Dug Down Deep January 21, 2010

I have a running theme of not finishing my books recently in the right amount of time.   I am heading out in 45 minutes to a Beth Moore conference in Houston, TX w/two of my best gals.  Whoot whoot!  So excited!  I am halfway done with the book Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris that I am supposed to do a blog review on.  So a short sweet review is that so far I am loving it.  It is not a hard read but it does need thought behind it.  He wrote Kissed Dating Goodbye back in the day.  I read that and liked it (although, alas, I did not kiss dating goodbye:).  But this book is a much more mature, spiritually insightful Harris.

It discusses the importance of doctrine and why we need to know what we believe and why as Christ followers.  He also shares a lot of his journey toward really understanding what he believes.  Some of it is deep weeds but it doesn’t bog you down.  I am really enjoying it.  It would be great for a newer believer or someone that is really wanting to “dig deep” and figure out the foundations of the faith.

Below you will find a summary and author bio:

Book: Dug Down Deep

Author: Joshua Harris

Summary:

What will you build your life on?

With startling transparency, Joshua Harris shares how we can rediscover the relevance and power of Christian truth. This is book shows a young man who rose quickly to success in the Christian evangelical world before he realized his spirituality lacked a foundation—it rested more on tradition and morality than on an informed knowledge of God.

For the indifferent or spiritually numb, Harris’s humorous and engaging reflections on Christian beliefs show that orthodoxy isn’t just for scholars—it is for anyone who longs to know the living Jesus Christ. As Harris writes, “I’ve come to learn that theology matters. It matters not because we want to impress people, but because what we know about God shapes the way we think and live. Theology matters because if we get it wrong then our whole life will be wrong.”

Whether you are just exploring Christianity or you are a veteran believer finding yourself overly familiar and cold-hearted, Dug Down Deep will help you rediscover the timeless truths of Scripture. As Harris challenges you to root your faith and feelings about God in the person, work, and words of Jesus, he answers questions such as:

What is God like and how does he speak to me?What difference does it make that Jesus was both human and divine?How does Jesus’s death on the cross pay for my sins?Who is the Holy Spirit and how does he work in my life?
With grace and wisdom, Harris will inspire you to revel in the truth that has captured his own mind and heart. He will ask you to dig deep into a faith so solid you can build your life on it. He will point you to something to believe in again.

Cover art:

Author Bio:

Joshua Harris is senior pastor of Covenant Life in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which belongs to the Sovereign Grace network of local churches. A passionate speaker with a gift for making theological truth easy to understand, Joshua is perhaps best known for his runaway bestseller, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which he wrote at the age of twenty-one. His later books include Boy Meets Girl, Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is), and Stop Dating the Church. The founder of the NEXT conferences for young adults, Joshua is committed to seeing the gospel transferred to a new generation of Christians. He and his wife, Shannon, have three children.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Sacred Parenting January 18, 2010

This isn’t one of my book reviews.  Last year I read Gary Thomas’ book Sacred Marriage and it taught me so, so much.  Now I am excited to finally be reading his book Sacred Parenting. Wow!  I am only two chapters in and probably almost 50% of it is underlined.  I thought I would share a bit…

“In other words, having kids isn’t about us – it’s about him.  We are called to bear and raise children for the glory of God….

When we don’t understand the purpose of parenting, the process becomes tedious.  When we realize that having children isn’t about us but is rather about God, then the trials and sacrifices of parenting are more easily borne.  We see the purpose behind the difficulty, and we remind ourselves, “This isn’t about me; it’s about him.”  The ultimate issue is no longer how proud my children make me, but how faithful I’ve been to discharge the duties God has given me.  To pin our hope and joy on the response of any given sinner is a precarious move at best.  To pin this same hope and joy on the response of a sinner in his or her toddler years or teen years is to beg for disillusionment and to risk waking up in despair.

If we have only a selfish motivation, we will run from parenting’s greatest challenges.  Once disappointment seeps in, we’ll pull back into the same shells we inhabited as children and run from the pain, not by retreating to our bedrooms or backyards (which we did as children), but to our offices, boardrooms, workout clubs, Starbucks, or even churches.

