Everything Christmas by David Bordon and Tom Winters

Everything Christmas is an enlightening, sometimes humorous book full of Christmas cheer. Inside the covers of this book, you will find fun facts about this holiday season, the history of Christmas traditions from all over the world, tasty recipes for the holidays, great gift ideas, and much more.

The book is broken down into 24 days, which can be used as an Advent calendar, but you might find yourself reading two or three days ahead because it is very informative and fun to read.

I enjoyed learning the history behind certain traditions of the Christmas season, as well as learning about how Christmas is celebrated in other countries around the world.I also like how the authors include the Christ Child in the back of the book, as well as Scripture throughout the book to enhance the true meaning of the Christmas season. If you are feeling super adventurous, this book even gives you the opportunity to learn how to say "Merry Christmas" in over 15 languages!

I would recommend this book to all of those who love the Christmas season and want to learn more about why we celebrate the way that we do. It is a fun read, and has many suggestions on starting your own family traditions!

A Year With God by RP Nettelhorst

A Year With God is a devotional book that has daily devotions based on passages from the Old Testament. Arranged by topic, each devotion gives a passage to read as well as some insight about what that passage means and how we can apply it to our lives today. The author's intent was to create a devotional that not only helps you understand the Old Testament in context, but also to help you apply it to your life.

This daily devotional has been quite interesting to me so far, helping me to understand more of the Old Testament and why God did what He did. The author uses many different versions of scripture, keeping the readings interesting as well as challenging. The author's insight is also very helpful. It is not full of his opinions, but is good at breaking down the text in a way that everyone can understand, and then adding one or two sentences on how to apply it to our daily life. His interpretations leave room for independent study on the topic or passage that he wrote about that day.

If you are looking for a daily devotional book to challenge you and to bring insight to God's words of the Old Testament, I would recommend this book to you.

Start! The Bible for New Believers, NKJV

This Bible is a Bible geared toward new believers and includes features such as key disciplines of a Christian life, core beliefs of Christians and messages focuses on aspects of salvation. The Bible also contains an Essentials section, which includes important things that all Christians should know about Jesus and God. This Bible is a New King James Version.
Overall, I would say that this Bible is a very practical tool for any new believer: The study tools seem to be very helpful for a somebody learning about the Christian life, and it also helps them to know how to put their new faith into action. The Bible itself does not seem very durable, with it being a paperback Bible, and it might not last very long if the owner of the Bible travels with it. I also think that it would be helpful if the font were larger, making it easier to read. I do like how each book of the Bible has an introduction page, and it is fairly easy to find because of the bright red arrow on it. Overall, I would recommend this Bible to new believers. I also think that it has some interesting stuff for more mature believers as well.

Review of Heaven is For Real, by Todd Burpo

This book is the story of a family's journey through life, and the faith that they had to make it through the hard times. It also captures 11 year old Colton Burpo's trip to heaven, where he met Jesus. Told by his dad, but using Colton's simple words to describe the things he saw, this book was a very interesting read to get you thinking about a world we can not yet encounter.

I enjoyed this book, and it kept my interest -- I finished it in just under two days! This book made me think about heaven, Jesus, and my beliefs more, and it also helped to paint a picture of what heaven just might be like. It is also encouraging to hear of a small child so excited about Jesus, and wanting everyone to know Him, so that they get a chance to go to heaven and meet Him as well. I enjoyed the fact that this family is just your simple, everyday family who wanted to share the story of what God did in their lives. It helps the reader relate to them on more than one level.

I would recommend this book to friends because it is a light, easy read and it may help you to understand, or at least start to think more about just what God has waiting for us when we die.

You Were Made to Make a Difference by Max Lucado and Jenna Lucado Bishop

This book is a book aimed toward the teenage population, to motivate them to go out and to make a difference in the world. It teaches what the Bible says about going out and doing, and the best part is that it is focused on the teenage generation. It shows them how to make a difference in simple ways, and right in their home towns.
I truly enjoyed this book, and even though it was geared toward teenagers, I found myself challenged in different areas of my life as well! My husband is a youth pastor, and I liked this book so much that we are planning on possibly using it as a series for our weekly youth meeting. The book talks about who God is and how He loves each one of us. It also talks to teens about just how important is is to get out and to help others, to help those in need, because that is what we were called to do. The authors also included stories of teenagers around the country who have made a difference in their communities as well as many different ideas to get teens started in making a difference.
Although I didn't quite like some of the analogies used in the book, I would recommend this book to not only teenagers wondering how to get closer to God and to make a change in their community, but also to youth leaders, volunteers, and people who are seeking God and ways to serve Him.

