The Help Meet Wife

I was so excited to read Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes' new book, Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign. I followed the stunning 2016 election closely, and couldn't believe the daily twists and turns. I couldn't wait to get an inside look at Hillary Clinton's campaign. The media kept telling us she would win and never predicted the upset of the century, and I thought this book might give some more insight into the Clinton campaign and how and why it failed so badly. The back cover says: "#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER It was never supposed to be this close. And of course she was supposed to win. How Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election to Donald Trump is the riveting story of a sure thing gone off the rails. For every Comey revelation or hindsight acknowledgment about the electorate, no explanation of defeat can begin with anything other than the core problem of Hillary's campaign--the candidate herself. Through deep access to insiders...

Invitation: Harbingers Cycle One is an interesting new take on the Christian fiction genre. The book contains four "episodes", each written by a different author - Bill Myers, Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt, and Alton Gansky - from a different character's point of view - Brenda, The Professor, Andi, and Tank. Each "episode" is a bite-size piece of the story that can be read in one or two sittings. The back cover says: "Four Strangers with Gifts They Don't Understand. A World Falling into Darkness. This is Harbingers. You're invited on a journey of suspense and the supernatural as four of your favorite bestselling authors team up for a unique series. From the minds of Bill Myers, Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt, and Alton Gansky, Invitation compiles the first four episodes of Harbingers, each following a different character. BRENDA--the street-hustling tattoo artist who sees images of the future THE PROFESSOR--the atheist ex-priest ruled by logic ...

It's been exactly a year (almost to the day!) since I reviewed the first book in Jolina Petersheim's new series, The Alliance. Finally, after a year, the conclusion to the series is here! It's called The Divide, and it picks up four months after we left Leora's story in The Alliance. I had mixed feelings about The Alliance, mainly because the weird, quirky characters. However, Jolina has definitely dialed down the quirkiness in the second book. Not a single mention is made of Leora's extremely poor vision and thick glasses (kind of strange, really, come to think of it), her sister Anna isn't much of a big presence and neither is her grandmother. This book's focus is mostly on Leora, Moses, and Jabil. The back cover says: "In this gripping conclusion to The Alliance, nearly six months have passed since Leora Ebersole's Old Order Mennonite community fled to the mountains for refuge after an attack destroyed the power grid and altered life as they ...

I was excited to read The Mediterranean Love Plan: 7 Secrets to Lifelong Passion in Marriage by Stephen and Misty Arterburn (with Becky Johnson) because I've always been fascinated with the exotic romantic locations of the Mediterranean: the food, the sights, the passion. This book promises to bring secrets from around the world into your home and marriage right here in America. The back cover says: "The Mediterranean Love Plan unveils the “7 Secrets of Passion” from some of the most romantic countries in the world: Italy, France, Spain, Greece and Israel. Most couples marry in a flurry of passion, but soon find themselves wondering “How do we keep love interesting, fun and romantic? How do we keep the spark growing for decades?” Steve and Misty Arterburn offer unique, ground-breaking answers to these age-old questions. Romance is much more than a date night out or a week away. A passionate, long-lasting love requires two people who are sensually in love with life...

I'll admit - I wanted to read Can I Just Hide In Bed 'Til Jesus Comes Back?: Facing Life With Courage, Not Comforters by Martha Bolton and Christin Ditchfield mainly because of the cute cover (I mean, just look at it!) and the fun title. I often just want to hide in my bed with junk food, books, and Netflix and retreat from the world and responsibilities. However, I know that hiding in bed really isn't the answer to life's problems. I figured I'd pick up this book and see what Martha and Christin have to say about facing life head on. The back cover says: "Depression, fear, a sense of unworthiness, and unfulfilled dreams can make women retreat to their beds—figuratively and literally—and refuse to face life. Yet most of the time, hiding in bed makes matters worse. Who needs emotional bedsores? Authors Martha Bolton and Christin Ditchfield gently show women how to climb out from under their emotional bedcovers, face their fears and doubts, and step into the l...