….but let’s accept that, for most of us, this is God’s call and part of his plan to perfect us.  Once we realize that we are sinners, that the children God has given us are sinners, and that together, as a family, we are to grow toward God, then family life takes on an entirely new purpose and context.  It becomes a sacred enterprise when we finally understand that God can baptize dirty diapers, toddlers’ tantrums, and teenagers’ silence in order to transform us into people who more closely resemble Jesus Christ.”

That’s good stuff, right there!

New Year’s Resolutions January 12, 2010

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions b/c I am the kind of crazy cat that makes resolutions toward change all throughout the year.  I start this, change that, begin again and struggle to keep on.  Of course I always feel the need to renew my commitment to eating better and exercising once January hits.  January 1st usually marks the end of 45-60 days  of sluggish behavior and horrid overeating.  So when I was sent this nice little book, The One Day Way by Chantel Hobbs< I thought I should at least give it a read.

I must admit that I did not read every word, but I read most of it and hopped around all of it.  The message is great and full of motivation and great encouragement.  The philosophy behind the eating plan and exercise suggestions is solid.  Some of the things that stood out to me from the book is her suggestion to have a once a week meal fast as well as a once a week indulgent meal.  She talks about doing a daily hunger check and to view food as a fuel not a friend.  She also includes many personal stories from people who have followed her One Day Way plan and had huge success.

I enjoyed it and picked up some great tips.  Below you will find a summary and bio info as well as a link where you can buy the book for yourself.  This would be a great way to jumpstart your healthy new year!

Book: The One-Day Way

Author: Chantel Hobbs

Summary

The One-Day Way produces lasting results by taking you back to basics. No more complicated weight-loss strategies. No more expensive diet plans that achieve only temporary results. Instead, you will lose weight and get fit with Chantel Hobbs’s simple, high-energy meal plans and her at-home program for cardio exercise and strength training. She will teach you how to change the way you think, which leads to new actions. Before you know it you will be strong, fit, and healthy. All it takes is doing things differently for twenty-four hours—and then repeating it.

The One-Day Way gives you everything you need to lose weight and get fit in body, mind, and spirit:

• Break free from past dieting defeats
• Learn a realistic, life-changing way to measure success
• Change the way you think so you can change your life
• Translate your dreams into goals, and your goals into lasting achievements
• Get strong with thirty-one simple exercises, no fancy equipment required
• Take advantage of ten ways to eat better while you lose weight

By focusing on food, faith, and fitness, Chantel shows you not only how to lose weight, but how to build the new life you were designed to live. You don’t have to wait any longer. The One-Day Way gives you all the tools for success, starting right now.

Author Bio:

The author of Never Say Diet and The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Trainer, Chantel Hobbs is a motivational speaker, life coach, personal trainer, marathon runner, wife, and mother of four whose story has been featured on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, the 700 Club, and the covers of People and First magazines. She appears weekly on two fitness-themed radio programs and promotes her One-Day Way Learning System on television. Visit Chantel at ChantelHobbs.com for fitness updates and coaching tips.

Cover art:

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

You can purchase the book here: http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307458780

Dadgum! January 10, 2010

Dadgum Mark Batterson can bring it!  Somehow I lost his feed in my blog reader so I haven’t read anything from him recently.  I just started following him on twitter and I love it!  One of his recent posts was “4 ways to identify an idol”.

Check it out below.  By the way just skip it if you are lazy or not willing to be introspective.   For real…

When we read about idols in the Old Testament, we tend to think of ancient people bowing down to carved wooden statues. How silly. How foolish. But most of us are just sophisticated idolaters. And it’s no less silly or foolish. I’m convinced that idolatry is our root spiritual problem. Maybe that’s why it’s the first commandment of ten?

In the beginning, God created us in His image. We’ve been creating Him in our image ever since. Instead of worshiping the Creator, we settle for something less. We find a substitute god, small g. And here’s the tricky thing. Most idols are good things, but those good things become bad things because they take the place of God. Instead of being the Ultimate End, God become a means to an end. We want something more than we want God. And we try to use God to get it.

