Beacon2Light

From Abuse to a Single-Mother Home to the US Senate: An American Redemption Story Sen. Scott's speech , above all the others at the GOP nomination convention of 2020, made me think with surprise and admiration, "He almost persuaded me to be a Trump supporter!" That is the tact and persuasive power of this man. That and other things that I had heard in the news made me want to read his book by someone exploring a candidacy for President of the United States.  Sen. Tim Scott's America, A Redemption Story is my favorite book by a political leader to date. In it, he shows that he is able to recognize the racial tensions and difficulties in our country while acknowledging and celebrating the progress gained over our history. From his family's experiences, he aptly demonstrates how much America has changed toward redemption from his grandfather's years to his mother's and then to his own experience and beyond. Scott's glimpses at his own history as well as t...

  For Pastors Who Struggle with Criticism, This Book is For You Pastors and Their Critics is a well-thought out, well-rounded treatment on criticism that is directed at pastors. If one were to judge the book simply by its cover, they would come to the conclusion that it sides with the pastor vs. any and all critics. This is simply not so. The authors begin with criticisms leveled at Old Testament heroes. This is a good study in what leading Old Testament figures dealt with in the area of criticism. Moses, David, and Nehemiah are all examined. But before them, the authors show that even God was criticized. Then the work moves to criticisms leveled at Christ. His reactions include silence, meekness and even the calling out of injustice. This is a great summary of what Christ went through and how it applies to us who are criticized. Principles are given to cope with criticism. In this the reader sees that the authors deal with both fair and unfair criticism. It is pointed out...

  Kristen Jane Anderson had a good home. Her experiences were happy until things began to seriously unravel in her teen years. Her grandmom had passed away, her father was diagnosed with depression, a friend committed suicide and then she was raped. Life just didn't seem worth living anymore. Kristen wanted out and her way out seemed to be suicide by train. Her life would be no longer than 17 years. But God had other plans.  Inexplicably, Kristen survived!  Though her bodily trauma now matched, if not exceeded, her mental trauma, she was still alive. At first, this was not a happy result. To Kristen, her mental anguish was now compounded by physical disability. How would she live without her legs! Through many ups and downs, surgeries, professionals of every stripe, Kristen came out of this stronger and happier. Eventually, she came to see the losing of her legs as what God used to draw her to Himself and a life that had meaning and purpose. Increasingly, that purpose was...