Book Review: Love and War

Have you ever found yourself thinking, "Is marriage really worth it? And if it is, then WHY does it have to be so hard?" If so, then you will enjoy Love and War.

In Love and War John and Staci Eldredge candidly and openly discuss their marriage and it's ups and downs. Out of their own experiences, they explain what they feel hinders and helps create a good marriage. Two of their main points are that a good marriage takes work and that we have an enemy, Satan, who is out to destroy our marriages- hence the reason we need to work so hard. They also emphasize that we are sinful, fallen people and that too affects our marriage.

I really appreciated how the Eldredges focused on how important commitment is, how we need to strengthen our marriage by facing our own issues instead of trying to fix our spouse and also their emphasis on how God designed marriage to bring us joy.

One of my favorite quotes in the book is this: "There is no such thing as the perfect spouse... the best husband for you is the husband you have; the best wife for you is the wife you have." That pretty much sums up a lot of what this books focuses on.

Overall I appreciated and enjoyed Love and War and found it encouraging and helpful. There is some language usage that I didn't care for (didn't feel like it was respectful of God) and there is quite a bit of emphasis on "father wounds" which I believe are very real, but I don't believe are good for us to use as an excuse for our behavior. At times I felt like the Eldredges made it seem like if you were wounded in your past (and weren't we all?) then you have the right to act a certain way. Because of that, I give Love and War 4 out of 5 stars.
Go here to read the first chapter of Love and War.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Book Review: The Chocolate Diaries

The most recent book that I received to review from WaterBrook Multnomah was The Chocolate Diaries by Karen Scalf Linamen. I admit, that this book is not the kind of book I'd typically pick up, but I thought I should give it a fair chance anyway, and I tried to do so.

The Chocolate Diaries is a quick, easy read that offers strategies for making life sweeter especially when things get tough. Linamen gives lots of tips for handling life's stresses well- many somehow include chocolate in the mix. Her tips include things such as using laughter, having a good cry, talking to a friend, and journaling. The book is filled with stories of people that have overcome hard times and interspersed throughout are people's varied answer to the question, "What's your secret to a sweeter journey on the rocky road of life?" At the end of each chapter there is also a recipe for something chocolate...many of which sounded quite delicious!

While The Chocolate Diaries was entertaining, it was pretty much merely that- entertaining. And at times I wasn't even that entertained, but rather found myself anxious to just get through the book. And while there were parts of it that felt encouraging, I found that I didn't really feel like I learned much at all from it and neither was I particularly encouraged.

Because of that, I would give The Chocolate Diaries 2 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of The Chocolate Diaries for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, however all opinions are mine.

Book Review: The Treasure Principle

I have to say that this was one of the best books I read about finances. I would say it is the best, but I really feel like in order to follow The Treasure Principle you need to understand how to manage your money to a certain extent.

This book was quite different than what I was expecting, but in a good way. The Treasure Principle is not a book that is so much about managing your money but is about giving generously according to biblical principles and experiencing the joy that comes along with that.

Alcorn's basic premise is that all we have is God's anyway and so instead of amassing wealth, why not give that money to good causes that can further the kingdom of God, which is of eternal value. He gives six principles throughout the book and the last one is this: God prospers me not to raise my standard of living but to raise my standard of giving. Not exactly the American mentality is it? And not exactly most North American Christian's mentality either.

I think though that The Treasure Principle is the perfect compliment to Dave Ramsey's teaching. While I enjoy Ramsey's books, one thing that always bothers me is his amassing wealth mentality. True, he touches on giving but his mantra is "Live like no one else so you can live like no one else". It always strikes me as being rather self-centered, however I like his basic principles. Combine The Treasure Principle with Ramsey and you get what I think is a perfect combo: Ramsey gives you the tips for staying out of debt and Alcorn gives you the principles for joyful giving.

I'll admit, when I began this book I felt like we were giving quite generously; after all, we give more than the typical Christian tithe of 10%. But as I read The Treasure Principle I began to realize that we could and probably should be giving even more. Reading this book challenged me in very good ways!

