Book Review: Stumbling on Open Ground: Love, God, Cancer, and Rock 'n' Roll, by Ken Mansfield

“Stumbling on Open Ground: Love, God, Cancer, and Rock ‘n’ Roll,” by Ken Mansfield was a journal like look into Mansfield’s battle with cancer over the span of sixteen years. Ken relates his feelings upon learning his cancer diagnoses and takes us into his thought process on his relationship with God while dealing with these trials. It’s the story of his private journey made public because of the public/celebrity nature of which Mansfield is, a former member of the Beatles production company. Having become accustomed to being in the public eye, it makes sense for Mansfield to share his personal thoughts on a public level. There are also small letters from Mansfield’s wife about Mansfield’s condition at the beginning of each chapter, which lends another view of his trial and journey through.

The book as a whole is inspirational for anyone who has struggled with their own faith before. Certainly his trials with two different kinds of cancer and the knowledge that he will never be truly healed until he reaches the other side make most people’s trials pale in comparison. But his steadfast ability to return to faith through his slips into doubt make this story something anyone struggling with their own faith during a trial can hold on to and lean on for encouragement and support.

This book would probably be better read as a devotional type book over a period of time, instead of sitting down and reading it all at once. The chapters become a little monotonous after awhile. First he has a physical trial, he relates it to something spiritual, talks about how hard it is for him to hold on, but then tells us how he pulls through and his faith becomes stronger in the end. After reading about the half the book, it was a little taxing to finish it, but reading it over a longer period of time, days, weeks, etc, would make it a little easier to make it through.

Mansfield uses alliteration and word comparisons to paint a picture of what he feels in a way that makes it fun to read. His book overall was uplifting and something that should be shared with anyone who has faith or who needs a pick-me-up.

disclosure: the publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®.

Book Review: The Founders' Key: The Divine and Natural Connection Between the Declaration and the Constitution and What We Risk by Losing It , by Larry Arnn

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Larry Arnn's "The Founders' Key." I was pleased that he included the "foundational readings" in the back of the book, as without those texts, the book itself would not make sense to the average reader. Reading this book has sparked my interest in early American (United States) history and the founding of the nation.

I agree with Arnn that the government today is a totally different government than what the founding fathers had envisioned for their infant nation. The documents studied in this book, The Constitution and The Declaration of Independence, are tied together so tightly that it seems surprising that anyone could claim that as a pair they have become obsolete. The arguments of those making such a claim seem weak and steered toward their own ambitions or benefit. I believe Arnn did a fantastic job proving the marriage of The Constitution and The Declaration.

My interest in this subject has also been piqued by an observation made in the late 1800’s by Eliza R. Snow quoting religious leader Joseph Smith, Jr. He recalled that Smith said, “… the time would come when this nation would so far depart from its original purity, its glory, and its love for freedom and its protection of civil rights and religious rights, that the Constitution of our country would hang as it were by a thread.”

I find that many of Arnn’s discussion points prove that that day is imminent if not already upon us. I appreciate his call to action on what the people of our country can do to help save our government and return America to the vision of what the founding fathers’ had for the most powerful nation in the world.

I encourage anyone who believes our nation is on the wrong track, and who sees our government as it should be in jeopardy, to read this book and study the enclosed texts, and take a stand against the falsehood surrounding the disconnect between the two documents discussed.

disclosure: the publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®.