September 2021 – Sixty and Better!
Pastor Joe McKeever and his bride Bertha offer tips to make life better for their peers in Sixty and Better: Making the Most of Our Golden Years. Penned in 2018, now three years later, it seems even more apropos.

He shares an experience of a telephone caller doing a survey. When asked his age range, McKeever responded to “55 and up.” Then:

“Click.

“He was gone.

“It felt like the perfect illustration of the value our culture places on the older generation. You’re old? You don’t count. You’re a senior? Leave the game.”

The McKeevers’ witty wisdom, scriptural depth, and Joe’s occasional cartoons are a balm for the senior soul and a good laugh for all readers.

Parsons Porch Books, 150 pages
Online booksellers

Randall Murphree

The American Story: The Beginnings 
The reigning opinion of the Left dictates that God had no place in the formation of the U.S. But the presence of the Lord was prevalent in many who held important roles in America’s history. Yet, the Left would simply rewrite history.

In The American Story: The Beginnings, David and Tim Barton expound on the real story and genesis of the nation.

“The golden thread in American history,” they write, “is the superintending providence of Almighty God. It includes both His interventions that are recognized by men and women as well as those that are not.”

From Christopher Columbus’ exploratory voyages to the new world to the abolition of the American slave trade in the mid-1880s, each chapter tracks the impact of God and His Word. The American Story is full of powerful accounts, direct quotations by historical figures, and thorough citations of all sources the authors used.

WallBuilders, 379 pages
wallbuilders.com

Mason Beasler

Keep Believing: Finding God in Your Deepest Struggles
In the 2019 edition of Keep Believing: Finding God in Your Deepest Struggles, Dr. Ray Pritchard revisits the ideas he wrote about in the first edition in 1996. The 13 chapters explore questions such as “If God is Good, Why Do I Hurt?” and “If I Believe, Why Do I Doubt?” as well as topics like “The Mystery of Unanswered Prayer.”

Pritchard wrote, “This book is addressed to those who want to know what God has to say about their pain, their sadness, their failures, and their unanswered prayers.” Though 25 years have passed since the first edition, Pritchard said, “Time has strengthened my conviction that God is good and can be trusted in every situation.”

Gideon House Books, 163 pages
keepbelieving.com, christianbook.com

Matthew White

My Angel Slept With Me
Pastor A. Ray Lee has penned a transparent and poignant memoir in tribute to his late wife Effie. His story will strike a heartfelt emotion and impart deep courage for caregivers and families dealing with end-of-life seasons of loved ones.

“As a pastor for over 60 years,” Lee said, “I supported members of my congregation as they faced difficult times. From the joys of birth to the disappointments of life to the sorrow of death, I tried to comfort others. None of that prepared me for the role of full-time caregiver to my wife.”

In this short volume, Lee opens his heart with gut-wrenching emotion as he reflects on battling his wife’s dementia and struggling to grapple with a “new normal” following her death. His journey demonstrates unwavering love, resilient faith, self-discipline, and solid choices to continue a productive life centered on serving Christ and serving others.

Soncoast Publishing, 144 pages
soncoastpublishing.com

Randall Murphree

Fire Mission! Fire Mission! 
The bloodiest horrors of war are not glossed over, but Lt. Larry Hunter tempers them with personal reflections on family, friends, and faith as he documents his U.S. Army service as a green artillery forward observer with the First Cavalry in Vietnam.

With the help of author Dr. Mark Randall, he weaves into his gritty narrative letters from a young wife and mother struggling to survive back at home. It is often her faith that kept him going during days of losing close friends on the battlefield.

To date, Lt. Hunter is battle tested again, having been diagnosed in 2012 with multiple myeloma, a condition tracing its roots to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Yet he still declares, “… it is only by the grace of God and answered prayer that I can be out and about … and have the privilege of telling my Vietnam War stories.”

Koehler Books, 155 pages
koehlerbooks.com

Randall Murphree

Why Curse the Darkness When You Can Light a Candle?
Patti Garibay, founder of American Heritage Girls (AHG), tells her story in this autobiographical narrative. Why was there a need for a Christian alternative to the Girl Scouts of the USA? What is Garibay’s personal story? How did she feel led to launch AHG? How did she come up with a plan?

In Why Curse the Darkness When You Can Light a Candle? Garibay tells the good and bad parts of her journey that led to the creation of AHG. She discusses the struggles, challenges, and blessings she has faced by accepting Christ’s call to begin and equip AHG, a growing outreach built on solid biblical principles.

Carpenter’s Son Publishing
192 pages, christianbook.com

Hannah Harrison

Show Me the Father
On September 10, the creators of Fireproof and War Room are releasing their first documentary, Show Me the Father. This latest project by the Kendrick Brothers will address the importance of fatherhood and the key role that fathers play in the upbringing of children. 

“It’s a crisis, big time,” said Stephen Kendrick. “Twenty-four million children [are] in homes where dad is not present. The crisis of fatherlessness in our culture [is] the number one driving engine of drug addiction, dropouts, teen pregnancy, [and] suicide among teens.”

This pointed documentary takes the viewer through the impactful stories of five fathers, and their journeys through pain, loss, abandonment, and uncertainty – hurdles that all fathers experience at one time or another. Each father presents a story of hurt turned to healing in Jesus Christ.

Complete with the testimonies of men such as Focus on the Family’s Jim Daly and several former NFL players, this exhilarating film points to the true image of perfect fatherhood – God the Father – and encourages dads of all ages and backgrounds to lead their families by the example set by God Himself.

showmethefathermovie.com
Kendrick Brothers

Mason Beasler