THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: CHAPTER 6

Posted on by

The Gospel of Luke tells the whole story of the Christ. It is done in 24 chapters. Consequently, every day in December I will be posting a new chapter of Luke until we get to Christmas. It is my hope that you share this with your friends, church, family and social media. 

Now, for the Gospel of Luke: 

As some of you know, I make my living these days narrating audio books. I hope you will forgive me for listing two of my most recent books as potential purchases if you enjoyed my work on Luke.

Another great one, this time back to the category of Police Officer Mental Health. I’m proud to announce Mental Health Fight Of The Heroes In Blue: How To Mentally Survive Working as a Police Officer  by Scott Medlin. 

Once a job of serving their community by providing safety, police officers could rest relatively easy knowing their efforts were worth the sacrifice. However, over the past decade, the trade-offs between the rewards and risks of policing have increasingly sloped toward the latter. Today, officers are routinely being confronted with more pressure and scrutiny because of unfortunate bad actions by a few of their own. Then they still encounter constant threats of danger, and continued exposure to the darkest corners of society. It is no surprise that policing remains one of the most stressful occupations on the planet – stress that dramatically increases suicide risk among this population. There currently exists very little avenues police can turn towards for help with such a unique problem. This is detrimental because of not only the suicide risk, but it affects an officer’s capability of being the upstanding hero the citizens want.

This book was written by a police officer who, speaking from personal experience, and sourcing the help of trusted experts, walks anyone through the steps law enforcement officers can take to be shielded from having mental breakdowns and God forbid, become a suicide statistic.

Within this resource are five key methodologies proven to increase mental clarity as a police officer:

1. Acknowledging and counteracting the “warrior socialization” of police officers. You’re not a tough person – you’re a person.

2. Realizing the truth about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and how to overcome it.

3. Uncovering the secret system of your mind that can make or break your mental health as a police officer.

4. Unraveling and addressing the numerous and often surprising contributors to on-the-job stress.

5. Introducing habits and strategies for developing the strongest defense against the traumas and other stressors involved with policing.

 

THE FISHER KING’S APPRENTICE by Anthony Horvath is the second in a series, and a joy to experience. I strongly recommend listening to the first book WARDEN-WATCH before enjoying this one. 

Casey’s life is in peril at every turn as one extraordinary event piles on top of another. With the help of the Wardens, he finds himself in the middle of ancient wars and dangerous voyages. Is there a legend that isn’t based on real history? Is there a myth that is not rooted somehow in truth? If there is, Casey has yet to discover it in his quest to keep the Enemy from the life-liquid… of the Blood King.

Based on a true story.

 

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: CHAPTER 5

Posted on by

The Gospel of Luke tells the whole story of the Christ. It is done in 24 chapters. Consequently, every day in December I will be posting a new chapter of Luke until we get to Christmas. It is my hope that you share this with your friends, church, family and social media. If you are reading this in your email, you need to go to the blog to watch the video/listen to the Gospel.

Now, for the Gospel of Luke: 

 

As some of you know, I make my living these days narrating audio books. I hope you will forgive me for listing two of my most recent books as potential purchases if you enjoyed my work on Luke.

It’s the busy season, but what a delight that the third book of Summer 2024 is now available. SIMPLE GRIFTS by Max Cossack is a fun book to say the least. I have read every one of Max’s works, and was honored to be allowed to record this book. (I’ll be doing more in the coming months.) If you haven’t read/listened to any of his books, start today: he’s brilliant.

Here’s the summary:

Professor Soren Pafko has made a life and career out of lying, conniving, manipulating, and abusing everyone in his path. So far, it’s working great: he’s Chair of his College’s Department of Comparative Literature; he’s leader of the local chapter of the Democratic Communists of America; and when he wants to cheat on his wife, he’s got his pick of women who think he’s the second coming of Che Guevara. In short, his life is peachy. But when he flunks local yokel Gus Dropo’s teenage son for a politically incorrect classroom comment, everything in Professor Pafko’s world begins to go hilariously wrong.

 

*** *** ***

 

Well, we’re back (The Hood Brothers and me) with another Sub Tales book.

Sub Tales 3 is the third entry in the “Sub Tales” series written by authors and brothers Charles and Frank Hood. The Hoods have established a niche in the storytelling of exploits both famous and obscure in the captivating history of the US Submarine Force.

Sub Tales 3 comprises 18 original lengthy stories that cover a wide variety of topics, historical figures, and eras. From tales of heroism and courage under duress to more lighthearted discussions about the Silent Service, Sub Tales 3 is crammed full of interesting details that are sure to please the submarine veteran or enthusiast.

You’ll ride with the legendary submarine captains Howard Gilmore and Whitey Mack.

