Persecuted, by Robin Parrish (Book Review and Giveaway)

Words are easy. It doesn't take a whole lot of guts to say, "I believe the Bible, and I stand by Truth it contains." But what if you were threatened? What if you knew you could lose everything, even your life, if you don't back down, water down, or step down? What if you were promised fame and money if you compromised? Would you falter then? Sometimes greed is stronger even than fear. 

These are the choices John Luther must make in this exciting, political thriller. As a well known evangelist, he is in the position to help along--or hinder--a bill that sounds nicely tolerant but is in fact a death knell to religious freedom. His decision, and the events that unfold as a result, will open your eyes to what might actually be going on in some political and religious circles.

To read more, and to enter the giveaway, click HERE.

No More Dragons by Jim Burgen (Book Review)

I remember listening to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by Focus on the Family's Radio Theatre and loving the part about Eustace being freed by Aslan. It's a terrible, beautiful, painful, wonderful way of drawing a picture of something we can all relate to: We either are dragons, are chasing dragons, being chased by dragons, or have been undragoned. According to Jim Burgen, "undragoned" is a word. And I get it. You will too, if you read this book.

Read the rest of my review here: My Two Cents' Worth

The Marriage You've Always Wanted by Gary Chapman (Book Review and Giveaway)

If your marriage is perfect, peaceful, argument-free, and teddibly romantic, just leave. Leave now. You don't need this book.

Instructions on how to win a copy of the book are at the end of this post. 

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but my marriage is far from perfect. My dear husband and I do argue. (Heh...oh, yes, we do...and it's always his fault....) And...what exactly is romance again? 

Seriously, if you're married you have discovered that marriage is nothing like it's portrayed in books and movies. Nothing at all. Marriage isn't about 24/7 romance and the fulfillment of all your dreams. Marriage is about hard work, exhaustion, exasperation, frustration, togetherness, tender moments, fulfillment, sacrifices, bad breath, weight gain, pet peeves, tears, laughter, an empty bank account, and a mailbox stuffed with bills. And yes, it's about dreams come true, depending on what your dreams are. 

I wish we had realized this before we got married, but we didn't. Consequently, our honeymoon came to a swift end as the ice-cold water of reality hit us smack in the face. We had differing views on who's job it was to do which household chore, what submission meant, and how to budget what little money we had. That's tough on a marriage. A lot of couples get to that point and give up. By God's grace, we didn't. Love and faith have made our marriage what it is today...not perfect, but strong. My husband is my best friend, and I'm incredibly thankful for him! We've learned so much...the hard way...and we still have more to learn! 

This little book by Gary Chapman, The Marriage You've Always Wanted should, in my opinion, be read by every couple whether married or considering marriage. It covers everything I mentioned and offers practical tips on how to resolve conflicts about these issues. Chapters such as "What Love Really Means", "Who Takes Care of What?" and "Love and Money" are each followed by a page of advice on the chapter's topic, questions to consider, and tips on how to practically improve your marriage. Mr. Chapman tackles difficult subjects like marital intimacy with grace, humor and candor. 

Although I did not agree with everything in the book, I found it to be very insightful. I want to read  it again, this time with my husband, and put what I learned into practice. It might be hard work, and because I'm human and I tend to want my own way (who doesn't?) it might not always be pleasant, but marriage is one of God's greatest gifts, and it's worth the effort! 

More about the book: 

THE MARRIAGE YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED

You can picture the perfect marriage in your mind, but re-creating it in reality doesn’t come easy. Trusted counselor and relationship expert Dr. Gary Chapman reasons that the most sought-after ingredient in any marriage is true oneness. In The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted, he presents expert wisdom and common sense methods to establishing that true unity on emotional and practical levels. Discover the wit and insight that makes his worldwide presentations and marriage conferences so popular. Are you trying to change your spouse? Do you know what it means to really love someone? Do you feel ignored or even alone in your effort to improve your marriage? Dr. Chapman has answers and action steps on topics from expressing your emotions to managing your money, all in a format that will have you and your spouse talking and learning with every page.

