Tag: Stories

Stories Behind the Songs & Hymns about Heaven

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by Ace Collins

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I have to admit, I have a bit of a soft spot for this song. Piano sounds pouring through our home as my mother played this song anytime she needed to sit and be alone for a few moments. With our busy household, those moments were few and far between. When I hear it now, I miss the sounds of my childhood and my Mother being one room over — as opposed to 500 miles away.

As you can imagine, when I received this book, I was quick to turn to this hymn and read about its origins. I wasn’t disappointed. What a beautiful story it is. Lasting hymns, or any art really, only touch hearts if they have some depth and soul to them. A moving story behind it. A heartache that is felt by many even when it is still so personal to the author, composer, or artist.

I’m always so thankful for books like this. While I love a good piece of fiction, nothing really moves me like the true stories of God lifting others out of darkness and hopelessness. I encourage you to pick up a copy. With the holidays right around the corner, you can’t go wrong!

While I was given this book to review, I am always honest about my opinions. I will say that the only down side to this is that the author couldn’t always publish the lyrics. That, I know, is no fault of his. It would be nice to have them all there to ponder over as you read the stories that led to their creation. Good news – only a few are missing!

Link is in the above pic and throughout the page. Be sure to grab a copy! Thanks again, Baker Books!

The Day I Met Jesus

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by Frank Viola and Mary Demuth

What a beautiful book! This is an in depth look at five different women that were affected by Jesus while He was here on Earth. We have the woman caught in adultery, the prostitute that covered Jesus’ feet with perfume, the Samaritan woman He met at the well, the woman that grabbed His cloak and Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.

To start with, each story is told from the first person point of view, then the actual Scripture is produced. After that, there is some theological musings on what transpired. I found it very interesting. I’ve never really seen a book written in this style before. I enjoyed it immensely.

Most of these stories are a mere few verses in the vastness of the entire Bible. Easily overlooked or breezed over. I liked taking the time to think about it and what it really meant. It is obviously in the Bible for a reason and we shouldn’t overlook it. I highly recommend this. It is co-authored by Mary Demuth and Frank Viola. It’s well written and will appeal to many genres. If you would like to pick up a copy, the link is in the picture above.

Thanks, Baker Books, for this great read! As always, this is my honest opinion. Here’s to many more!!

The Parables of Paul

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by J.Ellsworth Kalas

When Jesus was on earth, He spoke in parables. So many stories that would have a point. He knew that telling a story that the masses could relate to would be the best way to get his point across.

When we hear Paul speaking, we don’t usually think of him using parables, metaphors, and stories. We think of him just saying things how they are and not beating around the bush. What J. Ellsworth Kalas is showing, in this new book, is how he did, indeed, speak in parables, metaphors and stories! He used pop culture references constantly. It just takes some digging into the Bible and the culture to understand what he is saying and the depth of what he means.

I found this to be very interesting. I had never thought of Paul as a parable preacher. This author has done a lot of studying to bring you so many different examples. I definitely recommend you getting a copy!

If you would like to pre-order it, you can click on the pic above. It’s due to release on April 21st.

Thank you, netgalley, for this great book! As always, this is my honest opinion. Here’s to many more!!