You’ll circumnavigate the globe with the men of the USS Gudgeon and the USS Archerfish.

You’ll stand alongside the pharmacists mate tending to the medical problems of his fellow World War II submariners.

You’ll learn about the taming of the atom to create the first atomic bomb and then come to understand how one mans vision of the peaceful use of nuclear power came to transform the US Navy.

You’ll take detailed looks at the operations of the second US nuclear submarine, the USS Seawolf, learn about the amazing career of the man largely responsible for the rescue chamber that saved submariners aboard the USS Squalus in 1939 and go aboard the NR-1the unique mini-sub that combed the ocean depths.

Sub Tales 3 contains several heart-pounding tales of men skirting death aboard submarines; not all episodes ended well, but the brave actions of those who stayed at their posts or found novel ways to mitigate disaster will inspire you. 

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: CHAPTER 4

Posted on by

The Gospel of Luke tells the whole story of the Christ. It is done in 24 chapters. Consequently, every day in December I will be posting a new chapter of Luke until we get to Christmas. It is my hope that you share this with your friends, church, family and social media. 

Now, for the Gospel of Luke: 

As some of you know, I make my living these days narrating audio books. I hope you will forgive me for listing two of my most recent books as potential purchases if you enjoyed my work on Luke.

THE GENERAL’S PRINCESS by Caryn Hacker Buechel

This one’s a little different, because it has romantic/sexual abuse situations. It is not a Christian book, but I accepted the contract because it deals with human trafficking and our need to defeat it. The backstory is important to me: but I met the author through a friend, and the fact I speak Arabic was what clinched the deal. Seems my 40 years of study paid off. 

 

Cara is almost fifty, and nearly penniless. She needs a fresh start and when a unique job falls in her lap, she moves to Saudi Arabia to work for the royal family, never dreaming the change would quickly spiral into a nightmare where she is alone and powerless, trapped in the crosshairs of a human trafficking ring.

The unlikely kidnapping of a young, American female triggers a risky military rescue with General Sam Kennedy leading the Special Forces team into Riyadh, ultimately throwing Sam into Cara’s world where she is enmeshed in the spinning wheels of this deadly rescue mission, managed from the White House Situation Room, and exploding in real time within the opulent Royal palace.

Unravel the threads of survival, courage, and unexpected love in this gripping tale of resilience against the odds.

 

 

 

 

Time for the next Max Cossack book, High Jingo. 

High Jingo begins with a young couple in love “spelunking” in a cave that isn’t really a cave, but an abandoned mineshaft, a relic of a Gold Rush that wasn’t really a “rush” but more of a Gold Kerfuffle that never materialized. The couple is assisted by a beer-loving husky dog which eschews the normal protocols of an archaeological dig and willy-nilly unearths an artifact with Hebrew letters on it. And the reader thinks, “This is not your every-day story!”

And that reader is correct. Once again, three generations of the Wilder Bunch take us on an historical, occasionally hysterical, adventure. The story is as old as pogroms in Eastern Europe and as new as Jewish students being abused by pro-terrorist elements paying full tuition even at 4th rate diploma mills. A ripping yarn, full of love, courage and righteous anger, it careens from Medieval Hungary to Israel to a small rural town in Minnesota and up the road to St. Paul. As the old movie line goes, “Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

 

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: CHAPTER 3

Posted on by

The Gospel of Luke tells the whole story of the Christ. It is done in 24 chapters. Consequently, every day in December I will be posting a new chapter of Luke until we get to Christmas. It is my hope that you share this with your friends, church, family and social media. 

Now, for the Gospel of Luke: 

As some of you know, I make my living these days narrating audio books. I hope you will forgive me for listing two of my most recent books as potential purchases if you enjoyed my work on Luke.

SUB TALES 4 by Charles Hood and Frank Hood

I am honored to have narrated all 4 of the Sub Tales books to date, and hope to knock out Sub Tales 5 before February 2026. (Full schedule, a true blessing!) These are great books, and I’ve been on some of the subs in the book for “road trips” to different places we won’t talk about. It allows me to be very authentic about narrating the work, as I can literally smell what they’re talking about and see it before my eyes in most cases.

Sub Tales 4 is the latest offering by brothers Charles and Frank Hood in their prolific output of nonfiction books about the US Submarine Force. Like the three volumes preceding it in the series, Sub Tales 4 offers a detailed recounting of some of the most pivotal and poignant moments in the rich history of the Silent Service. Arranged as an anthology of individual short stories, the book covers many subjects with prose, photographs, maps, schematics, and other illustrations to complement the narrative.

