a poignant story about a transformed heart (and person)

Jackie Hill Perry’s book Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been ( B&H Publishers, 2018) is the kind of book that many from the ‘Christian Community’ will love because they will read it and think that Perry is suggesting that God is going to make all LGBQT people ‘straight’, or ‘normal’.  And I imagine that many members of the LGBQT community will hate the book for the same reason. And of course all of them would be wrong.

                Mrs. Perry’s story is her own story, and she tells it well, starting with her family of origin, going on to her same-sex attractions and gender identity issues which blossomed into a full scale Lesbian lifestyle.

                But somewhere along the way, God got hold of her, and changed her heart. The change wasn’t easy, but God kept calling, and she kept responding.

                There were a couple of parts of the book that I particularly liked.  Miss Jackie Hill is now Mrs Jackie Perry, and she and her husband have 2 children.  She comments on the fact that this was part of her hear transformation, and not a plot to convince her that if she would ‘just get married’ that she would learn to be heterosexual.  (That does happen many times, but often those marriages end in disaster—it was never real in the first place). 

The other helpful part of the book, Part 3 Same-Sex attraction AND…., which the author states are intended to be a resource. She mentions that she has talked a lot about herself, and about God, but she also wants to include some practical tips for others. There are a lot of scripture passages that Jackie uses to help answer the questions that so many people have when friends or family members come out as members of the LGBQT community.

A poignant story that ends with transformation…and that’s what God is all about.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of their blogger’s program. I was asked to write an honest review, and there was no expectation that the review had to be positive

4/5

thoughts on "Who Sang the first Song?"

It’s harder and harder to find books in which the words and the illustrations are both exceptional, and are written/drawn for the same age group.  I think that Who Sang the First Song (B&H Publishing, 2018) by Ellie Holcomb, with illustrations by Kayla Harren, has some great art, but the words don’t seem as if they would be memorable for the intended age group (On Amazon, the Product details list the age range as 1-4, and grade level as preschool and up---not even sure that those two ranges match).

                It’s a cute story that asks a simple question: Who sang the first song? And then there are a lot of suggested answers, ending with the real answer. That as God was in creation mode, He also created the song. And that He created us to sing.

                I appreciate the thought behind the book, and really liked the illustration, but think that the 1-4 group will be much more interested in the pictures than they are the words of the story itself. I hope I’m wrong because we need more God-centered books for the pre-school group.

3.5/5

I received a copy of this book as a part of the publisher’s bloggers’ program. I was asked to write an honest review, and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Get Rid of that Clutter

I’m sure that if I were to do one of those silly tests that asks ‘what’s your elf name’, or ‘when I walk into your space, what’s the first thing I would notice’, the answer would probably involve the words ‘clutter’ and ‘books’.  I have good intentions of cleaning up the clutter, I really do, but then I look at the mess, and am immediately overwhelmed.  So a book about getting rid of clutter seems just like something I could use to advantage.  Of course I got the book The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life (Waterbrook, 2018), by Joshua Becker, several weeks ago, and it’s been cluttering up an end table in the living room since. One of Becker’s suggestions is that we find a better place for all those things we want to keep handy so we can grab them at a moment’s notice. If they’re stored neatly they are less of a distraction, and we can focus better.

                I thought for sure that I would learn a lesson when my siblings and I cleaned out our parents’ home a couple of years ago. The amount of stuff that they had accumulated after being in that house for well over 50 years was astonishing. I thought that I would start cleaning out our house as soon as we returned home. But the day hasn’t come yet. 

                Until, maybe, now. This book is written in such a way that I’m motivated to at least start the process. There is no shaming involved, but plenty of encouragement. Becker talks about the advantages of decluttering, and some of those advantages are pretty compelling.  Intimacy, less distraction, a sense of peace, having space to gather and talk, rooms being used for their stated purpose, not to mention the financial benefits that come with not having to buy every ‘latest and greatest’ item to hit the market.

                I also liked his approach to decluttering.  Take it as it comes, start with one room at a time (and he even lists areas in the house in order of how easy they usually are to declutter. Along the way he asks questions like is it needed or wanted. Does moving something help the room meet its purpose? He also offers hints like 3piles: keep, throw away, or donate/recycle.

                I started going through my closet (I know better, but Becker reminds the reader anyway to no try to declutter your spouse’s side of the closet). My wife asked what I was doing and all I could say was that I was reading a dangerous book.

                With winter upon us, maybe I’ll have some time to get through some more piles over the next few months.

                4/5

                I received an unedited proof copy of this book as part of the publishers ‘book launch program.  I was not required to write a positive review, just offer my honest opinion.