In All Things Giving Thanks When Hope Seems Lost
By: Laura Smith

Do you believe that everything, even the most devastating things, happen for a reason? Most of us don’t unless we refocus our minds and hearts in that direction. We hate when bad things happen and we harbor all of these negative feelings and emotions until they devastate us.

Laura Smith wrote this book for anyone who has suffered any kind of loss, especially the loss of a baby through miscarriage or abortion. Laura shares her own painful journey and raw experiences, and how she found peace and healing afterwards through the grace of God. She married an abusive man when she was very young, became a single parent of two girls who had a lot of special needs, and suffered from terrible depression. But, despite this, Laura soared above all these difficulties by the grace of God who healed her every step of the way.

Laura believes that it is important for all of us to ask God for forgiveness for all the wrong choices we have made in the past, and to pray for patience. Many of our difficulties are sent to us because God has faith in us. God also sends us bad experiences so that we could learn important lessons and receive healing in our lives. Some healing can only occur after we have gone through difficult experiences and suffered tremendous losses.

I absolutely loved this moving and inspiring book. I couldn’t stop reading it. The book is a wonderful testament to perseverance and hope by believing that God will right all of our wrongs and cleanse our heart from all our difficulties. All we have to do is to ask, be patient, and have faith.

Reviewed: By Irene S. Roth
Author and Editor

Rating: 5 stars

A How To Manual on Human Resource Problems
By: Douglas L. Bartley

Bartley’s book is a wonderful do-it-yourself manual about the importance of human relationships in business. Many business executives just focus on the rules and how to implement them. But the important step that they are missing is that an employee’s life and well-being is impacted by these rules.

This is a book about human resource problems like no other in that it lays out how to improve employ relations so that everyone is protected should any unforeseen circumstances arise. In other words, Bartley’s book focuses on improving employee relations before problems occur by putting policies in place which will protect all employees from harm’s way.

The first chapter deals with implementing changes to employee policies in a few different areas of personnel. In this chapter, Bartley discussed the steps in establishing a weighted in points job evaluation program and wage structure. He discusses how to notify employees of the pending program, how to organize the company and create a job questionnaire for each position, how to write job descriptions, and much more. He also discusses how to weigh and define the factors of these jobs.

The second chapter discusses human resources policies. In this chapter, Bartley talks about a variety of human resource policies that can help employees such as discipline and grievance procedures, policies concerning time off, safety and hygiene, and employee benefits, just to name a few.

The last chapter of the book consists of a complete employee handbook. It is the most hands-on chapter of the book in that it provides forms which human resource departments can complete for various aspects of employee management. These forms could be used as is or readjusted to the businesses particular needs and employee wants. Bartley includes forms to implement policies such as a non-discrimination policy, and employment policy as well as policies for probationary periods and paid time off, holidays, jury duty, and injury at work.

This book is a must read for all human resource departments. Ideally, Bartley’s book should be used as a resource tool and check list for all human resource departments to ensure that employees are taken care of and protocols are in place to protect employees. Nothing is left out. All human resource departments have to do is to implement and follow these policies.

Reviewed by: Irene S. Roth
Author and Editor

Miracle for Jen: A True Story
 Linda Barrick

This is one of the most wonderful books that I read this year so far. What a heartwarming and encouraging story about a young adolescent girl who beat all the odds and not only survived but thrived!

The story is about Jen who was in a horrific car crash with her family. One moment she was on the way home from a fall concert with chicken for dinner in the back seat, and the next moment she was in a car crash and was fighting for her life. The person who hit the family van was severely intoxicated, and the circumstances of the accident made everyone wonder how this could possibly happen. But it did, and while the other members of the family were injured pretty seriously, except Jen’s brother who only had a few injuries, no one was fighting for life as Jen.

As she lay in a coma in the hospital, her parents prayed fervently, and all of the church community and their friends as well. And a miracle did happen, when one day Jen opened her beautiful eyes and said a few words to her mother. Jen would never be the same as she was prior to the accident, but she had faith that she was becoming exactly the person God wanted her to be. She has become a public speaker and a supporter of everyone who needs help. Jen and her Mom travel speaking to large groups about the miracles that they were blessed with since the accident and some of the important lessons that they learned along the way.

I recommend this book to anyone who doubts whether there is reason to have faith and to dream of things that seem impossible. Through hope, perseverance, and doing the best we can, we all can aspire to be exactly who God wants us to be. What a great message for everyone, kids, adolescents and adults.

Reviewed by: Irene S. Roth

Rating: 5 stars

I received this book compliments of Tyndale Publishers Ltd.

