I think Andy Stanley is the BEST!!. I think he is a gifted preacher and a superb book author. I requested this book Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley and was surprised. Surprised that it was a book that came out in 2006 titled-It Came From Within. I am sure I read it when it came out but rereading his books is always enlightening.
What makes his writing so enjoyable is you can see him, on his stool, teaching this to the congregation along with his humor. He has personal stories throughout this book along with some "knock them dead" teaching on breaking free from the four emotions that control you-guilt, greed, anger and jealousy. All these are a "heart" issue and he digs deep into these topics and gives help on conquering these emotions. He explains how these damage our relationships and can destroy our homes, career and friendships. He helps us understand why we do the things we do and how to take charge with biblical direction. Confess, forgive, give and celebrate, theses are the habits that will change everything. These four habits set us free to love as God intends for us to love. Anger, greed, guilt and jealousy are the four monsters that can grow unchecked in your heart which will make your efforts to love short-lived.
This book has so much practical advice and help for anyone. I found myself highlighting pages and will read this one again and again-it is that good.
Thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah for sending this free copy for my honest review.
-- Grace Elizabeth --
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
God's Love Letters to You
I must confess-I am a devotional-holic!!!. I love devotionals and usually read 10 different ones each morning before my bible reading. Love insights by different authors. When I saw this one on booksneeze I jumped at the chance to review it. I have Larry Crabbs 66 Love Letters and loved it so I knew I would love this on and I did. This one is just a 40 day devotional which is nice when there aren't days to follow. This devotional is so unique, it's short, packed with conversation with God (that is as good as it gets), and new insights on how to think about love. He has taken a different book each day to discuss. For example, Day 8 is about Ruth with a subtitle of my love can overcome all obstacles. The best part is you are reading from God's perspective and in the first person which makes it so much fun to read. After the story is a series of questions-take a moment to reflect which are very thought provoking and interesting. Last is a prayer to God and how it reflects the story you just read.
I guarantee you will "fall in love with the Savior" after this devotional is done. You relationship with Him will be deeper. Consider this your personal letter from God to you. This is a book I will go back over again and again-it is that good.
Thank you Thomas Nelson for sending me this free just for my honest opinion.
I guarantee you will "fall in love with the Savior" after this devotional is done. You relationship with Him will be deeper. Consider this your personal letter from God to you. This is a book I will go back over again and again-it is that good.
Thank you Thomas Nelson for sending me this free just for my honest opinion.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
When Sparrows Fall
I passed this book up the first time and after reading the reviews on it, I was bummed I had not picked it. When it appeared again, I jumped at the chance to read it and I was not disappointed at all.
This is one of those books you read that you just "really like". It was hard to believe this was her first novel and I hope she keeps writing,
The storyline deals with Miranda, a widow, with six children to raise by herself. She has a controlling pastor that wants to move the flock (a call by God) to another area and wants the congregation to foot the bill with their land sale. Miranda refuses to sell her land so the pastor threatens her to reveal secrets from her past. The plot thickens when Miranda falls from a cliff and is hurt. Enter her brother-in-law Jack who is a widow also to take care of her kids while she is in the hospital. Miranda named him legal guardian of her children while she recovers. Jack discovers that the kids are so sheltered and brings life and change into the family. The kids had never seen marshmallows!!. Jack can't understand Miranda and her secrets and keeps trying to persuade her to let him help her while falling in love with her.
The ending was a surprise and her secret was a surprise also. This is just a joy to read.
Thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah for my free copy to review just for my honest opinion
This is one of those books you read that you just "really like". It was hard to believe this was her first novel and I hope she keeps writing,
The storyline deals with Miranda, a widow, with six children to raise by herself. She has a controlling pastor that wants to move the flock (a call by God) to another area and wants the congregation to foot the bill with their land sale. Miranda refuses to sell her land so the pastor threatens her to reveal secrets from her past. The plot thickens when Miranda falls from a cliff and is hurt. Enter her brother-in-law Jack who is a widow also to take care of her kids while she is in the hospital. Miranda named him legal guardian of her children while she recovers. Jack discovers that the kids are so sheltered and brings life and change into the family. The kids had never seen marshmallows!!. Jack can't understand Miranda and her secrets and keeps trying to persuade her to let him help her while falling in love with her.
