Book Review: Five on Brexit Island by Bruno Vincent

Five on Brexit Island is part of the Enid Blyton for Grown Up’s series which focuses on the Brexit referendum.

The five friends have gone to Kirrin Island, which is owned by George, to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine as well as escape the Brexit debate, however the issue still follow them as George is a firm remainer and Julian is a Brexiteer and when the result comes the following day that Britain has decided to leave Europe, George who is very dissatisfied at the result decides that Kirrin Island is going to leave Britain.

This brings a lot of drama involving debates, TV cameras and brings unhappiness to the gang.

This book is funny in parts but can also be quite excruciating to read. 

Book Review: The Watch House by Bernie Magill

Set in Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland, The Watch House is a love story but is also about the power of words to connect us and the power of suspicion to tear us apart.

It tells the story of Nuala Byrne whose family emigrated to Canada when she was a child leaving her back in Rathlin to look after her grandparents.  After they pass away she married the Island’s tailor but also gets landed with his busy-body sister Ginny who makes life hard for Nuala.

But life takes a different turn for Nuala when men including an Italian technician come onto the Island to test out Marconi’s new Morse-code technology and Nuala is sent by Ginny to cook for the men which later leads her to be a scribe for the code as the Italian Gabriel notices her talent and value.  This working relationship soon becomes a bit more and Nuala’s life is changed forever.

The central theme in this novel is communication with the introduction of the Morse-code, but communication also contributes to the downfall of Nuala and Gabriel in a twist that shows how information is power and that should that power end up in the wrong hands then it can lead to corruption.

The Watch House is a gripping novel with suspense and twists. The characters come alive in this book as you grow to love some and dislike others.  It is a book where you want to read on to find out what happens to the Island’s inhabitants but especially Nuala.

Rathlin Island itself is also made into a character of the book as the author uses the lighthouse and other landmarks to make her story come alive.

Book Review: Run John Run by Keith Joslin

Many people read the Janet and John books while learning to read in school. They are innocent wee books but then Sir Terry Wogan brought them to life on his BBC2 radio show and made them a bit more risqué as well as extremely funny – he often couldn’t finish telling the story because he was laughing so hard!

All this was made possible by Keith Joslin’s rewrites of the stories. And this book, Run John Run, is a collection of these stories and they are just as funny in print as they were on the Radio.

It is hard to read these stories without think of Sir Terry and his dulcet tones. If you want a laugh I do recommend reading this book as well as going onto youtube and listening to Sir Terry read them!

Book Review: Band Aid for a Broken Leg by Damien Brown

Band-Aid for a Broken Leg is a true story by Damien Brown about his time as a volunteer doctor for Medecine Sans Frontieres in Angola, Mozambique, and South Sudan.

It is a powerful, heartbreaking funny, honest and uplifting account of Damien’s life on the medical frontline. He tells us stories of working in difficult conditions both within the hospital and outside especially when surrounded by landmines in Angola.

And to add to the difficulties there is the problem of the language barrier with Damien not speaking much Portuguese and the local doctors and patients not speaking English. This leads to a lot of frustrations on for everybody.

But despite these issues, Damien’s passion for the work grows and he does develop friendships with the local doctors and the volunteers he works and lives alongside.

It is a moving testimony of the work down by medical humanitarian groups and the extraordinary and sometimes eccentric people who work for them.

Christianity: What the Flood Teaches Us

Taken from Creation Untamed by Terence E Fretheim, this is what the Flood in Genesis Chapter Six teaches us about God and his relationship with us and the world:

Relationship
God wants a relationship with us. He personally involves the divine self in the brokenness of the world and works on the situation from within.

Agents
God uses us to carry out His work in the world. Take Noah, he fulfilled every divine command and his obedient behaviour to God is sharply responsible for the salvation of a remnant of humans and animals.

God’s Emotions

God is deeply and personally moved by what has happened to the relationship with humankind. God is not removed or detached from the world, but genuinely engaged with it.

God’s Regret

God regrets that things had to come to what they were in terms of the flood.

God’s Plans
God’s created the world good, but not perfect

Human Resistance
The text in Genesis chapter six is a witness to a divine vulnerability in the unfolding creation and it shows that Humans have successfully resisted God’s will for creation.

