Real Marriage - The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together by Mark and Grace Driscoll

Real Marriage is a blueprint book for Christian marriages written for both men and woman. It addresses many issues that need a new perspective and an escape from religiosity. It is a book about freedom in marriage, and biblical boundaries within that freedom. The Driscolls speak candidly about topics that you won't find in other marriage books. Seriously.

One thing I really liked about this book was how Mark and Grace intertwine their own marriage story throughout the book. Their willingness to be vulnerable and share intimate details of their lives should command serious respect to the content. Many are offended by this book, and while I do not agree with every single word written, I commend Mark and Grace in their fore-running and courage to put these topics out there.
 
Real Marriage doesn't mince words. There will be things as you read it that convict you of your sinful attitudes and actions towards your spouse. There is also a solid biblical teaching on how to deal with these things, and better yet, Holy Spirit is also there, teaching and bringing wisdom for restoration. If you are ready to work, your marriage will change for the better.

I could literally write forever about these topics, but some of my favorite were: What is the standard of beauty?, friendship, how to fight with your spouse, forgiveness-its true meaning and definition, and what sex could look like in a healthy marriage.



Having read many marriage, relationship, and family dynamics books both personally and professionally, this puts everything together.

5 out of 5 Stars.
This book was provided to me for free by Book Sneeze for an unbiased review.

The Lucado Inspirational Reader Hope and Encouragement for Your Everyday Life By Max Lucado

 

The Lucado Inspirational Reader - Hope and Encouragement for Your Everyday Life is a beautiful 450 page hardcover gift book, filled with the best of the best from Max Lucado.  It is a compilation of his 25 years of writing, filled with words of encouragement and wisdom.  His stories, quotes and teaching reaches to the very heart of what it is to be a Christian and gives hope to each paragraph.

 

I was immediately drawn to this book because I (if you couldn't tell already) am a big Max Lucado fan.  Actually, I am a big Holy Spirit fan, and Max's teachings pour out from the heart of God to his children.  They speak, "keep going, I am with you."  

 

The format of this book is also quite handy.  You can choose to read it cover to cover, look at the topics in the table of contents or even just open it up and see what's there.  Many of the topics are traditional Christian topics such as the cross, evangelism, faith and salvation.  Max puts perspective on these things, especially for people who are struggling under the weight of guilt, rules and tradition. 

 

"Just when he was about to give up hope, someone told him about a healer in Galilee."  Max Lucado referring the hope of Jesus healing in the account of the foreign official. (Gospel of John.)

 

This book is like a breathe of fresh air, and I definitely recommended it.  

 

This book was provided to me for free from Book Sneeze, contingent on an unbiased review.

Heaven is For Real By Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent

Heaven is For Real is a true story of a four-year-old's account of heaven in which he encountered a near death experience during surgery. 


The beginning: as a parent myself of young children this part was honestly excruciating to read.  The moment of Colton's sickness to his emergency surgery after his appendix burst was truly harrowing.  I truly honor Todd Burpo (Colton's dad) for his honesty and forthrightness in this account and throughout the book.


Obviously, the details of heaven and Colton's visit there are truly remarkable.  I like the story of how this experience brought healing to the family (and I am sure to many others now) after Colton described how Jesus' dad adopted his sister when she died in the womb.  There are so many fascinating accounts like this and I don't want to ruin them for you!

The writing itself was very well done.  The book had great flow and all the little side stories drew a greater picture of the family and let the readers see them as real people, not fictional characters.  I appreciate how the Burpo's tried very hard to keep the integrity of Colton's story by not asking him any leading questions or offering any information. It took years to collect his story in its entirety.


My favorite part of the book was when after years, Colton identified Jesus looking like the painting that
Akiane Kramarik did when she was 8 years old.  I have always thought personally that that painting looked most like the Jesus I would imagine.  I know someday I will see that precious face, whether it is here on earth or in heaven.

It is a truly remarkable reminder to us all that Heaven is For Real.
An amazing story and a perfect gift book.


This book was provided to me for free by Book Sneeze for an unbiased review.

Babylon’s Falling by William G. Collins

Babylon’s Falling: The Story of Belteshazzar, also known as Daniel is a historical fiction novel that is biblically based.  It details the life and experiences of Daniel after Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians. 

 

Babylon's Falling makes the book of Daniel come to life.  I appreciated the vast historical knowledge incorporated into this book.  For example, the description of the city of Babylon with it's enormous brick buildings, canals and hanging gardens was intriguing.  The cultural refernces and explanations provided an amazing backdrop to the life of Daniel that the Bible doesn't go into details about.

 

Of course, this book is historical fiction, which allowed Collins to make many allowances.  I like how he portrayed the friendship between Daniel and as they are most known in Babylonian;  Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego.  He created a character and personality for each of them that made me feel like I knew them by the end of the book. 

