Carol Recommends

A staff recommendation! Carol is one of our lovely Giftware Department experts, always welcoming with a smile and ready to help you find exactly what you're looking for, before even you know it.

"Gretl, an orphan girl, finds herself totally alone at age seven. Through harrowing experience she is spared from the concentration camp but life looks so bleak, she wishes she would still be on the train until she hears and sees the smoke from it being blown up.

Jakob is fighting for the Polish resistance and finds Gretl. They become very close but are separated by continents, politics, language, and religion.

Will Gretl ever see Jakob again, and if so, what will become of their relationship?

I dare you to read this book."

--Carol Dyck--

 For more information on The Girl From the Train by Irma Joubert, visit our website here.

The Tangible Kingdom

     The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay is one of several books of its kind presenting what they might refer to as a "new hope" for anyone looking for a new way of living out God's mission. This book is is a "call for churches to take a leap from their safe environments of their buildings and truly enter into the real world - God's reality".

     I read this book for one of my Bible College classes last year and the reviews from the other students in the class were very mixed, which is why I really took an interest in it. The concept of re-defining the way the church gathers in community was one that I had heard talked about, one that I had been in discussion with other people about, but not one I had ever taken the time to pursue on my own. The Tangible Kingdom reminded me in various ways - especially in tone and gentle openness - of the book Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli. While Yaconelli is exploring the ides of personal, spiritual growth and the ways we are perhaps enslaved by tradition, Halter and Smay in The Tangible Kingdom seek to expand the bigger picture. They seek to develop the growth of the church.

     On a spectrum of avid disagreement or absolute consensus, the responses to this book were so varied. I find myself neither here nor there in many ways but my impression of the work as a whole was quite positive. Approaching their ideas with an open mind, Halter and Smay are two experienced followers of Christ always searching for a better way. As with any push back on tradition, there is a certain amount of aversion to their message, but I personally found their ideas refreshing. They are actively pursuing more and more tangible ways to build faith communities whenever and wherever they are.

    "Many faith seekers have tried different churches, methods, programs, leaders, teachers, and styles only to discover that nothing holds their interest." Halter and Smay want to present another possible way, in no way easier, and possibly in no way better than anything else the world has tried before. But they are actively pursuing possible avenues, which is more than many of us are doing, engrained in our places of comfort and ease of living.

--Elise--

     For more information on Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, visit our website here.

The Good of Giving Up

Lent is upon us. The season of giving up. To me, it's always been like the Christian version of new year's resolutions: an attempt at curbing some bad habit, or to try to become more healthy. Aaron Damiani's The Good of Giving Up reveals the season of lent as so much more than that.

This tradition of fasting and prayer before the celebration of Christ's death and resurrection goes way back. While some may say it's not mentioned in the Bible, it is steeped heavily in the teachings and life of Jesus himself, and the Judaic traditions. Damiani delves into the rich history of Lent and gives the reader a quick overview as a basis for understanding it's importance in our lives. With that context in mind, he provides his guidance as a pastor as to the way to approach the season of Lent, not just practically but also spiritually.

The Good of Giving Up reads well, like having coffee with your pastor. Damiani has written with a great heart for the reader to seek God in all of their life, using Lent as just another part of the Christian calendar. At the end he even includes helpful tips and tools for parents and leaders to prepare and lead those under their care for the Lent season.

--Lauryssa--

For more info, check out our website here or come in store.