Tag Archives: Christian living

Review: 30 Days: A Devotional Memoir, by D. M. Webb

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30 Days: A Devotional Memoir30 Days: A Devotional Memoir, by D. M. Webb (Ambassador International, 2013)

Spiritual growth and change often spring from the everyday moments. In 30 Days, D. M. Webb shares through Scripture and anecdotes how God met and cared for her in a 3-year stretch of trials and turmoil. 30 Days is a transparent look at one woman’s life lessons that will encourage and challenge readers in their own lives.

This is a memoir devotional, but it’s not the conventional “life story” autobiography type. These are memoir snippets, each focused to the theme of the particular day’s selection.

Although our life experiences have been very different, D. M. Webb’s devotional memoir connected with me in several places. We both value the book The Search for Significance, by Robert McGee. We both believe that “prayer is the strongest medium there is.” (Kindle location 76)

The lesson that stood out most to me was that it’s okay to ask God “why?” in the hard times – it’s not lack of faith, nor is it demanding and ungrateful. D. M. Webb helped me understand that there’s a way to ask in trust, and that the asking opens us to understand what God wants to teach us in our circumstances.

My favourite line:

My prayers are for those lost in the dark to realize that the Light is nothing to be scared of. (Kindle location 229)

I love how 30 Days ends with two stories passed on from the author’s mother. The stories in this book – and our own personal experiences with the God Who Cares – have value. They need to be shared with our peers and with the generation to come.

30 Days is available in ebook and paper. D. M. Webb (Daphne Self) is also the author of Mississippi Nights. She blogs at Rebel Book Reviews.

[Review copy provided by the author.]

Shocking the World with Generosity, by Dineen Miller

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Today we have a guest post from award-winning author Dineen Miller. Read on to be encouraged and challenged. Dineen has graciously offered a copy of the new book she co-authored with Lynn Donovan, Not Alone, to one of our readers in Canada or the US. To enter, please leave us a comment. Draw closes midnight, Nov. 29.

Shocking the World with Generosity

by Dineen Miller

NotAloneImage2I stood on the knoll of a grassy field, watching my youngest daughter, Leslie, then only five years old, as she kicked off her shoes at the starting line. No shoes? How would her little feet grip the grass and propel her forward? Several of the other children in her age group had done the same thing, so I resisted the urge to run over and make her put her shoes back on.

We’d moved to Switzerland in the spring and had spent the summer adjusting to our new surroundings before school started, thus immersing my girls into a culture and language they’d just barely begun to grasp. Today’s event was a big part of kicking off the new school year. I watched Leslie stand there, looking around at the other children so eager to start and win this race. The prize? A round ornately stitched patch declaring the bearer winner of the race for their age group.

Did she even stand a chance?

The starter shouted the Swiss version of “get set, ready, go!” and off went this group of five and six year olds, sprinting down a grassy field. Little legs pumped madly and arms swung back and forth. Seemed like minutes instead of seconds passed as the fastest runners pulled away, and to my amazement my daughter was one of them.

I think my mouth about fell open as my daughter took the lead and won!

Full of pride for my girl, I waited until she’d followed protocol to receive her award and came running toward me. One of her new friends trailed behind her and as my daughter hugged me, I could see her friend was struggling not to cry.

Leslie had noticed too and turned to face her. She held out her new prize to her friend, whose eyes grew almost as big as the patch Leslie held. The little girl looked at me as if to ask, is this okay? My same question—I’d watched Leslie work so hard for this prize, yet there she stood, ready to give it way.

So I asked Leslie, “Are you sure you want to part with that?” I think I was the one struggling with parting with it, not her.

“Yes, mommy. I want her to have it.”

Her friend took the patch and threw her arms around Leslie. The two skipped off together to play. My pride in my daughter grew even larger.

