the first phone call from heaven by Mitch Albom

The end is not the end. Several people in the small town of Coldwater, MI receive phone calls from their dead relatives or friends. Are these really phone calls from heaven? The message is simple - the end is not the end. There is a heaven and it is wonderful. People are always looking for proof but belief in heaven is a thing of faith. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Believing is an act of faith. It is the one thing we must do. Jesus has done all the rest - he died for us, rose again, so that we might be saved. 

I enjoyed this book - it was a good read. At first it seems that the focus is the calls from heaven but truly the real message is one of healing for Sully. Many people, including Sully, have unresolved issues and being able to have one more phone call from our loved ones helps to tie up those loose ends - helps us heal through resolution. A lesson we can learn from this is to not leave things unsaid. Say the good-byes, say 'I'm sorry' and 'I forgive you'. Don't leave things undone. I think that is the gift that cancer can bring - those that fight that battle and win - have been given a unique gift of having starred at death - realized that death might be imminent - and then lived life with that knowledge, refusing to leave things unspoken and refusing to leave deeds undone. 

On the other hand, I have to say that I don't agree with everything the author believes. He has one comment - when the alive sister asks the dead sister - "Do you miss me like I miss you?" The answer from the sister in heaven is "every minute". (p283) My belief is that we will be worshipping God and so in awe of Him - we won't miss those that aren't there. Those are earthly feelings that incorporate sadness and pain. In heaven there is no more pain and sadness. I believe there is joy - and that we will be joyful for those that arrive but we will not be sitting around moping and sad until they arrive. 

The Perfect Life by Robin Lee Hatcher

Katherine had the perfect life. Then allegations surface that her husband, Brad, had misappropriated funds from a charity and had an affair. Are the allegations true? Katherine begins to doubt her husband. She has been married to him for over 25 years - shouldn't she know his character and trust in him? Brad is upset she doesn't have more faith in him. Katherine struggles with trying to find the truth and trying to find God in the midst of all the problems. How could God let her life just collapse like this?  Excellent book. 

Far from Here by Nicole Baart

I really enjoyed this book. Danica Greene's husband is a pilot. He takes an assignment in Alaska. When he and his plan go missing, Danica's world is turned upside down. She begins searching for the truth - is he still alive? Is she really a widow? Then she learns he wasn't flying alone and more questions surface. Danica begins to question everything about her relationship with her husband and her marriage. Did she fail him - was she not enough for him? And how to move on? The book is very intriguing. I enjoyed reading it. There were some twists along the way and that made it very interesting. Good book. 

The Swiss Courier by Tricia Goyer & Mike Yorkey

We are currently studying WWII and this we a really neat book that we did as a read aloud. It was a very neat book. In the beginning, we had to really concentrate to keep all the players straight (again as I was doing this as a read aloud with kids). We liked that it had lots of action, tied in with our studies and even though it is fiction - had events that mimicked real life events. The book begins in July of 1944 with the Gestapo rounding up suspected enemies of the Third Reich. It bounces from details on the Gestapo's efforts to find missing suspects and the underground's ability to keep one step ahead of the Gestapo. Gabi Mueller is one of the main characters. She is half American and half Swiss - living in neutral Switzerland. Yet, her family is not neutral. They clearly disagree with Hitler's regime and are willing to risk their lives to save others. She is working for the OSS (American Office of Strategic Services). This is the beginning of the CIA. She begins doing translations and is then promoted to being a courier (or field agent). Gabi's family are Christians and Gabi believes in the power of prayer to deliver her from difficult situations and she does face several in the book. 

Very much recommend this book. It was a great read. We really enjoyed it. 

One Light Still Shines by Marie Monville

This is Marie's story. Marie is the wife of the Amish schoolhouse shooter. Her husband's act was a horrible, heinous act that left Marie having to deal with the aftermath. She had to answer both to others and herself - if there had been any warning signs. Should she, somehow, have known and warned authorities. Could she have stopped him? Was there something she should have done so Charlie wasn't so broken and angry? Marie had only ever dated Charlie and married him right out of high school. They had 3 young children. Marie wasn't prepared to be a single mom. In the beginning Marie avoided the media and just focused on protecting her children. She talks about the grace she received - given freely to the Amish that had lost children in the shooting. The Amish chose to love and offer her forgiveness. It was an amazing gift of grace poured into her life at a time when she least expected it - at a time when she felt she was most unworthy. 

She explains the title of the book she she talks about "when she was blinded by the darkness of grief, his light still shone." The book is about a love story - a story detailing God's love for her and his love for each one of us. 

She talks about moving on after the incident and trying to find a way to rebuild her life. I really enjoyed reading her story. The book is very well written. I was surprised to find that she started dating again so soon after losing her husband. She ends up re-married less than 1 year from his death. When reading her book and getting her perspective I can see she felt ready - from an outside viewpoint it just seems so soon after the incident to move on. Other than being surprised at her moving on so quickly, I found the rest to be a wonderful story. It was a very touching story that, in several places, had me in tears. This book is definitely worth reading. It is a book that speaks to us all. 

This book was provided for free from Zondervan through Booksneeze in exchange for a honest review.