General Practice Books

What a wonderful and special devotion. This is from some of the most respected Christian man and woman I have read. A wealth of knowledge in daily bites. Such an drink of cool water to my soul.

I Collect daily devotionals and have several that are my favorite....and this is one of them. Many times when I was dry and could not feel the Lord's presence I have turned to this devotional and found life! July 19th was a ready made sermon. It ministered to me so much and took me from the "depths of despair" back into joyfully trusting my Lord. I would reccommend this only to anyone who hungers for more of Jesus!

could you please correct a typo I overlooked in my review of HIS VICTORIOUS INDWELLING. "Mr. Harrsion" should be "Mr. Harrison." Thanks, kp

There is something very special about reading dead Christian authors!

I have used devotionals regularly for 20+ years but have yet found one that compares to this GEM. Its single focus on the indwelling spirit of Christ has helped me stay focused on the main theme of my Christian walk - Jesus Christ - his incredible sacrifice for me and his spirit within me. I have grown closer to Him through this book. It's often hard to believe scripture's beautiful promises are truly ours as believers, but this book is a refreshing daily reminder. That is all that one hopes for in a devotional.

And a perk - the contributions are great quotes for sharing with others in talks/sermons or in individual time with others. I highly recommend every page of this devotional. None compare to its richness and depth.

After three decades of devotional reading, I found 72 of my favorite authors in this gem of a devotional book, plus dozens of others, particularly out of the Brethren tradition. It could certainly be argued that Christian thought today is "a mile wide and an inch deep," but this book goes blessedly deeper than much of today's "devotional writing." Sincere thanks to Mr. Harrison and to Zondervan! (...)

I guess there are no coincidences if you believe----we could all live a more relevant life if we would only "listen". Dr. Main is easy to read--it is like a conversation to take up this book...I find myself that engaged. It is inspiring.

Once again, Bruce Main has delivered a wonderful book full of thoughtful stories and profound guidance. I highly recommend this book and look forward to Bruce's next endeavor.

Is God trying to reach you? HOLY HUNCHES: RESPONDING TO THE PROMPTINGS OF GOD comes from the director of an inner city youth ministry and shows how intuitive hunches ultimately nudge us towards spiritual paths. Such hunches can be either life-changing or small pointers to the proper path: choices matter, and Bruce Main here reveals how these choices can lead to a greater understanding of God and community alike.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This wonderfully inspiring book is about how God's Holy Spirit prompts us in many ways to serve others. The author, Bruce Main, draws on his many years experience as CEO of Camden's Urban Promise Ministries to let the reader know the ups and downs of ministering to children caught in the cycle of poverty in an American inner city. (many more ups than downs!) God's spirit shines brightly in this book! Bruce Main's equally delightful book, "Spotting the Sacred", would make a great choice for anyone who enjoyed "Holy Hunches." "Hope for Children in Poverty", offered by Judson Press, is one of the most important books to add to the reading list of anyone interested in children's ministries. I highly recommend all three.
Bonnie L. Mason
Chairperson of Missions
First Baptist Church of Collingswood

Bruce Main is a natural story teller. In writing "Holy Hunches" he draws from his own experiences as executive director with Urban Promise Ministries in Camden New Jersey, from the lives and writings of classic and contemporary "saints." He parallels the compassion of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the vow of poverty of St. Francis of Assisi, and the cause of Martin Luther King with the parables and miracles of Jesus and the works of the apostles. Then he shares extraordinary stories of ordinary everyday Christians responding to a nudge from God's Spirit, a holy hunch. These stories are poignant vignettes, and powerful illustrations of the change brought about when men and women respond to the inner voice of their "Holy Hunches."

The book is divided into three parts, Why Holy Hunches, Obstacles of Holy Hunches, and Living with Our Hunches. I appreciated Bruce's openness and vulnerability as he shared his personal stories of ministry.

Bruce Main writes with spiritual insight. Filled with inspiration and encouragement "Holy Hunches" provides an amazing open door to exploring the possibilities of responding to those nudges of the spirit and following up on your holy hunches.

I was only half way through the book when I had to sit back and thank the Lord for my assurance. This book has helped me in many ways. It emphasizes how we should devour 1 John. Gives many basic points to think about that is easily missed while in doubt. Give this book a shot.

Many are on a regligious path that they believe - very sincerely - will end in heaven and God's welcoming arms. However, the risen Lord Jesus Christ says that many will stand before Him - who called Him Lord - only to hear the eternally frightening words, "I never knew you; depart from Me you who practice lawlessness" (Matthew 7:23). They are the confident, assured, and religiously active, but utterly self-decieved.