I think at times our children know how to be more generous than we do. I’ve watched my daughter grow into a generous teenager who was always quick to give away what she had and spend her allowance on her sister or her friends before buying herself anything. My biggest challenge as her mother—to let her. To support her in her generosity, even when she gave away a Visa gift card she’d received for her birthday to a homeless person. As I had asked at that race so many years ago, I asked again, “Are you sure?” She said the joy of giving the card away was better than anything she could have bought.

Some kids just get this, others need to be taught. Either way, we as parents have a wonderful opportunity to help our children grow into generous teenagers and adults who shock the world with their generosity. Just as Jesus came into this world and continues to shock us with His.

Along with Jesus, my daughter has become my teacher and inspiration to give more of my resources, my love and my time. I love watching her shock the world with her generosity.

 

Not Alone - Lynn Donovan and Dineen MillerIn Not Alone, you’ll find encouragement and inspiration from Scripture and true-life stories from other spiritually mismatched moms. Plus, find practical tips for capturing teachable moments with eternity in mind, and discovery questions to help you grow as a parent.

This is a parenting book, but it’s much more. It’s a love letter to all mothers—a message that changes our homes, our kids and our lives. It’s about the Father’s love that impacts those around us and changes ordinary moms into women of extraordinary grace, beauty and wisdom.

You may sometimes feel you’re on your own when it comes to godly parenting, but Jesus promised to be with you always. You’re not alone!

 

Dineen MillerDineen Miller is passionate about God’s Word and truth. She’s been featured on the Moody Radio Network, Focus on the Family, Dr. James Dobson’s FamilyTalk and FamilyLife Today. Dineen lives in the Bay Area with her family and is the coauthor of the award winning book, Winning Him Without Words and author of the ACFW Carol Award winning book, The Soul Saver. Visit Dineen online at MismatchedandThriving.com.

Review: Love and Respect in the Family, by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

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Love and Respect in the Family, by Dr. Emerson EggerichsLove and Respect in the Family, by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs (Thomas Nelson, 2013)

This book’s subtitle is The respect parents desire … the love children need. Dr. Eggerichs offers his insights on “parenting God’s way”.

Dr. Eggerichs is quick to say he and his wife haven’t been perfect parents nor their children perfect offspring. He shares some of their stories, both good and bad (with the consent of his family) and this openness is one of the strong points of the book. Nothing demoralizes a struggling parent faster than reading advice from a self-proclaimed “perfect example”.

Love and Respect in the Family illustrates that many times we operate in “the family crazy cycle,” and shows how to decode and defuse the triggers that bring that on. Instead, parents can learn to apply a strategy the author calls GUIDES: Give, Understand, Instruct, Discipline, Encourage, and Supplicate (pray).

The final section of the book reminds parents that our motivation comes from God’s unconditional love of us. Dr. Eggerichs says, “This book is not about child-centered parenting but about Christ-centered parenting.” (p. 188) He offers encouragement to parents whose children reject even their best interests: continuing to show love to wayward sons and daughters pleases God, and will be rewarded.

I found the book a bit of a heavy read at times, and I’m not sure why. At the same time, it’s packed with valuable insights and helpful advice. As children get older, parents may have less influence, but some of this material can be applied even in relationships with adult children.

Each chapter includes a list of additional resources for further reading and growth that can be found at the Love and Respect website.

[A review copy was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.]

Review: All In, by Mark Batterson

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All In, by Mark BattersonAll In, by Mark Batterson (Zondervan, 2013)

The subtitle of this book is “You are one decision away from a totally different life.” The decision? To go “all in” with God, holding nothing back. Author Mark Batterson breaks this down to not just “all in” but going “all out” for our “all in all” in an “all or nothing” way.

Brief anecdotes (personal, friends, historical and biblical) illustrate the book’s central theme that God is calling Christians to more than we may realize. Many of us have settled for less. We’re “in” the Kingdom, but not “all in.” Just far enough to get bored, perhaps, and not far enough to find the challenges and fulfillment—the life abundant—that Christ intends for us.

