In Roy Hick's book "A Small Book About God" he brings new hope to the hopeless. He calls us to dream again and to hope in what God has destined us to be. For those of us who have stumbled along the way and toppled over because life's load proved to be too heavy this book brings fresh oxygen to our spiritual lungs. I'm on my second read of this book.

Roy Clements is a masterful writer and excellent interpreter of biblical truth for the popular level. His sermons have long stood out as some of the best Bible teaching of our day. This book takes various of his sermons over the years on different psalms and collects them together, producing a great discussion of how faith and feelings interact. He explains about various different emotions how they should reflect our relationship with God (rather than vice versa) and what that looks like biblically. Half the book is on negative emotions, and half positive. It's a great combination of good biblical exegesis and practical Christian living.

II Corinthians is Paul's most passionate writing, and Clements does a good job carrying some of that passion through. The church Paul planted in Corinth has disappointed him seriously by seeking worldly values in terms of how they live their lives, what kind of people they listen to and follow, and even how they view Paul. He is weak in showing love while people he disagreed with him took control of the church. He isn't very good at entertaining people with good rhetoric. He isn't the flashy demonstrator of the Spirit's power that the interlopers were.

So the church in Corinth has significantly been led astray by those who are all about appearance, and Paul is saddened and a bit dismayed. To respond to them would require stepping down to their level, which amounts to foolishness, but he must, or this church is in serious danger.

Clements moves step by step through the progress in Paul's thought process as he writes to this church. It moves from sarcastic diatribe against the invaders to heart-felt love for those being led astray. All sorts of lessons for the contemporary church appear along the way.

Long known as one of the best preachers in the UK, Clements gives a thorough and nuanced treatment of this highly relevent but difficult to understand letter. His writing is clear, and his exegesis is usually spot on. My only main uneasiness about this book comes at his treatment of the passage in chs. 4-5 about what happens to believers in Christ after death while awaiting Christ's return and the final judgment. I didn't find his view clear at all, so I don't even know how to evaluate his arguments for it, but some of what he said that I did understand wasn't as convincing as I'd expect from him.

Other than that, this book is quite worth the time and energy it would take to find it. His books are unfortunately hard to get now. If you can find it used, buy it up immediately.

Roy Zuck's book gives the most indepth look at Jesus' teaching style of any I have read. His study is phenomenal! He defines Jesus as the master teacher from various sources--from history, from the rabbis of Jesus' time, and from popular definitions of today. The book also explores the goals and objectives Jesus had for his disciples, those who sought him, and his enemies. Roy Zuck then dedicates several chapters to exploring the methods of teaching Jesus used. Zuck's study is a very thorough exegesis of the gospels. He uses several examples from the biblical text to support his claims about Jesus' teaching style. The book has several helpful charts to summarize Zuck's findings, as well. I have found the book useful both in a college classroom for Christian education as well as for a layman wishing to improve upon his teaching style and to understand the Master Teacher.

Following up on the concise and informative views of Teaching As Jesus Taught, Roy Zuck has taken the next step. Many students of the Bible really do not think Paul a teacher, but well, how else could he have helped established Christianity in Europe and Asia? Zuck details almost exactly, the strategies and methods used by Paul and how we can learn and use these tools!

This book will bless you. It is very inexpensive, yet power-packed with simple basic truths about Christ and HIS wonderful work on the cross. IT is easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to apply steps that will strengthen you in your walk with the LORD! I think Hession captures life in a nutshell here, not compromizing the truth, but simplifying the teachings, so all can enjoy the 'meaty' life-changing and profound contents! Enjoy.

Roy Hession's book was a powerful influence in my Christian walk. Through it God and His Holiness became a reality. It set my dry heart on fire, and gave me a new hope in what God will do with His people. I am buying 10 copies to pass out to other brothers in Christ. It's worth your time!

I was fed up and frazzled with being "just a stay at home Mom" when My Monastery is a Minivan was recommended to me. I was angered and frustrated believing that the co-op preschool demands, a constantly messy house, and the needs of my boys kept me from delving deep into a connection with the Divine. Within the first pages of reading this life-altering book I cried, first slow tears then they just wouldn't stop -- of course I was in public. I didn't care. I snorted, laughed, and cried until finally crusty layers fell from my heart.

My spirituality is earth-based and the cornerstone of my writing. But I was blocked to my connection to Mother Earth and God because I had failed to find the connection with my two greatest gifts from Spirit - my children. Parenting books usually make me feel further isolated because they hold up such a vision of perfection. This book made me feel good enough and then some. The 35 examples illustrated how to see Divinity in raising children, with laughter, reverence, and appreciation. Now I laugh more, enjoy more and smile more. My faith and trust has been restored. My boys have blossomed with my regained appreciation of our time together. And though I still get bored from time to time, I am not so dramatic about it. Recommend this book to parents of all religions, creeds, and cultures. It is a great gift.

