Mary Lynn Griswold: "Stand-In Groom" by Kaye Dacus

Mary Lynn Griswold: "Stand-In Groom" by Kaye Dacus

The Wackiest Wildest Weirdest Animals in the World

"The Wackiest Wildest Weirdest animal in the World" by Jack Hanna and photography by Rick A. Prebeg is truly an amazing book of some pretty amazing creatures. Jack Hanna is very farmous having served as an animal expert for over twenty-five years, educating, promoting zoos and has been on many famous TV shows. His own television shoows included one of the longest running syndicated wildlife series "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures".

While the book is classified as a children's book, it was fascinating to me and very intriguing. It is beautifully presented with colorful photographs. Many of the animals shown are ones I did not even know existed. The Blue-footed Booby is an example. Seeing his very baby blue feet and learning that he used those blue feet to win his girlfriend was truly wacky.

The book features thirty weird animals from all over the world. The author is amazed at God's creations and shows some interesting facts about the animals featured that would be hard to gorget. The lion's roar can be heard up to five miles away and can eat more that 60 pounds of food in one meal. I won't forget that!

The giant anteater is another weird animal. His tougue in blue and over two feet long. He has a superlong bushy tail that he can fan out and use like an umbrella to protect himself from the sun. They consume more than 30,000 insects each day. Jack says this wird animal is proof God has a great sense of humor.

The octopus was another interesting creature featured. I did not know that they have three hearts and get up to 110 lbs. with l6 foot armspan. As a means of defense, the octopus can change its color quickly to match the color and the texture of the surroundings. It can also dismember itself, leaving a lone twitching arm as a distraction or simply to break free. There are over 300 types that live in oceans all over the world.

I discoverd so many unusual facts such as which animal:
* can run as fast backward as it can forward
*can stick out its tongue 100 times a minute
*can lick its own ears

Our God is so creative to think up such unusual animals and Jack Hanna makes me want to see and learn more about them. Many of them- like the elephant for instance have a high degree of intelligence and social behavious we know little about.

This book would make an excekllent gift to anyone who appreciates the wonder and beauty of some of the most unusual animals in our world.

Telling God's Story by Preban Vang and Terry Carter

While I have not been asked to do a review of the book "Telling God's Story" by Preban Vang and Terry Carter, I decided I needed to tell "the world" what a fine job they have done.

Reading about how they decided this type of teaching material was needed helped me to realize that their assessment was certainly correct - at least for myself and almost everyone I know.

I have been in church all my life and a very serious Bible student for the past 40 years. I absolutely love studying under great teachers but none of these have helped me "grasp" the whole picture and understand the continuity of the Bible like these two gifted professors.

At the university they have taught Old Testament and New Testament surveys and tried to cover the various books of the Bible and peruse its history. In the end they found they had failed to help their students make the connection between the individual books and even more so between the two testaments. Their students did not see the story of the Bible as one story beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation. This book is a result of this realization. They changed their teaching philosophy. The book serves as a text for a course that takes students through the entire biblical story helping them learn and understand the Bible as one story. As a result, students now leave their classes much better church members who hear sermons more clearly and read their Bibles with a greater understanding of its whole message and purpose.

I would like to see the book taught in our Sunday Schools as an elective course as I believe many would agree it is certainly needed. I also believe that understanding the Bible as one story can help us avoid poor interpretations of individual biblical passages and also help us explain the Bible more effectively to others. I am reading it now for the third time and enjoying discovering more and more treasures.

Ruby's Slippers by Leanna Ellis

The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley

All of us can benefit from reading and "heeding" "The Principle of the Path" by Andy Stanley. The author says that his intention is to bring to our attention a dynamic that is operating in the background of our lives and that we can leverage it for our benefit or ignore it and reap a harvest of regret. He was saved from a bad accident and possibly death by a person willing to not only tell him he was headed in the wrong direction but also willing to show him the right way to get where he was headed. Andy states that it is his intention to help us realize that we all probably have directions that need to be changed.

The principle of the path is simply:

Direction-not intention- determines our destination.

Simply put he states that you and I will win or lose in life by the paths we choose. He gies many examples and stories to emphasize his points. He says that we don't abandon the clearly marked paths because we are looking trouble. There is always something about the alternate routes that is powerfully appealing.

The book is very interest as there are so many life stories of the author's own as well as those of his friends and acquaintances. The book is designed to empower us to identify the paths that lead to the destination we desire while avoiding regret. This principle impacts our lives every day, follows us. Choosing the wrong path in life can cost us precious years. It is the author's hope that reading this book and taking seriously his suggestions, we can come clean with ourselves about the uncomfortable truth behind our choices and hopefully, make the most important decision of submitting to the One who knows what is best for us.

This book would make an excellent gift to anyone but especially to graduates who are about to have to make some important choices in their lives.

Chasing Charity by Marcia Gruver

Could anything be more humilating that to be left stranded at the altar and her intended groom walk out of the church on the arm of her best friend? Charity Bloom learns a lot of lessons from her experiences that perhaps all of us could take note. Marcia Gruver addresses several problems that haunt all of us at one time or another...how do we treat betrayal and deceit....how do we handle embarrassment our loved ones sometimes can cause..and on and on the problems come.

Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to face. Charity's friend ,Emmy, learns the freedom it brings to those whonged as well as to herself. We watch as this character has a complete reversal of traits. She is transformed right before our eyes from a selfish, uncaring person to one who knows the value of a true friend and what happiness is all about.

Charity's sterling character comes through in all of the situations she confronts and I came away wondering if I could handle things half as well as she did.

While the book is not classified as Christian Fiction, it still portrays Christian virtues and values and it is certainly both entertaining as well as inspirational.

"The Noticer" by Andy Andrews

If you have ever known a "Jones" in your own life, you can definitely relate to Andy Andrews newest book "The Noticer". Jones is just Jones, not Mr. Jones but he seems to appear and disappear just like an angel. He seems to be ageless but also so timely in his appearances to help people with their problems. His main objective is always to help them with their perspective and to tell them he is a noticer and then tries to teach them how to become a noticer also. Her notices things that others seem to overlook even though they are in plain sight often.

Each person's story teaches us to much about ourselves and how we relate to those around us. Andy reminds us it is never too late to start planting seeds in the minds and hearts of those we touch.

Being an avid reader myself made me very conscious of the biographies that Jones asked Andy to read. I am determined to read the ones he mentions for myself for he has convinced me that not our experiences but it is other people's experiences that are the best teacher and that by reading about the lives of great people, we can unlock the secrets to what made them great.





This book is one I plan to give to my people but especially my grandchildren with the hope and prayer that God will use it to help them become "all they can be" especially with His help.