Every Life Is Precious

Each year one Sunday in January is designated as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday (SOHLS). On and around this day, many churches and other organizations sponsor activities and events to focus on the intrinsic value of human life and the fundamental right to life.  The day is scheduled in connection with the January 22 anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions, which were handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973. (Read more about SOHLS here and the preciousness of life here. Watch a video about the sanctity of life here.)

In honor of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, here are three books that honor life.

Proclaiming the Pro-Life Message by Larry L. Lewis, editor

January 22, 1973, truly was a day of infamy for the United States of America. On that day the U.S. Supreme Court, in the Roe v. Wade decision, opened the floodgates of the evils of abortion throughout the country. Since then, millions of innocent babies have died at the hands of abortionists.

Evangelical Christian leaders at first were slow to respond to this tragedy. But when they did, the Evangelical community became the most potent force in the fight against abortion and other anti-life positions being advocated by the abortionists.

Proclaiming the Pro-Life Message draws together the very best of what has been written and preached by these Evangelical leaders during the past 26 years. The editor, Larry Lewis, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Home Mission Board, led the charge against abortion in the SBC.

The list of authors reads like a Who's Who Among Evangelicals in the Pro-Life Movement: Chuck Colson, W.A. Criswell, Jimmy Draper, Carol Everett, Gerald Harris, O.S. Hawkins, Jim Henry, Ron Herrod, Junior Hill, Anthony Jordan, D. James Kennedy, Beverly LaHaye, Adrian Rogers, George Sweeting, Kristen White, and Sylvia Boothe. Each articulates his or her perspective on what being pro-life today means and what Evangelical Christians must do to eradicate this evil from our land. All royalties for the sale of this book go to Alternatives to Abortion at the SBC's North American Mission Board.

Gathering the Missing Pieces in an Adopted Life by Kay Moore

(Now available as an ebook for Kindle, Nook, and iPad)

Even surrounded by the love and security of the only family she had ever known, Kay Moore wondered constantly about her unknown past. Her search for information and connection led Kay to other adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth families. She discovered that her feelings were the shared legacy of people everywhere who want the whole truth about who they are. Their stories, told here, yield a wealth of inspiration and practical direction, which Kay presents with a sensitivity possible only from one who has "been through it" herself.

In the book, the author knows what questions you'll need to answer for a successful search and includes a listing of resources you can use along the way. You'll see just how to pull together the missing pieces in your own past and fully discover your God-given heritage.

Reporter Kay Moore’s three-part newspaper series on finding her birthfamily was a widely read installment in the Houston Chronicle and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Kay has spoken widely on the subject of adoption. She is a graduate of Baylor University. She and her husband, Louis, are parents of two children.

 Adopting Darrell by Carol V. Weishampel

Carol Weishampel joyfully opens her heart and home to angelic-looking Darrell—a "shaken", abused baby, whose horrific injuries leave him blind and retarded.

But adopting Darrell quickly becomes an hourly, uphill struggle, even for this seasoned mom and professional educator, who holds a doctor of education degree. This single parent and her other, subsequent adopted children literally are held hostage by Darrell's violent temper tantrums and untrainable behavior.

What difference can Weishampel possibly make in the life of this uncommunicative boy? What purpose do those such as Darrell have on earth? Weishampel's poignant search for answers to these and other profound questions leaves a helpful legacy of hope for anyone who has ever had responsibility for such a child.

Reviews of Left Alive to Die, the story of Blue Angels Leader CAPT Harley Hall

Left Alive to Die is featured today on a blog tour sponsored by FIRST Wild Card Reviews. Please visit these blogs to read what they had to say about Susan Keen's Left Alive to Die. More links to be posted soon...

The Life and Times of a PWNMOM

A Glimpse of Our Life

Summit Book Reviews

Sunny Island Breezes
Christy's Book Blog

Author Discusses Jehovah's Witnesses on Crosspoint with Mark Taylor

A few weeks ago author Joe B. Hewitt (Rescuing Slaves of the Watchtower) talked with Mark Taylor on Crosspoint about the book and about Jehovah's Witnesses. You can now listen to the interview here.

