Heaven Changes Everything: Living Every Day with Eternity in Mind-Todd and Sonja Burpo

Heaven Changes Everything: Living Every Day with Eternity in Mind-Todd and Sonja Burpo I just recently received the new devotional book, “Heaven Changes Everything: Living Every Day with Eternity in Mind” by Todd and Sonja Burpo. Being as this is a book compiled of short, daily, devotional type readings it has been easy to pick it up and start reading, even in the midst of a crazy semester. I had previously read “Heaven is for Real” by Todd Burpo-originally two years ago, but again several times since then and was expecting sort of the same style of book to be carried over into this one. I should not have carried those preconceived ideas because it has tainted my view of this one. Although I think the contents of this book are very good, it is lacking that intriguing bit of story to really pull the reader in and get them engaged. I also think it would be very difficult for someone that does not know Colton’s story to pick this up and have a complete understanding of where this is coming from. It talks a lot about “interruptions from Heaven” and the impacts those may have on our lives over a course of time. It is good to see the way that what should be our main focus in life seems to “interrupt” the way that we live day to day. Overall, I would recommend this book to a friend if they asked, but maybe as more of a library book than one to buy; I would be much more likely to recommend it’s partner book, “Heaven is for Real” before or at least along side of this one. I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Cliques, Hicks and Ugly Sticks: Confessions of April Grace by KD McCrite

I didn’t realize until after I had finished downloading this ebook that Cliques, Hicks and Ugly Sticks: Confessions of April Grace is actually a sequel to In front of God and everybody: Confessions of April Grace. But, the author KD McCrite did a great job incorporating the back story into this continuation so that the reader isn’t completely lost if they haven’t read the first book and so I was still able to read and follow along with the characters and their lives.
This is kind of different in that it is set back in the mid 1980’s and the intended audience today, preteens, may not understand some of the settings and situations or items included in the story. The things they may not understand though can be made up for in the many similarities that girls these ages are still experiencing now. It is a great story for girls and young teens to read because as April Grace is working through issues with her friends, crazy family, boys, etc., the readers can learn valuable life lessons and morals from the way April Grace handles the tough things in life all the while enjoying a fun novel. Even for older readers it is interesting to remember being a middle-schooler experiencing some of the same things as the main characters in this easy read.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

First Date by Krista McGee

After spending about an hour trying to get this (my first) ebook to successfully download to my nook I wasn’t sure this book would be worth all the trouble but seeing that I love books, I decided to go ahead and read it anyways hoping I wouldn’t be disappointed…and I wasn’t. I haven’t read any teen chick flick books in quite a while and though I am getting past that stage in my life, it is kind of fun to return every once in a while! First Date by Krista McGee is just that: a teen chick flick novel about a bunch of girls chosen to be on a TV show, set up similarly to “The Bachelor” (but with teenagers) to win a date to prom with the president’s son Jonathan. At first the main character Addy, a good girl focused more on school than boys, is not interested at all but she ends up getting chosen for the show anyways. Doing her best to get eliminated from the show she realizes that she actually would like to have a date with this good-looking guy. The story unfolds with the reader wrapped up in the drama seeing where she will end up and how God uses this strange circumstance to reach Addy. This is a well-written, lighthearted novel, good for a rainy day or just a good story.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

I am Second-Real Stories. Changing Lives

I am Second-Real Stories. Changing Lives co-written by Doug Bender and Dave Sterrett is such an encouraging book composed of stories from real people. Though each person has come from a different walk of life—from athletes to stay at home moms, pastors to drug addicts, from famous to the family next door, they all have one thing in common, “these are the stories of real people who reached the end of their strength, the end of their control, and found the most surprising truths” (Back cover). That one thing that each of these people found when they hit rock bottom was God and now, these people have decided to live as He commanded: second to Him and to other people. As I was reading this book, I found that I really liked the format; each personal story is written out over a few pages and then a link is given to a recorded video testimony found on iamsecond.com. After that, the authors list the names and pictures of a few other people that have similar stories in case you would like to watch their video from the website also. Another great thing about this book is that each of the stories is short so if you only had a few minutes to read you could make it through one testimony and read the rest later. Plus they are all separate from one another so you could easily set it down and pick right back up even a year later if you needed to. The raw stories of these people finding God in the darkest of circumstances are encouraging. There is something for everyone in this book.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Encounter by Steven Arterburn

The Encounter by Steve Arterburn is a great book about a young man facing issues of his past that are hurting his future. It starts out with Jonathan Rush traveling to Alaska to uncover the secrets of his childhood and work through problems with his mom who abandoned him at the young and vulnerable age of four. After arriving in Fairbanks, he begins the journey of looking for his mom in order to seek out answers to all of the questions, hurt and anger that has been causing his life to crumble in front of his own eyes within the past few years. Physically this is an easy read: fairly short and well written, but when it comes to the heart, it really makes you examine issues of your own life, especially forgiveness. It is refreshing to read a fictional book that deals with serious but relatable issues like forgiving and anger. Arterburn has written this book in a way that as Jonathan works through the tough stuff in his life, the reader also has the opportunity to realize their own problems—hopefully inciting the healing process. Overall I have enjoyed reading this book and will recommend it to others and re-read it in the future.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

A Year with Jesus by R.P. Nettlehorst

A Year with Jesus, written by R.P. Nettlehorst is a very well put together daily devotional. The book is divided up into different topical sections but each day has its own specific topic and passage. The subtitle of the book is “Daily Readings and Reflections on Jesus’ Own Words” and Nettlehorst does a good job of actually following that; for each day there is a passage from one of the gospels-the books of the Bible that are directly about Jesus’ life on earth and the words that he spoke. Every day’s devotion is only a page: short, but full of good meaning. One of the nice features about this devotional book is that it is categorized into different subtopics that are directly related to our everyday life: “Love and Hate”, “Truths and Lies”, “Arrogance and Humility”, “Friends and Enemies”, “Belief and Disbelief”, “Patience and Impatience”, “Deserved and Undeserved”, “”Good and Evil”, “Fidelity and Treachery”, and “Life and Death”. It is helpful because even though the days are numbered from 1 to 365 (rather than January1-December 31) you could easily move forward to a section that applies to what you are directly dealing with in certain stages of your life. I haven’t gotten extremely far into this book, but so far, I like it and it’s simple set up.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Stuck

Stuck by Jennie Allen is an excellent 8-week Bible Study package that includes weekly DVD lessons from the author, a study workbook, a leaders book and discussion cards. Each week covers a different topic; being stuck, broken, mad, discontent, scared, overwhelmed, sad and finally unstuck in life and your relationship with God. Though I went through the series on my own rather than within a group of women as the author intends, I feel that it is very relevant to the spiritual life of every Christian. It is very easy to get stuck in a rut with God and this study was very helpful in learning how to let God set us free and grow in Him. I think this Bible Study is very well written and will be very useful in my own life as well as the lives of other women that are in my life. I hope to do this study with the girls that live in my dorm in the near future. The leader book is also a really helpful tool that is included and even though I have never lead a Bible Study before, this book gives great instruction and outlines each week’s lesson and discussions.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.