Dirty God - Book Review

When I first received this book in the mail, my husband looked at me and thought it was a book of blasphemy. Who could blame him with the title and the cover. Then the subtitle: Jesus in the Trenches - it was now, "OH! Well that makes sense." The book was engaging and I appreciated the way that Johnnie vividly paints pictures of his travels and encounters with people that God has placed in his path. Dirty God is not for the faint of heart or anyone that desires to follow a blond hair blue-eyed Jesus that sits on a palatial throne separated from the messiness of life. This book is for someone that wants to dive in and truly wrestle with the idea of grace and what it looks like on a daily basis. I received this book from BookSneeze for my honest review and opinion.

Heaven Changes Everything

Following their previous book, Heaven is For Realy, the Burpo family try to go more indepth and behind the scenes of what happened on that frightful day. They offer to give a glimpse of hope and the trauma that they found themselves entrenched in. Heaven Changes Everything by Todd and Sonja Burpo is a devotional reader that shares the lessons they have been learning since their son's amazing experience. It is written in the same friendly style as Heaven is for Real. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, I found parts of this one to be quite repetitive. Although the lessons are more in depth than the story was in the first book, most of them come from a section of the first book. In some ways, it almost seems like a segmented commentary on the first book. Because of this, it would certainly not be necessary to read the first book in order to appreciate the second. **** I received a copy of Heaven Changes Everything in exchange for an honest review from BookSneeze, a blogger book review community. I received no other compensation. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Bible Stories That End in a Hug - Book Review

Bible Stories that end with a Hug has 75 bible stories for preschoolers. The bible stories presented follow the same order as the bible and are very short and easy to understand for little ones. Accompanying every bible story are two questions that correlate with the story to help children discuss and understand the bible story. Discussion points are provided with each question to help parents guide meaningful discussion with their child as they learn God's word. There is also a related scripture that helps expand the meaning of every story in the book. Every bible story ends with a hug time for parent and child! This book is very short and to the point, and it is especially helpful with two active boys! We read it each morning as a family during breakfast, and both boys look forward to Daddy reading the Bible Story. My 7-year-old has even stepped up a time or two to read it as well. I highly recommend this book! Provided by Tyndale Publishers for review

Wisdom Meets Passion - Book Review

Author Dan Miller writes a clever and practical book as well as encouraging. The audience for the book is wide-ranged and can reach all types of demographics. I'm not a huge reader of self-help books, but this one caught my attention. The obvious wasn't overly stated, but it pointed out success, redefining security and freedom and focusing on happiness. However, not preachy or judgement, it was very authentic. This book is a good read, but it was difficult sometimes to read the words in orange text. I was given this book to review by Thomas Nelson Publishing for my honest review.

Tha Fantasy Fallacy: Book Review

This book is beyond what I expected; Shannon took the emphasis completely off of judging fantasies to exploring their meanings. It's like opening a toolbox and finding what one has needed all along without knowing it! In the book, The Fantasy Fallacy, Shannon Ethridge analyzes sexual fantasies and the reasons behind them. Chapters in the book include; Why Discuss Sexual Fantasies?, The Faces Behind Sexual Fantasies, Our Fascination With Pleasure, Pain and Power and Putting Fantasy in Its Place. The book also includes recommended resources and help for recovery. Before reading Shannon's book I had never thought about where fantasies come from or why we have them. I just thought of them as something to battle against and didn't understand why the battle never ended. It's more about how to live with them by learning more about yourself which will hopefully help the fantasies to happen less often. I love that the author is not judgmental. She takes a look at many fantasies and brings them into the light. The fantasies themselves are not evil; and when exposed to the light, darkness has no hold on them or people who have them. Shannon's research indicates that the fantasies we entertain are not always rooted in the sexual acts themselves and we don't have to act on them. We can control our fantasies instead of allowing our fantasies to control us. Disclaimer: I received a free book in order to write this review and have shared my honest opinion.

As One Devil to Another - Book Review

I rated this book a 2.5, as I believe that it will appeal only to very a specific audience. The writing is done well, but in an older style (to imitate that of the original). The subject matter is limited to those who read satire and/or Christian texts, though I do feel as though it could put off each of these readers equally. I went in for the satire and feel as though the Christian element was a bit heavy - handed. Even a Christian reader may find the satire to be heavy-handed. I felt the original was more subtle in these tones. As with many stories, I always suggest the original over any subsequent "remakes." Read the original first, if it appeals to you, pick up this one as well. With all that said, Platt has done an admirable job of updating the original. ***I received a complimentary copy of this book to review. I was asked to give my honest opinion of the book - which I have done.***

Beauty for Ashes - Book Review

This is my first Dorothy Love novel and I'm most certain and I will be reading more by her. It is not very often that I read Christian romances. Usually the storytelling isn't very gripping. They often are sweet and feel-good stories, but not one to keep me up at night for the next page; however, this one is. The author's writing is clear, concise and moving. Beauty for Ashes is a very moving story and I very much enjoyed reading it. The story itself is just delightful. Carrie's brother Henry has just married Mary, and Carrie feels trapped by Mary and her sons' intrusion to the family farm. The women fight like cats until Carrie moves out... only to move back in when Mary becomes pregnant and Henry leaves to find work in Chicago. Mary treats Carrie as a servant, as though she is there to do her bidding. When Carrie decides to do something else and tells Mary that she should take a part in caring for her family, Mary tells Carrie not to be so lazy! I kept waiting for the time in the book when Mary would see the error in how she was treating Carrie and was slightly disappointed that it didn't happen the way I wanted it to. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's sweet, honest, and a joy to read. ***I received a complimentary copy of this book to review. I was asked to give my honest opinion of the book - which I have done.***