So how do you identify an idol? Here are four idol identifiers:

1) What consumes your thoughts? Your daydreams are idol clues. If it’s something you think about more than God then it may be an idol.

2) What bad habits do you struggle with? Your addictions are idol clues. An idol is something you cannot control. It controls you.

3) What do you spend too much money on? Your spending habits are idol clues. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also!

4) What produces your strongest emotions? Your intense emotions are idol clues. If you want to identify an idol, all you have to do is identify your emotional attachments.

Identifying an idol takes a tremendous amount of soul searching. And you have to be brutally honest. But you cannot tear it down until you name it. If you’re serious, I highly recommend Tim Keller’s book Counterfeit Gods.

thankful December 29, 2009

It has been a great Christmas.  I am acutely aware that I am beyond blessed with family close by, amazing friends, healthy beautiful children, an incredible and supportive husband, good health, abundant resources and a dynamic church home.  Sometimes I am fleshly and silly and become overwhelmed with the stupid things of life like laundry, groceries, my own comforts.

I follow some carepages of families that are battling cancer with their precious little ones.  These are so hard to read but so, so good for me.  Not because then I can feel sorry for them and be thankful that I am not in that battle.  No they are good for me because they stir me to be on my knees fighting with them and they allow me to remember to be thankful and aware of every moment I have.  Left to my own devices I am selfish, lazy, self-absorbed…on and on.

One of the moms shared a quote today that I am carrying with me into the New Year.  I hope it challenges you the way it has challenged me…

“Any man can sing in the day. When the cup is full, man draws inspiration from it. When wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can praise the God who gives a plenteous harvest… The difficulty is for music to swell forth when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but he is skillful who sings when there is not a ray of light to read by — who sings from the heart… Lay me upon the bed of languishing, and how shall I then chant God’s high praises, unless He Himself give me the song? No, it is not in man’s power to sing when all is adverse, unless an altar-coal shall touch his lip… Then, since our Maker gives ’songs in the night’ (Job 35:10), let us wait upon Him for the music.” Charles Spurgeon

Primal December 23, 2009

Wow! Wow and wow!  I just finished the book Primal:A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by Mark Batterson.  I have been anxiously anticipating this book for months and was so excited when I learned I would have the opportunity to review it.  I have read Batterson’s other two books, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase. My husband and I both read the In a Pit book during a very low time in our lives and it truly transformed our view and attitudes toward the Church and our future in the Kingdom.  I also heard Batterson speak at the Catalyst conference and I am so impressed with him as a pastor, a father and a Christ-follower.

He is so down-to-earth and in person very unimpressive in the best sense.  He is not pretentious and completely approachable.  He is a voracious reader and will blow you away with his scientific knowledge.  I love that!!! I have followed his blog over the past two years and I have learned so much from his insights into parenting.  He has shared quite a bit from his book on his blog and I have been constantly amazed at the spiritual nuggets he shares.  So now that many of those are now in this book, I love that I can pass Primal on to people with all of those amazing truths.

One of the last paragraphs of the book summarizes well the mission of Primal:

This book is an invitation to be part of something that is bigger than you, more important than you, and longer lasting than you. It’s an invitation to be part of the next reformation. It’s an invitation to be part of a primal movement that traces its origins all the way back to ancient catacombs where our spiritual ancestors were martyred because they loved God more than they loved life.

Yeah, I know!! Does that motivate you or what? Batterson reminds us of the Greatest Commandment where the Lord says we are to

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all our mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30

Which translates that we are to love God with compassion, wonder, curiosity and energy. He discusses what that looks like and how we each have our own natural spiritual love language but we are called to develop and utilize all of them.

I cannot say enough good about this book. I want to read it again in a few months after I have chewed on some of what I have learned. This is definitely a book that will motivate a believer, challenge some stagnant thinking and even provide a good, swift kick in the pants. If you know a believer that needs some renewal, some hope, a fire lit under them….this would be a great, great gift. I know you can purchase it at your local bookseller but you can also find it online at

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601421319

and you can even buy it for someone to put on their kindle or iphone/itouch. (If you need a last minute gift and the hard copy happens to be out of stock:)

Batterson did it again and I give this book a definite 5 stars. I LOVED it!!  I have included below a summary of the book and some author information as well.