Donald Whitney's book is sure to pull the mask off those who are trusting in religion, religious knowledge, religious experience, a decision, the affirmation of others, or whatever for their assurance of heaven - and shows that they are building on sandy ground (Matt. 7:24-27; 13:18-23; 1 John 2:3-5). And, at the same time it will encourage those who do understand that salvation comes through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone (John 19:30); who have experienced the transforming grace of new birth (Titus 2:5; 2 Cor. 5:17) but are still having trouble finding rest and comfort in the promises of forgiveness and eternal security in Christ (Rom. 5:1; John 6:40).

The strength of Whitney's book is his commitment to Scripture (John 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:15-16), so that assurance is built on solid truth and not empty, vain, and subjective whims or fancies. Assurance of one's salvation is crucial to being freed to live a life of worship (John 4:23-24) for the glory of God. And biblical assurance is necessary to guard against a false hope that will end in eternally tragic regret and judgment.

If you are struggling with assurance of salvation, are not experiencing the comfort of knowing that indeed your sins have been forgiven and that God has granted you true saving faith (Eph. 2:1-10), then read this book. Look up the passages, be honest before God, and prayerfully seek Him to produce in your heart the assurance that you do belong to Him and that He truly has worked grace in your heart - and then wait on Him.

I too wrestled with the assurance of my salvation. I knew that my life had dramatically changed, I knew that my understanding and attitude toward sin, righteousness, God, Christ, and the Word had changed; but still I had trouble resting. This book was a great help along the way and a tool in the hands of the Holy Spirit to help me come to a solid, God-centered assurance in Christ. I hope it does the same for you.

This is a small book and I read much of it as soon as I took it out of my mailbox. Although I have no doubt about my salvation, I was interested in it when I saw the title. It validated concerns I have that the church's goal to build up attendance and membership numbers might sometimes overshadow its concern for souls. I would like to see the disappearance of the boards enumerating church and Sunday School attendance that are often placed in sacntuaries since that should not be our primary focus. This book contains an important message and I plan to send one to a pastor friend with a request that he read it and pass it on or purchase one for someone else.

I invited Christ into my life and wondered what was next. I read everything I could. I had a hunger for the Lord. Then I started having some uncertainties of my salvation. I read this book and discovered the affirmation I needed.

This is a Must Read for every Christian, young and old. New to the Lord or not. God the Father wants us all to know him. Read this book and be lifted up!

Almost everyone who believes in the existence of heaven also believes he will be there. I cannot count the number of times I have heard the statistic that fully 99% of Americans believe they will be in heaven some day. However, the Bible certainly gives no reason to believe that 99% of people will be welcomed into heaven. Thus many people, and perhaps even the majority of people, live with false assurance of their eternal destination. How Can I Be Sure I'm A Christian by Don Whitney, is a book concerned with helping Christians understand how they be assured of their salvation and how to discern true from false assurance.

In the foreward, John MacArthur notes that assurance of salvation is the birthright and privilege of every true believer in Christ. Despite this, almost every believer wrestles with this at one time or another. "Knowing how to handle such doubts, understanding the self-examination that is required (2 Corinthians 13:5), discerning the evidences of Christ in us, and above all focusing our faith on the promises of Scripture and the character of God - those are the keys to maintaining true assurance." (page 8) These are the topics the author examines in this book.

The book begins with an examination of whether assurance of salvation is possible. Though many Christians have been taught that it is not possible and may even be dangerous, the Bible presents assurance as something that is not only available, but is a crucial aspect of our Christian walk. In fact, an entire book of the Bible was written to address this very topic. "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life..." (1 John 5:13) After assuring the reader that assurance is possible and that doubts about our salvation are normal (and perhaps even healthy), Whitney examines the basis of our assurance. Far too many believers base their assurance on statements beginning with "because I..." but if our assurance is founded upon anything we have done, we have taken false assurance. Our assurance needs to be in the promises and character of God, not in decisions, baptisms, family or good deeds. The book then turns to a discussion of the confirmations and evidences of conversion. These include the Spirit's inner confirmations as well as external evidences such as conscious obedience to God's Word and a hatred of the ways of the world. There are several chapters dedicated to things that erode our confidence as well as false assurances of salvation. The book closes with a chapter on what to do if you are still not sure.

