GLORY DAYS

Friday, October 30, 2015

GLORY DAYS
Living Your Promised Land Life Now
By Max Lucado

OVERVIEW: Max Lucado says many people underestimate what happened to them upon conversion. Trusting in Christ is more than a removal of sin. It is a deposit of power. You are fully equipped! Glory Days teaches you: How to leave fear and worry behind as you fight from victory, not for victory. How to stop going through the motions and dare to believe your best days are ahead. How to overcome rejection by becoming deeply convinced that you are forever God's child. How to demolish unhealthy mindsets and learn to hear the right voice and make the right choice. How to deal with doubt by recognizing God's Word as the ultimate authority. And how to rebound from your mistakes and put your past in the past.

AUTHOR: More than 120 million readers have found inspiration and encouragement in the writings of Max Lucado. He lives with his wife, Denalyn, and their mischievous mutt, Andy, in San Antonio, Texas, where he serves the people of Oak Hills Church.

MY REVIEW: In my opinion, he's done it again. And I am sure that more than 120 million readers will agree with me. Max Lucado has written another splendid book, encouraging Christians. If not all 120 million agree I know that  New York times bestselling author and lead pastor for the National Community Church agrees with me. He said, "This is a message the Church needs and a reminder every believer can use."

In sixteen brief chapters Max helps Christians to see that they have everything they need to be everything God desires. I was encouraged by these words in the front of the book: "These days are Glory Days. My past is past, my future is bright, God's promises are true and his Word is sure. With God as my helper, I will be all he wants me to be, do all he wants me to do, and receive all he wants me to receive. These days are Glory Days."

I agree with bestselling author and founding pastor of Gateway Church that "This book, like all his books, will change your life."

(I received this book from BookSneeze a division of Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

THE HEAVEN PROMISE

Friday, October 23, 2015

THE HEAVEN PROMISE
Engaging the Bible's Truth
About Life to Come
By Scot McKnight

OVERVIEW: The Heaven Promise answers the most frequently asked questions regarding heaven, including: 1. What About Near-Death Experiences? 2. What About Rewards in Heaven? 3. Who Will Be in Heaven? 4. Is God Fair? 5. Will There Be Families in Heaven? 6. What About Children Who Die? 7. What About Cremation? 8. What About Purgatory? 9. Will There Be Pets in Heaven? 10. Why Believe in Heaven?

AUTHOR:  Scott McKnight is the author of more than fifty books including The Jesus Creed. He currently serves as a professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. A much sought after public thinker and speaker, he blogs regularly at Patheos under the banner of "Jesus Creed." He and his wife, Kris, enjoy life in the suburbs of Chicago.

My Review: The Heaven Promise is now one of my favorite books. Scot McKnight has for a long time been one of my favorite theologians. This doesn't mean that I agree with all that he writes or teaches but I do agree with most of it. That's one of the reasons I like this new book. McKnight is a New Testament scholar and he uses the Scriptures to answer questions about heaven, eternity and the afterlife.

Scott McKnight wants you to know that heaven isn't the construction of a fairy tale or some mythical narrative. It's very real; it's very good; and it's very much the fulfillment of God's promise to you.
This book may not answer all of your questions about heaven but it will answer many of them.

I agree with author John Ortberg. He said, "What a terrific book! Scot lays out the great questions about heaven — What will it be like? Who's going there?— and seeks to address them with biblically grounded wisdom."

"My hope," McKnight shares, "is that people will be hopeful about heaven."

After you read this book I believe you will be hopeful about heaven!

(I received this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

A WONDERFUL PLACE TO BE YOUNG

Friday, October 16, 2015

West Covina, California. A wonderful place to be young.

For eight years I lived in ElMonte, California, just a few miles from West Covina.

I preached for a church made up of mostly the elderly. Members that were old enough to be my parents or grand-parents.

AND THEN I moved to West Covina!

The South Hills Church of Christ members were mostly young. My age or younger. I had only been out of college eight years.

West Covina was a wonderful place to be young!

Life was lived on the edge. In the community and in the church.

It was one of the fastest growing communities in California and the nation.

The church membership was made up of school teachers, college professors, insurance salesmen, construction company owners, many other professions, workers and one FBI agent.

We worked hard during the week. Went to the beach for cookouts and football in the sand. Played softball followed by family style picnics on Saturdays.   And worshiped "hard" on Sunday.

Almost everything I said from the pulpit and especially in Bible study groups was challenged.

IT WAS FUN!

There is a new sitcom on television about young life in West Covina, California.

I can think of many ways to describe it. I think I will just go with SILLY.  Yes, that's it. Silly!

