Bible

Babylon Rising – Tim LaHaye and Greg Dinallo

Angela3 Comments

Wow! Just Wow! What a page turner this story is! This was another random find as I was strolling through the aisles in my library, and I grabbed this book and the second book in the series. As I normally do, I looked it up online to find out exactly how many books are in this series.

I was hesitant to even start this book (series) as not only did I find there are 4 books, but all of the reviews lead me to believe that the fourth book did not wrap up any of the stories, and that at least one more book was meant to be/needed to be written.

Did I want to start a series that was not going to be wrapped up all nice and neat at the last book available? Not really. But it is about Biblical history, prophecy, and the coming end times, all of which fascinate me. So I got comfortable in my bed, or I should say my two cats got comfortable on me in my bed, and I opened the book.

Benjamin and Franklin
Benjamin and Franklin; my reading partners and all-around naughty boys.

Michael Murphy is a Professor, as well as Biblical Archaeologist. Thanks to a nemesis who is more than willing to have Murphy (as he is called) risk his life to get his hands on these historical treasures, this latest test involves the book of Daniel, and an object that is not only priceless, but will also help Murphy in his quest to prove the Bible is historically true.

Babylon Rising cover image

This book is one you will not be able to put down; or at least I couldn’t as I read it in a day. The twists and turns will have your heart not only racing, but also breaking, and celebrating all at the same time. There is a group of people who have set out to make all Evangelical Christians look like fanatics willing to do anything, and I mean anything, to get their point across to the public. Who would devise such a plan, and why? And why is this small group of people so powerful that they are able to get a few individuals to do their bidding, no questions asked?

I cannot wait to start book 2, The Secret on Ararat, and hope I do not regret reading this series which does not end all wrapped up nice and clean with a bow on it.

It’s Official; I Have a Book Addiction. Or Is It a Tattoo Addiction?

Angela9 Comments

Okay; it is both.

Yesterday was my 1st of 2 appointments for my latest tattoo. Okay; my 10th tattoo. But is is actually my first tattoo (of more to come) that will be based on the stories I have cherished for as long as I have been reading. Which is a really, really long time.

I wanted to start with Narnia, and I knew it had to be Mr. Tumnus and the lamppost. I also wanted to include my favorite Bible verse (Psalm 119:105), so this was the perfect tattoo to start with.

There are several versions of this Bible verse, but this is exactly how I wanted the wording.
There are several versions of this Bible verse, but this is exactly how I wanted the wording.

It had to be old-school; an image that was in the original book. A little searching had many great ideas. Luckily my long-time tattoo artist is fabulous at drawing what I ask for, so I literally had no idea what this tattoo was going to look like when I walked in yesterday for my appointment. I had absolutely no concerns about how it was going to look.

I only wanted Mr. Tumnus, but I wanted him to be fairly large, instead of drawn into the right side of the image between the lamppost and tree stump.
I only wanted Mr. Tumnus, but I wanted him to be fairly large, instead of drawn into the right side of the image between the lamppost and tree stump.

Mr. Tumnus image

I got the outline and shading done yesterday, and have an appointment in 3 weeks to get the light coloring added in. These are the best pictures I could get, being the only person home and the tattoo reaching from the top of my shoulder to my elbow.

Tattoo on FB post

tattoo 9-26-2015

Do you have any tattoos that show your love of books?

Anti-Christ 2016-2019 : David Montiagne

Angela1 Comment

Not a story for the faint-of-heart, this is definitely a story to read if you are a Christian, you are Jewish, you are religious, you study religion, you hate religion, you have a knack for numbers, you live for what-could-be coincidences; oh goodness, you see where I am going here, right? You should just read this story already!

Anti-Christ Cover David Montiagne

As a disclaimer, I will say I am a Lutheran Christian (who are Protestant), and I spend a minimum of 2 days a week at my church; I teach at our weekly youth group, and I go to church nearly every Sunday, often doing the readings or volunteering in some other way. I am also a Democrat, who has twice voted for President Barack Obama, of which choice I did not, and still do not, have any regrets about my decision. I also did not read David’s first book on the Anti-Christ, “End Times and 2019”, which gives some detail to things that are referenced in this book I am about to review.

This story takes careful detail of Biblical Scripture, current events, and all the dates and numbers that will go far beyond “coincidence”. I will say I had a hard time reading this story. Not because it is hard to read, but because if it is true, it can be very hard to accept.

There is one thing I have heard from several sources, that said, in-a-nutshell, “The Anti-Christ may not even know at the current time that they are indeed, the Anti-Christ.”

To sum it up, this book is claiming that on June 6, 2016, we will indeed be told who the Anti-Christ is. They will be in such a position of power, that it will be difficult for most of the world to deny their requests.

Does this seem ridiculous? Let me take you back to September 11, 2001. At that point when President Bush was in the devastation of the World Trade Centers, vowing vengeance on the culprits, was anyone willing to deny him the vengeance he sought?

We all gathered up as Americans, and Foreign Countries united, and hung our flags out on our front doors, hugged our neighbors, and stopped being greedy-self-centered-jerks for a few months. Can all of this feel-good-united behavior stop what was foretold 2000 years ago?

What do you think? Read this story to either support your claims, or change your mind!

I Actually Finished It!

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I finished “Killing Jesus“, a week later than I planned. I have to say I was much more interested in it once it got to the life of Jesus and his eventual crucifixion.

It was as graphic as I expected it to be, with a few things left out that really surprised me. I don’t think they were left out because they were considered myths, because they are in every single other story or show about Jesus’s life, including the 4 gospels in the Bible.

the first of these was when Jesus was betrayed by Judas, and as he is being captured. Peter takes out his sword and cuts off Malchus’s ear. It is at this point that Jesus tells him to put the sword away, and reattaches Malchus’s ear. On pages 223-224, the chopping off of the ear is mentioned; but not the reattachment.

The other thing that was excluded was when Peter is inside the temple walls and he denies knowing Jesus 3 times, before the rooster crows. I was very surprised that neither of these things were mentioned, when I find them vital to showing not only the loyalty of Jesus’s disciples, but also the fact that they were scared of their own upcoming punishment for following Jesus and believing in his ministry.

A passage that I found very interesting was when Jesus was criticized by the Pharisees for eating with person’s who were considered unclean. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth enters into the stomach and then out of the body. But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All of these evils come from inside and make a man unclean” (O’Reilly, B., Dugard, M., 2013, Killing Jesus, pp -160-161).

So, on a lighter note, I think it’s time to find a more upbeat book to read next 🙂 I have a couple books on my bookshelf that I have not read yet, but I think I am going to bypass those for now,  go to Barnes and Nobles, and pick up a Joanne Fluke book. If you have never read her books, she includes recipes in her book as the main character runs a bakery. After reading several of her books, I think it’s time to try out some of those recipes!

Oh, and they are always based on someone’s murder, and I know that isn’t upbeat, but the stories have a humorous side to them and always ends with the good guy winning. Who can’t like that in a story? 🙂