Tag: Christian nonfiction

BONUS REVIEW: A Moment to Breathe by The (in)courage Community

BONUS REVIEW: A Moment to Breathe by The (in)courage Community

Posted on by Jaymie

(In)courage is a website that offers encouragement for women of faith. They have daily devotional posts, a shop for mugs and stationery and such from Dayspring, book clubs, and other opportunities for connection.

A Moment to Breathe is the latest book from the folks at (in)courage. It includes 365 daily devotions written by a variety of (in)courage contributors. Each devotional includes a scripture reference, the devotional, and an encouraging thought about taking a moment to breathe and reflect. A Moment to Breathe releases today. And I enjoyed it so much, I am posting this bonus review today – when I usually just talk about books for kids on Tuesdays – because I don’t want to wait to get the word out about this book.

Before publication, (in)courage made the first ten devotionals available to the public to sample the pieces in the book. I loved what I read in the sampler, and I was fortunate to be chosen for the Launch Team. I received a copy of the full book for review purposes and found it full of excellent encouragement and opportunities for growth.

When I first read the sampler, I tried to pin down a “favorite” from the first ten. But my favorite changed regularly; there were so many good pieces in just that small taste of the larger book. When I received the book, I was determined to jump around, sampling entries from all over the book. I was pleased to see the quality was consistent from start to finish. In fact, I could apply every entry I chose to something going on in my life.

I have bought bunches of devotionals in my life, and they usually end up on a shelf within 30 days. I get out of the habit of reading it, and it starts to gather dust. That won’t be the case with this one. This is the kind of devotional that I will use. I have been dog-earring pages and underlining passages and posting pictures since I started reading it. I look forward to digging in, seeing what each day has in store for me, and journaling or praying about what I read.

This book would make an excellent gift – for yourself and your spiritual life or for a friend or family member. I highly recommend it.

Thanks to the folks at (in)courage for the review copy and the opportunity to be part of the Launch Team and an early reader of this meaningful devotional.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

REVIEW: For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

A series of essays for Christian women. Some are designed to get readers to think about their lives and consider making changes – finding balance, dealing with difficult people, and taking a look at how we do short term missions.

Some essays are about accepting and embracing the life you have.  That includes the rowdiness of your family, the changes that come from getting older, and the quirks in your personality.

Some essays are just for laughs – like Thank You Notes à la Jimmy Fallon.

There’s something for everyone in this collection of thoughts on Christian living. The central message is be who you are and love who you are. Good words for all of us.

Review

I am a huge Jen Hatmaker fan. I enjoy her honesty, transparency and self-deprecating humor. If you enjoy her on social media, she has much the same tone in her essays.

I’ve read this twice, once on my own and once for a discussion group with a few friends. The book works for both purposes. Early on with the group I tried to come up with discussion questions. It worked just as well, though, to ask what stood out to the other readers. We let the conversation go from there.

As with any author, Hatmaker’s personal biases drive the essays. She’s big on relationships, loves cooking for her family, and has strong opinions on how Christians should engage in the world. I might not agree with her on everything – especially the cooking parts – but I had plenty to think about and plenty to chuckle at as I read this.

Her new book, Of Mess and Moxie, will release later this summer.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Between Heaven & the Real World by Steven Curtis Chapman

REVIEW: Between Heaven & the Real World by Steven Curtis Chapman

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

An autobiographical look at Christian music’s superstar, Steven Curtis Chapman. The book covers Chapman’s childhood, the start and growth of his music career, his marriage and family, and of course the tragic death of his daughter, Maria.

Review

This was outstanding! I started listening to Chapman’s music around the launch of his second album. It was fun to read about all the things that went on behind the scenes with his songs and tours as I attended many of those tours and own many of those songs.

This feels like a very honest book. Chapman is up front about hard moments in his upbringing and his marriage. He works at being transparent about his struggles – personally, professionally and spiritually.

Anyone reading this book who is familiar with the Chapman’s story knows that the book is moving toward the tragic death of their daughter, Maria, in 2008. And the story is as painful as you can imagine. But again, that honesty and transparency is on display. Steven shares the struggle to keep moving forward after their loss, their questions for God, and their pain.

This was an engrossing and moving read. If you loved his wife’s book, Choosing to See, I highly recommend this. This fills in some of Steven’s part of the journey, and it gives more current information about how the family is doing as they continue to miss Maria, and yet choose to keep trusting God day by day.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Nothing to Prove by Jennie Allen

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Do you ever feel like a mouse, running on a wheel, constantly moving but actually going no where? Do you ever feel like your life is an empty bottle of salad dressing or empty gallon of milk when you have a week to go until pay day? You’re trying to shake or squeeze out every last bit of energy or time or effort because it is all you have and you don’t know where you can scrounge up any more?

Maybe, rather than striving to do it all or being the go-to person or taking care of everyone else, God would rather we just “abide.” Maybe while we are running and pushing and climbing, Jesus is waiting nearby with everything we need, already there.

Jennie Allen, founder of If: Ministries shares her heart and her experience in discovering that Jesus is enough – all we ever need. She encourages readers to shift their thinking, recognizing that some of the stress and striving is less about God and more about themselves. She wants readers to live free of the things that weigh people down.

Review

This book has been the perfect fit for me in this season of life! I was underlining and highlighting and writing in the margins from cover to cover. As soon as I finished, I wanted to start all over again. I wanted to pull out all the key parts, Bible verses and activities and then spend time with them, little by little to apply them to my life in a way that would make an impact.

The author uses great metaphors to make her points. She uses several passages from the gospel of John, but tells them from the perspective of someone IN the story, adding some stirring details to the Biblical narrative. Jennie offers exercises to help readers take action on what they read. She stresses the extravagant love and abundance of God. She highlights God’s “streams of enoughness” like streams of connection, rest, risk and hope.

I can’t recommend this highly enough. There is going to be a Bible study book to go with this called Proven that will release in April. I did an online Facebook discussion with the author over three weeks which was great. I’m sure you can go to her page and watch the videos again. But I think going through each chapter, week by week with a small group, would be an even better way to really dig into the material!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Are you living as though you are endlessly loved by the Creator of the Universe? Because you are endlessly loved. Let this book help you live in that truth today.

Uninvited - Learning to Live Loved

Review

This book was a perfect fit for me. When it released, I was in the middle of several significant life changes. The call to live loved was just what I needed to hear. I underlined many, many passages, wrote about them, shared them on social media and with friends. I think this book lends itself perfectly for use in a book group or weekly Bible study. The author starts with a life issue/skill – like responding to rejection – and backs up her approach with scriptures and Bible stories. There are messages in this book that I will carry with me for years to come, and I am so grateful that I read it at just the right time!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