Category Archives: Books

Book Review: How to Love Your Neighbor Without Being Weird

Leave a comment

As much as I have talked about being intentional, it is still hard for me to get to know the people right next to me in my own neighborhood.  I have gotten to know my next door neighbor (yay for Mommy friends!!) and have chatted with the neighbors on the other side of our house….but that’s it.

Amy Lively’s book has some great suggestions and practical tips for getting to know your neighbors.  She even talks about ways to do that if you’re an extrovert…and ways to do it if you’re an introvert.

Her book was convicting, as I realized again that it is sometimes easier for me to love my figurative neighbor rather than my literal neighbor.  And her book was also exciting, as I came up with new ideas to love my neighbors.

From hosting a block party, to starting a Bible study, to creating a neighborhood watch, Amy has a lot of practical ideas to implement, as well as other resources and sources of encouragement.  Check out her site here.

I recommend this book if you have ever wondered how you can love your neighbors well…without being weird. 😉

Note: I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for this review.

-Bonnie

Book Review: I Tried Until I Almost Died

2 Comments

I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone who has struggled with depression, discouragement, legalism, or living in the try-hard life.

It is obvious from start to finish that Sandra McCollom has experienced the anxiety and frustration she’s talking about.  She’s not just preaching.  So much of what she said put words into how I have felt…..”battle weary from trying to live the Christian life”….or at times doing all the right things “desperately trying to be worth something.”

legalism and grace

This book is about grace.  Grace is on every page.  Jesus is on every page.  The author shares some of her personal story in living in legalism and she talks about how God broke through those walls and opened her eyes to the truth of His grace.

From repeating truth to yourself to recognizing and receiving His grace right in the midst of temptation, Sandra gives practical and wisdom-filled advice on how to run into His arms of grace.

Only negatives to the book were a couple times where it seemed as if the author was hinting toward a prosperity gospel (ie, success in your business or financial life will come as you learn to rely on His grace)….and a few other places where Bible verses were taken out of context.  So, as always, read with a humble heart and discerning mind.

Overall, I am very thankful that I read this book!!!

Note: I received this book from Blogging for Books for free in exchange for this review.

-Bonnie

January – March Reading

Leave a comment

Not much reading again, but at least I got a few books in. 🙂

light-465350_1280

Fiction:

The Patmos Deception by Davis Bunn (review posted here)

Nonfiction:

Boundaries in Marriage by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

The Passion Principles by Shannon Ethridge

 

Currently Reading…

Beyond I Do by Jennifer Slattery

I Tried Until I Almost Died by Sandra McCollom

So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore

Book Review: Supermarket Healthy

1 Comment

I have been trying to revamp our diet over the past year or so, making gradual changes toward a healthier pattern of eating.

The problem with a lot of healthy recipes?  They include items I would never buy due to location or price.  So I was definitely interested when I saw the subtitle “Recipes and Know-How for Eating Well Without Spending a Lot.”

9780307985170

Not only are there tons of recipes in there, the author includes tips throughout.  There are supermarket strategies (buying tips, ways to save, etc), kitchen strategies (time-saving tips, etc), and entertaining strategies (stretching food and making it party friendly).  She also includes what she calls blueprints….a recipe but with variations on it.  I personally like this because I like to have a basic recipe I follow even if I do change things up a bit.  And the final component is the nutritional information included for each recipe.

You can read the introduction here, as it explains well everything that is included.

As for the recipes, there are still quite a few that require ingredients I never purchase (clams and seaweed noodles, for example) and I am unsure how to buy them inexpensively.  Then again, I’ve never looked for them, so maybe I would be pleasantly surprised at the price.  There were quite a few recipes that intrigued me however, like the Deconstructed Lasagna, the Grilled Orange-Glazed Tuna, and the Caffeinated Coffee-Oat Smoothie.

I look forward to giving some of these recipes a try!

Note: I received this book from Blogging for Books for free in exchange for this review.

-Bonnie

I am Spoken For!

6 Comments

Another book that I needed.  Spoken for by Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Bethke.

I knew that God loved me.  I grew up singing “Jesus Loves Me.”  I don’t know when or how I started to doubt.  But somewhere along the way it happened.

Could God really care for me?  Doesn’t my sin push Him away?  Didn’t that sin I just committed push Him over the edge?  Doesn’t He get tired of me?

This book talks about how God is relentlessly pursuing you.  It talks about the verses where God is likened to a bridegroom rejoicing over you – His bride.

So often I have heard God’s love downplayed.  That phrases like “passionate love” and “great romance” lower God’s love to us to the realm of a touch-feely romance.  I must beg to differ.

