Book Review–Jerusalem’s Hope by Bodie and Brock Thoene (Zion Legacy book six)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Title:  Jerusalem’s Hope

Authors:  Bodie and Brock Thoene

Publisher:  Viking

Pages:  264

ISBN:  0670030848

Synopsis:  In this last installment of the Zion Legacy series, the Thoenes pick up once again with the three orphan boys who were healed by Yeshua in The Stones of Jerusalem.  Yeshua gives Avel, Ha-or Tov, and Emet the enigmatic instructions to go to Bethlehem to Zadok, who is the chief shepherd of the flock at Migdal Eder, deliver to Zadok a message, and stay there until Yeshua arrives.  Yeshua indicates that they have much to learn from Zadok and that ” [t]he lamb is the key to understanding Torah” (12).  Of course, the boys immediately set out, and when they arrive at Migdal Eder (the Tower of the Flock), they are welcomed by the gruff but loving Zadok and taken in as apprentice shepherds.  While learning the ways of the shepherd and the sheep, the boys, especially Emet, learn the true meaning of redemption and the secret of the lamb.  The other strand of the story (with the Thoenes, there are always at least two stories) is the discontent of the Jews under the rule of the Romans.  The common people are particularly angry because of the use of Korban funds (those set aside for a specific temple purpose) to fund the building of a Roman aqueduct.  Tempers are rising, and the rebel faction, led by bar Abba (read:  Barabbas), are eager to use the discontent to their advantage.  What many, especially the righteous members of the Sanhedrin like Nakdimon (read:  Nicodemus) and Gamaliel, want to know is how will Yeshua figure into all of this?  This novel heads toward a very climactic ending, but the true denouement happens only when Yeshua appears in the end and ties up all the loose ends and reveals the true identity of Zadok. 

My Thoughts:  How many times have I already said how much I love these books?  Oh my.  They are truly beautiful.  The Thoenes do a superb job of showing a change in Marcus Longinus.  The once proud and self-assured Roman centurion is now all but a follower of Yeshua and not so certain at all any longer that Rome is always right.  And the story of the orphans is purely a picture of the human condition and how Yeshua cares for each of us.  What I really love, too, is how suddenly Biblical characters whom I had previously seen as one-dimensional have suddenly come to life for me.  Nakdimon, for example, now lives and breathes in my mind as a widowed father of many children who misses his wife horribly but serves on the Sanhedrin devotedly because he feels it is his God-ordained duty.  The most beautiful parts of this novel are the first and last chapters; they are the ones in which Yeshua appears.  All I can say is that I read both with tears in my eyes. 

 

Book Review–The Stones of Jerusalem by Bodie and Brock Thoene (Zion Legacy book 5)

Title:  Stones of Jerusalem

Authors:  Bodie and Brock Thoene

Publisher:  Viking

Pages: 266

ISBN:  0670030511

Synopsis:  This fifth book in the Zion Legacy series continues the story of Yeshua and those whose lives He touched.  Of course, this is the inner story; this story’s true place in the the series is that Moshe and Alfie are underground in Old Jerusalem in a storehouse of ancient scrolls and manuscripts.  They lost the battle for the City, but they saved its most important heritage.  Moshe, trained as an archaeologist, removes yet another scroll from its container and reads another story, which we are privileged to read “over his shoulder.”  This story is primarily that of three orphan boys: Avel, Emet, and Haor-Tov, whose names appropriately mean Mourning, Truth, and Good Light.  Avel has never had anyone to love him besides a fellow orphan who lost his life under the hoofs of a Roman mount.  Emet has been deaf and mute since birth, and Haor-Tov has been blind since birth and has lately been a beggar outside the gate of El’azar of Bethany.  The boys, who obviously have nothing to lose, set out to join the rebels led by Bar Abba and fight against Roman oppression.  However, instead they manage to get close enough to Yeshua to see what He’s all about, and of course, in the end He does some amazing things for them.  Interwoven into their story is that of Nakdimon, the Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin.  He has been commissioned by his uncle and colleague of the Sanhedrin, Gamaliel, to investigate this Yeshua of Nazareth.  Hovering on the edges of this story, as always, are Marcus Longinus and Miryam of Magdala, both of whom have been touched by Yeshua.  It is an amazing tale that attempts to “fill in the gaps” of the New Testament and create a beautiful story of what Yeshua did.

