Thomas Books

Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin was difficult to get into, to be honest. I picked it up about two years ago, but when about 60 pages into it, I knew more about a truck-stop prostitute (who was an oversized prop--and when I say oversized, I mean oversized) than I did the story itself, I put it back down. But on the encouragement of a friend, I tried again. I'm glad I did.

Wrapped in Rain is about Tucker Mason and his brother Matthew (a.k.a. Mutt) coming to terms with their messed-up past (namely, a father who's frequent absences was preferred to his abusive presence), forgiving daily, and learning to freely love. The only redeeming aspect of their childhood was Miss Ella Rain, their nanny/housekeeper, who loved them as if they were her own and who fought for them when they couldn't fight anymore.

The story begins when Mutt, who suffers from a personality disorder because of his past, escapes from the mental health facility. At the same time, Tucker runs into his childhood girlfriend, Katie, and her son, Jase, on the run from Katie's husband, who's been abusing them. Reunited, Tucker, Katie, Mutt, and now Jase, learn to live together, love each other, and work through their issues.

The prose is flawless and beautiful, although at times superfluous (i.e. the description of the truck-stop prostitute and other well-written but long descriptions of local color). Sometimes the story seems too convenient (i.e. how Tucker runs into Katie and the subplot of Katie running from her ex, which wraps up too neatly, I think), but the emotions and inner struggle encapsulates what it means to forgive every day. Because of the nature of the story, backstory is integral, but it's overwhelming. At times it felt a little like this: I walked through the field. It reminded me of the time when...backstory...On the other side, I met Katie...then Katie shares her backstory through one-sided dialogue...We walked back together like we did that day when we were...another backstory.

I'm exaggerating. Slightly.

All in all, I'm glad I gave the story another try, and I'll read more Charles Martin because I like the flow of his prose and the development of his main characters. The prologue in the beginning kept me going through the slow story development. If you're willing to persevere through the beginning, I recommend it.

This was such a unique book. It wasn't close to what I expected. Two boys, who live with their father in Alabama, are pretty much raised by their housekeeper, Ella Rain. Their father is very abusive and it impacts the boys life in drastic ways. Tucker, a photographer, is running from himself and the person he does not want to become. Mutt is in a mental hospital dealing with his demons and the voices inside his head. When Mutt escapes from the hospital and Katie, an old girlfriend, appears with her son and a black eye, Tucker is forced to return home and face his tragic past. This books brings faith and hope together with great character development and a very unique story line. One of those I whipped through and did not want to put down.

I don't too often rave about a book I've read but this is one of those you just have to rave about and share with others. I am an avid reader and read probably 2-4 books a week. I read secular and inspirational and I have to say this author moved to the top of my list as must reads. The book is loaded with humor and wit, sadness, love; no, this isn't a romance though there is a little romance going on but mostly it's several people who have been damaged by life and how the love and prayers of a black house keeper and nanny affected the lives of 2 boys. This is about forgiveness and how God worked to bring these lives together and heal them. It's not a preachy book though there is one chapter of a Catholic priest who says more profound words in a few minutes than many preachers I've heard who preach an hour. The characters are all so delightful to read about and I wanted to read more of them when it ended.

Jase, the little boy in the story is so adorable and I loved his relationship with Tucker. Then there is poor "Mutt" damaged so much by the past. Yet he is a delightful character. Of course probably the most important character was Miss Ella who loved these boys and prayed them through life and took beatings from the abusive father but still wouldn't leave the boys.

Towards the end of the book, Tucker is talking to God and says it all. "WE had 33 years of misery, bitterness, and hell, but you were right. Whipped, battered and beaten, love broke through the rocks. I don't know how, but it did. I guess that's the mystery of it all." It will be worth your time to read the book to find how all of this took place.

I got this book from the library but loved it so much, I ordered it to have my own copy because I know I will read it again and lend it to friends. I have pre-ordered Mr Martin's next book, "Where the River Ends" due out in July. This is one author really worth your time to read.

This book is extraordinary. A Wonderful testament to God and to human resiliency. One of the best books I have read in a long time. Have since ordered all of his other books and so far feel the same about each of them.

