Tag: book

2020 Book List Part 2

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Don’t Stop Believing

By Jonathan Cain

Music fans and Journey lovers, this one is for you.In this book Jonathan Cain tells the story of his life, and how the terrible experience of Our Lady of the Angels school fire, the wonderful support of his dad, and his faith in God led him to where he is today.If you like to hear the history behind the music, I think you would enjoy this book.

Jesus

By Max Lucado

I have read a few Max Lucado books. While this one was not my favorite, it was very good. Some noteworthy parts:

“Whether or not storms come, we can not choose. But where we stare during a storm, that we can choose.”

“If Jesus understands our weaknesses, then so does God. Jesus was God in human form. He was God with us. That is why Jesus is called Immauel. ‘Immanu’ means ‘with us.’ God with us. All of us. ‘I am with you always,’ Jesus said before he ascended into Heaven, ‘to the very end of the age.’ Search for restrictions on the promise; you’ll find none.”

“Stop and think about this. Not once did Christ use his supernatural powers for personal comfort.”

The Prayer that Turned the world upside down

By R. Albert Mohler Jr

This book breaks down and dissects the Lord’s Prayer.Each chapter focuses on a part of the prayer.

Matthew 6:13

Lead us not into temptation

This is a particularly relatable part for me.”The Bible clearly teaches that the devil and his demons are real and that these invisible enemies are bent on destroying our spiritual lives. Jesus’ reminder to pray regularly against temptation reminds us just how prevalant and dangerous the appeal of sin can be…sin doesn’t just want to play a minor role in our lives; it wants to ‘rule’ over us.

“Whether you are new to prayer, or a seasoned prayer veteran, you can learn something from this book.

On the Bright Side

By Melanie Shankle

Top 10 fav for sure. I think she is hilarious! This book was completely relatable to me on many levels. I highly recommend this book and plan to check out some of her others! Some of the references to the 80’s and 90’s had me rolling! Ah the good ole’ days!

Jesus Calling

By Sarah Young

This is a daily devotional book, so I am not through the whole thing yet, but it is too good to wait a whole year to be discussed. Sometimes I get a day or two behind, but the messages are always perfectly timed!!

If you have not read any of her Jesus Calling books, please check them out. My only suggestion-buy the actual book. I have been reading on Hoopla, which is free and perfect since libraries are closed due to the Coronavirus. There are so many things I want to screenshot or highlight, but due to security, the app won’t allow it.

Happy reading!

Calling All Control Freaks and Worry Warts

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It’s February already!

Yikes!

Weren’t we just ringing in the New Year? Like usual, time is flying.

Back in December, I had posted about my New Year’s Resolution. Only 1 this year! You can read about it here. Right around this time, a dear friend had reached out to me about getting together for a book study. We both struggle with control issues and anxiety so I searched for something along those lines and found It’s All Under Control by Jennifer Dukes Lee. We decided it would be worth checking out, ordered the book and study guide, and started reading. The timing could NOT have been better! Looking back, this was a total God thing. Had my friend not reached out, I probably would not have picked this book. I have a bookcase and Kindle full of books I’ve ordered and never found the time to read. Shameful, I know!! I broke my own rule of not buying any more books until I read the ones I already have, and I am oh so glad I did!

Immediately I fell in love with this book. It was EXACTLY what I needed to read at that exact moment in my life. I read with a pencil and highlighter in hand. If you’ve never done this before, try it! In the past, I opted for e-books. Super convenient, but for a scatterbrain like me, it’s very hard not to get distracted. Ding – email. Ding – Facebook message. Ding – text message. Ding. Ding. Ding. Plus, there are a lot of verses to reference. Some devices make it hard to swap back and forth between a bible app and a book.

I usually read early in the morning as part of my quiet time. Sometimes I got up before my 5:30 am alarm (crazy, I know) wrapped myself in a blanket, and read. Some days I would stare down the clock, hoping it would slow down so I had more time to read. My book friends will understand what this is like!

In order to let God be in control (as I said before, I know He is in control, but I typically like to pretend I am) I really need to keep myself on track. This book was a great tool for that. I could relate to the majority of the book.

While I don’t want to send out a spoiler alert, I do want to share a few of my favorite parts:

• “True Rest isn’t about your lack of activity; it’s about the state of your soul.” This one spoke to me! I am a busy person (aren’t we all) Work, kids, family, etc.. sometimes feel like there is just nothing I can cut. Maybe sometimes that is ok – if I find rest for my soul. That needs to be non-negotiable. Because without rest for my soul, I just can’t tackle the weekend-long softball tournaments or gymnastics meets or band festival.

• As long as everything goes exactly the way I want, I am totally flexible. Ha. Totally me!

• God cares for your loved ones more than you do. Love this! One of my biggest areas of stress and worry comes from my family. The world is a scary place. I worry about my kids, sometimes in an over the top, unhealthy way. I can reason with myself and know the worry won’t do any good, but still can’t stop. It was a great reminder that God loves them more than me.

• My type A likes to be in charge. Fundraisers, field trip chaperones, travel softball accommodations, you name it, I’ll do it. Until now! I’m starting to pass the baton. I just can’t do it all. I’ve come to realize something has got to give. Sometimes it’s painful because they just don’t do it right. Ha ok I’m joking (kind of) but in the end, it’s done and that’s all that matters.

I would practically rewrite the entire book if I wanted to share all my favorite parts! Had I read this a few years ago, I might not have been so enthralled. I’m telling ya – divine timing!

Here are my two cents on how I got the most out of this book:

• Get the paper copy! This is one of those books I feel like you will want the book in hand. I realize electronic devices make it easy to bookmark, etc… but for me, this was a book I wanted a paper copy of!

• If you follow step 1, have a pencil/pen/highlighter handy. There are so many things I underlined because I could totally relate.

• Use the study guide. I learn best by writing. For me, this was the perfect companion to the book. It had a lot of thought-provoking questions, fill in the blank, and other exercises. I have done studies in the past where the study guide was very redundant of the book, but this was not the case in my opinion.

You can order the book and study guide on Amazon by clicking on the images below.

You can also check out her website which has a lot of other great info. www.jenniferdukeslee.com

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have! I’m looking forward to meeting with my friends to discuss!