Being Radical Together

After my husband read "Radical" by David Platt, he was excited to learn of his new book "Radical Together." Radical Together is a short read (approximately 150 pages including a section of small group questions at the end) that focuses on a gospel-centered vision within the church. Platt helps to challenge the church to be more engaging within the body of Christ and with the people God places around them with this question: ""How can we in the church best unleash the people of God in the Spirit of God with the Word of God for the glory of God in the world?" 

The 6 chapters are:

1. Tyranny of God - One of the worst enemies of Christians can be good things in the church

2. The Gospel Misunderstood - the gospel that saves us from works saves us to work

3. God is Saying Something - The Word that does not work

4. The Genius of Wrong - Building the right church depends on using all of the wrong people

5. Our Unmistakable Task - We are living - and longing - for the end of the world

6. The God Who Exalts God - We are selfless followers of a self-centered God. 

At the end of the book, there are small group discussions that would be perfect for Sunday Schools or Home Groups. 

My husband and I have really enjoyed reading David Platts books and look forward to reading "A Radical idea." If you would like to be challenged to grow in your relationship with Christ, I would recommend this reading to you. It is time for us as a church to stop focusing on what is "good" and focus on what is "best." 

Experience true Love & Respect

As a couple, we are constantly trying to find a devotional that works well for both my husband and myself. Without fail, we start a devotional, only to discontinue going through it after a few days. Eggrich talks about it in his new devotional, that often times a couple devotional caters more towards the women's need for emotional intimacy and love, rather than equally regarding a man's need and desire for a shared time together. This makes it had for the husband to become engaged, which in turn frustrates the wife, and thus the end to the devotional time occurs. This is exactly what the enemy wants in marriage. Lack of time and commitment between a couple in sharing God's Word. 

When we read Love & Respect about 2 years ago on a road trip, we were hooked & loved it. When we heard that Eggrich was coming out with a devotional for couples, we knew that we had to get it! So far, after 4 devotionals, we have thoroughly enjoyed this book together!

First of all, this devotional comes bound in a beautiful leather, making it ideal to give as a gift. We had already purchased 2 for Christmas gifts, and plan on buying this devotional for future weddings that we attend. There are 52 lessons for the couple to go through, and while the author says that he intends for the couple to go through them at their own pace, it is ideal for some couples to go through one devotional a week for a year. There is a small section about love and respect, followed by an action and prayer. All in all, this devotional should take couples anywhere from 15-30 minutes to complete each time.

My husband was particularly drawn to this book, as it is guy friendly. He kept saying over and over, "I really like this devotional!" You know it is good when he is the one to initiate time together reading it, and isn't that what women want? I am confident we will actually finish this devotional together! I recommend this book to couples looking for a boost in their marriage.

Three Cups

I recently received a copy of "Three Cups" by Tony Townsley. The primary focus of this book is to teach children the three different aspects in receiving money: giving, saving, and spending. I really liked that this book in particular focused equally on these three parts, as they are all very important for children to learn at a young age. I believe that teaching children to save money for something that they would like to purchase is important, but it is also equally valuable to teach children to save their money in the bank and to share their wealth and gifts with others.
I would recommend this book to parents desiring to teach their children about money.

Awesome Children's Book!!

I recently received "In Case You Ever Wonder" by Max Lucado for my 8 month old daughter and I loved it!
This book is written to show and remind children how much not only their parents love them, but also their heavenly father. Upon opening the first pages, this is what one reads: "long, long ago God made a decision - a very important decision...one I'm really glad that he made. He made the decision to make you!" How sweet. How precious. How encouraging to our children.
In an age when our children fight for their identity, this book reminds them that their identity can only be found in Christ. What a powerful message to read to our children in a way that they can understand and grasp. I love this book and will purchase it for future birthday & baby shower gifts. May you be blessed as you read this book!

Pleasantly Surprised

I recently received Max Lucado's book "When God Whispers Your Name," and was pleasantly surprised by what I read. In the past, I believed Max Lucado's books to be watered down, and not very deep. This book though, was refreshing and encouraging to my soul.
This book is written to help you hear and know God. In this book, Lucado uses a conversational tone and tells stories in order to help his readers better relate to and understand his writing. As I greatly enjoyed this book, I would highly recommend it!

Inspiring, but unbiblical book

The "God Pocket" is a short read (124 pages) by Bruce Wilkinson with David Kopp is simply put, a book about giving. I have read many books about giving, but this one is not one of my favorites.
In chapter one, the book opens with a fictional story that captivates the audience. It provides the readers with the reminder that all we own belongs to God - "it is God's money." This is profoundly true, but the author elaborates this notion in an unbiblical way. Wilkinson notes that there are seven steps to you maintaining a "God Pocket:" Decide, Devote, Deposit, Depend, Deliver, Declare, and Disciple. Simply put, you choose an amount you would like to give away, and wait on God's direction and guidance to do so. I personally believe that you should allow God to determine the amount you need to give away, instead of trusting your humanly instincts to do so. He is the one in control, not us.
I also disagreed with chapter five, "The Mystery of Multiplying: God's surprising plan to replenish the resources you give." While it is true that God can, and sometime does reward us for our generosity, it is not a promise, and should never be an expectation. We may never know what he had in mind with our gift, and we may never see any fruit from it. To promise Christians that if they give, God will repay them is untrue. We will be rewarded, but it may not be until eternity, and to tell others contradictory to this is unbiblical.
While this book does help open your eyes to giving, there are several other books I would recommend to others before this one.

Enemies of the Heart

Enemies of the Heart, by Andy Stanley, is an easy read that anyone can benefit from. He does a great job discussing ways to defeat the 4 harmful emotions that we all wrestle with: guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy. He's right to say that these emotions control us - and he offers very practical ways to break the chains these emotions have. Andy's writing style is funny, simply, enjoyable and very easy to read. I love this book for that reason - he makes me laugh, and i also get some great biblical teaching from it. This is a book i would recommend to anyone, especially someone who typically doesn't enjoy reading.