Nonficion Review: Breaking the Fear Cycle by Maria Furlough

Maria Furlough surprised me with nugget after nugget of Bible-based wisdom in her book "Breaking the Fear Cycle." Maria tells her own heartbreaking story of a lost child and how God met her in the pain and helped in her desperation. We are not in control of the circumstances of our lives, Maria writes, but God does have control. The one thing we do have control over is our heart, which we should focus on God's wisdom. Our fears are unworthy of our attention, but God loves us. He is trustworthy. He is truth. His promise of peace is real. Maria also gives practical advice for application with tips on how to pray without focusing on the details of our fears.

This is a book I have already taken notes from and will want to return to for further digesting. I am also anxious to share the book with friends and family... and you.

As a side note for those more sensitive to doctrinal differences: At one point Maria mentions baptizing her baby and at another point she quotes from the devotional "Jesus Calling."

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

Christian Nonfiction Review: Sex, Jesus, and the Conversation the Church Forgot

Lately, there have been so many books, sermons and cultural issues revolving around sex and the "conversation the church forgot" that I feel like the conversation is no longer being forgotten. When I first started reading Mo Isom's "Sex, Jesus, and the Conversation the Church Forgot," I expected this would be the same old look at what the Bible has to say with bits of testimony thrown in. However, I found pieces of myself in Mo's story, and as I read, Mo's talent for words and getting to the heart of a matter caught my attention... at least for the first half of the book. I almost wish Isom had expanded more on some of the original ideas she presents early in the book: true purity, false exaltation of self, and the relationship between our inherent worth and purpose and God's purpose for sex. However, my markups stopped around page 46. I do think I'll keep this book for a second read and more markups later on, though.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

Nonfiction Review: Long Before Luther

Nathan Busenitz's "Long Before Luther" is a good overview of church history from the perspective of reformation doctrine. However, I expected the author to include more historical context, and the majority of the book reads more like a college essay than an academic book for the lay person. And much of the content is repetitious. I did appreciate that Busenitz made it a point to define the doctrines at stake before moving forward, and that he actually included some excerpts from early church fathers' writings at the end of the book in addition to the many quotes he uses throughout the book. The subject matter is certain important, and the first few chapters alone make the book worth a read, but I imagine there are better books out there that address the questions more thoroughly.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.