Found the story line to be a little far fetched, especially a person being sent home from a mental hospital with 2 injectable shots of Thorazine and a bottle of so called pills.

The very explicate descriptions of a situation or a view I found to be long, they could have been more to the point.

I had a hard time in reading the story and I had to force myself to finish.

This is a great book which deals with learning to find your sense of worth and true beauty from the Lord alone. Complete fulfillment and happiness will never be found in things or relationships with people and God made it that way for a reason: so that we can begin to hunger and thirst for Him. In the past, I've been guilty of putting my own will, boyfriends, and things before Jesus... relegating Him to the back burner of my life. In recent years, I have been learning how to abide in Him and His perfect love. This book only affirmed my present spiritual journey. It was a good source of encouragement for this 30 year-old female.

I loved this book and have given it as gifts to women in my life. It is a really uplifting book. I liked it so much that since I have given my copy away to a friend to read and not gotten it back I ordered another copy with the study guide. It is very much worth the money and time spent to explore God's love for me. I highly suggest this book.

I don't know what inspired me to buy this book. But I sure am glad I did! Angela's awkward childhood brought tears to my eyes as I remembered my own childhood impediments. Long frizzy black hair--a patch over one eye----coke bottle glasses----
Angela's book is a wonderful reminder not to get so caught up with trying to meet the world's standards of beauty. In all of our misguided passions we are sure to miss the wonderful attributes that God has gifted us with. If we leave them unattended for vain pursuits they will never fully bloom.
Sally H Taylor Author/Illustrator

Truthfully I did not like the title and almost did not read the book. It was highly recommended by I friend so I went ahead and read it. After reading this book I loved it and actually taught it for a group of ladies in our church. I highly recommend the workbook too. I plan to go throught the teen version with my daughter when she is old enough.

Deana Herd

This book was recommended for my daughter by a therapist at her inpatient facility she's in for anorexia. I bought it for her and read it first. I thought it was excellent, but thought many of the thoughts were for an older person...she's 14. After buying this book I realized there is a version for teens. I purchased that for her too. She said the girls at the center all loved the teen version that was done in a magazine format. So, great book for an adult, but if it's for a teen, I'd go with the book modeled after this one just for them!

This is the first "insect" book I've seen that is told as a story. As such, it can be used as a reference book; but is delightful when read cover-to-cover. It is a combination biography, natural science, and how-scientists-find-out book. The engaging writing, clear descriptions, fascinating photos, and exacting descriptions of scientific research are rarely found in one volume.

It has been said that life is chemistry, and some says that chemistry is life. If you seek what molecules are behind the different defense systems in insects, this is the book. Excellent.

Let me put in my two cents' worth, as well. This is a fabulous book even for those who aren't into bugs. Eisner is a warm and wonderful writer who's enthusiasm for insects is infectious. It inspired me to a) raise some cockroaches to study their behavior (and thereby risk divorce), and b) search for spiders by flashlight (and thereby risk neighborly opprobrium).
Buy the book, kick up, relax, and enter the surprisingly fascinating world of insects and chemistry.

This is an excellent book to share the insect world as they protect themselves from their environments.

Thomas Eisner is J. G. Schurman Professor of Chemical Ecology at Cornell University and his life long fascination of the insect world has blessed us with an extraordinary, in-depth knowledge of bugs and their awesome capabilities, esp., in chemical defenses which have led to the discovery of many helpful medicines, etc.

Eisner's many beautiful color photos and micro-photography turn this book into a coffee-table txt book on insect ecology and this is worth the price of admission on just that aspect alone.

The famous sociobiologist/entomologist, friend and research collaborator of Eisner, E. O. Wilson, "Diversity of Life", et al., wrote the Foreword to this book and gives a good summation on the focus of this book: "The many behaviors he [Eisner] has discovered and explained, and their implementation by life around us, amazing in a variety and precision, are the worthy focus of this book." Well put.

After the Foreword is a great quote about insects in general: "What makes things baffling is their degree of complexity, not their sheer size... a star is simpler than an insect." From: [Martin Rees, "Exploring Our Universe and Others," Scientific American, December 1999]

In the Prologue, Eisner has given a great appraisal of the insect world in: "They have succeeded in one major respect where humans have failed. They are practitioners of sustainable development. Although they are the primary consumers of plants, they do not merely exploit plants. They also pollinate them, thereby providing a secure future, both for themselves and for their plant partners." Indeed, symbiosis, harmony...

