Book Review: Out Live Your Life

Why did I choose to review this book?

I have enjoyed some of Max Lucado's books previously and wanted to see if this one matched up. The title intrigued me.

What did I like about this book?
Max's books often follow a formula. Each chapter starts with an inspiring or convicting story, then comes a bit of Bible work or a little bit of "How do we apply this to our life?" type talk and then a big finish with a quote or push on to the next chapter. This was no exception to this formula. BUT, he makes this formula work. It reads like a series of darn good sermons on the topic of social justice. Some of Lucado's previous titles were enjoyable to read but a bit "fluffy" for me. They dealt very much in the realm of the emotional, not my personal happy place. This book was nitty gritty. It had the courage to take on the tricky topic social justice and wrestle it. While not pretending to have all the answers, this book did have the courage to confront some of the harder aspects of living out the Biblical call for Christians to be champions of social justice. I found the ideas and concepts this book puts forward to be challenging and practical without being guilt inducing and hopeless. I appreciated the continual returning to the Bible for inspiration and the openness within the suggestions that left room for the season of life of the reader. Let's face it, at this stage of life much of my time and energy is already double booked and many books that deal with this particular topic are designed to guilt anyone who doesn't have a spare 4-8 hours a day/grand per week to put toward service outside the home. I always appreciate a book that is practical and open ended.

What don't I like about this book?

It was fairly hard to pick any holes in this one. I know of some people who felt overwhelmed by the suggestions within the book, but I did not. I think if I were a person who felt that I MUST implement every good thing that I read in order to be a "good Christian", I may well have felt overwhelmed. But I think if you take it in context and relate it to the season of your life, it is a good read that continually brings one back to THE Book, which is really what you want in a Christian work.

Overall, I would recommend this as an excellent read. Enjoyable, accessable, enough "meat" to it to satisfy me and enough inspiration to spur me on to bigger and better things in my own life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: 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.”

Book Review: Girl's Guide To Life

Why did I choose to review this book?

My daughters are currently 6 and 20 months, not really the age group this book is aimed at. I am, however, trying to prepare myself and collect resources to help them prepare themselves for that murky time of life called PUBERTY! When I saw this book on Book Sneeze, I asked them to send it to me (for free) to review for them. And being such nice people, the did!

What do I like about this book?

I like the fact that this book takes time to explain the "nuts and bolts" of sexual development. It uses simple but precise language designed to inform without embarrassing. I also liked the fact that this book devotes a chapter to "cyber-self". It discuses various pros and cons of online life and gives some very good tips about being one's "authentic" self online, dealing with online bullying and gossip and being security conscious online. All very necessary things for a young lady growing up in today's society to think about. I applaud the author for trying to deal with some very real issues in today's society and prepare young ladies for adulthood in a Biblicaly conscious manner.

What don't I like about this book?

The general tone of this book becomes a little cheesy at times. Every now and then I felt like the author was trying to be the "cool youth group leader" who wears 'young' clothes and tries to talk hip - not realising much of the language they use just serves to point out just how out of touch they are. Kids can spot in-authenticity a mile off and there are many moments in this book where the author tries to be just that little bit TOO cool.

This books takes it for granted that the reader will be savvy with today's pop culture and familiar with the world of reality television programs like "The Bachelor". For one thing, I think this will serve to date this book very quickly meaning that my daughters are unlikely to be interested when it is relevant to them. For another thing, while I enjoy TV in small doses and we own more than one, there is no way I would be allowing my daughters to regularly watch The Bachelor. I don't see myself as ultra conservative and, while a little prudish at times, I am not extreme. The only reason we would watch The Bachelor is to discuss and analyse it and I can tell you now it doesn't survive such analysis very well! I would like to see a Christian book of this nature teaching young girls to evaluate their viewing choices a little better.

Perhaps my biggest criticism of this book is it's treatment of romance and behaviour toward the opposite sex. The option of courtship is discussed in the "romance" chapter and readers who want to know more about this option are referred to "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Josh Harris. For the majority of the book, however, the writer assumes that the reader will have or has had or does have a "crush" and/or boyfriend. In a world where teen girls who do not have a boyfriend (through choice or otherwise) are encouraged to obsess about this or made to feel freakish, I wonder if this adds fuel to the fire.

Flirting is also described as "harmless". The author does not take the time to define exactly what she means by flirting, but my definition is this: Making a promise with your lips that your body does not intend to keep. I have a feeling that the author and I are talking about two very different things when we say flirting, but as she never defines this very loose word we have to be at least a little concerned about what kind of license this will give to girls. The book also gives little attention to being careful and gentle with the hearts of young men. This, combined with the comments about flirting, does little to prevent a young reader from unwittingly becoming or continuing to be a tease. Modesty in behaviour and dress, sending CLEAR signals to young men and basic respect for the hearts of others are SUCH important traits for young ladies to learn and with few lessons available "out there" I feel we need to grab every chance to teach them.

I would also have liked to have seen a greater exploration of abuse within romantic relationships. Dealing with subjects such as physical abuse, emotional abuse, mental abuse and sexual pressure within relationships requires a little more than this particular book devotes to those subjects. Given that abuse within teenage relationships is frighteningly common, I feel it was important to address these issues in depth.

I'm afraid that the positives of this book, for me, do not outweigh the negatives.

I will not be using this book with the girl cubs. In spite of good intentions, it does not quite do the job for me.

Disclosure of Material Connection: 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.”

Book Review: Chronological Guide to the Bible

Okay, I have been completely AWOL from the Blog for FAR too long. What have I been doing? Well, toward the end of each pregnancy I get a surge of creative energy which was channeled into making some kind of order of the Bear Cave. Not completely successfully might I add, but some serious progress was made. Plus, I have been reading. I have set myself some reading goals and as part of that I am getting some books from Book Sneeze to review



I just promise to review a book for them on my blog and they send me a book for free, how awesome is that? So between cleaning, tidying, organising, knitting, gardening, preparing, gestating and reading - blogging took a back seat for a while! Seeing as the Bear Cub is due to make an appearance in, say, a week and a half, I shan't make any promises I can't hold up in the future either!

But on to the review!!

Chronological Guide to the Bible is a reference book to be used when studying your own Bible. It places the events of the Bible in chronological terms and closely as can be figured, making notes of where the scholars disagree on the exact sequence of events. It gives a chronological reading guide (which can be used with the Bible version of your choice) then gives an overview of each book. It then goes on to describe the historical context of the book and reflect on how events or descriptions of events may have been received by the Israelites at the time and the surrounding peoples. Where appropriate, there are handy timelines to help make sense of the chronology. The pages are all full colour and there is a lot of detail on each page.

For me at this stage of life (with my personal Bible study time being short, precious and sometimes totally interrupted) I probably will not use this to work through my Bible from cover to cover however it is a fantastic reference to dip into and get another perspective on an element that I am studying. For example, my personal studies at the moment are focusing on the book of James. In dipping into Chronological Guide I was able to find out about the historical context of the book quite easily which added to my own laid back but in depth study style. Later in life when things calm down, I may go through and do an in depth study using this book from cover to cover. I appreciate a book that has dual usage like that - appropriate not only for a sit down feast but also to dip into as a side dish. Perhaps my one complaint is that the print is not huge and at times the pages look quite busy which can be difficult on my distracted brain.

The Bear Cubs probably won't be ready for this book until they reach their teens, but I forsee the 'fact lovers' among them really enjoying the detailed look at the Bible that this book brings.

Overall, it is worth having on the shelf!!