Book Review: To Thine Be the Glory by Angela D. Martin

Although this is interesting as a memoir, it needs a solid editing.
To Thine Be the Glory
by Angela D. Martin

File Size: 141 KB
Print Length: 50 pages
Publisher: AuthorHouse UK (April 17, 2018)
ASIN: B07D5T5G25
Genre: Christian, Memoir, Religion
My Rating: 3.5 of 5.0

This is a book that outlines the testimony of the authors life and how she officially came to faith and realized that there was a call of God on her life.

Review:
This is an interesting sharing of the author’s introduction to God during her childhood and her mature choice as an adult to recognize the call of God in her life and to seek a closer relationship with Him. I give the author kudos for sharing her personal journey through life's struggles and mistakes.

I would love to give this a higher rating as the content is meaningful to me. However, although the situations are interesting, the telling is terribly disjointed. English may be a secondary language for the author but, more importantly, the work is in desperate need of editing. The events do not appear sequentially which adds to the incohesive and awkward nature of the reading. I did read from a proof version, but I wouldn’t expect even a proof to have the extent of editing errors. I think with solid, proper editing this would make an appropriate memoir of a faith journey.

Source: Review Request from PublishingPush. This qualifies for 2018 Alphabet Challenge.

#NetGalley Book Review: The Rancher's Gift by Dennis Worden and Jeff Dunn

This is a well written story presenting solid life lessons.

The Rancher's Gift: A Modern Day Parable

of Living a Life on Purpose

by Dennis Worden (Author), Jeff Dunn (Author)

File Size: 4668 KB
Print Length: 95 pages
Publisher: BroadStreet Publishing Group LLC (May 15, 2018)
ASIN: B079WDL1H2
Genre: Christian, Inspirational, Religion
My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0

We are not promised more than today.
Thus we need to live our legacy now, with focus and integrity.
Ryan Westcott is ready to step into the family business, armed with a fresh MBA degree from a prestigious business school. Yet his father has other ideas. He feels Ryan needs more education—but not the kind one gets from a school. Ryan is sent to his uncle’s Montana ranch to learn, in short, how to be a man.
While Ryan helps his uncle build a barn, he learns life lessons about health, work, finances, education, selfessness, humility, and most important of all, love.
Ryan meets the richest man in the county, only to find riches are not always counted in dollars and cents. And then there is Kayla, the pretty country lass who awakens deep feelings in Ryan he never knew he had, and challenges him to live a life of true purpose. Along the trail, Ryan meets one more person, one who will upend all else and change his life forever.
There is more to life than just what we see in our limited view. Come travel the “Big Sky” country with Ryan, and find the purposeful life that awaits you.
Bonus: Also included is The Rancher’s Guide to Living Life on Purpose to help you reflect and discover your purpose in living.

Review:
Ryan is a young businessman ready to step in to help his father’s finance business. Although Ryan is eager and has graduated with an MBA, his father senses that something is missing. His father recognizes that he has spent so much time building his business that he hasn’t spent enough time with his son. He sends Ryan to his uncle’s Montana ranch where he can get hands on lessons in life.

Ryan is surprised and not quite ready to get up with the break of dawn. But as Ryan helps his uncle build a barn and help in the community he learns how to become a compassionate nephew, friend, community member and even potential husband. The basis of the lessons about health, work, finances, education, selfessness, humility, and love are built on Biblical foundations. And Ryan is challenged to accept the most precious gift of all.

I enjoyed the wonderful wisdom for living “a good life” with purpose which is shared in this novella. It is an easy read and shows that life isn’t all roses and smooth paths. There are questions and decisions to be made. It is important to have the right foundation and look to the right resources for advise to help make the right decisions. I recommend this to anyone who seeks to learn how to live a full life that is rich in more than money.

Source: NetGalley 2018. This qualifies for 2018 NetGalley and Alphabet Challenges.

