Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola

From the back cover: "Christians have made the gospel about so many things - things other than Christ. Religious concepts, ideas, doctrines, strategies, methods, techniques, and formulas have all eclipsed the beauty, the glory and the reality of the Lord Jesus Himself. On the whole, Christians today are starved for a real experience of the living Christ. We know a lot about our Lord, but we don't know Him very well. We know a lot about trying to be like Jesus, but very little about living by His indwelling life.

Jesus Manifesto presents a fresh unveiling of Jesus as not only Saviour and Lord, but as so much more. It is a prophetic call to restore the supremecy and sovereignty of Christ in a world - and a church - that has lost sight of Him. Every revival and restoration in the church has been a rediscovery of some aspect of Christ in the precess of answering the ultimate question that Jesus put to His disciples: "Who do you say that I am?" Read this book and see your Lord like you've never seen Him before."

Just ask yourself this simple question "Who do you say that Jesus is?". If the answer is I don't really know or I think... but I'm not really sure. You need to read this book. Even if you think you know who Jesus is this is a great read. It will open your eyes to the real Jesus. You will start to see Him in a new light and realize how you should be living. It will change the way you view worship and even your prayer life. With so many churches now days preaching the "health and wealth" message and not preaching on the Bible and Jesus and the need for salvation this book is a much needed read. This is a good reminder that we are not to follow Christianity but follow Christ. I encourage all self proclaimed Christians to read this book. Our focus should always be on Christ and nothing more, this book helps us as Christians to get back to that main focus and realize that without Christ we have nothing but in Christ we have everything! Nothing is more important than Christ and our relationship with Him! 

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their 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.”

Books on Ebay

For anyone who is interested, I am selling my "The Courtship of Nellie Fisher" book series on ebay. It is definately a great read! View Auction Listing

The Longing (The Courtship of Nellie Fisher, Book 3)

From the back cover: "Although she still thinks of Caleb Yoder, Nellie Mae Fisher has broken up with her beau, choosing instead to follow the ways of the New Order. Yet her yearning for a husband remains, and new possibilities beckon, taking her heart by surprise. A tragic accident binds Caleb once more to the father who so opposed his affection for Nellie... and to the farm that will no longer be his. As he longs for freedom, Caleb soon discovers he cannot foget the only girl he's ever loved."

This was my favorite book in the whole series! Caleb is reunited with his estranged family due to a tragic accident affecting his father which results in a surprising outcome. We also see Rhoda's life as she fully embraces the world. Will she find the happiness she is so desperately searching for or will she realize that she had that happiness in the simple life she once lived? And Nellie Mae finally finds love in the end, but with who? We also finally get to see some closure for Rosanna and Elias King. I really enjoyed reading this book. Beverly Lewis weaves a beautiful story in this whole series. If you haven't read any of the books in this series I suggest you do!

Without a Trace by Colleen Coble

From the back of the book:  "When a plane carrying Bree Nicholls' husband and son disappears, her life changes forever. Her relentless determination to find them starts an investigation that links their disappearance to a violent crime threatening to tear the peaceful town of Rock Harbor apart.    Mystery fans will love this romantic suspense novel from best-selling author Colleen Coble. Set in the untamed beauty of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the Rock Harbor novels draw readers into the life and adventures of a canine search-and-rescue team as it unravels the secrets of an enchanting wildreness."

I love reading mysteries and had been searching for a Christian mystery book. I happened upon this book on sale at my local bookstore and decided to give it a try. I was a little skeptical at first as to how God would be tied into a mystery but Colleen Coble does a wonderful job of this. I was surprised at how much I enoyed this book. I couldn't put it down. We follow Bree Nicholls as she searches for the plane wreckage of her husband and son, along with her trained search-and-rescue dog Sampson. Colleen writes this book in a way that draws you in to the characters and keeps you guessing until the end. I don't want to give too much away because it is a great read so if you like mysteries you need to read this one! I am planning on going out and getting the rest of the books in this series.

The Forbidden (The Coutship of Nellie Fisher, Book 2)

From the back cover: "Caleb Yoder's father has forbidden him to court Nellie Mae Fisher, but words alone cannot stop Caleb's devotion. Yet if he continues to pursue Nellie, he risks losing everything. Nellie, too, is torn. She longs to marry her Old Order beau but cannot ignore the gentle pull she feels toward the faith of her New Order family. Can she and her beloved satisfy the expectations of the People while remaining true to their hearts?"

