Free To Be

“Can you not see that your fears of what could happen are keeping you from what could be?”

Free Book by Brian Tome is a great book that challenges our everyday thinking and invites us to enjoy freedom in Christ. He tackles the issue of strongholds that may keep us from experiencing that freedom. Then he offers advice and wisdom based on experience and Biblical understanding to help attack the fears that come at each one of us. He talks about forgiveness, the love all Christians are supposed to live by, and how God wants us to have freedom in Him.

This book certainly makes a person think about the fears that attack our lives every day. Some of them may be small, but they are still fears. As is pointed out several times, God didn’t give us a spirit of fear. That spirit of fear keeps us from living life to its fullest, keeps us from loving the most, and keeps us from experiencing all God has for us. Brian Tome confronts these things head on, and asks the reader to do the same. I certainly recommend this book to anyone that wants to deal with the fears and strongholds in their lives and experience life freely.

More to Read!

So I have been kind of busy lately. There has been school work to be done (Eng 102 and Phil 101). And with the reading I have had to do for those classes, I haven't read much for myself the last few of weeks. I am hoping to get this week's assignments done before the weekend so maybe I can enjoy a day or two of reading bliss. Here's my list:

I'm almost done with Brian Tome's Free Book. I must say, it is great read, and I have learned some things.

After that, I have Buried Alive by Roy Hallums. I am a bit nervous because it is a heavy topic.

Then I finally get to read Burn. I have been looking forward to this book for a while now. I'm sure it will be great.

Depending on whether another book arrives in time or not, I also have Karen Hancock's The Shadow Within. I ordered that one with a gift card a friend gave me for my birthday. I first read her book Light of Eidon in 2008 I believe. So I am looking forward to finally continuing this story.

So what about you? What good books have you read lately?

Happy 2010!

So I started back to college at the end of October. And because of that, I haven't read as much as a hobby as I have for school. In fact, I have three stories I am trying to read, I am starting my classes for this session, and I just ordered two more books to read. Getting a little bit swamped from it? Maybe, but I love it.

One thing I never finished was the Dean Koontz's Frankenstein reviews. I read the third book, Dead and Alive. It was a great ending to the trilogy--following Deucalion and the other characters around as they plot how to take care of Frankenstein once and for all. The characters are all unique and some are downright funny. I think the way it ended was fitting. And a bit eerie. Overall, I was pleased.

Let's see what I get to read this new year.

May your year be filled with blessings.

NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible

I recently received a book in the mail, and have enjoyed exploring it’s contents. Many of these stories are well-known to me, but the format is different—and refreshing.

The NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible is a collection of 250 stories from the Old and New Testaments in storybook format. The stories of the scripture are divided into easy to read sections--if you just want a short piece to read to yourself or as a bedtime story for little ones, you’ve got plenty to choose from.

This is a beautiful book inside and out. The cover gives it an air of a family treasure to be passed down for generations. Each piece is titled, tells the scripture reference, and has each verse numbered as you read—this information is even listed in the table of contents for your ease. This is a good way to introduce kids to the stories of the Bible, or just a good way to read parts of the Word in a different format. This doesn’t contain the full text of the Word however. So if you’re looking for a good study Bible, this isn’t what you’re looking for.

To give you a general feel for this book:
There is a table of contents in the front that lists the title of the section, the scripture reference, and the page number. There is no concordance, only a small index in the back. Of the 250 stories, only 47 are from the New Testament. In the stories of Jesus, they include scripture from more than one book (i.e. Jesus’ Birth: Matthew 2:1-18 & Luke 2:17-39). Since this is a “storybook” of scripture, some books of the Bible aren’t included or only partially used. Some of the books not included are: 1 & 2 Chronicles, Psalms, Proverbs, Galatians, Philippians, 1 & 2 Timothy.

Max Lucado, Fearless.

“Don’t be afraid,” He said. “Take courage. I am here!”
—Matthew 14:27 NLT

What are you afraid of? Every day seems to bring a new item to our already long list of fears. But how do we overcome those fears? What can we do, even if the situation is out of our control? How do we keep fear from controlling us? How do we have peace during the storm?

Max Lucado’s Fearless is a phenomenal book. He talks about so many fears, and relates all of them to stories in the Bible. I have only read a couple of his works, and have been pleased with all of them. He writes in such a way that anyone can understand it, sometimes using mental pictures to help describe things: “as gloomy as a giraffe with a neck ache” (Can anyone say “Ouch!”) or “collapsed like a sand castle in a typhoon.” He backs up his words with scripture, and even explains things to help the reader better understand. There is also a discussion guide at the end of the book that includes study of scripture, questions, and applications.

Fear is something everyone deals with, and anyone can find something to relate to in Fearless. Therefore, I highly recommend it to everyone.