By Nicole

I just finished reading my first full Max Lucado book, It's Not About Me: Rescue From the Life We Thought Would Make Us Happy .  Max Lucado writes in a very easy, conversational manner, with a lot of real life examples.  He uses a simple, genuine humor that keeps heavy topics light enough to sink in.  I haven't finished some of his other books, honestly, because that tone kind of annoyed me.  But I couldn't put this book down.  For some reason (I'm not sure if it was because the book was so applicable to my life at that point or because the author admitted his own struggles with self-centeredness) I was instantly hooked and had to keep reading.  Max Lucado did a splendid job of refocusing everything on God and showing in so many ways the reasons why life can never be about anything else.  His retelling towards the end of the book of the collapse of the Port Isabel Causeway in South Texas had me reliving the entire weekend. I was on South Pa...

My most recent Booksneeze book was Money Secrets of the Amish by Lorilee Craker.  I chose this book because I am always working on doing a better job with our family's money.  We never save enough, we always get sucked into debt of some kind, and we often feel like we can't catch up.  The subtitle of the book is Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing and Saving.   Sooooo, PERFECT!  Just what I needed!  If the Amish can do it, I can too. Anyway, back to my review.  The book didn't tell me anything that I didn't actually already know about the basic principles of being smart with your money... I know to avoid debt by not giving into instant gratification gimmicks (same as cash, zero interest, etc.), and I already shop second hand.  I also know that saving is important.  However, Lorilee Craker tells us things we already know in a hilarious way.  I seriously laughed out loud more than once.  Her writing is quirky, funny ...

I recently finished the book Unleashed by Erwin Raphael McManus.  In this book McManus is attempting to redefine the term "barbarian" and it's application to the Christian life.  I love his parallels and the biblical references he uses to convince us of how "tame" and "civilized" we have become as Christians.  I truly identify with being someone who likes living life on the safe side.  I am terrified to step out and maybe (yikes) suffer a little for my faith. One of my favorite quotes from McManus is found on page 44, "Instead of finding confidence to live as we should regardless of our circumstances, we have used it as justification to choose the path of least resistance, least difficulty, least sacrifice.  Instead of concluding it is best to be wherever God wants us to be, we have decided that wherever it is best for us to be is where God wants us."  Definitely an ouch, since it is delivered right after an account from the life of Corrie t...

I just finished reviewing the bible study book Same Life, New Story by Jan Silvious.  This is a 10-week bible study designed for women who want to learn about how they can change their perspective to change their life story. Many of us are in life circumstances that we have no control over.  Often, those circumstances are difficult and sad.  All of us have something in our past that we regret. This book is about biblical women who responded to the call of God in their lives, even during times of hardship, and learned how to move beyond their past and into a life led by God. Jan covers the lives of Naomi, Leah, Rahab, Deborah, Hannah, Anna, Jehosheba, Abigail, Naaman's servant girl, and Elizabeth.  What a variety of women with such powerful stories!  She also includes personal  anecdotes and stories of women from today.  All are linked together to walk you through the process of getting over the past, your fears and the things hol...

I was so excited to get this book in the mail!  Voices of the Faithful: Book 2 is the second series of daily devotions complied by Kim P Davis.  It also includes an introduction written by Beth Moore (love her! ).   The daily devotion consists of a memory verse, a short, real-life story from a missionary and a prayer.  Each section of the day's devotion is clearly divided and in a different font. Each month has a certain theme along which the devotions connect.  January's theme is prayer, February's is love, etc.  The cover and inside art is very elegant.  A friend of mine showed me this book before I even requested it from Booksneeze.  It had been a gift to her from her husband.  Once I saw it, I remembered that it was an available title, and I made up my mind that I had to have a copy. Since I received this in the middle of January, I decided to catch up by reading the first two weeks worth of devotions.  The stories a...

I have just finished reading Tithing: Test Me in This  by Douglas LeBlanc.  This book is one in the Ancient Practices series.  The book is structured as a series of short stories that highlight the lives of those who are faithful in tithing.  I was excited to read those stories and receive further proof of how God keeps His promises.  There are 11 chapters, each with very different real-life examples that basically guide the reader through the process each individual or couple has gone through to arrive at their philosophy of tithing.  Yet instead of focusing the glory toward God for His faithfulness and provision, the stories seemed to spend more time on explaining the denomination and doctrine of each individual, whether liberal or conservative and some of the policital background of how their current church or religious organization had been formed.  While a few of the stories were truly powerful ( Missional Living after K...

One of my favorite nights of the week is Thursday.  Not because it is relaxing or there isn't anything going on.  In fact, it might be the most hectic and latest night of my week.  Thursday night is the night that Jason and I go to bible study.  He goes to men's group, and I go to women's group.  We smooch in the gym and head into our separate classes.  I look forward to the class because of the opportunity to fellowship and pray with women who love God and want to be closer to Him.  I have grown so much because of that time, even though I must admit that most weeks I have to say, 'Um, no...' when Lucy asks if we finished our chapter.  Even when we did the Beth Moore study on Esther ( phenomenal!) I didn't always keep up.  Some nights we pray and cry out to God longer than we spend in the book and other nights we dig straight into discussion of the chapter and the topic.  God has put some amazing women in my life, with such wonderful sto...