Lovology

What does love really mean?

"Love is a noun and a verb."
"'Love' is a junk drawer we dump all sorts of ideas into, just because we don't have anywhere else to put them. Example, I 'love' God, I 'love' fish tacos. See the problem?"

John Mark Comer has a way to reach the human heart and mind. Some might find some of the things he says as crass (example would be when talking about the desire for porn he says "jacking off"), but honestly, he is using lingo that many people use in every day talk.

He helps us see what love is. From God coming to Earth as a human, to gay relationships. And everything else in between during a relationship about a man and his wife. They are your friend, partner, and lover.

I love when "Christian" authors aren't afraid to talk about sex and marriage and how they are so important and entwined. GOD MADE IT. It's NOT a taboo. After all, Song of Songs is a love poem dedicated to a man and a woman and their romance and desire for each other. I grew up in a home where sex was NOT talked about and was told how 'bad' it really is. I have a very open relationship with a man that has become my best friend and we have a long distance relationship. While we may not have the physical implication between us, we do have very intimate talks about sex. He is the only one that I have felt safe talking about things like that. I don't feel embarrassed. I think that is what God wants for us when we find our mate.

Also, I love how John Mark talks about singleness as being a gift. I remember for the longest time wanting to get married and have children. I still do, but at the same time, that intense waiting was the WORST! But, the waiting brought a very special man in my life as well a stronger relationship with God.

This book is for everyone: single, engaged, married, gay/straight. We are all in need of love. And this book reminds us what it is to love and be loved.

On the down note, the only thing that I had a hard time with was the pink pages with white writing. once my eyes adjusted to it, it was a shock to switch from the pink to a plain page! But over all, this was a very quick read and suggest it to everyone.

31 Days...

I started reading this book at the beginning of October, (so, two days ago.) and I've only read the first couple chapters. Maybe this book wasn't for me. Maybe I didn't try hard enough to try to "get" something from it. Maybe it just wasn't my style of writing that was in it. I don't know. But I wasn't captured by it. That's just me personally. Others may find this book to be fascinating. Hence the reason God created us all with different views. Life would be pretty boring if we all thought the same. I hope that my review doesn't deter you from reading. It might be something you might be interested it. As for me, I just didn't click with it.

The Secret Keeper

I love Beverly Lewis. I love Amish Romance.

This story came close to home. The story of Jenny Burns in "The Secret Keeper" brought back many memories of me growing up. I live in a small town in Wisconsin that is surrounded by the Amish. Being an Englisher, I've always wondered what it was like to be Amish: Do they allow the English to mingle with them? Help at home? "Hang out"?

The characters in this book were very believable. I felt Jenny's struggle and her sense of failure when she wasn't able to understand certain things. I fell in love with Andrew right away. He seemed sweet, funny, caring...everything you'd ever want in a guy.

It was a nice change to finally see what it's like for someone who doesn't feel like they fit in with "this" world. I know what it's like. I mostly don't feel like I fit in with my family because I love "old" stuff. I've been called "old" before. I think I just have an old soul. :)

Accidental Pharisees

My pastor read this book and presented it to our congregation. He said this was a challenging book. This is coming from a pastor who has read lots of different types of material. So I was happy to see that this was a BookSneeze selection. 

I agree with Pastor. It was a challenging read. It got right to the heart of things and dug in deep. Deep into scripture, deep into your heart, deep into your soul and really made you think about things. I liked the Discussion sections at the end of the each Part. This is a real eye-opening book and if you are ready to take a deep breath, jump off the cliff and learn more about God, yourself, your faith...then I suggest reading this. If you are ready to look in the mirror and acknowledge who you are, then this is the book for you. No turning back. 

Finding God in the Dark

Who hasn't been hurt by someone? Who hasn't felt the sting of doubt, fear, condemnation, guilt? I'm sure all of us can relate to something that has happened in our life where we have felt lost, alone, and in despair. I'm sure there have been plenty of times where you have felt like God wasn't around- especially when you needed Him to be.

Finding God in the Dark is a great book about learning to seek God when things don't seem to be going the way that you had your life planned to be going. I appreciate the men sharing their personal life struggles and feelings in the book. I enjoy reading books like this; it helps "bring it home" and make it more personal. The writing is easy and is a fairly quick read. It is written in a way that anyone would be able to understand. You don't need to be a philosophical genius to be able to read this and understand what God wants for you. 

Broken Wings

I have to admit. I'm a sucker for sugary, sappy teen romance novels. I devoured the Twilight series when each book came out. I know Harry Potter isn't a 'romance' but, yet again....devour. I just wish so many of the romance novels on the adult market weren't so trashy. Honestly...you mean you can't have a love story without sex or vulgarity? Oh, publishers....I do believe you can. But once again, we are catering to the world's desires.

When I first picked up Broken Wings, I didn't realize that it was part of a trilogy. So, I had to go and read the first book. Then I read the second book. (and now....I patiently wait for the third book.....). I love Jake. Can I just admit that? I fell in love with Jake so quickly. All the characters come to life on the page and I feel like I get to know each of them, but Jake.....sigh. (See.....teen romance...got to love it). I felt like I was actually in Stratus with all the characters. I love Shannon's depiction of the angels. When I pictured them, I felt safe and protected. 

I don't know if Broken Wings was really meant just for teenagers or not. But as a thirty-one year old woman, I enjoyed reading it. Guess every now and then a little light reading is good for the soul, no matter what your age. I would recommend this book to anyone that has read any teen romance series. I think you will enjoy it. 

 I received this book free from the publisher through the 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  : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Dirty God

Grace.

