Welcome to my site

What can I say? I'm so pleased that you've come here. I've spent 5 years blogging, more than that building websites and have been writing "professionally" since 2003. I'm here to help writers with their writing, encourage people through this life, and point them to Jesus. That's the most important thing. So stay tuned. Check this site regularly as "some of the features" may change. I'll need help from time to time, because I'm not perfect. If you're perfect, please go to another site. I'm pretty sure you won't fit in here.

Unbalanced Scales

I'm sure everyone in the U.S. already knows that we are in danger. The problem is that so much of the rhetoric and the old rules are just antagonizing things.

For instance, only weeks ago all the media could do was talk about going over a fiscal cliff. Now, however, that cliff seems to have disappeared and they are talking about spending ceilings. I don't know about you, but this tells me that the people in Washington (D.C) don't know what they're talking about.

Then comes the IRS looming on the horizon. It's hard enough to get around with their hands in our pockets year round, but they expect an extra-special bonus via our Income Tax. We've been gritting our teeth and baring this for years, but now it's becoming harder and harder to find the forms to fill out, even if you can understand them, so you can send them in and pay that tax. I'm of the inclination that if they want my money they should come and fill out all the forms and make it easy. I'm not one of these people who expect freebies. It's just that the founding fathers didn't get paid, and if they did it was by their district, and probably in feed or livestock. I say we go back to that. You want to get out of our $15 trillion debt, then stop paying the people who aren't listening to us when we say, "No taxes."

I know, that's idealistic, but this country was built on ideals, and hard work made it work. That is until the government decided to pay for those who didn't want to work. Take a good idea and present it to Congress or the Senate and the first thing they do is appoint a special task force to investigate the problem. Oh, and all those tax problems we face, they do not face. How'd that happen. Whatever happened to "We the People..?"

Monday, March 8, 2010

ONE SMOOTH STONE, by Marcia Lee Laycock


Time again for another CFRB book review. The Christian Fiction Review Blog is reviewing ONE SMOOTH STONE, by Marcia Lee Laycock this week and I have the honor of not only doing the CFRB reviews, but also writing the first review of the tour on my own site.

Synopsis of ONE SMOOTH STONE:

Alex Donnelly knows all about running. He's running from his past pain, from the police, and from God. Raised in an abusive foster home, Alex is angry at the world and tries to bury his pain by hiding out in the far north, near Dawson City Yukon.

But then one day a lawyer shows up on his doorstep and tells him he has inherited a sum of money. Sceptical, yet intrigued, Alex returns to his birth city to find answers to questions about his parents and his past.

What he finds is a young woman who seems to understand him too well, and a secret that causes him to run again.

But God goes before him and sets up a few more divine appointments, including an attack by Grizzly bear.

This book proves that no matter how far you run, God will find you; and no matter what you have done, God will forgive you.

My Review:

Most people are used to a particular kind of review from me, well, we'll see if that continues to hold true. I found ONE SMOOTH STONE, by Marcia Lee Laycock to be an excellent book. The story flows nicely and the characters are generally realistic. There were a few times when they seemed to be doing things out of character, but by and large they are very realistic. Some may have problems with relating to some of the characters because you may, like me, have had a really good upbringing and some of the characters here have not. Marcia is very successful in capturing the pain and heartbreak that some of these characters went through. Alex Donnelly is one hard case, but as we read on we find he's constantly fighting a battle within himself. The pain and abuse he felt growing up has created more walls of pain and heartache to keep others from getting in. The thing is he didn't count on God. While it is impossible to break down the walls that we build up, especially people like Alex, it is never impossible for God.

There are several things that come across loud and clear in this book. First, you can't run from God and His love. He will chase you to the very edge of Hell itself to draw you to Himself and a life of love in Him. Second, is that while we may feel all alone in our struggles we aren't alone at all. Others have and are going through the same things we are. Realizing this can be a useful key to unlocking the doors to our hearts and letting the "Wall-breaker" come in and heal our hurt. Third, the story talks about a love unlike any other love, for the love of God is pure and beyond measure.

This is quite an excellent book on many levels and I encourage you to get a copy for yourself (and others you know and love). Some people just tell stories, others, like Marcia Lee Laycock, tell parables. You may ask, "What's the difference?" The difference is that the former is just for entertainment, while the latter, although quite entertaining as well, teaches us things about ourselves, about those around us, and most of all about God. You must not miss this book.

Be sure to visit her website HERE

To purchase a copy you can go to any of the following online sites:

Castle Quay Books (Canada)

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Be sure to visit the following sites to read more about ONE SMOOTH STONE:



IMPORTANT

The Christian Fiction Review Blog (known as CFRB) is a ministry that promotes quality Christian fiction in order that the Gospel of Jesus Christ may be shared with others who might hear it in a context that they would appreciate and understand. Each book is "previewed" in order to maintain the quality and content of the book. Books that are accepted for blog tours are given to the members by the author to review, according to the number of members requesting a copy. It is the belief and practice of CFRB to post positive reviews as a type of payment for these books. However, I want to emphasize again that these books first go through a preview stage where they are deemed of a high enough quality to tour.
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