Debt-Proof Living by Mary Hunt

Mortgages, credit card balances, student loans, car loans, and home improvement loans have become a way of life. All that debt is putting not only our present at risk as we live paycheck to paycheck but our futures in jeopardy, as shockingly few of us have enough put away for retirement. But personal financial expert Mary Hunt wants you to know a radical but simple truth--you really can get out of debt and stay out of debt--for the rest of your life. 

If you have been struggling to pay the bills, if you feel like you just can't make your finances work, if you feel like your money situation is getting out of control, you need this book. It can change your life, just as it's changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of others already.

My review:
   I have seen Mary Hunt's books before, but never read one, although she writes about things I needed to learn years ago. When this one came up for review, I decided it was time to check out what she has to say.

  She covers a lot in this book. She talks about the kinds of debt, how to track where your money is going, how to get out of debt, how to save money,  and everything in between. One of the most interesting parts of the book to me was the section on credit cards. She doesn't go as far as Dave Ransey does in saying you shouldn't even have one, but she does set guidelines on how to wisely use them, what the ideal customer is to credit card companies.... and it isn't those who always pay off their balance.

  No matter what your financial situation is, or where you are in life, this would be a great book to read and study. This lady really knows her stuff, and has written a helpful and interesting book on how to live without going into debt.

About the author:

Mary Hunt is an award-winning and bestselling author, a syndicated columnist, and a sought-after motivational speaker who helps men and women battle the epidemic of consumer debt. She is founder and publisher of the interactive website Debt-Proof Living, which features financial tools, resources, and information for her online members. Her books have sold more than a million copies, and her daily newspaper column, Everyday Cheapskate, is nationally syndicated through Creators Syndicate and is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of readers. The author of several books, including 7 Money Rules for Life, Debt-Proof Living, and The Financially Confident Women, which won a Gold Medallion Book Award, Hunt speaks widely on personal finance and has appeared on shows such as NBC's TODAY and Dr. Phil. She and her husband live in California. Learn more at www.debtproofliving.com.

Debt-Proof Living is available from Revell, part of the Baker Publihsing Group.

Thanks to Revell for the review copy.

Stand Strong by Nick Vujicic

With no arms, no legs, and no defense, Nick Vujicic was once a bully’s target and knows what it feels like to be picked on and pushed around:  It makes your stomach hurt, gives you nightmares, and feels like there is no hope in sight. But Nick shows how you too can overcome and rise above bullying.   

No Bully Can Define Who You Are 

Nick has experienced bullying of all kinds for being “different.” But he’s learned that he doesn’t have to play the bully’s game–and neither do you. In Stand Strong Nick gives you strategies for developing a “bully defense system,” so you can handle bullies of all kinds by building your strength from the inside out.

Find out how to: 

·         Turn being bullied into a great opportunity (yes, really!)

·         Create a safety zone within yourself

·         Establish strong values that no bully can shake

·         Deal with cyber bullies

·         Develop a spiritual foundation to stay strong against bullying

·         Monitor your emotions and control your response to them

·         Help others who are being bullied

Are you facing the unwanted attention of a bully?  You can stand up to the challenge, because you have greater power over your feelings and your life than you may think! Just ask Nick--the man with no arms or legs…and “a ridiculously good life.”

My review:

  Nick Vujicic is one of the most inspiring an encouraging people I have run across. When I am complaining about my problems and struggles, he often comes to mind and it makes me feel guilty for complaining when he has so much more reason to, and doesn't.

  This book is geared for kids who are being bullied, but it would be profitable for adult who still experience it, have experienced it, or for parents of kids who are bullied. I experienced it myself in school and it can scar you for life. Nick was much more of a target with his having no legs or arms. He tells about how he got bullied, how he dealt with it, and tells the reader how to deal with it and overcome it.

  The book is well written and has a lot of great advice. I wish I could have read this book when I was in my teens and experiencing my worst bullying, but it wasn't around. So I can only post a review of the book and get the word out that it is great tool for kids who are bullied and parents of those kids. I highly recommend it, along with Nick's other books.

About the author:

Nicholas James Vujicic (Serbian: Николас Џејмс Вујичић, Nikolas Džejms Vujičić) is a Serbian Australian evangelist and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterised by the absence of all four limbs. As a child, he struggled mentally and emotionally as well as physically, but eventually came to terms with his disability and, at the age of seventeen, started his own non-profit organization, Life Without Limbs. Vujicic presents motivational speeches worldwide, on life with a disability, hope and finding meaning in life. He also speaks about his belief that God can use any willing heart to do his work and that God is big enough to overcome any and all disabilities.

Stand Strong is available from Waterbook/Multnomah Publishing.

Thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah for the review copy.

