My next book to review! Stay tuned
The Necessity of an Enemy, written by Ron Carpenter Jr. and published with Waterbrook Press, is an absolute must read for all Christians. This is basically the story of how Pastor Carpenter went through a major tough time in his ministry (not just once) and how, somewhere along the way he realized that battling enemies afforded him growth opportunities in his daily walk with Jesus. But the book is so much more than all of that. In this book, Carpenter tells us how to recognize our true enemies (quit whining "The Devil made me do it!" and once we are able to pinpoint the opponent, how best we can handle the overtaking of the enemy's plans for us to fail. I love his key points, standing out in bold in the chapters. My absolute favorite is "There is no way to lose in any given situation." When I read that, it reminded me of a personal battle in which my 17 year old daughter, a cancer survivor, recently told me, "I used to be scared of so many things, especially dying. But I remembered that if I die, I get to go to heaven, and hey! That isn't losing!" The main point of the book, reinforced over and over again, is that a real enemy is anything or anyone that is trying to stop you from completing God's plans and purpose in your life. Another key point says, 'There's a Goliath, a Pharaoh, a Satan standing between you and who you are destined to become." Wow. One other point that touched this reader's heart was the realization that the enemy of our souls, Satan, is more against who we are than what we are doing. In other words, as long as you are an example of Christ, people will see that shining through you at all times, and it doesn't matter what you're doing at all. Amazing insight. And I love that this book is written in a down to earth style...no theological terms as long as your arm to try and muddle through. Pastor Carpenter speaks in the book with a voice as plain and simple as your best friend hanging around the house just shooting the breeze, only he's shooting a hurricane at you-- by letting you know enemies are good things because they give us opportunities to grow. I was happy to see the small group study in the back of the book; heaven knows this book should be required reading for anyone who wants a victorious walk with Jesus. I will be gifting many of my loved ones with this great read. And the next time I spot an enemy, I'll be glad he's there. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Blogging for Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The protagonist of this story, widowed Harriet Beamer, at age 72 loses a suckers bet to her daughter-in-law Prudence and ends up honoring her end of the deal by selling her beloved family home in Pennsylvania and moving in with Prudence and her son Henry.
As Harriet is in the process of packing her beloved salt and pepper shaker collection, she realizes that the pieces of her collection were in her life as results of other people's travel adventures. So she decides to take the long way to California, with a special quest to visit her life-long dream vacation spot at the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum located in Tennessee. Harriet decides to use as many methods of public transportation as she can to get from Pennsylvania to her destination in Grass Valley, California. Although her preference is the local bus system, that proves to be a problem in some circumstances, which will bring some completely unbelievable jaw dropping moments as she sets off towards her "next destination" in some unconventional ways of transport. A strange thing happened to me during the reading of this book, and I think it was due to the absolutely spot-on writing of each and every sentiment Harriet held towards her life and those around her. What happened was that I came along for the ride. I was carrying her suitcase, I was mailing her newly purchased salt and pepper shakers home, I was feeling her aching tired back and rubbing her feet as we settled in to write in her journal, or to check in with Amelia (her GPS) to get pointed in the right direction. One of the most fabulous parts about this story was Harriet's constant keeping in touch with God. At her age she was still seeking His face and the meaning of her life here. Not to issue any spoilers here, but when Harriet recalls someone telling her, "You go, girl! Your life is your own!" She hears an immediate response telling her that "No, your life is not your own..." and she realizes her life belongs to God. This is everywoman/everyman's dream. An opportunity to travel across the country and see the things you want to see at your leisure and to meet real people who are walking for God, and others who battle demons in this lost and lonely world. This is an excellent read, one that I would advise you take a leisurely amount of time to read. Savor the moments, live the memories and perhaps be inspired to go somewhere different, or to try an adventure all of your own while God guides your every step. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through S.Savkov, Assistant Digital Publicist Shelton Interactive | Chicken Soup for the Soul. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Susan Savkov Assistant Digital Publicist Shelton Interactive | Chicken Soup for the Soul This book is about Moishe (Martin) Rosen and his rise to the founding of the Jews for Jesus movement.