As with all of Whitney's books, he quotes Scripture liberally and draws heavily upon the wisdom of Christians of days gone by, and especially the Puritans. He builds a convincing case that assurance is possible and provides many helpful pointers as to how we can have that assurance of salvation. This book is guaranteed to challenge any believer, both in his lifestyle and in his assumptions concerning assurance.

In conclusion, I will quote the glowing endorsement of James Boice, who writes "If you have questions about your assurance or even somebody else's, you should read this book. Dr. Whitney's illustrations are superb, and his borrowings from the great theologians of the past are wise, stimulating, and well-chosen. I commend his work highly." To echo Boice, I unreservedly recommend this book.

Rev. James L. Meagher, D.D., has written the most powerful Catholic history that we have ever seen. Discover how the entire history of the world is tied together in the story and origins of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Read how God foretold the Crucifixion and the Mass to Adam and his children in types, images and emblems. Learn about the signs, symbols and ceremonies of the Mass in the Jewish Temple and how the mysteries of the Mass were unveiled in the Temple. Discover the origins of an unmarried clergy, holy water, candles, statues in churches, ciboriums, incense, sanctuaries, vestments, liturgical colors, credence tables, bread, wine, oil, chalices and various liturgies in the Jewish Temple of the Old Testament. See how the Mass was foretold in the Passover and the Cenacle, and how the sacrificial lamb was crucified and roasted on its cross. Learn why no bones of the lamb could be broken. This phenomenal work reveals many curious insights such as Adam and Eve's 63 children, the origin of the races, Adam's skull buried on Calvary, and the fact that Judas was the nephew of Caiphus, the high priest. Learn the knowledge that the early Church Fathers knew and the reasons and origins of every aspect of Holy Mass to each move that Christ and the Apostles made at the Last Supper. Staggering research! Helps all to realize what a hidden treasure we have in the Mass.

This is truly one awesome book. It is not only historically informative it is a good apologetic work. This book details how everything we Catholics do liturgically and some of what we do in our personal lives (Holy Mass (in all the rites), prayer for the dead, administration of the sacraments, intercession of the saints, vestments of the clergy, etc.) all come from the traditions of Old Israel, traditions which Jesus never rebuked and practiced himself.

This brings me to the apologetic aspect of the book. Jesus himself said in St. Matthew 5:17: "I came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, not to abolish it." Folks, Jesus was Jewish, and this book lays out that Judaism at the time of Christ was very similar to Catholicism. Why this similarity? There are two reasons to explain this:

1) The Catholic Church was founded by the Jewish Jesus and lead by the Jewish apostles who knew and practiced the venerable traditions of Judaism in the light of Christ, therefore making Catholicism the true fulfillment of Judaism.

2) The early leaders of the Church in the 3rd-6th centuries corrupted the sparse evangelical-type church that Jesus founded, and introduced these Jewish practices.

The second explanation fails because much of these Jewish traditions preserved by the Catholic Church became non-accessible to Gentiles after the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. How did the "apostates" of the early Church get access to this information? They couldn't, unless of course they were a chain of heretics passing this information down from time of Christ waiting to subvert the Church. That clearly is not the case.

The Talmud is quoted extensively in this book. That is a good thing because the Jewish Talmud is an authoritative source for Jewish temple worship, practice and faith before the time of Christ. (It also has its corruptions after the time of Christ, but the good can be discerned.)

This book reawakened in me a godly joy to be Catholic. I no longer view myself as part of a 2,000 year old religion, but a religion that stretches back to our father in the faith, Abraham. This book has helped me sense a connection back to the Old Testament like never before.

Overall, if you have an interest in church history, liturgy, Messianic Judaism, or just Judaism in general please buy this book!

Adam

If you're interested in learning more about O.T. types and symbols that prefigured the Mass then this book is a must have. Organized by subject page by page, it is an excellent companion for your Bible study. This book packs a wallop and you really get your money's worth.

In How Christ Said the First Mass Fr. Meagher shows that many of our modern day church practices come from either the practices at the Jewish temple or from the synogouge. Our Mass sprang from the Passover. The big Easter candle, holy water, the use of bread and wine, choirs, altar rails, incense, deacons, the poor box, the reading from the bible at Mass and the collection of offerings are all "descendants" of what the Jews of Jesus's time did. Fr. Meagher makes it clear and says so more than once that the church is the daughter of ancient Judaism.