Available Now

$15.99

144 pages

Moody Publishers

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DR. GARY CHAPMAN

As anyone who has attended one of his marriage conferences knows, Dr. Gary Chapman’s expertise in marriage begins with the success and failures he and his wife Karolyn have experienced in their marriage for more than 45 years. He is just the man to turn to for help on improving or healing our most important relationships. His own life experiences, plus over thirty-five years of pastoring and marriage counseling, led him to publish his first book in the Love Language series, The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate. Many of the millions of readers credit this continual New York Times bestseller with saving their marriages by showing them simple and practical ways to communicate love.

Since the success of his first book, Dr. Chapman has expanded his Five Love Languages series with special editions that reach out specifically to singles, men, and parents of teens and young children.

He is the author of numerous other books published by Moody Publishers/Northfield Publishing, including Anger, The Family You’ve Always Wanted, The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted, Desperate Marriages, God Speaks Your Love Language, How to Really Love Your Adult Child, and Hope for the Separated. With Dr. Jennifer Thomas, he co-authored The Five Languages of Apology.

Dr. Chapman speaks to thousands of couples nationwide through his weekend marriage conferences. He hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, A Love Language Minute, and a Saturday morning program, Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman, both airing on more than 400 stations. Dr. Chapman and his wife have two grown children and currently live in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he serves as senior associate pastor at Calvary Baptist Church.

Dr. Chapman holds BA and MA degrees in anthropology from Wheaton College and Wake Forest University, respectively, MRE and PhD degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has completed postgraduate work at the University of North Carolina and Duke University.

Visit the official website: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/resource/the-marriage-youve-always-wanted/

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/5LoveLanguages

twitter: https://twitter.com/drgarychapman

They even have small group curriculum available: http://experience.5lovelanguages.com

You can win a copy of The Marriage You've Always Wanted! To enter, simply leave a comment below or on my Facebook page. That's it! The giveaway ends at 5:00, Friday, February 21st. 

I would also appreciate any and all "shares". It helps so much. Thank you all! 

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

Snapshot by Lis Wiehl (Book Review)

Disclaimer: I recieved a copy of this book for review by BookSneeze. All opinions are my own.

A man has been in prison for 50 years for a crime he didn't commit. Who is Benjamin Gray's killer, and can they find out in time to save the accused man before his execution date? And can an old snapshot of two little girls, one black and one white, hold the answers? What does a locked cabinet and missing key have to do with it all, if anything? 

Based partly on real people and actual events, takes us back to the Civil Rights Movement and the underhanded, violent politics and tactics of that era. Lisa Waldren, the white girl in the photo, is now a federal prosecutor and has a complicated relationship with her father, a retired FBI agent and the man who took the photo all those years ago. She reluctantly agrees to help him find the real shooter and is immediately drawn into a web of danger, deciet, and coverups. Lisa's deep hurt over her father's apparent lack of concern and her struggle with reconciling with him is pretty close to home for me, and I'm sure, for many readers. As the story unfolds and motives and reasonings are described from the perspectives of both father and daughter everything begins to slowly come into focus.

The atrocities of that tumultuous time in our nation's not-so-distant past are brought into focus with painful clarity. Racism might not be as openly prevalent now, but we all know it's still here. It pains me to hear snide remarks and jokes made against people of another race, especially if those who make those comments call themselves Christians. Speaking of this, I would highly recommend that everyone listen to or read Ken Ham's book/message on "One Race". It revolutionized my thinking and opened my eyes to something I had never realized before. But I digress...

The book, though not as fast-paced as I thought it might be, has plenty of tense moments. Lis Wiehl's ability to be so "real" in her descriptions of every character and event make this story even more compelling. I found myself feeling deeply sympathetic of the accused shooter and his family and amazed at the subtle ways in which the author pulled on my heartstrings in this book.  Knowing that it was based on true events made everything more "real", of course, and made me want to do more research on that time in our history. 

In the back of the book there are some extras that I found informative and very interesting such as a note from the author (the real girl in the photo) providing insight into how and why the novel was written, an interview with her real-life, retired agent father, and essays by Juan Williams and Bill O'Reilly (a character in the book is patterned after him) as well as a Reading Group Guide.

One of the things I appreciated most about this book is that Lis Wiehl wrote an excellent mystery with completely believable characters and situations, a great plot, and plenty of action and she didn't find it necessary to use one cuss word, nor did she include anything vulgar, as so many mystery/thriller writers feel compelled to do. 