The ending was a surprise and her secret was a surprise also. This is just a joy to read.
Thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah for my free copy to review just for my honest opinion
Thursday, May 26, 2011
More Library Reads
I love my library! Now that I don't work at a Christian bookstore where I had lots of books at my fingertips to read and enjoy-my library is my new best friend. They have been so good to order books I have asked for and the first two were ones I asked for.
Beneath the Night Tree by Nicole Baart. This is her third book in her series about Julia Desmit and her life from when she became a single mother and the trials that followed. The first book was After the Leaves Fall, the second was Summer Snow. Each of her books are extremely well written and very hard to put down. I found myself mesmerised by the storyline and what all she goes thru with her unorthodox family. All the books are stories about a young girl's struggle with loss, love, identity and faith with characters that are hard to forget and a story that you won't forget either. These are books that I would reread again-they are that good!!
Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl was one I couldn't wait to get my hands on to read. This is her third in the Triple Threat Novel series and WOW was it good. I read half the first night and finished it the next night-very unusual for me. The story is about a cunning lady serial killer and three professional women caught up in her world. This is a fast paced thriller with lots of twist and turns that keep you turning pages like I did till I finished it. The only problem is I have to wait till fall for another book by this author. I highly recommend he Hand of Fate and Face of Betrayal books in the Triple Threat series. She will be one of your" new favorite authors" like me.
One Step at a Time by Josh Bleill was a book I found thru the Indianapolis Star and it was fabulous. It is the story of a marine from Greenfield, Indiana that is injured critically in Iraq by and IED. He loses both legs and lots of other injuries. He also lost two of his best friends which was probably the hardest of all. It is a story of his journey from enlistment, active duty in Iraq and two years of rehab and then his job with the Indianapolis Colts as a community spokesperson. You will fall in love with his faith, his enthusiasm, joy, humor but most of all his dependence on God to keep him going. This was a book that just flowed and how even when life doesn't turn out how we think it should-God still has great plans to use us not matter if we are missing legs there is still a way to go forward-one step at a time. I have a daughter in the Army and this book shows me just how the military people are there for each other and really take care of each other-quite a big family of support.
Beneath the Night Tree by Nicole Baart. This is her third book in her series about Julia Desmit and her life from when she became a single mother and the trials that followed. The first book was After the Leaves Fall, the second was Summer Snow. Each of her books are extremely well written and very hard to put down. I found myself mesmerised by the storyline and what all she goes thru with her unorthodox family. All the books are stories about a young girl's struggle with loss, love, identity and faith with characters that are hard to forget and a story that you won't forget either. These are books that I would reread again-they are that good!!
Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl was one I couldn't wait to get my hands on to read. This is her third in the Triple Threat Novel series and WOW was it good. I read half the first night and finished it the next night-very unusual for me. The story is about a cunning lady serial killer and three professional women caught up in her world. This is a fast paced thriller with lots of twist and turns that keep you turning pages like I did till I finished it. The only problem is I have to wait till fall for another book by this author. I highly recommend he Hand of Fate and Face of Betrayal books in the Triple Threat series. She will be one of your" new favorite authors" like me.
One Step at a Time by Josh Bleill was a book I found thru the Indianapolis Star and it was fabulous. It is the story of a marine from Greenfield, Indiana that is injured critically in Iraq by and IED. He loses both legs and lots of other injuries. He also lost two of his best friends which was probably the hardest of all. It is a story of his journey from enlistment, active duty in Iraq and two years of rehab and then his job with the Indianapolis Colts as a community spokesperson. You will fall in love with his faith, his enthusiasm, joy, humor but most of all his dependence on God to keep him going. This was a book that just flowed and how even when life doesn't turn out how we think it should-God still has great plans to use us not matter if we are missing legs there is still a way to go forward-one step at a time. I have a daughter in the Army and this book shows me just how the military people are there for each other and really take care of each other-quite a big family of support.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Desert Gift
I just finished Desert Gift by Sally John and it was one of those books where I read other reviews on this book and went ahead and picked this to read. I got this book free from Tyndale Publishers for my honest opinion. So my honest opinion is: it was just ok. I struggled with the plot-very uninteresting and way too long. The book and plot seemed to drag on forever till I got to the end. The characters seemed so trite and focused on themselves which got tiring after a while.
