Praying God's Word for Your Husband by Kathi Lipp

We, as wives, often forget to pray for our husbands.  We tend to say our quick prayers for their safety, for guidance over the family, and for their stress relief.  However, I can't honestly say that I've interceded on behalf of my husband for an entire time of prayer.  I get excited when I think about just the difference it would make in our marriage and in our lives if I just spent a lot of time praying over the head of our household, my husband.

This book showed me some areas that I need to really concentrate my prayers in for my husband.  The chapters of the prayers for specific purposes are: When he feels overwhelmed, employment, work issues, when he feels inadequate, his finances, his health and safety, his relationship with God, when he is overcome with worry, his past mistakes, understanding God's plan for his life and dreams, his relationships with others, his relationship with you, his parenting, and his mind.  That's a lot of things to pray for and it seems overwhelming at first.  However, I love that she broke it down into several different ways that you can approach this.  You can use this book if you need certain things at a certain time, if you're in an emergency and need something quick to guide you, or if you just simply want to incorporate this book into your prayer time each day.

For me, I am doing the 2 week part.  I am simply taking a chapter prayer each day and am praying for my husband over the issue brought up for that day.  I feel like he needs prayer, focused prayer, from me and I don't want to skip out on being a blessing to him by not praying for all aspects of his life.  It's always hard to know how to pray for guys because they don't always want to share things.  This book is a great help to guide women in the ways to pray for the man they love most.  I honestly think this would be a great book for a struggling marriage, a marriage just starting out, or even a marriage that is a few years in.  We all can begin to take our husband for granted and this book reminds you that we can't do that.  Not only that, but the more you pray for them, the more you end up loving them.  What kind of marriage can't stand just a little more love?!

______________________

I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Finding Our Way Home by Charlene Ann Baumbich

 

I had seen this book on the "available to review" list, but I kept putting it off because of one reason....the cover.  For some reason, it didn't appeal to me at all.  The synopsis sounded good, but the cover made me think that I might not like the book.  I guess you could says that I "judged this book by the cover."  I'm guilty! 

I'm glad that I gave this book a chance.  I really enjoyed the story.  I liked how the story centered around being a ballerina, something of which I know nothing about.  Sasha is a dancer who has had a terrible fall and can no longer dance.  Instead of playing lead roles in the ballets, she is now doing therapy to regain her ability to walk.  Not only that, but she's also trying to overcome her deep depression that has settled in and made her not herself.  She pushes everyone away who loves her and cares for her and wants to help her.  Even when she pays a lady to help her, she can't treat her nicely.  Through a set of circumstances, and grace, Sasha comes to realize that perhaps she needs to take her depression medications and the fog begins to lift. 

Evelyn is a woman who can do it all.  If you have an odd job, she can fix it.  She is engaged to be married at a young age, and against her parents' objections, so as a first step to independence, she accepts a job at Sasha's house to help her in exchange for room and board.  Evelyn too often says what she thinks and gets in trouble for it, especially since Sasha is so focused on herself, her injury, and the death of her mother.  As life changes for Evelyn, will she begin to see that perhaps giving up college wouldn't be in her best interest?  Evelyn is the one person who can talk some sense into Sasha.  Can Evelyn make Sasha see that turning her husband away from her because of her injury wasn't something that would profit either one of them?  Will Donald, Sasha's husband, be able to see his wife again and make her understand that he loves her, even more than dance?

This is a nice and relaxing read.  I read it on the beach and I'll say it was a great beach read!  So the lesson for you?  Don't judge this book by the cover!

____________

I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah's Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review of this book.

Mary Magdalene by Diana Wallis Taylor

I had read and reviewed Mrs. Taylor's book on Martha and really enjoyed that book.  That was really one of the first biblical fiction books that I had ever read.  It was different for me to stop and put myself in a well-known lady's shoes and add thoughts to her story.

Mary Magdalene is probably one of the most well-known ladies in the Bible and she has quite a range of views when people try to portray her.  That's not what's important, though.  The fact is that Mary Magdalene was a woman who followed after Jesus and followed Him to the foot of the cross.  She wasn't perfect by any means.  Throughout this book, Mrs. Taylor shares a nickname of hers, an ailment that she lived with and needed healing from, and shares her devotion to Jesus.

As with all biblical fiction, I feel like I need to say that this is not the exact Bible story, but it definitely follows the biblical text.  However, as I'm sure you would figure out, since it is a fiction book, liberties are taken when it comes to the thoughts of the characters.  I would suggest you read the biblical account first as a background and then grab this book along with it. 

Mrs. Taylor did a wonderful job, in my opinion, of making her reader want to go back and read the biblical account of Mary Magdalene and her role in history.  Another great book of biblical fiction, in my view.

______________________

I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Choose Joy by Kay Warren

Joy and happiness are two different things.  Happiness usually depends on circumstances, while joy isn't swayed by circumstances.  I tend to link joy with peace.  No matter what is happening, you can still have joy because of what Christ has done for us on the cross.  I think this book is quite timely because our society is focused more on happiness and doing things that will make us momentarily happy.  

