A well-crafted and engaging Christian devotional.
Frank provides devotional readings for every season of a Christian’s life in this debut nonfiction book.
“Knowing that God is in control, and that everything happens at the appropriate time,” writes the author, “doesn’t change the fact that we don’t always understand what He’s actually doing.” Despite these uncertainties, Frank argues, Christians have the hope that Jesus will be with them in “every season of our lives.” While this book of 101 concise devotionals doesn’t shy away from the difficulties and pains of life, it does offer an optimistic message centered on the author’s belief in God’s innate goodness and love. Organized around the theme of “seasons,” the book has a dual structure common to the devotional genre. For readers interested in reading the book chronologically within a year, the book separates chapters to be read each month, from January to December, encouraging slow, methodical reading to allow for ample reflection on its spiritual messages. Simultaneously, the book is organized thematically, with chapters grouped by “the seasons we go through” during the course of our lives, from periods of grief and suffering to those of peace and joy. This structure intentionally affords readers the option of reading the devotionals out of order to best match their current circumstances. An immigrant to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago, with a master of divinity degree from the Tyndale Seminary, Frank adds a pastoral touch to his devotions, which blend learned theology with pop-culture references and charming anecdotes from his own life experiences. A former engineer, the author similarly understands the perspective of lay Christians, and he’s careful to avoid religious jargon. While distinctly Protestant in his doctrinal approach (ignoring, for instance, the liturgical nature of Catholic and Orthodox calendars, which offer a similar approach to “seasons”), the author is generally ecumenical in his conception of Christianity. He avoids hot-button social issues such as reproductive rights, which readers may view as either refreshing or as a cop-out, depending. Each devotional is accompanied by inspirational quotes, Bible verses, prayers, and reflective questions for contemplation.
A well-crafted and engaging Christian devotional.Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2023
ISBN: 9781039195004
Page Count: 258
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A pleasure for fans of old-school historical narratives.
Avuncular observations on matters historical from the late popularizer of the past.
McCullough made a fine career of storytelling his way through past events and the great men (and occasional woman) of long-ago American history. In that regard, to say nothing of his eschewing modern technology in favor of the typewriter (“I love the way the bell rings every time I swing the carriage lever”), he might be thought of as belonging to a past age himself. In this set of occasional pieces, including various speeches and genial essays on what to read and how to write, he strikes a strong tone as an old-fashioned moralist: “Indifference to history isn’t just ignorant, it’s rude,” he thunders. “It’s a form of ingratitude.” There are some charming reminiscences in here. One concerns cajoling his way into a meeting with Arthur Schlesinger in order to pitch a speech to presidential candidate John F. Kennedy: Where Richard Nixon “has no character and no convictions,” he opined, Kennedy “is appealing to our best instincts.” McCullough allows that it wasn’t the strongest of ideas, but Schlesinger told him to write up a speech anyway, and when it got to Kennedy, “he gave a speech in which there was one paragraph that had once sentence written by me.” Some of McCullough’s appreciations here are of writers who are not much read these days, such as Herman Wouk and Paul Horgan; a long piece concerns a president who’s been largely lost in the shuffle too, Harry Truman, whose decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan McCullough defends. At his best here, McCullough uses history as a way to orient thinking about the present, and with luck to good ends: “I am a short-range pessimist and a long-range optimist. I sincerely believe that we may be on the way to a very different and far better time.”
A pleasure for fans of old-school historical narratives.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781668098998
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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