Book Review: Amish Prayers complied by Beverly Lewis

I received a copy of this book free of charge from the publisher for the purpose of review.

I have to tell you that I was very excited to receive this little book. It is the first time that this collection of Amish prayers has been translated from the original German. They are beautiful heartfelt Christ based prayers for various life situations. They are vary similar to prayers from the book of common prayer.

Most of these prayers were usually memorized by the Amish and Mennonite people. They would use them as a regular part of their worship daily. The reason why these are so precious to me is because I found out that my ancestors on my Father's side were Mennonites from Germany. They were persecuted for their faith probably around the time of the reformation and fled to Switzerland then eventually came over to North America.

I had often wondered and even asked God what kind of prayers they prayed. I wondered if they prayed for their ancestors yet to come and that they know Christ and Him crucified. Seeing these prayers makes me think that they did pray for the generations to come which I am one of! Love seeing that. Love their faith and love those sweet prayers. This book is comparable to that of a gift book. It was a nice little book full of prayers and Scripture.

To get a copy of this book from Amazon click on the link above.

Book Review: When the Hurt Runs Deep by Kay Arthur

I received a copy of this book free of charge from the publisher for the purpose of review.

I started this book already biased because I am a personal fan of Precept Ministries and Kay Arthur. She is one of the women I would like to be like when I grow up. I knew I would like it but it brought much more into my life than I expected.

I have been through much hurt and pain in my life. This book addresses this topic very candidly and clearly but most importantly it addresses what God's word says about it. I wish I had a book like this to read 10 years ago.

I always love how Scriptural Kay's books are. They are always filled with God's word fully and in context. Yet she beautifully tied in personal stories of peoples lives. Some that I felt were too candid (which bothered my mind). I did not need to know details in order to get the gist of a person's suffering. However, the fact is we all will suffer in some ways here on earth and ultimately we can let it draw us to God or away from Him. Satan would have it draw us away but God desires for it to draw us near. He loves us fully and completely and we can trust Him. He sent His One and Only Son to the cross so that we could be clean before Him. Jesus willingly laid His life down and has experienced all suffering and can fully relate to us. That is the greatest love.

This book would be great to do in a group but also good for a personal reading. Healing occurs best in a safe group so I would really recommend you do this with a group of women ready to discover God's word for yourself. It will greatly bless you.

To get a copy of this book from Amazon click on the link and picture above.

Book Review: The Band That Played On by Steve Turner

I received a copy of this book at no charge from the publisher for the purpose of review.

This book is an account of the eight band members that played until their deaths on the ship the Titanic. They were credited as heroes for their sacrifice of staying in place to inspire and bring comfort through music instead of securing a place for themselves in the lifeboats. There was not enough space for all the people to be lowered into these life boats. So they assembled and played music to keep the passengers from panic.

 This book was written as a "Christian" book because it explores the faith of these eight gentlemen. Unfortunately there is not much information on them to know clearly where they all stood in faith. Some had more information than others. It was interesting to read of their backgrounds. However among this interesting information there was also too much of the dry and boring technical information. Things like different addresses they lived at and the like. It was really hard for me to get through because it was very boring in many places. This book would have been better if it was written with more of a flow that made it easier for reading. Instead it was just like a list of historical records. Because of that I would not recommend this book unless you are doing a very detailed research project or these men are one of your ancestors.

You can get a copy of this book from Amazon at the link above.

Book Review: ishine NLT tween Bible

I received a copy of both of these Bibles from Tyndale at no charge for the purpose of review.

I really loved these Bibles for tweens. They are cute or cool (if you are looking at the boys one). They are something that my girls love carrying and looking through. There are pictures in places among the pages with some tween related questions and answers about Christian life. I really like their look and so do my tweens. Along with the questions and answers there is a place where you can view a video online with more information. Something that would appeal to this technology driven generation.

In the very front pages there are topics about various things relating to tweens. There are Scripture references to help them find more on those topics like anger, getting along with siblings, why am I here, and etc. I am really excited to have these great products for my tweens. I know you would enjoy them as well. Another point is that even though the blue one is directed to boys it can be used by boy or girl. They are not gender specific. However, I know a boy would not want the pink one. :)

To get a copy of one of these from Amazon go here.iShine Bible NLT (Bible Nltse)

A Really Vulnerable Post - Anxiety/Depression

I have a good life. The best part of it is that I am loved and saved by Jesus Christ. I am secure in this. This is the only real thing that matters in life. Yet because we live in this fallen, decaying world, sin abounds. Now our bodies are weak and slowly deteriorating. Some faster than others. This includes our minds.