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

Book: Primal

Author: Mark Batterson

Summary:

Be Astonished Again

We have a tendency to complicate Christianity. Jesus simplified it: Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we are to live out the essence of Christianity, we must commit to being great at this Great Commandment.

In Primal, Mark Batterson explores the four elements of Great Commandment Christianity: compassion, wonder, curiosity, and power. Along the way, he calls you to be a part of God’s reformation, starting in your own life.

As Mark writes, “Is there a place in your past where you met God and God met you? A place where your heart broke for the things that break the heart of God? Maybe it was a sermon that became more than a sermon. Maybe it was a mission trip or retreat. Maybe it was a vow you made at an altar. In that moment, God birthed something supernatural in your spirit. You knew you’d never be the same again. My prayer is that this book would take you back to that burning bush—and reignite a primal faith.”

Primal will help you live in light of what matters most and discover what it means to love God. It will help you become great at the Great Commandment.

Cover art:

Author Bio:

The author of Wild Goose Chase and In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. One church with nine services in five locations, NCC is focused on reaching emerging generations and meets in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the D.C. area. Mark has two Masters degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. He and his wife, Lora, live on Capitol Hill with their three children. www.markbatterson.com

Let’s be honest December 17, 2009

Giving you some more link love today.  Lots going on in these parts as I scurry around creating Christmas for my family while trying to experience it myself.  Good stuff, some bad stuff.  Today I was blessed to be a part of a shoe giveaway through Newspring Church.  We put brand new shoes and socks on 431 students feet.  So fun and such a blessing to me.  We did it fairly namelessly which is cool too, if that makes any sense.  Prayin’ Jesus gets all that glory.  Lots of little kid smiles.

Certainly made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  I’m needing that right now.  I have a couple of friends that are really hurting right now and as tough as I am, I hurt along with them.  Wrestling with how to truly love and deal with compromise.  I tend to see things pretty black and white/right and wrong.  How that translates to relationships that include brokenness and sin and accountability and truth…I don’t know.

Read this verse today that was encouraging though.

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. (The Message) 2 Cor. 1:3-4

And then had a few minutes to read blogs and came upon this.  I appreciated it and thought you might too.  So here you go… meet Sarah Markley.  She has an incredible story that she tells here in transparency with brave, brute honesty.

Some more LL December 12, 2009

Got some more link love for you.  I serve in Kidspring (our church, Newspring’s name for the children’s ministry) with a really neat gal Lindsay Haselden.  She has such a servant’s heart and she and her husband, Travis, are silent servers.  They do a TON for church and other people but they do it without ever drawing attention to themselves.  I have had the opportunity to get to know them just a smidge and I hope I get more chances.  Lindsay recently started blogging which I love because it allows me a chance to peek into her amazing head.  She posted recently about something the Lord is teaching her and I loved her analogy.  So hop on over and give a listen.  Tell her I said hey:)

I’m back December 11, 2009

Yes, I know that I have been gone a long time.  But really people life is crazy round these parts!  We’ve had a wonderful Thanksgiving, lots of festivities, lots of fun family visits, a trip to the mountains to cut down a Christmas tree, a fun hoedown in the mountains (remind me to blog more about that later, such a blast!), a nasty staph infection (Haig) and two parents with nasty sinus infections.  All that to say I’ve been a a little busy and unfortunately I am desperately trying to slow down and enjoy this season of hope without becoming completely overwhelmed with all the details…life, shopping, doctor’s appts, school activities,…okay I am getting overwhelmed.  So I’m maxed but having fun.

In the meantime I came across this fun blog and this post spoke to me.  I thought it would probably speak to most of you my sweet 3 maybe 4 faithful readers:)  So go check out Andi Hawkins at The Running Mama and her take on Wingman.  I just know you’ll love it:)  I’ll be back before Christmas, I promise!

