An often inviting encouragement to Christians going through tough times.
A Christianity-centered approach to dealing with anxiety.
Hausch opens her debut self-help book by making clear to her target audience of fellow Christian readers that she has no intention of impugning the strength of their faith: “When we stop asking if our faith is big enough, when we stop feeling the need to behave like we have it all figured out, when we are at the end of ourselves, we can encounter God,” she writes. “He is patiently waiting.” For many people, she points out, anxious thoughts are a daily reality, and she notes that she’s experienced “obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety” since childhood. Her message in these pages is one of calm assurance that although anxiety may always be a part of one’s life, God is also always there for his followers, and he’s given them the ability to face down their personal Goliaths. Hausch mixes personal anecdotes with a series of prompts for reader participation, including Bible readings and “Questions To Consider” about each chapter’s points. Some of the author’s comments on faith feel like bland truisms (“God is that shelter for us”), but her stories from her own life are unfailingly involving and will surely help to ease her readers’ worried minds. The author’s frequent advice to engage in specific, targeted activities gives the book an appealingly interactive tenor. Indeed, the overall tone is pleasantly encouraging, as Hausch repeatedly reminds Christian readers that the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives—even at the darkest moments—is never-ending: “When we face tragedy that leaves our souls bankrupt,” she writes, “God somehow brings enough water to sustain us in that moment.”
An often inviting encouragement to Christians going through tough times.Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7586-6716-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: Concordia Publishing House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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
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