Author Archives: Mike
Book Review: Jesus, a theography
This book was given to me by the publisher. I wasn’t expecting such an informational/jam-packed book! The idea behind this book is linking Jesus in the Old testament to Jesus in the New Testament. The Old Testament is simply a type & shadow of Jesus in the New Testament. God has gifted Sweet and Viola with great writing skills. Their way of conveying what they want to say is very easy to understand and nice and plain for all readers. The only thing that I didn’t like about the book is the HUGE cross-reference footnote section at the back. The authors constantly have footnote references ALL throughout the entire book. While it is nice that they included them, it was a pain to have to constantly flip back and forth between the main text and the back section. All in all, a great book!
Book Review: Surfing for God
I was recently given the book ‘Surfing for God’ to read. This book deals with the problem of pornography in America & men, especially. This book doesn’t cut corners or make things sugar-coated…it tells you straight like it is. The author is quick to get right to the root of the problem. He relates the problem with pornography to a deeper issue inside a man, love. He states that men view pornography because in essence, their ‘love tank’ is getting filled. (My words, not his). If you or someone you know is struggling with this problem, may I suggest this book to you? It can be a great teaching tool to help open one’s eyes about the deep sin that so many try and hide.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Book Review: 1000 Days
Ever have one of those books you just can’t get in to? This one one of those books for me. It had sat and sat around the house before I got up enough “want to read it” feelings to actually pick it up and read it. It was tough for me to make it through this book. The writing style to me is very boring, the typical cliche’ Christian book. I was hoping that this book would’ve had a lot more to keep me interested, but I just couldn’t keep myself focused enough to drudge through it.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Book Review: Then Sings My Soul
A few months back, Booksneeze gave me the privilege of getting this great book to review. This book is the 3rd book in a set that takes particular “spiritual” songs and tells you a little about the back story of them. As a worship leader, I was very happy to see this book become available! This book was a major help to me during Christmas, when I was asked to speak about my favorite Christmas Carol. Not only was I able to give the song in it’s original format, I also gave the story of how the song came to be, what the author was thinking and going through when he wrote it, etc. This book covers quite a bit of songs, each having the sheet music (looks the same as a hymn sheet) preceding the story/thoughts about the song. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to gain further knowledge about why songs were written, and what they mean to the original authors.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Book Review: The Voice New Testament
I was Über-excited when I first saw that there was a new translation of the Bible called ‘The Voice’. Being curious, I’ve been going through the translation, reading, and gleaning what I can from it.
The excitement began to dwindle quickly. I didn’t think that this translation was a lot different that a NIV translation. There are some neat features, like the words that are in the original text are italicized so you can know that they’ve added them. There are great introductions at the beginning of each Book, and a short comment section sporadically placed in the text of each chapter. The biggest selling point that they brag about is that it reads like a play. For example: Jesus: “I am the Way, the Truth…” While I thought at first this would be neat, it was hard for me to keep focused.
Is this a good translation? Probably. Was there a need for it in my Biblical library? Probably not. Will people enjoy it? Yeah, maybe.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Book Review: Heaven Is For Real
I was recently given the opportunity to read the book ‘Heaven Is For Real’. I had seen this book on shelves for quite some time, and have been wanting to read it ever since I first saw it. Being a member of the most awesome program on the planet, Booksneeze, I was given the book to read.
Colton is a young boy who is three years old. He had an emergency appendectomy. During his surgery, he was taken to Heaven, and communed with Jesus, John the Baptist, his grandfather (whom he’s never met on Earth), and his baby sister who was miscarried during the pregnancy, among many others. Colton reveals many scripture backed details about Heaven…and that God is “really, really big”. He says that he was only in Heaven for three minutes, and that our time is different that Heaven’s.
The book was the easiest 150-ish pages I have EVER read. I read the entire book in one day, a personal record for me. The book is in the narrative voice of Colton’s dad, Tom, and he makes the book a delight to read. He uses Colton’s exact words extracted from conversations with him in the years that followed his surgery. It will make you cry, laugh, and everything in between. If you haven’t read this book, you are REALLY missing out! I know that there’s been lots of controversy about the content of the book, but I thoroughly believe that Heaven Is For Real!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Book Review: Living Close to God (When You’re Not Good At It)
One of the great things about this book is the super short chapters. It was an easy read, and the short chapters always left me wanting to read “just one more” before I quit. This book definitely isn’t one that you’ll read and just sit on the shelf for years…you’ll want to meditate upon it, and apply the practices in your life.