There are many things about day to day life in Israel that the Gospel writers left out in their accounts because the listeners of the day were already well familiar with them. This book goes back and talks about those ancient details. For example, it was common for a rabbi in the time of Christ to wait until he was 30 years old to start preaching and it was common for rabbis to travel with 12 apostles and a band of followers. The book is full of little details and it really brings the ancient world alive for the reader.

Now, I have to point out that this book was written at the turn of the century so when he's speaking on non biblical matters Fr. Meagher sounds like a man of his time. Some of his off the cuff comments may offend modern readers. Don't worry about those four or five comments and look at the heart of the book. The brilliant scholarship far outweighs the embarassing bits.

This book is a real forgotten gem and if you are serious about the ancient origins of the Mass it is one you must read.

Slow at the beginning but excellent in scholarship. One can see an unbroken line of how a Catholic altar is a type of continuum of the Temple Jesus worshipped in- himself. Marvelous, it gives the reader true roots of the Catholic Mass. Awe-inspiring and informative reading which you will not forget.

I first came across a reference to this book in a medical ethics class. After watching an attending physician take the wrong tack in explaining a terminal condition, I decided to learn a better way. This book has excellent summaries, frequent examples of the "wrong" way and the "right" way, and is the single best book on talking to patients I've read. A must-read for any health care provider, and especially anyone who has to talk to critically ill patients or their families.

How to Break Bad News is one of the best books on the subject I've found anywhere. I wrote a book called "Difficult Conversations" which deals with some of the same issues in a broader context, and I am impressed indeed by Buckman's book. I wish healthcare workers everywhere would read it.

This is a unique, delightful, and highly practical book. I recommend it very highly for all physicians and mental health professionals. The authors explain that, despite the American focus on informed consent, some patients who develop life threatening disease do NOT want to know all the details, or even the prognosis, of their condition. A wise and useful six-step protocol for breaking bad news is proffered, incorporating both readiness to fully inform and readiness to respect the patient's psychological vulnerabilities. Since bad news comes in many forms in this life, the skills and attitudes described have wide applicability in the helping professions. A TRULY OUTSTANDING videotape also exists as a companion to this book. I don't know if it is available through Amazon or not. PKC

This is chock full of great advice when you don't know what to say, or are feeling slightly shy or uncomfortable. Just curling up with these study cases in how to tell someone their colon is infecting their entire body and they only have a few weeks to live, or that a hemorrhage in their daughters brain will keep her in a state of vegetation for the rest of her ... life is enough to make anyone feel better about their own situation. Not sure what to say at a party? Just imagine yourself in one of these terrible situations and you'll thankfully be chatting up a storm.

I am a psychololgist. I read this book very carefully and outlined it, it was that good. It is very practical information on how to deliver difficult news. I found that I deliver more difficult news than I thought. I use the six steps outlined in the book now, and teach residents about the book. This is the best resouce I found for delivering bad news to patients.

This book will give understanding not only to animation but drawing all together and will allow you to elevate your understanding of composition

A complement to the earlier editions of this series, this book teaches you how to draw mecha's (daily machines), nature and animal characters, rounding off on how to put together a short story. There are helpful tips such as time-savers when drawing effective backgrounds even if there is less detail. The book is geared towards the aspiring mangaka, showing how drawings begin in sketches, inked, and toned in a step-by-step manner.

All in all, this book is more for the person interested in drawing manga. Not recommended for the average learner who just wants to draw manga style and not interested in creating a manga.

I loved this book the moment I cracked it open. Lots of great tips on how to draw houses (inside and outside), trees, clouds, water, rocks, and all sorts of nature things that I couldn't draw before. I highly recommend this book to any artist. Some drawing skills are needed for this book to be very effective, though.

this book is the BEST
because when I reed this book,
there were hundreds of infomation that I didn't
Know before...

This is one of the best HtDmanga books.The book cover and name isnt all.The book is full off nature drawing like trees, sea, fire, cat.It also have about drawing houses and cars.

If you've ever seen Tibetan Buddhist art and wondered who or what is represented in these colorful paintings (known in Tibetan as thangka), what the various objects in the paintings symbolize, or how the paintings are used in the practice of Buddhism, Images of Enlightenment may answer your questions. Concisely written for a western audience of general readers by two English students of Tibetan Buddhism, this book also provides an introduction to basic Buddhist principles and practice, as well as a brief history of the Tibetan school and short biographies of some of its greatest teachers.

