Martha Weaver Devotional Booklets

Two recent donations to the church library will be featured on the library cart during April:

--THE VOW is the true inspirational story that inspired a movie as retold by Kim and Krickitt Carpenter.  As newlyweds, the Carpenters were involved in a devastating auto accident that that left Krickitt with a massive head injury and in a coma for weeks.  Upon awakening, she did not know Kim nor did she remember their wedding.  Although trying times were experiencd by the couple, they did fall in love all over again and had a second wedding.

--GOD NEVER BLINKS by newspaper columnist, Regina Brett contains 50 life lessons shared by Brett from her own experiences as she traveled a path that included being a young single mother, graduating from college at age 30, pursuing a career,  and a bout with cancer.  To quote one reader, the book offers a road map for life to those who read the book. 

Featured on the library cart during November is an autographed edition of The View from Under the Pew that has been presented to the church library—thank you Larry and Lynn Schmidt.    A true story, the book is based on “Walter,” a Seeing Eye dog, who for ten years assisted Pastor Diane Winters Johnson, an ordained deacon, with her daily ministries in a Methodist Church in Wooster, Ohio.   An inspiring story, the book was written by Pastor Johnson and illustrated by Margaret Freed.

    In addition displayed on the library cart are the following books:

--The Greatest Virtue autographed by New York Times best selling author, Pat Robertson, looks at humility in action and offers six rules of conduct to put one’s life in its proper place while honoring God with a true biblical humility.

--Bible Answers for Life’s Questions provides scriptural wisdom for many of the key life issues including: divorce, emotions, God’s will, grieving, marriage, money, praying, and worship.

--Yes, another “Chicken Soup book” but this one is geared for the college soul and would be light reading for college students.

Some recent additions (but not necessarily new books) to the church library include:

--The Early Christians In Their Own Words compiled by Everhard Arnold contains firsthand accounts of the early church giving a feel of the original witness to the very early church as it developed.

--Love Is Letting Go of Fear by Gerald G. Jampolsy, M.D.  This short book provides daily exercises designed to teach how to let go of fear and remember that our very essence is love.

--Treasures of Inspiration is a Hallmark Crown edition, edited by Mary Dawson Hughes, and contains photographs, essays, and verses, that offer the reader peace, companionship, and beauty within its pages.

--Hard Sayings of Paul in which Manfred Brauch takes a intense look at the forty-eight sayings of Paul will help us not only understand the sayings but see how they can apply to Christian living today.

--Start the Conversation-the book about death you were hoping to find.  Even though our faith tells us we shouldn’t fear death, author, Ganga Stone, offers reassurance, comfort, and deeper understanding with her concept that we are spiritual beings and there is no death.

     These books will be featured on the library book cart for you to take home and enjoy.

Following is a sample of recently donated books to the church library—thank you to the donors!

--Cancer Etiquette by two-time cancer survivor, Rosanne Kalick contains suggestions for saying and acting with the most helpful, compassionate, and appropriate responses to friends and family facing cancer.

--This I Believe containing the personal philosophies of remarkable men and women encouraging us to rethink not only how we have arrived at our own personal beliefs but also the extent to which we share them with others.

--Children’s Letters to God—One needs to read this delightful compilation of letters written by children to God to appreciate it.

--The Red Tent is a fictionalized story of Dinah, daughter of the biblical, Jacob and other persons from the book of Genesis.  Written by Anita Diamant, the story is a new view of biblical period from a woman’s point of view.

--Some “oldies but goodies”-- a number of the heart-warming books by the Yorkshire veterinarian, James Herriot including All Creatures Great and Small—worth a re-read.

      The above will be on the Library book cart.

NEW IN THE CHURCH LIBRARY – A recently donated book to the church library is Sunday in America. The book contains 150 captivating images taken by 75 photographers and celebrates the faith, love, and devotion of families as they observe Sundays in America.  The book will be featured on the library cart in January along with other books dealing with the history of our church and faith.

New donations include two items  guaranteed to delight children of all ages:

--A parable by Max Lucado and illustrated by Maria Monescillo, The Tallest of Smalls (used in a recent children’s sermon),  gives the comforting message that even if we don’t feel like we fit in, we matter to the only ONE who matters.

--A DVD Veggietale, God Loves You Very Much, is a triple feature: Pistachio, A Snoodle’s Tale, and Dave and the Giant Pickle.  Both items will be featured on the library book cart in March.

      Other just received donations include books about Christianity and the life of Jesus.  They along with other books in the church library dealing with Jesus and His teachings would provide meditative reading in preparation for Easter.  These books will also be on the library book cart.