God’s Changes of Strategy
God’s initial reference to blotting out human beings seemed to allow for no exception (Genesis 6 v 7)  but God’s pain and sorrow lead to a decision regarding Noah that changes that judgemental direction with positive effects for ‘all flesh’

God’s Grief
God grieves over what has happened to His world (Genesis 6 v6-7)

God’s Suffering
God’s suffering climaxing on the cross proves to be very powerful indeed one might say that suffering is God’s chief way of being powerful in the world.

God’s Promises
The divine more of the flood finally leads to God’s promises never to engage in such a destructive act again.  God will never do this again.

Human beings have not been changed by the flood, but in view of God’s experiment with the world, God charts new directions in relating to the world.  It is this kind of God that provides a basic lens through which we are invited to interpret the God who is presented in all biblical texts to follow.

The flood story shows us among other things that human wickedness can make disasters worse. 

Book Review: Basil in Blunderland by Basil Hume

Basil in Blunderland is a collection of spiritual reflections that Cardinal Basil Hume discovered while playing a game of ‘hide and seek’ with two young children and each hiding place he was in became a setting for a discovery of something new about his spiritual life.

The title was chosen because as Hume put it “my spiritual life is more a wandering in Blunderland than resting and relaxing in Wonderland”.

I enjoyed this wee book as it made me think about things in light of my spiritual life and realised that what matters most in life is that our minds and our hearts should both be involved in our search for God, where the seeking and the finding go hand and hand.

Book Review: I AM - Michelle Cushatt

A 60-day journey to knowing who you are because who He is

As women, we often feel we are not enough and we feel pressure to be more and to do more and we compare ourselves to others.

In this 60-day journey book, Michelle Cushatt tells raw personal stories about her fight with cancer and couples that with rock-solid biblical teaching and radical truths to help rebuild your life.

I AM helps you to:

• End this barrage of negative self-talk with an empowering new narrative
• Stop agonising over past regrets and failures and make peace with God’s sovereign plan for your life.
• I AM reminds us that our value isn’t found in our talents, achievements, relationships or appearance, it is instead found in a God who chose us sent us and promised to be with us – forever. 

Faith and Movies: Musings from 'The Shack'

I recently watched ‘The Shack’ which is the screen adaptation of William Young’s New York Times Bestselling book ‘The Shack’, and tells the story of the Phillips Family but primarily the focus is on the father of the family, Mack whose life is shattered when their youngest child Missy disappears during a camping trip which he is saving Kate and Josh, his other kids during a canoeing accident. The police determine that Missy is the victim of a serial killer. They don’t find a body is but they do find her torn bloodless dress.

The Phillips are a family of faith, but this tragedy derails Mack’s faith and life until the onset of winter when he receives an unstamped, typewritten note in his mailbox. The surrounding snow is devoid of any incriminating tracks. The message is signed "Papa" (which was his wife Nan’s nickname for God) and invites him to meet at the cabin.

Anyway, I do not want to ruin the story for you, as I would recommend you either buying the book and reading it or renting the movie and watching it.

While I was watching I was struck by a lot of things in the movie which I wanted to share – things about God and suffering including other interesting observations:

• When we cry God collects all our tears (Psalm 56 v 8)
• Love always leaves a mark
• We are all in the center of God’s love and purpose
• God is in everything
• Through pain and suffering, God is there
• In our mess, God is there
• In our storms, God is there
• God is doing work in our lives for good
• We are not meant to be on our own
• Prayer is a conversation between friends
• A future without God does not exist
• Religion is way too much work
• God doesn’t want slaves, He wants friends
• God wants us to know what it is like to be truly loved
• We shouldn’t make judgments on what people wear, how they look or what colour they are – God is the only judge
• No one is immune from evil
• There is no such thing as a pain-free life when sin is in the world
• Everything works better when we do it with Jesus
• God can make incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies but that doesn’t mean He orchestrates the tragedies
• When we forgive people we are trusting God to do what is right
• We don’t have to do things on our own, God is with us
• Tears help in our healing process 

Life & Faith: Thank you for Trusting Me

Mother Teresa once said ‘I know God will not give me anything I cannot handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much’

When I was diagnosed with MS in 2014 this phrase was quoted to me and I though huh, glad she was so wrong – but I wasn’t and it took me almost two years to get to terms with my diagnosis and really believe that God was on this journey with me.  I realised that me having MS was hard for me to handle on my own but with God by myside I could handle it and anything else.

