Book Reviews

Redeeming Love By Francine Rivers

Last summer, along with the church book club I read a personal favorite of mine –Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.  Redeeming Love is such a powerful story based on the Old Testament book of Hosea told in a modernized format. I am amazed how beautifully Francine captured the emotion and truth throughout this book. One line from this book haunted me for weeks:

“Would you have her hang on her cross forever?”

For Angel, the main character, she was chained to her past – a life filled with unspeakable horrors. She was delivered, but the physical deliverance did not free her mind. She was so stuck in the shame of where she had been, she didn’t realize that she was free. Her husband Michael tells her this: “You’re free. You just don’t know it yet.”

As Angel returns to her past life, I realized the weight carried in the words: “Would you have her hang on her cross forever?” And that is even when healing comes to your heart, sometimes you have to go back still in order to move forward. Even after healing comes, sometimes the mindset still is where you have been, or who you were. It may be true that the pain is not as prevalent as it was, but you still don’t see how you “fit” in the place that you are now. You are tormented in paradise because you know that you do not deserve to be there.

Going back allows you to see that the you who has been transformed by love does not belong in the past either. It brings a shift in thinking and a recognition of redemption.

In choosing to risk and step out, your heart is transformed by the love of God.

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Check it out here on Amazon

Click here for the trailer

SPARK: Transform Your World One Small Risk at a Time By Jason Jaggard

I was excited when I first received “Spark”. Based on the description it seemed to be just what I was looking for! I expected it to be something similar to “Radical” by David Platt – uplifting, inspiring, and challenging. I was disappointed that as I read through “Spark” that this was not the case.

The stories included in the book have potential, however, the way that they were told lack a richness in language which takes away from what I believe the author was trying to get across.

I expected something more than what could be given. The over-all concept is good. However, now knowing the content, I wouldn’t read beyond the subtitle: “Transform Your World One Small Risk at a Time”. That speaks more than what is printed on the pages.

I received this book free from Multnomah Books as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Get Lost: Your Guide to Finding True Love By Dannah Gresh

You see him walking down the hall, (what do you mean who? Don’t ask me who. You know who I’m talking about!) and all the sudden your mind begins to move at a  whirlwind speed! Will this be the day that he finally notices you! How long has it been since you have wanted him to see you? How long have you waited to get his attention? And still, if you do get it, how far will you go to gain his affection? How much do you really need him?

Maybe it has been the same guy for months or years even. Or maybe it is a different guy every week. You can’t seem to help yourself with these feelings. It is a longing in your heart that you can’t describe – the need to be noticed and the need to be recognized and loved. It is as if you cannot be complete without him. And he doesn’t even realize everything he is to you.

You desire and you want…you push yourself further every time.

This is just an example of the violent craving that Dannah addresses in her book, Get Lost, to be released on April 2nd. Not only does she talk about the craving, but she also talks about the cure. Included in this book Dannah walks you through a 10 day “love feast” and finally the fulfillment. This is a book about God and guys and how we can sometimes get them mixed up.

“Discover how to get so lost in God that a guy has to seek Him to find you.” 

Love can be a complex word. We love our family, we love our friends, we love our food? The English language by far is lacking in the area of what love really is. Dannah goes though scripture and talks about the Hebrew and Greek words for love and what they mean. In example, Hesed is the Hebrew form of love to describe the God kind of love for us. In the Greek, this love is called agape. This love is unfailing, and is not rooted in emotionalism or circumstances – it is a love that is about the other and not oneself. This is the love that we really desire, and long for, and that is offered to us, but dear one will you respond? 

Get Lost with God as Dannah leads you through a 10-day love feast that will lead you to countless days in the love and presence of our Lord.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to get lost!

Website: http://www.purefreedom.org

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Click here to pre-order Get Lost on Amazon.

Click here to watch the Get Lost book trailer.

About the Author: Dannah Gresh is the best-selling author of more than fifteen books, including, And the Bride Wore White, Lies Young Women Believe (with Nancy Leigh DeMoss), and What Are You Waiting For? A popular speaker nationwide, Dannah has long been at the forefront of the movement to encourage tweens and teens to pursue purity. Dannah lives in State College, PA with her husband, Bob.