Dirty God from Johnnie Moore is a story of grace and how Jesus came to be one of us. I love how real he gets with the story and how relatable he makes the Scripture. This is an easy read in the sense that there are no difficult understandings to try to follow. But it is also a hard read emotionally and spiritually. This book really digs down into the soul and makes Jesus a person. A real person that you can confide in, understand, and talk to. He is not some historical figure that seems unattainable. He is real. And Johnnie does a wonderful job explaining how much God really does loves us and what he sacrificed for us. Grace. No matter how horrible we think we are, it's grace that covers us. 

Unexpected Love

Imagine for a moment living in Biblical times. Imagine even further yet being a Disciple walking with Jesus. Go even further yet to living in the time of Jesus and His Disciples as a WOMAN. What might you expect? Women weren't so revered back in the day. But Jesus had a different view of women. 

In Unexpected Love, the stories of Jesus and women come alive. What a wonderful way to experience nine different stories in which Jesus associated with women of his time. We are not talking royals or socialites of our day. We are talking poor, unacknowledged, and even messed up women. We get to take side seat with Jesus and spend some time with these women learning more about them and digging deeper into the mind of Jesus and what He could have been thinking. 

In closing, we bring it back to us, and how seeing these stories of these women can relate to us. None of these women were perfect. None of these women were "special" in the eyes of their world. But they were CHOSEN. Just as we are. And God loves them, just as He loves us. What a wonderful story.

It's time to grab a cup of coffe or tea, and have a conversation with Jesus and the women in His life.

 I received this book free from the publisher through the 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  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Who Do You Think You Are?

To be honest, I was so ready to read this book. I have loved Mark's videos I've seen on Mars Hill Church website as well as the videos from Right Now Media. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading his previous book "Real Marriage".

The beginning of this book crept very slowly for me. I have a very hard time getting into it and was almost ready to put it down. There was a huge history lesson about Ephesus and the people of that time. I'm not saying that was bad. But, I just finished a Bible Literature class for college that was more exciting and engaging than the first couple chapters. But, I pushed through.

The final chapters are broken down into descriptions of your identity in Christ: a saint, blessed, appreciated, saved, reconciled, afflicted, heard, gifted, new, forgiven, adopted, loved, rewarded and victorious.

The thoughts and ideas expressed in the book were not really anything that I had never heard before. For someone that has been struggling in their faith, or have never read any books on "Who are you in Christ" kind of thing, this would be a good read. This would also be good book for someone that is starting out in their faith and they have no idea where to begin in the Bible or in their walk with Jesus. For those of us that have been in this faith journey and have read many "Jesus-help" books, this is a good refresher and reminder. The text is easy to read and easy to follow.


 I received this book free from the publisher through the 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  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wildflowers from Winter

I'm not quite sure what to say about this book. I don't mean that in a bad way. I guess the only way that I can describe it is that feeling you get when you hold back tears even though they are on the brink of spilling over? Yeah, that's how I was once things starting flowing in the book. Like most beginnings, it takes a little bit to establish relationships and show development of the characters. 

It's not a hard read. It's also not an easy read, unless you really able to handle your emotions very well. Me? Not so much. Once the relationships started to show and the storyline progressed, I couldn't help but feel like I was actually there, feel like I was part of the family, feel like I was part of the action in some way. Even if it meant like a fly on the wall. The colors and smells of the atmosphere were vibrant. The feelings of each of the people jumped off the page to me. I felt my chest ache with sorrow and anger right along with Bethany, Evan, Robin and others. 

I can't say to much about the storyline without giving away a lot of spoilers. Which, what fun woud reading the book be then? I will say it is a story of stepping back into Bethany's past, whether she chooses or wants to. It is a story of rebirth and renewal. Of strength, and finding new journeys along the way. Only spoiler I will give is that, at least for me, was that it was a complete tear jerker and made me think about things in my life and help me to reevaluate relationships I have with people. 

I am Second

Hi. I'm Mindy. And I....am second.

" This book may not always soothe your soul, but I think it will always inspire your reflection and challenge your daily routine" How true. This is a statement made at the beginning of the book "I am Second".

God's plan for us isn't supposed to always soothe the soul, right? We are supposed to grow and change and learn from the experiences He so lovingly gives us. Those are not easy words to come out of my mouth. For I, as I am writing this, am going through a very difficult struggle.

So grateful to have gotten this book at the beginning of a new year. And so grateful to see where God will be leading me on this new 365 day journey and into many more 365 day journeys.

I love how each session begins with a video. If you have a digital edition like I have, you just click and it brings you to that video. If not, thanks to technology, you can use your barcode scanner to jump to the link (call me silly, but I get uber excited about silly little things like that. I was jumping in my seat and used the scanner to watch the video on my phone, rather than click on the link to go to the video on my Nook. Yes, yes, I know....) Back to the videos. I don't want to give too much away, but what amazing testimonies from these people! There are some surprises along the way too from certain people I've never heard of and from people I ahve heard of and was inspired by the story.

I also love how much interaction and participation is involved. This is not an easy read. This is a book that will challenge your heart and bring you closer to God. I enjoyed as well the use of social media like Twitter as suggestions to interact with others and share your own personal message and how Jesus is being put first and how you are letting yourself be second.

Thomas Nelson has been pumping out some amazing books the last year. But this? This one I can't get it out of my head. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

New Blog

Well, well, well....

I have decided to bring over my book reviews to Blogger. Hmm....me thinks that Google has found itself a new little minion. :)

The purpose of this blog, it to give honest reviews of books that I have received for free in return for the honest reviews after I had read them. I've done book blogging for a few years now and I have come across some AMAZING reads!

I just got the following book today (I ordered it on the 13th from BookSneeze and it came today!) and I've SOOOO been waiting to read this! I love his stuff.

So, look for a new review of this bad boy in the next couple weeks. Along with a few other goodies!

Cheerio for now!

~Mindy