My Thoughts:  Oh Lord, I loved this book.  I have yet to finish one of these books about Yeshua without tears in my eyes.  The Thoenes simply bring the story to life.  It is such a rich story.  They describe Jesus in such a beautiful way that I find so convincing and believable.  The part I love the most, I think, is how they take Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament and provide them with a back story.  For example, the story of the Good Samaritan actually happens in this novel, and while the details are a little different, the story is obviously the same.  When Yeshua tells the story in the synagogue, the persons involved in the story (in this case, Nakdimon, El’azar, and Marcus Longinus) are present and recognize the story as their own.  What amazing storytelling!  I really can’t say enough about this book (or any of them, for that matter!).  Just read them.

Book Review–Jerusalem Scrolls by Bodie and Brock Thoene (Zion Legacy series book 4)

Title:  Jerusalem Scrolls

Authors:  Bodie and Brock Thoene

Publisher:  Viking

ISBN:  0670030120

Synopsis:  This entire book is actually a story-within-a-story.  The first layer of the story is that of Moshe Sachar and Alfie Halder, who have gone underground at the fall of Old City Jerusalem to its Arab invaders.  They are apparently the only defenders who have stayed behind to protect what is Jerusalem’s true treasure–thousands upon thousands of ancient scrolls concealed below a synagogue.  Moshe, trained as a scholar and archaeologist, is the perfect person for this job; not only will he protect the treasure, but he will also glean important historical and spiritual insight from it.  Alfie, with his child-like mind and vast spiritual insight, is the perfect companion for Moshe because he takes life just as God gives it to him, with no complaint or struggle to understand.  Thus unfolds the inner story which Moshe reads on the scroll marked by Rabbi Lebowitz as the first one he should read. The story is that of Marcus Longinus, first century Roman centurion, and his lover, Miryam of Magdala.  It is a story of great passion, power, corruption, sin, and ultimately, healing and redemption.  It is an age-old story that many of us will recognize, but it is told in such vivid narrative that we will see it again with fresh eyes.

My Thoughts:  I was sobbing by the time I reached the end of this story.  The miracles wrought by Yeshua were so real and personal to the main characters in this story whom I had gotten to know, despise, pity, and ultimately, love, that I truly did not want the story to end.  Of course, with the Thoenes there is always good news because the story simply picks up with the next novel!  However, if I back up to when I first started this novel, I will be honest when I say that I was not quite ready to leave Moshe, Alfie, Rachel, Yacov, and all the others in twentieth century Palestine just yet.  I have been eager to read the A.D. Chronicles series, but I still want to know what happens to those waging the war for Israeli independence!  As a Christian brought up in church, I have heard most familiar Bible stories hundreds (thousands?) of times, but this novel really brought the story of Mary Magdalene to light in a new way. I have not had time or inclination to research it further, but I was intrigued by the fact that the Thoenes made this Miryam of Magdala the same as the Mary of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus fame, as well as the same as the woman taken in adultery.  Maybe I do not know as much about the New Testament as I thought!  Or maybe this is poetic license?  Whatever it is, it makes for a truly riveting story!

Book Review–Jerusalem’s Heart by Bodie and Brock Thoene (Zion Legacy series book 3)

Title:  Jerusalem’s Heart

Authors:  Bodie and Brock Thoene

Publisher:  Viking

Pages:  328

ISBN:  0670894877

Synopsis:  In this, the third book in the Zion Legacy series, war still rages over Jerusalem and all of Israel.  The defenders in the Old City get weaker and weaker due to deprivation and the numbers of them grow smaller and smaller as more and more are wounded.  Men are separated from their families for the cause of Israeli independence.  Moshe Sachar, archaeologist and leader of the Haganah defenders, is trapped with Dov Avram behind enemy lines after they masqueraded as Arabs to destroy a cannon that was perfectly situated to fatally damage the Jewish Old City.  Meanwhile, Rachel Sachar waits inside the Old City with her grandfather and younger brother, as well as factions with differing opinions.  Rabbi Akiva leads a group which wishes to surrender to supposedly judicious King Abdullah of Jordan, whose Arab Legion is methodically working to capture Jerusalem.  Lori Kalner waits for the inevitable to occur to Jerusalem even while she comforts and finds hope in the life of a small boy named Abe.  Newly immigrated Jews are meanwhile conscripted into the fledgling Israeli army just as soon as they set foot on Israeli soil.  Jacob Kalner fights his way toward Jerusalem while leading these untried soldiers, but his only thought is really for his wife and her safety. 

