Unafraid by Susie Davis

There is a lot to fear in this world for ourselves and our loves ones.  Cancer. Rape. Murder. Infidelity. Abandonment, Theft. Natural Disaster. Economic Decline. Crazy Drivers (to name a few).   With all these things to worry about, how do we live without being dominated by fear?  In this insightful book, Susie Davis shares her personal struggle with fear and the journey she is taking  to overcome and trust God.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the authenticity.  Susie endured a traumatic event that began a persistent pattern of living afraid.  She shares many stories and examples of ways that fear took hold and caused her to act and think irrationally.  While my experiences have been different, I can say that I can relate to this madness.  Other readers will also be able to see that they are not alone.  The stronghold of fear is real and can make us think that we are just being "careful".  However, Susie points out that being afraid can be a symptom of not trusting God.

She writes "The Enemy knows just where to grab for me.  Pouncing in with outrageous ideas and ridiculous scenarios, fear falling like new snow.  The Enemy knows that when I listen to fear, it quickly leads to distrust.  Distrust in God. And his provision. And his plan.  We don't have the luxury of listening to the Enemy's lies if we desire to live free from fear and worry.  And we don't have the option of letting lies settle into our minds if we intend to allow God his rightful place in our lives.  So we must pray for discernment to recognize the Enemy's bid for our minds and then do something about it.  Speak the truth..."

Susie's testimony proves that fear can be overcome -  through our daily choices and surrender to God.  There are discussion questions and a study guide included at the end of the book to be used in small groups.  I encourage you to grab some close friends and talk through these issues.  Learn some ways to lessen the hold that fear has on your life.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

A Lifelong Love by Gary Thomas

Here is a book packed full of marital insight!  While I found the second half of the book to be more engaging than the beginning, there are nuggets of wisdom to be found in each chapter.  Here are some of my take-aways...

The first section of the book begins to establish a healthy perspective of marriage.  It encourages us to view marriage in light of eternity, let challenges push us toward dependence on God, and live on mission as a couple.  My all-time favorite concept was viewing God as "Father-In-Law".  It's the idea that we are all God's children.  I want my children to be loved by their future spouses despite their faults.  People can earn my favor or wrath by how they treat my kids.  Is it possible that we can cause God pleasure or pain by how we treat our spouses (His kids)?!?

"A good marriage isn't something you find; it's something you make". The next section of the book focuses on growing together.  We are taught that each couple is unique.  With God's help marriages can be built and re-built if necessary.  Gary helps us understand power shifts that can occur during different life stages, and how honesty and oneness can benefit our marriages.

The final section of the book is on loving....the way that God has called us to love.  "Biblical love isn't a feeling to be felt; its a commitment to be kept...The kind of love the Bible calls us to is a love that is focused on others' welfare; our desire is for their good, not our own benefit."  It's a call to be giving, rather than self-focused.  We learn that love is not the same thing as desire.  Sexuality is discussed, as well as the sin of withholding good.  It's also mentioned that doing small loving things consistently is more effective than the occasional grand gesture.

I've mentioned a few of the highlights, but I encourage you to read the chapters in full to gain greater understanding.  Each chapter ends with a few discussion questions that you and your spouse can discuss if reading this book together, followed by a prayer.  The time spent thinking through and applying this material will be well worth it!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from David C Cook Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

War Room by Chris Fabry

This book is a novelization of the soon-to-be-released movie, War Room.  For those of you who have enjoyed the movies Fireproof, Facing the Giants, and Courageous - this story was created by the same writers.

I read this novel within a few days - it was hard to put down!  It was easy to visualize what was happening in the story and get caught up in the characters' plight.  The story focuses on a couple who is having marital problems, and how prayer and obedience to God can make all the difference.  It also shows how a parent's choices can impact the lives of their children, and how a spiritual mentor can speak life into a generation in need of guidance.

