"This Scarlet Cord" by Joan Wolf

Here is the book description: Within one of the Old Testament’s most famous battles lies one of its most tender love stories.

Hidden within the battle of Jericho is the story of Rahab, a beautiful and brave young Canaanite woman who aided the Israelites by hanging a piece of scarlet cord from a window. This act of faith changed her life by placing her in the genealogy of Christ.

Rahab is the beautiful youngest daughter of a Canaanite farmer, taken to Jericho for the pagan New Year celebration so that her father can find her a wealthy spouse. Sala is the only son of an Israelite merchant, in Jericho as a spy for Joshua’s army. Their love would have been destined for heartache, were it not ordained by God.

When Rahab finds favor with the king, and is to become his ritual bride, she abandons the pagan gods who have abandoned her and pleads with the One True God of the Israelites for deliverance. With her prayer answered, she vows to deliver Jericho to Joshua, risking her life to do so.

Motivated by love and empowered by a new faith, Rahab saves her family, and secures her future as one of the most important women in the Bible.

"This Scarlet Cord" by Joan Wolf is a beautiful book that I think would be a good book for just about anyone to read. This book itself is in the format of more of a love story perspective on the story of Rahab and the Battle of Jericho. What really drew me into this book is that the book is mainly done within the perspective of Rahab herself, allowing us to get a clearer picture of her personality and what it looks like to be a true Woman of God today. Though the story is fiction, it placed a desire in my heart to not only learn more about Rahab, but to desire to be more like her in my personal walk with God. There were times in this book that I could really relate to Rahab and the fear that she experienced at different points in this story. But I loved watching her learn more about God and grow to trust him more.  For me, this book was a great reminder of God's love for me regardless of my past mistakes. I hope that when you read this book you will not only take from it the beautiful fictional story of Rahab, but that you will also take with it a better understanding of God's never ending love for you and his desire to draw you closer to him. I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars, it's a really well written book that I would read again if given the chance. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-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.”

"The Searchers" by Joseph Loconte

Here is the book description:


Never before had they known such hope.

In a world drenched in violence and oppression, here was a man armed with a message of peace and freedom. Into lives nearly overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, he brought compassion and healing and the deepest joy. To people who felt like outcasts and aliens, he showed the way home. And then, in one devastating night, all their hopes collapsed.

This is where our story begins—in the valley of despair. It is a tale of two friends, a stranger, and a search for truth in a world gone mad with doubt.

Historian Joseph Loconte unlocks the meaning of their exchange, set in the chaotic days following the execution of Jesus of Nazareth. Drawing from literature, film, philosophy, history, and politics, Loconte shows how this biblical drama is an integral part of our own story.

Sooner or later, we will find ourselves among the searchers.

This is going to be one of those books that is just really hard to review. I guess I should start off with saying that I do not recommend this book to anyone under the age of 20 as it can be a very difficult book to understand based on the way it is written. For me personally, this book discussed different things all while trying to tie them back to the encounter between Jesus and the two young men that were with him on the road to Emmaus. I think this book contained a lot of guess work. It has a lot of opinions in it of what might have happened or what might have been thought by the different men there that day and I think the book should have been a lot more factual. There were lots of things that were said in this book that I personally didn't agree with and they didn't match up with my views on God and the Bible. This book also tried connecting a lot of Biblical references to a lot of things that are related to today's world. Normally, this would be fine and even encouraged, but I found myself having to re read different sections and try to figure out how something related to "Where the Wild Things Are" has anything to do with scripture. Honestly, I wasn't even able to read through half this book. It was hard to understand from the beginning and the parts that I did fully understand, I didn't agree with the viewpoint. I'd encourage you guys to pick up this book and explore for yourself, but I'm going to have to go ahead and rate this book 1 out of 5 stars. It was not at all what I was expecting and I was rather disappointed in this book. 

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.”

"Don't Check Your Brains at the Door" by Josh McDowell & Bob Hostetler

“Seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30—both evangelical and mainline—who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23, according to the survey by LifeWay Research.” (USA Today)

Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door gives teens answers that make sense, even for the toughest of questions. Internationally known defender of the faith Josh McDowell and co-author Bob Hostetler offer clarity laced with humor to expose common myths about God, the Bible, religion, and life to show how Christianity stands up to the test of fact and reason. Teens will be better equipped to stick with their faith as they begin to understand why they believe and why it’s important to make a lifetime commitment to Christ and the church.

