Saturday, April 30, 2011

Little Princes by Conor Grennan

Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal



I loved this book!  A true story about a young American man who volunteers to help at an orphanage in Nepal for 2 months, and ends up spending much more time there, making a real difference in many, many lives. 

Amazon.com Review

Product Description
In search of adventure, 29-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Children’s Home, an orphanage in war-torn Nepal.

 

Conor was initially reluctant to volunteer, unsure whether he had the proper skill, or enough passion, to get involved in a developing country in the middle of a civil war. But he was soon overcome by the herd of rambunctious, resilient children who would challenge and reward him in a way that he had never imagined. When Conor learned the unthinkable truth about their situation, he was stunned: The children were not orphans at all. Child traffickers were promising families in remote villages to protect their children from the civil war—for a huge fee—by taking them to safety. They would then abandon the children far from home, in the chaos of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

For Conor, what began as a footloose adventure becomes a commitment to reunite the children he had grown to love with their families, but this would be no small task. He would risk his life on a journey through the legendary mountains of Nepal, facing the dangers of a bloody civil war and a debilitating injury. Waiting for Conor back in Kathmandu, and hopeful he would make it out before being trapped in by snow, was the woman who would eventually become his wife and share his life’s work.

Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Max on Life, by Max Lucado

Why are some people healed and others die of cancer?

How can I get rid of my bad habits?

Does God care more for one nation than another?

How can I get off this credit card roller coaster?

Why is God allowing my child to suffer with this disease?

Questions and more questions!  We all have them, and Max Lucado takes a stab at answering them in his newest release, Max on Life.  The subtitle is Answers and Insights to your Most Important Questions, and that is just what this book is.  Answers and Insights!

In his unforgettable, signature style, Max suggests Biblical answers to many of life's hardest questions, drawing stories from his own experience to illustrate his point.  There are seven chapters covering questions about God, the Bible, the church, and why bad things happen to good people, as well as more mundane topics like marriage, children, finances and work.  There are 2 indexes in the back—one a subject index and the other an index of the scriptures Max uses—to make the book easy to use as a reference.

When I first opened the book to page through it, question after question grabbed my attention, and I read page after page without stopping.  Each page was like a short devotional, both encouraging and practical.  I wanted to keep reading!  The answers Max gives are based on scripture, and he quotes many Bible verses, but the way he writes makes each answer memorable.  Max Lucado stands alone among authors.  There is no other author like him.  He uses words like an artist uses paint to get his message across to the reader.  I loved this book!  It will have a place of honor on the bookshelf next to my Bible, where I can easily reach it.  I'm sure I'll be reading it over and over, and using it to minister to other people as well.

I highly recommend this book!  You may click on the link below for more information about the book.
http://booksneeze.com/blogger/resources/9780849948121

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Movie--Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I found the Voyage of the Dawn Treader a delightful movie. It has everything that makes a movie enjoyable. There is suspense and adventure, fantasy and wry humor, heroes, villains and talking animals who seem as real as the human characters. The splendid scenery and majestic music transported us to that magical land of Narnia, where animals talk and mice carry swords and children fight battles.

The excitement and danger of the voyage—the sword fights, the slave traders, the sea monster, the evil green mist that swallows people, the wicked witch—allows no time for boredom to set in. It is one exciting adventure after another as the group voyages on the sea from place to place, encountering strange beings and fantastical islands.

There are lessons to be learned, but they are subtle and woven seamlessly into the story, so that they don't seem like lessons. The human children encounter the age-old temptations of beauty, wealth and power, nearly succumbing before receiving wisdom and help from mighty Aslan, the lion ruler of Narnia.

I highly recommend this movie for all but young children who still have trouble separating truth from fiction, and who will find the spooky and suspenseful or tense and danger filled events frightening. For the rest of the family there is plenty in this movie to entertain and talk about afterward.