Book Club Picks: This Present Darkness

So as you all know I started a book club last year. I have fallen behind with my posts, but I was catching up.  I was only two behind, and now I still am.

Every month we read a book and I do a little post on the book we read and discussed. What can I say, I just love books.

There is no theme, other than with each month, a different member gets to pick a book, whichever one they want. The next one was:

This Present Darkness (Darkness #1) by Frank Peretti

Frank Peretti is one of my favorite authors. In fact I was able to meet him once and totally fangirled over him. But he was super nice as he autographed my books and actually spent a long time talking to me. It made the other people in line mad, and I can’t blame them, but I didn’t care as I had just met FRANK PERETTI!

Frank Peretti started out being a pastor, but discovered that it wasn’t the life for him. He drifted from job to job, and while working in a snowshoe factory he wrote his first novel, and this book, This Present Darkness. He has now written over 30 books for adults, teens, and children. His books are amazing as they always have great, realistic characters, action, adventure, suspense, and a moral message. Every time I read his works I feel great!

This book is about a small town Ashton that becomes the battleground in a war between angels and demons.

Rafar the prince of Babylon is taking over, using his followers to take over the town and its college in order to indoctrinate the students into believing their untruths. They also have city council, board members, the police chief, and the pastor of a mega church in their court.

On the other side we have a pastor of a small church, Rev. Hank Busche, a true prayer warrior. He was brought in accidentally, and unable to be controlled. He kneels every morning in prayer for his town fighting the only way he can.

Marshall Hogan, editor of the Ashton newspaper, becomes involved when his reporter Bernice Krueger sees something she shouldn’t. After she is falsely arrested, so that the police can tamper with evidence, Marshall and Bernice try to blow the top off the coverup.

It has action, comedy, suspense, drama, and the supernatural.

It is a powerful story. I reread it every 6 months as it recharges me and builds me up in my faith.

If you enjoy Christian fiction, you need to check this out. I love this book and I cannot stress it enough how much I do.

For more book club picks, go to Book Club Picks: The Zookeeper’s Wife

For more Frank Peretti, go to It Feels So Good to See the Bad Guys Scared for a Change: Hangman’s Curse (2003)

For more on This Present Darkness, go to A Whole Lot of Fanfare

For more Christian fiction, go to Book Club Picks: A Voice in the Wind

For more bible verses, go to Who Says I Have to Stop: Fireproof (2008)

For more on spiritual warfare, go to He is Coming: The Visitation (2006)

 

Even Though I’m Furious with You, I Still Love You: War Room (2015)

Most Romantic Moment #6

So this is a Christian film that came out last year and did pretty well for a low budget (compared to hollywood) film.

Elizabeth Jordan is a successful realtor, married to a handsome, prosperous pharmaceutical sales rep, Tony. The two live in a beautiful home with their ten-year-old daughter. On the outside things look great, but the two have been having a lot of problems.

Tony and Elizabeth haven’t communicated in a long time, their conversations being fights more than anything else. Tony has been gone a lot, wanting to be in complete control of “his not ours” money, and is even contemplating having an affair. Elizabeth is unhappy with their relationship, but doesn’t know what to do as every battle makes her feel worse.

One day she meets with a client, Miss Clara, and is shown something surprising; her war room (prayer closet.) Miss Clara encourages her to pray for her family and prepare herself for the real enemy, Satan.

At first Elizabeth is hesitant, but as things seem to be getting worse she decides to try her hand at offense.

Most Romantic Moment: Pissed off But Praying

So the romantic moment I’ve choosen comes at the middle of the film. Elizabeth has tried to create a war room of her own, but hasn’t been able to focus on prayer.

But this time she has decided that she is really going to hunker down. She cleaned out her closet so there is nothing to distract her, posted on the walls her prayers…and then she gets a text from a friend that they saw Tony out with another woman.

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!

But instead of becoming angry, thinking about getting a divorce, calling her husband up to yell at him, burning his clothes, leaving the house, screaming, etc. She decides to sit down and pray.

Yes, she is able to stop any destructive behavior she could have done and pray for her husband. Pray for their marriage. Pray for protection, for a renewal, for blessing, that he will do the right thing, that she will do the right thing…etc.

Wow

Now we know she has been furious with her husband for the way he had been behaving. And although she doesn’t know if he has been having an affair she has been suspecting that he might be messing around for a while now. So we know she is angry

But instead of doing something with that anger that she might regret or could further fracture their marriage; she pauses and decides to pray for her husband character. You really have to love someone to do that.

To start Romance is in the Air:Part IV from the beginning, go to I Can’t Pretend, I Have to Be: Casual Sex? (1988)

For the previous post, go to You Don’t Have to Say the Words, I Already Know: Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

For more Christian films, go to He is Coming: The Visitation (2006)