(I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group  in exchange for my honest review as a part of their Blogging for Books program.)

Fierce Beauty: Choosing to Stand for What Matters Most by Kim Meeder

“True beauty is not about how you look but how you live.”  the back cover of Fierce Beauty boasts. I have not read a book this powerful in quite some time. Maybe it was God’s timing when it came to receiving the message that is written in this book. Or maybe it was the inspirational stories. Regardless of what it was, this book helped to bring me to a recognition of the position that I have in the Kingdom of God.

Kim divides this book into three parts: 1) The Problem, 2) The King, and 3) The Warrior. Her message is skillfully woven through inspirational stories from her own life and also include many striking truths and revelations that will leave you wanting more.

Ladies, I highly recommend this to be a book on your summer reading list! It will change your whole paradigm on not only your position in the Kingdom, but also give you a confidence in who and whose you are. You’re not just a pretty face, but a warrior who is about to take territory! Fierce Beauty is a call for women to battle the lies and see the truth once and for all – and to learn to stand for what matters most!

C heck Fierce Beauty out today!

About the Author:

Kim Meeder is the author of Hope Rising, Bridge Called Hope, and Blind Hope. Along with her husband, Troy, she owns and operates Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in Central Oregon, a nonprofit organization that rescues abused and neglected horses and pairs them with disadvantaged children, offering them a place of safety, peace, and hope. She has been a popular guest on the Focus on the Family radio broadcast, Dr. Dobson’s Family Talk, and featured on the CBS Early Show.

Check out Kim’s site by clicking here

For a look inside click here

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review as a part of their Blogging for Books program.

Lioness Arising: Wake Up and Change Your World by Lisa Bevere

Lioness Arising (Click here for an excerpt)

Awaken!

In “Lioness Arising” Lisa Bevere urges her fellow women to Rise up and recognize their position as a Lioness. This book captivated me so much and I simply could not put it down! This powerful message came in a timely season of my life resulting with a stirring in my heart to awaken and respond.

This title is based on Numbers 23:24 – “These people rise up like a lioness; like a majestic lion they stand.”

Truly, this has been the most powerful book that I have read in a long while. This is the call to rise up like a lioness – combine ease with strength and rest with power and a fierceness combined with gentleness – this is a message like I have never heard before.

Lisa writes, “God did not save you to tame you!”

We are called for more than this! It is time for the women to awaken and to rise up!

This inspirational book is a call to awaken “to a life of fierce passion”, to “wake up and change your world!” I highly recommend that every woman read this! Old or young, there is no mistaking the need for today’s women to take a join voices for the Pride!

This book will change your life!

Other books by Lisa Bevere include:

Nurture, Fight Like a Girl, Kissed the Girls and Made them Cry, and The True Measure of a Women. These are just a few of her titles and each come highly recommended.

Lisa Bevere is a best-selling author, international speaker and co-host of The Messenger television program. You can get more information by clicking on the links below.

Messenger International

Lioness Arising

Follow Lisa on Twitter

Lisa’s Facebook Page

I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review as a part of their Blogging for Books program.

 

Praying For Your Future Husband by Robin Jones Gunn & Tricia Goyer

Recently I have read the book Praying for Your Future Husband: Preparing Your Heart for His by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer. Now this is something that I’ve been doing for years in addition to writing him letters and such. But this books really helped me to fill in the gaps with specifics. I love the stories that Robin and Tricia have woven into the book – their own stories and life experiences. Both have drastically different stories, but at the same time, that is what makes this book so special – because everyone has a different story, especially when it comes to love. But to those who waited, and to those who failed to do so, there is something in this book for you.

As you are told in the beginning of Praying for Your Future Husband, “Love begins in the heart.”

It seems like such a simple lesson – a simple statement. But it holds much truth in it. We need to be preparing our hearts as well as praying for that of our future husband’s.