Treasured December 3, 2009

I am finishing up a sweet book called Treasured by Lisa McLeroy.  The summary is below, but each chapter reflects on one item from the Bible that if God kept a memory box He might have saved.  The items are not ones you would automatically choose and name.  McLeroy weaves stories and illustrations from her own life throughout and does an amazing job at making the characters from the Bible come alive as well.  The book is not very long and small in size so it would make a great Christmas gift for someone that might be kind of hard to buy for.  It is a book rich with meaning but not difficult to read nor theologically overwhelming.  I have thoroughly enjoyed it!

The two children’s books by Lisa Twan Bergren are God Gave us Love and God Gave Us Christmas.  Both share sweet dialogue between a little bear and her family member.  They share God’s Truths about love and Christmas.  Both concepts can be challenging to explain to preschoolers.  The books do a good job taking a heavy subject and making it understandable.  I personally preferred the illustrations and content of the Christmas book more than the other.  These would be great keepsakes for a child or grandchild.  Check out the link where you can buy one of these books below and the summaries and author info.  Hope you find something you will enjoy!

These books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

ttp://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400071753

Book: Treasured, God Gave Us Love, God Gave Us Christmas

Author: Leigh McLeroy, Lisa Tawn Bergren

Summary

In Treasured, Leigh McLeroy considers tangible reminders of God’s active presence and guides readers in discovering evidence in their own lives of his attentive love.

“The idea for the book came from a cigar box filled with odds and ends of my grandfather’s life that arrived a few months after his death. Sifting through the objects in the box, I experienced him in a fresh new way. This made me wonder what treasures might be tucked away in Scripture that could frame God for me in an equally intimate, tangible way. This process also helped me uncover my own “treasures” of my walk with the Lord: objects that remind me of my history with him and his faithfulness to me,” says McLeroy.

Drawn from the pages of Scripture, the author considers twelve such treasures and personalizes their meaning for readers, such as a green olive branch that offers  proof of God’s “new every morning” mercy and a scarlet cord that demonstrates his willingness to adopt “strays” of every sort.

Weaving these treasures together with scenes from her personal history, Leigh McLeroy invites readers to discover God’s heart for them and embrace their unique role in his redemptive story. Treasured offers readers a guided experience of God’s love and character and invites them to consider their own treasures that point to their part in God’s ongoing story.

In God Gave Us Love, Little Cub and Grampa Bear’s fishing adventure is interrupted by mischievous otters, and the young polar bear begins to ask questions like why must we love others . . . even the seemingly unlovable? Why is it easier to love those we like? Where does love come from? And why does God love her so much?

Grampa Bear patiently addresses each one of Little Cub’s curiosities by explaining the different kinds of love we can share: the love between friends, the love between families, the love between moms and dads, and the love for God.

He also assured Little Cub that because of the love God has given her through his Son, there’s nothing she can do to make God love her any more or any less. Through Grampa Bear’s encouraging Little Cub to love others with a “God-sized love,” children will be inspired to love others and to be patient, gentle and kind, so that in every way, they too can demonstrate God’s love.

In God Gave Us Christmas, as Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate the most special day of the year, the curious young polar bear has something on her mind: “Who invented Christmas?” she asks. “Is God more important than Santa?”

Her questions reflect the confusion of so many children during the holiday season. And this heartwarming story takes them on a wonderful journey of discovery—right to the heart of Christmas.

Through Mama’s gentle guidance, Little Cub learns that God loves her and everyone— polar bear, moose, or human—so much that he gave us Jesus, the very best gift of all.

Cover art:

Author Bios:

Leigh McLeroy is the author of The Beautiful Ache and The Sacred Ordinary.  An avid collector and recorder of everyday moments, words, and wonders, Leigh’s keen eye for God’s presence in ordinary life infuses her writing and living with a deep, insistent joy.  A frequent conference and event speaker, the author makes her home in Houston, Texas, and posts often on www.leighmcleroy.com and www.wednesdaywords.com.

Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than 1.5 million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Love follows in Lisa’s classic tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She lives in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.