queries on parenting quandaries, financial challenges, difficult relationships, the role of prayer, the reason for hope, and more.

Book Review

Love Wins
by Rob Bell
2011 HarperOne


Reviewed by Diane Busch

To begin with, I don't think the book deserves the hype and hate we have been reading about in articles or hearing about on television.  I found "Love Wins" to be a great read that compels us to have our hearts right with God and live out our Christianity--not just use it as a ticket to heaven in the future, but to bring some heaven on earth now, by helping humanity with it's pain and suffering and hunger and poverty and illness, etc. 

In his books and videos, Rob Bell often asks honest, provocative and probing questions, forcing us to think and read and discuss rather than being spoon fed the answers. He often articulates the questions many were thinking but never expressed.   He has a way of making some of us who grew up in the church "rethink" what we've always thought or been taught.  He examines what scripture says and what Jesus said and meant and what the backstory was.  He provides insightful background information which helps in understanding the context in which Jesus said or did things. 

Bell explains interpretations of words from the Greek or Hebrew in which the scriptures were written, where there may have been several different words for something we have only one word for.  Sometimes these subtle differences can give a fresh perspective, such as his interpretation of the story of the Prodigal Son.

There may be a few things in chapters 3 and 4 that you question or don't agree with, but keep reading.  He may answer your questions in a later chapter.  You may find you agree with him on many more points than you disagree.  I actually welcome the opportunity to be shaken up a bit in my thinking, to stretch my mind and be forced to think outside the box of my traditional thought, as long as it is scriptural, of course.  Bell uses scripture to back up all of his points throughout this book.

In chapter 7, Bell states, "God is love, and to refuse this love moves us away from it, in the other direction, and that will, by very definition, be an increasingly unloving, hellish reality.  There are consequences…to reject God's grace, to turn from God's love, to resist God's telling, will lead to misery.  It is a form of punishment, all on its own."  And in chapter 8 he states, "While we continually find grace waiting to pick us up off the ground after we have fallen, there are realities to our choices.  While we may get other opportunities, we won't get the one right in front of us again.  Jesus reminds us in a number of ways that it's vitally important we take our choices here and now as seriously as we possibly can because they matter more than we can begin to imagine.  Jesus urges us to live like the end is here, now, today."

Bell concludes his book with the following: "May you experience this vast, expansive, infinite, indestructible love that has been yours all along.  May you discover that this love is as wide as the sky and as small as the cracks in your heart no one else knows about.  And may you know, deep in your bones, that love wins.