Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa  Summerside Press (June 1, 2011)  by  Melanie Dobson    Angie's thoughts: I'm excited to find a book in the 1860's because for so long, that was a time frame publishers were avoiding. So many books were written in the Civil War Era that no one wanted to publish more. But the reality is there are so many stories still waiting to be told. Melanie Dobson's writing is delicious. You just can't help wanting to feast on it in one sitting. Original, yet from a time frame we thought we knew, this is a story you will love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of The Black Cloister; Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana; and Together for Good, and she has now authored nine contemporary and historical novels including Love Finds You in Nazareth, Pennsylvania which releases in November 2011.  



Prior to launching Dobson Media Group in 1999, Melanie was the corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family where she was responsible for the publicity of events, products, films, and TV specials. Melanie received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Liberty University and her master's degree in communication from Regent University. She has worked in the fields of publicity and journalism for fifteen years including two years as a publicist for The Family Channel.

Melanie and her husband, Jon, met in Colorado Springs in 1997 at Vanguard Church. Jon works in the field of computer animation. Since they've been married, the Dobsons have relocated numerous times including stints in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado, Berlin, and Southern California. These days they are enjoying their new home in the Pacific Northwest.

Jon and Melanie have adopted their two daughters —Karly (6) and Kinzel (5). When Melanie isn't writing or entertaining their girls, she enjoys exploring ghost towns and dusty back roads, traveling, hiking, line dancing, and reading inspirational fiction.

ABOUT THE BOOK

With a backdrop of the community of The Amana Colonies, the Civil War, and a great love story, Melanie Dobson’s new historical fiction title LOVE FINDS YOU IN AMANA, IOWA both enlightening and entertaining.

The novel is set in the United States during the turmoil of the 1860s. As the rest of the nation is embroiled in the Civil War, the Amana Colonies have remained at peace with a strong faith in God and pursuit of community, intertwined with hard work, family life and the building of their colony.

Amalie Wiese is travelling to the newly built village of Amana in 1863. When she arrives in the colonies she finds that her fiancée, Friedrich has left to fight with the Union Army. Amalie fears for his safety as she also struggles with his decision to abandon the colony’s beliefs. Matthias, Frederick’s friend, stays back in Amana to work in the colonies. But there is something wrong with Matthias; he always seems angry at Amalie when there is no simple explanation for him to act that way.

The goods that colonies manufacture are much needed supplies for the war effort and Matthias decides to deliver the goods to the soldiers. When he leaves, Amalie realizes that her fear for Matthias’s safety is equally as strong. What will become of Friedrich, will Matthias return safely, and will Amalie marry Friedrich? LOVE FINDS YOU IN AMANA, IOWA is a richly told story of life in the Amana Society and the people who live and love there.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa, go HERE.

Already Compromised: Christian colleges took a test on the state of their faith and the Final Exam Is In by Ken Ham and Greg Hall

Book review of Already Compromised by Ken Ham and Greg Hall:
Master Books, New Leaf Publishing Group, http://www.masterbooks.com

I've been reading Already Compromised on my Kindle. One thing that stood out to me was the open-ended questions the authors asked of different departments in various Christian colleges. These open-ended questions allowed for answers beyond the standard yes or no. It surprised me to see how easily misunderstood an answer could be. Not because of the question, but because the answer could use the same words and mean something completely different in definition. For example: Can you define the word "science"?

From page 48: "The primary dictionary definiton of the word science is basically "knowledge." However, this knowledge is based on certain assumptions about the past. If the assumptions are wrong, the conclusions reached will likely be wrong and we will misunderstand history. Understsanding te assumptions used to build historical knowledge is extremely important.

But knowledge gained by observation (five senses) and based on the repeatable test (empiricism) is called "observational science." This is the knowledge tha enables us to build our technology, understand how a cell works, and develop medicines.

When most people use the word science today, they are usually thinking in terms of "operational science". This becomes very confusing when secularists use the word science when talking about aspects of genetics that can be examined in a lab, and then turn around and use the word science when discussing the topic of nonobservable aspects of evolutionary ideas (e.g., life from nonlife, reptiles evolving into birds, etc.). Knowing that mutations in DNA can occur and be measured is not the same as asserting that we know how those mutations occurred in various populations over millions of years."


Another interesting help aid in Already Compromised is the scan seals. You can use your smart phone to scan on varioius pages to check out the study on Christian colleges. It's helpful because if you are interested in a college that earned higher marks on actual Christian theoligical teaching, they're harder to find than you think. But the scan tags inside the book help you do exactly that. Remember, as this book ages, you'll need to be more careful in ferreting out the information. But having this book as a college search manual will help you do that job successfully.

What I didn't like: I felt the diagrams with the percentages were too simplistic. They fit for a chalkboard style classroom, but for a book I'd like to see more precise diagrams. Personal preference here.

I really enjoyed exploring the differences in operational science and historical science. Great explanations to help us have a more concrete understanding of the misunderstood study of our past. Recognizing that starting at different points brings us to different conclusions is brilliant. Science guy 1 starts at a non-biblical point A. He cannot get to a biblical point because he's never understood the same starting spot. So even though science guy 1 is talking the same lingo with science guy 2, they may never be talking apples to apples. Fascinating concept as to why evolutionists cannot understand creationist. They're not on the same road because they're not using the same map.

I feel this book, Already Compromised, offers an excellent opportunity to look at the education system and gives excellent information on the degrading faith of our schools. I hope it will help you find the educational institution to build your faith or your child's while avoiding the pitfalls of those schools that will harm the future of our country. But even more important is that you now have at your fingertips, the opportunity to hold schools accountable for faithless education.