Critical Reaction - Book Review

When I first started "Critical Reaction" by Todd M. Johnson, I couldn't picture the places he was trying to describe and thought, "Ah man, I've chosen a dud." But, another chapter or two and I found myself really enjoying this book. The character exposition could have been a little deeper (I didn't find myself loving or hating anyone the way I usually do in books) but, nonetheless, I managed to accidentally read for a couple of hours before putting this courtroom fiction down. The best parts of this novel were all in the courtroom. Mr. Johnson does a great job of painting the drama associated with such a place. I just wish he had carried it over into the other parts of the story. This book was good but not great.

BTW, I was given a copy of this book free in exchange for an honest review.

Congratulations Sweepstake winner!

Congratulations to Kim Grant of Burlington, ON! She won a copy of "The First Christmas Night". Thanks to everyone who entered! Good luck next time.

How to Talk to a Skeptic - Book Review

I am NOT one of those people who can easily talk about my faith in a deep, courtroom defense style. I'm more of a "I was lost but Jesus found me" type gal so when a book comes along as amazing as Donald J. Johnson's "How to Talk to a Skeptic", I'm thrilled. This book was fantastic! Mr. Johnson blew my mind! I always knew the arguments against God (like He's bloodthirsty and given to temper tantrums) were false but I couldn't articulated why. This book does a great job of laying out the fallacies of the common misconceptions about the God of the Bible. Well done Mr. Johnson! Loved this book. Two thumbs up. BTW, I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The First Christmas Night - book review and GIVEAWAY!!!

Every once and a while a children's book comes along with such charming illustrations that it delights even the staunchest adult around. "The First Christmas Night" by Keith Christopher fits in that category. Illustrator Christine Kornacki's pictures are shockingly good. This book arrived at our house while I had friends over, a man and wife. Neither they nor we, my husband and myself, could have enjoyed thumbing through it more. This book comes highly recommended if you are looking to purchase a beautiful Christmas storybook for your young ones. I'm totally excited to announce that the publishers of this book have given me an extra copy so that I can host a giveaway. Just leave a comment below and your name will be put in the hat. Once a winner is picked, I'll contact you for your mailing address and the publisher will mail it right to your house. The draw will be on November 17th, 2013. Good luck (contest only open to Canada and the US)

BTW, I got a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Letting Go of Your Limitations

Book Review Time. I was given a copy of Sandie Freed's "Letting Go of Your Limitations" in exchange for my honest opinion. It's about getting past spiritual hang ups that are likely standing in the way of you "experiencing God's transforming power". These are issues every Christian should face and deal with and this book does a good job of addressing them. As far as the quality of the writing, I think there could have been better editing. It has the feel of being a transcript of a good sermon (which doesn't necessarily make for a good read). However, having said that, learning what it takes to go to the next level with Christ is worth it!

Return To Me

A proclamation given. A people freed. A Temple to build. A prophet in the making. "Return to Me" by Lynn Austin gives a fictional accounting of the lives of the Israelites who were freed from their Babylonian captors. They were told to go back and rebuild the temple. Using the Bible as her plot outline, Ms. Austin pulls out the hardships faced by these newly freed people including their varying degrees of passion towards the building project. I'm not going to lie, the first half of this book seemed endless. It took a long time to trudge through but suddenly and without warning, I found myself pulled into the characters and encouraged by their passion for God. Do I long for Him like that? The idea of His Holiness surrounded me. Surprisingly, once the book ended I was sad. I love this genre and thoroughly enjoy fiction based on Scripture. Austin's books based on the Kings are fantastic. Perhaps because of this previous love, I set the book up too high in my mind before even starting and didn't give it a fair chance. I think it's worth the read but I can't say it floored me the way some of her other works did. BTW, I got the book free in exchange for an honest review.

"Why Still Care about Israel?"

READ THIS BOOK! Never has anyone so clearly and so succinctly laid out the reason why the Church has NOT replaced Israel. The author, Sandra Teplinsky, also does thorough job of detailing the ridiculous claims much of the world has made against this small legitimate state. She is also clear in her message that we should be pro-Israel but NOT anti-Palestine. They need Jesus like everyone else and we should be upholding both parties in prayer. If you read one book this month, make it this one. BTW, I got a copy of this book free in exchange for an honest review. I know my review is glowing but it is 100% how I feel having read it.

