“A Short Walk to the Edge of Life” was too long

1 Star

REVIEW: A Short Walk to the Edge of Life: How My Simple Adventure Became a Dance with Death – and Taught Me What Really Matters by Scott Hubbartt

I hate to be pessimistic…

I mean the premise of this book sounded really good—a lost man finds his way home.

But unfortunately, I could not connect with the author (and I fully admit I am not a hiker), nor his writing style. I had to force my way through reading this book. Now if you are an outdoor lover and like a good hiking story, this book may be for you, but for me, I was ready to turn back as soon as I started up the hill. The hike through it was too hard and long. 

*I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this unbiased review.

Don't wait to read "The Waiting"

FIVE STARS

REVIEW: The Waiting: The True Story of a Lost Child, a Lifetime of Longing, and a Miracle for a Mother Who Never Gave Up by Cathy LaGrow

Precious, beautiful, touching!

This is one of the best books I've read so far this year, and it has become one of my all-time favorites. Don't wait to read The Waiting—read it now!

I finished this book while on vacation (by the way, it is a great vacation read!) and everywhere I turned, I felt I saw Minka and Ruth, whom the book is about. For me, that demonstrates how wonderfully the book was written with exceptional character development.

The Waiting is a true story of love, adoption, waiting, and restoration. And the thread through it all is faith. Having been in the long process of adoption for years with much waiting, this book was particularly griping.

This is a highly recommended book to read, and again, don't wait to read The Waiting—read it now!

*Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for my unbiased review.

Lunch menu not right for me

2 STARS

REVIEW: If I Had Lunch with C.S. Lewis: Exploring the Ideas of C.S. Lewis on the Meaning of Life by Alister McGrath

I wanted it to like this book more than I did.  It is not a difficult read, but it is not easy either.

Each chapter focuses on an imaginary lunch with Lewis and tries to flesh out what he might say on certain topics such as friendship, the Christian life, and pain.

I would have preferred the book to read more like a personal conversation between me (the reader) and Lewis, but it felt more research based from McGrath. For some readers, this might be appealing. But I was hoping for more of a personal, laid-back, intimate, and easy reading experience with Lewis as if I was truly sitting down with him for a cup of coffee at lunch. Unfortunately, that wasn’t on the menu.

To watch a video about the book, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAUAeNC-rz8

*Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for my unbiased review.

I “love” this book!

5 STAR

REVIEW: I Like Giving by Brad Formsma

I just don’t “like” this book, I love it!

I Like Giving is a treasure trove of amazing testimonies that encourage, motivate, and inspire readers toward generosity.

As a pastor, this is a book I am excited to have on my bookshelf.  I plan to put it to good use by sharing many of the giving stories with my congregation. My hope is that it will then create a ripple of giving to impact my congregation, community, and beyond. 

As Christians, generosity is in our DNA. We were made to give. This book helps us do what we were innately made to do by giving readers practical and creative ideas on ways to give that makes an impact not only on the receiver, but also the giver.

For more information, visit http://ilikegiving.com/.

*I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this unbiased review.

“Crash” a Smash

5 STAR

REVIEW: Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God’s Voice Above All Others by Steven Furtick

Sometimes the noise inside our heads can be deafening as we hear a barrage of discouragement, insecurity, and fear constantly whisper to us from seemingly every direction. I believe we all struggle with winning the war on words inside of our heads. And this book seeks to help.

Through illustrations, stories, and Scripture, author Steven Furtick shows readers how to distinguish between God’s voice and all the other chatter that happens inside our heads.

But as Furtick wisely notes, the chatterbox can never be fully stopped. Although with God’s help, readers can being to pound away at and crash the chatterbox, learning to hear God’s voice more clearly.

Thus, Crash is a Smash!

For more information on author Steven Furtick, visit http://www.stevenfurtick.com/.

*I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this unbiased review.

Elevating and Enriching

FOUR STAR

Prototype Group Experience DVD: What Happens When You Discover You're More like Jesus than You Think?

By Jonathan Martin

As a pastor, I have been witness to many DVD studies. Unfortunately, many don’t live up to their hype (or price for that matter!).

But this new DVD study is genuine and heartfelt.  And something about Pastor Jonathan Martin’s voice and presentation style just makes you sit back and allow the concepts to seemingly melt over you. The videos (each one only totaling about 15 minutes in length) are also not just a talking head—although Jonathan does have some face time.  The videos are well shot and produced, and you don’t feel like he is preaching to you, but rather having a conversation with you. The videos also tell a story and are more like a mini-movies expounding on the topic of the week.

And the topics Jonathan covers are very fitting for a Small Group setting, where people can come together and share concerns, like: roles and expectations that compete for our attention, how we sometimes feel alone, and how we can help others in our church feel God’s presence.

The leader guide that comes with the DVD is well laid out and offers an option for a shorter 30-45 minute class or normal 70-75 minute class.  Although, after watching the videos, the time frames given in the guide often did not match up with the video.  For example, the guide says: “PLAY SESSION 1 VIDEO, PART 1 (10 minutes),” but in actuality that video portion was only 6 minutes.  I guess being a few minutes off isn't too bad, but just a note for leaders—do your homework before and watch the videos ahead of time to help with your planning.

I also really liked that Jonathan included in each session a “Bible Focus” in the leader’s guide that gets students in the class away from the video and into Scripture and lively discussion. Often with video series, this can be left out. 

*Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this DVD study for my unbiased review.

Do not resuscitate

ONE STAR

REVIEW: A Call to Resurgence: Will Christianity have a funeral or a future? By Mark Driscoll

I was really excited to get this book, because I believe that Christians indeed need to have a resurgence in this world. Jesus Christ is the only hope this world has! 

However, while I liked the concept, I found the book less than adequate. I was expecting a motivating, get-off-your-butt inspirational charge for Christians. But, I didn't find that. 

Author Mark Driscoll is an unapologetic Reformed, complimentarian, continuationist, and missional pastor (if you are not for sure what those terms mean, he offers a whole chapter explaining them). While I can appreciate that he knows who he is, as a female pastor, I felt much of the book overly chauvinistic and aimed only at men since he believes solely in men being leaders. (By the way, we also differ on other theology as well.)

While there are a few nuggets of truth and wisdom found in this book, overall I personally would not recommend it.

If you want more information on Driscoll and the book, feel free  to visit http://theresurgence.com/

*Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for my unbiased review.