His story is told by his daughter, with the help of documents and manuscripts and letters from friends. This is a great book for people who have any kind of evangelical calling, since it points out some things that we, as Christians, may have never considered as roadblocks to our evangelistic tactics...such as the language used every day in the church, the symbolic rituals such as communion, and even the way someone else from other traditions and cultures may view what we're trying to say about the simplest things. Now, I have to tell you, as a Southern Californian, this book held great interest in some of the historical references of what was happening during past decades, and even time spent in New York was written in an interesting manner, to allow the reader an understanding of not only what Moishe Rosen's story was, but also that of the world around him in an America that was growing up fast! This book was written without any flash, it's really a very steady drone of facts, stories and thoughts of Mr. Rosen's and sometimes you get bogged down thinking wow, does this guy ever kick up his heels and have some fun? There are references to his family celebrations, his laughter and jokes, but if you like to read the details about them, you can forget about it here. I have to say, I enjoyed reading about this gentleman. My heart shared his heartbreak at the attitude of some of his families and friends, but didn't Jesus tell us he would come to separate some of us from our loved ones? I would suggest that you read this at a leisurely pace, since it appears to be the mindset of the book itself to offer a leisurely stroll through the life and times of the founder of Jews for Jesus. Shalom. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Booksneeze.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The Four Dominions, All the Words of This Life, by George N. Holman, published by Westbow Press was a tough read for me right from the very beginning.
As a former Bible college student who was taught the great value and appreciation of Biblical Hermeneutics, I thought this book would be right up my alley for learning additional precepts to enforce the foundations of the Holy Word that I have already been privileged to learn. Unfortunately, I found the manner in which the book is written,( i.e. lots of exclamation points (!), lots of unnecessary “quotation marks”, and many spelling errors) alongside plenty of dark pictures offered without a clear reference to the text proffered made the book unattractive and unappealing to this reader. Towards the end of the book, the lettering is all in CAPS, making for a very difficult read since caps usually indicate someone who is yelling to make their point. While most of the book’s text is direct quotations from the King James Version of the Holy Bible, there is no real explanation of the central theme trying to come forth by the spattering of connecting scriptures on the various pages. With a lot of cross referencing to the Queens and Kings of England, again, the information is offered without a clear explanation of how all of it fits together. The writer gives dates and times of occurrences as fact, so to accept the premises being put forth in this book, the reader must agree and understand the correlation of the events presented with the dates submitted by the author. However, there is no explanation or offering of how the dates and times were deciphered, and therefore cannot be accepted as infallible truths by this reader. It is very clear that this author has the best of intentions to share with his readers’ information that he feels has come directly from God, for the enlightenment of His people. It is unfortunate that it came across to this reader as confusing and was certainly a most difficult book to read from beginning to end. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://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 disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Published by Thomas Nelson
Beginning the journey through the pages of this writing, I found myself almost upset that the characters were not fitting my expectations of cliché, run of the mill, easy to spot saints and sinners normally found in a historical romance novel. The personal battle waged by Adam Wyse was dark and perplexing. It made me want to hate him. It made me want to pity him. There were times when I wanted to quit reading because I could barely go any further into his personal foray into the darkness of his soul. But instead, I plunged forward, drinking up every word, enjoying every moment that I wrestled to try and fit the story together as each character’s complexity kept me on the edge of understanding how it all made sense. When the story ended, I applauded the writer and her ability to weave such a tapestry of richness into the characters and still maintain a discreet cover of secrecy while the story development finally triumphed over all of the darkest sins that plague all men. I was appreciative of the glossary at the beginning of the book, which provided insight to some of the terms of the Amish, which made reading comprehension easier along the way. I was surprised by the four week novel Bible study at the conclusion of the chapters, finding it to be a good reminder that in all we do, we need to find a way to honor God. Excellent story, ended up loving every minute spent on reading this book. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://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 disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” |
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