Audible Book Review: The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

This is a wonderful classic to help direct my life focus toward God.
The Pursuit of God
Written by: A. W. Tozer
Narrated by: Mark Moseley

Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:02-07-12
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Christian, Classic, Religion & Spirituality, Theology
My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
During a train trip from Chicago to Texas in the late 1940s, A.W. Tozer began to write The Pursuit of God. He wrote all night, and when the train arrived at his destination, the rough draft was done. The depth of this book has made it an enduring favorite.
(P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Review:
This work confirms the other studies I have been enjoying. I have been participating in a small group study at church called Freedom Course. Its goal is to help the student to discern the difference between living in the tree of knowledge, which brings death, or living in the tree of life that brings freedom. I thought that this audio book would compliment the group study and my Bible reading and it certainly does.

The message is not new. It is Biblically based and although it was written by Tozer in the late 1940s, it is still sound teaching today. Tozer states there may be many who call themselves believers and Christians but there are really only a small group who pursue God. It is all around us… we are busy living our lives, raising our families, and doing our jobs. There is nothing wrong with that, but too often we forget the first priority which is to live our lifes, in all activities, as God directs. We need to learn to remove the excesses and minimize distractions of this world. This book goes through short chapters covering distinct areas in our lives that need to change direction to come into line with God’s will.

This classic message exhorts a deeper and closer walk with God. It is a work that I suspect I could listen to several times a year and benefit each time. I recommend this to seekers and to Christians serious enough to truly pursue God and a life directed in His will.

Audio Notes: Mark Moseley narrates the teaching and I enjoyed his direct reading which matched the appropriate emphasis intended by the author. An excellent job of delivery that enhanced the book experience for me.

 This is available for free in ebook HERE.

This is from my Audible TBR shelves (2012). It qualifies for Mount TBR and Audiobook Challenge.

Book Review and Giveaway: The Mystery of the Shemitah by Jonathan Cahn

This is a thought provoking study that is also a call to action.

The Mystery of the Shemitah: The 3,000-Year-Old Mystery That Holds the Secret of America's Future, the World's Future, and Your Future!
by Jonathan Cahn

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Frontline; First Paperback Edition edition (September 2, 2014)
• ISBN-13: 978-1629981932

Genre: Non-Fiction, Christian Prophesy
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: September 2, 2014
The book you can't afford NOT to read.
It is already affecting your life…
And it WILL affect your future!
Is it possible that there exists a three-thousand-year-old mystery that…
· Has been determining the course of your life without your knowing it?
· Foretells current events before they happen?
· Revealed the dates and the hours of the greatest crashes in Wall Street history before they happened?
· Determined the timing of 9/11?
· Lies behind the rise of America to global superpower… and its fall?
· Has forecast the rising and falling of the world’s stock market throughout modern times?
· Lies behind world wars and the collapse of nations, world powers, and empires?
· Holds key to what lies ahead for the world and for your life?
· And much more….

Review:
The Mystery of the Shemitah is full of detailed information explaining certain Jewish words and traditions as they related to God’s people and His beloved nation, Israel. Mr. Cahn then shows how those words and the impact, or consequences, of the conditions also fit America as a country that was founded on faith in God and profoundly blessed by God.

Mr. Cahn discusses the harbinger warnings (see The Harbinger) that have been issued to an American society that has drastically turned away from God especially during the past 50 years. Then the author explains the history and purpose of the Shemitah which was to be a ‘Sabbath’ every seven years. This was a time when the people would trust God for provision and allow the land to rest. But when the people failed to honor and celebrate the cycle of the Shemitah voluntarily, it became a judgment forced upon the people and the land by God. (Leviticus 26:31-35 and 2 Chronicles 36:15-19.)

The book tracks the greatest economic and financial crisis of the past 100 years showing charts for stock market crashes. These reflect that 85 percent of the crashes occurred during the Shemitah years. The details regarding the financial turnarounds is even more astounding as 100 percent of the crucial financial events occur during the Shemitah periods.

Mr. Cahn also makes a connection to the falling of the “towers” that might not be as clear without the Jewish understanding of the meanings and importance of the tower walls. Even Christians know the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, but many are not as familiar, or do not realize the full significance of the destruction of the towers and walls of Jerusalem.

I was struck by the detailed analysis and comparisons that this book presents. The message in the pattern is clear: if America does not cease to worship idols and does not turn back to God then America will suffer consequences of economic and financial destruction. This will also have a global impact around the world and is likely to result in shift of power.