The Confession by Robert Whitlow

In Holt Douglas's line of work, there's nothing sweeter than a confession of guilt. Assistant D.A. Holt Douglas makes his living exposing lies and sending criminals to jail in Ashley County, Georgia. His job is always easier when defendants, instead of remaining silent, blame someone else or try to excuse their actions. With a confession in his hand, Holt knows a guilty plea will soon follow.

But lurking in Holt's past is a dark secret that could end his successful career and possibly his relationship with Angelina, his hoped for fiance.

When Holt reopens a cold case involving the death of the town's wealthiest businessman--allegedly killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest--Holt doesn't believe it was suicide. Instead, he suspects murder.

As he investigates, Holt's own guilt threatens to destroy him and the cause of justice he's sworn to serve. While he knows his own confession could absolve him of his sin, it could cost him his future. Will he survive long enough to uncover the true crime that this small southern town has been hiding?

My review:
   I really enjoyed Robert Whitlow's earlier books. They were legal thrillers in the same vein as John Grisham and Randy Singer. However, he moved away from the more suspenseful types of books and his last several offerings have revolved around lawyers and courtrooms, and lack the suspense of his earlier books. I have been disappointed in the writing style change, but this book sounded like it was more like his earlier books, so I requested it to review.

  I did like the book OK. It had a decent plot and characters, but it didn't turn out to be the legal thriller I was hoping for, so I was disappointed in it somewhat. Also, I didn't like how the one angle turned out romantically, but maybe that is just me.

  The book does have a great lesson and moral about hiding one's sin, and that the Bible verse that warns our sin will be found out is true.

  For people who enjoy a decent story with a bit of mystery, this book would be an enjoyable read. However, if you are expecting a very suspenseful legal thriller like the author used to churn out, you may be a bit disappointed.

About the author:

Robert Whitlow is the best-selling author of legal novels set in the South and winner of the prestigious Christy Award for Contemporary Fiction. A Furman University graduate, Whitlow received his J.D. with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law where he served on the staff of the Georgia Law Review. A practicing attorney, Whitlow and his wife, Kathy, have four children. They make their home in North Carolina.


The Confession is available from Thomas Nelson Publishing.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers for the review copy.

In the Field of Grace by Tessa Afshar

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing In The Field of Grace River North; New Edition edition (July 1, 2014) by Tessa Afshar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

TESSA AFSHAR was voted "New Author of the Year" by the Family Fiction sponsored Reader's Choice Award 2011 for her novel Pearl in the Sand. She was born in Iran, and lived there for the first fourteen years of her life. She moved to England where she survived boarding school for girls and fell in love with Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, before moving to the United States permanently. Her conversion to Christianity in her twenties changed the course of her life forever. Tessa holds an MDiv from Yale University where she served as co-chair of the Evangelical Fellowship at the Divinity School. She has spent the last thirteen years in full-time Christian work.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Destitute, grief-stricken, and unwanted by the people of God, Ruth arrives in Israel with nothing to recommend her but Naomi's, love. Her loftiest hope is to provide enough food to save Naomi and herself from starvation.

But God has other plans for her life. While everyone considers Ruth an outcast, she is astounded to find one of the most honored men of Judah showing her favor.  Long since a widower and determined to stay that way, Boaz is irresistibly drawn to the foreign woman with the haunted eyes. He tells himself he is only being kind to his Cousin Naomi's chosen daughter when he goes out of his way to protect her from harm, but his heart knows better.

Based on the biblical account of Ruth, In the Field of Grace is the story of a love that ultimately changes the course of Israel's destiny and the future of the whole world.


If you would like to read the first chapter of In The Field of Grace, go HERE.

Left Behind by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye

An airborne Boeing 747 is headed to London when, without any warning, passengers mysteriously disappear from their seats. Terror and chaos slowly spread not only through the plane but also worldwide as unusual events continue to unfold. For those who have been left behind, the apocalypse has just begun. 
A repackage of the New York Times best-selling novel Left Behind.

Now a major motion picture starring Nicolas Cage!


My review:
   It has been awhile since I read Left Behind, but I never posted a review for it, so I am posing one for the Tyndale Summer Reading program.

   I have read a lot of end times novels, and this original book in the Left Behind Series ranks near the top. I liked the characters, the drama, and felt they did a great job of depicting what the Rapture and aftermath might be like.

  I wasn't too keen on the amount of people they had become Christians after the Rapture happened though. The way this book, and the whole series portrays it, is as a last warning basically. And maybe people will become Christians after the Rapture, but I find it hard to believe it will be on the scale of this series.

  There is a lot of unbelievable things in the book, but the authors do a great job of applying the book of Revelation and breaking down the events of it in this book and the follow up. I did think they dragged the series out too long, but I'd definitely recommend reading at least this one.