If you enjoy historical fiction with plenty of suspense and a dash of humor, give this book a read. I highly recommend it. 

Praying for Boys by Brooke McGlothlin (Review & Giveaway)

Note: I received a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own. 


The winner is...Brandy Brewster! Congrats, Brandy! 

Thank you to everyone who entered! 

I am the mother of a boy. An adorable, sweet, caring, funny, snugly boy; a rotten, mischievous, rebellious, loud, stubborn boy! Never in my years of parenting had I felt my failure and insufficiency as a mom more than after I had my son, and never had I been forced to rely more on grace and help from God than after that much-longed-for little guy joined our family. We had three fairly mild, well-behaved little girls; then Mr. D arrived and everything we thought we knew about parenting disappeared. Fast. As he grows I see positive changes and much improvement, but there are still many times when I'm driven to my knees to ask for guidance in raising this complicated little guy who I absolutely adore and who drives me absolutely crazy! Unfortunately, that's the problem too much of the time...I'm driven to my knees in desperation when the problems and conflicts could be handled far better and sometimes even avoided entirely if I had prayed first. But, what, exactly, do I pray? So often my prayers seem like rote recitations because I have a hard time forming the deep feelings of my heart into words, and I fall into the habit of simply "praying to be praying".  

That's why I think Praying for Boys is such a Godsend. 

To be honest, I'm a little leery of books and articles which encourage one to "pray God's Word over"

someone. It sounds almost like using Bible verses as  some sort of magic potion. (My own strange opinion, probably....) But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this is not the case at all, at least not with Brooke. Instead, the advice she gives and the scriptures she uses are an excellent way to learn how to pray for my son using God's Word as a guide. I want my son to grow up to be strong in his faith; a man who understands Scripture and lives by it. What better way to train him up in this way than to apply Scripture to his life daily, through prayer?

I have highlighted nearly all of the book. Seriously. Besides the prayer helps, there is so much good stuff packed into this book! I even discovered some tips on how a Christian should deal with controversial subjects in social media! Interesting, huh? If you're the mom of a boy, and if you are struggling with knowing how to pray for him the way you really want to, if you need encouragement in your parenting journey, and if you want to train your son in the ways of God's Word, read this book. I highly recommend it!

(Oh, and I just have to say:
I love the cover.)

A Q&A with Brook McGlothlin: 

What led you to write your book Praying For Boys?

My husband and I have two boys who were born just 23 months apart. I probably don’t need to say much more than that, do I?? That’s enough to keep any mama on her knees! Actually, I’ve done a lot of hard things that I’m very proud of in my life, but raising my boys ranks up there as THE hardest thing I’ve ever done. In the book, I talk about how I asked God to give me boys, and that’s true, but the reality of the day to day mothering of what I like to refer to as “those boys,” (you know, the ones who are 250% boy?) often leaves me completely worn out. I realized early on in our parenting journey that I had no power to change their hearts. And while everything in me wanted to be able to snap my fingers and produce good, godly men, the Bible just doesn’t give us that parenting formula. So in an effort to just do something, I started praying verses from the Bible for my sons…verses based on things I wanted to see the Lord develop in their hearts. It was my way of crying out to God to change them, but it ended up changing me, too. After a year or so of doing that, and of constantly hearing from moms on the MOB Society, my blog for mothers of boys, who wanted to raise godly men, but felt like they were losing the battle, I decided to create a resource that helped them learn how to pray for their sons. It seemed a simple answer to me at the time, but the longer I encourage moms to pray the more convinced I become that prayer is the most overlooked part of raising godly men.

Did you write your book just for moms or can dads and grandparents use it as well?  

Praying for Boys is filled with real life examples of a mom raising two boys, but my husband and father find their way into the stories several times, so there’s a distinct male flavor there too. Really, when it comes right down to it, our boys just need someone covering them in prayer, and asking for God’s best in their lives. The 200 + scriptural prayers in the book can be prayed by anyone who wants to stand in the gap this way for boys.

Praying for boys not only changes them, it changes moms too. How has it changed you?

