Anything

Anything

The prayer that unlocked my God and my Soul

Jennie Allen

Jennie and her husband Zac prayed a prayer one night that told God they would do ANYTHING he asked them to do. This prayer radically changed their lives and opened up the way for this book to be written.

I’d read some great reviews for this book and was looking forward to reading it to see if it lived up to my expectations. I wasn’t expecting it to blow me away. It isn’t the style of writing or stories, although those are good. It’s the message that she is presenting. What would happen if every Christian opened themselves up to praying that prayer? What would happen if we were willing to let go and give up whatever God asked us to part with? The message in this book is all about total surrender to our God and living a life that isn’t normal.

Not only did I enjoy reading this book, I felt convicted. It’s the type of book that I will be buying copies of to give to friends and family. It was just that good.

I received this book free of charge from Shelton Interactive in exchange for my honest review.

Firestorm

Firestorm

Lisa Tawn Bergren

Reyne is a firefighter. After losing four members of her team in a forest fires she retreats to research where it is safe and vows to never date a firefighter. But then Logan, a smoke jumper, enters the picture with his project that could save lives and ruins her good intentions. Now she must decide if it’s worth it to risk her heart and her life to Logan and firefighting.

I had read this book years ago when I read the entire series. But I couldn’t remember most of it so decided to read it again. I enjoyed it the second time around as well. There were a couple of flaws for me. One was how annoying Logan was in the beginning. I think the author did too great of a job of portraying how Reyne felt about him at first. It also seemed a bit more shallow than her previous books. It was a short, fun summer read, but not very much depth.

The story was entertaining and at times heartfelt. I think this time around the death of her friend touched me more than it did last time simply because of my experiences. So I’m guessing different parts of the book will resonate with different people. All in all, it was a cute book and I’m glad that I reread it.

I received this book free of charge from WaterBrook in exchange for my honest review.

This Scarlet Cord

This Scarlet Cord

The Love Story of Rahab

Joan Wolf

Rahab meets Sala, an Israelite boy when she is a young girl. But their families don’t intermingle and she is soon in Jericho while her father tries to find her the perfect husband. Perfect to her father means wealthy and important. But perfect to Rahab means someone she can relate to and who loves her. But that isn’t looking likely; especially when she is noticed by the king.

In the notes by the author she mentions her intrigue with the story and how it came about. She created a story around why Rahab was a believer and how she came to be part of Christ’s lineage.

I think she did a beautiful job. The story flows well and while plot driven, also engaged me with it’s well defined characters. It was a beautifully written historical fiction.

I received this book free of charge from Booksneeze in exchange for my honest review.

Bees in the Butterfly Garden

Bees in the Butterfly Garden

Maureen Lang

Meg has spent most of her life at an exclusive boarding school. When she learns of her father’s death, who she hasn’t seen in years, she returns to his home to learn about the man who paid for her schooling. What she finds is not what she expected. He is a thief, a con man. He didn’t have any contact with her because he wanted her to live a better life. But she sets out to become a thief as well. Her father is gone, but she wants to prove that she could have fit into his world. She tries to convince her father’s protégé that she is fit for the job, but he fights her the entire way.

This story is about forgiveness and redemption.  It’s a “modern” day story about the thieves on the cross and how one asked for forgiveness and the other turned his head.

This story began really slowly for me. Meg was annoying, the father’s fiancé seemed fake and I couldn’t get interested in the story. It wasn’t until about 2/3 of the way through the book that it began to pick up. The story seemed to flow smoothly, I just couldn’t get engaged. The author mentioned that she wrote the book to fit a title that she loved. And I think maybe that is why parts of the story didn’t seem to mesh well.  This book was only an okay for me.

I received this book free of charge from Tyndale in exchange for my honest review.

The Atonement Child

The Atonement Child

Francine Rivers

Dynah is a sheltered Christian young lady who is raped and then learns she's pregnant. The book details her journey through her survival during the pregnancy and her decision to keep or abort the baby.

I really enjoy reading Francine Rivers books. They are captivating and well written. But I had a really hard time getting into this book. Maybe it was the subject matter, maybe because it felt a little cheesy for me, maybe because it also felt a little "preachy". I'm not for abortion, but the book felt more like a platform for a topic than a story. That being said, it's still well written and I would recommend this book as long as you don't mind the slightly preachy tone.

Twelve Clean Pages

Twelve Clean Pages

A Memoir

Nika Maples

Nika was diagnosed with lupus at the early age of twelve. She wasn't expected to live very long and came close to death several times. While in college she suffered a stroke and was a quadriplegic for months. Gradually she learned to walk, talk and function again.

She went on to become a teacher, inspiring others with her humor, hope, and courage.

I was a little leery of this book. Memoirs can so often be dry and boring, especially when dealing with someone's remembrance of difficult times. But this lady is a talented writer. She was able to write a beautiful story about a terrible tragedy and make it interesting and inspiring. Her outlook on life is honest and positive. Her relationship with her Savior shines through the pages. I'm just hoping this isn't her only book.

I received this book free of charge from Goodreads in exchange for my honest review.

Blog Give-Away

Today is the give-away for the book 

Break Through

When to Give In, How to Push Back

Tim Clinton & Pat Springle

Congratulations

Eileen Martin!

Please contact me at timamurrell(at)ymail(dot)com

with your mailing address.

Thank you to everyone who participated. I'm getting ready to read another book called Faith and Other Flat Tires. I have been sent two copies of this as well so be on the look out for another give-away.