Review: NIV Faith and Work Bible

As a fairly conservative Christian working in a very liberal theatre environment, a Bible with insights on faith in work has great appeal. There is great potential for discussion of cultural issues and spiritual warfare here. However, the NIV Faith and Work Bible seems more interested in giving theological points on how our day to day work is a part of God's greater plan.

David Kim's introduction states the editors' goal was to incorporate the redemption of our motivations, relationships and world. Essays in the back of the Bible give a bit more insight on why editors focused on the Gospel story and doctrinal standards, but honestly I expected more general principles and perhaps Biblical character examples. Reading through the notes, I found more than I expected from an initial scan, but I still wanted more.

Here are a few additional pros and cons of this edition:

- The layout and larger print work very well for easy reading and a pleasant feel
- The "storyline" sections (basically bullet points of the Bible's events) spread throughout seem more written for beginners in the faith an felt unnecessary
- Examples from specific professions will appeal to visual and emotional learners, but felt irrelevant and uninformative to me
- Book introductions could have been organized into sections and had little to say about faith and work
- The inserts on doctrine are sparse and include only a paragraph or two that specifically apply the topic to faith and work

*Disclaimer: I received this Bible from BookLookBloggers. All opinions are my own.

Review: Culture by A.W. Tozer

"Culture" is a compilation of various A.W. Tozer works, but the selections are poorly organized and occasionally disconnected from the subject matter. I do, however, enjoy Tozer's philosophical style. He has an eloquent way with words, and although he rarely uses Scripture, he has a firm grasp of orthodox Christianity. "Culture" discusses the following:

- Worship in everyday life as Jesus chooses to involve us in his plans
- Changing the Bible to fit modern sensibilities and why that does not work
- What the church should look like
- What the church does look like when shallow and modified for culture's sake
- Patient courage of the Christian
- The world as a spiritual battleground
- False security and wealth and position
- The modern church's wrong desire to do good without submitting to Christ's lordship
- Son of earth versus son of heaven
- The difficulties of the Christian life
- And more.

So this is a good book, but readers may learn more from reading these selections in their full context.

*Disclaimer: I received this book from Moody Publishers. All opinions are my own.

Review: Women in the Church

Phew! With quite a bit of effort and time (several months), I finally managed to get all the way through "Women in the Church," a collection of academic essays meant to defend the complementarian position, especially in regards to that controversial passage in 1 Timothy 2. I consider myself an average intellectual capable of reading more academic material, but the essays here are mostly written for those who will have a strong understanding of grammar and the Greek language. Certain chapters were extra difficult to get through because of a regular use of Greek words that I had no ability to even guess how to pronounce. There were some good points here - and bits and pieces were more readable, especially an interesting roundtable discussion at the conclusion of the book. I am sorry to have to give the book such a low rating (2/5 stars) when I do feel that overall these essays helped my own understanding of a biblical position on womanhood, but I nearly gave up reading the book multiple times, and I feel most readers will not have the patience to finish. Chapters examined specific words in 1 Timothy and how they were used throughout history, the culture of the time 1 Timothy was written, and various egalitarian positions. There is a lot to take in here. If you're willing to wade through deep and complicated waters, give the book a try.

*I received this book from Crossway. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Berenstain Bears' Book of Prayers

"The Berenstain Bears' Book of Prayers" contains "nearly 50" rhyming prayers for your child's daily routines. It will be up to you to help your child place these easy to remember, easy to recite prayers in their appropriate situations. The board book can be ready like a storybook, but isn't really written that way. It contains prayers for the morning, God's creation, joyful praise, thanks, friendship, bravery, mealtimes, unpleasant emotions, forgiveness, comfort, bedtime and more. This is a great way to teach your young one to pray all day in every situation and to include God in every moment.

*I received this book from Worthy Publishing. All opinions are my own.

Review: God Made the Sun and God Made the Moon

"God Made the Sun" and "God Made the Moon" are adorable, well-illustrated die-cut stories for the little ones, quick and easy to read. Although not all the rhymes are all that creative or rhyme well, these are simple stories that begin and end with God's blessings. As you read through with your child, he or she will see a peer go through a day (or evening) of fun and adventure. You can help your child understand that even in these daily routines, God's light shines down. In fact, both cardboard books begin with the same little ditty: "God made the moon/sun to smile down on earth, and fill the dark with light (it shines to light our way). The moon/sun reminds us of the love God sends to us each night/day. The moon story features a little girl, while the sun story features a little boy. The moon story also includes a few more pages with specific spiritual themes - the little girl praying, a comment that God watches from above. Both books include cutouts on each page of a sun or moon that makes the books more interactive and fun.

*I received these books from Worthy Publishing. All opinions are my own.

Bible Review: NKJV Word Study

I received the digital version of this Bible from the publisher (all views are my own). The digital layout was necessary, but frustrating. Links to word descriptions at the back of the chapter were difficult to use and inconvenient. There wasn't much to study here beyond the word descriptions, which were informative, but direct and obvious - not very revealing or interesting. The book introductions were also very short. They include a list of words to watch out for, but do not give much in the way of summaries for ideas found in those words. There's also an excessive amount of underlining for words that have "word studies" in other books of the Bible. I give this edition three stars because one, it's the Bible and you can't go wrong with the Bible, and two, maybe, just maybe, you'll find the word studies beneficial. In fact, the digital version may be easier to use than the print version.

Fiction Review: Tangled Webs by Irene Hannon

With just a few books, I have become a great fan of Irene Hannon's suspense work. Hannon's perspective and writing style are unique. She always includes the antagonist's point of view, and she always builds up to an exciting, edge-of-your seat finale. I was slightly disappointed by "Tangled Webs," though.

This installment - the final and third of the "Men of Valor" series - has a slower pace and less interesting climax - albeit just as dangerous. Hannon's particular habits that I find disagreeable were also still there: Introducing a new point of view late in the book and nearly instant attraction between the romantic leads. Still, having read the two previous installments in the series, I enjoyed learning what happens with the third brother.

The "tangled webs," themselves," were interesting enough. Dana is recovering from a hostage incident in New York while Finn recovers from his army trauma. A drug producer wants the two off of the land he uses and finds a way to blackmail the local police chief to help him. There is not quite as much character development here as in Hannon's other books. I would have enjoyed having more than a chapter or two to look at the drug maker's motivations. The police chief's character is probably the most realistic and relatable of all the people who appear in the book. The novel is also lacking in spiritual themes or insights.

So - it's not Hannon's best, but fans of Hannon's previous work and anyone out for a simple romantic suspense novel without much depth will enjoy "Tangled Webs."

*I received this book from Revell. All opinions are my own.