Book Review for “Time with God for Fathers” by Jack Countryman

I joined BookSneeze several months ago and I am just now getting around to finishing my first book and posting a review. So here it is. 

   When I first picked this book up to start reading, I was expecting a good daily devotional. I’m not sure it delivers very well on that count for me. There are 95 days worth of readings, and each has a scripture and a short inspirational/devotional/challenging thought relating to the scripture. At the end of the book there are several great reference lists to help you find passages of scripture dealing with various topics.

   I found some of the daily writings to be challenging, or at least thought provoking. However when it comes down to it, more often than not I found them to be a bit dry or overly simplistic. Occasionally I felt that the inspirational thought didn’t really connect with the scripture used. Because of this, I often had no desire to pick it up and read the next day’s writing. More often than not I would read two or three pages in a row in an attempt to hurry the book along so I could read something else.

   In the end I don’t think that I would recommend this book if you are looking for something to truly grow your walk with God. On the positive side, it is beautifully bound and would be a great book to have on an end table or coffee table where guests might pick it up and read a couple of pages out of curiosity. It could also be a great gift for a young Christian who is a Dad and could use something simply to start looking at God’s truths in scripture for Fathers.

   I am reviewing this book for BookSneeze who provided me with a complimentary copy. My opinions are my own and in no way reflect the opinions of Booksneeze. 

Sticking it to the man...sort of...

   Kathy and I are officially Kansans now. We have moved in, gotten both cars tagged, applied for drivers licenses, and finally tonight we got our cell numbers changed to the local area code. It took me 5 tries today to get the phones changed. I called the local store to see what they would need...I went to the store thinking it should be a quick process...20 minutes later and the AT & T rep is talking to her service tech on the phone trying to figure out the process, and I had to leave. I went back after lunch and after another 20 minutes found out that the only plan available was going to cost more, so I left to discuss it with Kathy. We decided that we wanted to have local numbers so we would just bite the bullet and go for it, so I called customer service to do it over the phone. This lady started the conversation stating that it would take about 20 minutes...sounds familiar...it didn't and once again I had to cancel because of a meeting. The forth try still didn't take the supposed amount of time and I had to stop for a meeting. (this one was my fault...I should have known by now that they couldn't do this procedure in under 30 minutes.) However, when I called again tonight after getting home, the process went slick as a whistle and actually took about 20 minutes. Plus, the plan that supposedly didn't exist in this area (the one that doesn't add to my bill)... apparently does exist because this representative gave it to me without a question. So, take that AT & T! You're not getting my extra $10 a month. Of course you got an hour and 40 minutes of my day...I'm not sure who stuck it to who but I feel like I won in the end.

God Bess and Good Night

Easter, Children's Music, and Afterglow

So...I am very slow about updating this thing...oh well. Since my last post, we have experienced Easter, our Children's Choir Musical, and an event called Easter Afterglow. It's been a busy couple of weeks.

Our Easter service went extremely well. We split the sermon into three parts and the music service into four. Music, preaching, music, Lord's Supper, music, preaching, music. It was different and had a lot of transitions on the platform. All the changes however made the service fresh and exciting. Rather than being distracting, I feel like it kept everyone's attention. It was great!

This past Sunday, our children's choir presented their musical. The kids did an amazing job! After singing for our church, they went and presented their musical for two local nursing homes. After that they came back and sang again for the Easter Afterglow service here at our church. They still had energy and passion. I was already exhausted. Maybe I'm getting old.

Finally, last night we had a community event sponsored by the Liberal Ministerial Alliance. Several churches from the community came together and sang songs from their easter services. It was fun to experience an event that brought together so many different congregations all for the purpose worshiping together and praising our Risen Savior. I look forward to participating in more events like this here in Liberal.

Now it's time for a nap...oh wait I'm at work...maybe later...God bless and have a great day!