Sunday, May 20, 2012

Book Review: Seal of God


Seal of God is a memoir of former Navy Seal Chad Williams. It tells of the journey he’s been on from risk taking, pot smoking, heavy drinking, and delinquent behaviour; to becoming part of the US Navy’s Special Forces and then giving his life to Jesus Christ and how it challenged and changed him.

The first half of the book gives an insight into who Chad is. His childhood was spent mucking around with his younger brother and their mates. His teenage years saw him coasting through high school as a popular athlete. Chad was a deep sea fisherman, a skateboarder and a surfer. But he also became an extreme risk taker getting involved in smoking pot, drinking alcohol and dangerous behaviour. He is open about his mistakes and the cost it has had on him personally and also on his friends and family.

In his late teens whilst waiting for a college class to start, Chad decided he wanted to do more with his life and it had to be dangerous and exciting. 
He joined the US Navy and straight out of his recruit training undertook SEAL team tryouts. Chad excelled at the physically and mentally demanding training and became a SEAL in his early 20s.

But his life still consisted of heavy drinking and risk taking, until one night he accompanied his parents to a Harvest Crusade at their local church in California and evangelist Greg Laurie’s sermon and call to give his life to God was heeded. The change was sudden and dramatic and Chad details the struggles and the hardship associated with being a new Christian in a hostile environment like the US Military.

The book’s first half deals with Chad’s childhood and early adulthood right up to and including his first assignment within the Navy SEALS. The second half of the book deals directly with his coming to faith and the way it changed him as a person and changed the lives of those around him.

Chad doesn’t hold back. He openly admits mistakes, gives details about his risk taking behaviour and surviving SEAL team training. But he also freely admits that as a new Christian, he was totally out of his depth, but thanks to mentors in his life like Ray Comfort and Greg Laurie, he managed to grow as a Christian and as a human being.

This book is an engaging story and one that is hard to put down. You find yourself drawn into Chad’s world as he narrates his life story so far and discover a lot about who he is and who he has become. 

An inspirational and fascinating yarn.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Book Review: Teddy's Button


Teddy’s Button is a wonderful tale set in England in the 1800s and published in 1890. Teddy is a fun loving boy with a penchant for storytelling, but his favourite story is the one of his most prized possession...a button from his father’s soldier’s uniform and the brave heroics of his father on the battlefield. One day though he’s challenged over the authenticity of the story by a little girl whose father is serving in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy.

This story tells the tale of Teddy and Nancy and the friendship that develops after a rocky start. It also tracks the coming to faith of a young boy, serving his “Captain” (Jesus) and the constant struggles with his worst enemy – himself. 

Full of rich characters and language not heard in today’s novels, this story will delight any adult or child that loves a great story full of adventure, fun and the imagination of a little boy who wants to be a soldier for God and tries so hard not to get himself into trouble. A great read that you won’t want to put down. 

This book is from the Lamplighter Collection of character building books,written by Amy LeFeurve and edited by Mark Hamby. It is also part of the Lamplighter Theatre collection on sale at UCB Direct