Kay focuses her reader on the fact that joy is not an emotion, is not based on circumstance, and Jesus was a joyful person.  I really hadn't stopped to think about Jesus being joyful before.  I guess I always knew it, but never used that word to describe Him for some reason.  I'm so thankful for her pointing that out to me!

I was a little nervous about this book when she talked about how we control how much joy we have.  I really believe that we surrender it all and as we surrender, the Holy Spirit fills us with more joy.  Ultimately joy is a soul issue and not something we can physically attain on our own.  I'm not for sure if that's how she meant it or not, but the rest of the book tends to lean towards that belief, which made me think that perhaps I interpreted her statement wrong.

Overall, this book is great for someone who is trying to grasp the difference between joy and happiness.  She writes very clearly and is able to distinctly differentiate between the two so that the reader experiences clarity on the two words.

This book can be used as a study for women.  It comes with a leader's guide and the book for the participants.

_____________

I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion.

Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T. Bergren

Glamorous Illusions is the first book in the new series entitled Grand Tour Series.  I am anxiously awaiting the rest of the series after reading this book.  I absolutely love the cover of this book and I wanted to read it from the moment I opened it in the mail!  

Set in 1913, Cora Kensington discovers that her life isn't what she once thought it was.  She always thought she was a farmer's daughter.  However, she has learned from a series of events that she is really the daughter of a copper king.  Her biological father now wants to have Cora in his life.  Through a new twist of events, Cora is given the opportunity to get to know her siblings on a trip around Europe.  

I wouldn't necessarily call this an extremely pleasant trip at first.  Her siblings dislike her and scorn her, even though it wasn't her fault that her parents had her out of wedlock.  

While trying to accept this new life and new family, she has to learn on the one constant ....God.  She has to find her self-worth in Him and rely on Him to make sense of this for her.  She comes to realize things about herself that she never would have learned had she not walked through what some people might call, a mess.

I love how this book is written some in the first person and some in the third.  It always makes me feel like I know the character more personally because I'm inside their head.  I also get the "big picture" look to give me an overview look.  Can't wait to see what is revealed in the rest of the series!

To read more reviews about this book, visit http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/13465876/glamorousillusions.

-------------------------

I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Lucy Come Home by Dave and Neta Jackson

I am a huge fan of Dave and Neta Jackson.  I own all of the Yada Yada Prayer Group books, and all of the books that followed after that.  I was really excited to read this book because I've yet to read anything by them that I didn't like.

This is the first book in their new series, A Yada Yada Journey of Hope.  This book includes many of the old favorites in past series and introduces the reader to Lucy Tucker, a resident of Manna House Shelter.  The book goes back and forth between the present time and the 1940s to better give the reader a sense of Lucy's history and past.

Lucy is 80 years old and still lives on the streets of Chicago.  Why?  That's any one's guess until now.  The story goes back to the wars, the migrant workers, the carnival workers, and even the homeless.  Times were tougher then and she saw and experienced things that she shouldn't have had to at her age.

If you're a fan of the Yada Yada books, be sure to get this start of the new series.  I'm so glad they are continuing with some of the same characters.  I'm not ready to say goodbye to them yet so I'm very thankful they are being included in this book, as well. 

For more reviews on this book, go to: http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/13501702/lucycomehome

________________

I received this ebook free from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

No Greater Love by Levi Benkert

To say that I liked this book would be a little tough.  This book left me heartbroken and sad and wanting to do something to help.  It was a book that did not have a happy ending, which Levi tried telling me but I just didn't understand how it couldn't until I came to the end and looked back.  This book has left me changed.

Levi and his family left all they had and knew and flew to Ethiopia to work with a tribe that was killing their children because they were "mingi."  They could be declared "mingi" if a child's top teeth came in before their bottom teeth, if the parents were unmarried, or if the married couple didn't  have a ceremony saying that they were going to try to conceive.  They would then kill the the baby upon birth or after they realized their child was "mingi."  One child was a bit older and ran away.  He knew his parents were going to kill him and had no doubt seen it done to his friends. 

The stories of the killings were heartbreaking.  I honestly had no idea that tribes were doing this today.  I knew some were forcing abortions, etc, but didn't know that they were outright killing them because they were afraid of evil spirits.  My eyes were opened to the fact that a mother could hurt for her child, but still allow her child to be harmed.

When I finished this book, which I don't think any review could ever do this book justice, I hopped online to find out more about this organization and how to help save these children.  They need Jesus and the only way they will know about Him is if we help Levi and his family. 

Levi and his family willingly went to Ethiopia, set up an orphanage and ran it, fought through difficulties, adopted a few children out, said goodbye to that orphanage for certain reasons talked about in the book, and began a new orphanage and ministry.  All of this while balancing work, marriage, and 4 kids.

This book is small, a fast read, and is a book that everyone should read.  You won't feel the same about Ethiopia after you've read this book.  I guarantee you will want to be a part of this ministry.  Take a chance and open your eyes to the world beyond America. 

___________________

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