Once-a-day Country Faith compiled by Deborah Evans Price

Once-a-day Country Faith compiled by Deborah Evans Price is a compilation of 56 country music stars sharing thoughts on their favorite passages of Scripture.  

The page design and artistry of the book is beautiful. Each entry is accompanied by a crisp, creative photograph of the artist. Along with the photo, each page contains the artists’ name, his or her chosen passage of Scripture, and his or her thoughts about that Scripture.

While reading through this compilation, I was inspired to rethink about some of my favorite passages of Scripture and to reflect on what the artists’ shared about theirs. Some of the artists’ reflections were short and simple, but the majority read as though they were honest and well-thought-through, such as Joey Martin Feek and Rory Feek’s, Lorrie Morgan’s, and Danny Gokey’s entries. Some reflections were so filled with the truth and goodness of God’s Word that I noticed tears rising in my eyes. While some Bible verses were repeated, there is a wide array of verses, and this book invites the reader to sit down and reflect and share with artists and fellow believers and seek God through Scripture. Reading spiritual perspectives from the artists we listen to and sing along with on the radio highlights a new dimension of their work.

What makes this book most appealing is its striking design.

I recommend this book to other readers.

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The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review.

Secrets of Dynamic Communication by Ken Davis

Secrets of Dynamic Communication by Ken Davis is the straightforward and effective guide it promises to be.

Davis walks his readers through the steps that will lead them to being powerful public communicators. His format is manageable for beginners and is a concise review for readers who need a reminder and fresh perspective on what the ingredients of effective communication are. His book is organized in three parts: preparation, presentation, and application. The principles he teaches are embodied in his acronym SCORRE. He begins by challenging his audience to focus and then walks them through the SCORRE process. He provides Review sections and opportunities for practice.  

I enjoyed this book. While there were parts that were less intriguing than others, overall the focus that Davis challenges his readers to seek and achieve is what makes this book a valuable resource. The book is well organized, which also makes it an accessible reference book. I appreciated that Davis mentions the art of rhetoric, and he also emphasizes and demands precision from his students (the readers). There are many quotable lines in this book, and his advice on using body language is especially enlightening. His personal anecdotes also amplify his message. I can easily tell that Davis is an author who practices what he preaches, and this knowledge makes me respect him and want to apply his principles.

I recommend this book to other readers.

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The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review.

American Phoenix: John Quincy and Louisa Adams, the War of 1812, and the Exile that Saved American Independence by Jane Hampton Cook

American Phoenix: John Quincy and Louisa Adams, the War of 1812, and the Exile that Saved American Independence by Jane Hampton Cook is an accessible, entertaining, and informative narrative.

The early 1800s – years of cultivation and characterization for the United States – are told through the story of John Quincy and Louisa Adams. Cook tells American history largely from the perspective of Louisa Adams when she is on European soil. The location of the American diplomats allows for the War of 1812 and the events leading up to it to be told with a European slant: The reader gets inside information about what was going on across the ocean. Cook spends ample time discussing Napoleon and other significant figures in Europe, and the bits of conversation recorded from the Adams’ journals enliven the story.

The excerpts of journal entries are expertly intertwined with the narrative and add authenticity to the story Cook is telling. However, often Cook makes assumptions about what may have been happening at the time, and while her claims are undoubtedly researched, the language used to include them removes the reader from the setting and causes the book to be read more as a textbook and less as a narrative.

Nonetheless, the book intrigued me and sparked desires for further research. The way in which Cook portrays Louisa is inspiring. I want to read more about her story. Also, the excerpts Cook included about Abigail Adams made me want to read more about her too. Cook’s prose (she composes beautiful sentences) and research successfully entertains, educates, and inspires her readers.

I recommend this book to other readers.

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The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review.

 

The Christian Mama's Guide to Baby's First Year by Erin MacPherson

The Christian Mama’s Guide to Baby’s First Year by Erin MacPherson is an accessible, digestible helper for moms.

With humor, style, and Christian poise, MacPherson engages moms (and moms-to-be) in a personal dialogue about what the first year of child-rearing entails. MacPherson knows the emotional struggles new moms have, and she tackles them carefully. Her positive outlook on even the ugliest messes of motherhood helps moms to feel hopeful and relaxed. Through her descriptions of the first few weeks post-delivery, to the breast-feeding debate, to knowing the Baby Gear “Essentials,” MacPherson becomes her readers’ friends and cheerleaders.