Mr. Cahn is careful to note that he is not stating any specific date for calamity but he is pointing out the signs and pattern of the Shemitah and Tishri connections that are greater than “mere coincidence”. He is saying that the warnings have been given and the people need to take heed and act.

We read this for ladies book club and we were all excited to discuss it. One woman said she had to pause often to contemplate the hardships that her parents and grandparents experienced which most of our generation has not. Another one of our more mature members noted that in her day they did not have insurance and did not rush to the doctor for coughs and cuts. They experienced God’s provision on many occasions such as receiving gifts from others that met the needs of maternity dresses and money just in time for birthing expenses.

We all agreed that this is an important book to read, recommend and share with others. We also agreed that, although the message of the book speaks calamity that we will face, we are all secure in the hope we have in salvation and in God's control of events. We all felt called to pray and spread the message of God's saving grace through Christ Jesus.

A section of the book that particularly struck me states at page 234:

    Without God, there is no true security or safety for America. Without His hand of protection, no matter how many systems of defense the nation employs, they will fail just as they did on 9/11. America cannot defy the God of its keeping and expect that protection to continue. “Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (Ps 127:1). America, without God, is not safe. America, in defiance of God, is even less safe.

This was our Ladies Book Club reading for discussion in November.

Giveaway:

ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for a print copy

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* This contest is open US Only for Print Book.
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Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.

Audio Book Review: The Divine Inspiration of the Bible by Arthur W. Pink

This is a wonderfully edifying and encouraging listen.
The Divine Inspiration of the Bible
Author: Arthur W. Pink
Narrator: Ralph Cosham

Runtime: 3.2 Hours
Recording: Unabridged
Release date: 5.6.2014
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Genre: Nonfiction/Religion
ISBN-13: 978-1-4830-0194-4
My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0

Publisher/Date: Blackstone Audio, 05/06/14
Summary
“Deny that the Bible is, without any qualifications, the very word of God, and you are left without any ultimate standard of measurement and without any supreme authority.”—from the book
The Bible is the foundation of Christianity. In The Divine Inspiration of the Bible, Arthur Pink sets out to defend the belief that this holy book is, in fact, the true word of God. In doing so he examines the idea of divine inspiration and presents various arguments that aim to prove God Almighty is the author of the Bible.
This book not only examines evidence for the trustworthiness of scripture and what belief in inspiration means but also helps Christians achieve a firmer understanding of the Bible’s authority.
Originally published in 1917

Review:
I loved this audio book. I read Pink’s The Sovereignty of God about 20 years ago and remembered that I thought it was sound, if sometimes difficult, theology teaching. I already believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God but I was interested in the presentations that Pink would make. The book is laid out with each chapter dedicated to a specific, concise argument. As an attorney I appreciated that the arguments and proofs are supported by logical statements and examples that make sense to a person with an open mind and heart. The first chapter presents a “Presumption in Favor of the Bible”. Again, this resonates in legal precedence for me. Other chapters discuss the “Character of Its Teachings”, “Fulfilled Prophesies” and the “Wonderful Unity” as just a few of the themes explored with precision and confidence. Some of the supporting statements I had heard before but others were fresh and all of it was edifying.

I found myself excited about how well the text fit with and encouraged my current Bible reading. It also reinforced past studies I have read (and led) that show how the Old Testament and the New Testament speak as one from the beginning (“In the beginning God created...” Genesis 1:1) to the ending warnings not to add or take away from the scrolls (Revelation 22:18-19).

This book was originally published in 1917 but it is timely today. It has a scholarly, gentle, but forceful and confident, tone that lends strength to the arguments. The audio is a quick listen - less than four hours. I highly recommend this to everyone. Believers and followers of Christ will be encouraged and uplifted. Those who are seeking, and even those who would object or rebel, will find sound arguments if they read (or listen) with fair-mindedness.

Audio notes: The narration by Ralph Cosham enhanced the book for me. It matches the text by being precise and on the side of elegant. This is a book I could, and suspect that I will, listen to repeatedly just for the shear joy and uplift it brought me.

I received this from Blackstone Audio through Audiobook Jukebox for an honest review.