Written over the last year, Sub Tales 4 benefits editorially from the knowledgeable input of three submarine veterans—Keith Weitemeyer, John Donaldson, and Greg Scott—who painstakingly reviewed all chapters and offered valuable feedback during the composition process. Many story ideas were supplied by followers of the authors’ Facebook group, “Poopie Suits & Cowboy Boots”, and many vexing questions about some vital piece of esoterica were often posed and answered very quickly using that format. Our books incorporate that “wiki” approach to yield both accurate and engrossing stories that are certain to inform you more deeply.

Specific topics addressed in Sub Tales 4 include the inspiring life story of Charles Lockwood, a key figure in US submarine success during World War II; the serendipitous role of the USS Nautilus during the Battle of Midway; the submarine that carried gold and silver to safety during World War II; Richard Nixon’s relationship with Hyman Rickover, and their memorable overnight cruise aboard the USS Cincinnati; the mysterious and remote lake in Idaho where the Navy performs some of its most robust acoustic research; the story of the deep-diving USS Dolphin; the nuts and bolts of the submarine maneuvering watch; Ronald Reagan’s screen turn as a submarine captain; and many more.

 

 

AMBUSH OF THE DRAGON by Michael DiMercurio

There is only one way to reunite a country that has been split by two bloody civil wars in thirty years, one of them nuclear: savage their external enemies and leave them so weak they cannot interfere with the union until stability is achieved. The newly reconstituted China – now the Federated States of the New Middle Kingdom – has a strike plan that will leave both the Russians and Americans bleeding and desperate to survive.

For there to be any hope of American and Russian vengeance, old allies, resurrected schemes from decades ago, and a plan as innovative as the 1942 Doolittle raid on Tokyo must all be put in motion. A cast of both new and favorite characters, driven by decorated submarine combat veteran Lieutenant Anthony Pacino, is forced to fight for not only his beloved submarine Vermont and the lives of his shipmates, but the fate of the Western world in an epic battle of undersea warfare.

 

 

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: CHAPTER 2

Posted on by

The Gospel of Luke tells the whole story of the Christ. It is done in 24 chapters. Consequently, every day in December I will be posting a new chapter of Luke until we get to Christmas. It is my hope that you share this with your friends, church, family and social media. 

Now, for the Gospel of Luke: 

 

It is also my hope that you will not take me as crass for listing two of my favorite audio books for sale below the Luke video. This is how I make my living, and if you like the way I read Luke, I suspect you’ll like the way I read these two fantastic books. 

 

THE SUPERHERO HANDBOOK FOR COPS: A GUIDE FOR NAVIGATING THE CAREER WITH HONOR, PRINCIPLE, AND COMPASSION WHILE AVOIDING ITS PITFALLS AND HAZARDS by Rabbi Cary Friedman

American police officers are the real-life counterparts of our beloved fictional superheroes and superheroines.

The best cops…

• perform the law enforcement mission nobly, with honor, principle, and compassion

• practice excellent discretion, tempering the letter of the law with the spirit that animates it

• still believe in, and are proud symbols of, truth, justice, and the American way

• restrain their exercise of power according to Constitutional safeguards and agency guidelines

• behave “with malice toward none; with charity for all,” ensuring that the American justice system extends its protection and dignity—without discrimination or favor—to each and every community within our society

If you aspire to be the very best cop you can be, then this handbook has been designed especially for you!

“The Superhero Handbook for Cops” combines timeless wisdom with the newest research and technology to provide a powerful, comprehensive training program that nourishes the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and ethical dimensions of law enforcement officers.

NARRATOR NOTE: This is my third book by Cary Friedman. I love his writing, and I sincerely, and regretfully, wish I had read his books before I entered the police academy. I would have been a much better patrol officer.

 

WISDOM FROM THE BATCAVE by Rabbi Cary Friedman 

I am willing to bet you’ve never considered the theological and moral imperatives that drive The Batman to do what he does. Well, thankfully, Cary Friedman has done just that and written a book on the topic.

Want to be a hero?

Many people don’t know where to start on their quest to be a hero. They watch Batman and gain inspiration, but don’t know where to go from there. How can you save the world without knowing 127 forms of martial arts?

The truth is you don’t need to dodge bullets or drive a batmobile to be a hero. Wisdom from the Batcave analyzes the life philosophy that emerges from Batman comic books and shows how anyone can live a heroic life by following Batman’s philosophy.

In 18 lighthearted chapters (such as “How to Triumph over Adversity,” “The Value of Inspiring Others,” “A Better Definition of Victory”), the Batman’s example is used to teach profound truths. Focusing on relationships with self, others, and the larger community, Wisdom from the Batcave uses the experience of the Batman and his allies to illustrate how to live a super, heroic life.

Here is your invitation to enter the Batcave and learn from the personal example of the Batman himself.