Killing Lions by John and Sam Eldredge

*I received this complimentary copy from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.

This is a must read book for any young man just high-school onward. It is a dialogue of two men in different stages of life trying to ascertain what it is to be a man.

From trials that they face to finding identity as a man, the Eldredges dive into problems that many young men face. As they explore these problems they do so with candor, fears, determination, and humility.

What this book is not is some psychological work on why we respond as we do. Rather it is a desire to know what causes to rise above, dig deep, and conquer our world. Why has God placed in men this desire? 
While the answer may be simple in stating it takes a lifetime to master with God’s help.

I really appreciated the honest desire to not accept anything but really wrestle with questions and doubts. It is this desire to know deeply because of working out issues that I really resonated with and appreciated.

The Dawning of Indestructible Joy by Dr. John Piper

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crossway in exchange for my honest review.

This little book was written to draw the reader closer to, and understand more, what all Christ did when He came to earth as a human. Dr. Piper's wonderful language and imagery really impresses the reader on the full weight of what was happening on the very first Christmas.

Dr. Piper also desires that the reader experience the fullness of Christ; who He is, what He is, and His love for us. 

The One Year Hearing His Voice Devotional by Chris Teigreen

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for my honest review.

This devotional, while simple in its format, does well to make the reader think. With a Scripture first, followed by a devotional, and then a challenge, this book aims to get the reader to understand what hearing the voice of God is.

Once this foundation is laid, the next step is how to go about hearing the voice of God. Surprisingly, this is not difficult in word buy can be difficult in actin. Why? Tiegreen points out that many believe God no longer speaks to us through His Spirit. It is these readers that Tiegreen aims to address.

I found this devotional easy to read but challenging. It would be a great resource for anyone desiring to have a deeper relationship with God.

Yawning at Tigers by Drew Dyck

(I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review)

I finished this book last night and all I can say is: WOW!.

Many people have tried to make sense of God, or at least what sense we can make of God. We do our best to understand why things happen, what God's purpose is in all of it, and what God wants from us in reply.

This is not bad but there can be a degrading of the power and majesty of God. Why? We CANNOT understand Him. It is impossible to understand Him.

Sadly many have tried to make God out as something He is not. The title of this book comes from an event that the author, Drew Dyck, experienced while at a zoo.

Upon entering the big cats exhibit, Dyck and his family were trying to locate the tigers. Realizing that there was a observation window down the way, Dyck and his family walked down the path and found the tigers: a few feet away.

Nothing but a piece of thick plastic was all that separated his family from these powerful creatures. As they viewed this amazing creatures, a few teenagers came down the path. Seeing the tigers, they tried to get their attention but the tigers were not interested. At point they tried to make some noise to attract the tigers attention which seemed to annoy the animals. Eventually a "this is boring" tone came over the group and they left.

Dyck uses this as an illustration of how Christians have a powerful God but because of our improper view of Him (the plastic guard) we are not as respectful and awestruck by Him as we should be. The tiger appears tame and we yawn out of boredom.

In reality, when God revealed part of Himself, men were powerless and often fell and/or terrified. This is the tiger without the glass. We would not yawn at a tiger if he were to get out of his cage.

We need to reclaim our healthy respect for God and the message of this book is just that. A great book and I HIGHLY recommend getting a copy and using the study guide in the back for a small group session. It will be well worth it.

NIV Once-a-Day Bible for Leaders

(I received this Bible in exchange for my honest review from Booklook Bloggers)

This Bible is quite simple; Scripture and a thought. Each day has been divided so that the entire Bible is read in a year and each day ends with a challenge to leaders.

What is nice about this is no distractions. There are no study notes, columnar references, or dictionary helps. It is simply a Bible for a leader to read and then reflect/be challenged to be a better leader.

The Bible is built around simplicity even in its font size. It is a great font size that makes it easy to read. The different passages are clearly marked and the challenge at the end is distinguishable from the Scriptural text. Thus this Bible serves its intent well.

Created for Influence by William L. Ford III

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review from Chosen Books.

In this expanded edition, Mr. Ford points out that prayer has the ability to change, not only the one praying, but the world. By showing through example of those who prayed for change had their prayers answered, Mr. Ford believes that such change is possible today.