My Thoughts:  So far, I think this has been my favorite book of the series.  It seemed to move faster to me than the first two.  Perhaps it is because there were more “human interest” stories because of the Jewish immigrants and the reappearance of Ellie Meyer, Madame Rose, Jerome, etc.  There are specific spiritual overtones and references, too.  For example, we learn that the half-wit Alfie Halder is, according to Rabbi Lebowitz, one of the lamedvov, or righteous ones who hold back the wrath of God.  God’s power is miraculously displayed in a seemingly circumstantial run-in between the Arab legion and a swarm of hornets.  Lori Kalner’s hard heart is softened through the possibility of love again in the person of a little orphan named Abe.  The stories go on and on of people whose lives are changed in this novel.  The story ends with a true cliff-hanger that the Thoenes are so good at writing.  I was so anxious to read the next book that I picked it up the morning after I finished this novel, and I’m already almost one hundred pages into it!  I admit that when I first started this Zion Legacy series, I was just reading it because I felt like I “had to” read it before I could read the A.D. Chronicles, but now I can say that I am enjoying these novels as much as I enjoyed the previous two series.   

Book Review–Thunder from Jerusaelm by Brock and Bodie Thoene (Zion Legacy series book 2)

Title:  Thunder from Jerusalem

Authors:  Brock and Bodie Thoene

Publisher:  Viking

Pages:  311

ISBN:  0670892068

Synopsis:  This novel is part two in the episodic Zion Legacy series.  In this book, the Jews of both Old City and New City Jerusalem fight for the survival of the newborn nation of Israel.  Now, however, instead of simply fighting the Arab irregular Jihad Moquades, the Zionists have to fight the entire Arab Legion.  Moshe works behind the scenes wherever needed, including going behind Arab lines to try to destroy a cannon the Arabs are using to decimate one of the Jews’ strongholds.  Moshe’s life is not only threatened by the obvious threat of death from an Arab bomb, but also by the more subtle threat of a bullet from a Nazi assassin masquerading as a simple Jewish teacher.  Moshe also continues to learn more of the spiritual secrets, the true treasure for which he fights,  of Jerusalem from Rachel’s grandfather, Rabbi Lebowitz.  Jacob Kalner also proves to be a true hero in this novel by repeatedly putting his life on the line for the survival of Jewish Jerusalem; however, his one true purpose is the safety of his wife, Lori, who works as a medic in the Old City.  Meanwhile, David Meyer and Bobby Milkin, pilots for the fledgling Israeli Airforce, find themselves on the wrong side of enemy lines. 

My Thoughts:  Although it took me around four weeks to read this novel (!), I really enjoyed it.  I think this novel had more of the human element that I enjoy than the first book in the series.  My favorite part is all of the spiritual and archaelogical information that Moshe is learning from Rabbi Lebowitz.  I cannot help but wonder if the Thoenes will eventually go back and write the Rabbi’s story since he was so instrumental in many of the archaelogical expeditions under the Old City around the turn of the twentieth century.  I love watching the relationships of the Israeli fighters develop; Peter Wallich, whom I had completely forgotten about as a character from an earlier series when he was just a boy, is much adored by the teenaged Naomi Snow.  I wonder if the Thoenes will bring this relationship to its inevitable end.  I also have enjoyed the element of the nuns of Jerusalem and their dedication of doing God’s will on Earth despite being planted in the middle of war-torn Jerusalem.  Of course, the most memorable of all stories is that of little Abe Kurtzman.  I know that his physical salvation when his whole family died in the bombing of their home will be the instrument through which Lori Kalner reclaims her faith in God.  My heart is touched over and over again by the gentle dummkopf, Alfie Halder, and his faith in the mysterious convent gardener who plants roses (with scarred hands, no less) on the graves of the children killed in the bombings.  Couple all of these human interest touches with the fact that this novel truly has a blockbuster ending, and what the Thoenes have created is definitely one of those books that makes me shed tears throughout and breathe a huge sigh when it ends.  I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Book Review–A Garden to Keep by Jamie Langston Turner

Title:  A Garden to Keep

Author:  Jamie Langston Turner

Publisher:  Bethany House

Length:  415 pages

ISBN:  076422154X

Synopsis: Plot wise, this book is little more than a woman’s experience of becoming a Christian, and later that same day, finding out that her husband is carrying on an extramarital affair and the fallout that ensues.  However, to reduce this amazing novel to such a statement is a terrible injustice because this book is rich in every sense of the word.  The protagonist, Elizabeth Landis, has always striven to be the very best mother she can possibly be, to the detriment of almost everything else in her life.  Elizabeth loves her son, Travis, and poetry and art, and truthfully, in that order.  Of course, there’s the other part of her life, her husband, Ken, and her daughter, Jennifer, whom she does not find quite as easy to express her love to.  This, of course, is the undoing of her marriage.  Of course, God uses this to bring about His greater good.  This book is written in the almost the style of a personal journal, with the main difference being that Elizabeth actually writes to an audience–her supposed readers.  I find this book very difficult to reduce to a summary because it is so much more than just a mere plot and sequence of events.

