In order for a garden to not become a salad bar for hungry animals, it needs a fence around it to keep them out. In the same way, the boundaries of marriage are set up for its protection. If we don’t watch over the boundaries, something is sure to be stolen from us. Too often people carelessly plant seeds outside the boundaries, and what grows up attracts the attention of creatures that come to devour. They wait outside the garden, and if the fence falls into disrepair because it isn’t maintained, they find a way in through the weakest part. When we plant seeds of infidelity, we break down the boundaries and invite unwanted creatures of prey to come in.

The Power of a Praying Husband, p. 87.

I wanted to express my sincerest thanks to Noelle Buss at Bethany House Publishers for giving me the opportunity to review God Made Your Body by Jim Burns.

As I talk to other parents about some of the difficulties they’ve encountered in raising their children, I’m continually amazed at the types of child-parent discussions that horrify them.  The discussion about where babies come from is always near the top of the list.  Thinking back on my own childhood, I never actually had a discussion with my parents about these issues.  Everything I learned was either from health films or from my peers.  Truth be told I don’t think this gave me the most God-honoring picture of sexuality and reproduction.  I’m not sure if it was a lack of resources or just plain old nervous fear, but I would have liked my parents to share God’s standard and plan for this part of my life as they did for many others.  It’s too late to change this part of my childhood, but this is something that I can strive to do better with my own children.  This new book by Jim Burns will be a big help.

God Made Your Body is geared towards children ages 3-5.  The book begins by explaining that God made boys and girls in many different shapes and sizes.  All the boys and girls have hair, eyes, and skin, although it isn’t all the same color.  Different girls and boys may be good at different things.  While there are many things that are alike, there are also some things that are different.  For instance, boys have a penis and testicles, while girls have a womb and a vagina.  The former allows the boys to become daddies when they grow up and the latter allows girls to become mommies.  Next the book briefly explains that in order to make a baby, a mommy and daddy come together in a special way that God intends for a husband and wife to enjoy together.  The mommy and daddy each give a part of themselves to make a baby which begins as an embryo.  Next the book explains that the baby will grow in the mommy’s tummy and gives examples of how big the baby will be at one month, three months, six months, and nine months.  After all that waiting, the baby is finally born.  Just like other children who might be listening to the book, this baby is born into a family just as God intended.

Children will be engaged by the many colorful pictures throughout this book.  The pictures and writing are age appropriate, offering a solid Biblical view of sexuality, reproduction, and family that can easily be understood by a 3-5 year old.  I’ll be sharing this book with my children for many years to come. Many heartfelt thanks to Jim Burns for developing this and other excellent resources in the Pure Foundations series.  Parents of older children may want to consider other titles by Jim Burns in the Pure Foundations series:

•    How God Makes Babies (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2009)
•    The Purity Code (Minneapolis, MN:  Bethany House Publishers, 2008)
•   Accept Nothing Less (Minneapolis, MN:  Bethany House Publishers, 2008)
•    Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality (Minneapolis, MN:  Bethany House Publishers, 2008)

Jim Burns, PhD founded the ministry of HomeWord in 1985 to bring help and hope to struggling families.  Jim hosts the radio broadcast HomeWord With Jim Burns, which is heard daily in over eight hundred communities nationwide, and speaks to thousands around the world each year.  He is an award-winning author, whose books include Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality.  Jim and his wife, Cathy, have three grown daughters and live in California.

Format:  Hardcover
Page Count:  48
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date:  October 1, 2009
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0764202103
ISBN-13: 978-0764202100
List Price:  $12.99

Format: Hardcover
Page Count:  32
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date:  October 1, 2009
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0764202111
ISBN-13: 978-0764202117
List Price:  $12.99

Question 1:  Can you tell me about your background (education, family, etc.)?

• Answer:  I live in Spring Hill, Tennessee, with my wife and two children, but I’m originally from Buffalo, New York.  I graduated from Taylor University in Indiana with a BA in Mass Communications, and was originally planning to work in the film industry.  I did take a semester of college in Los Angeles, and even interned for a film production company there, but ended up switching careers.

Question 2:  According to your bio., you’re a web designer by day.  How’d you get your start in writing?

• Answer:  I started my first book when I was in seventh grade and got about 250 pages into it before I realized I was better suited to short stories! So I guess I’ve always been aware that I wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t write much in high school, and not at all in college.  I didn’t seriously begin to write again until I was in my mid-twenties.  Between 1995 and 2008, when I finished Elisha’s Bones, I wrote five books, with Elisha’s Bones being the first to be published.

Question 3:  Elisha’s Bones is a suspenseful, Biblical archaeology thriller.  What was your inspiration for the story?

• Answer:  The idea for Elisha’s Bones came over dinner with a friend.  Oddly enough, we were talking about how one comes up with story ideas.  I’d made the comment that just about anything could be turned into a good story, and used a recent Sunday school lesson about the prophet Elisha as an example.  Before I was done telling him about the lesson, I realized I had my next story idea.