I am a Follower:
The Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus
By: Leonard Sweet

We have been experiencing a crisis in our churches over the past three decades. There are many people who want to be church leader. But do we need more leaders in the church?

Leonard Sweet argues that what we genuinely need today is not church leaders but followers. After all, Jesus never looked for leaders but only followers. In fact, one of the chief problems in the church is a crisis of following. In other words, we are in a drought of discipleship.

Our leader-centric culture esteems and emphasizes leadership. But this is not what we need to be good Christians. Instead, what we need is a paradigm shift in church discipleship. We have to have a heart that beats in sync with the heart of God. The church should not be led by leaders but by God. Everyone but God is a follower.

To follow Jesus does not mean that we have all the answers or that we are perfect. To follow Jesus is to be in love with Jesus and to have a personal relationship with Him. To follow Jesus is a way, a belonging. To follow Jesus is a truth, a believing. To follow Jesus is a way of behaving. It is to be in a relationship with God. Since Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, this way must be our way, His truth must be our truth, and His life must be our life.

This is a great message for people who are believers. Many of us simply go through the motions of living with God. We have a list of rules which we personally follow, and we obey these rules. But not too many of us try to develop a close relationship with God. And this is why we have a crisis of heart in our church.

I love this book. I think the book should be read by lay people, priests, and other religious people. I know I will be recommending this book to a lot of people in my church.

Leonard Sweet is a Distinguished Professor and a prolific writer of close to 50 books. It is always a pleasure to read one of his insightful and motivating books. I can’t wait to read his next book.

Rating: 5 stars

Reviewed by Irene S. Roth

I received this kindle e-book from Thomas Nelson’s through BookSneeze.com, http://BookSneeze.com book reviewers program. The views in this book review are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16CFR, Part 255.

The Search Committee
Tim Owens

Tim Owens’ book is a great read. It shows how everyone, even religious people, fight the same battles and conflicts. There are personality clashes, fights, and misunderstandings between them. The story almost feels like a bit of a soap opera at first. There is so much backstabbing and conflict between the people.

At first, the story seemed a bit superficial to read. However, once I got to know the people who were involved in the story and all the background characters, the story came to life and gained significance. I realized that they were as human as the rest of us with a lot of warts and drawbacks. It is in the journeys of these people, their dreams, and the events of their lives outside of the van and church visits that we realize that their search for a pastor is a search for grace, hope, direction, and love in their lives.

This is a great award winning novel. The characters make this novel realistic and moving. I loved the book and I had to reread it a second time to really get the real meaning behind the prose. This is a deep book that should be read more than once.

I received this book compliments of Tyndale Publishers Ltd. for exchange of a review.

Rating: 4 stars

Reviewed by Irene S. Roth

Booksneeze Book Review:
Then Sings My Soul: The Story of Our Songs
Book 3
By Robert J. Morgan

This is a wonderfully inspiring book about the history of our hymns. I was so moved to learn so much about the hymns themselves and their origins. Morgan shows readers how to understand our faith through religious hymns. And I believe that we could learn a lot about our faith by studying our hymns.

I will be referring to Morgan’s book a lot. It has taken a prominent place on my religious shelf of books. This is Morgan’s third book in the series of hymn books. The first book was about the world’s greatest hymns and the stories behind them. He showed readers how to understand our faith through religious hymns. Now Morgan expands on this initial book by including the history of worship and some biographical comments on various composers.

There is nothing better than expressing the love of God by singing hymns. I just love to raise my voice in church and sing as a community of believers. It is so much a part of worship for me. Now after reading Morgan’s book, I will know a lot more background about these wonderful hymns. What a gem of a book by a very knowledgeable and prolific author. I can’t wait to read his next books.

Rating: 5 stars

Reviewed: by Irene S. Roth

I received this kindle e-book from Thomas Nelson’s through BookSneeze.com, http://BookSneeze.com book reviewers program. The views in this book review are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16CFR, Part 255.

Booksneeze Book Review:
Heaven is for Real for Kids
By Todd and Sonja Burpo

This is a wonderfully inspiring book about heaven from a little boy’s perspective. It is completely enchanting and so cute. It will transform every reader’s view of what heaven is like.

The story starts with Colton, the little boy, sick in a hospital. The next thing he knows he closes his eyes and he’s in heaven. Colton gives the reader an in-depth view of heaven and the radiating love of God.

Colton discovers heaven is bright, and there is beautiful music. There are lots of colours and despite the fact that there is no sun, it is bright and luminous. Everyone is happy in heaven. There are kids, people, angels, and God in heaven. And everyone gets along. How awesome!

