Book Review-Night Light, by: Guest Blogger Casey O'Hare

This week on Annette’s blog: Guest blogger steals the show! No I’m just kidding. Mom asked me to write a guest book review for the sequel to Last Light by Terri Blackstock. I’ve only had to write a review once before, and that was for Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. I wouldn’t recommend that book. But let’s see how I fare in this one… I give you: Night Light
May 24, a day that will live in infamy (couldn’t resist). Cars stopped working, cell phones died, and planes fell out of the sky. But these seemed the least of problems for the Brannings as they cope with the loss of their most prized possession: electricity.
Several weeks into the outage, the murderer has been caught, preparations for a well are underway, and the mayor of Crockett, Alabama has shown up at the gates of the Oak Hollow subdivision with some very good, and some very bad news. The source of the outage has been discovered. In 1999 a star supernova occurred and the radiation caused by the event is just now reaching Earth. The rays shouldn’t be harmful to humans, but the government just isn’t sure. Mail is being delivered, FEMA is handing out disbursements of $25 to every citizen in America, and we all know what happened when they gave the Katrina survivors the $2000 cards. Oh yeah, and the draft is being reconstituted, only they aren’t looking for soldiers, but for mechanics.
While the meeting is going on, a small band of thieves, that would make the cast of "Oliver" jealous, try to break into the Brannings’ home. They make off with a few items, but not before son, Jeff can chase them to the Sandwood Place Apartments. The thieves are four small children living alone since their mother, Jessie Gatlin, disappeared. Finding the compassion in their hearts, Kay and Doug decide to take Aaron, Joey, Luke and Sarah back home till they can either find their mother, or a more suitable relative.
Things go downhill when they find yet another body, Jessie Gatlin’s, and the search for a different killer comes about. Eyes turn to Aaron when he keeps pulling guns out of nowhere. The thrill never ends in the exciting sequel: Night Light.

Vacation Bible School 2008

It’s been one week since Vacation Bible School. My job is grade school crafts. It takes me about a week to recover from the week. I don’t know what it is that makes VBS week so tiring. I guess it could have something to do with the 300 plus kids in attendance.

I so look forward to VBS every year. I guess because I didn’t get to go that much as a kid. At least not when I was old enough to remember it. The one year I do remember going to VBS, we made treasure boxes. It was probably around 1973 or 75. We were given a cigar box, pieces of macaroni and glue. The idea was to glue the macaroni to the cigar box. The next day when the glue was dry the leaders spray painted the boxes with silver paint.

I’m sure there was a wonderful lesson from the Bible that coincided with making the treasure boxes. Maybe something like this one:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Matthew 6:19-20

I really don’t remember the story, but I do remember that shiny silver macaroni covered box that was, I’m sure, eventually thrown in the garbage. I also remember giving my heart to Jesus around that same time—coincidence? I don’t know. One thing I do know is that fourteen kids made professions of faith in Jesus Christ this year in VBS. And that’s a treasure worth taking to the bank.

Here’s a link to a slideshow of our 2008 VBS:

http://blip.tv/file/1037064

"Last Light" Book Review

I’ve never done a book review before. Recently I’ve noticed most up and coming authors post book reviews on their sites. Since I fall into that category…here goes nothin.

What would happen to the world as we know it if all electronic devices including automobiles ceased to work because of an unknown catastrophic event. Is it a terrorist attack? Or is it something far worse?

I can’t remember having read a page turner as compelling as “Last Light” by Terri Blackstock. No disrespect intended towards Ms. Blackstock, but I’m not sure if the truly captivating lure of this book had anything to do with her excellent writing ability. It’s the subject matter that makes this book so intriguing.

The reader follows the Branning family’s struggle, adjusting to a world without power, transportation, running water, sewage, or heaven forbid, an operational Wal-Mart. It’s difficult to keep from imagining yourself in the same situation. As you read the book it’s all I could do to stop myself from rushing to Wal-Mart, and hoarding “hurricane supplies.” No one needs to know I’m actually stocking up in the event of the “outage.”

The book makes you think how you would react in the same situation. I also found a lacking in my own faith. How easy it is to depend on our own devices in the cushy world we live in. Take away our cars, cell phones, Wal-Mart, and we would quickly turn to God for provision.

“Last Light” also points out how people these days don’t even know how to live in a world without modern day conveniences. I thought about what I would do, and I came up with an idea. I would pack up my family’s belongings and somehow move to a large body of water. I prefer the beach, but there is the sand, and no fresh water issues.

My husband and I read the book at the same time so we could discuss it. Here is his comment:

“God’s judgment or God’s love? How do you react when difficulties in your life arise? The author leads the reader to examine both sides of this coin.” Dan O’Hare

Besides dealing with the daily struggle of sustaining life, the Brannings must deal with people forced into survival mode as well as a murderer who kills for self gain. In closing, I would highly recommend “Last Light” to anyone who loves suspense novels. The book whetted my appetite for the sequel, “Night Light.”

Ripe For The Harvest

Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. John 4:35

What do these three things have in common?
A marriage license, a defense attorney, and a lost person

After moving back home to Houston in the 70’s, my parents failed to connect with a home church. The result was three children who weren’t raised in church as they had been.

Mom did her best, making sure her kids all heard and accepted the Gospel. But I would later realize that faith without a spiritual foundation is like the man who builds his house on the sand—eventually, your house is going to go SPLAT!

Thanks to me and my two brothers, there was a constant stream of “un-churched” teenagers passing through our home. Mom saw the opportunity God gave her; a field ripe for the harvest in her very own home. The Holy Spirit wouldn’t allow her to ignore these lost teens. She lovingly listened to their problems; befriended them and shared her faith. As a result, many came to a saving belief in Jesus Christ.