MacPherson carries on the soft humor, compassion, and reality checks that were enjoyed in The Christian Mama’s Guide to Baby’s First Year. The second book is more compact than the first, and MacPherson’s tone gives the reader a seamless glide through the pages. It’s definitely not a rigid resource book; thus the style does seem to be verbose at times, but if the book is approached as an afternoon adventure then the style is right on. MacPherson does not rush through her tips – she takes time to share her experiences and to write in a pleasing narrative voice which makes this book so much more than a “guide.” It is a place where moms can turn for grounded advice from a sister-in-Christ.

The book is well organized, and because of how the Contents are outlined, it is easy to access just one or two chapters for a second, third, or fourth reading. MacPherson’s Checklists, Top Ten Lists, and “Time-Out for Mom” sections are helpful. Her groupings (in which readers can certainly place themselves) of “Types of People You May Encounter at the Park” was especially entertaining: “The Wheatgrass-Fed Organimommy,” “The Frat Guy,” The Type A Supermommy,” “The Public-Displays-of-Adoration Couple,” and more, are laughable and true enough – but her descriptions are even better. Through her humor, MacPherson gently pushes her readers to take a good look at their priorities and personas as moms.

MacPherson always brings her points back to a spiritual ground, and as in her previous book she devotes a couple of chapters to dads.

I recommend this book to other readers.

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The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review.

The Christian Mama’s Guide to Having a Baby by Erin MacPherson

The Christian Mama’s Guide to Having a Baby by Erin MacPherson is a step-by-step guide to what a mom (and even a dad) should expect during pregnancy.

Erin covers every detail – from an overview of each trimester, to who to call for advice, to what to shop for, to how to exercise. Included throughout her book are sections titled “Time-Out for Mom” in which MacPherson offers Bible verses and a prayer to comfort the anxious mom.

Reading MacPherson’s book made me more confident in the knowledge that one day I could handle having a baby. I appreciate MacPherson’s candid advice and instruction about what happens during the sometimes dreaded nine months that no mother seems willing to tell a woman who has yet to be pregnant. Her Biblical references were peaceful and relevant and were a large part of what made this book intriguing.

MacPherson’s humor and detail made the book enjoyable to read, and I found myself laughing out loud many times; the greatest of all was in response to this statement: “Since I have absolutely no experience with pushing – I had C-sections – me telling you about pushing is kind of like your husband telling you about multitasking. You can’t explain what you’ve never done” (217).

As I went through the first few chapters, I thought MacPherson was much too verbose, and I found myself thinking of ways to write the book in half the number of pages. While I do still think that the book could be shorter, by the middle of the book and through to the end I found myself reading every word – not wanting to miss any detail or skip over any funny parts.

The book is well organized and can easily be used as a manual. Through her language and tone, MacPherson creates a bond and a friendship with the reader that definitely will draw me to reading more of her guides.

I recommend this book to other readers.

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The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review.

 

 

 

 

Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice by David Teems

Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice is a compelling biography of Tyndale’s time translating the Bible into English.

Teems’ sense of humor and authentic tone swiftly propel this biography. Teems creates a hero out of the martyr. He writes, “Tyndale’s target audience has long been under a different influence . . . To the general believer, the Scripture is still remote, inaccessible. The Church alone is the higher perception. Tyndale challenged that perception” (56). Teems’ clever prose never disappoints: “Tyndale was not so fortunate. We will cover the details of Tyndale’s imprisonment in a final chapter, but he was confined to a dungeon, and with all the adjectives your darker imagination can supply” (196). While retelling Tyndale’s purposes, Teems, through his own prose, also opens the readers’ to new scriptural insights: “The image was a huge fish, but Jonah was swallowed up by the monster of his own resistance” (212).

By showcasing some of Tyndale’s translation, “I am the light of the world,” “Blessed are the poor in spirit, “God is love,” etc. Teems makes his audiences esteem and thank Tyndale for the language and truths he has revealed even to the modern age (60).

In the margins of many pages, Teems strengthens his argument with other voices of authority: “Tyndale did not simply translate the Bible. In the sense of restoring its sweep and drama, he recreated it” (66).

Tyndale’s life was not glorious. Although the two never met, Sir Thomas More took it upon himself to persecute Tyndale. Because Tyndale was introducing truth to a state whose authority wanted to deceive its people, Tyndale was a heretic, described as “the hairball they were desperately hoping to cough up” (79). Despite opposition, however, Tyndale continued to pursue truth. “He had all the rare advantages of a man who was certain, both of his place in the world and his function within it” (165).  The reader is left with no option but to admire Tyndale: “Hate was simply not a way Tyndale chose to regulate his passion. He lived by a higher rule. It was one of the many things he did not have in common with the age” (199).

This book educates its audiences of the challenges and rewards of Tyndale’s work. His impact is lasting. I recommend this book with highest praise.

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The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review.