"Tribulation Force" by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (Book 2 of Left Behind Series)

In Tribulation Force, the book 2 of the Left Behind Series, Buck and Rayford both accept unusual jobs they never suspected they would have.  Two witnesses preach at the wailing wall in Jerusalem and the romance between Chloe and Buck progresses.  Carpathia gets more powerful and the tribulation begins.  This book was interesting and moved along a little faster than book 1.  I liked it all right but will take a break from this series which is pretty heavy to read a fantasy series.  I do plan to continue in this series later.  (Karen's review, 4 stars)

To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"PICKLEBALL IS Not LIFE" by Teresa Jungling (a Bible Devotional)

PICKLEBALL IS Not life--Pickleball is great.  GOD IS GREATER! by Teresa Jungling is a 31-Day Bible devotional that includes Pickleball tips and strategies along with a couple scripture verses for each day and the plan of salvation in the back.  Also in the back is a full list of all the Pickleball tips given in the book and a technique checklist for different shots.  I enjoyed this book very much!  It connects scripture to Pickleball and gives good tips.  The devotions are very short but thought provoking with space to write out short prayers and some goals.  I liked it so much that I'm buying copies for my fellow pickleball players to share with them!  (Karen's review, 5 stars)

To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Doorway to the Bible" Book 1 in THE BOOK OF LIFE SET

I had this Book of Life set a very long time and never read any of them so this year I decided I would read through the set.  I just finished reading Book 1--Doorway to the Bible which gives a very brief introduction to the Bible with some short Bible stories geared to children and some nice prayers for kids.  There are also a few application stories included for children as well as color pictures.  I look forward to continuing with this series to see what the rest of the books offer.  (Karen's review, 4 stars)

To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"The Battle of our Age-Fighting for the Hearts and Minds of the Next Generation" by Bob Hoskins

The Battle of our Age-Fighting for the Hearts and Minds of the Next Generation by Bob Hoskins is a short booklet about a charity organization called OneHope that seeks to reach every child in the world with the Word of God. Bob Hoskins is the founder of OneHope and his passion is to see children’s lives transformed by God’s word. This booklet contains short stories of various children who have believed in Jesus through this ministry and have had their lives changed. Some were in poverty, in prison, had alcoholic parents, were in abusive situations but turned to Jesus when they read the Book of Hope about Jesus or saw other materials produced by OneHope.

I was very encouraged when I read this booklet and was pleased to learn about OneHope, an organization I wasn’t aware of. I enjoyed reading the stories and found the statistics mentioned staggering! I got this in the mail but you can learn more from their website at www.OneHope.net.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

The Daily Bible In Chronological Order-365 Daily Readings NIV

The Daily Bible organizes scripture in chronological order with month and days at the top of the pages that you can follow if you want to read the Bible through in a year.  It also includes interesting facts about passages such as the only woman in the Bible whose age is mentioned was Sarah, the wife of Abraham.  It's like having a commentary handy with the passage you are reading.  I like that it has subheadings for that serve as an outline of the chapters.  It is written in paragraph form with the references listed at the side which is very helpful for teaching.

We both recommend reading the Bible.  This is helpful to get things put in order for you.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Children of The Day" by Beth Moore is an Interesting Bible Study

I enjoyed Beth Moore's Children of the DAY Bible study on I and II Thessalonians very much.  I learned some new things and love how she applies the scripture to modern times.  I also like how she brings in scripture from other books related to the same topic.  This study seemed a bit less time consuming than some of her other ones because there are fewer fill-ins and questions to answer.  Much is just reading her commentary about the book.  I loved it!

I highly recommend that you also get the DVD that goes along with the study.  I did this with a group at church and the DVD enhances the experience--she's pretty funny at times.   
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

What My Cat Is Reading This Week

I was involved in sports camp this week at Parma Heights Baptist Church.  I am coaching 19 4th grade boys in basketball in the mornings and 13 in the afternoons this week.  We have 20 minutes for devotions each day so I get up early to run through it to time it.  I left my stuff on the floor yesterday to eat breakfast and when I came back, I saw my Manny Boy reading the Bible.  It was so cute, I had to take a picture!  Our theme verse this week is I Peter 5:7:  Give all your worries and cares to God for He cares about you.

Have you read your Bible lately? Happy Reading!

"Building Your Mate's Self-Esteem" by Dennis & Barbara Rainey

Building Your Mate’s Self Esteem by Dennis and Barbara Rainey is for both husbands and wives and provides some practical suggestions based on scripture for building self-esteem in your mate with familiar quotes tossed in. At the end of each chapter is a suggested thought provoking activity to do that helps you put into practice the principles given in the chapter.

There is a lot more “meat” in this book than I thought there would be and several things really stood out to me such as (1) accepting our mates unconditionally as God’s gift to us; (2) be generous with heartfelt praise; (3) encourage mate to develop close friendship with same gender and find another couple you and your spouse can become friends with; (4) seek to do specific things that please your mate; (5) encourage mate’s positive talk about himself and encourage him to avoid even thinking negative thoughts.

