Unwrapping the Bible!!

Too many people do not read the Bible, with basic excuses being the length of the Bible and the fact that they do not understand the Bible.  Well, David Veerman helped with the latter.  In his book, Unwrapping the Bible: Understanding God’s Essential Truths, he is helping the reader to better understand those essential truths (in his opinion) of the Bible.

The book is broken into 7 sections, with 5 chapters in each section.  The 7 sections are

1. Doctrine of God
2. Doctrine of Humanity
3. Doctrine of Revelation
4. Doctrine of Christ
5. Doctrine of Salvation
6. Doctrine of Sanctification
7. Doctrine of the Church

Within each chapter, Veerman has broken it down to work within a study group.  There are 3 sections within each chapter called, Look, Listen and Live.  Listen in the longest section and within those sections there are a number of questions, and at times he does give the answers.

This is a very easy to read, with a larger font as well.  Even though the book is 409 pages long, it should not be intimidating to read.  There are fun facts, and he makes the reading interesting as opposed to sounding like a text book.  The theology is conservative.  This would make for a good introduction to theology for anyone who is wanting to go a little deeper in their understanding of the Christian faith.

I received this book from Tyndale Press in exchange for an honest review.

Powerful Story!

We live in a day and age when being a police officer is not looked upon with esteem.  Every decision is highly scrutinized by those who have no clue about what it takes to accomplish their job.  With that in mind, I was looking forward to reading “13 Days in Ferguson.”  Captain Ronald Johnson tells an amazing story about the 13 days of rioting in Ferguson, MO.  He was the officer assigned with returning this community to a place of peace and hope.

This book is a memoir of the events which happened on a daily basis.  It is a book about the power of Captain Johnson’s faith, courage and strength.  He was continually targeted by everyone regarding every decision he made.  He lost friends, he was viewed as a traitor by other police officers and he was highly criticized. 

He felt he needed to understand what the people were thinking and feeling, so he stepped across the lines to better understand, therefore, to help those who were at the center of the struggle.

This is a very well written, powerful book describing for the first time what was occurring in Ferguson, MO and how one man stood above others, willing to take the heat, in order to restore the peace. 

I highly recommend this book.

I received this book from Tyndale in exchange for an honest review.

Setting Healthy Boundaries

Boundaries For Your Soul: How to Turn Your Overwhelming Thoughts and Feelings into Your Greatest Allies, by Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller is an excellent resource for those who seek to help others and for those who struggle with “negative feelings and thoughts.”

One of our biggest problems is boundary setting and allowing others to invade our hidden boundaries.  This book is written from a Christian perspective on mental and emotional well being and they use what is called an “IFS Model” (Internal Family Systems). 

I found the book to be an excellent resource.  The authors main objective is to help the readers use their emotions / feelings / thoughts in ways which are positive, rather than reject and repress what they are feeling. 

They give stories, quizzes, and move through the 5 Steps to help the reader move forward.  There are many practical suggestions in this book.  There are 3 sections, an introduction, an analysis of the 5 steps, and a more specific way to help those who are struggling with more specific issues, such as, anger, fear and anxiety, sadness, envy and desire, guilt and shame.

Overall, I’m not big on self help books, but I found this to be an excellent resource, easy to read and not overly technical.

I received this book from booklookbloggers in exchange for an honest review.