...And, Eisner on his hopes for this fine book: "If this book contributes in any way toward bolstering the preservationist spirit, as I hope it might, it will have fulfilled it's purpose."

It has certainly "edified" my preservationist spirit and will no doubt do the same for others!

I loved this book- a refreshing and biblical way to approach parenting. I really appreciate the way Tim Kimmel points out all the ways God handles us with infinite grace as our heavenly Father and ways to reflect that to our children as well. Highly recommended.

I found this book very helpful to me in raising children to love the God who cares for them unconditionally. This book proposes an approach to parenting that is loving in the same way God loves us--with grace. I highly recommend it.

This book is excellent. It is the how-to book on raising your kids as Christians. It is the detail book with his companion book, How to raise kids for true greatness being the big picture. I recommend them both.

Most parents, whether Christian or not, want "good" children. Unfortunately, it's easy (and common) to think that "good" fits an appearance, and we can chase values that have little to do with a transformed heart and living faith.

It is easy to follow worldly goals for our children, as activities, friends, and appearance may be most easily measured. However, when we do this, we set a trap for ourselves and our children. We damage their hearts, restrict our relationship and influence with them, and may push them away from the true source of grace.

What should be the greatest gift - and difference - for a child raised in a Christian household?

GRACE. (Grace received, and grace given.)

Tim Kimmel delivers an exceptional view of parenting. He audaciously challenges parents to look into their own hearts, as well as their children. Meanwhile, he never loses sight of the call for believers to live in righteousness.

It is a balance that would trip up many, but this book avoids pushing a personal agenda by diving into - and wisely understanding - scripture.

If your hopes and prayers for your child include a living, growing, vibrant faith, then you must parent with grace. This is not always easy, and doesn't always result in perfect "looking" children. As the book explains, grace is not an absence of boundaries, and requires both discipline and direction.

Only a heart that is transformed can truly give and receive grace, and only grace can transform a heart. This book effectively argues that a grace-filled home will nourish a whole child, and grace-filled parents will introduce a gracious heavenly Father to their children's hearts. For those who want to see love, knowlege and faith grow in their homes, I highly recommend this book.

In preparation for the arrival of my first child in 1998, I read many Evangelical parenting books. These books sought to encourage new moms like me with moving discussions of the importance of our role. These books also provided practical discipline strategies. But, as a first-time mom, I needed more than ennobling rhetoric and discipline techniques. I sought a comprehensive, Biblically-based framework for parenting that would help me to structure and evaluate my day-to-day interactions with my child. I couldn't find anything that met my needs in any of the many books that I read. Dr. Kimmel's book provides the framework I've been searching for and is an outstanding addition to the Evangelical parenting literature.

I especially appreciated the author's use of Scripture to develop his framework, particularly his analyses of Jesus' interactions with children. Matthew 18:5-6 and 10, for example, provide motivation for Dr. Kimmel's point that children feel significant when they know they have their parents' attention. Mark 9:36-37 underlies Kimmel's argument that children feel secure when they receive affection.

My only regret is that I wasn't aware of this book when it first came out! My only criticism of the book is that it doesn't contain enough practical application material.

It wasn't until about 1/3 of the way through this book that the light bulb went on. I knew in an instant what the Holy Spirit had been gently knudging me about all along for so many years. This book confirmed many truths in my life. I am reading it again for a second time, NOW to put into practice the matrixs and find closure for several issues I have struggled all my life with. I am forever grateful that our Lord Jesus has inspired Tom Paterson with these teachings, giving the rest of us clear,concise guidelines to refocus our energies and establish a LifePlan the way the Lord intended. Thank You.

