Deus Misereatur

Perfectly Human: Nine Months with Cerian by Sarah C. Williams My rating: 5 of 5 stars Someone from church loaned me a copy right after we lost a grandson at birth. I wasn't sure if I could read it, and so waited four weeks. I was finally able to pick it up, and wept through much of the tale. Though "Perfectly Human" was originally written in 2005 as "The Shaming of the Strong" it was been reworked in 2018 and added to for this edition. Though I cried through much of the material, I can wholeheartedly say it is worth the read, even if you have lost a child or just received news that the life you are carrying inside is malformed, or might not live. "Perfectly Human" is the story of Paul and Sarah Williams, their family and their friends, and it revolves around the gestation, death and birth of their youngest daughter, Cerian (Welsh for "loved one"). While Cerian was in the womb, the medical establishment discovered she had thanatophric dy...

Love and Power: Glimpses of the Gospel for Those Addicted to Self by Charles M. Garriott My rating: 5 of 5 stars Whether it's high-profile Evangelical pastors being removed from their positions, politicians slamming and slurring their rivals, or husbands tyrannizing their wives and children, there is a common ailment infecting them all - us all. Charles M. Garriott, pastor, author, and pioneer in a ministry to those in government positions as part of the Presbyterian Church in America's Mission to North America, presents readers with an opportunity to examine their love of self in a soon-to-be-released 128 page softback: "Love and Power: Glimpses of the Gospel for Those Addicted to Self." This easy-to-read manuscript addresses a highly prevalent predicament that worms its way through most of our hearts: narcissism. In a sense, men and women in civil government often reflect the citizens they represent, but on a larger, grander scale. Therefore Garriott uses the Bel...

Can I Smoke Pot?: Marijuana in Light of Scripture by Tom Breeden My rating: 5 of 5 stars Here in Oklahoma, marijuana/cannabis was approved for medical use. It's been over six months since it was legalized for the therapeutic, with dispensaries sprouting up, sometimes two or three within half a mile from each other. In fact, the business side is becoming such a burgeoning industry it gives the impression that more than analeptic utilization is being tapped into. So I was delighted when the 112 page manuscript "Can I Smoke Pot?: Marijuana in Light of Scripture" arrived in the mail yesterday. This document is written by Tom Breeden, a pastor at Grace Community Church in Charlottesville, VA, and Mark Ward, Jr., an Academic Editor at Lexham Press, who have teamed up to give the reader an easy, enjoyable entrance into a difficult subject. The book's size, pace and lucidity will comfortably connect with teens and adults. "Can I Smoke Pot?" has four comprehensibl...

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! From the highest to the lowest, from the nearest to the furthest, may all come and worship you, submitting to you, praying to you, cherishing you as their greatest good and deepest joy. Therefore, we pray for you to give our missionaries assets and guide their achievements to this end. And we pray that you would reclaim and rescue those who are outside of Christ… Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away . We pray for the earth that its vast resources would be replenished and maintained. Bring us rains and showers in ways and quantities that are most fitting. Settle the shaking, shifting fault lines ...