The Life Ready Woman by Shaunti Feldhahn & Robert Lewis

The Life Ready Woman, by Shaunti Feldhahn and Robert Lewis, is a book that dares to ask the question on many young women's minds: "Can I, as a modern woman, have it all?" Feldhahn and Lewis then go on to address another question: "How do I live in this time as a godly woman?" These are two questions I find myself asking quite often.

By breaking the book into two parts, Feldhahn and Lewis not only show a biblical view of a woman's role, but they then show how to go about moving into that role. Honestly, it was difficult for me to read some of the views set forth in the book. At first. Then I began to pray about this book and ask God to show me places where my view had been incorrectly altered by the world. I like the comparison that Feldhahn and Lewis give to God's view and the world's view. It helped me to see that having it all is really more of a state of mind than an actuality. We can have it all as long as we accept God's all.

I highly recommend this book to all women, young and old, who are seeking God's will for their lives.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Litfuse book review bloggers 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.”

Buy the book here: http://tinyurl.com/lifereadywoman

An Unlikely Blessing by Judy Baer

An Unlikely Blessing, by Judy Baer, is the first novel in a new series. It tells the tale of Alex Armstrong, a new pastor, as he begins the transition from lifelong city dweller to small town minister. He faces a feud between his two churches, the plight of a down-turned economy on the local farmers, and the uncertainty that accompanies a new career. How will he share his faith with his flock? Will he help them, or will he be helped? What does God have in store for the township?

Having never read anything by Judy Baer, I wasn't sure what to expect. While still on the first page, I discovered that this book was a fun, easy read. The characters were well written and easy to relate to, and the storyline was believable while not being too predictable. When I first read the novel, I was struck by the amount of back story early in the book. It did cross my mind that there was a lot of slow building followed by an almost too quick resolving of issues. However, when you take into account that this is the first book in a series, it would make sense for there to be "extra" back story. The ending came at a moment that leaves you longing to know the rest of the story, which is perfect for a new series. Overall, I thought this book was great, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Litfuse book review bloggers 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.”

Win a KINDLE with Wi-Fi from Judy Baer during the An Unlikely Blessings Giveaway. If you loved Karon’s Mitford series, you’ll love Judy’s Forever Hilltop series! Find out more and enter to win the KINDLE at the link below!
http://litfusegroup.com/Blog-Tours/an-unlikely-blessing-by-judy-baer.html

Buy the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/Unlikely-Blessing-Forever-Hilltop/dp/0824948149/ref=sprightly-20

The Power of a Praying Wife

Years ago, when Dear Hubby (DH) and I got engaged, we got a very early gift. His sister and her significant other gave us each a copy of a book that they hoped would help us shape our marriage the way God wanted. So DH got The Power of a Praying Husband and I got The Power of a Praying Wife. They wanted to show us that by getting closer to God, we'd be getting closer to each other.

Since then, I've tried to get through the book a few times. Unfortunately, starting a book doesn't always equal finishing the book. The good news is that I'm trying again, and it's going much better so far. One of my resolutions was to try to become the wife God wants me to be, to become the helpmate He made me for DH. I figured this book is a good place to start.

Looking for home...

If dear hubby (dh) and I have learned anything in the past year, it's that avoiding or ignoring God's call only works so long. Eventually, He will find a way to make it blatantly obvious that it's His way or no way. I'm good with His way, but sometimes the human instinct to want to have complete control over my life is difficult to let go.

One of the resolutions we've made as a couple this year is to find a new church home. Specifically, we want to find the church home that God is calling us to. When we got married, we just started going to Faith because it was where I was going. It's the church we got married in, and it's just up the street from our house. Literally. Which is good for someone like me who can't seem to get anywhere on time, much less early. As we got more comfortable, we began to take on some leadership roles within the church.

Over the past year, we've noticed some changes in ourselves. I like to lay the blame on our families, but that wouldn't be fair. We've just finally begun to realize some of our beliefs are maturing, and we're beginning to rely on God more. That lead us to inspect why we were at Faith, and what we realized is that even though it may have been the right place for us at one time, it wasn't any longer. We had both been feeling a call from God that we should search for another church, but we didn't want to listen. We have friends there, and it's been our church home for four years. I had even thought that maybe it was Satan just trying to pull us out of church, to keep us from developing into the soldiers from Christ he knew we would become.