I found Tom's approach to analyzing one's life extremely helpful. He breaks down the process into small, digestable steps and at the end you end up with a wonderful, rich set of information about yourself. He makes you see your life in a way that breaks it down and disects it and then you extract the juice, the core of you, your experiences, abilities, strengths, passions, dreams that make you who you are. It is a genious approach. I highly recommend reading Now, Discover Your Strengths, as a complementary way to identify one's strengths, especially if one is unsure about their strengths or talents. I completed the final step, my action plan, with a LifePlan coach on a 2-day Life Planning session. It is the best 2 days I've spent and it has transformed my life: I understand the reason for my reaction to certain past and current situations based on key discoveries of patterns in my life; I see areas in my life (domains as he calls them) where I am overloaded and areas I have ignored and need to address to balance my life. As we go about our every day, busy lives we are so consumed with the day to day, that we lose track of the big picture of God's plan for our lives. This book forces you to be still and hear God's voice and his guidance for your life. As a result, doing the exercises and the life plan session made me closer to God. And that in the end is the key to a successful life review.

I was first introduced to Tom's book 3 years ago. Since then, I have come to know Tom personally and consider it one of the great blessings of my life to know this man of God. As a certified LifePlanner (TM), I am a witness to a the life altering power contained in this book. I give away 5 or more copies a month. Read it, Live it, Give it away.

I met Tom Paterson in 1995 at a crossroad time in my life. I spent two days with him as he facilitated my LifePlan. Those two days changed my life. The LifePlanning process transformed my future and set me squarely in the center of the life I am meant to live. My life is authentic, fulfilling and flows from my passions and talents. Tom helped me get clear on these issues. Since that time I have sat at his feet and learned how to facilitate LifePlans. The process is genius - the technology is brilliant - the outcome is amazing. The content of this book reveals the core of the LifePlanning process. Read it...do the work...and you will be living the life you are meant to live. Tom Paterson is the real deal.

I read this book a year ago and now it is one of the books that I most recommend to others. Tom Paterson has an insight into God and mankind that help a person as they go through life changes.

His analytical approach makes one look at his life through a "big picture" lens and see what God sees. He breaks our life into 5 areas and challenges us to examine each area to see how God is at work.

Just as the wise prophet once said, "An unexamined life is not worth living" so Tom Paterson gives us the keys to examining our life and see where God is at work. This book can be used by anyone at any stage of life, but particularly one who is going through Halftime in his or her life and is questioning "what is next."

This book is well worth your time. You can do the exercises right from the book. In addition, there are a number of people, including myself, who have been trained by Tom Paterson to take a person through this process. Let me know if you want help in this life journey.

I think the author did an excellent job bringing the the relationships and struggles that might have exisited between angels, and the angelic confutation to life. I agree with other reviews about the content not being biblically accurate, but being a Christian doesn't mean we can't enjoy a book simply as fiction.

I'm afraid if a book claims to be Biblically based and isn't, I can't give it high marks. This author places angels as created before Genesis 1:1 (as far as I can tell), yet the Bible teaches angels are created and that everything that was created, seen and unseen, was created in the six days of Gen. 1:1-31 (see Colossians 1:16, Exodus 20:11). Beyond that, at least from our angel-eye view, God comes across as rather limited and unknowing, having the think up solutions as trouble happens. Yet scripture repeatedly says that God had already chosen who was to be saved before creation. As in, He already knew we would rebel before we were even created! He knew where free will lead. Thus, I can't be impressed with this author's take even on free will.

ATTENTION ALL PUBLISHERS! Would somebody please let this author complete his series. The first book was totally captivating and left the reader wanting more. Ever hear of a little series called Left Behind ? Maybe not on that scale, but this series would be a great seller. We would love to read more of this story.

Before Eden is a well-conceived and extremely well-written behind-the-scenes look at Creation and the war in heaven. The story is a thought-provoking explanation of why faith is important, told by means of an angel's eye view of Evil's waking moments. As an "Alexis DeTocqueville" of events in Heaven leading up to the Flood, our humble angel narrator ponders some of the same questions we all have in our struggle to understand God and the reason for good and evil. Our angel, however, has access to the very throne of the Creator and asks some pretty tough questions and receives some very piercing answers.

Mark Littleton is obviously a man of God with a keen insight into spiritual curiosity. Unfortunately, this first book in a planned series is the only on that made it to print and now it is out of print. Too bad. Everyone with whom I've shared this book has raved about its clever treatment of nagging questions and have been left with a new perspective on the need for faith. And as for the realm of spiritual warfare, Littleton has my vote hands down over Frank Peretti.