FROM THE CHURCH LIBRARY…Always a welcome addition to the church library are donations of inspiring books that would be meaningful to the church family.  There are labels available if one wants to donate a book in memory or honor of someone.  A newly donated book is “Have A Little Faith.”   This is a true story that parallels the lives of two persons of very different backgrounds who had a great influence on the author, Mitch Albom. This book will be featured on the book cart and would be enjoyed both by young adults and adults—a quick, inspiring read on a warm summer day.

For any one looking for ideas for a new soup to try at home or for the monthly church soup suppers, the book, Soup Suppers, has been donated to the church library.  The book contains more than 100 main course soups and 40 accompaniments.   Another donation, Best Church SupperRecipes, has over 500 potluck favorites from which to choose.  Be sure to look through these cookbooks when looking for something new to fix for the next potluck or soup supper.

Another recent donation, which is a valuable addition to the “world religions” collection is “The Everything World’s Religions Book.” This book offers simplified explanations and comparisons of over fifty beliefs, traditions and cultures of both ancient and contemporary religions.   The “world religions” collection will be featured on the library cart after Easter.

Lent, a time of reflection and prayer is an opportune time to visit the church library and pick up a book on prayer for times of meditation and reflection during Lent.  Books on prayer will be featured on the library book cart during March.  Included in the church library collection are the following books:

RULES FOR PRAYER, compiled by William O. Paulsell, draws on written works by Christian teachers throughout history and is designed to help persons develop a foundation of prayer for their daily lives.

ANSWERED PRAYERS, a Guideposts publication, is an inspirational collection of answered prayers from Guidepost readers and visitors to the Guidepost Web site.

THE POWER OF A PRAYING PARENT written by singer, songwriter, and parent Stormie Omartian shares how a parent can pray through every age and stage of a child’s life.

PRAYER, FAITH, AND HEALING by Kenneth Winston Gaine and Brian Paul Kaufman offers more than 500 tips for handling anger, addiction, depression, divorce, grief, stress, infidelity, financial problems, and over 40 other conditions with advice from more than 160 of America’s top religious leaders, counselors, doctors, and scientists.

LORD TEACH ME TO PRAY IN 28 DAYS by author Kay Arthur  is a 28-day study with practical insights to help one know how to pray, what to pray, and what to expect when one prays.

Within the church library collection of books is a section on Self-Help.  Some examples from the collection includes:

--By author Joyce Meyer, three books to help overcome emotional battles with stress, depression, and worry through the power of God’s Word.

--The Healing Path by Marc Ian Barasch explores the mind-body connection of healing.

--Phillip Berman shares what near-death experiences teach us about the gift of life in The Journey Home.

--In Living the Simple Life, Elaine St. James writes about making wise choices with our “things.”

--House of Cards written by Tom Raabe shares that there is hope for those who have loved ones gambling problem.

--Matthew Fox deals helps persons balance their personal life with their work like in The Reinvention of Work.

These books and others from the Self-Help section will be featured on the library cart during February.

Our church library is fortunate to have a fairly large collection of bible reference books.  This summer might be a good time to learn more about the bible by spending some time with one of these books, which will be featured on the library cart.  Some examples of available Bible reference books includes:

BIBLE TRIVIA by Stephen Lane.  Test yourself with some of the over 4500 questions and answers in this book.

JUMBO BIBLE CROSSWORDS – For the crossword lover, there are more than 200 crosswords with clues taken from the Bible and interspersed with contemporary answers.

FAVORITE PSALMS – Compiled by John Stott, this book helps you come to know God better by looking at dozens of the most beloved psalms.

BIBLE LANDS is an “Eyewitness Book” though which one can discover the story of the Holy Land, its geography history and the ancient civilization of its people.

I’VE HEARD THAT ALL MY LIFE – Over 150 familiar expressions that are part of our everyday conversation have their source and background in the Bible.

WHO WAS WHO IN THE BIBLE – from Adam to Zurishaddai, over 3500 people are referred to in this easy-to-use, fun-to-read “who’s who” of men and women in the Bible.

HANDYMAN NEEDED…A child’s old school desk has been donated to and is in the church library.  It needs a little TLC and to be cleaned up.   A volunteer who enjoys restoration and who would be willing to tackle this project for the library would be greatly appreciated--just let Kathy know in the church office.

 WINTER NIGHTS…A good time to spend with a “warm fuzzy book” and you will find several fiction and mystery series in the church library.  They will be featured on the library cart during February.  A reminder that the check-out policy is just to take the book, enjoy it, and return the book to the library.  To remind you that the books are part of the library collection, a label is on the cover of each book.