Be The People: A Call to Reclaim America's Faith & Promise

Carol M. Swain, PhD

The title of this book attracted me because I have felt for a long time that the direction of the United States of America has been drifting from the vision and hopes that the founding fathers had for it so many years ago. Since the Supreme Court decision in 1947 that there would be separation of church and state, the self-aggrandizing movement of the 1960's and 70's, to the legalization of abortion in 1973 this country has continued to be locked in a free fall of liberalization and selfishness that is breaking apart the links the nation has relied on.

Dr. Swain was born to a family of 12 in the rural poverty of the South in 1954, succeeded in graduating high school, put herself through college and graduate school to become a leading voice in bringing America back to the Judeo-Christian foundation of its beginning. She has seen the pain and the angst that the protests of the 1960's brought. She is a staunch supporter of what the country stood for and has the hopes that America will once again recognize the foundation that it was built upon.

The author addresses racism, prayer in school, abortion, immigration, the family, and our National Sovereignty in a straight-forward, pragmatic, well thought out discussion and gives solutions to the problems that plagued this nation. Written with a strong Christian voice, the book makes reasonable arguments for a return to the caring and family centric country that it was.

I recommend this book for those who have questions about the direction of the United States and concerns about the future. I received this book for free from Booksneeze.com in return for writing a review on line.

"God's Promises"

God's Promises for the American Patriot – Deluxe Edition

by

Dr. Richard G. Lee

Jack Countryman

“Inside the Bible's pages lie the answers to all the problems mankind has ever known.” A quote by President Ronald Reagan that illustrates America's story and God's word are inseparable. This is taken from the introduction to “God's Promises for the American Patriot.”

Having received this book free from Booksneeze for the express purpose of this review, I did not know what to expect. I somehow envisioned a coffee table book that had nice phrases in it that referred to our nation's founding. Maybe some pictures of the purple mountains or the shining seas. Then I opened the package and beheld this little jewel of a book and immediately knew that I held something important.

The book is small yet substantial having a hard cover layered in heavy, American flag paper and cushioned on the front. Opening the pages reveals heavy stock paper with an antique background motif and beautiful images and drawings on nearly every page. The book is of very special quality.

Laid out in a way that has a page out of history on the left with complimenting Bible passages on the right, this book begs the reader to return again and again. It gives a little story out of the history of the country and then displays how our founding fathers and citizens relied on the bible for answers during the construction of this nation. Never does it fail to please.

This book has a dedication page and I would encourage everyone to present it to a young person or friend. It is very worthwhile and will create many moments of reflection and pause.

A review

“Lies The Government Told You -

Myth, Power, and Deception in American History”

by: Judge Andrew P. Napolitano

It was with a certain amount of trepidation that I opened this book, curious as to which of the many possible directions Judge Napolitano was going to take in his dissertation on the deception of the American government.

In seeing that the chapters are numbered as “Lies,” I felt that the book was going to simply be a hit piece based on one man's opinion of governmental inequities delivered on its citizenry. When reading the foreword by Ron Paul, a Libertarian turned Republican, I began to feel that maybe Judge Napolitano would give, if anything, instances of abuses of power and evidence of deception in our Federal Government. This he does do as the “chapters” unfold.

In the Introduction to the book, Judge Napolitano confesses that he has a chip on his shoulder and it is mainly because of the ease with which the government lies to us and the seeming necessity that we feel we must be lied to by our government. Truly, unless one has unlimited time and access to information, an individual cannot keep up with everything that every vast agency in our government is doing. It is this overload of information that allows an agency to take liberties with its authority right under the noses of the people it is sworn to protect and serve. Through generations the American people have been lied to and deceived to the point of taking it as normal.

From example to example, the Judge leads us through a myriad of cases where the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government in terms of freedom from illegal search and seizure, the right to keep and bear arms, the equality of men, and the election of our leaders based on factual and complete information.

You would not be disappointed in choosing to read this book. It does accomplish what the author set out to do.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

A Book Review

Outlive Your Life, You Were Made To Make A Difference by Max Lucado.

I received this book from Booksneeze.com in gratuity and return for posting a review of the writing on my blog and on a commercial book-selling site.

I approached this book with the thought that it would be another, “Give your time and your money to this cause and that,” type of pleading, pandering tome. What I found in it's pages was quite different though. Inside I found stories of real people doing the little things that can and do cause a great effect on the lives that they touch. In some cases the benefactor's had no idea they were causing such impact.

If little things like this can make such a big difference, then I am encouraged and enlightened to watch for and find the things that I can do to cause positive change in my life and beyond.

Max lost me in Chapter 10 when he wavered from his purpose and went into the need, nay the requirement of large organizations, ie: government to organize and oversee the fair distribution of land and property. He calls on us, “For Christ's sake,” to get out of our comfort zone and, in one suggestion, run for office. This chapter is titled, “The Have-Nots” and implies that learned people should be chosen to correct the unfairness of equal men not having equal opportunity. I will get out of my comfort zone for the sake of Christ, but I will not support leaders or organizations that take my neighbor's money and land to distribute it to those they deem less fortunate.

This book remains a very up-lifting and, for the most part, very good read with many ideas for outliving your life.

My Jeep Gave Its All

Image via Wikipedia

Years ago I purchased a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee. A very nice car for its time, the Jeep gave me the assurance of four-wheel drive in the unpredictable Midwest winters and a modicum of luxury and civility in what would normally be thought of as a strict utilitarian vehicle.

I drove this car across the United States from the Midwest to the the East Coast several times. From Kansas to Texas more times than I can count and a multitude of 250 mile weekend trips to visit family in Iowa. Finally, after accepting a position in the Panhandle of Texas, the old girl achieved the 100,000 mile mark and was growing a bit long in the tooth. Having access to a company car, I let the Jeep languish for a bit until I got the gumption to throw in a new set of spark plugs and spark plug wires. It was like a rebirth! The Jeep ran like new again.

Some time during all this, in the depth of a Winter storm, I discovered a deep growl coming from the transfer case and a weird sideways hopping motion when I tried to engage 4-wheel drive. Never one to depend upon the dealerships, which I refer to as "stealerships", for maintenance of my cars, I crawled under my stalwart carriage and quickly diagnosed the problem as being no fluid in the transfer case. Seeing the remains of leakage around the casing and its gasket, I determined I was now the proud owner of a rare, 2-wheel drive Jeep Grand Cherokee, as I was not about to spend the money to have the transfer case rebuilt. The loyal car served me for years to come with just the two rear wheels propelling us wherever we wanted to go, with some care taken to avoid really nasty situations.

Finally, after driving her for over 9 years, my friendly and capable friend reached nearly 280,000 miles. She developed some problems that I could no longer attend to under the shade tree and I reluctantly agreed it was time to, gasp, trade her in. Even though I knew the value at trade-in was negligible, I was still somewhat saddened when I mentioned the pristine condition of the spare tire, telling the dealer that, "It has never touched the road." He said, "That looks like the only thing that hasn't touched the road." Being of good nature, I accepted his comment as a kindly offered joke and we made a deal on value against a 10 year newer model on his lot. What could replace my lovely old girl who carried me and my family for over a quarter of a million miles? Why, another Jeep Grand Cherokee of course. Hopefully this car will give its all, just like my old girl did.