The War Room is a room of prayer - meaning we are to fight our battles not with each other, but with our true enemy.  The older woman, Clara, provides many insights into prayer throughout the story. She says "God does hear what we pray.  You don't need a megaphone or a million people to get His attention.  But the point of prayer is not to get what you want.  Prayer changes the person who prays."  This book/movie can give people a greater understanding of the meaning of prayer and inspire them to spend more time engaged in spiritual battle.

The only criticism I have of the story is that it was fairly predictable.  Even so, I still enjoyed reading how everything played out.  There was a good mix of humorous and serious elements.  At the end of the book is a group of discussion questions to help individuals or groups apply themes from the story to their own lives.

While I have not been able to compare the book with the movie, I highly recommend this novel as a light fiction read that packs in a lot of truth.  May many "war rooms" be created because of its influence!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Freedom's Never Free

Today we celebrate our freedom.  You may be gathering with friends and family to have a cook-out, or preparing to watch fireworks tonight.  But don't forget that our freedom came with a price!  We would not have this day to celebrate if not for the brave men and women who gave their lives for future generations.  Remember those sacrifices and be thankful.

I was reading in Genesis yesterday morning about the first sacrifice that took place.  Most people know the story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit and hiding in the garden, suddenly ashamed that they were naked.  Then God spoke with them and made garments of skin to cover them.  Where do you think that skin came from?  The first animal sacrifice.  Blood was shed to cover over their sin. And many years later, blood was shed to cover over our sin as well and offer us freedom.

This is an older song, but very appropriate for where my thoughts are taking me today...

Believe:Kids Edition review

 While at the Exponential conference a few months ago, I attended a meeting for church leaders sponsored by Zondervan in which the company introduced a new church curriculum by Randy Frazee called Believe.  I was given a copy of the adult book (pictured on right) and told about other editions for kids and teens.  I thought it was a neat idea...families being able to go through the same material but at levels that were age appropriate.  So when I got the opportunity to preview the kids edition and to see how these two editions interacted, I took it!

 Here's the scoop...

Believe is split into 3 sections, 10 chapters each.

• Think: 10 key beliefs of the Christian life
• Act: 10 key spiritual practices of the Christian life
• Be: 10 key virtues God desires to see developed in your life

Each chapter contains a Key Question, Key Idea, Key Verse, Main Text, and Discussion Questions.  (The questions in the kids edition appear in each chapter, but in the adult edition are found in the back of the book).  The neat thing about this book is that the text is mostly Scripture.  There are a few paragraphs throughout providing background information about various texts, but other than that the text is simply the Bible.  For example: Chapter 1 talks about the belief in one God and the Trinity.  The Bible passages found in this chapter all support and give evidence for this belief.  The kids edition has about 4 pages of text with some accompanying illustrations, while the adult edition has 12 pages (a wider variety of passages).  The verses used in the kids edition are often found in the adult version too.

We had a short family devotional time this morning and I asked one of my kids to pick a chapter.  He chose the virtue of Patience.  As we were reading the key thoughts and verses about being patient and controlling tempers, I could see guilty smiles spread across their faces because they realized this is an area that needs work in their lives!  The stories and questions gave us the opportunity to discuss why patience is hard and what we can do to slow our anger and help us to wait patiently.  

These keys to the Christian life are all very basic, but sometimes it's good to go back to basics and strengthen foundations.  I think it would be beneficial to go through this curriculum as a church or a family to ensure that everyone is on the same page in their beliefs.  It's a great way to get discussions started and dig deeper into the Word of God.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review.

The Matheny Manifesto by Mike Matheny

This book came to me at an appropriate time...during the middle of summer little league.  My boys range from ages 8 to 12 and have been involved in baseball since their earliest opportunity.  I decided to review this book mostly because I thought it might be of interest to my oldest son.  After having been a player, parent, coach, and now manager - Mike Matheny knows baseball.  He wrote a letter explaining his coaching philosophy to a group of youth parents, which has now become known as the Matheny Manifesto.  So here's my take on it...

