Book Review: Beyond Opinion, edited by Ravi Zacharias

Those familiar with the work of Ravi Zacharias know that he is one of the leading Christian apologists today.  This book is edited by Ravi, but most of the chapters are written by other Christian apologists.  Ravi did write two of the chapters, and we can assume he "okayed" the others.  However, this book is does a good job of addressing the leading assaults against the Bible and the Truth.

The chapters are divided into different challenges: i.e. "Challenges from Youth", "Challenges from Islam", etc.  This is helpful as a reference. 

This is not a light read, of course, as it does deal with apologetics.  This is such an important area for Christians to know, however for those not familiar with apologetics, this might be a difficult book to get through.

Of course having a different author for each chapter has its advantages and disadvantages.  Each chapter is penned by someone with extensive experience in that area.  The disadvantage is that the writing style is not consistent due to differing writing styles.  I think I would have preferred the consistency; still, there was a ton of great answers and challenges to those that belittle or attack the gospel.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson in exchange for an unbiased review. 
The opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced in any way. 

School has begun!

As of September 1st, we all attend school on a daily basis.

Here Emi is modeling the school uniform.  It is kind of nice that we all can walk to the school together-- I used to drive off by myself and not see the fam for 8-10 hours. Now we can see each other a little during the day.

The girls are doing okay in school. They really like their teacher (Ms. C), and so do we.  They also like their Phonics teacher (Debe).

Being a small school, you can really get to know everyone.  Please pray that we will shine the light of Jesus here in Cascais, Portugal.  God is definitely using this school and church and we feel privileged to be a part of it.

Book Review: The Boy who Changed the World

I received this gem in the mail the other day.  Andy Andrews', The boy who changed the world, is a children's story.  It is the true story of Norman Borlaug, who was the man who developed "Super plants" which saved an estimated 2 billion lives.  However, the book goes on to describe the man who influenced Borlaug: Henry Wallace.  Henry was influenced by inventor George Washington Carver, who was influenced by Moses Carver.

The moral is spelled out quite clear: your actions matter.  The choices you make will have an impact on the world.  The story is told in a simple enough way that my 3 and 5 year old enjoyed it until the end.  The rich, detailed drawings only enhanced the overall product.  This book will is enjoyable for adults as well.

I found that the book did a great job of showing how one life can affect another.  The message was strong morally, although not necessarily religious.  I appreciated the challenge at the end: "decide now to change the world."

This book was provided to me in exchange for an impartial review. The opinions expressed were in no way influenced by this fact.