Where Is God?

Title: Where Is God?

Author: Dr. John Townsend

Authors Website

Description:

Hard times make us look for God.

Everyone has problems. But if we could solve all our difficulties ourselves, would we ever search for God? Psychologist John Townsend says "It is actually the very unfixability of our problems and our powerlessness to bring right results that keep us asking, 'Where is God?'"


With a compelling narrative, Townsend offers new insights into the pursuit for God's help and presence. Designed to give readers hope and meaning, he divides the discussion into three parts:


* Why does a loving God allow us to experience difficulties?

* How is God active in the middle of our hard times?

* How can I find God?

With powerful stories and practical applications, Where Is God? assures readers that even when it feels as though God is absent it is his nature to be in relationship, to connect with, love, and guide us. And when we seek him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, he shows up in ways that transform us forever.



My Take:

Much like his best-selling book Boundaries, I found this book to be a great tool to have in my library as well. This book also hit close to the heart because of the fact that I've been asking this question a lot lately myself with the illness of my daughter and her battle with Infantile Spasms.

This book begs us to really consider something a lot of us have already considered at least once already. It draws us to take a look into the question of where God is from a different point of view instead of just seeing it through one way.

Dr. Townsend does a great job in explaining how we can have full faith in God and yet at the same time still ask where he is. This book helped me a great deal personally and spiritually. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is facing a difficult situation or just simply begging the age old question of Where Is God?


I give Where Is God, 4 Bookworms.

(This book was provided to me by Booksneeze in exchange for an unbiased review)

Outlive Your Life

Title: Outlive Your Life

Author: Max Lucado

Authors Website

Book Description:

These are difficult days in our world's history. 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, natural disasters are gouging entire nations, and economic uncertainty still reigns across the globe. But you and I have been given an opportunity to make a big difference. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God's love and life? We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven, but here on earth. Let's live our lives in such a way that the world will be glad we did.

My Take:

This was only the second book I've read by Max Lucado and at the same time it is also the one that has made me a big Lucado fan. Tackling the worlds biggest problems is no easy task as many of us already know. The way Max goes after these issues in easy to understand ways leaves you ready and willing to do whatever it is you can to make a difference.

I clearly felt his heart in this book. In every page. I felt his sense of urgency and it quickly became my own passion. He has a way of bringing the worlds issues home and I respect what Max is doing and the message he is delivering. But most importantly I really respect the fact that every penny made off of this book will go to the World Vision organization to help put words into action that much more!

Read this book. You'll be glad you did!

I give Outlive Your Life, 5 bookworms!

(This book was provided to me by Booksneeze in exchange for an unbiased review)

The Butterfly Effect

Title: The Butterfly Effect

Author: Andy Andrews

Authors Website

Book Description:

The decisions you make and the way you treat others have more impact than you may ever realize.

Speaker and New York Times best-selling author Andy Andrews shares a compelling and powerful story about a decision one man made over a hundred years ago, and the ripple effect it’s had on us individually, and nationwide, today. It’s a story that will inspire courage and wisdom in the decisions we make, as well as affect the way we treat others through our lifetime. Andrews speaks over 100 times a year, and The Butterfly Effect is his #1 most requested story.



My Take:

This is Andy at his finest! To be able to squeeze such a much needed lesson into a small book like this will have lots of people reading and receiving a much needed message. This is the perfect gift book for all occasions and the perfect way to instill such an important life principle.

I found myself learning stories that I never knew or learned about in any history courses I've taken. I also found myself realizing that I too needed this life principle applied in more areas of my life as well.

You can see that every detail of the book, from the story itself to the artwork that fills the pages, was painstakingly created to deliver the point that what we do really matters.

This book is one for the ages, and especially for our present day and time.

I give The Butterfly Effect, 5 Bookworms!

(This book was provided to me by Booksneeze in exchange for an unbiased review)

The Boy Who Changed The World

Title: The Boy Who Changed The World

Author: Andy Andrews

Author's Website

Book Description:

Did you know that what you do today can change the world forever?

The Boy Who Changed the World opens with a young Norman Borlaug playing in his family’s cornfields with his sisters. One day, Norman would grow up and use his knowledge of agriculture to save the lives of two billion people. Two billion! Norman changed the world! Or was it Henry Wallace who changed the world? Or maybe it was George Washington Carver?

This engaging story reveals the incredible truth that everything we do matters! Based on The Butterfly Effect, Andy’s timeless tale shows children that even the smallest of our actions can affect all of humanity. The book is beautifully illustrated and shares the stories of Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug, Vice President Henry Wallace, Inventor George Washington Carver, and Farmer Moses Carver. Through the stories of each, a different butterfly will appear. The book will end with a flourish of butterflies and a charge to the child that they, too, can be the boy or girl who changes the world.


My Take:

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!

This is the perfect book to read to your kids or to read to a class full of students.

The story is very engaging and the color filled pages keep little ones in anticipation and eagerly waiting more. This book is as inspiring as it is entertaining and provides a very important life principle at the same time.

What we do matters, and there is no better way to instill that in the minds of young readers everywhere than in this great book by Andy Andrews. He has provided us with all the tools we need and we can enjoy doing it at the same time.