Reading this book changed my way of seeing the world. It made me laugh out loud, cry with sadness, and open up more to live my life with deeper compassion. In her acknowledgments, Denise Roy mentions that she was inspired by many of my own favorite authors: Anna Quindlen, Anne Lamott, Rachel Naomi Remen, Anne Dillard, Thich Nhat Hanh. I'd recommend books written by these wonderful authors, and I'd add this book to my list of highly recommended books.

I can honestly say that this book made me laugh and cry more than any other book I've ever read. Sitting in the doctor's waiting room, I was laughing hysterically, and the whole office wanted to know what I was reading. Other chapters are so wonderfully compassionate and inspiring; after reading a few of these, my way of seeing the world changed. I highly recommend this book if you want to experience real joy and feel a deeper connection with all in your life. Its message is simple and yet profound.

This book offers practical insight into the work ofthe church in childhood ministry. The pre-school section is especially helpful. This book would be a good resource for Children's Pastors and workers as well as a classroom requirement.

The editorial review states that this resource was "written by a wide variety of experts in Christian education, this volume is designed for use in teacher training classes, and for professional training in Bible colleges and seminaries." I would say that they are right. What I found particulary helpful was the developmental psychological information that the authors give for different age groups. Very usefull!

My husband and I both got spanked as children, but we never thought about spanking our own because we knew how much we hated it as children. We read this book and it changed our minds. We knew that after we would always have to talk to them about what hey did. Are parents never did that with us they just spanked us. We have a 9 year old girl, 6 year old boy and 2 year old boy. We told them that if they don't listen and we have to reapeat ourselves more then three times and they already had time-outs we would have to spank them. My 9 year old kept getting in trouble in school and we tried time-outs and talking to her and trying to see what was wrong. She said that nothing was wrong so we told her that the next time she got in trouble one of us would have to spank her. A week later her teacher called and said that she was acting up again. So when she got home I took her into her bedroom took her pants down and gave her 5 over the knee bare bottom spankings. I talked to her after, and from then on she hasn't gotten introuble in school. She still sometimes gets spankings but her behavior has improved. My 6 year old learned a bas word from a big kid, the first time we told him that, that wasn't a word he should use, we told him what it meant and he shouldn't use it. He used it again so we gave him a time-out, but that didn't work so I had to give hime 5 over the knee bare bottome spankings. He didn't use the word again. We haven't spanked are 2 year old yet because he is still too young but when we know he knows from right and wrong he will get spanked too when he mis-behaves

My husband and I are parents of 3 girls ages 6, 8, and 9. Our children had never had an old fashioned bare bottomed spanking. Mr. Lessin's book is an excellent guide to discipline. It has helped our family greatly. We were beginning to have some problems with our oldest girls not wanting to do their chores. Someone suggested that we read Roy Lessin's book on spanking. At first I was skeptical, but when I read the book, it became clear to my husband and I that we needed to give it a try. We sat the children down and talked to them. They understood that if they continued to disobey us and not get their chores done, their Dad or I would pull down their pants and panties and give them a spanking. For the next 2 or 3 weeks the girls seemed to be doing quite well. I think the oldest was trying to test us to see if we were serious or not. She did not believe that her Dad or I would really pull down her pants and panties and spank her. Her Dad made a believer out of her one after noon when the 3 girls were told to get their chores done, and they went in Tara's room to watch tv instead. My husband got a paddle and with each girl, he pulled down her pants and panties, put her across his knee, and gave each one about 9 licks with the paddle. They certainly cried. But since October, we haven't had any problem getting our 3 girls to do their chores. I would highly recommend this bood to other parents. It works wonders.

This news item (Friday, June 9, 2000) reminded me of Roy Lessin's little book and our own family's experience with the issue of spanking. Our two daughters, now married and with families of their own, were spanked--first on the hand at probably age two to train them that "No" meant exactly that (not in anger, not with shouting, but carefully explaining the disobedience and with lots of loving and cuddling after the child understood the offense). Then a year or two later, again not in anger or with verbal over-reaction, spankings on the bottom for disobedience and rebellion--consistently applied to similar offenses,and an event that quickly became less and less frequent and was no longer required after age five. As part of a loving environment, full of affirmation and creative experiences, I believe that, as training tool and one part of discipline, spanking is the most effective way of "training up a child in the way he or she should go...." Obviously the tragedy of child abuse is incredibly harmful, but when I hear a mother "lose it" in the grocery store and verbally abuse her child, I have the impression that what she is doing to the child is in many ways more harmful than physical abuse. Lessin's book could be part of parents' education in how and why and when to discipline their children, making those grocery-store tirades a thing of the past.