Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Fighting for your Marriage

In their book, Enter the Ring: Fighting Together for a Gospel Saturated Marriage, D.A. and Erica Horton have written a very good book about marriage in which they share through their struggles in a very vulnerable and honest manner.  This is book would be great for people who are newly married; or married for under 10 years or so.

The Horton's share for their own marriage.  A marriage that has endured many difficulties, even prior to their marriage, as they almost did not get married.  They use a great deal of scripture verses to help the reader understand their intentions.

The Horton's explore the tension of two people becoming one and how spouses often fight over which “one of us” they become. They unpack topics such as
  • Seasons of suffering
  • Communication
  • Sexual and physical intimacy
  • The spiritual life of the home
  • Money
This book approaches the traditional topics of a marriage book with the brutal and life-giving honesty of two millennials who have fought together for their marriage.  All topics are addressed through the vulnerable lens of the authors’ own struggles and mistakes.

This is a no-holds-barred, real-world . . . marriage book.


Overall, I would highly recommend this book.

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

The Power of Prayer



In his book, Make Your Voice Heard in heaven: How to Pray with Power, former Senate Chaplain, Barry Black has written a very succinct and powerful book on prayer.  This book arose from his powerful keynote message at the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast, which led to many cheers and a standing ovation.

He explains that in order to make ourselves heard in a way that really changes things, we must start by calling upon God ― the one who holds the ultimate power.

As followers of Jesus, we need to realize that when we come together to pray, we invite the very real presence of Almighty God into our midst.  When our prayers are heard in heaven, our need for guidance, strength, healing, mercy, grace, and wisdom will be met by a holy God.

In this book, Chaplain Black shows how to pray prayers that God will hear and that release God’s power and blessing in our lives.  There are 15 chapters outlining in very practical terms ways we are to pray.

Chaplain Black shows us through the use of Scripture, personal stories, and practical insights, how our prayers can
  • unleash God’s power
  • increase your partnership with God’s will
  • deepen your intimacy with God
  • strengthen your desire to live a God-pleasing life
  • help you avoid missing God’s blessings . . . and more
This is an easy to read, yet a slowly read book because of all the deep insight Chaplain Black brings into our lives.

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

Everyday worship!

The Air I Breathe: Worship as a way of life, by Louie Giglio is not the typical book about worship.  He is not telling us how to worship when we enter a church building on Sundays.  He wants the reader to understand that worship “is the essence of what makes us truly human.”  This is an easy to read, fast paced, yet a book filled with deep implications about the way we live our lives.  This book should challenge each reader.

I’ve read other material and watched videos of Louis.  He is filled with passion and enthusiasm for Christ.  It’s evident in the pages of this book.

He explains that true freedom comes when worship flows through us as naturally as the air we breathe, when the words and actions in our lives resonate with our Creator so deeply that every inhalation is full of meaning.  When we understand the holiness of the God who knows the stars by name — and His overwhelming love for each one of us — how can we offer anything less?

Giglio passionately explains what it means to truly live a life of worship, offering insight and guidance for finding our personal path towards connecting with the God of the Universe.  We were created to worship and God is the One who is worthy of our worship.

The book also includes a set of questions for small groups and a list of Scriptures used.  There is also an excerpt from another book by Giglio.  This book is highly recommended for those who desire to move beyond the superficial and gain a greater intimacy with God in their daily relationship with Him.  The book has 11 chapters totally 113 pages.

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

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Thursday, January 25, 2018

A Memoir of Charlie Daniels

Charlie Daniels is one of my all time favorite performers.  I've seen him in concert multiple times and appreciate his music and life.  The book, Never Look at the Empty Seats: A Memoir of Charlie Daniels is a must read for his fans.

His music always tells a story, each song tells you something about his life or his thoughts and dreams.  The book is very similar.  As Daniels shares stories about his childhood through his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  You would have expected it, but it was a crowning accomplishment in his life.

This book will help the reader to better understand who this icon of southern rock / country music is.  He tells story after story about life and those who were deeply involved in his life.

His stories are funny, they are sad, they are honest and raw as he shares his successes and his failures.  Overall, this is an easy to read and fun, and enlightening book for fans of CDB!

I was provided this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Being Open to the Spirit

In his newest book, Scot McKnight takes a look at the Holy Spirit.  His books is entitled Open to the Spirit: God in Us, God with Us, God Transforming Us.  McKnight seeks to answer some of the basic questions even Christ followers have regarding the Holy Spirit, such as Who is the Holy Spirit?  What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit?  Should we pray to the Holy Spirit?  How do we relate to the Holy Spirit?  And more questions are answered in this book.

Most people are confused about the role of the Spirit, especially as it relates to the Trinity and McKnight attempts to help the reader gain a better understanding.


This book is well written, filled with a number of examples and illustrations which will help the reader better understand the mysterious Holy Spirit.  This is not a deep theological book.  But it is one that seeks to take someone who already has a basic knowledge and help them to go deeper in their understanding of the Holy Spirit.


The call is for the Christian to be open to the Holy Spirit so they could better grow in their relationship with Christ, and with the Spirit.  I sense that McKnight's goal was to help the reader gain a better understanding of the Holy Spirit, thus the reason this is not as theological or academic.  I appreciated this approach.


Overall, I would recommend this book to those wanting to gain wisdom and understanding of the Holy Spirit.


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


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Tuesday, January 09, 2018

A Life Beyond Amazing!

In his newest book, A Life Beyond Amazing: 9 Decisions That Will Transform Your Life Today, Dr. David Jeremiah, has written an outstanding book about how to live life according to the Fruits of the Spirit.

This book has the potential to be life changing.  As Jeremiah correctly points out early in the book, living life according to these 9 Fruits of the Spirit is a decision which we make.  They are difficult decisions to live according to each fruit of the spirit, but the potential when we do is a "life beyond amazing."

The chapters are ~ 
A life of Love
A life of Peace
A life of Joy
A life of Endurance
A life of Compassion
A life of Generosity
A life of Integrity
A life of Humility
A life of Self-Discipline

While I look at some of the headers for the fruits of the Spirit differently than Jeremiah, he is still touching on the same topics, just using different words.  For example, generosity is also goodness; endurance is patience . . . and so on.

Dr. Jeremiah gives a number of practical examples and illustrations to help the reader better understand and then apply these fruits into their lives.

Overall, this is an excellent book and one which should be read and discussed!!

Fun Kids Devotional

God Gave Us the Bible: 45 Favorite Stories for Little Ones is a very well done, hardcover introductory Bible for parents to read with thei...