The book goes into the power that is available to all Christians by praying to Almighty God for change and then to be ready when called to be a part of that change. Christians are to be influential and that starts with communion with God.  From there, the culture will be transformed.

Speak by Nish Weisth

Everyone has a story. From where your birth took place, to how you were raised, your education and employment and much more. Your story is your life and Nish Weiseth wants you to tell your story to change the world.

In her book Speak, Weiseth gives stories of people who changed their communities, schools, churches, and more by simply using their story to connect with others. In addition, by understanding someone's story a person should be better equipped on understanding who that person is and why he/she acts the way he/she does.

I really enjoyed this book as it challenged me to see people's story before pronouncing judgment. Not only that but it also challenged me to build my life's story so that it will change others for the positive.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for this review. 

Overwhelmed by Perry Noble

Overwhelmed. It is a feeling that many with worry have. We worry because of all the things that could go wrong. We are overwhelmed by many of the things we have in our lives. Exhaustion leads to burn out which can lead to despair.

In his book Overwhelmed, Perry Noble writes about how weak we as humans are. We have this idea that we can do it all and are superhuman. Nothing is too difficult and when it seems to the contrary we try harder believe we can overcome. Instead what typically happens is being overwhelmed.

Enter God. God is bigger than our problems, fears, and worries. However, it is a sad, but true statement, that when we are stressed we often forget to spend time with God. We forget the God who is bigger than everything.

Perry Noble points out that our troubles start with the absence of God is our lives. We then struggle with more and more because we do not take things to God. We forget the source of our strength and thus become overwhelmed. Noble points out that we must let go of control and let God control the situation. This must be based on trust.

However, we trust not because we fear what might happen. We also have such a frantic pace in life that we do not have time to even get to know the God that we desperately need to trust. We also fear being disappointed as though God will somehow let us down.

Yet Noble shows again and again that God is faithful and will do what is right. We must align ourselves with Him and He will work all things together for good, including giving strength when feelings of being overwhelmed are present.

A Call to Resurgence by Mark Driscoll

 Is American Christianity becoming a thing of the past? Is there a future for it?

Mark Driscoll address these questions and others in his book, A Call to Resurgence. In his book, Driscoll starts off with the challenges that face modern day, American Christianity and how the church arrived in this position.

He then goes into how churchs are going the way of tribes; holding on to beliefs, having chiefs, and fighting for their land. While some of this is not bad, when the fighting becomes nasty with verbal, and printed word, attacks the world shakes its head and becomes disinterested.

For example: one church may say that drums are okay and another say they are distracting. The outside world could care less and seeing churches fight over this trivial matter (I say trivial because sinner dying and going to hell do not have the same weight as use, or non-use, of percussion instruments) deters them form attending a church.

It is this type of combat that Driscoll is opposed to and wishes were not the case. However, there are some truths that must be fought over and not dismissed. Driscoll argues passionately that many in the church have let go of truth and it has caused great judgment and suffering.

From there, Driscoll goes into some church history and various beliefs within certain denominations. I found this section to be quite interesting as denominations arose because of certain understanding and interpretation of passages. While Driscoll does his best, even he admits that not everyone denomination holds to all the same tenets but as a whole most denominations stay close to certain beliefs.

The whole point of all this is to show that while we have differences, the church must continue to reach the lost and quick bickering among its various expressions. Once the whole world has heard, then we can debate some finer points but not before that. We need a resurgence of vibrant, active, and bold Christians to stand up for what they believe; standing up for truth. That is the heartbeat of this book and it is heard loud and clear.

The Good News About Marriage by Shaunti Feldhahn

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Divorce rate is at 50%. Christians and non-Christians have the same divorce rate. Marriage is barely surviving as couples are not happy.

Most likely you have heard these statements or something similar. Guess what? Shaunti Feldhahn, in her book The Good News About Marriage, has debunked these statements.

By using current research, as well as analyzing previous data, Feldhahn points out that much of the information in the marriage arena is based on conjecture and forecasting; some from 20+ years ago.

That's right. It is not based on fact but on projections and forecasting of the researcher.

The good news. Divorce is closer to 20%, married couples are happier than previously thought, and divorced couples who remarry have about a 30% divorce rate.

Shaunti Feldhahn has done it again. Get this book and see for yourself.