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Showing posts from January, 2014

The Power Of A Half Hour

The Power Of A Half Hour by Tommy Barnett promises to help you maximize your time and day with just a focused half hour. Some people seem to have more time in their day than others, but the truth is we all get the same 24 hours each day. Barnett promises to show the reader how to maximize your entire day with just half an hour. He shares the key to productivity - making use of small, manageable moments throughout your day. He promises to help you increase productivity in all areas of life: Purpose and values, Personal goals, Faith, Character and attitude, Dreams, Career, Relationships, Marriage and family, and Church involvement and ministry. I was excited to read this book as I have always had a serious time management problem and I feel like I'm always running two steps behind in my day and never quite able to accomplish everything I need or want to in any given day. I've read different tips and heard sermons and lessons on time management, and have learned some tips, but st

Seeing The Voice Of God

Seeing The Voice Of God: What God Is Telling You Through Dreams & Visions by Laura Harris Smith was an extremely interesting book. In it, the author promises to demystify nighttime dreams and daytime visions. She claims to help you discern if what you see is from God, study the ten most common types of dreams, discover tips for better dream recall, interpret dream symbols and imagery, and review the best sleep cycle apps. The book includes a comprehensive dream symbols dictionary with over 1,000 Biblical dream symbol definitions (including verse references). The book includes ten wide ranging chapters dreams, visions, and how God speaks. There are also a list of FAQs in the back, plus notes and references. Now, I will begin my review by saying I take books of this type with a huge grain of salt. I typically find this style of book is mostly New Age theories wrapped up with a few Christian words, or they're much more charismatic than I prefer. However, Laura Harris Smith sucked

Snapshot

Snapshot by Lis Wiehl is an intriguing mystery based around some true events and an actual picture Wiehl's FBI agent father took of her as a child. The story blends the drama of the Civil Rights movement with a modern day murder mystery. Protagonist Lisa Waldren is now a federal prosecutor in Boston and barely remembers the Civil Rights era, but finds herself thrust back into the past when she realizes she and the girl she was photographed with may have been the only witnesses to a murder - and the murderer doesn't want them to talk again, ever. I requested this book with some trepidation as I'm not usually too into reading about the 60s and the Civil Rights movement (I generally prefer more contemporary fiction), but I do love a good murder mystery/suspense novel, so I decided to give it a try. I wasn't disappointed. I was hooked in within the first couple chapters, and couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. I am anxious to read more of Lis Wiehl's

Your Heart's Desire

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Your Heart's Desire by Sheri Rose Shepherd promises to impart "14 truths that will forever change the way you love and are loved" - an ambitious goal, to be sure, and one that intrigued me. This is a book that is designed to either be a standalone read or used as a small group study. It's broken up into 14 chapters and each include a truth, Love Coaching, a prayer, a Love Letter, and Treasure of Truth. There are small group questions and interactive videos included for each chapter. This is a lovely book. The cover and packaging is very attractive and would make a nice gift, as well. This is definitely a book for the broken to heal - the back cover describes this as a book for the married woman who desires more for her marriage, the single woman who wants a godly man to love her, and the divorced woman who wants to find love again. Subsequently, this isn't the typical "have a happy marriage" book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sheri's story of a tu

10 Days Without

10 Days Without: Daring Adventures In Discomfort That Will Change Your World And You by Daniel Ryan Day is a call to awareness and action. This book is about Day's experiment in living out his love of Jesus by going without certain necessities for, of course, ten days at a time to raise awareness for Christians living a life of excess while surrounded by poverty, disability, and need and doing nothing to meet those needs. Day spends ten day periods going without his shoes, coat, media, furniture, legs, waste, speech, and human touch. A chapter is devoted to each period. This book is written blog-style, in Day's easy, first-person voice, with a conversational tone. It's a short, quick read that you'll be able to breeze through. I thoroughly enjoyed reading how he managed life without these necessities, and the result. He includes many anecdotes - some funny, some touching, some sad - about the results of his experiment. This book will change your outlook on your Christ

Strange Fire

John MacArthur's Strange Fire promises to be an exhaustive treatise on the charismatic/Word of Faith movement. It is a very attractively put together hardcover, split into three parts: Confronting A Counterfeit Rival, Exposing The Counterfeit Gifts, and Rediscovering The Spirit's True Work. It also includes an appendix and quite a few notes. The premise of this book is to expose the truth behind the charismatic movement, how the Holy Spirit really works today, what the Bible really says about "sign gifts", and much more. I was extremely excited to read this book. I've always had an uncomfortable feeling about the charismatic movement, but on the other hand, haven't been completely convinced about the arguments against sign gifts today, either. However, looking at the fruit of the charismatic church today, I've always felt that something isn't quite right about it. John MacArthur really broke down the entire movement and provided much Scripture and exp

Confident Faith

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Confident Faith by Mark Mittelberg promises to show us as Christians how to be confident and unshakable in our beliefs. It offers this and so much more. The book is divided into three sections: Six Faith Paths, which includes an insightful questionnaire so you can discover which Faith Path you most closely identify with, and then describes each faith path and its pluses and minuses; Twenty Arrows Of Faith, which describes twenty "arrows", or truths, that point to Christianity; and Ten Barriers To Belief, which identifies and breaks down ten barriers that can keep people from coming to faith in Christ. The book also includes notes, a list of books for further reading, and a list of websites for further online exploration. Part of the reason I was excited to read this book was the glowing introduction by Lee Strobel. I've read The Case For Christ and The Case For Faith and absolutely loved them, so the acclaim by Strobel for this book sealed the deal. I wasn't disap