The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews

I'll be perfectly honest; I did not want to enjoy this book from Thomas Nelson. This was the third book I'd chosen to review for their Book Sneeze web site and I was completely prepared to be bored or disappointed by the novel.

The author had me in the first chapter! He admitted in the foreward that the book was all true. He inserted himself into the early part of the story and then took the reader back several years to the southern coastline of the United States during World War II.

I'm a sucker for war stories since my father in law was a tank commander in the European conflict.

The story set back in the 1940's flows effortlessly and kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to know how on earth it fit in with the beginning chapter of the book. When he wrapped up all the loose strings, the ending was completely satisfying and believeable. I guess it had to be believeable since the author attests that his book is all based on facts and first-hand accounts of those involved.

The beauty of the lessons learned about grace and love is very satisfying. I highly recommend the novel.

John Bunyan by Kevin Belmonte

There is no disputing that the book The Pilgrim's Progress is remarkable and ageless. The author of this small biography shares parts from the book as he shares the similarities between Christian and the real life of John Bunyan. Belmonte drew many of his facts from a previously published biography and gives plenty of credit to the author. He shares some background into what England was like during the life of John Bunyan, which in turn, tells us a bit more about how incredible it is that Bunyan came to a saving knowledge of Christ and a boldness to share the gospel with others.
The book, however, was incredibly boring to me. Whole chapters were devoted to minute details about the literature of the day, small pamplets that were easily afforded by a tinker's family such as the Bunyans. So often the author seemed to go on 'rabbit trails' as he grasped for more and more proof that Bunyan's work is remarkable and well-respected by important people over the years; something that was covered in the nine page prologue sufficiently.
I will admit to learning things about the life of John Bunyan having read this book but it took me two weeks to finish reading it. It's not that long of a book; it's just that boring of a treatment of the vague history of a truly godly saint.

Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God

Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God by Sheila Walsh

I'll admit that I had low expectations for this book before I began reading it. I'd never heard of Sheila Walsh but the title was curious to me.
Mrs. Walsh has an engaging writing style and her book followed a good outline going from one Bible example to the next as she combined her personal story of depression and trust in God with saints from the Word and their stories of trust in the Lord. Unfortunately, her scripture references are from The Message paraphrase more than from trustworthy translations.
At one point, the author mentioned that some of her friends felt she demonstrated a lack of faith and strength in her Christian walk when she agreed to entering a psychiatric hospital and then went on to take some mood-altering drugs. I happen to agree with that; so her testimony of how she learned to trust in God in spite of her depression was tainted from the first chapter.
The book has a good point; trust isn't just an act of faith on our part. Trust depends on the object of our faith. She gives an example early in the book of herself as a little girl trusting someone to push her on a swing. In the end, she goes back to that example and says she'd tell that little girl on the swing to trust the Lord for her future. The book could be a lot more concise and still get to the point of focusing our affections on the Lord rather than on our circumstances. But, instead, the author gives ten examples from scripture and from her own personal experiences and drones on and on for over 200 pages about the basic principle of trusting in God alone. I don't believe the book lived up to the book cover's description.
Perhaps a weak believer might find some helpful suggestions in this book. It's rather simplistic in its message.

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