My Thoughts:  I love this book and am completely challenged by it.  Judging from the time that has elapsed here on my blog since my last blog post/book review, it has taken me a couple of weeks to read this book.  Granted, it is a long novel, but it is not so much its length as its depth that caused my slow reading.  I identify in so many ways with Elizabeth, ‘though not in the most fundamental way to the plot–that she has suffered a failed marriage.  Elizabeth sees the world in terms of what she has read, and I often do the same thing.  Elizabeth loves her son, Travis, to the point that her love really stunts her own growth, and I sometimes see myself doing this with my own children.  Elizabeth’s new-found relationship with God unfolds in this novel like a beautiful flower, and it begins to inform everything she does.  Of course, the true test comes in the possible reconciliation of her marriage, and we readers get to see the beautiful work of grace God does in her heart.  God shows Elizabeth who she really is, and Elizabeth is all the better for it in the end.  Ken and Travis are, too. 

I have done a terrible job in reviewing this book, but really, I am still so close to it and so entranced by it, I cannot do a better job.  I will close with some quotes from the novel that display both the talent of the author and the theme of the novel:

As you relive events, the past bleeds into the present, the present turns into the future, and the future reverts to the past.  It’s all part of the same long line called life.  There are no shut-off valves, no neat walls between then and now and someday.  Ken used to say at times that I lived in the past, but he didn’t understand.  I live firmly in the present, but the past always escorts me like an enormous devoted entourage. 

I had thought I was Aware before this, but what did I know?  A huge part of being Aware, I knew that night back in March standing in my kitchen, is understanding in a very personal, direct, almost supercharged way all the different kinds of suffering there are.  It doesn’t erase your hurt, of course, but it makes you yield to it a little more.  You feel a confederacy with other people, especially other women who have been through valleys. 

 Mothers waiting and watching on the sidelines–if you could harness all that emotional energy and turn it into electricity, the light from Earth would illuminate outer space all the way to Pluto.  And not just mothers of athletes.  Think of all those mothers in history who have watched their boys go off to war or off to sea or off to climb mountains or off to build bridges or mine gold or explore continents.  I heard once what Charles Lindbergh’s mother said when her son started his epic flight across the Atlantic:  “For the first time in my life, I realize that Columbus also had a mother.”  I’ve never forgotten that. 

If you like rich, thoughtful books, this is a must-read!

Book Review–Jerusalem Vigil (Zion Legacy series book one) by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Title:  Jerusalem Vigil

Authors:  Bodie and Brock Thoene

Publisher:  Viking

Pages:  304

ISBN:  0670889113

Synopsis:  This book picks up immediately where The Key to Zion left off.  Immediately after the declaration of Israeli statehood, Israel was attacked by its surrounding hostile Arab neighbors.  This book chronicles the three or four days following the declaration of statehood and the onslaught of relentless attacks that the Jews in the Old City survived.  The Thoenes once again bring back characters from a previous series when they reintroduce Jacob and Lori Kalner and Alfie onto the stage of the great play being enacted on the stage of history in Jerusalem.  Jacob and Lori are separated when they arrive in Jerusalem; Jacob goes with other newly-immigrated men to fight, while Lori is drafted into service as a trauma nurse because of her experiences during the blitzkrieg in London.  The real problem, though, is not just their physical separation; instead, it is the separation caused by the fact that they have spent most of their marriage either hiding from the Nazis or separated due to the war.  Lori no longer has a faith in the God of her father, while Jacob’s faith in God and the cause of Israeli statehood is stronger than ever.  As a reader familiar with the Thoene’s modus operandi, however, I know that Lori’s pairing with Rachel Sachar as a medic in the Old City is no accident at all.  Rachel is the perfect person to minister to another who has suffered, and so all the reader has to do is watch the beautiful story unfold.  Other characters are added to the story in the form of a convent of nuns who live and work behind the battle lines but who are finally convinced to move to a safer place.  Another man from Rachel’s past has made his way miraculously to Jerusalem, and through him we see God work many miracles.  The plot of this story revolves entirely around the fight for various strategic places in Jerusalem, but there is plenty of human interest stories despite all the fighting and bloodshed.