Also, Colton discovers that no one ever gets sick or hurt in heaven. Colton’s favourite place in heaven is next to God’s throne. God told the boy a lot in heaven. He told Colton to be nice and to talk to God in prayer regularly. God also told Colton that to get to heaven, he must believe in God and live according to his statutes.

When Colton woke up again in the hospital bed, he had a lot of stories to tell. But most importantly of all, his life was transformed forever.

Rating: 5 stars

Reviewed: by Irene S. Roth

I received this kindle e-book from Thomas Nelson’s through BookSneeze.com, http://BookSneeze.com book reviewers program. The views in this book review are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16CFR, Part 255.

Why I Hate Canadians
Will Ferguson

This is a really funny polemic! I laughed so hard while reading it. If you want to read a funny book, by a Canadian author, this is the book to pick up and enjoy during the holidays. This was Will Ferguson’s first book. It was a true success. It sold over 50,000 copies and Will Ferguson’s quit his day job. How great is that! If only more writers could be that lucky!

This book is about Canadian culture, politics, and emotions. The book was written as a response to the 1995 referendum wherein Canadians allowed one segment in one province to vote an entire country out of existence. I remember these days vividly, being from Montreal. That was a scary time indeed. Canada’s near death experience proved to be an important moment for an entire generation of young Canadians.

The 1990’s were a bad decade for Canadian unity. It was a time of wrenching debates and constitutional turmoil that solved nothing. The country staggered from one national crisis to another, beginning with The Meech Lake Accord and ending with a Clarity Act that outlined the very terms of Canada’s future surrender.

Will’s book was written between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the horrific crash of the Twin Towers in New York in September 11th that changed the course of our world forever. When Will was writing this book, he thought the end of history was plausible. It was a deeply depressing time indeed. Thank goodness we’re still here and we can marvel at the wonder and beauty of this beautiful country.

I love this book for its wry humour. Readers who are interested in the idiosyncrasies of being a Canadian will absolutely love the book as well. So fasten your seat belt and get ready to read a humorous book that you won’t be able to put down…well at least not until you’re finished it!

Reviewed by Irene S. Roth

For the Canadian Book Challenge

Rating: 4 stars

Lead….For God’s Sake!
A Parable About the Heart of Leadership
Todd G. Gongwer

What a gem of a book and a moving story. It is about a high school coach who, although being the most successful basketball coach in Kentucky, starts falling short of what he expects. Most of the players are simply going through the motions and not playing hard. They lost many games and they can’t seem to get motivated to win much less to be their best.

Steve Rocker, the coach, tries all the motivational methods at his disposal. They all worked in the past. But for some reason now nothing is working. He is getting more and more desperate as he spends endless hours going through game tapes and trying to discover what he can to get the team out of the slump. His family is taking a back seat. His wife is getting upset and frustrated with him as he comes home at all hours of the morning. And Steve is becoming increasingly upset and frustrated with himself.

Then a chance meeting with a janitor, Joe Taylor, changes his life forever. Joe encouraged Steve to continue and to not give up on his players. He told him to lead from the heart and to help the kids to discover the real reason why they are playing basketball. All of this was confusing to Steve until one day he got it! And his life changed forever. It just goes to prove that wisdom can sometimes come from unlikely places.

This is one of the most moving and heart warming books that I ever read. It made me laugh, and cry. What a journey! But after reading the book I can honestly say that I have grown in leaps and bounds! Kudos to Todd Gongwer!

I received this book compliments of Tyndale Publishers Ltd.

Rating: 5+ stars…

Reviewed by Irene S. Roth

Booksneeze Book Review: Cliques, Hicks and Ugly Sticks:
Confessions of April Grace
By K.D. McCrite

This is a wonderfully reflective book from an eleven year old girl living on a farm in Arkansas in 1986. Her life is quite difficult, being a typical teen who is unsure of her body or how she fits in with others. What Alice Grace has though is spunk and a strong sense of self that gets her through any hurdle that she has with honours. She is an example for all adolescent girls who are meek and have characteristics of being a doormat.

However, what isn’t typical of her upbringing and life is that she lives right across from her grandmother who has two boyfriends and is stuck in a love triangle. How could that happen? And add to that that her other becomes unexpectedly pregnant, and you have quite a mix of drama and insanity. I felt very empathic with April Grace having lived in a dysfunctional family myself. Nothing can quite compare to April’s life though.

I recommend this book for all teen girls who are struggling to find their way. April Grace will show them how to be spunky and how to stand up for who they are and what they want.

Rating: 5 stars

Reviewed: by Irene S. Roth

I received this kindle e-book from Thomas Nelson’s through BookSneeze.com, http://BookSneeze.com book reviewers program. The views in this book review are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16CFR, Part 255.