Christian Walk – Page 5

June 13, 2014

Relationship Books: To-Read List

In lieu of a book review this week, I’d like to share my list of relationship books I hope to read in the future. I had planned to ask my brother to review a book for the guys this week, but he’s been so busy I didn’t even bother to bring it up. Besides that, this blog is home to lots of recommendations drawn from my last six years of reading. I’ve also done plenty of “real time” reviews of books as I read them. But I’ve never shared which books I plan or hope to read. So, since this month’s theme is relationship non-fiction, here are four books from that category that I hope to read.

Growing Up Duggar: According to an interview the Duggar girls did, this book is “all about relationships.” Not just romantic ones. As a long standing Duggar fan, just knowing the older girls wrote a book was enough to make me want to read it. It just happens to be about relationships, which makes it a perfect fit for this list. I know a lot of people panic when they hear how many children the Duggars have (19 if you didn’t know), but I love it! Can’t wait to see what the girls have to say in this book.

I Kissed Dating Goodbye: I’ve been borrowing this book from a friend for far too long, so it should probably be the first book on this list that I read. Having heard Mr. Harris (the author’s father) speak at a homeschool conference and loving Do Hard Things (written by the author’s brothers), putting this on my to-read list was a logical course of action. I read Boy Meets Girl a while ago, and it didn’t really keep my attention well. Friends of mine love both books, so I’m curious to see what I’ll think of this one.

Redefining Beautiful:I don’t really know much about this one. I found it at a used curriculum sale hosted by our state homeschool association. It looked pretty good (and it wasn’t very expensive), so I grabbed it. From what I can tell, this one only sort-of-kind-of fits this category. From the back cover, “Jenna reveals a foundational beauty secret: a father’s love. And whether a girl comes from a home with a devoted father, a home where that is only a dream, Jenna brings hope as she helps girls discover that they already have the perfect dad.”

When Sinners Say “I Do”: This is a grab from last year’s used curriculum sale. Same story as with Redefining Beautiful, only I’d noticed this book several times in the CBD catalog. According to the back cover, “When Sinners Say ‘I Do’ is about encountering the life-transforming power of the gospel in the unpredictable journey of marriage.

Which of these books most interests you? Have you read any of them? Do you have a recommendation for which you think I should read first or will enjoy most?

While you’re here, don’t forget to take a moment and help me name a character in my next book. If you cast a vote, be sure to leave a comment saying which name you picked. I’m trying to come up with a fun surprise for the people who participate.

June 7, 2014

Book Review: Set-Apart Femininity

Just as lasting and fulfilling romance is not found in the place that most of us search for it, neither is feminine beauty found in the place that most of us seek it.

Set-Apart Femininity could just as easily be titled “Counter-cultural Femininity”. As Mrs. Ludy mentions in this book, today’s culture tends to mock “all things pure, innocent, and uncorrupted.” Some girls, like me, haven’t had to face the full force of this moral decay yet, but someday we will. And many, many more already have. I’ll never forget the day I struggled to define modesty to a girl on my swim team because she honestly didn’t know what I was talking about. Yet even while our culture scorns and degrades purity, God continues to value it. And we, as Christians, should too. This book is a call to honor and pursue God’s standards rather than allowing ourselves to be dragged down by the world’s.

Because this book written to encourage young women caught in the middle of negative pressures, the writing is occasionally more graphic than I needed it to be. For this reason, I don’t recommend this book for younger girls to automatically pick up and read. For younger readers (tweens and young teens), have mom read it first. If you’re looking for something that doesn’t bring up all the junk in order to help you dig your way out of it, I’d highly recommend Before You Meet Prince Charming.) For older readers, this book definitely contributed to shaping the way I think of femininity. The concepts presented have helped me feel confident in my position when people have questioned my beliefs on the subject. I wish more girls would take this message to heart.

Have you faced challenges or mocking as a young woman seeking to live in purity before God? In what ways do you think Christians, especially Christian girls, should be different from cultural standards?

May 30, 2014May 30, 2014

Book Review: Created to be a Help Meet

Wow. No book review last Friday and I totally forgot about the Guess a Quote this week. Blame it on Memorial Day. Actually, you may have to excuse me if I go absent without leave once in a while over the next month or so. My mom has been diagnosed with breast cancer (she said she was okay with me sharing that with you guys) so we’ve been in a flurry of doctor’s visits and phone calls. In addition, my brother graduates from high school today, and he and I are preparing for a missions trip in July. So prayers and grace on skipped posts would be appreciated. And if any of you would be willing to write some book reviews for me, that would be lovely. Thanks so much!

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I remember seeing my mom reading Created to be a Help Meet when I was younger. At that time I’m sure I lumped it in with all the other excitements and ideas my parents brought back from homeschool conferences. When I got a little older, though, she produced this book for me. After she pre-read it, she decided it would be best for us to work through together at first. I loved (okay, I still do love on occasion) keeping my poor, early morning mom up late at night with incessant deep questions. If she was offering to read a book with me at nighttime, I was all for it! Preparing to be a Help Meet really grew me in a lot of ways. A meek and quiet spirit does not, unfortunately, come naturally to me. This book helped me to think about and desire to someday be a good help-meet. This book and several others I read around the same time gave me an understanding and respect for not simply being satisfied with who I was at the time. We human being are works in progress. Our tendency is to say things like, “Oh, well, that’s just the way I am.” But a lot of times the way we are is not necessarily the way God wants us to be. This book was one of the ones that made me realize that it’s never too soon to cooperate with God as he works on molding us into the people we will one day be.

I will say that mom and I read it together because she knew some of the content might concern me. For example, author Debbie Pearl and her husband got married just eight days after their engagement. Mom wanted to be able to gauge my reaction and make sure I knew she didn’t think that was necessarily the best way to go about things!