About the authors:

Jerry B. Jenkins

Jerry B. Jenkins, former vice president for publishing at Moody Bible Institute of Chicago and currently chairman of the board of trustees, is the author of more than 175 books, including the best-selling Left Behind series. Twenty of his books have reached the New York Times Best Sellers List (seven in the number-one spot) and have also appeared on the USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal best-seller lists.Desecration, book nine in the Left Behind series, was the best-selling book in the world in 2001. His books have sold nearly 70 million copies.

Also the former editor of Moody magazine, his writing has appeared in Time, Reader's Digest, Parade, Guideposts,Christianity Today and dozens of other periodicals. He was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in 2004.

His nonfiction books include as-told-to biographies with Hank Aaron, Bill Gaither, Orel Hershiser, Luis Palau, Joe Gibbs, Walter Payton, and Nolan Ryan among many others. The Hershiser and Ryan books reached the New York Times Best Sellers List.

Jenkins assisted Dr. Billy Graham with his autobiography, Just As I Am, also a New York Times best seller. Jerry spent 13 months working with Dr. Graham, which he considers the privilege of a lifetime.

Jerry owns Jenkins Entertainment, a filmmaking company in Los Angeles, which produced the critically acclaimed movieMidnight Clear, based on his book of the same name. Seewww.Jenkins-Entertainment.com.

Jerry Jenkins also owns the Christian Writers Guild, which aims to train tomorrow's professional Christian writers. Under Jerry's leadership, the guild has expanded to include college-credit courses, a critique service, literary registration services, and writing contests, as well as an annual conference. Seewww.ChristianWritersGuild.com.

As a marriage-and-family author, Jerry has been a frequent guest on Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio program and is a sought-after speaker and humorist. Seewww.AmbassadorSpeakers.com.

Jerry has been awarded four honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Dianna, have three grown sons and eight grandchildren.

Check out Jerry's blog at http://jerryjenkins.blogspot.com.

Tim LaHaye

For 25 years, LaHaye pastored one of the nation's outstanding churches in San Diego, Calif., which grew to three locations.

It was during this time he also founded two accredited Christian high schools, a school system of 10 Christian schools, San Diego Christian College (formerly Christian Heritage College), and assisted Dr. Henry Morris in the founding of the Institute for Creation Research, the nation's foremost exponent of creationist materials.

LaHaye has written more than 50 non-fiction books on a wide range of subjects such as: family life, temperaments, sexual adjustment, Bible prophecy, the will of God, Jesus Christ, and secular humanism with over 13 million in print, some of which have been translated into thirty-two foreign languages. His writings are best noted for their easy-to-understand and scripturally based application of biblical principles that assist in facing and handling the challenges of life. He designed the LaHaye Temperament Analysis that has been used by over 30,000 people; many have found it to be a life-changing tool for self-improvement.

LaHaye holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Western Theological Seminary and the Doctor of Literature degree from Liberty University.

LaHaye and his wife Beverly, who is chairman of the board and founder of Concerned Women for America, have been married for over 55 years and live in southern California. They have four grown children, nine grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.

Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers

To those who matter in 1950s Hollywood, Lena Scott is the hottest rising star to hit the silver screen since Marilyn Monroe. Few know her real name is Abra. Even fewer know the price she’s paid to finally feel like she’s somebody.

To Pastor Ezekiel Freeman, Abra will always be the little girl who stole his heart the night he found her, a wailing newborn abandoned under a bridge on the outskirts of Haven. Zeke and his son, Joshua—Abra’s closest friend—watch her grow into an exotic beauty. But Zeke knows the circumstances surrounding her birth etched scars deep in her heart, scars that leave her vulnerable to a fast-talking bad boy who proclaims his love and lures her to Tinseltown. Hollywood feels like a million miles from Haven, and naive Abra quickly learns what’s expected of an ambitious girl with stars in her eyes. But fame comes at an awful price. She has burned every bridge to get exactly what she thought she wanted. Now, all she wants is a way back home.

In this riveting and highly anticipated tale of temptation, grace, and unconditional love,New York Times best-selling author Francine Rivers delivers big-canvas storytelling at its very best.

My review:
   It has been years since I read a Francine Rivers novel, but my best friend raved about this, so I decided to give it a shot. I was not disappointed. This book is up there with Redeeming Love and The Atonement Child, her two best books, in my opinion.

  The book is set in the late 30's through the 50's, and Francine does a great job of developing the setting and plot for that time period. It was like stepping into the past while reading the book.

  The description of the town made me wish I lived in a town like Haven, and I loved the characters: Pastor Zeke, who was pretty much the pastor of the whole town. I loved the descriptions of his early morning walks, and although I love my pastor, found myself wishing I could go to this fictitious pastor's church. Then there is Joshua, a young man truly living a selfless Christian life, willing to wait and search for the love of his life, no matter how far she had gone. The book doesn't say so in so many words, but I felt Joshua was a picture of Christ and the way He waits and goes after His wandering children and takes us back no matter how far we had strayed. 

