Be Brave Part 1- Bethel Music

Wow! Inspirational Video by Bethel Music speaks to the heart! Enjoy!

LifeLock CEO’s Identity Stolen 13 Times

Were you thinking about getting LifeLock to prevent identity theft? You may want to rethink that stategy.

Apparently, when you publish your Social Security number prominently on your website and billboards, people take it as an invitation to steal your identity.
LifeLock CEO Todd Davis, whose number is displayed in the company’s ubiquitous advertisements, has by now learned that lesson. He’s been a victim of identity theft at least 13 times, according to the Phoenix New Times.

Original Wired.com article.

Determined Osprey Thwarts Maryland Transportation Authority

Once in the while an unlikely hero steps into the limelight and impresses us with his brazen disregard for the authorities in his quest for a greater goal. And so in front of the traffic camera designated Gantry N-1, on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, our hero Mr. Osprey has decided to take a stand.

This determined bird is on his fourth nest after the Maryland Transportation Authority has torn down 3 others that were blocking Gantry N-1’s view of traffic. I live along a highway so I have to say I’m on the bird's side!

The best part of this to me is the fact that intelligent human beings see no other solution than to remove the nest. I’m not sure what these cameras look like or how they are situated, but how about an extension pole to lift the camera a little above the nest. You waste a ton of taxpayer money already so how about it? Let's stop and think of a way to preserve and not destroy the osprey’s quality of life.

Here is the Fox News report of the story.
Here is a Link to the Traffic cam to see our hero. Choose the camera link Gantry N-1.

Update: Fox News Report Update  An Osprey who continued to try building a nest on a Bay Bridge traffic camera will be accommodated, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) announced on Wednesday.
Update2: Traffic cam, Bay Bridge ospreys coexisting: A newly built platform allows a family of ospreys to live next to, instead of in front of, a Maryland Transportation Authority traffic camera on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun video)

Some more photos...

 

Jeff and Cheryl Scruggs

Jeff and Cheryl Scruggs share how God healed them and their marriage. It is an incredible story of how God can change lives. Also here is the link for the story on the "I Am Second" website.

The Third Heaven: The Rise of Fallen Stars - Donovan Neal

This speculative Christian fiction novel has been described as a prequel to the Bible. Please let me preface this review with a disclaimer. In no way is this book to be taken as a true scriptural approach to the events surrounding the fall of Satan and the rebellion of one third of God's angels. It is what it claims to be: A speculative book. Based on scripture, The Third Heaven gives us a possible behind the scenes look at the events of the great war and fall of Lucifer and his fallen angels. It is designed to answer how, along with one third of the angels, Lucifer lost his position in Heaven.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's take on the fall of Lucifer and how that came to be. The reasoning behind how Satan thought he could get away with supplanting God on His throne and taking His place was an example of creative writing at its finest. The action and war scenes were masterfully and emotionally penned. The story flows wonderfully and his prose is remarkable. The descriptive passages seem to lift from the pages into your imagination. Descriptions of angel's personalities make them all the more real. Neal's handling of the story in my opinion was quite plausible.

Mr. Neal realizes that this story is hugely speculative and that there are problems with telling it. The fact that there isn't much written in the Bible about it is a witness to that fact. He has provided a link for some of these questions at: http://donovanmneal.wix.com/donovanmneal#!thinking-behind-the-third-heaven-series/c22ty I would recommend you read this before reading the book, though it's really not necessary. I am looking forward to the next installment in this series.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the story of the fall of Satan and the one third of angels. At the very least this book provides some possible thoughts as to how this came to be. Just remember, keep telling yourself "It's just a story!"

Rated 5 Stars

The Third Heaven: The Rise of Fallen Stars

Jason Gray - Remind Me Who I Am

The New Reality by Stephen Martino

Stephen Martino has written a fast paced science fiction thriller. I love Stephen’s creativity and imagination as he weaves a web of intrigue and wonder. Interspersed with comedy and emotion, it’s a great ride that I could easily see being made into a movie.

While the characters seem a little weak at first, they soon bloom into interesting people you will either hate or love. The Alex Pella character is a little vague. I still don’t have a good feel for him even at the end of the book, only that he is a good guy and a bit mysterious. Since this is an Alex Pella series, I would expect that he would be deeper as revealed in future stories.

While the book is completely a work of fiction, it still relies on historically accurate facts, of which Mr. Martino has done a wonderful job of researching. I love books that make me want to look things up. Sometimes I would expect this fact or that to be made up and after research I would find it to be true in many cases.