My copy of All In is tagged with sticky notes of quotable lines. Mark Batterson was a preacher before becoming a published writer, and he has a gift for pithy one-liners. Here are some of my favourites, to give you an idea of the content:

Instead of dissecting Scripture, we need to let Scripture dissect us. p. 39

Our prayers tend to focus on external circumstances more than internal attitudes because we’d rather have God change our circumstances than change us. p. 119

When we take matters into our own hands, we take God out of the equation. p. 137

Mark Batterson is very persuasive in his presentation, and I found myself bracing against this. I guess I don’t really trust persuasive people, but I read this book carefully and prayerfully and did not find anything to raise a warning. Instead, I found clear teaching calling readers out of a half-lived life into full engagement with God. And I found some personally-applicable life lessons.

The author does have the common speakers’ drawback of repeating certain pet phrases, which is a plus for listeners and a minus for readers. What surprised me was the recurring use of gambling imagery: pushing chips to the middle of the table, folding, putting cards face-up etc. Even the title, All In, has a gambling connotation as well as the one I originally understood it to mean.

This book seems mostly aimed at Christians, and I’m afraid that those who reject gambling will reject the message of this book, when they might otherwise have benefited.

Mark Batterson serves as Lead Pastor at Washington DC’s National Community Church. He’s the author of the best-selling The Circle Maker and other books. For more on the author, you can visit his website: Mark Batterson.

[A review copy was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.]

Broken Chains

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What do you wear for an author photo shoot? Mine would be outdoors among the trees, so I avoided browns and greens. After all, you’re supposed to be able to see me in the picture.

My favourite dress is blue with black. It’s fancier than my typical outdoor wear, but it makes me feel confident, like I look good. I ignored the faint whisper of “what if someone thinks it’s silly?” and chose the dress. And the Birkenstocks. Can’t smile if my feet hurt.

Since the picture would go on the back of Heaven’s Prey, a Christian novel, I wanted to wear a cross. My favourite is the one my husband gave me for our wedding. It’s almost 30 years old, and the chain’s getting a bit dark. I decided to polish it.

Perhaps too enthusiastically.

broken chain

“Look what you did!”

Yes, that’s what flashed across my mind, fast and instinctive, but here’s the gift: a tone I’ve never used on myself before. This time it was sympathetic, with an undertone of “we’ll find a way to fix it.”

Not even a trace of accusation or blame. No fear.

Even though I’d broken something special, even though it wouldn’t be in the photo now.

I wore another cross for the picture, but this one’s chain will be mended in time for the book launch.

And I have another bit of testimony: look what God has done!

What have you seen Him do in your life lately?

Review: A Better Way to Think, by H. Norman Wright

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A Better Way to Think, by H. Norman WrightA Better Way to Think, by H. Norman Wright (Revell, 2011)

Our minds can be a scary place to dwell, but that’s where we live—and often not with the kinds of thoughts we were designed to entertain. A Better Way to Think does a good job of helping readers stop and notice our thoughts. When we notice, we can evaluate. When we evaluate, we can see where we need to intentionally change our thinking.

The book’s subtitle is “Using positive thoughts to change your life,” and it offers biblically-sound advice on how to do just that, with both thoughts and self-talk. One of the key points it raises is that we can’t change our thinking in our own strength. We need to rely on the power and help of God. And we need to give it time.

I was challenged by Dr. Wright’s statement that talking to ourselves is

“a habit you’ve cultivated… hundreds of statements you can play at will… The more these play, the more we begin to believe them. We think, This is reality! This is true!” (p.79)

The early chapters prompt us to pay more attention to our thoughts—our self-talk—to discover its origins, observe the damage it’s doing, and decide to change. The biblical mandate to “take every thought captive to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5) is difficult at the best of times, but it’s impossible if we’re not aware of those thoughts.

I found these early chapters clinically sound, but I kept wanting to see faith-based strategies for addressing the problem. Those come later in the book, so if you have the same reaction, read on.

The author uses brief case studies to reinforce what he’s saying, and they make the concepts much easier to understand and remember. Just recently I was driving, late for an appointment, and I remembered his illustration of two men in the same traffic jam and how each one’s thoughts affected their individual experiences. That helped me choose calm thoughts instead of berating myself for not leaving earlier.

