Heaven is for Real is one of those books that I could not put down. In fact, I was already going through passages multiple times before I completed the book. I’m not going to give a lot of detail because that would ruin the book for you and this is one book that you are going to read.

“Do you remember the hospital, Colton?” Sonja said. “Yes, mommy, I remember,” he said. “That’s where the angels sang to me.”

The writing is so absorbing and the topics so compelling that you can not put the book down. Imagine your 3-year-old child saying this to you. What would you do? This is the story of a pastor and his family nearly losing their young son and how God turned the terror into triumph.

As a skeptic, I greatly appreciated the style of the book, that is, that the evidence is presented unpolished. You read the conclusions of the pastor and his wife, but even then you participate in the discussion as they slowly move away from their down denial and astonishment. What will you do with the evidence?

I got the audio version from ChristianAudio.com discounted as a featured selection.

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My stepson, 16 at the time, checked into a local in-residence rehabilitation center almost 2 years ago. His father had just thrown him out of the house he grew up in and he faced legal problems as well for vandalism and probation violation. I’m describing the situation matter-of-factly because there are no appropriate words to describe the chaos, betrayal, violence and volume of the time leading up to this moment. He embraced rehab and has now been sober and sane for almost 2 years. He’s back to the person we knew with all the good and bad that went with it, without the aforementioned. It’s the gift we all want and that I now pray for my daughter, now 18, who is an addict that is not in recovery.

The general platitudes about parenting that you learned from your parents, from Bill Cosby or from anywhere else are not going to work. Being unselfish, helping, rescuing, making bold, courageous moves … they don’t work. I hope you detect the  theme from someone who has and is living the nightmare and seeing the solution:

What you think based on the sum total of all your experiences is not going to work with your child that has an alcohol or drug addiction.

What is needed is a completely overhaul of how you feel and think. You must by faith trust a new way that includes healthy recovery for your child and for your entire family — this is the mission of The Sights and Sounds of Enabling. Much of the information will be new to you but it’s not new information. It’s lovingly expressed and supported by these missional authors. Listen to them, learn from them and then BE them.  I can say it’s worth the wait to have your child back.

The Sights and Sounds of Enabling is just a beginning; I strongly recommend it as a first step to sanity and meaning.

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• Day Ten of The 12-Day Prodigal Prayer Mission

Tim Keller is a pastor and the bestselling author of Prodigal God, a book that I and countless others loved, so it was easy to pick up Ministries of Mercy. I was not disappointed but I was taken aback that this intellectual pastor would choose “mercy” as his next topic.

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,
when it is in your power to act. Proverbs 3:27

As with his earlier book, Tim carefully lays the Biblical foundation for ministries of mercy, defining them as any efforts to relieve the pain and/or disenfranchisement of the needy. This includes but is not limited to groups like:

Homeless
Jobless
Hungry
Widows
Orphans
Addicts
Alcoholics

I was pleasantly surprised that the author also walks the reader through steps to prompt them to think of new mercy groups in their own community. There are a lot of practical prompts like this, every section of the book is followed by them. I am left with the impression that Tim and his staff have a great deal of practical experience in mercy ministries.

After establishing the Scriptural basis for mercy ministries, Tim moves on to challenging evangelical Christians who are sometimes found wanting in them. The truth is, we are told to give to widows, orphans, neighbors, etc. and that truth is often overlooked in favor of a nicer sanctuary built in a nicer neighborhood along with a nicer car to drive there where we can pretend the needs don’t exist.

After establishing the fact that we are instructed to help the disenfranchised, even if they are our enemies, and pointing out that we are not obedient in this area on the whole, the author goes into great detail about how to find a ministry of mercy in your area, how to start, how to present it to your church to garner extra resources and how to manage it long-term by building a base of support in your local body from the ground up.

I give Ministries of Mercy by Tim Keller 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Christian Audio provided Ministries of Mercy (audio book) free of charge to me in exchange for writing this review as part of the Christian Audio Reviewers Program.

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• Counterfeit: Lies We Believe About Worship

I finished Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson in two days — it’s something very special for the community of abuse survivors (at least). She begins by recounting her own journey out of the tangled web of rationalization that abuse spins into the dry-mouthed unraveling of the realization that she is an abuse survivor. She described the journey so well that I found myself rationalizing right along with her about the relationship her 25-year-old youth director had with her when she was just 16. It was a wake-up call for this father of a 17-year-old daughter. My ignorance is part of the problem in a world that is entirely suspended by lies and silence.