Searching For God Knows What, By Donald Miller

Searching for God Knows What, by Donald Miller, is a book focused on removing the formulas and the codes that society has put upon God and His word, and instead talks about how to read and listen and follow not using complex formulas, but doing so simply. Miller dives into the first books of Genesis, talking about how the Fall effected us, and questioning what it was really like to live in the times of Adam and Eve, before the Fall.

This book has taken me a while to read, and it has made me think about Adam, Eve, and Creation in a totally different light. By taking away complex formulas that we often think we must use to crack the so called "code" of what the Bible is telling us, this book has helped me to read the Word for what it is... instruction from God. It has put into perspective that Bible stories are not only stories, but real events that happened to real people, whom we have descended from.

Reading Miller's book always brings up new questions, and makes the reader truly think about who God is, and what His purpose is. It is a book that I would recommend to any reader. It is also a book that is easily read more than once, and keeps you coming back after the third read.

Review of Will the World End In 2012? by Raymond C Hundley

The book "Will the World End in 2012?" by Raymond C Hundley is a book that discusses the very popular issue of the world possibly ending in 2012. Hundley researched ten different 'myths/beliefs' about how the world may end in 2012, including the ever-popular Mayan belief. This book talks about what he found in his research, with one chapter dedicated to each of the beliefs the researched.

I believe that this book will intrigue many people, for it covers many different ideas and beliefs about a topic that everybody seems to be thinking about as we draw closer to the year 2012. Although the author is a proclaimed Christian, I believe that he does a very nice job of sticking to the facts. It was also nice that he added a chapter at the end of the book aimed at his christian readers to further help them understand his findings as well as what the Bible says the issue.

This book was overall interesting and opened my eyes to the many different views of how, if, and why the world will end in 2012. I would suggest doing more research on your own, however, after reading the book, for you should always look things up for yourself.

Rick & Bubba's Big Honkin' Book of Grub by Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey

At first glance, I thought this book to be a recipe book. Its not. This book is all about how the authors, hosts of a radio show, feel about dieting. They also talk about their favorite foods, and how or how not to eat said foods. I really found absolutely no point to this book, except to poke fun at 'diets' and/or healthy eating habits. The book was anything but helpful to people in today's society, and it is the perfect book for you if you want a book that has a 'quitting' attitude on eating right. 

As you can probably guess, this book did not get too high of a rating for me. There were two things that I kind of took offense to: The way that it almost seemed to mock healthy eating, and the way it took the Bible SO FAR out of context. The book addressed Scripture many times, but seemed to take it out of context, even changing words from passages at times. The twisted the Word to make it fit their way of thinking about food. I also feel like this book was almost worshipping food. The authors tended to give food a personality, like had feeling and emotion. As someone who has struggled with eating healthy and keeping my body a 'temple' for Christ, this book was not a good one. I really would not recommend this book to ANYBODY that wants encouragement on losing weight, maintaining your weight, or trying to eat healthy. 

Kaleidoscope by Patsy Clairmont

The book Kaleidoscope by Patsy Clairmont is a book made up of many small, devotion-type entries meant to encourage women in their daily lives. Though many things were good within the book, it was not a devotional that I would refer back to or give any advice to anybody from.

While Clairmont uses her life to help women more fully understand the meaning of some of the Proverbs within the Bible, I was often asking myself where the lesson was within the text. It tended to be more of a story about the things that have happened in the author's life rather than a devotional. While I found these stories interesting, and could relate with a few of them, I just felt like I wasn't getting all that I should have been getting from the book -- I wasn't growing from it. I wanted more from the book than it actually gave me.

I really enjoyed the cover of the book, because I love colors and patterns and such, but the book is not one that I would recommend to a friend who was looking for guidance in understanding the book of Proverbs. I found that the stories didn't really fit with the Proverb being explained, and that many of the analogies never seemed to go back to the main point. I give this book a 1 of 5 stars.

Beautiful Things Happen When A Woman Trusts God by Sheila Walsh

Depression. Hospitals. Sadness. Hope. Truth.
These are some words that come to mind when I think about the latest book I have read, "Beautiful Things Happen When A Woman Trusts God" by Sheila Walsh. Many people in today's society struggle with depression on a clinical level, as well as minor bouts of depression. This is a story of a woman's struggle with depression, and how she turned that struggle into something beautiful for God. Walsh is open and honest about the tough things that have occurred in her lifetime. She uses her struggles to take us on a journey through the Bible, highlighting characters' stories that have helped her learn and grow in Christ.