Do you remember from grade school math that any time you change one part of an equation, it changes the answer? So for example, if you’re adding 2 + 3 and get 5, and then read the word problem again and realize you should’ve been adding 3 + 3, you can’t expect the answer to still be 5. Something changed. And when even just one thing changes, it affects everything else…changes everything else, even if just a little. Praying keeps me in the right place with God. Keeping my mind focused on the fact that He is God and I am not helps me put all of life in perspective, and it changes the way I live my days. Ultimately, spending time talking to God brings me closer to Him, and helps me know Him better. There’s no better way to be a better mom than to get to know God better, and listen to Him as He directs our paths. As we change, our families will change too.

Win a Copy of Praying for Boys!

The good news is, I'm giving away a copy of Praying for Boys! (Thank you, Brooke, for letting me do this!) To enter the giveaway, simply comment beneath this post answering this question: "What is/was your greatest challenge, and/or your greatest joy in raising a boy (or boys)?" Simple as that! If you want an extra entry or entries, share this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or other social media and comment below saying "I shared this giveaway on....." 

A winner will be randomly chosen on Friday, Feb. 7th, after 5 pm. 

Share, share, share! :) 

You can purchase the book by clicking on this link: Praying for Boys. There is also a companion guide which would be ideal for groups, or for personal use. You can purchase it here: Praying for Boys Companion Guide

To read more about Brooke McGlothlin, The MOB Society, and Praying for Boys, follow these links:

• Personal Blog 
• MOB Society Blog 
• MOB Society on Facebook 
• MOB Society on Twitter 
• Brooke on Facebook 
• Brooke on Twitter  
• Brooke on Pinterest

About Brooke:

Brooke McGlothlin is Co-founder of Raising Boys Ministries, where moms and dads come to discover delight in the chaos of raising boys. You can find her writing about fighting for the hearts of her sons at the MOB Society blog, or living a life in pursuit of Jesus at her personal blog www.brookemcglothlin.com. A normal day finds Brooke homeschooling her two boys, wrangling two large Labs, Toby and Siri, writing to bring hope to the messes of life (in the midst of her own messy life), and falling more and more in love with the man she’s had a crush on since the third grade (who just happens to be her husband).

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Andi Unexpected by Amanda Flower (Book Review)

As soon as I read the blurb for Andi Unexpected I knew my daughter would love it! Andi Unexpected  is the perfect mystery for tween children, and I was especially pleased to know that my daughter would learn a bit of history while enjoying a good book! That's always a plus, right? 

And now, I'll let you read Carrie's review of :

Andi Unexpected by Amanda Flower

To read Carrie's review, go here! 

Wounded by God's People (Book Review)

When I saw the title of this book, I knew I had to read it. I'm so glad I could!

Have you been wounded by God's people? I have, and I know so many others who have, as well. People always hurt other people, but...somehow it's worse when the wounding is done by someone who claims to represent the God of love. 

Anne Graham Lotz does a beautiful job of speaking to the hearts of both the wounded and the wounders. Her retelling of Hagar's story is both relevant and poignant and her sharing of her personal experiences brings it all close to home. This book offers hope and healing and is a must read for anyone who fits the description of the title, Wounded by God's People. I'll definitely be loaning out my copy. 

Read on for more info:

Book Description

From bestselling author and daughter of Billy and Ruth Graham, Anne Graham-Lotz in her new book,Wounded by God’s People, uses the story of Hagar to help people move past their wounds and into the joy and fellowship of God’s presence.

Tucked into Abraham’s biography is the story of Hagar, a young Egyptian slave with whom Abraham had a son named Ishmael. Hagar stands out because she was wounded—not physically, but in ways that were as emotionally and spiritually painful as any injury to a body would be. Some wounds were provoked by her own behavior, but others were inflicted by those who considered themselves God’s people.

As Hagar’s story unfolds, readers discover that wounded people often become wounders themselves. While Anne identifies with the wounded, the unpleasant reality is that she also identifies with the wounders because she has been one too. She knows from experience that wounding is a cycle that needs to be broken. And, according to Lotz, by God’s grace, it can be.

Many have had similar experiences where they have been wounded. Whatever their hurts may be,Wounded by God’s People will help them begin a healing journey—one that enables them to reclaim the joy of God’s presence and all the blessings God has for them.

I highly recommend this book!  ~Jessica