The case studies also reflect how one person’s negative thought life can affect his/her relationships. Later chapters focus on defusing this, specifically in marriages.

As the author points out, our negative self-talk has been building up for a long time, so it will take time to replace it with healthier thinking. Time and prayer.

This is one of those books I’m glad to keep on my shelf, and I’ve found myself talking about it in numerous conversations. God has been challenging me about my thinking, probably most of my life, but in the last year or so I’ve finally been ready to hear Him. A Better Way to Think is one of the tools He has used in my life for growth and healing, and I highly recommend it.

H. Norman Wright is a licensed Marriage, Family and Child Therapist and the author of more than 70 books. For more about the book, visit the Revell website, which includes a link to read an excerpt.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Christians and Temples

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“We promise together not to neglect the Temple of our God.”
Nehemiah 10:39b, NLT*

The returned Israelite exiles have vowed to keep themselves pure, to live God’s way, and to provide all that’s needed for the upkeep of the Temple and its ongoing offerings.

The Temple is where they worship God, where they’re forgiven and restored. Where they go for wisdom.

It’s the symbol of their relationship with God.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19a, NLT*)

We’re responsible to keep our bodies pure and healthy, and to maintain our spirits. “The church” is the people of Christ, not the buildings in which we meet, but we do need to care for our corporate worship sites, since they’re visible signs of our worship. More than that, we need to care for one another.

Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35, NLT*)

We need to guard our relationships with God, to put Him first in worship and to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to Him. (Romans 12:1, NLT*)

God who longs to reconcile all people to Himself, You are holy. We are not. Yet You designed us for relationship with You and we’re not complete without it. Rekindle our first love intensity for You. Draw us nearer, remind us how vital it is to stay close to You. Help us to live for You and to love one another and to keep our “temples” in good order.

∞

May this be our prayer this week, from Mark Schultz: “Give us clean hands“.

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Joy and Strength

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This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!
Nehemiah 8:10b, NLT*

The joy of the Lord is your strength.

This is another verse I’ve relied on over the years. But if you look at the context for this verse, it doesn’t match how we often use it.

After some of the exiled Israelites returned to rebuild the Temple, Nehemiah was sent by God to oversee rebuilding the protective wall around Jerusalem. By this chapter, the Temple and wall are both standing, and the people have done some cleaning up of their lives, too.

All the way through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah I see cues of God’s work in the people’s hearts: motivating them to return to their homeland, to give financially to the Temple’s reconstruction, to work on the wall. For those who’d stepped away, to give up their foreign (idol-worshipping) wives and stop charging interest on loans to their struggling countrymen.

Now in chapter 8, the people assemble and ask Ezra the scribe to read to them from the Law. God is drawing them – they want to know how to live in good relationship with Him.

I think that’s why Nehemiah encourages them to stop weeping and start celebrating.

Repentance means seeing what’s wrong in our lives, agreeing with God – and changing our direction and behaviour to line up with what He says. It’s one of those words that can make us cringe at the thought of fiery preachers or John the Baptist shouting at people and condemning their actions.

But here, the people have already repented. They’ve listened to God’s life-rules and they see where they’ve gone a different way. They’ve seen perfection and their own imperfection. They’re sorry for what they’ve done wrong. Maybe scared, too. God hauled the entire nation off to Babylon for 70 years because of repeated sin, and here they are, newly back in the land and already messing up. Will He send them away again? Or worse?

I wonder if they were also discouraged. How could they ever live up to God’s expectations in the Law? Maybe that’s why Nehemiah told them “the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

His words have always struck me as encouraging, a promise of where our help comes from. Nehemiah says it here to a people weeping for their moral and spiritual weakness, and I think it’s to show that God’s strength is for more than rebuilding Temples and walls – it’s for rebuilding human lives. (Tweet this.)