This is book #2 in The Courtship of Nellie Fisher series. This book picks right up where the last one stopped which I really enjoyed. The continued struggle between the Old Order and the New Order families is carried throughout this book. I enjoyed watching the characters develop as they grew in their faith. Poor Nellie Mae and Caleb are stuck right in the middle of this struggle. Will they continue to court in secret? Or will Caleb follow his father's wishes? While this book did seem to go at a slow pace at times, I enjoyed it immensly. We also continue to follow the story of Rosanna King and husband Elias who adopted cousin Kate's twins. As Rosanna and Elias get more involved in the New Order church cousin Kate begins to have second thoughts. Will Rosanna and Elias be able to keep the babies? And, how will the church split continue to divide families? And don't forget about Rhoda who seems to be drawn more and more to the "fancy" world. What decisions will she make? If you read book one then you won't want to miss book two. I do recommend reading book one first however, you may be a little lost if you jump right in to this one.

~ ~ Book Giveawy ~ ~

In honor of my new blog and to hopefully get some followers I am having a book giveaway. The book is "Raising Dad: What Fathers & Sons Learn from Each Other" by Thom S. Rainer and Art Rainer.  To enter, all you have to do is follow this blog and then leave me a comment with your email address. Winner will be selected at random. Entry deadline is May 31.  ~ Please visit often, we will be having more giveaways in the months to come!

REVIEW:
This is a very good book on Fathering. I recommend it for any dads in your life! It gives great insight into the father-son relationship showing how both learn from each other.

From the back cover: "All parents will tell you they learn as much from their children as their children learn from them. This truth is poignantly captured in Raising Dad: What Fathers & Sons Learn from Each Other by father-son authors Thom and Art Rainer. 

It was Art's idea to write from a grown child's perspective this tribute to his father's successes as a parent. Inviting his father Thom to write postscripts to these reflections, another tender truth emerged. Dad's memories about his own performance aren't nearly as rose colored, giving those who read the book great inspiration to never stop growing and learning as a parent.

All told, Raising Dad shares unforgettable lessons about faith, friendship, commitment, honesty, priorities--all the things that matter most in life between parents and children."

Have a New Husband by Friday

I have to admit, when I first got this book I thought, yeah right. I have been married for almost 7 years and haven't been able to change him one bit, there is no way I am going to change him in 7 days... I was wrong.

From the back cover: "There isn't a woman on this earth who hasn't wanted, at one time or another, to trade in her husband for a new one. Have a new husband by Friday? Is that even possible? To tell you the truth, it's a scam. You can have a new husband by Wednesday if you do it right. Even better, there is no need to trade your man in for a newer model; all he needs is a little tune-up. You can change your husband's attitude, behavior, and communication in just 5 days."

After the first day (titled "Secrets Revealed") I was beginning to understand how this was going to work. It's not about just changing him but it's about changes you can  make as a wife that directly affect how he reacts to you. Day two (titled "Creatures from Another Planet...or Creatures of Habit") was a real eye opener. There are so many things explained about the male behavior that I just didn't get before. I found myself discussing this book with my husband just to verify that the things tought and explained were in fact true. This book gives great insight into the male mind. With just a few behavior changes on my part by Wednsday I was already seeing some changes in my husband. This book is a great read. I highly recommend it to anyone who is wanting to change their husband. This is a book that I will most likely read again and again!

The Parting (The Courtship of Nellie Fisher, Book 1)

The Parting is the first book in The Coutship of Nellie Fisher series. Beverly Lewis really has a way of drawing you in to the story. This book is set in a Pennsylvania Amish community. Amish teen Nellie Mae Fisher and her family are grieving the tragic loss of Nellie's sister Suzy. There are so many unanswered questions about what Suzy was up to the last months before her drowning. Suzy's private thoughts were kept in her journal which she made Nellie Mae promise to destroy if anything ever happened to her. Did Nellie Mae destroy it after her sister's death? If not will she read it? What things could possibly be uncovered in that journal? Beverly Lewis has a way of weaving this story to keep you intrigued and guessing up until the end.

Nellie Mae has her own little bakery which helps the family with income and she has a beau, Caleb Yoder. Things seem to be looking up for Nellie and she even sees wedding bells in her future. Just as everything seems to be going perfectly, change seems to be coming to this small community. This change threatens to break up families and come between Nellie's newfound love. Nellie's own father begins reading scripture which is forbidden and learns of salvation and what it means to have a real relationship with God. (I loved the development of this and how passionate some of the characters got about their newfound salvation.) Other characters are introduced in this book such as Rhoda and Nan who are Nellie's other sisters. Rhoda works for "Englishers" as a housekeeper and Nan is dealing with the end of a serious realationship. One of my favorite characters is Rosanna King, a friend of Nellie's, who is unable to have children of her own. Her cousin Kate offers to give her next baby to Rosanna to raise as her own. These characters are set up beautifully and you finish the book wanting more. An excellent read and a must for any Beverly Lewis or Amish fiction fans!