I was interested in reading Lee Wolfe Blum's new book, Brave Is The New Beautiful, because I'm not a very brave person. In fact, I could be described as timid, shy, meek, or basically any word you can think of that is the opposite of brave! I'm always looking for ways to step out and become a bit more brave and bold. The book description says: "In a culture that bombards women with "thinspiration" messages and pressure to "do it all" while wearing the mask of perfection, women are left feeling alone and overwhelmed. How can they stop comparing themselves to others? How can they live out who they really are? Lee Wolfe Blum offers stories from everyday women who have answered these questions with their lives—and found true beauty in the process. In Brave Is the New Beautiful, Blum weaves reflections from her own journey with inspirational stories from everyday women who chose to take off their masks and live authentically. Through call-to-action ...

Forensic Faith: A Cold-Case Detective Helps You Rethink and Share Your Christian Beliefs by J. Warner Wallace is a comprehensive guide to sharing and defending your Christian faith. I was interested in reading this book because I often encounter people who are antagonistic toward my faith and sometimes have trouble articulating my beliefs in a clear manner. It's also difficult to overcome certain rote objections or fights by rabid atheists. The book description says: "Forensic Faith will help readers: • understand why they have a duty to defend the truth • develop a training strategy to master the evidence for Christianity • learn how to employ the techniques of a detective to discover new insights from God’s Word • become better communicators by learning the skills of professional case makers With real-life detective stories, fascinating strategies, and biblical insights, Wallace teaches readers cold-case investigative disciplines they can apply to their Christian faith. F...

United States of Jihad: Who Are America's Homegrown Terrorists And How Do We Stop Them? Is Peter Berger's sweeping look at terrorists inside America. I was 17 when 9/11 happened, and it's definitely marked my life into "pre-9/11" and "post-9/11". I suffered with anxiety following the attacks for years, and still feel nervous when I'm in crowded place/see an airplane too low overhead/etc. I've only flown on a plane once since 9/11, in 2005, and it was nerve wracking. I was really interested in reading Peter Bergen's book because I feel like we get too much hysteria and not enough actual information on the news. The description says: "A riveting, panoramic look at “homegrown” Islamist terrorism from 9/11 to the present Since 9/11, more than three hundred Americans—born and raised in Minnesota, Alabama, New Jersey, and elsewhere—have been indicted or convicted of terrorism charges. Some have taken the fight abroad: an American was amo...

I, like many others, deal with the burden of unhealthy introspection in my life. Think Again: Relief From The Burden Of Introspection by Jared Mellinger seemed like it would be a great help. The back cover says: "Evaluating yourself — being mindful of who you are and what you are doing — is necessary and can lead to positive change. But what about the dark side of introspection? Do you ever feel weighed down and exhausted by your own self-analysis? Perhaps you made a mistake, said a careless word, or even messed up big time. Your self-examination spirals into a full-blown cross-examination. You keep revisiting what happened. Your mind circles around the event, fruitlessly trying to somehow make the outcome different so you don’t feel the embarrassment, shame, and regret. The modern self-esteem movement has left us empty and self-focused. We exhaust our healthy introspection and pervert it into constant self-evaluation, wrong views of ourselves, self-accusation, and false guilt....

I was intrigued by the premise of Cynthia Ruchti's new novel, A Fragile Hope. It's about a marriage expert whose life is blown apart by his wife's sudden apparent betrayal and the following aftermath and fallout. The back cover says: "Josiah Chamberlain's life's work revolves around repairing other people's marriages. When his own is threatened by his wife's unexplained distance, and then threatened further when she's unexpectedly plunged into an unending fog, Josiah finds his expertise, quick wit and clever quips are no match for a relationship that is clearly broken. Feeling betrayed, confused, and ill-equipped for a crisis this crippling, he reexamines everything he knows about the fragility of hope and the strength of his faith and love. Love seems to have failed him. Will what’s left of his faith fail him, too? Or will it be the one thing that holds him together and sears through the impenetrable wall that separates them?" It sounde...