Books I Read in 2023, Vol. XVII

 

THE FINAL CUT: Introducing Nicholas Drummond
Catherine Coulter and J. T. Ellison

Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Nicholas Drummond boards the first flight to New York when he learns that his colleague Inspector Elaine York, the minder of the crown jewels for the Jewel of the Lion exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has been found murdered. Then the centerpiece of the exhibit, the infamous Koh-i-Noor diamond, is stolen from the Queen Mother's crown. Drummond, American-born but raised in the UK, is tough, dangerous, a fast-rising star in the Yard who never backs down. He's all for crown and country -- but it's York's murder that draws him to the United States.

I stumbled onto the 6th book of the Brit in the FBI series, The Last Second, and liked it so much I decided to back up and start at the beginning. Two "interesting" things to me about this book: 1) It's the first book in a 6-book series, but has the word "final" in its title. 2) What kind of self-confidence and chutzpah does it take to tell the world that you're introducing a character in "the first book in a brilliant new international thriller series"? (And yes, this is on the dust jacket of a hardback edition...not the back-cover blurb of a published-years-later paperback.)

Once again, I am happy to report that, contrary to the norm for a lot of modern "international thrillers," there is an apparently intentional absence of foul language and explicit sex. Color me thankful.

First Line: Saleem drummed his long fingers on the table, giving only a cursory glance out the window to the clear Parisian night, and wondered yet again -- Where is he?

Page 56, Line 5: "I'm sorry you've gone to so much trouble."

Last Line: With a smile, she gathered her bag, walked to the elevator, and disappeared.

Roth Christmas Epistle 2023

 

The Year That Was

January  -  Partly to celebrate Curtis' 36th birthday, he and Abbey spent an extended weekend in Orlando while Grandma Debbie and Grampa Dewey played and laughed with Ivy June and Ezra Ann Leona. We loved it, but also became convinced that God was wise in having humans create babies while in their 20s and 30s. * Loved having an overnight visit from Debbie's niece, Nikki, and her son, Asher, when they were "in the area" to check out a college that wants Asher to play football for them (The college is in Moorehead, but they flew into the Twin Cities).

February  -  Curtis and Abbey announced that a third Roth child should arrive in September. * Dewey booked a helicopter tour and a NaPali Coast sunset dinner cruise for our May/June Hawaii trip. * A surprise visit from Bill & Lisa Miller (from Dewey's first ministry in Indiana) made Valentine's Eve very special. * Thomas "MisterSquishy" Stanley turned 9. * On the 23rd, Shonda turned 40 and Kelly Jo turned 34. * Spent a lovely couple hours in a Saint Paul coffeehouse listening to our friend (and Dakota Chautauqua music director) Eric Peltoniemi play and sing.

March  -  Our dear friends, Bobby & Connie, said, "Hey, you should come down to our house in Florida and spend a week with us on the Gulf Coast. It'll be fun!" So we did, and it was! * Sorry that we missed Ivy June "WonderWoman" Roth's 3rd birthday party, though. * Work began on re-siding the house.

April  -  Anawynn "SweetCheeks" Haug turned 10. * Attended The Well Conference for Christian Creatives in Michigan. * Debbie led a one-day ladies' retreat and then spoke and sang for the hosting congregation's Sunday service in Syracuse, Indiana (thanks to the healing of her bronchitis and sinus infection). * House siding completed.

May  -  Having been the highest bidder for a week at a Marriot resort (and a supporter of Amnion Pregnancy Center at the same time), we took off for 7 days and 7 nights in Kauai, the oldest of the Hawaiian islands and home to "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific."

June  -  Celebration of our 44th anniversary included a weekend Up North officiating a wedding. * All of the interior and exterior house remodeling was finally completed (including the last-minute addition of fixing some cracks in our front room and redoing its ceiling, walls, and carpet).