The story plot about Jillian Galloway being a successful radio talk show host and known as a marriage expert. She has a new book out and is leaving on a book tour when her husband tells her he wants a divorce. She is wondering if her whole life is a sham and how can she get her marriage back. This is supposed to be a book about unexpected detours that our lives can take and how God is always at work. There was some of that but mostly I felt the book just rambled on and on. Very seldom do I not like a Christian book and I am sure she is a great author, but this book left me relieved when I turned the last page.
The story plot about Jillian Galloway being a successful radio talk show host and known as a marriage expert. She has a new book out and is leaving on a book tour when her husband tells her he wants a divorce. She is wondering if her whole life is a sham and how can she get her marriage back. This is supposed to be a book about unexpected detours that our lives can take and how God is always at work. There was some of that but mostly I felt the book just rambled on and on. Very seldom do I not like a Christian book and I am sure she is a great author, but this book left me relieved when I turned the last page.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Thicker than Blood
I have had this book on hold at the library since I read her second book Bound by Guilt two weeks ago. There were some characters in that book that are in this book but stand alone enough to read the way I did. CJ Darlington was an award winner in the Jerry Jenkins Christian Writers Guild and after reading her two books, it is easy to see why.
Thicker than Blood centers around Christy Williams and her work in a book store that deals with rare and first edition books. It is a fascinating look into the world of antiquarian books and two sisters with a past full of regrets. It also shows addiction, betrayal and God's powerful reach in all their lives. As you read this story, you feel like you are right there in the room with them, experiencing all their raw pain and emotion.
This lady can write-be prepared to keep reading, because she keeps you enthralled in the storyline. Can't wait for her next one-
Thicker than Blood centers around Christy Williams and her work in a book store that deals with rare and first edition books. It is a fascinating look into the world of antiquarian books and two sisters with a past full of regrets. It also shows addiction, betrayal and God's powerful reach in all their lives. As you read this story, you feel like you are right there in the room with them, experiencing all their raw pain and emotion.
This lady can write-be prepared to keep reading, because she keeps you enthralled in the storyline. Can't wait for her next one-
Monday, May 9, 2011
Lightkeeper's Ball
Oh, how I love Colleen Coble's books!!. Picked this book up from the library and devoured it quickly. This is the third in her Lightkeeper's series and it was super good. Since I have read all of her books, I know she does not write a bad book.
This book takes place in Mercy Falls California. Olivia Steward is heiress to an empire. Her family is considered to be very wealthy but in real life, their wealth has disappeared. The only hope is for the Stewart's daughters' to marry well. Olivia's sister, Eleanor was engaged to Harrison Bennett who is very wealthy. Eleanor dies very mysteriously so Olivia travels to Mercy Falls as Lady Devonworth hoping to find out who or what killed Eleanor. She finds that her death wasn't an accident and suspects Harrison to be the guilty one. Then the plot thickens when a charity ball takes place and truths long hidden will be revealed.
This book kept me guessing-which all of her books do-as to who the culprit really was. I was totally surprised by the killer. That is why Colleen is such a good writer, she weaves twists and turns throughout the book, and then completely surprises you with the ending. She always puts suspense, romance and lots of rich deep faith in her books.
Can't wait for the next Colleen Coble book. That's what happens when you read her books.
This book takes place in Mercy Falls California. Olivia Steward is heiress to an empire. Her family is considered to be very wealthy but in real life, their wealth has disappeared. The only hope is for the Stewart's daughters' to marry well. Olivia's sister, Eleanor was engaged to Harrison Bennett who is very wealthy. Eleanor dies very mysteriously so Olivia travels to Mercy Falls as Lady Devonworth hoping to find out who or what killed Eleanor. She finds that her death wasn't an accident and suspects Harrison to be the guilty one. Then the plot thickens when a charity ball takes place and truths long hidden will be revealed.
This book kept me guessing-which all of her books do-as to who the culprit really was. I was totally surprised by the killer. That is why Colleen is such a good writer, she weaves twists and turns throughout the book, and then completely surprises you with the ending. She always puts suspense, romance and lots of rich deep faith in her books.
Can't wait for the next Colleen Coble book. That's what happens when you read her books.