Images of Enlightenment is organized around 32 full-color plates, paintings by Andy Weber, a UK-based artist trained in Nepal by refugee Tibetan painters and now himself a widely traveled and respected teacher in Europe and North America. (See the artist's website for more examples of his work and his current teaching schedule.) Each chapter of the book begins with a theme, followed by explanations of the handful of paintings that best represent them. The first chapter on the life of the Buddha and the basics of Buddhist philosophy, for example, includes descriptions of paintings of the Buddha, stupas, and the Wheel of Life.

As an introductory text, the authors cannot hope to cover the nearly 200 deities of Tibetan Buddhism. They manage, though, to provide an informative, well-written, and properly illustrated volume covering some of the most popular images. If you'd like to learn more about the methods and materials used in painting thangka, you might like to see Jackson and Jackson's Tibetan Thangka Painting: Methods & Materials. The paintings used in this book, while well executed, are quite simple and not cluttered with many of the background items found in many thangka. There is, therefore, little in this book explaining many of the minor elements of Tibetan painting. For a more thorough treatment of symbolism and iconography, see Robert Beer's A Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols. If you'd like to see larger and more elaborately and finely detailed thangka, have a look at two collections in Romio Shrestha's Celestial Gallery and Goddesses of the Celestial Gallery.

The most definitive guide to Buddhism. The deity are all beautifully illustrated in rich color, complete with the historical background of the deity that gain enormous popularity in the east.

It had all the answers that you had always wanted to ask in the past. For illustration why some deities look so wraughtful, fierce and the significance of those implements or objects they hold.

I like the most is the explaination on the deity background concise, full illustrated, very well elaborated and accurate description.

An indispensible guide! Highly recommended.

Though I am an SGI Buddhist, Tibetan Buddhism intrigues me with their beautiful art. Mr. Landaw clearly describes each entity and Mr. Andy Weber beautifully illustrates in color each image. If you have ever wanted a deeper understanding into Tibetan images, I highly recommend this book

Written by experts who spent years living in India to study Tibetan Buddhism and its art, Images of Enlightenment: Tibetan Art in Practice is a straightforward, plain-terms guide to the rich history, legends, and spirituality expressed through Tibetan Buddhist sacred art. 32 full-color plates illustrate Images of Enlightenment, while the text describes the symbolic self-transformation and expressions of enlightenment depicted. Chapters survey different paths and aspects of Buddhism as expressed through art, including the Bodhisattva Path, and the Path of Bliss and Emptiness. Images of Enlightenment is especially recommended for students, scholars, and practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism.

This is an excellent book for all those interested in the practice of Deity Yoga. Written by Westerners with a very clear insight into the elements and art of the practice.

One side-effect of the common lectionary used by Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutheran, and various mainstream Protestant churches is the development of some excellent lectionary based resources. (A lectionary contains the Biblical readings for a given Sunday).

This series of three volumes for the three year lectionary cycle (each year concentrates on a synoptic Gospel - Matthew, Mark or Luke) contains music, poetry, art, etc. that in some way reflect on the Scripture for a given Sunday. The volumes are carefully multicultural.

An example: for the first Sunday in Advent, there are poems by Philipp Nicolai with Carl P. Daw Jr, and Alberto Taule; a photo of a cross of the community by the artisans of La Palma, El Salvador; a responsory reading by Miriam Therese Winter; and a painting by Glen Strock.

Each Sunday is equally diverse. You should always be able to find something that meets your needs and/or challenges you to reconsider your needs. Highly recommended.

One side-effect of the common lectionary used by Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutheran, and various mainstream Protestant churches is the development of some excellent lectionary based resources. (A lectionary contains the Biblical readings for a given Sunday).

This series of three volumes for the three year lectionary cycle (each year concentrates on a synoptic Gospel - Matthew, Mark or Luke) contains music, poetry, art, etc. that in some way reflect on the Scripture for a given Sunday. The volumes are carefully multicultural.

An example: for the first Sunday in Advent, there are photos by Paul Chesley, David Austen and Dennis Oda;excerpts from Robert A. Raines and Jospeh Wood Krutch; poetry by Dom Helder Camara and Thomas John Carlisle; and a detail from art by Naul Ojeda.

Each Sunday is equally diverse. You should always be able to find something that meets your needs and/or challenges you to reconsider your needs. Highly recommended.

Gorgeous book of art tied to the Christian lectionary. Poetry, paintings, photographs, sculpture, scripture quotes. A real treat!