Question 4:  I enjoyed getting to know the main character of the book, Jack Hawthorne.  Are you anything like him?

• Answer:  There are definitely qualities that I share with Jack.  I can be as sarcastic and acerbic as he is.  And I’m definitely a fact guy: research, empirical experience, etc.  And I enjoy a good cigar.  That said, I don’t think I’m quite as unwilling to embrace responsibility as he is.  At least I don’t think so!

Question 5:  Now that you have your first published novel under your belt, do you have any other projects on horizon?

• Answer:  Bethany House was kind enough to sign me for three books, so there are at least two more coming.  The next one is tentatively titled Hunter’s Moon, and I think it’s targeted for a Spring 2010 release, but don’t hold me to that.  It will be a departure from the suspense genre—more general fiction.  I haven’t a clue what the third book will be about yet.  Do you have any ideas?

Question 6:  Is it possible the adventures of Jack Hawthorne will be continued in a future novel?

• Answer:  When I wrote Elisha’s Bones, I did so with the idea that it would be a stand alone.  But I enjoyed writing it so much that I’d welcome the opportunity to do more.  Right now, though, it looks as if Jack’s on hiatus.  Hunter’s Moon is a completely different story/cast of characters.

Many thanks to Jim Hart at Bethany House Publishers for facilitating the interview and Don Hoesel for participating.  You can learn more about Don Hoesel and his writing at www.donhoesel.com.  Click the Elisha’s Bones cover below to read an excerpt from the book at the Bethany House Publishers web site.  Elisha’s Bones is available from Amazon.com and other booksellers.

Many thanks to Jim Hart at Bethany House Publishers for giving me the opportunity to review Elisha’s Bones by Don Hoesel.

“And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.”^[1]

Is it conceivable that the power of God surging through Elisha’s bones could be harnessed yet today? What if your life and the lives of those you care about depend upon you finding them first?

Jack Hawthorne was well settled into the quiet and routine life of an archaeology professor at Evanston University in Ellen, North Carolina. It was only six years previous that a personal tragedy in Egypt had caused him to trade in the spade and meter stick of the field archaeologist in favor of textbooks and classrooms, the seemingly safer tools of the archaeology professor. Christmas break is just around the corner and Jack has every intention of spending it watching ESPN, eating frozen cookie dough out of the wrapper, and doing anything else he might wish to pass the time. That is, until his plans are suddenly derailed by a visit from a mysterious man claiming to represent billionaire Gordon Reese. Jack can’t help but wonder what use a man like Gordon Reese would have for an archaeology professor like him. As it turns out, Reese wants Jack to take up what seems a fool’s quest; finding the bones of the prophet Elisha. This quest is anything but new to Reese, who has been pursuing the bones for some time. As a dying man, Reese has more money than time and time is running out. Intrigued by the prospects of a little adventure, Jack can’t help but agree to Reese’s proposal. At worst, a fool’s quest funded by a blank check backed by a billionaire would be more exciting than three weeks of ESPN and frozen cookie dough.

Jack soon finds that he got much more than he bargained for. The quest for Elisha’s bones will take Jack across the globe to the likes of Venezuela, Ethiopia, and elsewhere. Throughout this adventure, Jack must contend both with others who are intent on finding the bones and those who intend to protect them. In the process of searching for the bones of the prophet, Jack must face many of the skeletons that have suddenly come back to life right out of his own closet. He is finding, real or not, the power of Elisha’s bones appears to be alive and well, if only figuratively. As the quest progresses and the stakes rise increasingly higher, the focus of the quest becomes less and less about finding the bones and more about finishing or getting out of the quest with his life. As fate would have it, finding the bones may be the only way to do it.

I had a hard time putting down this book. The non-stop adventure and excitement kept me on the edge of my seat. It can be hard to find a comparison for this type of novel, as the Biblical archaeology / adventure genre is a pretty narrow part of the Christian fiction market. From a comparison standpoint, I would put Elisha’s Bones in league with the Biblical archaeology / adventure titles, A Skeleton in God’s Closet and More than a Skeleton by Paul L. Maier. Fans of Maier’s books and similar titles will definitely want to pick up their own copy of Elisha’s Bones. It is not very often that I do this, but I so thoroughly enjoyed this book, I am going to give it five stars. Hats off to Don Hoesel for writing such an enjoyable book and hats off to Bethany House for publishing it!

Don Hoesel is a web designer for a Medicare carrier in Nashville, TN. He has a BA in Mass Communications from Taylor University and has published short fiction in Relief Journal. He lives in Spring Hill, Tennessee, with his wife and two children. Elisha’s Bones is Don’s first novel. You can learn more about Don and his writing at www.donhoesel.com.

You can download a PDF of this review here: 

Buy this book today at Amazon.com: Elisha’s Bones