In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

This week I only got one book, although it is a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while now.

Paperbackswap:

I’ve read the other 5 in the series, so this one has been a major wishlist book for a while. There is another book in the series now, “Undone” but that one ties the Grant County & Will Trent series together, so I’m waiting until I get and read the Will Trent series before I get “Undone.”

That’s what was in my mailbox, what was in yours? (I promise if I ever get more than one book during the course of a week, I’ll do a vlog of it instead. LOL)

Disclosure: This book was sent to me by Thomas Nelson (publishers) for the purpose of reading and reviewing. The review expressed here is my honest opinion. I review books in exchange for a copy of the book, no other compensation is given for this review.

 Title: Kabul24
Author:  Henry O Arnold and Ben Pearson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Religion/Christian Ministry/Missions
Source: Thomas Nelson for Review

Synopsis: They were teachers, engineers, nurses, students, and artists from around the world who answered God’s call to help Afghan refugees rebuild their lives following decades of war. But as international tensions reached inferno levels in 2001, extremists set out to rid Afghanistan of anyone who posed a threat to Islam and the influence of the Taliban.

The Shelter Now International (SNI) humanitarian effort led by Christians from Western countries topped the Taliban’s list.

Kabul24 is the story you didn’t see on CNN. It’s the story of the human heartbeats behind the headlines that captivated the world during one of the most volatile political windows in recent history. Relive the harrowing, true account of how eight humanitarian aid workers imprisoned behind enemy lines would survive and even thrive in the midst of betrayal, inhumane conditions, and the massive Allied bombing raids-conducted by their own countries-following the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

From peacemakers to pawns in a story of political and religious turmoil, the eight would individually and collectively discover a level of hope that would free them from captivity long before their dramatic rescue by American Special Forces 105 days after their abduction.

My first thought when I read the synopsis of the book was “Wow.” That’s it, just “Wow.” After reading the book, that is still pretty much my reaction. I have to say that while I do read it, Christian literature is not my first choice of reading materials. However, if not for the constant references to the eight Westerners Christianity and worship during this horrifying time in their lives, you’d be hard pressed to be able to classify it as Christian literature.

Every nuance of these eight people’s story is carried out in shocking detail. From the squalor of the prisons they were forced to inhabit to the reactions of their arrests, nothing is spared from the reader. While there are not particularly graphic depictions of the torture the Afghan prisoners suffered, there are enough to disturb one.

The book was extremely well written and in my opinion is a definite must read for anyone looking to see how times of crisis can strengthen faith as opposed to destroying it. Keeping faith throughout a situation like this would be difficult for anyone, but yet these eight people managed to beat the odds and come out of their experience with their faith intact.

This book is a very good read and is one that I consider a keeper.

I will say it now, I am sick to death of all the commercials on TV for acne treatment. The reason I say this is because all I see are commercials for acne treatment lately. Sometimes they play them back to back – literally the same commerical over and over. I admit it’s great that they have new treatments out that people can obtain and use, but dang, do they have to advertise about it so much? Yeesh!

Oh, and an update to the infamous bugs in the pasta salad incident, I received the adjustment on my purchase of those salad kits. What I got were two coupons, valued up to $6.00 each, for ONE free Big G cereal product, Betty Crocker product, Bugles, Chex Mix, Gold Medal Flour, or Nature Valley product (excluding twin/triple pack cereals) per coupon. So we don’t have to use them to get the Suddenly Salad mix, we can get anything the company makes, except twin/triple pack cereals. We’re figuring we’ll get cereal with the coupons because that’s a big part of our grocery bill is buying cereal at almost $4 a box.

Anything new in your world?

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. This is a weekly meme that is usually posted on Sunday but you can choose whatever day is comfortable for you.

 Title: Kabul24
Author:  Henry O Arnold and Ben Pearson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Religion/Christian Ministry/Missions
Source: Thomas Nelson for Review

Synopsis: They were teachers, engineers, nurses, students, and artists from around the world who answered God’s call to help Afghan refugees rebuild their lives following decades of war. But as international tensions reached inferno levels in 2001, extremists set out to rid Afghanistan of anyone who posed a threat to Islam and the influence of the Taliban.

The Shelter Now International (SNI) humanitarian effort led by Christians from Western countries topped the Taliban’s list.

Kabul24 is the story you didn’t see on CNN. It’s the story of the human heartbeats behind the headlines that captivated the world during one of the most volatile political windows in recent history. Relive the harrowing, true account of how eight humanitarian aid workers imprisoned behind enemy lines would survive and even thrive in the midst of betrayal, inhumane conditions, and the massive Allied bombing raids-conducted by their own countries-following the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

From peacemakers to pawns in a story of political and religious turmoil, the eight would individually and collectively discover a level of hope that would free them from captivity long before their dramatic rescue by American Special Forces 105 days after their abduction.

I received this book on Thursday and immediately started reading it.  A few personal obligations got in the way, but I plan on getting back to the book and having it finished and it’s review up this week.  That’s all for my mailbox this week. Hopefully next week will bring something more.

I’m beginning to think that my best bet is to move to a whole new location. As in just find a whole new city, state, maybe even country to live in for a while! Or at least take a break, find a couple of Isla Mujeres hotels and just relax and stop stressing out over everything. I mean, it’s not good for my health to stress over everything, and it’s not good for my mental status either. Not that I have a mind, but you know… LOL

Anyways, I’ve been ignoring a lot of stuff lately – my blogs, my websites, my games, all of it. I’ve been reading. I’ve gotten a couple of books to review lately so I’ve been reading and trying to get those reviews posted. Plus I joined a reading challenge to read 4 books that are basically scary/thriller type books by Halloween. So I’ve been working on that as well. I’m waiting for one of the books to come in the mail right now.

So what have you all been keeping busy with lately? Have you been ignoring your online life in favor of an offline life?