Fortunately Mom and Dad returned to church, ministering to countless youth over the years. Nevertheless, I can’t ignore the work God did through Mom all those years ago. Through her persistent, consistent obedience to the Holy Spirit, many raunchy, dirty, street savvy, teens heard about Jesus for the first time.

So what do a marriage license, a defense attorney, and a lost person all have in common? Simple—they all need a good witness.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do!

QUESTION:
What gives a fifteen year old kid the unabashed courage to witness to other teenagers?

These days, hearing stories of adults witnessing to their friends is rare. It’s even rarer still to hear about a group of kids that aren’t ashamed or afraid to share their faith with friends. We are blessed at First Baptist Porter to have a youth group full of kids who do just that.

Adoption of the F.A.I.T.H. witnessing program at FBC Porter has birthed a whole crop of young people ready, willing and capable of winning their friends to Christ.

“When we first started taking F.A.I.T.H., me, Johnathon, and Michael used the opinion poll on some kids at school. We questioned kids in the lunch room and even during class. It started out that we wanted to practice doing the F.A.I.T.H. outline, but then we realized it was a way we could actually witness to our friends. One kid even got saved.”
David 15

“I was riding the bus between campuses and I asked a girl if I could practice the F.A.I.T.H. outline on her. I asked her, the key question which is, in your personal opinion, what do you think it takes for a person to get to heaven? She said she didn’t believe in that and asked me to stop talking about it. A girl sitting in front of us begged me to keep talking. I went over the outline with her and she ended up praying for Jesus to come into her heart. It was easy.”
Casey 15

“The first time I witnessed to a kid at school I was nervous, but it wasn’t really hard. I used the opinion poll on my friend Tyler in Science class, and he ended up getting saved. I did it because I knew he wasn’t saved, and I didn’t want my friend to go to hell.”
Michael 15

So what is it that empowers these kids to witness?

ANSWER:
“You will receive power when the HOLY SPIRIT comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Don’t feel you have the power to witness? Don’t know where to begin? Don’t worry; according to the Bible it’s simple. “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38

David, Casey, and Michael have SPIRIT. How about you?

Graduation Exasperation!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

On June 6, 2008 Victoria Votaw and Alyssa Bounds will walk across the stage of the M.O Campbell Education Building, shake a few hands and accept the symbolic key to their future. The high school diploma—the apex prize of every graduating senior. To hold it in your hand is to grasp freedom!

While Victoria and Alyssa are basking in the glow that is adulthood, their parents might be experiencing a completely different set of emotions—empty nest syndrome. This is a topic very near and dear to my heart. You see in June of 2009, my own son, Patrick O’Hare, will be a graduating senior.

A whole year away, and already I find myself filled with anxiety and depression over letting go of my fledgling firstborn. I’ve even gone so far as to think up ways to keep him close to home. On our way to a college prep meeting this week, I suggested that my son consider going to the local junior college his first year. I even devised a plan for him to take night courses at U of H. He could have the whole house to himself during the day. It would be like he didn’t even live with us. He didn’t buy any of my ideas. It seems he has his heart set on attending that university to our west that people make jokes about, but also produces top notch engineers.

The feelings I’m experiencing as a parent preparing to let go of a child are anything but new. Parents have stressed over letting go since the dawn of time. Only this time it’s my child and I’m the one who has to let go. The question is how will I face this major life adjustment? The answer lies in my ability to stop fretting and turn it over to the One who’s really in control anyway. We are able to handle any challenge life throws our way, as long as we know that God is with us. In the meantime, I’ll put these Houston Baptist University brochures in Patrick’s room. Surely they have an engineering program…don’t they?

Resolve To Reconcile

A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11

Seventy Four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 forcing 110,000 Japanese-American and Japanese nationals into “War Relocation Camps.” Among the Japanese-Americans interned was the man who, on September 11, 2001, grounded all civilian aircraft traffic for the first time in U.S. history. That man, then a little boy, was United States Secretary of Transportation from 2001 to 2006, Norman Y. Mineta

Heart Mountain Internment Camp in Wyoming was more of an adventure than an incarceration to young Mineta. The story is much different for the adults who were forced from homes and universities into the barbed-wire surrounded facilities. That was the heartbreaking reality for Mineta’s immigrant father, a strong supporter of America and the American way of life.

Like Mineta’s father, none of the Japanese-Americans had been charged with a crime against the United States government. Two-thirds were born in America and more than 70 percent were U.S. citizens.

Fast forward about 50 years and see Mineta as a driving force behind the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. The Act is a formal apology to the wrongfully imprisoned people and provided for reparations to 80,000 survivors. Mineta has said he never felt bitterness concerning the internment, but his experience did shape his feelings about government and lead to his political career.

The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 combined with the reparation payments, showed America’s willingness to change and its desire for resolution of the problem. These steps paved the way for reconciliation with the Japanese-American people interned during WWII.

Who do you need to reconcile with? Have you done something that has caused the loss of a friendship with a close friend, a family member—a Christian brother or sister? Maybe you are the one who was wronged. You wait and you wait for that person to make the situation right, but it doesn’t seem to happen. Seek God’s help and resolve to reconcile. Ask Him to guide you in the steps to reconciliation. When we sincerely ask for God’s assistance in resolving our conflicts, we honor Him, and reveal our faith in Him.

(Sources: http://www.scholastic.com/, http://www.wikipedia.org/)

(Photo of Heart Mtn: http://www.memoriesmyparentsneverhad.blogspot.com/)