In a spellbinding look at the Watchtower Society, Joe B. Hewitt, formerly a third-generation Jehovah's Witness who was indoctrinated by his mother and grandfather with Watchtower teachings, pulls back the curtain of mystery and exposes lies, the mind control, and the glaring contradictions of biblical truth behind the organization that has sent those smiling faces to your front door. His book contains heartbreaking stories of former adherents, including himself, who were betrayed by the JW's.

Joe says instead of evangelizing others, the Witnesses themselves need to be rescued from the cult-like organization. The book describes how people who know the real truth of Christ's love can rescue the Watchtower's slaves from intellectual and emotional bondage.

Formerly a third-generation Jehovah's Witness, Joe B. Hewitt has dedicated himself to exposing the Watchtower's false teachings and to help Jehovah's Witnesses ascend from mental bondage into Christian liberty.

Many Thanks Go Out to Veterans Today

As we celebrate Veterans Day and honor those who have served our country--as well as their families--let's also be sure to remember in particular the families of veterans who are no longer with us. Your sacrifices mean so much to us, and we are forever grateful.

One of our recently published book's, Left Alive to Die, is just one example of the ultimate sacrifice made by a man and his family to help protect and serve the US. for Mary Lou Hall and her children, Heather and Harley Stephen, their husband and dad, accomplished and decorated U.S. aviator Harley Hall, who unflinchingly signed on for last-gasp missions over Vietnam even in the war's waning seconds in 1973, disappeared after his shootdown--his whereabouts never pinpointed. For his loved ones and for all who still miss him urgently, the question lingers: where is Harley? how could he so utterly vanish? why did the U.S. not charge in and demand an accounting for this one who had such a brilliant future ahead as a military star? why was he left alive to die?

Susan Keen, whose physician husband once served alongside Harley as Hall commanded the celebrated Navy's Blue Angels flight-demonstration team, masterfully and heartwrenchingly profiles Harley, last American pilot shot down before the cease fire; chronicles jarring evidence indicating that Hall remained alive for years after his capture; and outlines our government's humiliating response to his wife's and others' pleas to garner attention for this compelling case.

No American can read Keen's shocking book without being moved to impassioned prayer for those such as Mary Lou who have no closure and whose lives forever are devastated by a war that many would like to believe never happened.

Susan Keen is a mother of two, teacher, reader, and world traveler. A native of Mississippi, she holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Mississippi College, Clinton, MS. She has written and published two cookbooks, was an interior designer, is a graduate of several French cooking schools, and is a gourmet cook. She and her husband, Jack Keen, M.D., live in Fort Worth and are active members of Travis Avenue Baptist Church.

CrossHouse Publishing Amicably Launches out on Its Own After Seven Years Under Hannibal Books' Wing

As book-publishing undergoes dramatic changes brought on by the technological revolution sweeping the world today, CrossHouse Publishing reflects the best of those trends. The small, independently-owned, Christian-oriented company is designed and fashioned to meet the headwinds facing the industry as a whole and to soar on the backs of the eagle-like new technology available today. 

On October 1, 2011, CrossHouse Publishing officially was spun off from its parent company, KLMK Communications, d.b.a. Hannibal Books, which birthed and nurtured the new company into maturity. Hannibal Books will continue in the path of traditional publishers while CrossHouse Publishing will move forward rapidly into the emerging book self-publishing culture.

Corporately small, agile, and flexible, CrossHouse is designed to provide personalized service to self-published authors who desire to drive their own books into success in the marketplace. This contrasts with larger self-publishing companies, which have in recent years created their own versions of CrossHouse and rely heavily on impersonal phone banks to market their products to authors using software-based products that often leave new authors frustrated and feeling cut off from the freedom they had been promised.

The new company, officially known as Cross Communciations, Inc., is headed by Dr. Katie Welch, a Phi Beta Kappa Baylor University graduate, who also holds a Ph.d. degree in linguistics from the University of Texas in Arlington. Prior to forming Cross Communciations, Inc., two months ago, Dr. Welch worked for KLMK Communications, Inc., nurturing and leading CrossHouse Publishing into maturity.