Creator God, You are holy and just. We can’t stand in Your presence except through Jesus’ blood. We can’t please You on our own, but how grateful we are that the joy of You can be our strength, and Christ in us is our hope of glory. Draw us to live ever closer to You, in the light of Your love.

∞

Brian Doerksen’s song “Welcome to the Place of Level Ground” celebrates God’s ultimate plan for salvation. Let it encourage you today.

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Review: Theology in Aisle Seven, by Carolyn Arends

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Theology in Aisle Seven by Carolyn ArendsTheology in Aisle Seven, by Carolyn Arends (Christianity Today, 2012)

One of the things I most appreciate about Carolyn Arends’ writing is her honesty. If she’s exploring a question or a doubt, she does it with transparency. If she’s sharing a life lesson learned, she invites us into the story to experience the lesson too. If she’s praising God, it’s authentic. And it’s all beautifully written. Songwriters and poets, more than most, develop the art of evocative words.

Theology in Aisle Seven is a collection of 25 of Carolyn Arends’ monthly columns in Christianity Today. I had read some of them online before buying the book, and they’re just as good on a second reading as they were on the first. I’ll be reading it again, one brief article at a time, so I’ll have time to better digest it. As the introduction says, it would make a good daily devotional book.

Mark Galli, senior managing editor of Christianity Today, describes the book as “an overview of the Christian life in 25 snapshots.” [Kindle Location 90]

The book’s subtitle is “The Uncommon Grace of Everyday Spirituality.” It’s an easy read in a conversational style, but there’s a lot to chew on. Chapters range from deep spiritual topics like the love and wrath of God, being peacemakers, and mortality to more earthy things like laughter, fitness, neighbours and grief.

And the title? You’ll have to read the particular chapter that birthed it, but I can tell you it relates to how we try to organize and compartmentalize our faith to be neat and tidy.

Here are a few of my favourite lines, to pique your interest:

If the psalmist is right—that there truly is nowhere we can go to flee God’s presence—why do we act like his attendance is intermittent? And why do we assume it’s dependent on us? [Kindle Location 153]

At the end (and only at the end) of the human rope is strength and peace beyond compare. [Kindle Location 214]

Humility not only helps us in the offering of our prayers. It is also essential to recognizing their answers. [Kindle Location 840]

Canadian author Carolyn Arends is perhaps best known as an award-winning singer/songwriter. Her most recent album is Love Was Here First. She’s the author of Wrestling With Angels (another book I highly recommend) as well as a variety of online and print articles. I hope Theology in Aisle Seven will become the first in a series of her collected short works.

For more about Theology in Aisle Seven, click the link in the title to visit the author’s website. You’ll find a list of chapters, a brief description, and links to order. The book is only available in ebook format, but where the chapters are short, if you don’t have an e-reader or tablet you could easily read them on your computer with the free Kindle or Adobe Digital Editions (for everything other than Kindle format) downloads.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Relying on God’s Promises

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For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13, NLT*

This is one of those verses I remember learning in my teens, and I used to quote it to myself when I needed reassurance. How much was actual reliance on Jesus, and how much was positive thinking, I’m not sure.

It came back to mind recently when I was wrestling a small stump out of my flower garden. I still don’t fully grasp how we can rely on the power of God working in us instead of working in our own strength, but I see it a bit more clearly than I used to.

I can do all things [that God asks me to do] through Christ, who gives me strength.

Positive self-talk may be more important than we realize, even if just to replace the negative “voices,” but the promises of God are a key part of a Christian’s mental health. [Tweet this.]

They’re more than things we tell ourselves to keep up our courage. They’re not inventions of our minds, not human attempts to frame life in a positive or hopeful perspective. They come from the authority of God and we can rely on them.

God whose promises never fail and whose grace and power are limitless, grant us clarity to not try to pull your words out of context and deceive ourselves. Help us learn to rely on Your promises and on Your strength that works so powerfully within us.

∞

Matt Redman’s “Never Once” declares the truth that God is faithful. Let it encourage us today.

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.