Review: Lee (The Generals) by John Perry

Summary: Biographer John Perry writes about the virtue of General Robert E. Lee, who fought during the Civil War for the Confederates. While Lee gets a bad rap as a traitor to the Union, Perry lays out Lee's life in a way that makes Lee look like the most godly man (aside from Christ) who ever lived. Starting with Lee's childhood and building up to Lee's peaceful death, Perry explores what made the general so legendary.

Review: I'm not a huge fan of biographies, and this biography is your typical biography. While it has a nice flow to it, it reads like your typical autobiography. It's well written, but the battles and names within the book are sometimes hard to follow. I enjoyed the book because I am related to Lee, and I am intrigued by the principles Lee lived by. If you, too, are intrigued by Lee's life, or if you just plain like reading biographies, then Perry's book is worth the read.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from BookSneeze.com in exchange for my honest review of it.

Review: Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

Summary: In "Outlive Your Life," Max Lucado attempts to show the reader how he or she can make a difference in this world — through prayer, through love, through small actions, through breaking down walls and seeing people rather than judging people. He ends with the passage about seeing Jesus in other - helping Jesus when we feed the hungry and take care of the sick.

Review: Unfortunately, I did not get much out of this book. As much as I love Max Lucado, this book came across as another "missionary" book  — that is, be a missionary by recognizing and meeting the needs of those around you. Witness through action. Show Christ's love to others. That's all right and true, but its also been written about before and really didn't leave me with anything I didn't already know, nor did it really give me any solid way to make a difference.

I'm also left wondering about the other side of making a difference. What about preaching? What about standing up for what you believe in? What about fighting for the moral truths we find in the Bible? I feel like there is so much more that Lucado could have covered in this book.

On the bright side, it's a very fast, very easy read.

Rating: 2/5 Stars


* Disclaimer: I received this book for free from BookSneeze.com in exchange for my honest review of it.

Review: Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World by Dr. David Jeremiah

Genre: Christian NonFiction
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Summary: Jeremiah asserts that, although the world may seem chaotic, Christians should stay calm, show compassion and love, stay constructive (that is, build each other up as the body of Christ), stay challenged and diligent in the faith, stay connected in a Christian community (there's no excuse for skipping church), stay centered on Christ, stay confident in the Bible and in faith (and don't be afraid to preach it), stay consistent (abide in Christ), stay committed and stay convinced (have patience, for Christ promised to return in God's perfect timing).

Review: "Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World" is not really a book about living in the end times. While Dr. David Jeremiah discusses the "chaos" of modern times, as well as Christ's return plenty, his book comes across more as a book on living out the Christian faith — a how-to book, you might say. But Jeremiah goes much deeper than your typical how-to book, providing thought-provoking truths and using Scripture to remind readers of what it means to be a Christian.

Jeremiah's writing is much more convicting that his book title makes it out to be. And although a lot of what he writes is obvious, it never bores. This is a must read for any Christian.


* Disclaimer: I received this book for free from BookSneeze.com in exchange for my honest review of it.

Review: The Jesus You Can't Ignore by John MacArthur

Warning: "The Jesus You Can't Ignore" is not an easy book to read. If you're one of those Christians who preaches a spreading of the Gospel through "love," friendship and tolerance, you won't like what John MacArthur has to say. In fact, you may quickly develop a hardened heart and attitude similar to that of the Pharisees that Jesus and MacArthur preach against. Regardless, I still recommend you read this book. You may not like it, but it may be something you need to hear.

MacArthur's writes to confront that part of the church that has become too tolerant in fear of conflict. While his book starts out slow, covering obvious points, it quickly becomes more intriguing. I'm sure I'm not the only one with questions about the proper way to witness to non-Christians and the proper way to stand up for what the Bible clearly says is wrong, such as homosexuality.

MacArthur draws on examples from the Gospel when Jesus confronted the Pharisees and their false teachings. Discernment is the Christian's duty, MacArthur writes, and thus we have a duty to discern when it's the right moment for righteous judgment. Jesus did not preach to please. To the contrary, he spoke the truth, even though he knew it would push many of his followers away and incite conflict with the false teachers of the day. Jesus was about truth.

