gods at war

Remember ‘not a fan’? The book that rocked the church and shaped the faith of millions? The book that challenged people to step outside their comfort zone and fall in love with God? That book? The pastor who wrote that, Kyle Idleman, is back with a new game changer. His newest offering, ‘gods at war’ focuses on our passive idolatry. We may not bow down to physical objects made of wood and gold, but we forsake our Creator for earthly pleasure, power, and love. We are in the middle of a battle ground, with our hearts fighting over things of this world verses the things of God.

Idleman makes use of testimonies, statistics, studies, anecdotes, and basically everything but the kitchen sink in the book in order to make his point. With each chapter focusing on a different idol (including food, sex, money, family, and entertainment for example), Idleman brings big lofty ideas of sacrifice and commitment and brings them down to the common people’s level.

Kyle Idleman has a true gift with words. He connects with you on a personal level, pulls you in, and doesn’t let you leave the same. This book is quite simply amazing. Five out of five stars.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This is completely my opinion on the book.

When Donkeys Talk

Hey guys! Sorry this is so late! (It’s like 1 in the morning where I’m at! Haha J ) Anyway, I wanted to tell you all about this AWESOME new book I just got from booksneeze the other day. I ate it up. Okay, not literally. But it’s still pretty legit J

So this book is called ‘When Donkeys Talk: A Quest to Rediscover the Mystery and Wonder of Christianity” by Tyler Blanksi. It’s basically about how God is awesome and He can do whatever He wants, like making donkeys talk, so that everyone will know that He’s God.

Mr. Blanksi has a unique writing style, blending centuries-old quotes and viewpoints with a fresh humour that basically just puts an new spin on things. His book is written in a very easy to read style, which helped me finish it so quickly J He talks about taking the mundane out of our relationship with God, because God is anything but ordinary. God is awesome and fantastic and mysterious and wonderful, and Tyler does a WONDERFUL job of portraying that.

I give this book five out of five stars.

Note: I received this book for free from the Booksneeze Blogging programme in exchange for an honest review.

"Dirty God" by Johnnie Moore

Hey yall. SO! It’s really late right now, but I JUST finished this AWESOME book from the lovely people over at Booksneeze. Before I get too far, I gotta tell you that I received this book for free from the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze blogger programme in exchange for an honest review. This review is 100% my own opinion and how I legitimately feel. Alright, now that that’s over, I gotta tell ya about this awesome book.

It’s “Dirty God: Jesus In The Trenches” by Johnnie Moore.

The main thing I loved about this was the accessible writing style. Mr. Moore didn’t use pretentious speech or over analyze things. He spoke plainly and with an awesome applicability.

“Dirty God” is basically the unveiling of God’s love story. God loves us silly humans so much that He got down and dirty with us. Got to the nitty gritty. He refused to let us flounder about alone. He come down and showered us with grace and continues to do so today. That’s the essential summary of this book.

So many parts of this book struck a nerve with me. It had me giggling one minute and then crying the next. It’s a rare book that can make me do that. Five out of five stars.

Who Do You Think You Are?

Hey guys. So… I gotta be honest… I’m usually pretty wary of anything Mark Driscoll puts out. I like him and all, and I think he has some good things to say, but I’ve usually taken most of what he says with a grain of salt; comparing his opinions against others and then forming my own. When I saw his new book, “Who Do You Think You Are?” on booksneeze, I was getting ready to pass it over. However, I felt a tugging to go back and at least read the description. So I read the description and promptly ordered it.

See, here’s the thing… a lot of Christians don’t know who they are in Christ. They think going to church is the extent of their relationship with God… and that they haven’t become that new creation of which 2 Corinthians speaks.

While I still hold the, “Compare all of what Driscoll says against Scripture along with other commentators/theologians” (I say to do this with all writers), Mr. Mark’s book “Who Do You Think You Are?” is a pretty good read. And, to be personal, I gotta say this came at the perfect time for me.

Four out of five stars.

I was given this book free of charge from the Thomas Nelson booksneeze blogger programme in exchange for an honest review.

Live Second

Hey yall! I just got this awesome new book from Booksneeze, “Live Second.” For years I’ve been following the I Am Second Company, watching the videos, connecting with the groups, and I read the original book that released last year. I Am Second has changed countless lives, including mine, and the newest devotional, “Live Second: 365 Ways to Make Jesus First” is about to be added to the line up.

“Live Second” is written by Doug Bender. It consists of 365 daily devotionals, sectioned into 52 weeks, grouped into 12 sessions. Each session lasts 4-5 weeks.

At the beginning of each week, the book gives you a video to watch (accessible by scanning the QR code with your smartphone). Every day comes with a scripture reference (that you read on your own), a couple paragraphs that break down the passage, some questions to consider after reading the passage, prayer suggestions, and challenges. Challenges focus mainly on living your life based around what you’ve just read, and sharing the gospel with others. At the bottom of each devotional is a twitter hashtag (that look something like #IASgoodness or #IASsurrender) that can share your thoughts on the devotional with the I Am Second community.

All in all this is a wonderful devotional. I love it and I’m going to (attempt) to follow it all through the next year. I give it five out of five stars.

I received this book for free through the booksneeze blogger programme. I was not obligated to give this book a positive review. 

Fully Alive by Ken Davis

Hey guys! I don’t know if yall knew or not, but one of my favourite Bible verses is John 10:10b: “I have come so that you may have life to live to the fullest.” (That may be a little paraphrased, but it’s the same general feeling.) Anyway, the new book I’ve gotten from booksneeze talks about that very verse.

“Fully Alive” by Ken Davis was an interesting read. It pulled me in quickly and Davis has a unique ability weave together personal stories and theological truths. He has a quirky sense of humour that I love and his truths were practical. “Fully Alive” is about living life to the fullest (pretty obvious, considering the title) the way God wants. I loved it. I’ve noticed a huge influx of books similar to this one. People aren’t satisfied with the Sunday-to-Sunday salvation. This book offers a way to live your faith day by day. It’s wonderful. Five out of five stars.

Note: This book was given to me free of charge by the publisher through the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze Blogger programme in exchange for an honest review. I was not forced to write a positive review. This review is completely, 100% my true opinion.

The Truth About Grace by John MacArthur

"“Is the experience of God’s grace in your life a thrilling thing? Just thinking about the fact that God, by His own sovereign plan, decided to be gracious to me is overwhelming. There is nothing greater than receiving grace upon grace.” —John MacArthur

Simple definitions can make grace feel like an obvious―even mundane―concept. Nothing could be further from the truth. Grace is the defining feature of the Christian faith. Once we understand how undeserving we are and how much favor we’ve been given, grace becomes shocking, thrilling, inspiring, and contagious."

This comes from the back of the book, and I honestly can't describe the sentiments in this book any better. Grace is often a scary concept. MacArthur does a wonderful job of simplifying it and making it easily accessible to the common man. This book is very short; I finished it in an afternoon. It’s not so deep that you go under, but it goes hand in hand with real life. This was my first experience with the ‘Truth About’ series that MacArthur has been putting out, but it most definitely won’t be my last. I give this book a good 3.5 out of 5 stars.

*Warning. This book had a few parts that I found biblically questionable. I am in the process of seeking answers in the Bible. Read with a bit of caution!