 

The thing that I like most about Babylon Falling was how engrossing the story was.  Even though most people know the main points, Collins turned this into a page turner!  The story flowed well and the characters were well developed.

 

I think something that I never thought about before this book was how amazing it was that Daniel actually survived the capture of Jerusalem, and then the trials of the rising and falling of two major Kings.  He had to work his way up from the bottom each time, even just to save his own life, let alone to be appointed top positions.  Obviously, the hand of God was on his life, not just as a seer but to sustain him.

 

Loved this book. 5 Stars out of 5.

 

This book was provided to me by Book Sneeze for free contingent on a non-biased review.

 

 

The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook By Jeff Kinley

The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook is a two part book; it is both fiction and non fiction intertwined.  Its premise is that deep within all of us, we inherited sin DNA from the time that Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.  This sin DNA is akin to a Zombie, that we are dead within ourselves.  Kinley goes on to explore this notion, and brings to light what Jesus did on the cross to free us from our inner Zombie.  

Enters Ben Foreman; the fiction component of the book.  Living in a time when a virus, Z-38 is sweeping the nation, turning people into Zombies, he is forced to battle the undead.  A little thrilling, a little gory, and honestly, a little weak in the storyline and ending.

Another component of the book was the fascinating history of "Zombies."  I was really unaware of some of the real events that have occurred in our world.  Whether you believe it or not, interesting.

The thing that really makes this book great is the teaching.  Sometimes it is easy for us to think, "I'm a good person, I'm a moral person."  This book gets into the nitty-gritty why we need Jesus so much.  And it doesn't drag us down into despair either.  It is a thoughtful, authentic look at sin, and then we are brought into the light, into the promise of Jesus and what he did for us and how we can be free.

 Kinley has taken a present day, worldly fascination and somehow made a biblical teaching on it.  I am still unsure of what I really think of this book, because honestly, I have never read anything like it.  Cheers to Kinley for thinking outside the box.

This book was provided to me for free by Book Sneeze, pending an unbiased review.

David and the Old Man by William Zemba

David and the Old Man is a real life story centered around the Zemba family and how one family member, David, suffered with anorexia nervosa.  It is a story of family roles, generational ties, and of long suffering.  Intertwined throughout is a message of faith and God's hand of grace and restoration.

Right away I began to feel drawn into the story, narrated by William Zemba,  a son to the old man and a brother to David.  The way he describes life and his family made me feel like I was sitting across from him, listening to a deeply heartfelt and important story.  

The story of David's anorexia was heartbreaking.  The book served to also educate people on anorexia nervosa, which I feel the author did a great job on.  I have professionally worked with clients with anorexia and the family systems and dynamics around those individuals has a huge impact on their sickness.  Mr. Zemba describes this in great detail, especially David's relationship with his father (the old man.)

I was captivated by all of the side-stories, the roles and traditions throughout the generations, and the fascinating people in the Zemba family.  The story was harrowing at times and I became stressed over the sheer magnitude of problems that this family faced,  but I am glad that I kept going to experience the end.


David and the Old Man is probably twice as long as it could of been, full of details extraneous to the main story, and often a little random. I felt that the use of other narrators to collaborate the story was redundant and affected the flow of the book.  Personally, I feel that none of that took away from the main story, which is well worth reading.  I feel that Mr. Zemba did an amazing job at portraying something so complex and  personal.


My favorite aspect of the book was the teaching.  William shared so much wisdom from the bible and from his heart.  This is a man who has been through so much, and is serving others through the telling of this story.  His practical advice regarding choices, weathering storms, and hearing the voice of God was the best part of the book. 

This book was provided to me for free by Book Sneeze, contingent on providing an unbiased review.

Night Night Blessings by Amy Parker, illustrated by Marijan Ramljak

Night Night Blessings is a wonderful new children's book that is perfect for bedtime.  It is narrated by a little girl who gives thanks to God for everything that she goes through in a typical day.  This book is geared toward toddlers and young children.

Night Night Blessings is beautifully illustrated.  It's warm, cozy pictures are paired perfectly with the gentle, loving words of the book.  The styling of the book with it's font and different sized sentences also adds to the general look of the book. 

My kids liked the book.  Their only complaint: "It's too short!"  They must of really liked it if they wanted more. My daughter liked the mention of "syrupy pancakes."   A breakfast request was quickly made after that.

The thing that I appreciated most about this book was how it teaches little ones to be thankful for everything that they have and do. It also shows them that God loves them and cares about them and is "watching them from above."  At the end of the day it is good to thank God, for indeed he is the giver of all good gifts.

4 out of 5 Stars

This book was provided to me for free by Book Sneeze, contingent on a non biased review.