This is a thick soft cover art book that accompanies Biblical passages with art objects - paintings, sculptures from all cultures, Italian Renaissance to Modern Chinese water-colour that attempts to IMAGE the WORD - the gospel, and puts the love of Jesus in Christianity into a non-preachy, very emotionally and aesthetically moving document that appeals to the modern, intellectual, sophisticated, sensitive, cultured but atheist reader. It makes the Bible come alive in a fantasy of visual ecstasy. A marvellous gift for those who are hurting from a lack of understanding God's love. A spiritually soothing gift in a coffee-table book format.

One side-effect of the common lectionary used by Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutheran, and various mainstream Protestant churches is the development of some excellent lectionary based resources. (A lectionary contains the Biblical readings for a given Sunday).

This series of three volumes for the three year lectionary cycle (each year concentrates on a synoptic Gospel - Matthew, Mark or Luke) contains music, poetry, art, etc. that in some way reflect on the Scripture for a given Sunday. The volumes are carefully multicultural.

An example: for the first Sunday in Advent, there are poems by Czeslaw Milosz, Sandra Cisneros and Janet Morley; a photo of a festive cross by Claudio Jimenez; quotations from Lamar Williamson Jr. and the Gelasian Sacramentary; a song by Arthur G. Clyde (contemporary); paintings by Rodolfo Abularach and Salvador Dali.

Each Sunday is equally diverse. You should always be able to find something that meets your needs and/or challenges you to reconsider your needs. Highly recommended.

This is a very good book for every programmer to grow to next level. Book is written to address almost all issues related to software development. Need to have book for every programmer.

All .Net developers have to keep Patterns & Practices publications under thier radar screen because one of the best works come out of that group.

A great book that covers in detail any areas you need: CLR, strings management, collections, asp.net, ado.net, xml, SQL Server and much more. A practical handbook that should be on your desktop as a reference for you everyday programming.
[...]

To be honest, I hate two kilos books. Usually such a book contains not much information. But not this book.
It starts from design guidelines and 40-pages(!) length questionnaire, and covers in detail a lot of subjects, including CLR, interop, remoting, ASP, XML, Web Services, etc. performance. How to measure, how to test, how to tune.
If you have to know a lot of things about a lot of things concerned with .NET performance, this book is for you.

In a word...WOW! There is such a wealth of info in this book. Direct for the source, one of the performance architects of the CLR (among other authors). This book is a must have for any developer who writes high use web apps or web services. The book goes into so much detail, and explains why one coding method is more efficient than another. Probably not a good beginner book, you should have a good grasp on .Net development first.

One moment Taylor will have you pondering a simple yet astounding truth and the next you'll be laughing over the sad state of his family's car rental. His style of writing is very approachable and endearing. In this book you will not have to deal with a self-righteous narrator on his way to tell you how to reach his level of spirituality. Rather, Dan Taylor openly admits his doubts, concerns, and failures. But, he also gives us something to aspire to and helps us to seek out our own pilgrimages not only when we're abroad, but also when we come home again.

I've visited all three of these places and, at least for me, Taylor has captured a good bit of their magic. His writing is easy to read and entertaining and leavened with just the right touch of humor.

Let Dan Taylor take you to unplanned destinations, traveling with a family grouping of seven in an unreliable Toyota van over forbidding roads and through staggering vistas. Perhaps not your idea of a relaxing vacation; but Dan (an English literature professor friend) in his "...Search of Sacred Places" doesn't intend to make the reader comfortable. However, his sense of humor is evident in facing unscheduled, difficult obstacles as is his awe at the devotion of Celtic extremists and frustration over his own frailties along with those of spoiled 21st century Christians. He smoothly blends Celtic biographies and historic Christianity along with insights from loved English poets, leaving the reader - and himself - with more questions to answer than when the Taylor clan first set out on pilgrimage. A thoughtful book to reread and give to others.

Literature and writing professor Daniel Taylor presents In Search Of Sacred Places, the testimony of his spiritual quest and journey toward understanding in his experience among islands once considered holy to the ancient Celts. Part history, part memoir, part travelogue, part spiritual quest, and part personal introspection, In Search Of Sacred Places ponders both the unknowable and the mundane, and brims with the author's abiding insights and wonder. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate this deeply respectful and spiritual account.

Although the sacred places Taylor shares with us are moving, it is his personal honesty, humility and his wry humor that make sacredness and pilgrimage, commitment and faith, accessible. I am grateful to the author for voicing the questions and the doubts that I have as he (and I and many others) try to live our lives in ways that keep us awake to the wonders and blessings of our world in the midst of what often seems hopeless.