The story starts in the future in the year 2080. We see a world that is the result of world economies and policies we are living in today.  Human experimentation, DNA engineering and the backlash that is inevitable create a sickness that threatens the extinction of the human race. Only one man holds the key to a cure. The problem lies in finding the key and what it means.

The story that combines a Millerite, Bible codes, John the apostle, historic locations, and the future you can see evolving from our current world economy and situations, has to be woven in a fluid manner. Stephen Martino is successful in all the transitions this requires. This book is a good edge of your seat page turner! I highly recommend it.

An advance copy of the book was supplied to me in return for a review.

 5 Stars!
The New Reality (Alex Pella)

Pyramid of Secrets by Tracy L. Higley

I understand that this is a rewrite of a book by Tracy entitled “City of the Dead”. Having not read the original I can’t comment on whether or not this is a better version. I can only state that if you like historical fiction and/or murder mystery with lots of plot twists and intelligent, well-researched writing, you will love this book.

Tracy does an excellent job of placing the reader at a location in geography and time. You can almost look around and take in the landscape and people. I love historical fiction, but Tracy Higley makes it come alive. Her prose floats effortlessly, stimulating your mind and spirit.

The “People of the One” while being fictional, hold up to the believable all the way to the probable. People seeking God definitely find Him, so no believability problem there. Several others involved in the plot were actual historical people who lived in that time period. They were very believable and I love the descriptions of the ruling and worker classes and the systems they lived under.

Descriptions of the Egyptian gods and the differences between the “One God” especially in the mercy area and the afterlife spoke to my heart and made me appreciate my own relationship with Christ.

This is the sixth Tracy Higley novel I’ve read and she hasn’t disappointed yet.

My Rating 5 Stars

We have a Living God!

I just attended my first men's bible study at my church. Usually there would be 20 to 30 men there, but today there were only 4. The leader didn't show up and no one else did. Apparently it was cancelled, but the word didn't get out to everyone. Dennis and I were the first to get there, so we talked about our life situations.

I Talked about the printing industry, the bad economic times and changes in the industry itself, and how it has changed my life. Dennis talked about being out of work for four months and about a new job that he is going to start in two weeks. Dennis's real trepidation is in the fact that he has poor writing skills and a reading disability that he thinks may hurt his job performance.

Paul came in and we discussed his part time job and how he wanted to go full time and how impossible that seemed. Paul is 77.

Charlie came in and we discussed the fact that Charlie has gone down an impossible road, with a tragic accident that almost cost him his leg, Charlie is on disability and now volunteers to help as much as he can at the church.

Suddenly my situation wasn't so bad. It allowed me to focus on someone else besides me.

We sat and talked and shared about our families, our expectations and our prayers. I shared about a person whom I have been praying for for many years. God has recently increased my vision for him. It was not enough to pray for him and his family, God wants me to pray for the whole area he lives in! We all agreed on one thing. We all have a Living God who is amazing! He wants us to believe the impossible. He wants us to believe that where we fail and are lacking, He is able and willing to do amazing things on our behalf. We also believe that if two or more are gathered in His name, He is there in the midst of them and if two of us agree about anything we ask for, it will be done for us by our Father in heaven. Our brother Jesus was there in our little meeting. Perhaps encouraging us to share and pray for one another. We ended with prayer for these situations, believing that God would stretch Dennis and give peace to him about the job.

Normally walking into a bible study with one person sitting there would seem like a sign from God to forget coming back. I know enough to trust that He has a plan. I now know 3 other men a lot better and have shared in their lives and prayed with them. There are no accidents. He has plans for each of us. Next time it seems that things didn't go the way you planned, look around and be patient. The Living God has a plan for you!

The Fourth Kingdom - Alexandra Swann, Joyce Swann

The boys from Brazil are coming! This is a book with a lot of potential for a series. Unfortunately the ending leaves a lot to be desired.

This story is about two scientists involved in two different branches of cloning. While they are diametrically opposed in their beliefs, they have much in common in other areas. The story follows their lives through the years and the effects they have on one another. Exciting discoveries and collaboration between both men bring the story to an exciting climax.

As a Christian Fiction genre piece, this book contains the Gospel message in an excellent context. The story is woven masterfully and contains Christian and secular paradigms. The story plot was good but a bit too predictable. I won't say too much about how this happens, but lets just say that it is evident which way the story is going too early in the book. If this series is going anywhere, I would like to see it come to an Apocalyptic showdown involving the Anti-Christ and the two witnesses.

This is hard, because I really enjoyed the book, but in the end, I found it too predictable and lacking in suspense to get five stars. It was however interesting and imaginative in its concepts and creativity. Still a good read and worth the time.

The Fourth Kingdom at Amazon 

My Rating - 4 Stars