Some things that this book goes into are what we need to be praying for our future husband, such as we need to pray for:

• His Heart
• Him to be a God lover
• Patience
• Understanding
• Trust
• Loyalty & Faithfulness
• Strength
• Protection
• Intimacy
• “The List”
• Contentment
• Commitment

Beautifully drawn together with powerful stories. You will not want to put this book down and it is great to keep on reference. Additionally, it will help you get into the habit of praying for your husband as it teaches you how you can pray for him and even along the way show you what you can do in your heart to prepare it for him. I really do recommend this book! Come check it out!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review as a part of their Blogging for Books program.

His Revolutionary Love – by Lynn Cowell

rev·o·lu·tion·ar·y [rev-uh-loo-shuh-ner-ee]

adjective, noun, plural

1) of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change.

I am in those years. I see the girls, the guys and the drama. I’ve seen so many prematurely give their hearts away only to be broken again and again. I see the yearning in each girl – to be wanted, noticed, admired – to be valued. Little does she realize her value.

John Eldredge knew what he was talking about when he said, “Not every woman wants a battle to fight, but every woman yearns to be fought for… She wants to be more than noticed – she wants to be wanted. She wants to be pursued.”

Too often in this world I have seen so many not realize their value and they put themselves down and spend so much time comparing themselves with other people and some even give themselves away. But they don’t know that they are more. They don’t know that there is someone out there so madly and deeply in love with them.

He sees her and he sees beauty. He sees her and prizes her. He is enthralled by her. But she is so caught up in the world’s system that she doesn’t even know of this love. She doesn’t know about the love that changes everything. She doesn’t know the love that calls her and pursues her.

In His Revolutionary Love: Jesus’ Radical Pursuit of You Lynn Cowell tells of a love such as this. Oh, the thrills I got from reading this book! There is just something about the pursuit of love that excites you to the core! There are so many romance stories out there (and some are actually pretty good, I dare say it.) But nothing will thrill you more than reading this book! Lynn, I believe has truly captured the heart of the subject.

I was watching the Lake House the other night and just found myself going “wow, he waited for her all those years. He waited just to see her! He knew th

at she was all he wanted!” His pursuit (I will admit) made my heart melt. What girl does not want to be pursued like that? And who, while watching this movie, would not put themselves in Dr. Kate Forster’s (played by Sandra Bullock) place. We have dreaming hearts. We yearn for that kind of pursuit! Reading this book, you won’t have to imagine anymore, because you are that person being pursued. You will begin to see how the love the Jesus offers is exactly what you have been yearning for all of your life. This love is truly revolutionary. It changes everything.

There are three parts to this book. They are:

1)His Heart Toward Me

2) His Path for Me

3) His Hopes for Me

Are you looking for something more? Have you found yourself empty or with a longing in your heart that is not filled? Only the Love of God can fill that place in you. Jesus is in radical pursuit of you.

I highly recommend reading this book, ladies! It really will change your life. This love is so amazing. And it never ends. It never fails.

Lynn Cowell has a heart that is so passionate about God and for girls and women to understand in share in the radical love that He has for us. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three teens and is a speaker with Proverbs 31 ministries. You can visit Lynn’s website by clicking here.

What Are You Waiting For? – by Dannah Gresh

When I first received this book, my first reaction was one of excitement. (I LOVE NEW BOOKS!) My second reaction was “Oh snap! Now everyone is going to know I read this!” But I am reviewing it nonetheless and I hope you stick around to hear what I have to say about this book.

Back in 2008 I went to one of Dannah Gresh’s Pure Freedom events and ever since then, when I would hear the word “yada” my mind would instantly take me back to that event where I learned the true meaning of the word. It’s not the equivalent of “blah, blah, blah” as I had initially thought, but it’s real meaning is “to know, to be known, to be deeply respected.” This is something that I have held onto ever since the Pure Freedom conference all those years ago.

In What Are You Waiting For? Dannah takes this word, “yada” and traces it from Genesis to Revelation shedding light on God’s view and purpose of sex.

This world has turned sex into something that is no big deal and something that “everyone is doing” and has completely disregarded the sacredness of it that God had intended.

What Are You Waiting For? also brings in several other topics including:

• “Friends with Benefits”
• Masturbation
• Pornography

And other topics as well. In short:

“Friends with Benefits” – Not only is this a sin, but it’s also impossible for both parties NOT to be hurt in the process. With the way God made us and because this is not in His plan for us, it leaves you broken, confused, and having “benefits” in there is a complete lie! There are no benefits.

