Book Review: Faith like Potatoes by Angus Buchan

Faith like Potatoes is the personal story of the faith of Angus Buchan.  He is a man who trusts completely in God. During a meeting when the El Nino drought was about to hit South Africa, meaning that the growing of crops on all land would be badly affected, Buchan addressed the crowd and told them that this year he would be growing potatoes – everyone thought he was crazy. But God told him to plant the potatoes and Angus believed totally in God’s promises. And sure enough despite the drought, those potatoes did grow as did Angus’ faith as God provided rain when needed.

This is a story of obedience to God’s calling and an account of unwavering faith and passion for God’s work through one of His most faithful followers.

It may seem that Buchan’s life is an easy life, however like everyone else Angus had his struggles and doubts, especially in coming to faith, and also after becoming a Christian. There are tales of sadness and tales of joy as Angus takes us through his life and the building of his farm and Shalom Ministries which has become home to a community of families and believers who live and work as a team. We are introduced to some of the workers and some of the children of the orphanage and see how they have been inspired by the faith of Angus, his wife Jill and their family.

Book Review: Burning Angels by Bear Grylls

I loved Ghost Flight which was the first book in the Will Jaegar series by Bear Grylls and eagerly awaited Burning Angels, to find out what became of Will and his team who managed to escape their enemies in the Amazon Rainforest.

Burning Angels takes up a short while after the first book and takes us another exciting adventure with Will and his team with their fight to escape the ‘Gott Virus’ which was unleashed by Nazi Sympathies on their mission to continue with the 1000 year Reich.

Again Grylls brings suspense to his writing, however, it was a bit disappointed in a number of technical details there were when it came to describing climbs, airships, parachutes etc. – for me it took a little bit away from the drama – but overall I enjoyed this book and again I eagerly await the follow up ‘The Devil’s Sanctuary’ to find out how Will, his wife, and his son are doing.

Also, one question I have that was not resolved in this book is – did Santos ever get out of the hospital and how is she?

Book Review: God will use this for Good: Surviving the Mess of Life by Max Lucado

In this short book Max Lucado discusses how in the midst of dark and lonely times, hope can be found in God’s goodness and His grand plan for your life and for the world as a whole.

We are introduced to Joseph and his story of being abandoned by his brothers to becoming ruler of Egypt – and how God wove his life together like he will do for us.

We are reminded that as God never forgot Joseph he will never forget us and will redeem the messes in our lives for his glory and our well-being.

Book Review: Mercy by Jodi Picoult

How much do you love your partner? Do you love hem enough to kill for them? Is your love for each other an equal 50/50 percentage or is it 70/30 – with one person loving the other more than the other loves them?

There are the issues which confront the main characters in Mercy, which follows the path of two cousins driven to the extreme by the power of love and their significant others who are affected by their love and actions.

This book gripped me from the start as I wanted to know why there was this woman in her front yard selling her husband’s belonging. I wondered if she was recently widowed or has her husband left her for another woman?

Then there is the story of Jamie and his wife. Why did he kill her and would the law courts believe him when he says that it was an act of mercy?

Then there is Mia – who is she and where has she come from? What is her story?

Picoult brings the story of all her characters together in only the way she can, interweaving them with an exploration of emotional and ethical issues with one of the main questions being – when you love someone, where do you cross the line?

I would recommend reading this book, it is like all of Picoult’s other books – captivating and one you don’t want to put down till you have finished the last page.