The Faith

Do a happy dance! Today is a special day on Christy's Book Blog: it's my 400th review! I started the blog just shy of two years ago with this post. Originally I reviewed two books in a single post with some personal notes on the side. At some point I switched to my current format of a personal note, review with a short sign-off. I've reviewed 400 books, but in that two year time I've read just under 600 (yeah, that number is crazy to me too!). I am so blessed to do what I do. People often ask how I got started doing this, and it really came out of desperation. I couldn't take being stuck in bed so many days doing nothing but reading, and writing reviews online seemed like making something productive out of pain. A few months after I started, I signed up to be a part of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and started reviewing books on a schedule. I'll never forget the first unsolicited book I received in the mail: Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury. I was so excited; I called my husband at work, both of my parents, I think I even called my pastor! It was an amazing moment in my life, just a small thing, but it started to turn things around for me. I'm still trying to figure out a way to parley this into a paying job, but even if I never do, I love what I do. God used my pain as a way to open up my world to so many wonderful people (other bloggers, public relations people, authors), and I am blessed by the association.

The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters by Charles Colson and Harold Fickett is a concise, cohesive, coherent look at why the United States most popular religion is still relevant despite the recent polemical diatribes that have been released saying otherwise. Colson sticks to orthodoxy in his explanation of tenets and doctrines without the pluralistic overtones taken by many of today's religious leaders. Colson pulls no punches and takes no prisoners while explaining issues about Jesus and the Trinity. On occasion, he even takes on Christopher Hitchins and Richard Dawkins who have attacked Christianity with an almost religious fervor and zeal. Colson doesn't stoop to their level; however, he avoids hate mongering and keeps a cool head while pointing out where their logic fails. This is a vital book for Christians to read and would make an excellent Bible study for churches.

This morning the whole house was in an uproar. Molly told me that she had practice at 7 today. I took that to mean 7 pm (and therefore her father's problem since he has her this weekend), but she actually meant 7 am. I woke her up at 6:45, so we all ran around like headless chickens while Jesse and Molly got out the door in less than ten minutes. Molly shot me dirty looks the entire time (cause, yeah, it's all my fault). Jesse took it with good grace and at least gave me a hug on the way out. I fell back into bed with great relief. Have a wonderful weekend!