Nonfiction Review: Spoken For by Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Joy Bethke

I'm still a little confused. As the typical romantic single girl longing for companionship and love, I certainly needed to read "Spoken For: embracing who you are and whose you are" by Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Joy Bethke.

The ladies spend the entirety of their book reminiscing about their own failed and successful romances (written with next-door neighbor charm) and how God led them to Himself. The premise focuses on how God pursues and loves us as individuals and as a church - as His bride - of no great use, but of great value. Promises and reminders of what God's love looks like, but less of what it looks like for us to love God.

This is something I have pondered a lot lately. I'm not an overly emotional person. I love God with my mind, but I'm not sure what it looks like to love God with my heart. I trust God, but I have no idea what to do with the longings of my soul for friendship and love. I believe in God's providence, but He's not physical. I can't hug Him. I can't laugh with Him. I can't go on a ride at Disneyland with Him. It's not the same. And "Spoken For" did not really answer my questions revolving around these desires and conflicts.

Also, I'm not really sure what to do with idea of comparing God's love to a romantic love. While all the analogies and comparisons work well, and are Biblical, I find that today's society is oversaturated with emotion and "love."

What I did get out of the book: I am loved. God pursues me. God has a plan for me. God calls me to give up control of my life and follow Him (subtle hint of obedience over selfish desires and sins there).

It was also a very quick and easy read - one I was able to enjoy. Robin and Alyssa make their readers feel like best friends in the kitchen having an honest conversation.

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

Review: NIV Chronological Study Bible

I've wanted this Bible for a while. A few years ago, I got a book counterpart to this Bible that had all the study notes without the Bible itself. I never read the entire thing, but I've been meaning to get back into it. It's wonderful to have a Bible that makes it easy to read things in chronological order and to find out more about the history behind what happens. I love the way this version integrates the Psalms with relevant passages and possible coinciding incidents. I wish there could be more historical notes, but the pieces provided are useful.

My only complaints are that the very nature of this Bible 1) makes it difficult to look up passages (although there's a guide in the back to lead you to the right pages for the right passages), and 2) leads to notes on history, geography, archeology and culture that lend themselves to the interpretation that parts of the Bible are no longer relevant (i.e. female pastors, etc). There's also a lack of commentary on more controversial issues like the gifts of the Spirit.

The layout is colorful and well thought-out. I enjoyed the photos, maps, etc, and the clear section dividers, called Epochs. I look forward to digging into this Bible more.

*Disclaimer: I received this Bible in exchange for my honest review of it.

Review - NonFiction - Lunch with C.S. Lewis

Parts biography, theology and commentary, Alister McGrath's "Lunch with C.S. Lewis" reads like a very well-written university paper. McGrath takes topics such as pain, Lewis' writings (including the Narnia series and Mere Christianity), friendship and more and proceeds to consider what Lewis might have to say about each topic. Some topics lend themselves better to stories of Lewis' life, others to interesting looks at what Lewis had to say about life. While I found the book a great read, I also thought it might be time better spent reading Lewis' actual books. But for the beginning interested in a book that will make the connections and cover the basics of Lewis' life in an easy read (rather than a full biography) it is an attention-worthy and thought-provoking book - one that I will keep on my shelf. But if you're looking for a book to fill with highlights and underlines, this is not the book for you.

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

Review - Fiction - For Such a Time

 

I'm your typical Christian romantic, so naturally I love the story of Esther and all its film and book adaptations. Kate Breslin's "For Such a Time" is an intriguing and new take on the famed story of ultimate strength of faith ... and romance (forget all that harem stuff).

Breslin relocates Esther to the Holocaust in World War II Germany and Austria. Stella, aka Hadassah, hinds behind falsified papers and the generous SS-Kommandant Colonel Aric von Schmidt, who spots her in the firing line just in time to save her. He takes her on as his secretary at the camp where her uncle Morty just happens to be imprisoned. Aric's conscious prickles at him as he falls in love with Stella, all the time torn between his indifference and his duty to his country.

While Aric's motives and background are not always clear, the rest of the story develops beautifully. Breslin writes incredibly well for her first novel. She includes quotes from the book of Esther at the beginning of each chapter, hinting at what is to come, but the turns and twists her characters take stay true to the original while taking completely new and unexpected paths. Of course Stell won't be the salvation for her whole people. Aric is not Hitler. But she does play a key role in the salvation of her family and others at the camp. You'll have to read the book to find out how. It's worth it. One of the best historical romance novels I've read in a long time. Compelling and original.

Side note: Breslin did have trouble making this book particularly Christian. She inserted a Bible into the role and implied Stella had Christian leanings, but there's no real resolution. I'd rather she had kept that part out or had some more solid ending to it.

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

Review: Crash the Chatterbox

Steven Furtick offers plenty of tweetable quotes in his book "Crash the Chatterbox." Seriously, every chapter ends with a quote and the hashtag #crashthechatterbox. But there are hundreds more for the reader to pick out on her own - and they're great quotes too. This book is full of incredible advice. Now, I know I'll have a hard time implementing or remembering any of it, as that's the way I am, but this is a book I want to read more than once, and it is full of my underlines and stars and so on.

I greatly appreciated Furtick's take on the negative chatterbox in our lives. Some authors will be so concerned with their motivational speaking, they'll forget to add the disclaimer - that we're still sinners and we still  need to recognize our sin. Furtrick does a wonderful job of encouraging readers, while reminding them that our freedom and happiness can only come from our gratitude for and acceptance of God's gifts, particularly the gift of salvation. Before we were ever born, before we ever sin, God chose us and made the opportunity for our salvation. Nothing we can do o n our part can save us. But God can replace our negative thoughts with positive thoughts, and he can use us for His good purposes.

There's so much more to be covered that I can't write in one review. You'll just have to read the book for yourself. "Crash the Chatterbox" is a wonderful read for anyone struggling with self-confidence or negative thoughts. Everyone needs to read this book at some point in their life.

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

Review: 100 Tough Questions about God and the Bible

If author Stephen M. Miller is a "Christian," he could have fooled me. His book, "100 Tough Questions About God and the Bible" reads like a liberal's answer to everything.

On occasion Miller offers a great answer that interests me and sticks with me as a way to defend my faith, but the great majority of the book's answers refer to "Bible scholars" and "Christians" who really don't fit those terms except by wide liberal society's standards. The answers referred to in such cases are natural explanations, explanations of metaphors, and calling the Bible stories legend and not truth - legend compiled hundreds of years after the stories told took place.

As for the more "Christian" explanations, the majority of the time Miller just explains that Christians say "take it as is" or "have faith." Sorry, but even I had better explanations for some of the questions asked. And a lot of the questions asked left me asking, "Really? You're going to start with these petty questions? Shouldn't we start with the more important essential things and move from there?"

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

Review: Raised?

"Raised? Finding Jesus and Doubting the Resurrection" by Jonathan K. Dodson and Brad Watson is basically a Bible tract expanded to fit a small book. While I appreciated a few historical facts at the beginning of the book, I had a difficult time reading the rest. The authors encourage skepticism so readers can move on to solid, reasonable faith. However, in the process of explaining the resurrection and its significance, the authors pretty much bored me with what I already knew. I suppose skeptics with an open mind may find this book a good read, but hard skeptics will laugh at it and the rest of us Christians will skim read because we already know all this stuff. I was hoping for a book that would give me more to defend my faith with, but it didn't really do that for me.

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