YBC Book Review - "More" by Todd Wilson

Do you ever wonder why?

Why are you here?

What are you supposed to be doing?

Is there more?

Than maybe this book is for you.

Todd Wilson asks, and answers, these questions, and many others in his book, "More".

More is full of scriptures and ideas for those who are looking for their place in God's world.  How to be an effective witness.  How to bloom where you're planted.  And how to find your personal calling from God.  We all have one, but many of us don't know what it is or how to look for it.

More not only describes what a calling is, but helps us to ask ourselves questions to find our own.

The main questions of our lives is BE - DO - GO, and these represent the core dimensions of our personal callings.  Not everyone is called to the mission field, or to the pulpit, but we are all called to be His Hands and Feet wherever we are in life.

Personally,  I found this book a bit dry, but then again I am not questioning my calling anymore.  I have read and studied and applied many books on that subject already.

But this book would be great for new christians, and as a group study, or school curriculum.  You can purchase this book (and request an exam copy) direct from Zondervan here.

So, until next time,

Be blessed,

Debbi

*I received a free copy of this book for my honest review from Zondervan and BookLookBloggers.*

YBC Book Review - Counting On A Cowboy by Debra Clopton

Y'all know I love to read, and I enjoy most every genre.  Even fictional romance.  And Debra Clopton's latest book in her Four of Hearts Ranch Romance series did not totally disappoint.

"Counting on a Cowboy" is sort of a continuation of the first book "Betting on Hope".  (You can read my review on that book here.)  

Counting on a Cowboy is about Bo Monahan, the middle brother on the Four of Hearts Ranch family.  Abby Knightly moves to the small town of Wishing Springs to hopefully start a new life after a great tragedy almost destroys her life.  In this book, you'll once again meet all the interesting characters that make up the town of Wishing Springs, and this time Debra has expanded on their lives also, so there is more to keep your attention.  I don't want to spoil the story so I'll leave it for you to discover yourself.  But I can tell you it follows the normal romance novel script...

girl is in crisis,

boy meets girl,

boy chases girl,

girl fall for boy,

then they both ride off into the sunset.

I do have to say that I will probably not read the 3rd book of this series, but mostly because I find romance novels too light reading.  It took me longer than normal to read this book, not because it wasn't good, but because it was predictable.  No cliff hangers.  No big drama.  Nothing that kept me up at night wondering what was coming next.  

With that being said, I still give this 4 stars, because while I may not read it again, doesn't mean that you won't like it.  My sister loved Harlequin Romance novels....she devoured them.  And I know that she would have totally enjoyed this book.

Until next time, pick up a book and run away to another world.

Be blessed,

Debbi

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Rush of Heaven by Ema McKinley - a Zondervan book review

Today I am going to tell you about an excellent book...

Rush of Heaven by Ema McKinley with Cheryl Ricker and published by Zondervan.

It was uplifting and very well written.  I had trouble putting it down!  First a little background of the story.  It's a true story of Ema McKinley and the health issues she suffered with after a severe work related accident.  I enjoyed the fact that while she was honest about her anger and frustration, she did not dwell on the part of the story where she had problems with insurance companies and the medical community.  It could easily have become a "woe is me" and a Me against Them kind of dark book, but it wasn't.  It was a truly inspiring story on how God allows us to feel angry and hurt and confused, and to even ask him "why" and still feel His Love and His Comfort in all situations.

There is a wonderful section in the middle full of pictures of Ema before her accident, and after her miraculous healing.  Ema never portrayed herself as a saint, or a "special" child of God, just as a woman dealing daily with pain.  And through it all, she kept her faith in God, and her joy.

"The Joy of the Lord is our strength."

I won't tell you much about her healing, so you can enjoy the miracle yourself.  But I will tell you this, this is a story you will want to re-read, and to share.

Be blessed,

Debbi

Homeschool Monday - Book Review for Teens

I love to read, and I am at my wits end trying to instill that same love for reading in Hannah.  She just does not like to sit still long enough to read.  But she does enjoy mystery, and I enjoy encouraging her faith to grow.  So my first book review for Book Look Bloggers, (Harpercollins Christian Publishing) is a book I chose for her.

"Samantha Sanderson - At The Movies" by Robin Caroll.

(published by Zondervan)

Hannah loved this book, and gives it a 4 out of 5 stars.  (I did try to get her to write this review, but she's on summer vacation, lol).  In order to write this review, I also read this book, and I also give it 4 out of 5 stars.  It was easy to read, which is good for young girls, but the story line was engaging and kept me (an adult) interested throughout.  Plus the faith lessons were very good.

Samantha is a middle school student that is on the schools newspaper, her mother is a famous journalist, and her father is a police detective.  This story follow Samantha as she reports on a local bombing story while learning God's truth about reporting, not jumping to conclusions, and relationships.  It was a very good story.

So if you have a young girl that likes to read, and even those that don't like to read, I recommend you get them this book.  The best part? It's the first book in a series, so there will be more for your child to look forward to reading in the future.

 

(*I was given this book at no charge in exchange for my reviews.*)

 

Be blessed,

Debbi