When I think of how much my husband loved me on our wedding day…..that is a ton of love.  If God is likened to a bridegroom….that is some serious, passionate love.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us.” – 1 John 3:1

“As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.” – Isaiah 62:5

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus.” – Romans 8:1

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end.  They are
new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
-Lamentations 3:22-23

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom.”  – 2 Corinthians 3:17

That is some deep, deep love.

At one point in the book, Robin shares a story of how her husband told her she apologized too much.  Always apologizing for things that she didn’t even do.  My husband and I have had that very conversation many times.

“That’s a trap of the enemy,’ he said.

‘A trap? What do you mean?’

He reassured me that if I apologized or asked forgiveness for my mistake, then that was the end of it.  In God’s eyes, my sin was tossed into the deepest sea.  It was ridiculous for me to paddle out and fish around to pull my failures back up just so I could hold them high to say, ‘Look at how I messed up.  I’m so sorry.'”

That is exactly how I have acted so many times.  But the Bible tells us that our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).  And the Bible also says that God’s word is completely true (Joshua 21:45, Numbers 23:19, John 17:17).

This book talked about how I am precious to God.  Me.  Precious.

I don’t believe this concept is too far fetched.  God is likened to a Father many times throughout Scripture.  When I think about my love for my son and how precious he is to me….I realize that that is the kind of love God has for me.  Not stoic, stagnant, theological love.  Real love.  Real feelings.  Real delight.  Real joy.  For me.

This book talked about how God pursues me.  Even in the Garden of Eden, God set the precedent.  Adam and Eve sinned, and still God came to them.  He knew 100% that they had sinned.  That they had failed Him.  And yet He still came.  He initiated.  He pursued.

This book talked about how God loves me.  I realized how much I was believing that love is temperamental….it can come and go.  That one day a person can be happy and in love, the next day they can be cranky, frustrated, and upset at you.  But God is not a person.  He is true love.  He is pure love.  God’s love came to me when I was yet a sinner.  He began the pursuit when I was a sinner.  He is not shocked now by my sin, by my mistakes.  He chose me in the midst of my sin.

This book was huge.  I desperately needed to know and believe the love of God toward me.  It spoke to my heart.  The knowledge of God’s love is absolutely life-changing.

-Bonnie

When the Darkness will not Lift

6 Comments

In the midst of all of this, I remembered a book that has been sitting on my shelf for years.  I decided to finally pull it off the shelf and read it.

D9xlw7UxTBqQw5sLf8cJ_reef insp-72

When the Darkness Will Not Lift by John Piper……oh my goodness.  I needed that.  It wasn’t a long, in-depth, “religious” book.  It’s 79 pages and written perfectly for the depressed, discouraged, jaded, and weary.

He talks about that mustard seed of faith.  Even if it is minuscule…even if it is a mustard seed….it is still faith.  I don’t have to try to increase my faith.  I don’t have to try so hard to get mountain moving, earth shaking faith.  I just need faith.

I don’t need to be so ashamed at church because I am not focusing on the hymns and because my heart is shaky repeating some of the lyrics.  Those parts of the lyrics I can sing?  That is my faith.  I can own that.  Rejoice in that.  That part of my heart is real.  That is Jesus working.

“Stop looking at your faith.  And rivet your attention on Christ.”  – page 41

Over and over and over this book ministered to my very soul.

“It is utterly crucial that in our darkness we affirm the wise, strong hand o God to hold us, even when we have no strength to hold him.” – pg 37

It was so reassuring to know that I am not the only one who has felt like I simply cannot hold on any longer.  And so reassuring to realize…..I don’t have to.

“Our faith rises and falls.  It has degrees.  But our security does not rise and fall.  It has no degrees.  We must persevere in faith.  That’s true.  But there are times when our faith is the size of a mustard seed and barely visible.  In fact, the darkest experience for the child of a God is when his faith sinks out of his own sight.  Not out of God’s sight, but out of his own sight.  Yes, it is possible to be so overwhelmed with darkness that you do not know if you are a Christian – and yet still be one.” – pg. 38

Again…..hugely reassuring to know that I was not alone in feeling this way.  I was not a bad Christian.  And even on my darkest days, God’s vision never faltered, His hand never wavered.  He could still see me and He was still holding me.

He quoted from Richard Baxter: “Say not, that you are unfit for thanks and praises unless you have a praising heart and were the children of God: for every man, good and bad, is bound to praise God, and to be thankful for all that he hath received, and to do it as well as he can, rather than leave it undone….Doing it as you can is the way to be able to do it better.  Thanksgiving stirrteth up thankfulness in the heart.” – pg 52

“The decisive blow against Satan’s destructive power was delivered by the death of Jesus for our sins (Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14).  This means that Satan can harass us and even kill us, but he cannot destroy us.  Only unforgiven sin can damn the human soul.  If Christ has covered all our sin by his blood, and if God imputes to us the perfect righteousness of Christ, then Satan has no grounds for any damning accusation, and his case against us fails in the court of heaven.” – page 57

Yes!!  Yes, yes, yes!!  My heart soared as I realized anew that all that guilt piled upon me was not from God.  Satan’s case against me…my case against myself…..fails!!!!