This book served as a good reminder to me on how to be good wife. It’s easy to let day-to-day responsibilities take over in a marriage to the extent romance and fun is neglected. Married couples should still act as though they are competing for their mate or familiarity can lead to boredom that can cause a marriage to fall apart should one of the couple choose to search elsewhere for something better. I recommend this book to any couple!
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

I, II, II John and Jude are Short but Powerful Books!

I read all these books in one week because they are all short, some in fact are only 1 chapter!  I John is the longest with five chapters, and has a lot of good things in it with the primary theme of loving God and others.  I marked a lot of verses in this book and highly recommend it!  

II John is about truth and love and that we must believe Jesus was truly human.  Verse 10 says not to welcome people into your home or even greet them if they do not believe Jesus was truly human! 

III John is about working together and support people who leave to tell others about the Lord. 

The book of Jude is about false teachers being evil and that God will punish them.  I really like the greeting in verse two which says, "I pray that God will greatly bless you with kindness, peace, and love."  What a good thing to pray for my family and friends. 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Glad I'm Done With Ezekiel!

I just finished reading the Old Testament book of Ezekiel and feel a sense of relief.  It has some interesting things but lots of symbolism and prophecy of destruction--kind of depressing.  I liked reading about the visions God showed to Ezekiel because they were pretty wild.  The last few chapters were encouraging about how God would bring his chosen people back and be with them.  The references to Gog and Magog and the city, the river and the temple all reminded me of things in the book of Revelation.  The main theme of Ezekiel is "Then they will know that I am the Lord God."  This phrase and slight variations of it are repeated throughout the book.

I am reading through the Bible for the second time and have only a few books left to go:  Philemon (1 chapter), I, II, III John and Revelation. 

Below are links to the posts I did sharing some highlights from Ezekiel on our other blog, Right Where We Belong:

God of Details
Dry Bones Come To Life
God is Loyal to Jerusalem
God is Fair
Would God's Message For the U.S. Be The Same?
The Lord Punishes But Warns First

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Galatians is About Freedom--Only Six Chapters!

Christians are saved by faith

The book of Galatians is a short book of only six chapters that is mainly about the Christian’s freedom in Christ.  It is a letter Paul wrote to the Galatians to encourage them to stay strong in their faith.  Some Galatians were being misled to believe that they had to be circumcised to be a follower of Christ and Paul wrote to them emphasizing that was not so.  He encouraged them to stick to the truth, fulfill the law by loving their neighbors as themselves, and being saved by their faith in Christ and not by their obedience to the law.  They were encouraged to bear each others burdens, be especially good to other believers, not grow weary in well doing and let Christ live through them by faith.

(Karen's review)

See my Sunday Sharing post from Galatians:
 A Prayer for Those With Heavy Hearts
Helping Others

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

I and II Peter written by Simon Peter Inspired by God

Need some encouragement?  Ever wished there was an instructional manual for living?  Want to know what the future holds?  The Books of First and Second Peter deals with all these issues and more! 

I enjoyed reading I and II Peter very much.  Peter was one of Jesus' inner circle of friends who was an eye witness to things Jesus did when He lived on earth.  The book of Acts records many things Peter did after Jesus returned to heaven. 


It is an encouraging book about hope that addresses how to respond to suffering, how to live a life pleasing to God including advice for husbands and wives, and a little about the end times and how this world one day will be destroyed by fire.  There are many interesting topics in these two short books and lots of practical advice. 

I got a lot out of it and encourage you to read the Sunday Sharing posts where I share some scripture highlights from it.  This is a quick read:  Just 5 chapters in I Peter and 3 in II Peter.  I highly recommend it!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Find out more:
How To Avoid Becoming Useless
The Connection Between Scripture and My Life
God Answered My Prayer in a Surprising Way

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Like Adventure? Read the Book of ACTS from the Bible

The book of Acts in The Holy Bible is full of action showing the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles after Jesus returned to heaven after his resurrection. Chapters 1-12 primarily focus on Peter’s ministry with the exception of chapter 8—Philip and chapter 9—Saul’s conversion. Chapters 13-28 focus on Paul’s complete transformation into a traveling preacher from a zealous persecutor of followers of Jesus. The book of Acts is about the persecution of the early Christian church and the spread of the good news of Jesus Christ throughout the world! It records many miracles, including speaking in tongues, prisoners set free, people healed, angel appearances, Paul’s near death experiences and more! There is some humor too—Eutychus fell asleep while Paul talked on and on and fell from a 3-story high window (Acts 20)!  This is the sequel to Luke.

During the 60s as a teenager, I quizzed on the book against other Christian and Missionary Alliance churches and later coached another quiz team of teens: Jolene, Jeff, Brenda, Dawn, Larry, Cy and Danny (if any of you happen to see this, please leave a comment for me!). Since I have taught from it many times. Below is a short cute video I taped of the boys in one of my 5th grade Sunday School classes using puppets to tell the story of Ananias and Saphira found in chapter 5.


