Monday, February 21, 2011

Desiring God, Revised Edition

John Piper is an author whom my husband and I both greatly respect. We have read several of his books, which all were very insightful and contained much wisdom, and have had on our "to read list" Desiring God. I was excited to discover that he had a new revised edition of this book and couldn't wait to read it.
This revised edition of Desiring God gives readers insight to Christian motivation. We as Christians are to find our full satisfaction in Christ alone, but often we loose sight of the joy and happiness when we focus on our duty as Christians rather than our delight in God. Piper states that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."
I would encourage all Christians to read this book so that our focus is not on doing for Christ, but rather enjoying Christ. The former will follow if we live out the latter.
Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

God Gave Us So Much!

God Gave Us So Much: A Limited-Edition Three-Book Treasury

God gave us so much is a children's book compiled of three different stories: God gave us the world, God gave us love, and God gave us heaven.
In each of these stories, a little cub asks questions in order to discover more about who God is.
I really, really enjoyed this book. The pictures are so, so sweet, and with having a newborn, I can't wait to use this with her! I would highly recommend adding this book to your library collection!
I received this book from Blogging for Books!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

90 Days of God's Goodness

90 Days of God's Goodness

I have always enjoy reading material from Randy Alcorn. His new book “90 days of God’s Goodness is another excellent book to add to your collection.

This hardback book focuses on the Goodness of God for 90 days. The premise of this book is how to find comfort in truth while suffering well. Each day has a specific theme and is begun by focusing on at least one section from scripture (both the New and Old Testament are equally used), although there are several days that incorporate two different verses. Randy Alcorn then goes on to explain the verse into more detail and how we may apply these principals to our lives. Each day is then ended with a prayer.

I personally believe that this would be an excellent gift book and resource for someone who is grieving at a time in their life. It truly does focus on “shining light in personal darkness.” Whether suffering the loss of a family member or friend, going through an unwanted divorce, or just dealing with the valley’s of life, I highly recommend this book. It will help take the focus off of the temporary but replacing it with eternity.

I received this book from Waterbook Press!

Fasting

Fasting: The Ancient Practices (Ancient Practices Series)

Fasting by Scot Mcknight takes a look at how today’s Christians have grown to seemingly ignore the spiritual discipline of fasting, and why we need to seriously consider practicing it again. He also argues that most Christians have a unbiblical definition of fasting (doing it as a way to get something), and he proves, through scripture, that an accurate definition of a fasting is: Fasting is the natural, inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment in life.

This book really challenged me personally, as I am one of the many Christians who don’t fast. Reading this has helped me realize some of my own sin, and helped me gain a more biblical mindset towards fasting. In addition, this book really helped open my eyes to just how integral fasting has always been to the life of a Christian – throughout history. People like John Calvin and John Wesley, and other Godly men, are quoted in this book to help us see the traditional view of fasting that modern Christians have lost.

This is a great book for anyone seeking to grow in the spiritual discipline of fasting. It’s easy to read and very thought provoking.

This book was given to me by booksneeze.com!