Abuse survivors generally suffer from long-term poor self-image, shame and guilt though they were not to blame. Anne combats these issues with persuasive prose about who we are in Christ, arguing that is the true source of self-worth. I challenge any reader not to leap out of their chair at her passionate exhortation to embrace the truth of who they are spiritually and to use that to launch into the fullness of purpose only available in total surrender to our spiritual image, that is, our true image.

Anne Jackson is the voice of her own audio book and she narrates very well. It’s an added bonus for me when the author narrates and does it well; I feel like I’m getting a deeper peek into their head.

Anne’s writing style reminds of Donald Miller, author of Father Fiction and Blue Like Jazz, who calls himself a classical Christian essayist.

Permission to Speak Freely is a must read. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

This book was provided by Christian Audio as part of the Christian Audio Reviewers program.

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• Father Fiction by Donald Miller (audio version)
• In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham

I feel like I cheated, because I was abandoned by my father at about the same age as Donald was when his dad took off. As Donald Miller waxes eloquently in Father Fiction he often reflects ideas that I’ve learned through living in the pain, but then he sometimes gets me right between the eyes with an insight. He’s particularly strong at revealing his “fatherless” thoughts and comparing them to how others act; he openly shares his weaknesses, explaining them but not excusing them.

When he first begins to grasp God as a father through observing a child’s temper tantrum and how a father waits patiently knowing he has a better idea of what is good for his daughter though she writhes on the floor crying out that she is actually the one who is right. How often must God the Father patiently observe us as we throw tantrums about jobs, relationships or circumstance. I don’t know if I can ever be disgruntled again without picturing myself as a child throwing myself on the floor, kicking and screaming while my wise Father patiently waits for me to “get it”.

Kelly Ryan Dolan narrates this book so well that I presumed it was narrated by the author and the author had taken acting and speech lessons. As funny and irreverent in expression as the author is in prose, they’re a perfect match.

I give Father Fiction by Donald Miller 5 out of 5 stars.

Christian Audio provided Father Fiction (audio book) free of charge to me in exchange for writing this review as part of the Christian Audio Reviewers Program.

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• The Sights and Sounds of Enabling
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• Day Twelve of The 12-Day Prodigal Prayer Mission
• Day Eleven of the 12-Day Prodigal Prayer Mission

I was hesitant to listen to the audio book In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham. I didn’t know anything about the story of Gracia and Martin Burnham and I couldn’t imagine who might kidnap missionaries in the Philippines. I’m not generally a big fan of autobiographical prose.

However, Gracia tells the story of the capture of her husband and herself by Muslim radicals with abandon, holding back nothing including details that might put the couple in an unfavorable light by some. The story rings of candor and desperation, beautifully narrated by Pam Ward, other than her feigned male voice.

The story of the one-year captivity of this missionary family will keep you glued to your iPod as the Burnhams dodge in and out of firefight after firefight while enduring near starvation and living in constant fear of their violent and sadistic abductors who force female captives into Muslim marriages and lessons on the Koran while randomly executing males.

It’s a story of triumph against impossible odds and dealing with the rawest side of human existence. I give In the Presence of My Enemies 4 out of 5 stars.

This audio book was provided free of charge by Christian Audio through their Reviewers‘ program in exchange for this review. You can also follow Christian Audio on Twitter.

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The Shack is a must read.

It’s a mind-bending, spirit-jolting, jaw-dropping walk through the darkest valleys of life experience that expanded my imagination of what heaven is like and why that matters right now. It also put me in the position of deciding to sacrifice myself to save my children with all the attendant emotions and transformed my head knowledge about suffering into heart-felt wisdom about it. Author William P. Young’s fictional story will push your perspective heavenward and give you glimpses of your brief life through God’s eyes, including the perspectives of our Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

I am hearing the cry from theologians about doctrinal error, but it’s not a doctrinal treatise. It’s meant to be read like The Chronicles of Narnia or The Screwtape Letters of C.S. Lewis. Would you argue that Lewis’ rat Reepicheep implies Christians should see a fight in every comment? Is it relevant? The fictional story of The Shack is meant to temporarily transport you into the shoes of the Trinity as they restore a father drowning in his own grief to his full humanity.

To give this book 5 out of 5 stars is an injustice, I give it 5.5 out of 5 stars.

For a consideration of the theology of The Shack I would suggest that you check out an interview with the author where he defends himself.

For an opposing view, please see the article written my mentor, Dr. Norman L. Geisler on his site.

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