Joshua: The Homecoming

My mother gave me this book when it was first published in 1999. In all honesty, I thought it was the original book "Joshua" by Joseph Girzone. Since I had already read the original I didn't bother picking it up until now. I am doing this review for my English 101 class and I thought, since it had been quite some time since I read "Joshua" that I would read it again. I am at a point in my life that I needed a spiritual uplifting and I knew the book had provided me with this before. I was completely taken by surprise when I started the first page and realized this was a continuation of the Joshua story. It did indeed give me the uplifting that I was expecting. It also gave me a new insight in to thoughts on the Bible and "The End Time". I especially enjoyed when Joshua was speaking with the elders of The Church of God in Christ about the Bible. He says: "To go back to the book alone is to deny the Holy Spirit's two thousand years of guidance, and all the growth in understanding that has taken place in those two thousand years." (p. 152) I do believe in reading the Bible, and I don't believe that Mr. Girzone is implying that we should not read it, but that this should not be the sole source of our Christianity. I also enjoyed Mr. Girzone's description of "The End Time", something that has entered my mind on many occasions. He says that the world will not end, by God's hand, until "His creation is perfected." (p. 26) and "if evil things happen, it will be the work of human beings, not the work of my Father." (p. 26) I am very grateful this assignment came up because I would have probably left the book in my closet a lot longer than I have. I would recommend this book to everyone. Especially those that might need a more clear understanding of a loving, compassionate, and forgiving God. It has been an excellent read for me and it provided me everything, and more, that I was looking for in spirituality. I thank you Mr. Girzone, for sharing your wonderful insight.

This book did not disappoint me. If you have enjoyed Girzone's great Joshua books, you'll enjoy this one as well. This books cuts to the heart of Jesus' message of love, peace, giving, and faith. Those who never liked Girzone's books will probably once again dislike this book. For the rest of the world, you'll be happily pleased.

My family gave me a copy of Joshua, the Homecoming, for Christmas. I read it twice in one week. It is one of the best Joshua books thus far. It came at a time when I was searching for answers - answers to why some churches are not meeting the spiritual needs of their families. It made me realize I was not alone in not having my spiritual needs met at church. Fr. Joe has such a strong insight into each of us and knows how to tell us how Jesus would respond. I would strongly recommend the book for anyone in search of answers about their faith.

This latest in the series of Joshua books does not disappoint. It is pointedly relevant to this specific point in time--the dawning of a new millenium. It was well written and nicely tied into the first Joshua book at the beginning. As per usual, the characterizations in the book are extremely well done. The wonderful message of Joshua shines through in this latest book, again leaving the reader uplifted, enlightened, hopefully inspired to change for the better, and with hope for the future of mankind.

I've read all of the Joshua novels and its been some time since Joseph Girzone wrote his last one. But this new one was definitely worth the wait. It's much better than any of the stories since the first Joshua. This is a terrific book.