The book, "Don't Check Your Brains at the Door" was a book that was created with teens in mind. These days, so many teenagers have a lot of different questions when it comes to God, religion, and who created what. This book was created to try and target those teens with questions, and get those questions answered in a very fun and biblical way. The book is broken up into bite-size chapters that cover topics such as: Myths about God, Myths about Jesus, Myths about the Bible, Myths about the Resurrection, Myths about Religion and Christianity, and Myths about Life and Happiness. For me personally though, this book was really hard to read through from cover to cover. I would say that if you have a lot of questions, pick up this book at the library and scan through to the sections that you may be wondering about. But I think when this book really comes down to it, it would not really be worth buying. It has good intentions, but I found myself getting annoyed with the layout and just wanting to set the book down. Overall, I would give this book a 3 out of 5 though, because the book was informative, just needed a different way of presenting the information covered. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook 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.”

Healing Hearts by Beth Wiseman

"Healing Hearts" by Beth Wiseman is a beautiful collection of three novellas all wrapped together in one beautiful book. Beth has such a unique storytelling ability that will capture you into each book and make you feel the pain and happiness of each of the characters. While each and every book is different, every one of them carry the themes of love, forgiveness, hope and learning to trust again. If you have ever liked and read Amish fiction, then I can guarentee you will love this book! Beth is one of the best Amish storytellers that I have seen in a long time. :) Here are the discriptions of each of the stories you will find within this book.

""A Choice to Forgive" Lydia has loved two men in her life. Daniel, who disappeared one Christmas Eve long ago, leaving only a note saying he wanted to live in the Englisch world. And Elam, Daniel's brother, to whom she had been happily married for 15 years. When Elam dies, Lydia gives up on ever loving again. But she is shocked when Daniel wants to return to the Order and her life."'

'"A Change of Heart" Leah is a writer in a community that does not encourage such fruitless endeavors. She lacks the skills necessary to be a good Amish fraa. Aaron knows these things about Leah, but his heart is captured by this spirited young woman."'

'"Healing Hearts" Levina Lapp and her husband Naaman are alone for the first time in 30 years. When Naaman left to visit cousins in Ohio, Levina wasn't expecting him to be gone a year. Now that he's back, will they be able to move beyond this estrangement and fall in love again?"'

Out of these three stories, and I loved each and every one of them, I found I was really able to personally identify with the last two stories. The first one, because I love to write. The second one, because I have people that I know I need to learn to forgive. I think that these books are written in such a way that they will be used to show you areas that you personally need to work on in your life. These books will bring you closer to God if you let them, and are overall just three great Amish fictional books that I recommend to any fiction reader! :)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-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.”

God's Love Letters to You: A 40 Day Devotional Experience by Dr. Larry Crabb

"God's Love Letters to You: A 40 Day Devotional Experience" is really an amazing book. A lot of times we really struggle to hear God's voice. Sometimes we just don't seem to hear from Him at all, and we don't know where to turn. When that happens, we should turn to Him, not away from Him. This book is really a great reminder of that. Every devotional is written like a letter, from God, directly to us. You are going to get more out of some devotionals then you do others, because it depends on what part of your life you are currently in at the moment. But I can tell you, if you read this book, you will get one really big message: God loves you!

The actual layout and look and feel of the book is really great as well! The front cover looks old fashioned, similar to an old letter or postcard of some kind. There is even a cool stamp on the cover, that makes it seem even more letter like. The book itself is tiny, but it continues so many amazing messages.

Every devotional contains these special parts:

• a selected Scripture reading
• a short devotional message(or letter from God)
• reflection questions
• a closing prayer

The actual devotional itself is written in a personal, letter like format that is sure to feel personal and in depth. God really speaks to you through these letters, because he allows you to get out of these letters what he wants you to. It really is a beautiful thing. Some devotions, or letters, will not speak to you at all in this point in your life, and others will make you cry.  But for me, this book has been an amazing experience to get closer with God, learn more about him and realize just how much he truly loves me.

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.”

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.”

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.”

Beyond All Measure - Dorthy Love

The book, "Beyond All Measure" by Dorthy Love has been an amazing read. You quickly learn to love Ada, who has been beaten up by life itself. She must learn to put her faith and trust in God as she moves to another state after suffering a broken engagement. There she has to deal with a difficult woman whom she has been instructed to take care of, her handsome son, and others through the town who are unsure of her presence. Over time she has to decide if she is going to put her faith and trust in God, or never find true happiness because of all of her fears.

Personally, I loved this novel. It was sweet and romantic and I loved watching how Ada learned to love and trust despite how many times she had been hurt in her past. Instead of turning bitter to the people who she had been hurt be, she eventually learns to forgive and move on with her life and her future. What really made me fall in love with this book the most was the fact that she did not allow her past experiences stop her from having a future. This book allowed me to enjoy a beautiful romance novel while also challenging my faith. It challenged me to forgive people of my past and look to my future. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good fiction read! You won't be disappointed!

I received this eBook for 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.