An uneven religious memoir with some uplifting stories about the power of prayer.
A retired schoolteacher reflects on the many answered prayers throughout her life.
Debut author Scribbler II grew up in a poor family in rural Arkansas. “Families like ours didn’t have insurance in those days and tried to care for their sick children at home,” she writes. She remembers the numerous times that she and her siblings would fall ill, and her father would pray by their bedsides: “It was the Creator, Jesus, who paid for my healing.” Scribbler II writes of many small moments throughout her life where prayer seemed to intervene to the benefit of her entire clan. A bridge that carried family members to safety in severe flooding, the strength to deal with dangerous snakes on their property, and shelter in the event of tornadoes: “God was our refuge in all these cases,” she writes. The presence of God continued for Scribbler II into adulthood as she felt her marriage falling apart. While struggling with divorce, she experienced a dream that revealed to her the name of the woman her husband had begun dating, giving her a reason to move to Dallas on her own and begin a new life as a schoolteacher. Despite many setbacks, she always relied on the counsel of her pastor and the strength of prayer to be comforted through finding places to live, continuing her work, and learning Spanish to maintain her outreach in new communities. While Scribbler II concludes her book with practical advice for how she approaches prayer and some of her favorite sermon topics that Christian readers may find helpful, many of her stories vary in their effectiveness. Even though we learn many facts about her life, the author never stays with one time period or event for too long, leaving her own reactions and personality vague to readers beyond an insistence that prayer can fix all situations. While some of her tales show the force of positive thinking and perseverance, such as her struggles with divorce, others, like her vague reference to a terrible breakfast, feel as if she is trying to find miracles in rather ordinary events.
An uneven religious memoir with some uplifting stories about the power of prayer.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5127-5478-0
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