Over the past four years I have heard this quote now more than once and have listened to people preaching and read books on this issue and how we should thank God for trusting us with the things He brings into our lives.

Four years ago I could not thank God for my MS but now I can and I do. Why? Well because if it wasn’t for my MS diagnosis I wouldn’t be where I am today:

• I wouldn’t be in a good place with God
• I wouldn’t be in a good place with myself
• I wouldn’t be in a good place with my family and friends and I wouldn’t be thankful for them.

Over the past four years people have been praying for healing for me and although I may not be physically healed, I have been healed spiritually, emotionally and mentally. The important thing to remember with healing that there is more than one way a person can be healed.

And I have been helped in the past four years by people coming alongside me and praying for me as well as being supportive in other ways. Yes some people have walked away from me during the first two very difficult years but those who have stood by me are the ones whom I am very thankful for – they have been vessels of God.

They have helped me become stronger and believe in myself and helping me come close to God and bringing me to the place where I can now say, “God, I don’t wish MS on anyone else and at times I hate the symptoms I live with, well actually maybe all the time, but I thank you for trusting me with this illness and I pray that you will use my MS for your greater glory”

And I am also with Mother Teresa when she said “I wish He didn’t trust me so much” 

Book Review: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

The Uncommon Reader is a refreshing funny novella which is a celebration of the pleasure of reading.

On a walk around the palace, the Queen stumbles on the mobile library which comes once a week for Buckingham Palace employees.  Within the library, she meets Norman, a young man from the palace kitchen and they form a strange friendship where Norman teaches the Queen about the joys of reading the liberating pleasure of the written word.

This new found love of books brings an upset to the Queens aides and the Prime Minister who didn’t understand the power of books and believe that books are stopping the Queen from doing her royal duties.  They feel Norman is a bad influence and orchestrate his removal from the Palace, but the Queen just thinks Norman left her and is upset.  However, a chance encounter brings them together again and the Queen finds out what happened which leads to serious consequences for her aides.

The Uncommon Reader is a great funny and charming book which I do recommend you read. 

Book Review: God in the ICU by Dave Walker

God in the ICU is an inspirational biography of Dave Walker, who not only does his job as a doctor within the Intensive Care Unity, he also prayers for his patients.

In this book, Walker tells his story from how he went from a person who is disillusioned with God after a series of tragedies and living for himself and his work to a person who was on a quest to find a God who did not look on impersonally from a distance, but realised he was intimately involved in our lives.

Walker began praying for his patients and things happened beyond anything he could have imagined, from patients being healed miracously to others who experienced Jesus bringing comfort and peace to others who felt the power of God’s love in the face of tragedy.

God is in the ICU is an excellent story, full of inspiration and a story which is told with transparency, compassion and an honest look as lessons we can learn from His dealings with is. It is a very encouraging book and I recommend you read this.

Book Review: Chase by James Patterson

Chase is a novella in the Detective Michael Bennett series. The story sees Bennett being sent to the scene of an apparent suicide but while investigating Bennett realises things don’t add up and to him, it starts to look like murder.

When the fingerprints turn out to be those of a man who has been dead for a while, it turns into a difficult investigation as Bennett and his fellow Agent Emily Parker find themselves obstructed by bureaucrats.

I love the Michael Bennett series by James Patterson and Chase is a great novella in this series – showing us more of Michael Bennett, his love of his family and his duty to this work. 

Book Review: Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway

Set in and around Derry, Northern Ireland Little Girl Lost is a crime novel which tells the story of three lost girls: one who is missing, one who has been found but has no name and the third one is Detective Lucy Black, the main character, who is list in this city in which she is a stranger even though she was born there. Throughout her investigation, Black ends up identifying with both girls.

What becomes apparent in Black's investigation is that the ‘missing girl’ and the ‘lost girl found’ are in some way linked together and it is up to her to find the connection between them.

Little Girl Lost is set in the City of Derry in the winter time. This setting allows for two more themes to be drawn out which are that of the ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland both in the past and in the present as well as the issue of borderland as the story crosses into Southern Ireland in the search for answers.

I really loved this book and am really looking forward to reading more about Detective Lucy Black. McGilloway is an author who really knows how to involve the readers into his story.