Skip to main content

Sometimes it's good to read it again...

I am one of those people who only reads a book once.  Most of the time.  Every once in a while I come across a book that I want to read again.  Covenant Child by Terri Blackstock, The Awakening by Angela Hunt, and The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers are three such books.  Right now I'm reading another one that falls into this category: Safely Home by Randy Alcorn


I remember reading Safely Home when my husband and I first got married ten  years ago.  We found it at a bargain Christian bookstore and it sounded interesting.  We had been reading Voice of the Martyrs at the time and were interested in learning more about the persecuted church worldwide.  


Safely Home is the story of two characters--Ben Fielding, an American, and Li Quan, a Chinese man.  The story centers upon Ben's visit to China and his renewal of his friendship with Li Quan.  Ben has walked away from his faith that he lived out during his college years when he knew Li Quan.  On the other hand, Li Quan has chosen his faith in God over his own dreams of writing and being a professor.  The story is well crafted and very descriptive.  It is easy to picture and imagine this story.  Alcorn's plot will draw you in and challenge you to reflect on how you prioritize your faith at the very same time.  Are I like Li Quan or am I like Ben Fielding?   I hope that I am like Li Quan, but too often my priorities stray in my day and my eyes are not focused where they need to be.


Tyndale has just published a new paperback 10th anniversary edition of this book.  It includes a new forward which I found very interesting.  It is very obvious that Randy Alcorn did a lot of research so that he would be able to write this book, but he has actually only spent 7 days in China.  He drew on the experiences of many people and missionaries that he knew in order to tell Li Quan's story.  


As Americans, I think we are often ignorant of what life is like in Asia and many other parts of the world.  It has deeply blessed my heart to have my eyes opened by reading books like this one.  If you haven't read this book before, I highly recommend it.  It is one of my favorites that I have long recommended to friends.


Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Tyndale Publishing.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story.  My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard.  Am I questioning too much?  Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way.  But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them.   Recently, I read a book that troubled me.  The book I finished reading was  Guiltless Living  by Ginger Hubbard.  When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...
Post a Comment
Read more

listening or rather not listening to directions...

This week has been very eye opening. I am observing and noticing what I need to learn in order to be a better homeschooling mom and teacher and what my daughter needs to learn to be a good homeschooling student. My weakness when I was a teacher in a first grade classroom was not understanding how small concepts had to be broken down--and I lost my patience very quickly. This week, in particular today, I am seeing how detailed my directions need to be. I am going to be working very consciously and deliberately on this. On the other hand, I realized that my daughter does not listen! Wowsers! In a classroom, Autumn listens very well. She is a compliant child and very influenced by peer pressure and conformity. So, she listens along with everyone else and follows directions. But, at home, it's just Autumn and maybe Sami and Mommy. Very, very different! I had forgotten that most of kindergarten in the public schools is not focused on teaching students academic and learning co...
1 comment
Read more

Listening to the Bible

The Word of Promise (Bible on CD) I have been reading the Bible for as long as I can remember. I remember being given a Good News Bible when I was in third grade. When I was 14, my great grandmother gave me a copy of the Living Bible. When I went to college, I began to read the NIV and held onto a thin paperback copy for 4 years that I wrote all over. After I graduated from college, I really wanted a nice NIV study Bible and I saved up to buy one. I have held onto it ever since. Last year, I found a tiny ESV leatherbound Bible on clearance and it is now the one I carry with me in my purse. Interestingly enough, after all these years of reading the Bible, I have never listened to it on CD. I've often considered it. I've listened to lots of teaching on CD from Ravi Zacharias, John Piper, and others, but I've never actually listened to the Word on CD. Two weeks ago, I received a copy of the Word of Promise Bible on CD. I opened it up with excitement ...
Post a Comment
Read more