Have any of you read this book? What did you think? What points did you agree/disagree on?

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If time allows, I think I’m going to try to do a theme on “Marriage Prep” books. I’m not sure that’s really the right term for them, but you probably know what I mean. I may even try to rope my brother into doing one or two for the guys in the audience.

Also, what did you think of this review? My normal style is a lost more factual and less personal. This week I read a post on writing creative book reviews that encouraged bloggers to incorporate personal stories in their reviews and let people read the synopsis on Amazon if they’re interested. Which style do you prefer?

May 9, 2014

Book Review: This Present Darkness

I forgot to mention this last week, but this month’s theme is spiritual warfare. Talk about an intense genre! Today’s review comes complements of my brother. I wanted to include This Present Darkness, but didn’t have time to read it. Thankfully he did, and he was willing to review it. Enjoy!

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A small town pastor attempts to hold a struggling church together while the town’s newspaper man tries to figure out mysterious happenings at the local college. Both men are unaware of the supernatural battle taking place in their families and neighborhoods. Tal, a mighty angel captain, struggles to get the Christians to provide the prayer cover he needs to do his work as he battles an ancient foe. Can the newspaper man and pastor hold the town together and can Tal defeat his demonic counterpart?

Peretti’s book is fascinating and exciting from the first pages. He makes the spiritual battle seem real, and it makes you think of just how little we really can see and understand of what is happening around us, and how effective prayer is. This is definitely a very intense book that is probably best for readers over age fourteen.

April 19, 2014April 19, 2014

Visit the Grave (an Easter poem)

The story of Mary Magdalene visiting the tomb of Jesus early on the morning of His resurrection has always intrigued me. Of all the people involved in the discovery of his empty tomb and victory over death, Mary Magdalene stands out. Jesus had impacted her life in such a huge way, casting seven devils out of her (Mark 16:9). He had given her hope. How she must have grieved his death. She must have questioned everything, searching for something to cling to. And yet something drew her back to his grave. She couldn’t even wait till dawn. She went to the tomb while it was still dark (John 20:1) and was the very first person Jesus revealed himself to. I wrote this poem about her several months ago but saved it to share now. I figure you all will have more time to read it today, though, so hear you are. 😉 And while you’re at it, you might want to read Dawn for My Soul, last year’s Easter poem (also written from Mary Magdalene’s perspective).

How can I ever sleep again?
My hope, my light, my Lord is dead.
My cheeks are wet, my words unsaid,
I cannot stay upon this bed.

Oh how I miss Him, gone three days,
Without Him life is but a haze.
My purpose buried in His grave,
His presence now is all I crave.

The darkness heavy on this morn,
It matches well my soul forlorn.
While others sleep I slip away,
My vigil keeping where He lays.

My soul, oh, must you break again?
My journey to his grave in vain.
The stone rolled back, my Savior gone.
They took Him by the break of dawn.

The others come and see this thing,
We mourn together our lost King.
The others leave, but still I stay,
I look into his burial cave.

The empty grave now fills with light,
Two angels stand before my sight.
They ask me why I shed these tears,
I tell them He’s no longer here.

And then the gardener speaks my name
My heart will never be the same.
My ears can hear, my heart now knows,
That Jesus vanquished all his foes!

My hope, my light, my Lord is back,
My heart no more shall ever lack.
My Christ arose, and so shall I,
Be ever with Him in the sky.

December 4, 2013

Let Us Follow

In this lukewarm world below,
In Thy footsteps steadfast go.
Give us grace to know Thy will.
Of Thy peace to drink our fill.

Give us minds that seek to know,
How You lead to fight the foe.
Steadfast walking on the path,
Drawing others from the wrath.

Fill our weakness with Thy might,
Never tire from the fight.
Chase the shadows with Thy light.
Keep us on the way that’s right.

November 15, 2013November 22, 2013

Book Review: Orphan Justice

There are no easy answers except to walk away. But we dare not, because Jesus Himself said, “Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven (Matt 19:14).”

Lots of people know about adoption and are at least aware of the fact that our world is home to tens of millions of orphans. The number of people acquainted with the social, moral, and political problems creating orphans is much smaller. This book seeks to solve that. However, it’s much more than a methodical fact book about these issues. It delves to the heart of problems like sex slavery, HIV/AIDS, abortion, poverty, foster care, and more. It’s heart wrenching, challenging, and thought provoking.

I grabbed this book for my kindle because I needed to read some more orphan care related books to fill up the slots for this months book review theme. I have to admit, I’m one of those people who often judges a book by its cover, and I didn’t find this cover too impressive. However, it was either free or 99 cents so why not. (It was on sale, it’s $9.99 for kindle now.) I’m so glad I read it. The second chapter dealt with human trafficking and had me sliding out of my bed at midnight to kneel and pray for these girls. If you’re a young teen I would recommend running it by your parents before you read this. If you’re an adult or older teen, though, just go get it. It’s a book that will shake you and challenge you in a good way.

Did your church do anything for Orphan Sunday on the third? Do you have plans to do anything for National Adoption Awareness Month?

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my new blog over at Teens Interceding for Orphans.

September 25, 2013September 25, 2013

Silenced Voices

Tiny footprints travel time,
Leaving spattered blood a sign,
Of potential crushed before,
Little feet could touch the floor.

Little ears will never hear,
Parents tell them they are dear.
People swallow all the lies.
Say these babies aren’t alive.

Tiny hands can touch the heart,
Asking people do their part,
Begging that the war be fought,
Truth of human life be taught.

Little eyes will never see,
For the world won’t pay the fee,
Sacrifice themselves for these,
Little ones who have a need.

Little lives have been snuffed out,
Silenced voices raise the shout,
Asking no more lives be torn,
Let these little lives be born.