Really great book, May 5, 2010

I was skeptical because it was a free Kindle book. Finished reading it today and I really, really enjoyed it. It was full of suspense, laughter, and hope... even a bit of tears. I will definitely be checking out this author again.

       Suspenseful Christian Fiction So Hard To Put Down, May 5, 2010

***** This book was a free Kindle purchase that turned me into a fan of the author; I most certainly will buy his future books. The book description above describes enough of the plot, and I don't want to include any spoilers here. This would be easy to do--the book is one surprise after another. The idea of a man discovering his soul, his priorities in life, and his Christian faith via rooms of a house is odd, but oh, in the right hands (this author's), it really works. I am unfamiliar with any genre like this--sort of a Christian-fantasy-thriller, but not like C.S. Lewis' Narnia, and not like Frank Perretti--more like...well...not like anything I've ever read before. The book takes place in Seattle, Washington and Cannon Beach, Oregon in the present time. It highlights the conflict between having everything the world can give and all that Christ can give. But it's not a simple book; it has different layers and is complex, a book I'd love to talk to my best friend about for hours. It was hard to put down at first, and then I tried to stretch it out so that I wouldn't finish it because I identified with it and it made me feel so much stronger in my own Christian faith. This book is definitely for people who are Christians or who are interested in reading about someone discovering their own Christian faith. I read The Shack as well years ago and have seen the comparisons to The Shack by other reviewers. I think that the only similarities between the two is that both are very imaginatively original and both are about spirituality and faith. This book will appeal more to evangelical Christians because of the more orthodox underpinnings of the theology behind it. It is like an evangelical's The Shack, but better. Much better. Highly recommended. *****

      rooms, May 5, 2010

After about 40% into the book I finally figured out it's a Christian conversion book which I don't appreciate being suckered into. The reviews and descriptions should have been more honest and desriptive so I wouldn't waste my time and money.

      Journey of the Spirit and Heart, May 5, 2010

"What would you find if you walked into the rooms of your soul?" Micah literally finds out when he inherits a home built especially for him by his great uncle, Archie. Micah is a software tycoon who has it all ~ fame, fortune, and a beautiful girlfriend who loves him, yet something is missing... And it takes a supernatural force for him to realize that what he is missing a relationship with God. As a young man, Micah had enjoyed a close relationship with God but as his fortune grew, his focus became centered on storing up worldly treasures in direct conflict with the scriptures. Matthew 16:26 says: "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" This scripture becomes the guiding force behind the novel and, ultimately, leads to Micah's freedom. The overriding theme of this novel is freedom and it's expressed in a variety of ways: spiritual freedom, emotional freedom, physical freedom, etc. Of course, all of this is written with a focus on developing a close relationship with God through the total surrender of one's self to His will. I found the premise of this novel to be interesting. Micah is apparently a software and business genius but when it comes to spiritual matters he is just as confused and, well, lost as the rest of us. For example, Micah hears a voice that whispers to him all the things that he needs/wants to hear and the words seem to be biblical but they also seem to contradict the Word that Micah knows to be true. Rather than testing the voice (as we are admonished in the Bible), Micah allows himself to be seduced into believing that he can serve two masters ~ God and himself. This novel would make an excellent book for a book group because the novel raises so many interesting questions. For example, who is friend and who is foe? What is truth? Do we have to give it all up in order to serve God? The author also provides a list of discussion questions at the end of the book to help get the talking started. Definitely a journey for the spirit and the heart.