A Hidden Life

Last fall I watched a gorgeous movie titled A Hidden Life about Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer and devout Catholic who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. Franz, his wife, Fani, and their three young daughters lived outside the small village of St. Radegund and were important members of the tight-knit rural community. In 1943, he and other able-bodied were called up to fight for Germany. When recruiters asked him to swear an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler, Jägerstätter refused and was arrested and taken to prison in Linz where the most “dangerous” prisoners were housed. His family was ostracized and belittled by their friends […]

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Genghis: Birth of an Empire

Courage cannot be left like bones in a bag. It must be brought out and shown the light again and again, growing stronger each time. If you think it will keep for the times you need it, you are wrong. It is like any other part of your strength. If you ignore it, the bag will be empty when you need it most. Ruthless. Intelligent. Murderous. Ingenious. Brutal. Intense. Courageous. Formidable. Charismatic. These powerful words describe one of the most powerful conquerors of all time: Genghis Khan. At the time of his death, Genghis Khan had united all Mongolian tribes, conquered the land mass extending from Beijing to the Caspian […]

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Book Review: The Vanishing Half

She hadn’t realized how long it takes to become somebody else, or how lonely it can be living in a world not meant for you. ― Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half Most of us experience a time in our lives when we feel like we don’t belong, that we’re impostors in our own reality. Author Brit Bennett vividly portrays those feelings in her brilliant new novel, The Vanishing Half. It’s about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical, but after growing up together in a small, southern black community and […]

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Book Review: Along the Broken Bay

  I am a huge fan of World War II historical novels whether set in Europe or elsewhere. For the first time I stumbled upon one based in the Philippines and I loved it. Here is a brief synopsis (without too many spoilers): December 1941. War has erupted in the Pacific, spelling danger for Gina Thorpe, an American expat living in Manila. When the Japanese invade and her husband goes missing, Gina flees with her daughter to the Zambales Mountains. Desperate for money, medicine, and guns, the Resistance recruits Gina to join their underground army and smuggles her back to Manila. There, she forges a new identity and opens a […]

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Book Review: The Mountains Sing

“Human lives were short and fragile. Time and illnesses consumed us, like flames burning away these pieces of wood. But it didn’t matter how long or short we lived. It mattered more how much light we were able to shed on those we loved and how many people we touched with our compassion.” – The Mountains Sing I was in junior high when Saigon fell. I remember little about the Vietnam war, other than that our black and white television droned statistics while I played with my Barbies. I don’t remember knowing anyone directly affected by the fighting, probably because my parents worked hard to insulate me from the ugly […]

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Sky Full of Stars: Book Review

    Synopsis A Sky Full of Stars: Learning to Surrender to God’s Perfect Plans is about blogger Meg Apperson’s poignant journey of pain and loss. As a young person, her suffering took the form of sexual abuse, a teenage marriage and divorce. As a mother, she watched two of her children fight rare diseases that nearly stole their lives. Meg Apperson grew up trusting God, but it wasn’t until her daughter was born with a litany of life-threatening birth defects that she began to truly comprehend what it means to trust Him with everything. Amid heartbreak, she not only discovered her own voice, she discovered that God is faithful. […]

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Light in the Darkness

We are living in an epic time in history, a time when fear has grabbed us by the throat and is holding fast. I’m trying hard not to obsess about coronavirus all day long, but it sure isn’t easy…. everywhere we turn there is bad news. It’s like driving past a car accident without gawking. Our only hope is to cast our cares on God’s broad shoulders because His perfect love casts out fear. Without faith, we will become paralyzed. There is still light in the darkness if we just look hard enough.

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