Its Not About Me: Rescue From The Life We Thought Would Make Us Happy by Max Lucado

The book, "Its Not About Me" by Max Lucado is best explained as a wake up call. A much needed wake up call, at that. The world these days is so self centered. We seem to have this idea that unless we are getting all the glory, things are not going as planned. Often times, we decide life is going terrible if it is not revolving around us. But have you really stopped to think who life really is all about? It's not about us, its about God. This book provides the shocking revelation that explains that everything in life is all for one purpose: God's Glory, not ours.

In my opinion, this book is a must read for every Christian. Max writes in a simple way that easily captures your heart and mind. Instead of this book being frustrating and hard to read, it provides an easy to read book with a powerful message. I'll admit it, the first few chapters were difficult to read. Why? It was so hard to accept that everything going on in my life, and my existence in general was all for God's glory and not mine. I think as humans we all find it really hard to accept the simple fact that it really is not all about us. But the more and more you read into this book you realize the powerful message that you don't really want it to be all about you, because that would end in disaster. In reality, we really want Him to take control. Luckily, he is willing, we just need to hand him the reins of life. I loved how Max used relative examples to today and different things we struggle with in life. It gave powerful examples to this amazing book. I would give this book 5 stars for sure. This book is a must for your bookshelf!

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.”

You Are Not Your Own: Living Loud for God by Jason Perry of Plus One

The book "You Are Not Your Own: Living Loud for God" is a really awesome book for teenagers to read. The book was written back in 2002 by Jason Perry. At the time he wrote it, he was in a popular Christian boy band called Plus One. You might be sitting here thinking, "Okay... so this book is out dated. Why would I want to read it?" Good question. And I have a good answer for you. :)

 When you first pick up the book, I'll admit, it really does look a little outdated. By quite a few years actually. But the messages that are inside this book actually go way beyond how many years are in between then and now. Have you ever felt like your spiritual life was dull and boring? Or maybe you just feel like the Christian who goes to church on Sundays and acts like everything is fine and you have an amazing relationship with God, only to be partying on the weekends. (Although I doubt any of you do, its an example.) If any of those things explain you, then you need to read this book. But even if those few examples don't strike you, you need to read the book anyway. Why? Because this book will change your life. In short, this book gives you an awesome guideline on how to give your spiritual walk a nice re-charge! When you finish reading this book you will feel excited and ready to go spread the word of Christ to other Christians. There is a place to contact Jason in the back of the book, but because Plus One is no longer together, the site is down and I would assume the email is as well. But if you read this book and want to share with me how this book made an impact on your life, feel free to comment below and let me know. It would be awesome to hear from you! You might be feeling like I have not talked enough about the contents of this book. The reason is simply because I want you to experience this book for yourself. This book goes on the must read list for sure! :)

The Waiting Place by Eileen Button

The Waiting Place by Eileen Button is the perfect book for anyone who feels like they are stuck in the waiting place. What is the waiting place, you might ask? As humans, we are always waiting for something. We wait to grow up, get out of line, graduate from high school, go to college, get married, have kids, and we even wait to die. We are always waiting for something in life and can sometimes feel like we are stuck in this place that we can't get out of. We always try as hard as we can to get out of the waiting place. But sometimes, we just have to learn to live through the waiting place and trust God.

I have always struggled with waiting for things. Sometimes I can even go so far as to not want to do anything else in live until that one thing I am waiting for, happens. This book really helped me to realize that when we are stuck in this waiting place in life, instead of just shutting down and not wanting to do anything else in life, we should stand up, trust God, and move through the waiting place with someone who will never let us go. If I had to rate this book on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, I would rate this book a 4. The only reason why it would not get a 5 is because the author is an adult who is married and has kids. She goes back in time to her earlier years in the book, but you will get the most out of this book if you are married with kids. But no matter how old you are, you are bound to get something from this book. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with waiting in life.

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.”

Paperdoll by Natalie Lloyd

The book Paperdoll by Natalie Lloyd is an amazing book for digging deeper with Christ. Have you ever gone to the mall and see the posters everywhere that scream, "If you get these pants, or that dress, you'll get this guy!"? Or maybe you sit down to watch Tv and all you can see is the really hot models that are trying to sell weight loss pills. Everywhere around us the world is trying to suck us in and cause us to be like them. We want the best clothing brands or the neatest hair style. Sometimes we want the guy. We think that if this guy falls in love with us, life will be perfect. In reality, we all want Jesus.

Personally, this book has really allowed me to grow in my walk with Christ. Natalie writes in such a way that is really easy to relate to and is a lot of fun. The way the book is written, it is easy to imagine sitting there with Natalie in a coffee shop and talking like good friends. There were many times while reading this book, that I would start a chapter and watch as God stopped me. It was as if God was letting me know that I was not quite ready to read that chapter yet. In so many ways this book brought me closer to Christ, cause me to see where my real beauty lies, genuinely love other people, and see what happens when an ordinary girl meets an extraordinary God.

In conclusion, I would strongly recommend this book to every teenage girl out there. It will stretch you, grow you, and cause you to get closer to God. But most of all it will teach you so much. You will maybe cry, laugh and sing for joy as you read through the beautiful pages of this book. But one thing I can assure you of, you will learn where your true beauty lies. Have fun reading!