Book Review: Love Idol

Love Idol
by
Jennifer Dukes Lee

This is hands-down one of the BEST books I have ever read. I’m pretty sure the last time I did this much underlining in a book I was in college. We’ll not talk about how long ago that was….haha.

All of us, men and women alike, are striving for approval in our lives – approval from spouses, peers, family, friends, even strangers. This desperate search for approval often leaves us battered and bruised, falling apart on the inside while trying to hold up a facade of being fine and having it all together. It’s exhausting! Throughout the course of her life, Jennifer Dukes Lee has faced this same struggle. She’s put up a facade and wondered what people would think if they knew the real her, who she really was at home, and how not perfect her life really was. She’s been right where we are, searching for human love and acceptance when all along we’re loved and unconditionally accepted by the God who made us! It seems like such a simple concept realizing  that we have been pre-approved by God, there’s no need to strive for approval, it’s right there waiting for us to take hold of it – such a simple concept, yet somewhat hard to conceive of. But a life fully lived in this unconditional acceptance and authentic love is one that shines bright, one that is free and unhindered by the world’s opinion. If we can truly grasp this our lives will be forever changed and fuller than we could have ever imagined possible.

In Love Idol, Jennifer tells her story and takes us on her journey to this realization of joy and freedom found in God’s unconditional love. Her story is inspiring and her words encouraging, speaking life and truth into the reader. There is so much in this book that even after finishing it a few days ago, I’m still processing it all and trying to take hold of all the truth and wisdom it holds. The words it holds make me want to live my life free and unhindered – not connected to anyone’s opinion but God’s, the one who made me, loves me and in whom I am already pre approved.

To give you just a taste of what you’ll find in Love Idol, here are a few of my favorite quotes:

“Eyes cannot look in two different directions. I want mine on Jesus – not on yesterday’s failures or successes, not on today’s agenda, and definitely not on the world’s scorecards. Eyes. On. Jesus”

“I have been preapproved. Already approved. Already accepted. I have nothing to prove.”

Check out this short video to learn even more:

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for this review. All thoughts are my own.

Buy the Book 

If you’re interested in checking out this book you can find it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, as well as many other retailers.

Book Review: Raw Faith

Raw Faith
by
Kasey Van Norman

After a string of hard times, Kasey Van Norman’s life felt like it was back on track, like she was getting a new beginning. Kasey and her husband were starting life over in a new town, on the precipice of some exciting ministry opportunities when it all came crashing down.  During an emergency hysterectomy, doctors discovered a cancerous mass in Kasey’s abdomen. She was told that her type of cancer was incurable and was given around 5 years to live. Throughout this struggle, including a prescription for 8 chemotherapy treatments, Kasey was forced to decide if she believed her own message of God’s love. Raw Faith consists of bits and pieces of Kasey’s story, including journal entries, as well as stories from the Bible that tell of times when those biblical heroes we know and love had to come to grips with their own faith – a raw faith. Through it all, Kasey opens the readers eye to the ever faithful God we serve and how to embrace life with raw faith even when our circumstances seem to make that unbearable.

Kasey has an amazing story to share and I enjoyed getting a glimpse into her life and her relationship with Christ. Much like her previous book, Named By God,  I wished that she’d have shared a little bit more of her story. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed reading this book and was challenged to live a life of raw faith, but I really wish I could get to know Kasey a little better through her books. I’m sure there is so much more to her story than she had space to share in the book. That being said, I really appreciate Kasey’s honesty in Raw Faith, she wasn’t afraid to share her struggles and what she was really thinking during her illness. It’s written in a super relatable way, it tackled some deep issues but it wasn’t hard to read.

There is a Bible study guide that goes along with this book, I think it would be an amazing study to share with a group of women.  Check out the following trailer to learn more about Kasey Van Norman’s latest book.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for this review. All thoughts are my own.

Buy the Book 

If you’re interested in checking out this book you can find it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, as well as many other retailers.

Free Francis Chan Books

If you’ve never read a book by Francis Chan, I highly suggest it! He writes in a way that is very easy to understand and really tries to bring things back to what the Bible says.

Follow the links below to get your free Kindle edition today April 6, 2012. I’m not sure if this is special pricing just for today or not, so get in on this deal ASAP! If you don’t have a Kindle, don’t worry.  You can download Kindle apps for your computer, tablet and smartphone.

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By a Relentless God

Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit

Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity, and the Things We’ve Made Up

Book Review: Almost Amish

Almost Amish
By
Nancy Sleeth

About the Book (from tyndale.com):

Have you ever stopped to think, Maybe the Amish are on to something? Look around. We tweet while we drive, we talk while we text, and we surf the Internet until we fall asleep. We are essentially plugged in and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Rather than mastering technology, we have allowed technology to master us. We are an exhausted nation. No one has enough time, everyone feels stressed out, and our kids spend more hours staring at a screen each week than they do playing outside.

It’s time to simplify our lives, make faith and family the focal point, and recapture the lost art of simple living. Building on the basic principles of Amish life, Nancy Sleeth shows readers how making conscious choices to limit (and in some cases eliminate) technology’s hold on our lives and getting back to basics can help us lead calmer, more focused, less harried lives that result in stronger, deeper relationships with our families, friends, and God.

My Thoughts:

I whole-heartedly agree with Nancy’s idea that we need to make conscious decisions to live simpler lives and focus more on building stronger relationships. While we may not be able to live as the Amish do in our own circumstances, there is definitely something we can learn from their simplicity and devotion to community.  I enjoyed reading her take on Amish principles and traditions, but at times I thought the tone was a bit preach-y rather than encouraging.  There were also times the book felt like it barely scratched the surface on some topics and I was wishing it had gone deeper into how to apply certain things in our own lives. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book and gained some new insight as well as a few ideas about how to make a concerted effort to connect and build strong relationships with those around me.

If you’d like to check out the first chapter of the book, click here.

Buy the Book:

This book can be found at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, as well as many other retailers.

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of this book was provided for this review. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to post a positive review.