A Path of Colored Leaves

by Rachel Carr Klippenstein (2000)

Publisher: Fountain Publishing

Price: $7.25

Reviewed by: Olivia Worobec

As the title implies, this book is about the seasons of life - more specifically, the journey of Klippenstein and her husband. As they deal with a painful lost reality, the author discovers a new dream and her ultimate destiny to write.

The seasons of the year and the places that the couple settles in seem to reflect their present state of prosperity. In South Dakota, it was dry. In Florida, the sunshine was an indication of a promise about to be fulfilled. In Oregon, the rainy weather was almost a cleansing and healing of the past. As spring broke through, so did a new life.

In addition, there is reflection on Klippenstein’s college education experience and stories of the ranch.

We deal with crisis and situations in our own way and in our own time: a theme that resounds throughout the book. It is also in the most difficult times that we find ourselves.

Featured quote: “The intensity of pain corresponds to the intensity of what is loved” (30).

Fear Not!: Meditations to Overcome Fear, Worry and Discouragement

by Rand Hummel (2008)

Publisher: BJU Press

Price: $9.95

Reviewed by: Olivia Worobec

The book is broken up into manageable segments with meditations targeting a specific truth. As the back cover explains, the author gives “strategic help” through simple instructions as revealed inside: “This is what God says” / “Now think about it” / “How can it affect me?”

Part One is God’s Fear Applied to Fear, Worry, and Discouragement; Part Two is God’s Word Applies to Ten Common Fears. In the latter, there is a kind of duality between the human perspective and the fact of God. For example, “The fear of rejection vs. the fact of God’s acceptance” is one chapter that demonstrates this.

The more we focus on God and his word, the clearer our mind will be and the more happy and content we will be because we understand who God is, says Hummel.

Lest You Fall: Meditations to Fight Moral Impurity / Turn Away Wrath: Meditations to Control Anger & Bitterness

Lest You Fall: Meditations to Fight Moral Impurity

by Rand Hummel (2005)

Publisher: BJU Press

Price: $8.95

Turn Away Wrath: Meditations to Control Anger & Bitterness

by Rand Hummel (2007)

Publisher: BJU Press

Price: $9.95

Reviewed by: Leslie Richardson

When the best minds in science seek out the mysteries of the cosmos, or the quirks and quarks of subatomic particles, they look first for the answers which seem to exhibit “simplicity and grace”. In today’s ultra high-tech world, we are under an aggressive assault by media, TV, Hollywood, and the Internet. So many have fallen to immorality, and let rage run wild. People flock to the book stores and spend millions on the latest self-help trendy fad ideas, making rich the “New Age” gurus.

Rand Hummel wishes to help us in a return to simplicity and grace. He has assembled short and pertinent scriptures dealing with short temper in his book Turn Away Wrath, and moral impurity in Lest You Fall. The plan is simple: one scripture per day. He calls them meditations. I think of them as medications. Don’t miss your daily dosage! Sooner than you think, a little peace and serenity may be yours!

Power, Freedom and Grace: Living from the Source of Lasting Happiness

by Deepak Chopra (2006)

Publisher: Amber-Allen Publishing, Inc.

Price: $14.00

Reviewed by: Eleanor Johnston

Power, Freedom and Grace is yet another book by Chopra, the bestselling author/motivational speaker who touches a powerful chord among North Americans alienated from their own spiritual traditions. His message speaks from the ancient Indian wisdom of the Vedanta to New Age positivism, and it intrigues, comforts and provides guidance to millions of readers.

Chopra maintains that, by focusing on our essential spiritual selves, we can tap the energy of the innate intelligence of the universe, thereby discovering power, freedom and grace and freeing ourselves from the illusions of materialism and ego. He challenges us to contemplate ideas such as these: “The world exists in us; we do not exist in the world”; “Everything in the universe is alive…When we fall in love with everything that exists, the universe speaks to us and reveals its innermost secrets”.

Although many scientists reject his claim that modern science informs his discovery of the field of pure consciousness, Chopra’s message is revered by many. A very engaging quotation is from the mystic, Rumi: “I have lived on the lip of insanity, wanting to know reasons, knocking on a door. The door opens. I have been knocking from the inside.”

Prayers: A Communion with Our Creator

by Deepak Chopra (2001)

Publisher: Amber-Allen Publishing, Inc.

Price: $12.95

Reviewed by: Margaret Reid

“Prayer is a communion of the human with the divine” states the author of this book. Eight topics related to prayer are expanded upon, each dealing with a different aspect of prayer e.g. truth, forgiveness, love, gratitude, etc. In each chapter the topic is developed and the chapter ends with a related prayer which helps focus our thoughts.

This book would be useful as a guide to praying and would undoubtedly expand our ideas about how to pray, as the author uses a combination of Christian awareness and ancient wisdom.

Reflections of a Wyoming Shepherd on the 23rd Psalm

by Patricia McClaflin Booher (2009)

Publisher: Authorhouse

Price: $17.95

Reviewed by: Margaret Reid

The author of this book has a background of sheep farming in Wyoming.

She draws upon many of these experiences in her writing.

Each verse of the psalm is expanded upon using events in her own, her family’s and her friends’ lives. The reader can relate to many of these anecdotes.

This is another look at a very familiar psalm. It is a very readable book, and as one reflects on the various experiences described, the Good Shepherd role becomes more meaningful.

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

by Don Miguel Ruiz (1997)

Publisher: Amber-Allen Publishing, Inc.

Price: $12.95

Reviewed by: Eleanor Johnston

Remember the novels of Carlos Castaneda in the 1970’s? They taught the traditions of the shamanic Toltec religion that flourished inMexico and the southwestern states before the arrival of the Europeans. Like other early American traditions, the Toltec features trickster figures, spiritual wisdom and ecstatic transformations. This book summarizes Toltec beliefs--think Castaneda without plot or peyote.

For today’s North Americans to appreciate this book, it is presented in a self-help style with New Age-style countercultural aphorisms organized in an accessible, elegant format. The Four Agreements are: ”Be Impeccable With Your Word,” “Don’t Take Anything Personally,” “Don’t Make Assumptions,” and “Always Do Your Best.” By focusing on and striving toward these practices, promises the book, the reader can lead a happy, God-filled life.

Readers who look beyond Christian orthodoxy can hope that the Toltec, like the many other religions threatened by Western secular culture, survives into the future. Reading it is like reading a book by the Dalai Lama, a manuscript of ancient Norse sayings, or a collection of Taoist proverbs. Could it be that, if we look back far enough in comparing all the world’s ancient religions, we will find a shared theology, a common wisdom, a saving mysticism?