Friday, March 16, 2012

Review of 14 Secrets to Better Relationships

We all want to build better relationships. This book, 14 Secrets to Better Relationships, gives you some Biblical principles to apply to your life that will help you do that. The author, Dave Earley, presents 14 principles that are easy to understand and easy to implement.

The beginning of the book has a list of 32 Bible verses that show "one another commands." I enjoyed reading each one and this book helped me see them in a different light. The author then takes these "commands" and uses them to help you better understand his 14 principles that lead to better relationships.

This book is great for a study on your own or in a group setting. The author also states that you should read the book every year to remind yourself of the principles he is teaching. I would say the main thought behind this book is that relationships are important and if we follow the guidelines the Lord has laid out in the Bible we can build great ones!

I thought this was a very well written and informative book. If you are ready to improve your relationships, whether with your family or a friend, this book is for you!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.

I gave this book 5/5 stars.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Have you experienced the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is not talked, preached or even written about very often. This book is a great addition to the subject. Have you experienced the Holy Spirit? Spirit Rising: Tapping into the Power of the Holy Spirit highlights some great times where the Spirit has moved Christians to do things not totally knowing why but the results were amazing. Have you felt the need to pray for a certain person or situation and not found peace until you did? The author, Jim Cymbala, says this is the moving of the Holy Spirit in you to pray for and express concern for others around you.

The author also discusses the jobs of the Holy Spirit and how He has been sent to help us here on earth. I found the book to be interesting but not one I would read again. I did enjoy the stories and felt the author did a good job at making his points. If you want to learn more about the Holy Spirit and His influence on your life as a Christian, this would be a good book to read.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.

I gave this book 4/5 stars.

This book will be a real encouragement to you.

The author of is this book, Michelle Aguilar, is the winner of Season 6 of the Biggest Loser. You do not have to have watched or currently watch the television show to be empowered by this book.

Becoming Fearless: My Ongoing Journey of Learning to Trust God, is the title of this book. Learning how to become fearless can help change multiple areas in our life. Whether your need help with losing weight, or a difficult relationship or even a job that you are having issues at, this book will be a real encouragement to you.

Using examples from her life, the author shows that we can each work through issues we have that are holding us back by working on becoming less fearful. The fearless she talks about is being willing to trust what the Lord has planned for us and taking the steps of faith towards any goals we may have to better ourselves.

I enjoyed the personal stories and the easy manner in which they are written. It is a very open book, meaning she holds nothing back when talking about the difficulties in her family relationships and her issues with weight. Reading the book you can’t help but be encouraged to keep working towards your goals and remembering to learn and grow in the Lord everday.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.

I gave this book 5/5 stars.

Don't let the subject of this book scare you away from reading it!

This book, The Last Enemy: Preparing to Win the Fight of Your Life, is about death but don’t let that scare you away from reading it. We may not like to think about it but death will come. This book, written by Michael Wittmer, is about learning to focus your attention on living right now for the Lord instead of living in fear of death. The author teaches that Jesus has triumphed over death and sin by dying and rising again. He stresses that if we sit and worry about the inevitable we are wasting the time the Lord has given us to spread the word of His salvation.

I found some of the book very encouraging and uplifting. Other parts of the book were confusing to me. I did like the style of the writing but got lost in some of the details. If you have been struggling with the death of a loved one or have gotten news that you have some terminal medical issue, you will find helpful information in this book. I did take one lesson away from that book and that is to be more in the moment and enjoy the time I do have left to serve the Lord.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.

I gave this book 4/5 stars.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Lord has a purpose for each person!

Kingdom Man, written by Dr. Tony Evans, is filled with helpful information for any man wanting to be a spiritual leader at home, at church, or even at his workplace.

The Lord has a purpose for each person. Men can be equipped to be leaders by following the Lord’s guidelines found in the Bible. The Lord wants men to be leaders who are wise and compassionate. They also have to model what they are asking of others. Meaning if you think your wife should be spending more time helping the children with schoolwork, you need to help out more too.

I liked his analogy of a football game. You will have to read the book to see how he compares Christian leaders to the officials in the game. Although the primary audience is men, any woman can read this book. Women will find what makes a good leader and what they should be praying for when looking for a man in their life. If a woman is already married she can still learn from this book, especially the principles taught about the marriage relationship. Understanding what the Lord wants for a marriage will help both the husband and the wife keep their marriage strong.

