My Review of On This Day in Christian History

On This Day In Christian History: 365 Amazing and Inspiring Stories about Saints, Martyrs, and Heroes by Robert Morgan has a story for each day of the year. Although I have not read the entire book, I have read several weeks worth of stories. I was happy to find a creative blend of stories ranging from sobering to inspiring to even humorous. There were some stories that brought tears to my eyes and others that made me left me in awe at the price that others had paid for their faith. The stories range from the early church to the current century. Robert Morgan has done an excellent job providing a variety of characters and events from history. When I first started to read the book, I wasn't sure if all of the illustrations would be serious or if I would be bored, however, I have been pleased with how interesting this book has been. My husband and I both read each day's story in the evenings. I would highly recommend this book for any Christian that loves history. The book is an excellent tool that shares the heritage of so many of the saints of the Christian faith. I also appreciated the Scripture references that went along with each day's story. This book will be useful for families with older children who are looking for devotional stories to share with their children to give them a knowledge of how their faith should not be taken for granted and to give them heroes to look up to. There are many great discussion opportunities that can be derived from this book. I received a copy of this book for review from Thomas Nelson Publishers and was not obligated to have a positive opinion of it, however, I have greatly enjoyed it so far.

My Review of First Things First by Kurt and Brenda Warner

I found First Things First by Kurt and Brenda Warner to be inspiring in so many different areas. Although, I personally am not a sports fan, this book captivated my interest from the beginning. The Warners are very open and honest in every area. They tell how they met and the struggles that they worked through as a couple before they got married in coming to a common ground in their beliefs. By sharing their backgrounds and history before they were famous, they show the foundation that they have for who they are today and why they hold the values that they do. They share their disagreements and present a very sincere picture of who they are and how they operate as a couple and as a family. Although they are Christians, they by no means claim to be perfect or to have it all together. The Warners have excellent rules for their relationship within their family as well as for how they treat other people. They seem to try very hard to aim for balance in their lives and to have appropriate boundaries in every area. They are very giving and generous people with not only their money, but with their time and resources as well. There are several creative marriage and parenting concepts in the book and I really enjoyed reading it. I received a copy of this book from Tyndale Publishers for my personal review and was not obligated to give a positive opinion of the book. I will most defiately be giving this book to the sports fan in my family and highly recommend it.

My Review of Hataras Girl by Alice Wisler

Jackie, hitting age 30, without a husband and dream career in place, feels like everyone else is moving forward in life while she is on hold. But suddenly, her lifelong dream of owning a special bed and breakfast, that holds a special place in heart heart, is within her reach. At the same time, it seems that the man of her dreams has arrived as well. As the story unfolds, we see that Mr. Wonderful, aka Davis, may not be all that he strives to appear and there are secrets that need to be uncovered. Could it be that her true love has been right under her nose all along?
I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it to be predictable, with few surprises, but the story held my interest until the last page. It was like watching a favorite movie. Even though you have seen it before, you still love the story. The characters in Alice Wisler's novel are interesting. I love how she portrays the compassion and determination of Jackie. The family and friends in the story bring the story to life in a captivating way. The setting of North Carolina is described in such a way that you feel like you are there. The ending brings closure to the story by bringing Jackie to her true love, justice being served to the culprit, and happiness and hope for the future being found by all.
I was happy to receive a copy of this book from Bethany House for review and was not obligated to publish a positive review.

My review of Amy Inspired by Bethany Pierce

I received a copy of Amy Inspired by Bethany Pierce for my personal review from Bethany House Publishers. Amy is a woman who hits the age of 30 and her life has not gone as planned for her career, ambitions and love life. She lives with a quirky housemate and has a romantic interest in a man named Eli, who seems to have not caught any breaks in life, but his abstract and artistic nature attracts her, despite his lack of success in life.
I have to say that this was a difficult book for me to read. The characters were not people that I felt like a could relate to and I failed to experience the connection that the author tried to achieve. As I continued to read the story, I was hopeful that it would improve and that there would be some sort of a "hook" that would capture my interest. However, I continuously was bored with the story line and felt like I had to force myself to finish reading the novel. The ending did not provide the closure that I hoped for and left the future of the character somewhat open ended.
I also was disappointed in the way the story portrayed the morals of some of the characters. I felt that some of the situations the "Christian" characters in the book were a part of were somewhat questionable for a Christian novel. I didn't feel that there was a prevalent Christian message throughout the story. In my opinion, the book may be better received by a secular market. I also felt that the description of Eli's past was not graphic, but was overly blunt and to the point for my personal taste. I would not recommend this book to Christian readers. For whatever my personal opinion is worth, I feel that Christian fiction should have a stronger Christian message throughout its pages.
On the positive side, the author does have a unique way of wording her chapters and is obviously a gifted writer. I would be willing to read another novel by the author in hopes that some of her other stories would provide a more interesting story line.

My Review of A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heitzmann

I was excited to receive a copy of A Rush of Wings to review from Bethany House Publishers. I have to say that I was interested from the first page. Kristen Heitzmann weaves a fascinating story about Noelle St. Clair, a wealthy young lady who flees her life for reasons that she cannot completely understand. With pieces of her memory missing, Noelle finds herself on a ranch in Colorado, a haven of rest for her to hide and heal. Noelle finds herself caught between the affections of two brothers who are very different from each other.
I loved the way that the author ties the two parts of Noelle's life together by contrasting the luxury of her life as a "spoiled little rich girl" and the freedom that she finds as she embraces her life on the ranch. Bits and pieces of the puzzle are revealed as the tale is told and the book kept me interested until the last page. Heitzmann has created a variety of characters who are realistic and true to life. She does an excellent job of conveying their struggles and not resolving each conflict with ease that is not the reality of life.
I very much enjoyed the fact that as a Christian novel, this book did more than just give a cursory mention of God and the characters' relationship to Him. I appreciated the fact that God was very much a part of the resolution of the situations the characters dealt with and how well the author explained their struggle to come to terms with God's will vs. their will.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading Christian fiction! I really enjoyed reading it and plan to pass it along to others.

My Review of Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

I was really excited to review Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo for BookSneeze. This book is the true story of a little boy who, during a surgery, has an out of body experience and returns with stories about being in Heaven and meeting Jesus as well as family members who had already passed away. The boy, Colton, is too young to have learned the information that he knows, but yet his experience lines up with accounts in the Bible.He also has recognition of people in his family that were in Heaven that had passed away befor he was born and he had never seen or heard of.
I read the book cover to cover in one afternoon! Todd Burpo tells the details of their son's sickness and hospital experience. He is extremely honest about his feelings and emotions throughout the experience. When Colton begins to share bits and pieces of what he had experienced during the surgery, Burpo and his wife are amazed that he is describing details about Jesus and Heaven that he had not been taught. Colton's simplistic, child like way of conveying what he had seen and experienced was so inspiring and touching. There were moments througout the book that I had tears in my eyes.
There were many different Biblical truths that were shown throughout the book.The book was an excellent reminder of how our life here is simply a journey to our eternal life and how we really do have a hope when we have a relationship with Christ. The passion of how Colton wanted to be sure that everyone knows that Jesus loves them and that He REALLY loves children was such a precious truth that we so often forget.  I found this book to be extremely comforting, especially if you have lost a loved one. I will definately be passing this book on and recommending it to other people.