love to paint

I've been in the car lately and that means that I've been doing a lot of reading.  I finished up another book on my Kindle last night.  I had looked forward to this book because of a book I'd read in the past-- June Bug .  It was Chris Fabry's first published book and I enjoyed it.  I didn't enjoy the next two books that he published quite as much as the first, but I still saw him as a good writer--worth reading. A new book by Fabry came out in August-- Every Waking Moment .  It isn't a romance or historical fiction novel.  It's plain, old realistic fiction. There's a touch of the supernatural to it, but I'd still call it realistic fiction. The story centers on Treha and her gift with older folks beset by dementia and alzheimers.  I found myself drawn into the story as it began and slowly meandered along its way.  At the beginning of the story, Miriam Howard is being forced to retire.  Ms. Howard has been a protector of the elderly in he...

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a friend in which she responded with her thoughts about a particular book.  She described the book as "exhausting" to read.  I thought that was a very good way to describe some books and also why I have a hard time reading them.  What I have found in myself when I read is that it isn't wise to read books that overly romanticize life (because they feed discontentment in my heart), or that dwell deeply in the depravity of man (they overwhelm me).  Sometimes books are simply too exhausting for me to read.  The book I read 2 weeks ago fits that description well. The book was Not in the Heart by Chris Fabry.  Fabry's book, June Bug, is one of my favorite books.  I read the book that came after that book, but struggled with all of his depiction of angels.  But, still, he is a very good writer.  So, I wanted to try this book.  This book is the story of Truman Wiley, a writer who has run away from his fami...

On the first page of Almost Heaven , by Chris Fabry, I read this paragraph... "I believe every life has hidden songs that hang by twin threads of music and memory.  I believe in the songs that have never been played for another soul.  I believe they run between the rocks and along the creekbeds of our lives.  These are songs that cannot be heard by anything but the soul.  They sometimes run dry or spill over the banks until we find ourselves wading through them. " p.3 It was a beautiful expression about music and life.  Music makes my husband's heart tick and so this quote resonated with me.  I've come to appreciate how much music is a part of people's souls.  It tells our stories and in it we are able to say things that we might otherwise not be able to say.  With music we cry out in grief and with music we cry out in joy. Almost Heaven is Chris Fabry's third novel set in the town of Dogwood, West Virginia.  It is the story of Billy A...

Last week at the small group we attend, someone asked about the line in the Apostle's Creed that says "He descended into hell.  The third day He arose again from the dead" In one of the books I reviewed last year, called Christianity in Crisis , Hank Hanegraff wrote his concern about Joyce Meyer's preaching about what happened during those three days.  I remember reading what he wrote and that he stated her preaching on this topic is unbiblical.  But, I didn't fully understand at the time why.  Now I do and I'd like to explain why it is unbiblical to make this claim.  Let me say first though that Joyce Meyers is not the only preacher to state such things.   One of the trends I've seen in many books I've read over the past 10 years is to read into what the Bible says--to attempt to fill in the blanks so as to more fully understand the Word of God.  John and Kim Walton explain in detail in The Bible Story Handbook that the Bible is God's self-...