Louis Moore, owner of KLMK Communications, Inc., said, "We anticipate that under the new ownership arrangement the company will continue to flourish and grow as it has for the past seven years."

"CrossHouse personifies every positive trend emerging in the book-publishing world's crystal ball: self-publishing, in which authors have more control over their final product, a cafeteria approach to services loaded with special perks for authors, flexibility in structure, agility in performance, and already set up for and fully embracing the current trends in the industry. Besides all I have described, CrossHouse offers personalized, individualized service unlike what you would find in some of the larger, phone-bank, self-publishing operations out there today," Moore said.

Dr. Welch said CrossHouse will continue to place a "premium on individualized service and quality products". 

"To assure our authors of the quality of our service, we are a member of the Dallas Better Business Bureau," she said.

"We want our authors to have a positive first experience with the book-publishing industry. In fact, many of our authors return to do their second, third, or even eighth books with us."

"CrossHouse works with lay people, pastors, missionaries, women's ministry people, mom, dads, and anyone who wants to share their story," said Dr. Welch. She said the company's selection of authors has less to do with denominational labels and more to do with having an authentic, inspiring life message to share.

The company publishes trade books, fiction, non-fiction, devotionals, Bible-study materials, children's books, poetry books, and e-books.

For more information on CrossHouse Publishing, contact Dr. Welch at CrossHouse Publishing, 2844 S. FM 549, Rockwall, TX 75032, or by email at katie@crosshousepublishing.org, or by calling 1-877-212-0933.

Today is National POW/MIA Recognition Day

2011 National POW/MIA Recognition Day poster

Traditionally observed on the third Friday in September, National POW/MIA Recognition Day is set aside to honor prisoners of war and remember those still missing in action. An overview of this day can be found at the VFWLady blog.

Recently, Hannibal Books released Left Alive to Die, a compelling story of one such American who was missing in action and then assumed a prisoner of war: legendary naval aviator CAPT Harley Hall. To read more about this book, visit the previous entry that summarized the book.

New Book Recounts Dramatic POW/MIA Story

On September 16, 2011, the nation will honor the more than 83,000 Americans who are missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the 1991 Gulf War, as well as the countless American men and women who were captured as prisoners of war.

A new book, Left Alive to Die, tells the story of one such American: legendary naval aviator CAPT Harley Hall. Flying a crucial mission hours before the 1973 Vietnam War cease-fire, CAPT Hall was shot down above the Cua Viet River. Hall’s wingman and other squadron members watched while he safely parachuted to the ground. They were unaware that was the last time they would see or hear from Hall again.

At age 32 Hall was the youngest person in the Navy at that time with the rank of commander. In 1969 he achieved his lifelong dream as he became commanding officer of the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy Precision Demonstration squadron. Not only was he an outstanding military officer, Hall was also a dedicated husband and father, an inspirational leader, a loving friend and a man of faith.

Left Alive to Die is written by Susan Keen, the wife of Jack Keen, M.D., LCDR, the U.S. Navy flight surgeon responsible for providing care to CAPT Hall’s Blue Angels team and the families. The book is a dramatic retelling of the romance of Mary Lou Marino and Hall, their marriage and life together and the tragedy of Hall’s disappearance. Readers will be captivated by details of Hall’s Navy experience, Mary Lou’s courageous life as a military wife and her years of searching for answers about Hall’s whereabouts.

In many ways Hall is a symbol of numerous Americans who may have been left alive in Vietnam as their government, according to this book, turned its back on them and left them in captivity. Mary Lou’s frustration over the lack of help is evident as the author describes Mary Lou’s efforts to persuade the government to pay attention to what she believed was overwhelming evidence that many men and women were still POW’s long after the formal war ended.

Susan Keen  is a mother of two, teacher, reader and world traveler. A native of Mississippi, she holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi College, Clinton, MS. She has written and published two cookbooks, was an interior designer, is a graduate of several French cooking schools and is a gourmet cook. She and her husband, Jack Keen, M.D., live in Fort Worth and are active members of Travis Avenue Baptist Church.

Read more about the book here.