Scripture supported all the principles discussed in the book and all the principles are easy to follow and explained well. The author is excellent at simplifying the Lord’s guidelines for Christian men. This book is written in a straightforward manner and is well organized. I highly recommend this book for every Christian man to read!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.

I gave this book 5/5 stars.

What is our purpose?

1000 days: The Ministry of Christ is a powerful devotional based on Jesus time on this earth. Written by Jonathan Falwell, you will find the study very helpful in understanding your purpose as a Christian.

What is our purpose? As you read about Jesus life and model your ministry after His, you will find that our purpose is to love others and show them His love. By being more like Him we will have an impact on those around us. At the end of the chapters there are helpful questions to further your study. These are good to do on your own or in a small group Bible study.

I found the information about Jesus and the times He lived in to be very insightful. I learned from this study! The end of the book has a list of the events of Jesus life while He was here on earth; this was the most helpful section in the book. You can follow Jesus ministry here on earth by reading these passages in the order they are presented. This is a great resource to study the events of His life on your own.

Overall I found the book easy to understand and think you would definitely benefit from reading it!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.

I gave this book 5/5 stars.

This is a fun read!

The Search Committee is written by Tim Owens and published by Tyndale House Publishers.

This is a fun book! The characters are all interesting and make this book an easy read. The plot centers on a group of church members looking for a new pastor. Their personalities are well developed and make this book a must read.

Each person in this group of searchers has their own life and problems to handle as well as trying to find the right person to be their new pastor. From a single mom to a husband not sure about being ready for fatherhood, each person encounters struggles you will relate to. How the characters interact with each other is very real to life. I liked how they helped each other even though they were going through their own struggles. I especially liked the conclusions of all the story lines.

The ending of the book has some great discussion questions to talk about if you are reading this book in a group setting. I found the questions very helpful in making me think more about the story the author was presenting in the book. Although it is a fictional story you can still learn some great practical and Biblical principles that will help you grow as a Christian. Overall it was an enjoyable read that you can actually learn from!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.

I gave this book 5/5 stars.

You will learn from this book

This book by Jay E. Adams is part of the Resources for Biblical Living series. Temptation: Applying Radical Amputation to Life's Sinful Patterns is the title and exactly describes what is in this book.

Once you are saved you begin to grow in the Lord. If you are not growing it is time to root out the issues that are taking you away from the Lord. Learning how to turn away from the temptations is the general direction of this book.

This author is well known and all his books are worth reading. This particular one is not one of my favorites but there is a lot to learn from it. I did like that it was short and a fast read. If you are struggling with your relationship with the Lord and want to grow closer to him this book has a lot of information to help you do that.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.

I gave this book 4/5 stars.

Monday, March 12, 2012

This is not your typical Christian fiction novel.

This book is called Legacy of Fools and is written by Missy Horsfall and Susan Stevens.

This is not your typical Christian fiction novel. This book tackles some heavy material. There is child abuse, drinking, and even child molestation. From reading the information about the book you get the impression the story is only about Eric Bennington and his journey to freedom in Christ. However, this book is really about a family and their journey to healing.

The story is well written, meaning the characters are well developed and the story flows well. The story itself unfolds like a television drama. Nevertheless, I felt like the message of redemption in the book gets lost in all the details of the family issues. This is not a book you will sit and want to escape into. It was hard to read sometimes. With all that goes on in the world I really did not find myself enjoying reading a fictional story about some of the same negative things. The one redeeming quality was how the story lines were wrapped up at the end of the book.

I only gave this book 4/5 stars because I did not find it enjoyable reading about such heavy material. That is only my opinion though you may find it intriguing.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based solely on my opinion of what I read.

Great Characters

Into the Free is written by Julie Cantrell and published by David C. Cook.

As you read this book you can’t help but love Millie Reynolds. Her character is what made this book a joy to read. The story follows Millie as she learns who she really is and what she wants her future to be. You watch her character grow as you follow her through the tragedy and laughter that is her story.

It is a well written book and you can’t wait to turn the page to see where the story takes you next. The scenery is well described and the plot is well developed. Overall it was a good book and I really enjoyed reading it.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.

I gave this book 5/5 stars.