  And then there is Abra. A young girl who tried to find happiness in all the wrong places, while all the time it was waiting for her back home and in God.

  I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it kept me up way too late last night as I was determined to finish it before bedtime, which made bedtime be around 2 am, but I didn't regret it. I found myself stirred and reminded of what a great love we have in Christ. Whether or not the author intended this to be a picture of Jesus and the love He has for His children, or not, I walked away with that picture.

  The only complaint I have about the book, is the length of the chapters. I wish they had been a little shorter, as it would have made finding a stopping place a little easier.

About the author:

New York Times best-selling author Francine Rivers began her literary career at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in English and journalism. From 1976 to 1985, she had a successful writing career in the general market, and her books were highly acclaimed by readers and reviewers. Although raised in a religious home, Francine did not truly encounter Christ until later in life, when she was already a wife, a mother of three, and an established romance novelist.

Shortly after becoming a born-again Christian in 1986, Francine wrote Redeeming Love as her statement of faith. First published by Bantam Books and then rereleased by Multnomah Publishers in the mid-1990s, this retelling of the biblical story of Gomer and Hosea, set during the time of the California Gold Rush, is now considered by many to be a classic work of Christian fiction. Redeeming Love continues to be one of the CBA's top-selling titles, and it has held a spot on the Christian best-seller list for nearly a decade.

Since Redeeming Love, Francine has published numerous novels with Christian themes—all best sellers—and she has continued to win both industry acclaim and reader loyalty around the globe. Her Christian novels have been awarded or nominated for numerous honors, including the RITA Award, the Christy Award, the ECPA Gold Medallion, and the Holt Medallion in Honor of Outstanding Literary Talent. In 1997, after winning her third RITA Award for inspirational fiction, Francine was inducted into the Romance Writers of America's Hall of Fame. Francine's novels have been translated into over 20 different languages, and she enjoys best-seller status in many foreign countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, and South Africa.

Francine and her husband, Rick, live in northern California and enjoy time spent with their three grown children and taking every opportunity to spoil their grandchildren. Francine uses her writing to draw closer to the Lord, and she desires that through her work she might worship and praise Jesus for all He has done and is doing in her life.

Bridge to Haven is available from Tyndale Publishing.

I did not receive this as a review copy, but did receive it and am reviewing it as part of their summer reading program.

Praying the Attributes of God by Ann Spangler

God Is Greater than You Think
Many people feel both drawn to God and afraid of him. How can they feel close to a perfect God whom their flawed self is incapable of pleasing?

Fortunately, God has revealed truths about himself in Scripture that can untangle our confusion. In this daily guide to studying and praying according to the attributes of God, Ann Spangler resurrects old-fashioned words like holiness, omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Far from boring us, these words, when excavated for their biblical meaning, paint a thrilling vision of God that can help us experience spiritual growth in a deeper way. They can also prevent us from making the colossal mistake of concluding God is too weak, distant, or uncaring to help us when we need him.

In the tradition of her bestselling books Praying the Names of God and Women of the Bible, this new daily devotional focuses on one particular attribute each week.

Praying the Attributes of God will help you see that God is far bigger and far better than you could ever hope or suspect.

My review:

   I have the Names of God Bible that Ann Spangler edited and came out with, so when I ran across this devotional book, I figured it would be good, so I picked up a copy. There is one thing I don't like about the book, but it is rather minor: the book is set up for Mondays through Fridays, and does not have any devotionals for Saturdays and Sundays, and I wish it was a 7-day week devotional. But it is still a great devotional.

 It is set up for 17 weeks, and each week focuses on one of God's attributes. Love, goodness, patience, wisdom, etc. 

Mondays have a key Scripture passage about a specific attribute of God, some background information, and a brief Bible study about the attribute.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays have devotions to help pray specific Scripture passages that relate to the attribute.

Fridays have a reflection that helps connect the attribute to promises in the Bible, and a few other tools to use.

 I really like this devotional. It is part devotional and part Bible study as it helps you dig in more to attributes of God, and also helps you to pray. I found it very easy to read, and very helpful. The author obviously put a lot of time, study,  and effort into it, and the end result is great. It has made me want to read her other books she has out there.

About the author:

Ann Spangler is an award-winning author, publishing her first book and bestseller in 1994. She has continued to author several bestselling books, including Women of the Bible (co-authored with Jean Syswerda), Praying the Names of God, andPraying the Names of Jesus. Together her books have sold millions of copies. Her sensitivity to the ever-changing spiritual and cultural climate in which we live has enabled her to address themes of profound interest to many readers. She and her two daughters live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Praying the Attributes of God is available from Tyndale Publishing.
I bought the book on my own and am posting a review as part of their summer reading program.