C.R. Mooney

(Read to the end to learn how to win a copy of Night of the Living Dead Christian by Matt Mikalatos today!)

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We’ve all watched monster movies and later that night held the covers close while sleeping with one eye open, hoping the beasts of the night will find other prey to appease their appetites.  In “Night of the Living Dead Christian,” Matt Mikalatos stumbles upon a mad scientist and some monsters during his neighborhood watch.  The ensuing comical mayhem results in Matt helping his neighbor Luther, a werewolf, find a cure for his lycanthropy before he is killed by Borut the monster hunter.

Mikalatos spins an incredible allegory as the unlikely gaggle of heroes battle various monsters and make allies en route to discovering there’s a monster in all of us.

Now, there are those who will see the words werewolf, zombie, and vampire and dismiss this title completely.  To those I say “a spoonful of brains helps the medicine go down.”  Sometimes the only way to confront the difficult questions in our lives is to see them from a different perspective, and that is what Matt Mikalatos offers in “Night of the Living Dead Christian.”  It’s a light hearted delivery system to some heavy-handed self reflection.

The end of the book has a couple of great features including a glossary of monsters and a Q&A with Mikalatos.

I highly recommend “Night of the Living Dead Christian.” I put his writing in the Jon Acuff section of “makes me laugh until I hurt, and it hurts most because he’s talking about me.” This is my first encounter with Matt Mikalatos’s writing, and it’s impressed me enough to warrant me buying his previous title, “Imaginary Jesus,” in which he is also a main character on a mission to find the real Jesus.

Here is Matt and his take on “Night of the Living Dead Christian.”

You can find Matt’s blog here: http://mattmikalatos.com

And on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/matt.mikalatos

Thank you to Tyndale House Publishers who provided this copy to me free of charge for review.  A positive review was not required.

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Awesome! You’ve made it to the end of my review, and I hope it was helpful for you.  So, how do you win a copy of Night of the Living Dead Christian? There are two ways to enter:

a) Leave a comment about your favorite monster movie and what frightens you the most about it.

b) Share this post on Facebook.  (edit: My tracker is showing the number of shares, but not who shared, so please leave a note if you shared it. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

Each of these will get you one entry and you can only enter today (12/15/2011). Tomorrow I will put all of the entries into a hat (Yankees!) and have one of my kids draw a name.  Check back to see if you have won. I will post the winner on the blog and on my facebook page (facebook.com/baddogmooney).

Dr. David Jeremiah’s subtitle implies that his book is going to help explain current world happenings in light of Biblical prophecy, however I believe a more accurate subtitle would be “10 Opinions Why I Believe The World Is Going To End In My Lifetime.”

Some of this text is well written and researched, like his history of the Middle East and rebirth of Israel as a sovereign nation, but it pretty much ends there.   Some of his prophetic clues are vague speculation at best.  One example is prophetic clue two, the possibility that Israel is sitting on one of the world’s largest oil reserves.  He cites two verses, and the remainder of the chapter is dedicated to “what if” speculation.

Clue five is “Without a Trace” otherwise known as the rapture.  This chapter lays out his timeline with the rapture of the saints coming before the Tribulation.  I am not sure how this is a clue as to what is going on in the world today, unless the rapture has already occurred, and we are now in the Tribulation.

Another of his clues is that the United States is not mentioned in the Bible.  Again, I still am not sure how that is a clue of what is going on today.

I found this more to be an explanation of Dr. Jeremiah’s eschatology than a guide to what is going on in the world today.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze.com for allowing me to blog-review this book free of charge.

Storm Amazon.com With Us!

http://www.christopherhopper.com/2010/06/storm-amazon-com-with-us/trackback/

It has been said that if you want to be successful, you have to surround yourself with successful people.  If you are like me, you may not be not privy to such a selection of friends.  “Classic Wisdom for the Professional Life,” by Bryan Curtis, a book of quotes from some of the most successful people past and present, allows you to immerse yourself in their way of thinking.

I found “Classic Wisdom for the Professional Life” to be informing, inspiring, and convicting.  You can see how those quoted knew not only how to dream, but what it takes to fulfill those dreams.  Many quotes offer some discerning words to those who need motivating to achieve their own dreams.

While the book is not organized into chapters or themes, I still find it a great read.  One other thing I would like to have seen is a reference page for the quotes.

I recommend this book for anyone looking for inspiration and motivation, or as a gift to someone you want to impart them to.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze.com for allowing me to blog-review this book free of charge.

Where Is God?: Finding His Presence, Purpose and Power in Difficult Times

There are several pressing times in my life when I had to ask, “Where is God?” Dr. John Townsend tries to help answer this question in his book.