This will be a treasured book for our family and will get passed down from one generation to another and to generations to come. I highly suggest you add it to your family library!

I give The Boy Who Changed The World, 5 Bookworms!

(This book was provided to me by Booksneeze in exchange for an unbiased review)

Start Here

Title: Start Here

By: Alex and Brett Harris

Author's Website

Summary:

At the age of eighteen, Alex and Brett Harris wrote Do Hard Things—and launched a movement that would change a generation. Young people around the world were ready to be inspired, ready to move beyond complacency, ready to rebel against society’s low expectations.

Now the highly anticipated companion book, Start Here, answers the questions Alex and Brett have received from thousands of teens on their worldwide conference tour and popular online community: How do I get started? What hard things does God want me to do? How do I keep from getting discouraged or burned out? What is the best way to inspire others?

Filled with stories and insights from Alex, Brett, and other real-life rebelutionaries, Start Here is a powerful and practical guide for young people who are ready to take the next step and blast past apathy. Let the rebelution continue.


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My Take:

This book is every bit as good as the Harris' brothers first book was, only this one provides great real life examples of teens who have already accepted the challenge to stand up and Do Hard Things.

I found Start Here to be very motivational and inspiring. It's a great tool and provides many realistic ways to approach and go about doing hard things "right where you are".

If you liked Do Hard Things you are sure to enjoy the follow up book as well. I would encourage everyone to join the rebelution and start doing hard things for the glory of God!!

I give Start Here, 5 bookworms!

You can find Start Here here if you wish to purchase it online.

This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

Love & War

Title: Love & War

By: John & Stasi Eldredge

Author's Website

Back of the book:

What the Eldredge bestsellers Wild at Heart did for men, and Captivating did for women, LOVE & WAR will do for married couples everywhere. John and Stasi Eldredge have contributed the quintessential works on Christian spirituality through the experience of men and the experience of women and now they turn their focus to the incredible dynamic between those two forces.

With refreshing openness that will grab readers from the first page, the Eldredges candidly discuss their own marriage and the insights they’ve gained from the challenges they faced. Each talks independently to the reader about what they’ve learned, giving their guidance personal immediacy and a balance between the male and female perspectives that has been absent from all previous books on this topic. They begin LOVE & WAR with an obvious but necessary acknowledgement: Marriage is fabulously hard. They advise that the sooner we get the shame and confusion off our backs, the sooner we'll find our way through.

LOVE & WAR shows couples how to fight for their love and happiness, calling men and women to step into the great adventure God has waiting for them together. Walking alongside John and Stasi Eldredge, every couple can discover how their individual journeys are growing into a story of meaning much greater than anything they could do or be on their own.

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My take:
Being a fan of John Eldredges previous books really played a big role in my desire to want to read this book. And let me just say for the record, I'm so glad I did!!

After the first chapter I was consumed; hook, line and sinker. I discovered several "a-ha" moments that I had to stop and write down in my personal journal. And when that happens I know I've got a good book in my hands.

The Eldredges know how to write about the individual man and woman respectively, but their work together on the one subject that is already hard enough to tackle was wonderful.

I laughed at some of their personal stories, I took notes, and I even related to John when he mentioned some of the mistakes he'd made early in his marriage that I no doubt had to learn the hard way as well.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone about to tie the knot and engage in "Love & War" themselves. But you don't have to be ready to marry to read this. This also speaks to singles who want to know how to listen to God and let his will lead them to the right person, their soul mate.

Pick up this book and read it! You won't regret it, especially if you find yourself needing guidance in Love & War!!


I give Love & War, 5 bookworms!

You can find Love & War here if you wish to purchase it online.

This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

Come Thirsty

Title: Come Thirsty

By: Max Lucado

Author's Website

What image best describes your heart?

A water-drenched kid in front of an open fire hydrant?

Or a bristled, desert tumbleweed?

You're acquainted with with physical thirst. Stop drinking and see what happens. Coherent thoughts vanish, skin grows clammy, and vital organs shut down. Deprive your body of necessary fluid, and it will tell you.

Deprive your soul of spiritual water, and it will tell you, Dehydrated hearts send desperate messages. Snarling tempers. Waves of worry. Growing guilt and fear. Hoplessness. Resentment. Loneliness. Insecurity.

But you don't have to live with a dehydrated heart. God invites you to treat your thirsty soul as you would treat your physical thirst. Just visit the WELL and drink deeply:

Receive Christ's work on the cross,

The energy of his Spirit,

His lordship over your life,

And his unending, unfailing love.

 

He does the hard part. All you do is ask. There is no spiritual "to do" list for you to tackle, no inventory of rules and regulations. Just drink. Let Christ be the water for your soul. Come thirsty, and drink the water of life.

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This was my first Max Lucado book and it certaily won't be my last!

Max Lucado writes in a way that keeps you turning pages and "thirsting" for more. I decided to use this book as a daily devotional because the chapters in the book tackle subjects and perspectives one subject at a time and the chapters are short enough to make a perfect devotional.

Lucado engages his audience from the first page and uses our physical need for water to describe how our souls need spiritual water to sustain a healthy soul.

I strongly suggest you read this book, especially if you seem to be "thirsting" for a deeper understanding of what it means to be truly drenched in the living water.

I give Come Thirsty, 5 bookworms!