Tidewater Inn, by Colleen Coble

A small island, a Archeological Historian, a kidnapped young woman, a grieving family, a broken apart family, a young man whose parents have been killed, a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer, and a search and rescue dog, what do they all have in common?  The answer, Colleen Coble’s new book, that’s what.

Coble takes us on a journey to the small fishing island of Hope Beach in the Outer Banks.  There we will find a community of people who seem to live somewhat in the past.  The Island can only be reached by boat.  So, there are just a few cars on the island, most people get around by bicycle. 

Libby and her partner Nicole are going to find that even though this is a blast to the past there is much deception, intrigue, guile, evil, greed and just plain hatred to go around to make you realize that human nature is the same no matter where you go.

There will be the mystery of a kidnapping, the mystery of a murder, the reunion of long ago separated siblings and much talk about “what would Jesus do” with all of the drama that will unfold.

This is typical Coble book with romance and intrigue tied together along with a good dose of people trying to find peace with God.

The book works on so many levels, but there were just a few troubling spots for me.  The search of the Kidnapped Nicole seems to not be as much on the forefront of people’s minds as I would have thought would be true.  They get involved in searching but then back off, then search again and then back off again.  Why not just search flat out 24/7 until she is found?

Well, that troubling fact doesn’t deter from the plots of the story as much I thought it might. 

All in all this is another good Coble novel.  I enjoyed it and look forward to the next in the series, Rosemary Cottage.

Enjoy!

What Jesus Demands from the World, by John Piper

John Piper does a great job with this good book on the "demands" that Jesus makes. Many people think that Jesus has way to many rules to live by, that He is a difficult Master to follow, that He is not interesting in making life easy for his followers. But that is not true.

Piper points out that Jesus has two comments about his demands, "1) I make demands because I have the right. 2) I make demands because I will help you." As you follow through on these thoughts it makes plenty of sense. Jesus is the Son of God and thus he has all the right and power to make demands on the lives of his followers, BUT, he makes those demands with a follow up thought, I WILL HELP YOU! Jesus doesn't leave us alone to fend for ourselves, He gives us plenty of help so that we can accomplish the tasks that He gives us.

After the introduction Piper then goes on to examine 50 Demand's that Jesus makes. Each of these chapters are short, you could almost use the book as a 50 day devotional guide to learn more about how to live for Jesus.

This is a great book for all Christians to read through. It may appear a bit long, but don't let that make you nervous. If you read it as a devotional you will be able to get through it and it won't require huge amounts of daily time.

This book is a good concise text on what it is that Jesus expects from His followers, if you have ever wondered about it this book will answer it. I enjoyed it thoroughly.