However, even though we readily accept this truth, there is a big stigma about mind issues even among the Christian community. This makes this struggle even harder. I am blessed to be in a wonderful family of believers who love me regardless. I praise God for putting this support together for me. Yet this is something that does not need to remain in the dark.

People struggle out there with things like depression and anxiety. And there are some of us who need to be medicated to resolve the issue. Yet many just live this out in silence struggling or feeling condemned because they need medication to help them through.

I hate needing medication, I hate how weak it makes me feel yet it clears my mind and helps me to focus on God. There are times that medication is necessary and times it is not. Our bodies are sensitive in this fallen world and chemical imbalances can occur. God provided people who have made these medications to help this. But why does it make me feel shame? Shame is not something from God. There is no condemnation for us who are in Him, period.

Now, I am not trying to promote medication either. However, when you do all the things you know to do and they are not helping then maybe your body is out of balance and there is no shame in that. I have been through periods that flux from balance to imbalance. It will remain this way until God heals me completely here on Earth or when He does it in Heaven. I trust Him for that.

Yet for now, it is good to be so dependent on Him and if this is one of those ways He uses then I am okay with that. I have read of many saints of old who struggled greatly with this same issue so it should not surprise you that Christians struggle in this way no matter how strong they seem. Maybe part of their strength is stemmed from their weakness and desperate dependency on God. None of my strength comes from me so if you think I am strong in Him it is because I am truly weak in me.

My request is that you please love those who are weak and listen to them. Also, don't judge. If you need glasses to help your eyes work you run out and get them without thought, if you had diabetes you would run out and get insulin, this is no different. Stop treating it like it is. Love others even when you do not understand. It is not something you can will yourself out of. It is a medical condition like any other. Don't leave those suffering in silence and alone, that actually makes things worse. Thanks for listening!

Book Review: Set Free to Live Free by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It is broken up into seven common lies women tell themselves. It was also an easy read. Dr. Dalton-Smith writes in such a way that makes you feel like you are sitting across from her sipping coffee or tea. I really like that. She also has the experience to write on this topic based on all the women she sees in her medical practice. Often times I found myself wishing that I lived near her because she would be the doctor that I would want to go to. She has a deep care and compassion for women to be set free to be exactly who God created them to be. Unfortunately we get hung up on many things in life that hinders our freedom.

The seven lies she writes about are:
1 - Perfection
2 - Envy
3 - Image
4 - Balance
5 - Control
6 - Emotions
7 - Limits

I think if we are honest with ourselves we will be able to relate to lies we may believe in a few of these areas. It is God's truth that will set us free. This book is saturated in Scriptures that aid in this. It is worth the read.

To get a copy of this book from the publisher go here.
Another fun thing with this review is there is a great contest you can enter for Mother's day. Go here and like her page for info on entering.

Book Review: Transforming Prayer by Daniel Henderson

I received a copy of this book at no charge from the publisher for the sake of an honest review.

I have to say I really loved this book. I read a lot on prayer because I am so fascinated that God works through prayer. He does not need us but desires relationship with us. He loves when we communicate with Him. Just like any relationship it would not be strong if you just stopped talking to the other person. We serve an alive King who desires relationship with us. So amazing.

This book discusses what the author calls worship-based prayer. This type of praying is the practice of seeking God's face instead of His hand. I really liked the concept. It follows a basic guideline of the Lord's Prayer. It is very focused on praying Scripture and worshiping God for who He is. There is a time for our requests as the Lord's prayer teaches but the way worship-based prayer is laid out is by putting God first instead of just taking out a prayer list and rambling off requests. It is a relational way to pray. I really enjoyed it because I have been so guilty of just rambling a list of requests. I needed this reminder of what prayer really is about. I think anyone would enjoy this read. It really helps you refocus on God which is the point.

Also if anyone is interested in reviewing for Bethany go to this link. I have enjoyed reviewing for them.