Bacon Sandwiches and Salvation

Adrian Plass
Authentic, ISBN 978-1-85078-723-5

If you are stuck for a Christmas present for someone, this might well be the answer. Mr. Plass explains at the beginning how he arrived at this unusual title. In the main the book comprises an A-Z list of Christian expressions, cliches and catch phrases together with an explanation which reveals the incomparable Plass humour -- and occasionally his serious side as well. An Elder once described me as a 'pillar of the church' before he got to know me so well, hopefully I am not like version 2 of Mr. Plass' definition!

For example, under 'Gittite', he puts "phonetic expression of what (a certain member of the Royal Family) says when angrily dismissing a servant who has displeased him".

Health and Safety Warning

On no account read out any part of this book in the earshot of anyone who is driving a motor vehicle or operating dangerous machinery (including electric toothbrushes). When I quoted a verse from the section on worship leaders to my sister she nearly drove into the hedge. (I'm also thankful we don't have worship leaders like that in our church.)

Do not allow anyone to read, or hear extracts from this book who has recently had abdominal surgery, unless you are quite sure that their stitches are very secure.

John Seymour

The Five Love Languages of Teenagers

Gary Chapman
Chicago, Northfield Publishing, ISBN 1-881273-39-3

Many parents will be a little apprehensive as their children approach their teenage years. Christian counsellor Gary Chapman has addressed this situation in this book which is one of a number which follow on from his well-known classic The Five Love Languages.

He describes everyone as having a "love tank"; if this tank is full, the person is happy and productive, if it is empty, they tend to be miserable and dysfunctional. The tank is filled by loving tokens from others, and the five 'languages' are words of affirmation, gifts, quality time, touch and acts of service. One of these modes is particularly important for any one person and they feel loved particularly when that mode is used by those around them. The book gives numerous practical examples of how this works in practice, and also addresses various issues, including anger, discipline, when teenagers fail, the problems for single parents and also for step-families. A simple test is included which helps the teenager establish his primary love language.

It seems to me that this is a book for every parent's bookshelf; I wish it had been available when my young people were growing up. If you're local to Emsworth Baptist Church, J-source in Havant should be able to get it for you. Also available as a Kindle edition, paperback or audio download from Amazon.

John Seymour