Lazarus Awakening

"Lazarus Awakening" by Joanna Weaver is the third book in the Bethany trilogy, but feel free to pick up this book without reading the first two. I found this book to be very interesting, and enjoyed reading it. "Lazarus Awakening" consists of ten chapters, chronicling the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. The book begins when Lazarus is very ill and near death. What I liked about this book was that it told the story, but Weaver also intertwined her own personal thoughts and stories into relevant places within the chapters. I also really liked the study guide in the back of the book - it really helps you get what Weaver is saying. I would recommend this book, and give it a 5/5. 


FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from WaterBrook Publishers through their Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review. 

Our Favorite Sins

"Our Favorite Sins" by Todd D. Hunter is an honest and revealing book about sin. I really enjoyed this book, and found it to be a practical approach to learning how to avoid the sins that we most commonly commit. Hunter isn't accusing everyone of being sinful, but he understands that so many of us struggle with things like jealousy, selfishness, and greed. Hunter uses this book as a vehicle for helping us through our struggle, and develop the tools necessary to change our own behavior, and our way of thinking so that we can be freed from those temptations.

I really loved the reality that Hunter brings to this book. It is an honest approach to dealing with everyday struggles that we face, and I think that it offers up ancient wisdoms to help us face and defeat our temptations. I would highly recommend this book to anyone - after all, we all face temptation in one way or another! 5/5!

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers through their Booksneeze program in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review.

Life Promises for Couples

When I requested to review "Life Promises for Couples" by Gary Chapman, I was really excited to receive the book, and read it. I own "The Five Love Languages", and was really happy to see that the "Life Promises for Couples" expands on the basis of "The Five Love Languages". The messages are relatively short, but to the point. My husband and I read it like a devotional, and it worked wonderfully. Each day has a few short bible verses related to the overall message, and then there is a very short (one page) message/devotional related to a specific marital topic. I appreciated the directness of Chapman's messages, and found that though they were short, they were extremely applicable to most marriages. I also thought that the short chapters worked well for fitting into a busy schedule, and was easy to find a few minutes each day when my husband and I could sit down together and read. I would give this book a 5/5. Wonderfully written, and a great message.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for an honest evaluation of this book. I was not obligated to write a positive review. 

The Founders Key

"The Founders Key" is written by Larry P. Arnin, and is a summation of Arnin's theories on two important documents - the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Arnin makes the argument that Americans have "divorced" these two documents as to pick and choose from an ala carte menu of freedoms and beliefs. Politicians, citizens, and businesses of all kinds have separated these two documents, rather than unite them as one, thus accepting all of the powers, rights, and beliefs of both documents as the founding principles of our country. Arnin makes a good argument for his basis of this book, and I found it to be very interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history. 


FTC DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from the BookSneeze program from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review.

The Voice New Testament

If you are like me, and sometimes have trouble following a traditional bible, "The Voice" is for you. I am absolutely in love with this translation. This is the entire New Testament, and the verses are still very true to the original translation of the Bible, but are written in a much easier, understandable format. There is a short introduction at the beginning of each chapter, with a biography on the book, how it was named, or the person who is credited with writing it. The text of the chapters itself is written as if you are reading a play - the speaker of each statement is noted before the verse, and there are short sidenotes on the pages to help understand what is happening, or to define phrases or words that may be unfamiliar. This is a great way to better understand the traditional Bible, in a way that stays true to the Bible. I loved it. I would give this a 5/5. Awesome. 



FTC DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from Booksneeze.com in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review.

From Blah to Awe

"From Blah to Awe" by Jenna Lucado Bishop is supposed to be a book for young women, to help them strengthen their faith. The book's tagline is "shaking up a boring faith". "From Blah to Awe" incorporates scripture, commentary from Bishop, as well as true stories of other young women and examples of their faith. My favorite part of this book was the stories of other young women - I think that this book could have suvived on these relayed experiences and the scripture, honestly. I didn't really care so much for the commentary that Bishop injected into the book. While it was mostly good foundational advice, it really didn't live up to the tagline of the book - shaking up a boring faith. Bottom line: This book had good, inspiration stories of real young women; I'd give it a 3/5.

FTC DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from Booksneeze.com in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review.