While my first impression of the book was not a very positive one, as I kept reading, I became more and more intrigued. The beginning of the book seemed to drag on, and I wondered if the promise of exploring people of the Bible was really going to be fulfilled before the last page. It was, however, and I found the contents to be very helpful and insightful. I learned to look at characters of the Bible in a different light, and I also learned about characters I had never read about. While I found the book to be a pretty decent read, I would say this about it: For the new Christian woman, reading this will not only expand your knowledge on characters of the Bible, but it may also give you a glimmer of hope as well. For the christian woman who has believed for a while, this book is a good refresher -- It will remind you of some very Godly women of the Bible, remind you of other characters, and help you see them in a way that may be more applicable to your life.

While the book was a bit hard to keep reading at times, and I often wanted to put it down and start a new book, I learned much from finishing it. If you are interested in learning about people of the Bible, I would suggest this book.

Free Book by Brian Tome

The title of the book Free Book by Brian Tome has a very accurate title -- It is all about how to gain spiritual freedom in a world full of stronghold and bondage. Tome is very straight-forward throughout the whole book, not sugar-coating anything about it. He uses many scriptural references, which enhance the overall message of the book. He is also very tasteful in the presentation of his own opinions, making known that it is in fact just his opinion. Brian took a sometimes difficult to understand message about spiritual freedom, and broke it down into sections that were understandable for anyone to read, Christian or not.

While the straight-to-the-point, cold-hard-truth style of the book caught me off guard at first, I started to enjoy it the more I read. The book was challenged my way of thought, the actions I take, and the way I want to live my life. It was comforting to know that while I was reading the painful truth, the author could relate with the pain by sharing a personal story about the subject, and how he made it through. This is definitely a book that I would recommend, especially if you feel that you are in bondage and want to know the steps to freedom that God has waiting for you.

I am giving this book five out of five stars. As I thought about what to rate the book, I simply couldn't think of a reason NOT to give it five stars. Hope you enjoy it as well!

Serve to Love, Love to Serve

The days here in Painesville seem to get increasingly boring as we run out of things to do to get fully and completely moved here. There are still a few things we must do, and we could probably get them all done in one day, but it helps if we don't because it keeps us busy.

Josh and I have started reading through Oswald Chamber's "My Utmost for His Highest" Devotional book (we realized when we were unpacking our books that we both have a copy of it). As I was re-reading January 17th's devotional. It was about service, and how when we have a flourishing and intimate relationship with Christ, service should be the overflow of love and devotion. It was pretty convicting. I want to share a bit that I wrote about it from my personal journal:

"[The devotional says that] there is no specific call to service, but it is the overflow pouring from a life of love and devotion. The part that got me though, was the next line -- it says that service is what we bring to the relationship. Woah. This is some heavy duty stuff. My first though was, ' Well, I guess I better get serving! Gotta get that overflow going and moving to make me love God more'. Then I thought about it some more and realized that I had completely missed the point. Service is what we want to do when our relationship with Christ is blooming and flourishing. It shouldn't be a thing we do to try and make us love God more. Because we love God so much is why we want to serve! Because we love him so much that we are willing to go the next step, or even the next mile, to help and please our Lord God".

I know that I don't feel like serving all of the time, and sometimes when I am serving, my heart is not in this kind of place. I am not thinking about why I am doing it. I want to think about how much I love God while I serve. I want to remember that He is the reason for the action, and He is the reason I am even able to serve. I want to have such a strong. loving, devoted relationship to God that I am willing to serve no matter when or where, no matter what type of service it is.

Everything New

These last few days haven't really been too busy, but they have been a bit tiring. Sunday was a great day, it being the first day that we were officially here and Josh led worship for the first time at church, and it was just fun. Afterward, we just came home and took a VERY long nap, then did absolutely nothing for the rest of the day (hey, we spent a long time-- like the two days before that -- unpacking... it was nice to just rest :P).

Monday was more unpacking, and getting starting to venture out and get all the things done that you apparently have to do when you move out of state. Thats what we did today, too. Today, we got our Ohio licenses, which, I would like to tell you, are not very attractive. (Not because of the pictures on them either... :P) To describe them in one word, I would use tacky, but I will also say that they are a light shade of red (Which makes them look pink) with yellow, and weird markings all over them too. And, to top it off, I wanted to keep our MI licenses just for scrapbooking purposes, or something, but they wouldn't let us! Ah well, I guess.