"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs 25:11

Monday, October 31, 2011

Randon Souls by Deanna Rutledge

A warm and wonderful book, Random Souls, is full of all the foibles that fill a local church and its congregation.

Everyone knows a Miss Lottie, the little elderly lady who tries to run a church with gossip and bad information and her cohort, Miss Lillian, who does nothing to stop the rumors, but contributes to Miss Lottie's bad behavior.

Then there's the new associate pastor, Jason, who makes a bad decision in counseling a young woman alone. That leads to gossip, rumors, and a few souls trying to manipulate the elders and senior pastor.

Pastor Jason leads a bible study once a week in his home. The attendees are made up of an unlikely group of people ranging from different ages to various life problems. In the midst of his own troubles, they are learning how the Holy Spirit works in their lives.

Set in beautiful Hawaii, Pastor Jason, Aloha Community Church, and the random souls that attend it, face lessons on integrity, truthfulness, love, kindness, family and the wonderful works of God and the Holy Spirit.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. I sympathized with Pastor Jason and the unintentional mistake he made. Having known a Miss Lottie, it wasn't hard to see how quickly and wildly her gossip and manipulation brought dissension in Aloha Community Church. But I was encouraged in seeing the Holy Spirit working in everything that was going on. What the enemy of God was trying to destroy, God was working to bring healing, cleansing and hope in one of His churches.


Deanna Rutledge, pastor's wife, mother, teacher, is a long-time resident of Hawaii. Her style is warm, vivid and character driven. Her great passion is to being to life, through her books, the God she knows so well: a God of great mercy, tender compassion and infinite love.

This book was generously provided by Deanna Rutledge for the purpose of review. I am under no obligation to provide a positive review. Everything I have said about the book is my own opinion.














Worlds Collide by Alison Strobel

Can I begin a review by saying, “WOW!” a fictional novel that reads like a memoir/biography and not only pulls you into the story but leaves its imprint behind on your soul.

The lives of Jada, the writer, Grace, a school teacher and Jack, a big-time Hollywood actor, intertwine in a way that only God could orchestrate.

Jada Eastman is a reporter and biographer for various celebrities and received a call from Jack Harrington’s assistant that he wanted her to help him and his wife, Grace, write their story. Jada was pretty cynical of the Hollywood crowd by this time, after having seen the ugly side of various actors’ lives and written about them. But Jack Harrington held a special place in her heart, having had a crush on him since she was a teen.

When she meets with the Harrington’s the first time to discuss the project, she is expecting to hear about religion because through the grapevine she heard they were religious nuts. What she hears and observes instead is love, kindness and how two lives were changed. Those two lives, Jack and Grace, then were used by God to bring about change in an industry that is built on lust, greed and wantonness.

Jack and Grace’s lives (though this is only a novel) reached my heart and I found I couldn’t stop reading it. I had to know how God moved in their lives and how He brought about change in them and those around them. 

Alison Strobel, who is becoming one of my most favorite writers, has a gift of story-telling that just gets better all of the time. This novel has to be the best yet. Her website is http://alisonstrobel.com/

This is an e-book that was provided by Blogging for Books for the purpose of review. I am under no obligation to write anything except my own opinion.