If you are a bliever, get and read this book!!

If you are not a believer, get and read this book!!

Ever since first reading this book in 1996 I've periodically looked for the rest of this series. The unique vision of Mark Littleton in giving us a glimpse of heaven before the world was made stirs the heart with possibilties. Seeing the world through the eyes of angels was very creative and insightful.
While I wouldn't go so far as saying this fictional book is Biblical, it definitely stirs one to look at the stories of the Bible in a new light. I was particularily impressed with the manner in which Mark casted a vision of worship from the point of view of an angel. It gave me much to think about in regards to my own life.
The book was a quick and rewarding read (it ends just when things really start to get interesting). I look forward seeing how the "rest of the story" goes and finding myself transported once again into rhelms unseen by human eyes.
This series is definately an undiscovered pearl.

It's about time someone has put in writting what everyone has been thinking. This is great eye opener for those in business or thinking about starting a business. We have all experienced "Dead People Working." Wheather a fellow worker,employee or perhaps our self. BOOM! can explode your business into what you first dreamed it could be. Get it NOW!

I truly don't understand what the fuss is all about. In terms of background, I am a successful entrepreneur and business owner who has read a hundred of these types of books. I found this book vague, rather remedial and the authors simply regurgitated the same old stuff. It sounds very much like their book "Guts" which was actually a pretty good read. I feel you would be much better off re-reading one of the classics like Think & Grow Rich, an early book by Dale Carnegie or a true new classic like Visionary Life or Visionary Business by Marc Allen. Trust me .... you will thank me.

Kevin and Jackie tell it like it is in BOOM! They have the highest respect for us as people because they believe we are responsible for our choices and that we can change them to make the biggest contributions to others we can in life. This book confront you with choices and principles that you can't hide from, and provides numerous inspiring and heart warming examples of real people who have lived out those principles. You'll be a different person for the better after reading this book!

This book is an explosion of ideas that will change the way you do business and change the way you live your life. I'm definitely adding this book to my recommended reading list for my Corporate Culture Class at UCSD. Kevin and Jackie should be proud of this "dynamite" book!

Having been in the business world for nearly 30 years and in a leadership role for over 25 years, I've long credited being an avid reader as an integral part of my success. In nearly 30 years of reading, I have never followed reading a book by purchasing 50 copies for our leadership team and valued stakeholders in our business, but that is exactly what I did after reading BOOM. The message in BOOM! could not be delivered in any more of a timely fashion and effective method. I urge, no demand that you read BOOM as quickly as you can if indeed you are interested in taking your performance to an unprecedented level. Fantastic job to the Freiberg's on delivering a "must read" to business leaders. Allen M. Fredrickson, President/CEO Signature Performance, Inc.

A Child's Christmas In Wales CD: And Five Poems
Hurrah! Now I won't have to wait for the radio to play Dylan Thomas reading his wonderful Child's Christmas every Christmas. Truly a beautiful recording of the other poems as well.

My goodness, these illustrations are ugly. They completely detract from the beauty of the language. Either read it out loud to a blind person or stick with the version illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.

This reading of A Child's Christmas in Wales is tops! It wouldn't be Christmas for us without hearing Dylan Thomas tell his story. He recounts a holiday of simple, family and neighborhood doings, and paints a picture of snowy, seaside Wales of the 1920's.

I love this story, as do all my children, who, from their earliest years, have not much struggled with the density of the language nor the scatteredness of the story. 5 of my 8 great-grandparents are from Wales, and the remaining 3 have the blood in them as well, so maybe it is like drinking water for us.:-D Our minds are all scattered, and words, even English words ;-D, fall on us in clumps....which makes it doubly hard to keep a clean house. LOL

The sort of prose-poetry imaginative way of seeing and describing the world unique to Welshwomen and Welshmen and Welshchildren, which does not seek to keep up the pretense that history can be separated from myth, story and desire, and which requires loving with eyes wide open to [and eventually embracing] one's own and others' bumps, bruises and idiosyncracies included, is extraordinarily well represented here. So, by the way, is speaking and listening to the close and Holy darkness!

