Review: Too Many to Jail by Mark Bradley

Too Many to Jail

Too Many to Jail gives us a look at the Christians in Iran.  Author Mark Bradley tells us that even through severe persecution that the Church in Iran is growing.  The Iranians have an attraction to Jesus and they are ripe to find out who he really is.  I really enjoyed his chapter on the Iranians poetry and we also get five house church stories.  I am both thankful and prayerful after reading, thankful that I live in the USA and enjoy religious freedom and prayerful for the Christian brothers and sisters that live in such difficulty and persecution due to whom they choose to worship.  This was eye opening.  I received a copy for an honest review from The Book Club Network, Inc. and the opinions are my own.

Review: Think Like Heaven by Bob Hazlett

Think Like Heaven

Think Like Heaven was an interesting read about how we view the world as Christians.  Is our focus of life earthly or heavenly?  What are the voices that we listen to the most? Siting examples from the Bible, like David, Peter, and Paul, and using his own life as an example, author Bob Hazlett encourages us to think like heaven.  In other words, listen for God’s voice.  Read your Bible.  Know whose you are, to whom you ultimately belong, and where you are going.  The Bible says God created the heavens and the earth, the seen and the unseen so start thinking about heaven and tune out the disruptions here on earth, or as he calls them the “hitchhikers”.  Thoughts from the atmosphere (background of our world, some to get us to spend more money), the accuser (Satan), and thoughts of adversity (what we fear, or think we cannot accomplish) instead we need to listen the God of heaven, His Son Jesus and His words of Truth.  This book is filled with applications and questions to help our thought processes in that direction.  I received a copy for an honest review from The Book Club Network, Inc. and the opinions are my own.

Review: Change Your Trajectory by Dale C. Bronner

Change Your Trajectory

In his book, Change Your Trajectory, author Dale Bronner writes about change.  Now, like most people, I don’t like change especially if it sneaks up and surprises me.  In his book he gives some much needed advice and wisdom on how to look at changes and how to move on and live joyful lives even in the midst of uncertainty.  He defines the meaning of change and transition for us in a way that makes sense and shows us that it is the internal transition not the outward change so much that what we have to muddle through.  Using scripture and reminding us of our better life in the world to come, he wants us to remember that even though we live in a constant changing world and circumstances of our life, we serve a God who is unchanging and forever remains the same.  We can count on that and have a hope that the changes God is allowing to come into our lives is for our development, which is more important than our happiness to God.  This is a book that I will be keeping for years to come.  I received a copy of this book for an honest review from The Book Club Network, Inc. and the opinions are my own.

Review: Monday Morning Joy by Tia McCollors

Monday Morning Joy

Monday Morning Joy by Tia McCollors was my first read by her.  What a good one it was too.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading about a famous baseball player who comes back home due to a shoulder injury looking for something more in his life.  Malachi Burke is tired of his fast lifestyle and of being a playboy.  So he comes back home to open a baseball camp for a few weekends in the summer.  Here in the bosom of his family, especially his grandmother, he finds the rest and solitude he needs.  He also realizes that his life is empty without the faith he had been taught when he was young.  So like the prodigal son he returns to his senses. 

We also meet writer Rae Stevens who is still nursing a broken heart over her break up with her fiancé, a popular local sports caster.  Trying to move on and promising herself not to fall for another famous guy, she is given a newspaper assignment to interview Malachi.  What transpires is two people getting to know each other and learning to let go of the past for a possible more joyful future.

This story is filled with family drama, close friendships, and a touch of humor that made for a read that was hard to put down.  This is the third and the first one I have read in this series and I look forward to reading more of Ms. McCollors books.  I received a copy of this book for an honest review from The Book Club Network, Inc. and the opinions are my own.

Review: Playing the Part by Jen Turano

Playing the Part

I am an unabashed fan of Jen Turano and so I have greatly anticipated the release of Playing the Part.  Let me just tell you: it did not disappoint.  I have to say that In Good Company and A Talent for Trouble are my favorites of Turano’s works but Playing the Part certainly gave them a run for their money.  The story starts off with Lucetta Plum, a plucky independent actress, receiving news from her stepfather that he owes a powerful man gambling debts- debts that the man is willing to drop if her stepfather gives him Lucetta.  Lucetta’s bodyguard naturally has some qualms with that arrangement and so he packs her up and sends her to Ravenwood, an estate owned by Lucetta’s well-meaning but devious friend Abigail Hart’s grandson Bram Haverstein.  Bram is a mysterious, strange young man happens to be rich, handsome, and very, very single.  Let us also not forget the fact that Lucetta is single - she wouldn’t be in this mess if she weren’t- and that Abigail is a notorious matchmaker.  Can somebody say uh-oh?  Add into the mix the mysterious happenings of Ravenwood- bloodthirsty goats don’t just magically appear in towers that the only way to get up to is to climb several flights of narrow stairs, and suits of armor do not move on their own- and you are sure to have a thrilling story filled with more hilarious situations than you could possibly dream of.

Lucetta is determined not to let Abigail marry her off to Bram.  Bram is determined that no one learns the secrets of his mysterious way of life.  Abigail is determined to match her grandson up with her young friend.  And Silas Ruff is determined to have Lucetta once and for all.  But with all these conflicting wishes who will come out on top?

I received a copy for an honest review from Bethany House Publishers and the opinions are my own.

Reviewed by Nicki

Review: No Higher Call: A Biblical Treatise on Adoption by Bradford Smith

No Higher Call

No Higher Call by author Bradford Smith is quite a powerful little book with a lot of truth in it.  This book mainly deals with adoption and fostering, but ultimately on the whole for the church to take care of the orphan.  This book has given me a lot to think about and to ponder on for a while.  The message here is scriptural and is worth a read even if you are never going to adopt.  Here are some of the things that stood out to me:

-God is not worried about our happiness, but our holiness

-Christians are called to be holy

-Like with Moses and his staff, God has already equipped us with what we need to carry out his will

This book mentions the great missionary father, William Carey, and his call for missions when the rest of the Christians did not believe that was their duty.  So likewise, Mr. Smith calls on the church not to forget the orphan.  He also exhorts fathers to father their children, stating how very important a father is to the life of a child.  I encourage many to read this passionately written book.  I received a copy of this book for an honest review from The Book Club Network, Inc. and the opinions are my own.

Review: Christmas Comes to Little Hickman Creek by Sharlene Maclaren

Christmas Comes to Little Hickman Creek

I had read Sharlene Maclaren’s Little Hickman Creek series a few years ago, so it was nice to go back and visit again.  This was a novella that takes place during the month of December and tells the story of a young widow, Sadie Bennett, who had lost her husband two years prior.  She has closed her heart off and has just been living an existence that just gets her by.  She more or less was becoming a recluse.  However, the handsome livery owner Reed Harris has set his sights on her and with the help of her family and town, he intends to open her heart again.  This was a sweet little story about a woman learning to let go of fear and to love again.  I received a copy for an honest review from The Book Club Network, Inc. and the opinions are my own.