For me, “Where is God?” starts very slowly. I understand that he is building a foundation for his later points, but it just dragged on forever.

Honestly, I tried to write this review several times trying to highlight parts I liked, and other than his answer for, “How does a loving god allow suffering,” and the list of recommended reading at the end, the book did nothing for me.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to blog-review this book. You can’t win them all.

If you surf around the blogosphere very much, you may have run into Jonathan Acuff’s blog, stuffchristianslike.net.  His site is a fresh and hilarious look at things we (Christians) like that can get in the way of our relationship with God.  His blog got popular enough, made it into a book:  “Stuff Christians Like.”

I just finished listening to the audiobook (available at christianaudio.com) and my review is simple:  Awesome!

I read quite a bit, and very few books get the five star treatment, but Acuff has earned it.  His humor in essays like “Booty, God, Booty” and “Understanding how metrosexual your worship leader is” (Christopher, we need to talk, lol) is perfect anesthetic for him to slip in honest, convicting truth.  I would describe his style as Donald Miller meets Matthew Paul Turner.

This book is great for both Christians and non.   It’s like Acuff is fishing on a lake, and he sends his lure down into the lake.  The Christian fish can’t resist the sarcastic humor mixed with truth, so they latch on immediately.  Meanwhile, the non Christian fish are laughing it up, “See, we told you this Christian gig was a trap!”  Then, with masterful precision and sleight of hand, Acuff lays out the Truth like a stick of dynamite and cleans out the lake.

What are you waiting for?  Go get a copy. Clicking the pic will get you there.

Simple enough.  This Psalm is by far my favorite chapter of the Bible.  It has strengthened and encouraged me in many ways.  What is your favorite verse or chapter?

Psalm 27 (NIV)

Of David.

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

³ Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

⁵ For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

¹³ I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Regardless of your destination in life, you encounter obstacles.  In Obstacles Welcome, Ralph de la Vega chronicles his life from child immigrant from Cuba to President & CEO of AT&T Mobility. Ralph shares his inspiring story filled with adversity and the many lessons he has learned along way.

Ralph takes the many challenges of his life, from being separated from his family for four years, to conquering communication and infrastructure problems after hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, and teaches us that obstacles are to be met head on and not run from.

One of the many lessons I gleaned from Obstacles Welcome is that you have to be the driver in life, and not the passenger, in order to accomplish your goals.  Otherwise you are merely a spectator of others trying to accomplish theirs.  This thought has also stuck with me, that short term success can be easily achieved, but long term success and growth (both business and personal) comes from having great vision, inspiring others, and executing that vision.

I highly recommend Obstacles Welcome, not only as a great leadership book, but also as an inspiring story of a success which comes through hard work and perseverance, no matter your pedigree.
Thank you, Thomas Nelson, for allowing me to blog review this book.

-  chris mooney

Some guys just know how to say it. Peter Kreeft, a professor of philosophy at Boston College and King’s College, is one of them.  I loved The Lord of the Rings, and here is a insight from Kreeft that I hope you will enjoy. The top link is to the audio, and I have included the time stamps for the different sections.

10 Uncommon Insights Into Evil from Lord of the Rings

Section	Time	Size
10 Uncommon Insights Into Evil	47:47	14MB
Introduction (0:00)
1. Evil is Real (6:37)
2. Evil is Immortal (12:03)
3. Evil is Obvious (17:09)
4. Knowledge is Not Always Good (18:53)
5. Evil Defeats Itself (21:59)
6. Evil is Used for Good (25:28)
7. The Weapon of Sacrifice (29:01)
8. The Weapon of Humility (35:05)
9. The Weapon of Friendship (35:55)
10. The Weapon of Words (38:50)
Questions (43:11)

Love & Respect - by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs (Thomas Nelson)

Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs

The core of Love & Respect by Dr.Eggerichs is to address the means by which couples can stay out of the “Crazy Cycle,” and enter the “Energizing Cycle.” It is based on Ephesians 5:33, Husbands love your wives… and wives respect your husbands.”

Eggerichs maintains that the key here is that women are built to love naturally, so they need to work on respecting their husbands unconditionally, and conversely that men are built to respect naturally, so their focus should be in loving unconditionally.

Being a man, and married for ten years, I can say it is not my first inclination to buy self-help books on marriage. However, I am very glad I chose this book to review. What helped me most is Eggerichs’s point that the person I am married to loves me, and though I oft misinterpret her, or fail to understand her viewpoint, she does mean well.

Also the appendices in the book are helpful with ideas that you can use to reinforce the lessons from the book.

One thing I didn’t care for is the amount of testimonials in the book. It felt almost like an infomercial at times, and I found myself skimming through them.

Thank you Thomas Nelson for allowing me to blog-review this.