I would recommend this book to anyone that is needing to develop their quiet time with God, it even has a study guide in the back of the book. My rating: 3/5 stars
*I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review*
Right From the Heart
Right From the Heart; A 365 Devotional by Bryant Wright
Format: Print
musicmanmike’s rating: 5/5 stars
I was recently award the privilege to read and review Right From the Heart by Bryant Wright. Upon opening the package, I was pleasantly surprised at the book that I had received. It’s a hard cover book, with nice impression-type markings on the covers. It’s very nice and durable. Even the inside of the book is decorated with the same type drawings are the outside. Each page is nicely laid out, with a scripture at the very beginning, before the devotion. Each day has a title, and some titles have Part I and Part II.
Upon reading some of the devotionals in this book, I was even more surprised at the content that Wright was able to cram into a one page devotional. The book is divided into 365 daily devotions, with a devotion for each corresponding date. They were simple, to the point, and usually enough to get your “thinker” going. I might have preferred a little longer devotions, but most people will find that the length of the devotions will fit nicely into the day.
Overall, this would be a great book to devour the 5 minute breaks during the day. When you go to buy one, be sure and pick up two, so you can give one away. It would make a very nice gift book.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
God’s Love Letters To You: A 40-Day Devotional Experience
God’s Love Letters To You: A 40-Day Devotional Experience By Dr. Larry Crabb
Format: E-Book
musicmanmike’s rating: 3.5/5 stars
I was recently given the opportunity to read ‘God’s Love Letters to You: A 40-Day Devotional Experience’, and mostly enjoyed the short and sweet daily readings. The book takes 40 of the books of the Bible (20 OT + 20 NT) and portrays them as love letters from God to us. Overalll, Dr. Larry Crabb has a great writing style, very easy and comfortable to read. Each devotion includes an opening scripture, a short devotional message, reflection questions, and a closing prayer.
Each devotional usually started out with “God Says:”, and continued to speak as I would imagine God would to any of us. One of the things that at first made me a little precautious was the fact that the author quite frequently spoke (as God) in a first person voice. I took it very carefully at first, making sure that nothing he said as God was going against what the Bible says about Him. It definitely took some getting used to, but eventually, I became accustomed to the overall tone and setting of the devotions. I felt that the daily readings were sometimes too short (sometimes only taking a few minutes to read), but were very useful in my everyday walk with God.
Overall, the devotional book was great. Looking back, the narrative tone of God, while at first a little strange, made the book seem more personal. It has and will help me in my daily walk with the Lord. I’d recommend reading it if you are needing some encouragement, it feels that God is speaking right to you.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Sometimes You Just Gotta Stop. In the Name of Love.
In a world that just keeps getting busier, sometimes we need to just stop and sit back, take it easy, and realize how blessed we really are. Sometimes, if we don’t make a voluntary stop, things will force us to stop…usually not the way that we want them to happen. In case you haven’t heard by now, God let me slow down and realize how blessed I am. On Christmas Eve Eve (that’s the day before Christmas for all you lingo lackers), my body told me to slow it down. My facial nerves began to stop functioning correctly. This is what the doctors like to call Bell’s Palsy. I just call it a a case of TRB (Temporary RoadBlock). Apparently, when that one little nerve in your face rebels, he takes most all of the others on his side with him, usually for a short while, and they cause a riot on one side of your face.
The funny thing about all of this is that no one has pinned down a cause, common duration, or cure for this TRB. They all have guesses, but nothing has been proven to work in everybody, just some things work for some people. How did it happen? I don’t know. Why did it happen? Because something great is getting ready to happen and the advesary is getting nervous. My diagnosis is that this is the DLS (Devil’s Last Stand) and he’s pulled out all the punches. Does it stop me, nope. Just like a roadblock, I’m still sitting in the car and waiting for things to be cleared, then I’m punching the gas pedal once again. He just doesn’t realize that I’ve got tons of time now to be thinking about how great our God really is and how much he really cares for us. You see, he created this body that I’m currently occupying, and he created it pretty impressively. For instance, did you know that you blink 5-7 times a minute? I didn’t, it’s a reflex. Something we don’t think about, we just do.
So when you get a case of TRB, sit back and think about how awesome God is. Sit in the car, turn up the tunes, and get alone with our Creator. Pretty soon we’ll all be back on the road together, with the gas pedal floored. What did I get for Christmas? A chance to see how much my God really cares for me. What’d you get?
Worship is Life 