I thoroughly enjoyed The Treasure Principle and highly recommend this easy-to-read 120 page book. I'd give it a 5 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of The Treasure Principle for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, however all opinions are mine.

Book Review: Lazarus Awakening

The last number of months have been tough for me- especially due to the loss of our infant daughter. Although I felt God close during this time, I also felt distant from Him. (Does that make any sense? Such a paradox!) I was really searching for answers to a lot of the questions that come with difficult situations like this. So when I saw that Joanna Weaver had written a third book Lazarus Awakening: Finding Your Place in the Heart of God I was excited and knew that I wanted and needed to read it.

I read Weaver's first book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and loved it. It challenged me and pushed me in good ways. And I found Lazarus Awakens doing the same thing. In fact, this book helped me see that although God allows difficult experiences to come into our lives, He is also right there with us, loving us through them. And so much of how the experience shapes us, for the good or the bad, is in our response.

Weaver starts the book talking about how our view of God affects how we view the circumstances that come into our lives. Then she goes on to talk about what a true relationship with God looks like during difficult times, what hinders that and what we can do to keep that relationship healthy. She reiterates over and over that God wants what is best for us and sometimes he allows "tomb experience" or "death" experiences to come into our lives to actually bring more life. She ends the book by discussing what it looks like to live resurrected- what it means to live free of our "tomb", of our "graveclothes". This by far was my favorite part of the book! I loved the picture of hope she paints and found it so encouraging and helpful.

A few of my favorite quotes:

- Isn't it strange how we humans tend to view God as our servant rather than our Master? Insisting that He do our bidding rather than standing ready to do His?
- If we embrace the process of crucifying our flesh, we'll find the joy that Lazarus found. Because spiritually speaking, nothing frees us more than dying to live.
- It seems that the times we come fact to face with pain and death are the times we're reminded best that this world is just a shadow. A crude drawing and a mere outline of the beauty that awaits us in a world outside this one. An alternate reality so magnificent and incomprehensible that we often forget it's there.

One of the things that I love about this book, is that Weaver includes lots of little helpful sections in each chapter that specifically flesh out what she is writing about. Sections such as "Disciplining your Mind" "Dethroning Lies" and "The Art of Listening". I find these to be very helpful as she gives specific step-by-step instructions on how to do the things she suggests. Or helpful tips that flesh out what she talked about. She also includes a lot of resources as well as a study guide in the back of the book. I always feel like her books are just full of helpfulness!

If you are looking for a book that will help you draw closer to God, especially if you are in a dark time in your life, and if you don't mind your toes getting stepped on a bit, Lazarus Awakening is for you!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Lazarus Awakening for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, however all opinions are mine.

Book Review: The 60 Minute Money Workout

I've decided to add a new feature here- book reviews. I've signed up with Blogging for Books a program that gives you books of your choice in exchange for doing a book review for them. Occasionally I'll be posting reviews here about the books I've read.

I just finished reading The 60 Minute Money Workout by Ellie Kay, financial expert. As you could guess, this book is a step-by-step guide to learning how to better handle your money. Each chapter has 5 "steps" that you do to help apply what you've learned in the chapter to your own life. These 5 steps are only to take 60 minutes each time so that you can keep moving in your journey of getting your finances in shape. I liked the 5 step concept, but at first found the chapters a bit hard to navigate. However, after the first several chapters, the steps and layout started making more sense and I learned to like it.

You'll find this book very practical and helpful if you are interested in learning more about how to get your finances in better shape. Kay covers everything from reigning in spending, to reducing debt, to starting your own business, to investing. And all along the way she gives lots of practical tips and step by step methods for doing what she suggests. Not only does Kay tell you what to do, she gives you the resources to do it- such as the phone number to call to get your credit score, the website where you can find cheap textbooks, and the website where you can get the best rates for CD's.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone wanting to learn more about how to manage their finances. In fact, even if you think you have a pretty good handle on money management, I dare say that you will still learn something from The 60 Minute Money Workout.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of The 60 Minute Money Workout for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, however all opinions are mine.