My Thoughts:  I’ve yet to read a book by the Thoenes that disappoints.  While I will readily admit that I often get bogged down in the details, especially when the details involve names I cannot pronounce and fighting that my brain cannot envision, I still enjoy these books.  It’s the little nuggets they interweave into the story that makes these novels such treasures.  For example, the reintroduction of the “dummkopf” Alfie and the introduction of the gentle giant, Ibraham, make for some heartwarming and memorable scenes in this novel.  Of course, the tension between Jacob and Lori is heartwrenching, especially since I have been with them since their adolescent days of hiding out in a church from the Nazis who had taken their parents.  While I am currently taking a break and reading a “palate cleansing” novel before I plunge back into the Arab-Israeli conflict, I know that I won’t be able to stay gone from these characters for too long.  I love them too much and have too much time invested in them to not find out how their stories end.  This is another winner from the Thoenes.   

New Directions in Blogging

When I started this blog, I really had no idea what its focus would be.  As you can tell by the plethora of categories I have over on the sidebar, I’ve dabbled in quite a bit on this blog.  After taking a self-imposed, week-long break from blogging, however, I have decided to narrow the focus of this blog.  I realized that in doing so many things, I was doing nothing well.  I found myself flitting about from blog to blog to keep up with all the carnivals I participated in, thereby spending too much of my time reading others’ blogs instead of living my life.  Focusing on others’ lives does not promote peace and contentment in my own life, so I have cut way back on the time I spend reading about others’ lives.  When I started this blog, another direction that I really wanted to take with it was as an outlet for my scrapbooking.  However, I realized that the simplest and most fruitful thing I could do, instead, was to jump back into Two Peas in a Bucket, which I have since done.  Participating in challenges there really encourages and nurtures my creativity, so I think it’s worthwhile.  Moderation in all things is what I must remember.

 So, on to the point of this post.  I’ve decided that this blog will be dedicated to my reading life.  Reading has always been a huge part of my life, and as an English teacher and trained librarian, I really miss having others to “push” books on.  So there you have it.  On this blog, I am going to review the books I read and possibly write about other aspects of the reading life and/or education.

Just in case anyone was wondering. 

Frugal Friday–Preparing for a Consignment Sale Part 1

 

The fact that I love to dress my little girls in cute clothes is an already established fact.   However, as much as I might love those cute boutique outfits, I do not have a bottomless clothing budget.  We usually try to budget $200 a month to be spent on clothing for the family if necessary, but with boutique outfits easily costing anywhere from $50 to $100, I could blow our monthly budget on one outfit for each of my girls.  We are blessed in our area to have several huge biannual children’s consignment sales.  While I have not successfully sold many items at consignment stores, I find the consignment sales to be helpful in providing money to invest back into my girls’ wardrobes.  These consignment sales receive a lot of publicity, and I know that people drive from surrounding states and from several hours away to shop at them.  While as a consigner I will only receive 65%-70% of the profit from my items, I still think this is a better return than what I would expect to get from a yard sale or garage sale first because people expect to pay more at consignment and therefore I can mark my items a little higher.  Second, as I’ve already mentioned, these sales undoubtedly draw thousands of shoppers, so I am much more likely to sell most or all of my items there than I would at a yard sale.  Third, have I ever mentioned before that I detest having yard sales? 

Now, my first step in preparing for a consignment sale actually has nothing to do with the consignment sale at all.  After consigning for several years, I have learned that there is typically a price ceiling on most used clothing.  Even the beautiful and expensive smocked dresses by companies such as Strasburg or Orient Expressed will bring at the most $20 at consignment.  While this is excellent for the buyers, as a seller, I know that I can usually do better on Ebay.  If I have boutique or trunk-show brand-name clothing that is in like-new condition, I list it on Ebay first.  My experience has been that Hanna Andersson, Strasburg, Orient Expressed, Kelly’s Kids, Chez Ami, and the like will bring a higher price on Ebay than I can sell it for at consignment.  And if I can get my act together in time, my Ebay money can actually be my “seed money” for consignment so that I actually have to spend none of our clothing budget.  Oh, wait.  That’s right.  My Ebay money this year is going toward these gorgeous dresses from Strasburg for my girls’ Easter finery.  I do have a weakness for beautiful girls’ clothing, but as Steady Eddie often reminds me, frugality is all about choices.   If I plan my budget just right, even a splurge like this a couple of times a year won’t hurt too much. 

For more frugal tips, head over to Biblical Womanhood!

Lulu the Inquisitor, Again

Yesterday, on the way to Bible study:

“Will bears hurt you in heaven?”

“Jesus and God will have to put the animals in different cages.”

Today, after apparently sitting on her foot so that it went to sleep:

“My foot feels spicy.”

What makes this even cuter and funnier is that she used to say “ficy” instead of “spicy,” and the first time she ever tasted a carbonated beverage (Sprite, I think) she said, “It’s ficy” and “It tickles my tongue.”