Instead, after discussion with family and prayer, we decided to leave our first church home as a married couple. It wasn't easy. We had never left a church before without moving to another town. DH grew up in the same Baptist church since he was five. Since my family moved around, I attended a few different churches, but my parents had been in the same Methodist church since I was eleven. In fact, the two church buildings are now across the road from each other. DH and I had left those churches, but only because we moved away. It was weird to leave the place we called a church home, but it was exciting, because it hadn't really felt like a church home for a while. DH wasn't sure it had ever felt completely like a church home to him.

We were ready to start our new search. Or at least we thought we were. Instead, we actually took two months off from church. If we were at our parents' houses we'd go, but if we were at our house, we normally slept in. It wasn't the best situation, and we knew it. So, we made a resolution to go to church this year. We've been both Sundays. Perfect attendance, so far. And we really like the church we picked to visit first. It seems like a good fit for us. We've been to the contemporary service both Sundays, and we like the friendliness and set up. They also have a more traditional service that we want to check out, so we're going to try that too. All the while, we're asking God for His guidance in our visits.

We're going to check out a few more places, just to make sure we're keeping an open mind and heart about it. We don't want to fall into the same routine of going somewhere just because it's easy. We want to find out church home. We want to go where God wants us to serve.

Have you found your home?

Coming Soon...

So, I'm currently working on revising my short story for creative writing class. I'm also working on getting the house ready for family this upcoming weekend. It was an incredibly long week at work, and it just made me want to sit on the couch and do nothing. If only we could ever do that in real life.

In addition to all of these other tasks, I've currently got three books to review. So, in no particular order, here are the three books that will soon be reviewed here:

Seeds of Turmoil by Bryant Wright

The Walk by Shaun Alexander

Unstuff by Hayley & Michael DiMarco

Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef

I was excited about this book from the moment I requested a copy for review. The book jacket description alone was exciting. A book by the son of one of the founders of Hamas. A book in which he explains what it's like to to grow up inside Hamas. A book in which he tells about his experience working as an agent for the Shin Bet, spying on the very Hamas leaders he had grown up respecting. A book in which he shows what it's really like in Palestine. I couldn't wait to get it in my hands.

Once the book arrived, I couldn't put it down. Really. I devoured the book in two days. I would have read it all in one day, but I had to work and sleep at some point. Without being overly dramatic, Mosab Hassan Yousef describes the major events in his life that lead him from birth to rebirth as a follower of Jesus Christ. He shares how his father's passion for the people of Palestine and his passion for sharing the Qu'ran and Allah with those people lead him to found Hamas with six other men. How his father's intentions for Hamas were as a political organization, with the task of making the plight of the Palestinian people a little easier.

Yousef also discusses his time in jail and how he decided to work for the Shin Bet. He talks about how the Shin Bet sent him to school to get his Bachelor's degree, and how this lead him to a Bible study. His Christian friends loved him, regardless of the who he was or what he believed. This is how he was exposed to the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

I highly enjoyed this book. It was a great insight into the real Hamas, the real Palestinian Authority, the real reason there has been no one able to find peace in the Middle East. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It will be an eye opening description of a troubled region.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Tyndale.com book review bloggers 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.”

Up Next for Review

So, while I don't think I have any really devoted followers of the blog yet, I hope to someday. Maybe someday I'll get a few people that love what I write about, or how I write, or just like to stop in and laugh at the weird woman who actually thinks people want to hear what she has to say. Good grief. What a run-on.

It is with hope that someone wants to know what I think, that I made I think is a good decision. I have decided that after completing a review and posting it here, I'll then post the next book I'm reviewing. As a sort of teaser. We'll see how long it lasts, because it will totally be dependent upon there being a next book. I've learned that the two blog review programs I'm part of right now don't always have books available. It's kind of a downer, but I can't really complain, because I'm still getting free books. Awesome!

So, the next book I'm reviewing is....Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef. Here's a link to the product page on Tyndale's website: http://tinyurl.com/32f4yo4

Then Sings My Soul Special Edition by Robert J. Morgan

I love singing. I love singing in the shower, in the car on the way to work, in the car on the way home, over the tv at random moments and in church as part of my worship. I've been singing since I could make noise. Because I love to sing, I automatically love music. My love for music had me jumping at the chance to review this book.

Each song in Robert J. Morgan's special edition gets two pages. One page has a hymnal style version of the song, and the other has information regarding the song. Each explanation page starts with a verse in the Bible that the song is related to, either as inspiration or as a verse one thinks of while singing the song. Then, there is a brief background of the writer, along with an explanation of the known inspiration for the song. Historical items are discussed and intertwined with the explanations.

While this book could have gone too cutesy with the song explanations, it instead keeps it moving without making things overly emotional. Anyone who loves church music will love this book. I highly recommend it to anyone.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers 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.”