But maybe the life I was living in West Covina in the sixties was silly. Maybe.

All I really know is that it was a wonderful place to be young.

TRIM HEALTHY MAMA PLAN

Friday, October 09, 2015

TRIM HEALTHY MAMA PLAN
The Easy-Does-It Approach To 
Vibrant Health & A Slim Waistline
By Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison

OVERVIEW: Based on the authors' successful self-published book, this simplified, improved, practical plan shows readers a unique way to lose weight and become healthy by eliminating sugar while still eating hearty, delicious food. The biblically sound and highly effective eating approach centers on Satisfying meals (which include more fats and proteins) and Energizing meals (which include more carbs and proteins) as the keys to success. Scrumptious whole, unprocessed foods—including fats, blood-sugar friendly grains, proteins, fruits, and vegetables—are eating in ways that boost metabolism yet still fit into anyone's hectic lifestyle. The plan is family friendly and effective for pregnant and nursing mothers, pre-or postmenopausal women, and those without weight or health issues—even men and growing children. (From the back of the book.)

AUTHORS: Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison are sisters who share a passion for healthy eating. They both have large, boisterous households and love to experiment in the kitchen with ways to best nourish their families and stay slim and healthy in the process. They were recording artists with a Christian music label and traveled extensively, but they relinquished their touring careers to embrace a life at home with children, dinners, dishes, and diapers. They have never looked back. Learn more at TrimHealthyMama.com

MY REVIEW: I have never liked counting calories. With the Trim Healthy Mama Plan you don't have to. Counting calories is out. All the food groups are in. Although I haven't had time to give this plan a test, it doesn't seem difficult or painstaking.

The authors tout their plan as a breakthrough lifestyle program to help people of all ages and stages get healthy, slim down, and keep off the weight once and for all. Sounds good. If fact, it sounds great! Will it work. I think so. As I said, I haven't had time to test it yet but I am about to. I will let you know.

The book is written in an easy, free flowing style. Some will consider it a little too "folksy". Others will love the warm, down home way of communicating. I liked the fact I could understand what they were saying. The Trim Healthy Mama Plan is divided into four parts. The first part deals with the basics and you really need to start with that to better understand the plan. Part two helps you get started. Part three gives you menus, eating tips and what to expect. Part four closes with trim, healthy and beyond and discusses things like exercise, skin and balance.

This is a good book! Some people will like to read it even if they never try the plan. They just want the knowledge. Others will read it. Try it. And love it. I really enjoyed reading it. I learned a lot. I will give it "the old college try" and let you know what I think later.

(I received this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

CHURCHILL'S TRIAL

Thursday, October 08, 2015

CHURCHILL'S TRIAL
Winston Churchill And The Salvation
Of Free Government
By Larry P. Arnn

OVERVIEW: Churchill's Trial is organized around the three great challenges to liberty that Churchill faced: Nazism, Soviet communism, and his own nation's slide toward socialism. Churchill knew that stable free government, long enduring, is rare, and hangs upon the balance of many factors ever at risk. Combining meticulous scholarship with an engrossing narrative arc, this book holds timely lessons for today. Arnn writes, "Churchill's trial is also our trial. We have a better chance to meet it because we had in him a true statesman."

AUTHOR: Larry P. Arnn is the president of Hillsdale College, where he also serves as a professor of politics and history. He received his BA at Arkansas State university and his MA and PhD in government at Claremont Graduate school. He is the author of Liberty and Learning: The Evolution of American Education and The Founders' Key: The Divine and Natural Connection Between the Declaration and the Constitution and What We Risk by Losing It.

MY REVIEW: I agree with Lewis E. Lehrman, cofounder fo the Lincoln and Soldiers Institute at Gettysburg College and distinguished director of the Abraham Lincoln Association: "Churchill's Trial, a masterpiece of political philosophy and practical statesmanship, is the one book on Winston Churchill that every undergraduate, every graduate student, every professional historian, and every member of the literate general public should read on this greatest statesman of the twentieth century."

This book is beautifully written by a scholar who has spent a lifetime studying the life of Winston Churchill. "Larry P. Arnn explores the greatest challenges faced by Churchill over the course of his extraordinary career, both in war and peace—and always in the context of Churchill's abiding dedication to constitutionalism." The book is divided into three parts that cover the life of Winston Churchill: War, empire and peace. After reading the preface and introduction I had learned many important things—things that I did not know. I was excited about what I was about to read.

This is an excellent book and one that I highly recommend.

(I received this book from Book Sneeze a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for a fair and honest review.)