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.

Heaven is for Real-Favorite!

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo has definitely become one of my favorite books. When my mom (who isn’t normally a reader), told me what it was about and that I needed to read it, I was honestly very skeptical and surprised that she would believe it. But, I agreed to read it as soon as she was finished, and I ended up reading the entire book within a few hours; I couldn’t take my eyes away from it.
The book starts out with a lot of background information that was a little bit hard to get through, but after that it picks up. Colton, a young child becomes very sick and after seeing several doctors they finally find out that his appendix has been leaking poison into his tiny body for five days. As he is rushed into surgery, his parents wait anxiously, knowing that he might not survive. Colton ends up finally making it through surgery and healing, and he makes a few strange comments to his parents, but it isn’t until several months later that they begin to find out what really happened during his surgery: that he went to Heaven, was with Jesus and was then returned to his family as an answer to prayer. It is easy to be unconvinced of this story’s truth until you read the book yourself and learn about the overwhelmingly powerful aspects of Colton’s experience as a four year old that went to Heaven. Since reading this incredible story, I have recommended it to many and I will continue to encourage people to read it.

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.

Book Review: Cherished

A few months after receiving Cherished , the novel by Kim Cash Tate, I finally had time to pick it up and read it and I was immediately captivated by the characters and story line, not wanting to set it down. The two main characters Kelli and Heather both have pasts filled with hurt that came about due to poor choices they made regarding relationships. Both of these women have to work through the pain they have experienced and try to find out what God has planned for their lives. In the story Heather finds herself at her lowest and turns to God, unlike the majority of fiction; it is nice to see an author write about real life circumstances and hardships and at the same time show how unconditionally God still loves us and is ready with open arms to welcome us back when we make bad choices. Though this book can stand alone, it would’ve been nice to have read the prequel Faithful in order to better understand the background stories of the two main characters. I found Cherished to be a relaxing and enjoyable story to read, all the while being able to learn from the important life-lessons/themes. I appreciate having a good Christian novel to read in a world that is often filled with inappropriate entertainment.

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

Book review: Left at the Altar by Kimberley Kennedy

I LOVE BOOKS and so when I first signed up to review books for Booksneeze, excited at the oppurtunity to receive free books, I looked through the available titles and chose this one to read first...but when it arrived and I began to read it I realized it was a mistake. Probably by my own fault this book was not the novel I was expecting but rather the real life story of Kimberley Kennedy.
I decided to read it anyways but I had a difficult time being captivated by her story and found myself not wanting to continue, knowing that I had to. Just recently I picked the book up again to complete it and found it easier to read this time. I found that this book includes information that though it may not be Kennedy's original ideas, is stil helpful; things such tools for dealing with grief and pain of relationships (but could be related to other life experiences) and how God will help you through that. I also like that she included a few men's perspective about ending relationships and not just a woman's point of view. Overall this book isn't my favorite, but it did redeem itself from my original opinion of it.

I recieved this book for free from Booksneeze and was not required to publish a positive review of this book.