It's certainly a controversial subject, but it's worth a read if you're willing to accept it rather than reject it as "judgmental." Unfortunately, MacArthur does not spend much space relating Jesus' confrontations to modern times, and that will allow skeptical readers to toss aside what MacArthur has to say. Personally, I was left wanting more. How can I apply this to how I treat my non-Christian friends? How can I apply it to how I stand up for the truths found in the Bible? I guess I'm going to have to do my own truth searching now. Hopefully, you will too.


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

Review: Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham

Genre: Self-help
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary: Marcus Buckingham teaches readers to look for their strong moments and passions. Women are not happy today, and that seems to correspond with the fact that there are more choices available, especially in the work place. So how do women become happy? They find those things they enjoy the most and choose to recreate them as often as they can. Feelings of being overwhelmed spring from having to little of what strengthens you, Buckingham writes. Of course, you're not going to get your dream job overnight, but it's up to you to keep pushing forward and finding ways to use the strengths that you enjoy. "Career success is a lifelong practice - a potent combination of paying attention, working hard, and gradually pushing your life toward the moments and activities that strengthen you."

Review: While I am single and in the beginning stages of life (freshly graduated and looking for work), I got a lot out of this book. I'm disappointed that it's so focused on married women and women in their later years (40s and 50s), but I suppose that goes with the territory of talking about switching careers and finding peace in the middle of stress.

The book focuses on how to reorganize your life so that you focus on the positive things and work to enhance the things you're good at that you enjoy.

I definitely related to what Buckingham had to say about strengths and weaknesses. He writes that a true strength is something you enjoy and are good at. A weakness can be something that you're good at, but that you don't enjoy and that isn't good for you or doesn't contribute to your happiness. You need to avoid doing the things that drain and bore you, and if you have to do them in the meantime while you push toward a better strength, then you can find ways to put positive spins on the weakness. You can find ways to use your strengths so that your weaknesses won't seem so bad.

Buckingham gives several strengths and describes them in detail. He also provides a test online that you can take to find out what your strengths are. I don't put much stock in the test, though, because my results didn't really fit me. But Buckingham makes up for this with the last section of his book, which focuses on specific situations and how to deal with them. It answered some of my questions about my stress over finding work. But I didn't walk away with a solid, I need to do this and this is how I make a decision.

Overall, though, I got a lot of encouragement out of this book. It's a lot of obvious content written in such a way that makes you think. I recommend to any woman.


*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from BookSneeze.com in exchange for my honest review of it.

Review: The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews

Book: The Butterfly Effect
Author: Andy Andrews
Genre: Table/Gift Book

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Summary: Motivational speaker and writer attempts to drive home the point that any small action can have an eventual huge effect. He demonstrates this with one longer story of Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who helped win the Civil War and saved thousands of lives. But there were other people who made Chamberlain's life possible - others effected those others, as well, as so it goes on and on.

Review: While it's an interesting concept, The Butterfly Effect really didn't do anything for me. It doesn't make for a very good table or gift book. It's short and easy to read, which can be a plus, but it's not something I would ever want to read again. Much of it is exactly the same as the children's book version, "The Boy Who Changed the World," and I enjoyed the children's book much more. At least it has colorful pictures to make me happy. I'm just not a huge fan of pointless gift books. But if that's your cup of tea, you'll enjoy this book.

*Disclaimer: I received this book from BookSneeze.com in exchange for my honest review of it.

Review: The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews

Genre: Children's Book
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Summary: The book takes the reader back in time one person at a time, revealing how each person made a small difference that eventually changed the world.

Review: This is a great children's book. It has beautiful illustrations, and it teaches a good moral that every person can make a huge difference, even if they don't realize the small things they do are making that difference.

* Disclaimer: I received this book from BookSneeze.com in exchange for my honest review of it.