Just because I struggled with all those things does not mean that I was not a Christian.  Real Christians have these struggles with pain and deep anguish.

This book was life changing.  Or rather….the truth contained within it was life changing.  I am so, so thankful that years ago my sister gave it to me and that I kept it.  I am so thankful that I thought of it that day and decided to read it.

-Bonnie

Part One Part Two Part Three
Part Four Part Five Part Six
Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine

Book Review: The Ishbane Conspiracy

2 Comments

The book description intrigued me, as I have been pondering spiritual realms and the reality of the battles that take place between light and dark every day.  Every moment.

The Ishbane Conspiracy by Angela, Karina, and Randy Alcorn is basically a modern version of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters.

9781576738177

“In one unforgettable year, four students do battle with light and darkness.  Competing worldviews, occult influences, and the allure of a culture of death threaten their survival.  Can they, and their parents, take the drastic steps necessary to resist the dark spirit forces attacking them?  Can they summon a Power greater than the gates of Hell…Someone who calls them to a higher destiny?

“Readers of all ages can eavesdrop on the enemy’s targeting of four students you might meet anywhere.  Read classified demonic correspondence revealing strategies to deceive and destroy them – and meet a generation of youth awakened to declare: Equip Yourself for Battle!”

I think that I have about decided that fiction is just not my genre.  It is so hard for me to find fiction that I actually enjoy.  I love words.  I’m somewhat a word snob when it comes to books.  Well-written fiction is hard to come by, in my opinion.  So I’ll just get that out of the way first: The Ishbane Conspiracy is a very easy read and is not written in such a way where the words literally seem to draw you into the story.  The plot seemed sensational, with almost every kind of problem imaginable happening to these kids (drugs, alcohol, witchcraft, abortion, suicide, etc).

My bigger concern, however, is that I am afraid it goes too close to legalism.  This is a very sore spot for me right now, so I am highly sensitive to the subject.  But in many of the letters between the two demons, they name specific things, TV shows, clothing, dating relationships, etc, as if Satan is claiming them and using them in an attempt to destroy God’s people.

While I definitely acknowledge that each of those things can be the downfall or temptation of a person, I am very hesitant to claim as fact that Satan is in control of it all.

The good part of the book is the opening of the discussion that there are spiritual forces at work.  For good and for evil.  There are spiritual, demonic battles being fought every day.  Satan is prowling around our souls, looking for someone to devour.  These are truths.  These are realities.

Some people might be able to read the book and come away with a tightened grip on their mind, bringing their every thought into captivity and striving to keep their every action honoring to Him.  I fear that many however might take it too far and see specific things and actions as 100% sinful when they might not be.  I can see many people withdrawing further into themselves and away from the world in a fear-based effort to avoid evil and protect themselves.  Overall I give this book one star.

Note: I received this book from Blogging for Books for free in exchange for this review.

-Bonnie

October-December Reading

Leave a comment

MC900440424Microsoft Image

Nonfiction:

If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil by Randy Alcorn (review posted here)

Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic

Messy, Beautiful Love by Darlene Schacht

Currently Reading:

The Patmos Deception by Davis Bunn

Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud

God’s Love: How the Infinite God Cares for His Children by R.C. Sproul

Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers

Book Review: If God is Good

1 Comment

I interrupt my blog break for this book review.  I look forward to seeing you all back here in January when I resume blogging! 🙂  Have a very Merry Christmas!

9781601425799

Lately I have been wrestling with a lot of questions about Christianity and the Christian walk.  When I saw this book come up as an option for reviewing, I was hesitant.  I am SO thankful that I ended up requesting it!

Randy Alcorn does a fantastic job in his book If God Is Good.  It was quite a bit longer than I was expecting (494 pages) and it was definitely daunting when I began it.  It turned out to be an easy read, however, and I loved how Randy treated the topic fairly.  Far too often I have heard Christians dismiss questions like this, saying that it is just a distraction that people throw out to avoid the real issue (them not wanting to respond to salvation).  Sometimes this is a real question that people have, taking them to the very nature of God (a most important issue to have straight when it comes to salvation!)

While this book does not answer all my questions, it answered many things that I have asked in the past as well as gave me more peace with the fact that I will not ever know fully the answer to suffering and evil (if I knew all, I myself would be God, and that is impossible).  Randy caused me to grapple with my assumptions, my fears, and my reason.

Randy Alcorn gently gives readers the opportunity to ask the tough questions that so often people are afraid to voice.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has asked questions about how faith and suffering mix together, or to anyone who is currently walking with someone through this.

Note: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

-Bonnie