My favorite version isthe one illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. To me she has captured the complexity of the Welsh personality best, though i have nothing to say against the other illustrators praised in these reviews. I DO have a warning for you: there are some skinny versions flying about which do not have the poem-story complete and correct. This sort of work cannot suffer removal or modification, IMHO.

gbg

If you have read A Child's Christmas in Wales, you know that it has to be a classic. But you can't fully appreciate it until you have heard Dylan Thomas read it. What a deep, expressive, poetic voice. For years, I have listened to the recording on a Caedman record. It is wonderful to have it on a CD.

I have never met Thomas Ashley Farrand, but he seems like a familiar person. I have both the CD and this book. I bought the CD to hear the mantras. I like Farrand's voice. As far as this book, I think it is very well-written. It is more of an introductory book, and it is great for someone just starting out, and he is very good at explaining things and making you feel that he put his heart-felt, personal touch to writing this.

This is great guide for those who want to introduce themselves in the world of mantra meditation or yoga mantra.

Very well written. Immensely helpful for any openminded people.
Hope that everybody understood the benefit of mantras that the author has
so well described. Strong recommendation.

A good book for those who interested in transcendental meditation. It explains very well about the using of mantra.

This book offers a wonderful view into the world of using sound to heal the body, mind, and soul. It provides an excellent foundation for understanding the power of mantras.

When I purchased this book (about four years ago), I had a lot of problems with my eyes. I used to get ulcers on my cornea, and no doctors were able to explain why this happened. I discovered a mantra in this book, dedicated to healing the eyes. After practicing this mantra for a few weeks, my eyes began to feel better. After a few months, my eye doctor was suprised to find a noticeable improvement in my eyesight. Since practicing this mantra, I've only experienced one more corneal ulcer (about two years ago).

Since then, I've incorporated many of the mantras found in this book into my daily life.

Peace be with you! Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti!

Thomas Henderson tells it straight up . If you want to know how a man can right himself after falling from grace then you need to read this book . From the top of the mountain , fame , money , prestige , all pro line backer with the Cowboys to a destitute , strung out crack head . Want to learn how this man dealt with his demons ? He takes one day at a time , just like the rest of us . But Thomas makes a pledge to take one day at a time " sober " . It's an option , you gotta suit up every day !

God bless you Thomas . Keep fighting the good fight

I Really enjoyed reading In Control, Years ago I read Thomas's other book Out of Control and while I enjoyed it also. This one is different -- his first one told how he got sober, but this new one tells HOW TO STAY SOBER!!! While he tells us how to stay sober he also entertains the heck out of the reader. It is a book I am going to find myself rereading every couple years or so, and there are not very many books that are like that for me.

This book really made me re-think about my sobriety.Thomas Henderson helped me understand better about the 12-steps.About being able to better my life while dealing with my addictions.I really recommend this book for anybody who is going through a recovery process or knows somebody who is,to help them understand what that person is going through in their head.

This book is the straightforward, easy to read, incredible story of one mans trip to hell and back. Cowboy fans and anyone interested in reading a testimony to the human spirit will enjoy In Control. It is also an excellent heads-up to anyone thinking of dabbling in the world of alcohol and drugs. For those who can identify with Thomases plight, it is an excellent companion to the Big Book of A.A. For those who cant, let it serve as a warning to any who think addiction is a problem "other people" have to worry about.

I just spent the weekend reading this book and couldn't put it down.

Thomas Henderson has written a book about addiction and recovery, but his message is actually a universal statement of how to identify challenges, find solutions, produce results and to live a more meaningful life. I think its message has meaning to everyone.

If you (or a family member, friend, or associate) is challenged by addiction, you will learn and find inspiration.

If you are concerned about public policy issues and the burdens of our criminal justice system, you should read this book to understand more about addiction as a foundational problem that produces crime and recidivism.

If you are the leader of a company, of your household, of your kids, or of your peers, this book has important messages that can help you look at problems differently, consider new solutions, and to make better decisions.

While the narrative involves the recovery of Thomas Henderson, reading this book will help you be a more effective CEO, a better parent, or a more enlightened leader. Every thinking adult should read this book.