Masturbation – This is addressed directly and as the sin that it is.

Pornography – To quote a friend of mine, “Pornography cheapens sexuality, objectifies the human body, reducing it to an object of gratification. ” Dannah expands on this topic more in her book.

Other topics include homosexuality and other difficult sexual issues.

What Are You Waiting For? Is written in a blunt manner and could be an uncomfortable book to read. That much Dannah writes to you on the first page. As this is written to an older audience (mainly senior high and college girls) I would recommend it for the audience to which it is written and no younger than that. The direct style in which it is written is much-needed in the world today. The main message in this book is abstinence.

Before you might have been thinking “yada, yada, yada” as in  “blah, blah, blah” but after reading this book, I know that when you hear “yada, yada, yada” it will have a whole new meaning to you!

SOUL PRINT – by Mark Batterson

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” – C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory


In SoulPrint, Mark Batterson takes you on a journey of self-discovery while exploring the life of King David and walking through his destiny getting a clear view of his soul print.When I picked up this book, I knew it would be a good read – but it did not occur to me how it would change my own mindset on my divine destiny.Mark takes you through this journey hitting on key points to help you discover your destiny. Some of these points include:

• Confidence
• Divine Delays
• Letting God lead
• Integrity
• Willpower
• Your Own Weaknesses
• Your Strengths
• And there are others!

Mark expertly takes you through and raises questions to bring you to a place where you must question your own divine destiny.

God created us uniquely. And each of us has a unique calling on our life and a different journey of getting to where we are called. Our calling and our journey make up our soulprint. But the purpose of our soulprint is to show the very prints of God himself as He has shaped us to be!

Consider SoulPrint a guide in taking your first steps towards self-discovery and to finding your soul print. What mark are you destined to leave?

This is a must read! You will be challenged, encouraged and blessed by the message that Mark Batterson shares in this book!

Radical – by David Platt

Never have I stumbled upon a book that made me think so much about where I stood with Christ. Radical opened my eyes to what it really means to be a follower of Christ. David Platt’s words are undisguised and say it like it is, bringing us to ask ourselves, “Am I radical? Or have a fallen into the trap of the great american dream?

“Radical” is defined in Websters Dictionary as “a person who holds or follows strong convictions” or “A person who advocates fundamental political, economic and social reforms by direct and often uncompromising methods.”

So then, that being defined, who can say that they are Radical for Christ? Do you hold and follow strong convictions and do you never compromise? Is Jesus worth everything to you that you are willing to give up everything for Him?

This book challenged me to think about who Jesus is to me. Yes, He is my savior and I cannot fully express my gratitude to Him, but do I live like that? Do I live like He iseverything to me? Would I be willing to give up everything in order to go and follow Him? This book made me think about that question, and in the process, changed how I live.

Being radical is not compromising. It is believing in something so strongly that you do not back down and you live in a way that shows and supports fully what you believe.

In reading this book, I learned that to be Radical, that means me pushing past my feelings and doing the work that God has called me to do. God has called us all to witness and to make disciples of all nations. This can be uncomfortable sometimes. But we should impact the world! We have this amazing gift from God, and it is available to all people if they choose to accept it! How can we not spread the Word!? It is time to step above the crowd and speak not only with our words, but with our actions that We are Radical for Christ and that we are taking our faith back from the American Dream!

David Platt challenges the readers of his book to participate in the Radical Experiment. This experiment requires that one does these things:

• Pray for the entire world
• Read through the entire Word
• Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose
• Spend your time in another context
• Commit your life to a multiplying community

I’m going to take this challenge, and I’m also going to challenge you to read this book. It is truly inspiring! In these last days we must remember, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Step up to the challenge, and show that Jesus is really worth everything to you by living radically!

In our age, it has never been easier to convert someone and yet harder to disciple.

The beginning starts at the end of ourselves. I highly recommend reading Radical: Taking Your Faith Back from the American Dream by David Platt. You will be challenged and you will be blessed.