July  -  Okay, okay...the carpet didn't get done until THIS month! * Debbie went with a group from Valley Christian Church (VCC) to help prepare Emmanuel Mexico Mission to once again care for children at Casa De Ninos in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. * Mini-adventure of a leaking toilet in the upstairs bathroom ruining the ceiling of the downstairs bathroom and it all getting fixed for free by our upstairs remodel contractor.

August  -  Debbie spent 9 days visiting her brother and a niece in Wyoming. * Dewey sermonized about the Good Samaritan at Valley Christian Church and also attended a youth group reunion for his home church in Markle, IN, in honor of the youth minister from his high school days.

September  -  Ezra "FuzzyWuzzy" Roth turned 2. * Clarence (Clay) Emmanuel Roth was born at 10:06 PM on the 11th. 8 lbs 11 oz * Debbie spoke and sang for a ladies' retreat at White Mills Christian Camp in Kentucky. Part of the joy of it was that the female half of the couple who manages the camp was in Dewey's first youth group in Northeast Indiana and Dewey had officiated their wedding. * Debbie also had a gig doing a ladies' retreat in Hackensack, MN. * Maverick "Maggot" Hall turned 7 * Angel turned 43??!!

October  -  Attended a concert by Carolyn "Seize the Day" Arends. * Drove to Cabot, Arkansas, and spent a few days with John, Shonda, and Maverick. * Saw the Thunderbirds rehearse their air show at Little Rock Air Force Base. * Won a power washer and a selection of Drooling Moose chocolates at the Amnion Pregnancy Center Fundraising Silent Auction

November  -  Attended a concert by Nancy Honeytree * Debbie signed a contract with her publisher and set in motion the timeline for her 2nd book, a collection of devotional thoughts based on the scores of programs she's done since starting Rest in Him Ministry, to be released in September of 2024. (You can help underwrite the cost by clicking here.) * Dewey made the first two of seven Santa Dewey appearances for this year.

December  -  Debbie celebrated 25 years of being cancer free! * Jesse "SkittleKid" Stanley turned 12. * The whole family (minus the Halls in Arkansas, sigh) were able to enjoy Christmas Eve Day together...we loved being "all" together and can't wait for it to happen again soon!

May the promise of the babe in the manger be fulfilled by the savior on the cross in your heart and in your world.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Books I Read in 2023, Vol. XVI

 

WHY I AM STILL SUPRISED BY THE VOICE OF GOD: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies, Dreams, and Visions
Jack Deere

At age 27, Jack Deere became a seminary professor at Dallas Theological Seminary where he taught his students to avoid the trap of believing that God still spoke outside the pages of the Bible. But after a trusted friend shared that he believed God still spoke today, Jack began a thorough study of every instance of God speaking supernaturally to someone in the Bible. He became convinced that we should expect God to speak outside the Scriptures, but he didn't have a clue how to hear his voice. This is the story of how Jack Deere learned to hear the voice of God and, in doing so, became a friend of Jesus.

Curtis loaned me this book, and I'm glad. It is full of first- and second-hand testimonies of those who have learned to hear Yahweh speaking to them through dreams, impressions, sensations, visions, and sometimes, an audible voice. I can't say I've clearly experienced any of that...but maybe it's simply because I haven't recognized it for what it was when it happened. I admit to being skeptical of those who make a "show" out of "hearing from the Lord" in the style of televangelists and/or mentalists, and some of the examples given in this book come close to that...but Deere specifically speaks against the traps those folks seem to have fallen into, so that's helpful.

This is not a thorough spelling out of all the Scriptural reasoning for believing that God speaks outside the pages of the Bible today, but there is some helpful information in the appendices. I'm willing to have the Spirit increase my personal experience in this area.

First line: Jesus knew the Bible stone-cold.

Page 56, Line 5: He advised her to prize his company and to keep a linen burial sheet close by, for when she least expected it, her husband would come to a bloody end.

Last line: He gives us a friendship in which he makes himself and us happy when we hear the voice of Jesus.