This book is a mixture of coaching philosophy and biography.  For the professional baseball fan, you will enjoy all of it.  For a mom like me who is more focused on my son's character development - I'd say there is some great content, but it is only partially geared toward youth players.  There are many stories about the big leagues, but fewer real-life examples related to youth and how to apply his coaching principles to that age group.

The first half of the book is directed toward coaches and parents.  Matheny addresses some of the problems he has seen in the attitudes and behaviors in the stands and suggests a better way.  He models his coaching style after Coach John Wooden. He writes "Wooden believed success ought to be tied not to achievement, wealth, or fame but to how close a person came to their potential.  He wanted his students to see success not in terms of results but in terms of effort."

Matheny knows there are more important things than winning.  He focuses on character development in a way that I find admirable.  The second half of his book talks about the key character qualities that he tries to develop in his players: leadership, confidence, teamwork, faith, class, character, toughness, and humility.  He writes "On our youth team, we made a conscious effort to make a bigger deal of the character stuff than the baseball stuff.  We always made a point to notice and recognize a boy who would do a task none of the others wanted to do.  Or when one showed sportsmanship to an opponent.  For instance, the boy who would go out of his way to encourage a disappointed teammate was celebrated, and then it became contagious.  Amazing how the things we adults deem important soon become the same for those we lead.".

I personally would have benefited from the book more if it had stayed focused on the arena of youth sports and left out all of the detailed major league stories.  But then again, I'm not really a baseball fan except when my boys are on the field :)  I appreciate Mike Matheny's willingness to share his experiences and stand up for his faith and the values that flow from it.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crown Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

15 Years and Counting...

My husband and I recently celebrated our 15th anniversary!  The older we get, the more marriages we see fall apart.  Seeing our friends go through divorce saddens me and it scares me.  It reminds me that we can never take our spouses for granted and treat our marriages as anything other than top priority.  So we took a day to celebrate and have fun together.  My dad came in to stay with our boys and we spent the day watching a movie, doing some shopping, and enjoying a nice dinner together.

For those of you in the area, I recommend The Oaks Lakeside Restaurant in Chippewa Lake, Ohio.  It isn't cheap (we would only go on a very special occasion), but the atmosphere is wonderful!  We were able to sit outside with a view of the lake and watch the sunset.  There was also a live band playing.  Here are some pictures...

I've been doing some reflecting on the things we've done RIGHT the past 15 years.
Here are some of our keys to success:

*We are quick to forgive and don't hold grudges.  1 Corinthians 13:5 says to keep no record of wrongs.  We bring out into the open what needs to be discussed, and then we move forward.

*We don't expect the other person to meet all of our needs. It's unrealistic to expect our spouse to make us happy all of the time.  We take responsibility for our own attitudes and turn to God to fill and instruct us.

*We make our relationship a priority. We schedule time for date nights, time alone after the kids are in bed, and occasionally vacations to re-connect.

*We don't send each other out into the world hungry. Here's what I mean: Have you ever gone to the grocery store hungry?  You end up buying much more than intended because everything looks so good!  Items that you might have easily passed by are all of a sudden very tempting.  I do my best not to send my husband out into the world unsatisfied, so that his temptations will be minimal.  Scripture talks about this in 1 Corinthians 7:5.  It says "Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time...then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." 

In many respects, our marriage has been easy.  But there have been seasons and moments when love has been a choice.  It's a choice to bring up a difficult subject that would be easier to ignore.  It's a choice to believe the best about another person's intentions instead of making assumptions.  It's a choice to love and serve your spouse in ways that he/she will understand. No, we don't do everything right.  But we choose to strengthen and re-build because there is no "exit door" in our relationship.

My friends, I pray for your marriages, and I ask that you pray for mine.  Please take time to celebrate the successes in your relationships and persevere through the rough patches.  It will be worth it.