Southdale Bible Chapel London Presents

Thought I'd let you know of an upcoming event I'm apart of. I'm very excited about what God has put on my heart to share and hope you can come!!

Rebellious Heart - Book review

I'm always amused by the Christian romance genre; a kiss is the utmost pinnacle of physical aspiration. In "Rebellious Heart" by Jody Hedlund, it was no different. As always, they long for each other's lips, miscommunicate their feelings, and of course the heroine in the book is not like other girls because she loves books. The one thing I wish the author had done was let us, the readers, know that she had based the book loosely on the lives of John and Abigail Adams. It's written in the back of the book but it would have given the story a whole other level to have had that information before starting. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes fluffy romance novels that follow the expected format. Nothing was reinvented here.

Finding God in the Bible - Book Review

Dangerous

I'm sitting in my living room. I hear the babbling of the fish tank and the tick of the wall clock. That tick drives me nuts in the absence of other noise. I have no reason to fear. Having grown up in the Christian church, I'm fully aware of the spiritual battle raging all around but I'm too busy vacuuming and checking emails to notice. I continue on with the statue quo. Occasionally I'll get the guts to hand a stranger a tract and consider myself a true Warrior Chick for God's Kingdom. Then I read a book like "Dangerous" by Caleb Bislow. Then I realize how far from the front lines I live. This guy is the real deal and uses the book to both tell of the amazing things God has allowed him to do as well as encourage you, the reader, to follow suit. I was mesmerized. It's a great book and one everyone who says they "follow" Christ should read. At this point in my life I feel very in love with Jesus and very willing to go where He leads me. At the moment he has led me to a rather quiet life that consists of preaching at ladies' conferences, helping at Awana and teaching Sunday School. It doesn't sound nearly as impressive but I know that my God often works in quiet ways which is the case in my life at present. However, should the day arise when my Loving Father tell me to cross over to the other side of the tracks, I feel better equipped to do it after having read this book.

Booorrrring

I was given "The Secret Keeper" by Beverly Lewis free in exchange for an honest review; here it is in one word - DULL. Maybe if you want to hear over and over again about how hard it is to become Amish, or maybe if you need to fall asleep, you'll like this book but otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it. I suppose you could enjoy the inspiration of watching someone trying to find her way in the world but the character's quest is out of a need to fit in where her heart lies - Old World Amish Country, and not out of her love of God.

READ THIS BOOK!

Honestly, if you are only going to read one book this year make it "Finding God in the Bible"!!! Author Darren Wilson grew up in the church and yet never learned to speak Christian-ese. (Thankfully) This well written book is refreshing and provides a lot of insight into the stories of the bible that I have heard a hundred times. Somehow Mr. Wilson managed to pull something out of each of those stories that I had never thought about before. My heart feels full after reading this book. God is so thoroughly in love with me and just wants me to be His friend. What a crazy idea! BTW, I was given this book free in exchange for an honest review.

Unseen - Book Review

Sometimes I really want to be able to write a positive review because a book contains important information. "Unseen" by Jack Graham falls into that category. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past to poor writing. He has excellent points but he takes so long getting to them that I find myself skimming or even flipping past them. For example: "If you find yourself distracted by the hum of the air-conditioner, the tilt of the dusty lampshade, or the dog barking at cars as they drive by, simply ask God to gently tug your thoughts back to him - his character, his kindness, his purposes in his world." This sentence reflects the majority of writing. His editor needed to tell him to stop using so many commas. Having said that, Mr. Graham does a good job of reminding the reader of what's important and of the vast realm we don't see. Let us not forget the battle raging! Oh, and by the way, I got this book free from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.

An Embarrassing Experiment

Soooo, as a Bzzagent, I was assigned the job of making a video showing the absorbance of Always Infinity Pads. Yeah, it didn't go as expected BUT they are a great product. I'm glad they gave me a free sample. Here's the link to the experiment video. Enjoy.