Breaking Busy by Alli Worthington

 

Breaking Busy: How to find peace and purpose in a world of crazy by Alli Worthington is a quick-reading, 10-chapter book that teaches readers how to shun the world’s call of busyness by identifying their true calling, turning to God for contentment and purpose, and evaluating what matters in their lives.

I enjoyed every page of this book. Alli’s prose is witty, honest, tender, and propulsive, and Alli’s willingness to share her own stories legitimized her suggestions. I gained many ideas from this well-organized book and was reminded of many others. I appreciate how Alli earnestly speaks of Biblical principles—essentially, living the lives God called us to live is what allows us to break busy. Alli’s writing style encourages readers to take her suggestions—to listen to the calling her have—and to become their best selves.

I definitely recommend this book to others. I will probably return to it to read chapters here and there if not the whole thing again.

http://booksneeze.com/blogger/resources/9781400203048

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

Enlarge my Territory? Bring it on! by Suzi Johnson

Suzi Johnson’s book is a collection of tidbits about how to live the best lives we can. She presents a collection of life stories, mantras, scripture lessons, and self-help/motivational excerpts. The book is divided into three parts—each part containing the type of material as listed above. Suzi’s goal seems to be to inspire her readers to be their best selves.

Suzi is definitely an energetic and positive person with a passion for leading people to Christ. This tone is evident in her book. Nonetheless, her book didn’t pull me in. Her ideas seemed to lack coherent organization. She has definitely been inspired by The Prayer of Jabez. Consequently, I thought the book would be a more focused piece of advice on how to enlarge one’s territory. This book seems like something that would be shared with family around a fire or in a living room. If I were a member of Johnson’s family I think the book would be more appealing to me—Johnson’s personal stories and regrets would have personal meaning and not seem detached from her overall purpose.

I don’t recommend this book to people who aren’t Johnson’s family or close friends, but I applaud Johnson’s energy and desire to lead others to Christ.

http://booksneeze.com/blogger/resources/9781400203048

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

Paul Meets Jesus - a Zonderkidz story

The Zonderkidz I Can Read! books are consistently well written and illustrated. “Paul Meets Jesus” is not an exception. This story is in Level 2 of the I Can Read! series, which is for kids “reading with help.” Probably kids ages 4-6.

 

The story is about Paul meeting Jesus and changing from a bad man trying to punish Jesus followers to a sold-out follower of Jesus himself. Paul meets God as a flash of light from above, he becomes blinded for three days, he receives his sight back, he gets baptized, and he spends the rest of his life praising God and being persecuted for doing so.

 

The spiritual message in this book is subtle. I think parents would need to help kids put the pieces together—especially since Jesus and God are not visible in the story. Paul’s conversion seems a bit quick, but with help parents will be able to guide their kids through the story. What I appreciate about this story is that it tells the complete conversion story of Paul and is true to the Biblical account. I do wish, however, that somewhere the publishers would have included the Bible verses from which the story came. The illustrations are bold and attractive, the story is complete, and I recommend this book to others.

 

http://booksneeze.com/blogger/resources/9781400203048

 

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