I enjoyed reading through the book of Acts again very much because there is so much action and adventure and still find things I hadn’t noticed before. I encourage you to read the book of Acts for yourself. It’s truly amazing how God used ordinary people in extraordinary ways for the furtherance of the good news about His son, Jesus Christ. Here are some of my favorite verses from Acts (KJV version):

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.—Acts 1:8

. . .Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.—Acts 1:11

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.—Acts 2:21

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.—Acts 4:12

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.—Acts 5:29

And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.—Acts 24:16

More related Sunday Sharing posts—highlights from Acts Over at "Right Where We Belong":

Lie, Lie, Now You Die!
A Life Transformed
Meetings Arranged By God
Perseverance, Courage and Commitment
We All Need Encouragement!
Why Didn't Paul Listen, and What If He Had?
A Brave Boy Saved His Uncle Paul


Have you read Acts? What did you think of it?  Happy Reading!

Talk About Suffering Unfairly, Read the Book of Job

I finished reading the book of Job this week which I have been studying in my Circle of Friends group at church.  It is all about how Job lost everything including his health to prove that he did not worship God only for what he could get from him as Satan claimed.  Throughout the book, Job’s “friends” came to comfort him but instead accused him of sinning and kept telling him to repent.  They claimed God was punishing him for something but this was not true at all.  In the end, Elihu, a friend who finally spoke truth about God even though he was the youngest one.  Job never cursed God, although he did get to the point of being so depressed that he wished he had never been born.  The last few chapters, God speaks to Job and Job realizes what an all-powerful and mighty God he has.  God was angry with Job’s friends for not speaking the truth about Him and told Job to pray for them.  God also blessed Job with twice as much as he lost and gave him more children too!    After this, Job lived 140 years.

 

The first few chapters and the last few chapters of this book is the best part because the middle chapters are repetitive with each friend accusing Job and saying things that aren’t really true and Job’s rebuttal after each friend speaks.  The last few chapters is where God poses questions to Job, none of which Job can answer, showing God’s mighty power.  God never does explain to Job why he let Job suffer, but does give him even more than he had before.  There are lots of good lessons we can learn from reading this book such as, (1) even good, righteous people may suffer; (2) God is more powerful than Satan; (3) Satan cannot do anything without God’s permission; (4) people on earth are discussed in heaven; (5) not all suffering is punishment; and (6) accusing those hurting is not a good technique for comforting them.

As far as the Job study book, Trusting God in Times of Adversity by Kay Arthur and Pete De Lacy goes, I didn't much care for it.  Our Bible class quit using it about halfway through.    

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

The Gospel of John is a Must Read!

WOW!  I finished reading through the Gospel of John and found it to be so interesting.  I thought I knew everything that was in it but still found lots of things that caught my interest and refreshed my memory.  If you doubt that Jesus is the Son of God, this is a must read for you!  I really enjoyed this book of the Bible very much which contains probably the most well-known verse in the whole Bible:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life.--John 3:16 (NIV)

This book was written by the apostle, John, one of Jesus closest disciples.  The one, in fact, that Jesus loved and trusted so much that when dying on the cross, he gave the responsibility of taking care of his mother to John.  John writes an eyewitness account of many of the things Jesus did when he lived here on the earth.

I love these two verses that John included just for us today:

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book:  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in his name. --John 20:30-31 (NIV)

Here are several of my "Sunday Sharing" posts where you can find some highlights that I shared from this book and a bonus one from Easter 2012:

He Knows My Thoughts (John 2)
A Personal God (John 2-6)
The First Speed Boat (John 6)
Plotting Against Jesus (John 9-11)
I Give You Peace (John 14)
A Direct Line to God and a Password Tip (John 15-16)
4 Questions--Can You Answer Any? (John 20)
Happy Easter Everyone:  He Is Risen! (John 3)

I hope you will take some time to read some of these posts.  Since I read the Bible every day, I am going to start sharing a teaser each week from it too for our Tuesday Teaser post.  It's the one book that has made the biggest impact on my life!  I must share about it!


Have you read this one? Who do you say Jesus is?  Happy Reading!

"Ecclesiastes" written by King Solomon, Inspired by God

"A Wise Man Believes in God"

I just finished reading the book of Ecclesiastes from the International Children's Bible and enjoyed it very much!  Although it gets a bit depressing at times, it is a very interesting read.  It talks about how a lot of life is useless, like chasing the wind. Some common phrases that we hear today like "Ignorance is bliss," "A little bird told me," "Follow your heart," and "Where there's life, there's hope" seem to find their start in the book of Ecclesiastes.  For example, one I thought was funny is Eccl. 9:4 for the phrase "Where there's life, there's hope" which says:  But anyone still alive has hope.  Even a live dog is better than a dead lion.

The main point of the book is to enjoy your short life while here on earth but know that God will judge you for your actions.  After a detailed description of old age in chapter 11, it closes with the admonition to remember thy creator in the days of your youth.  The most important thing people can do is to honor God and obey his commands.  It is only twelve chapters, but very thought provoking and at sometimes funny. 
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"All God’s Creatures—Spiritual Lessons From The Animals Of The Bible" by Gary Richmond

This is a "must read" for animal lovers!

All God’s Creatures—Spiritual Lessons From The Animals Of The Bible by Gary Richmond is a fun and interesting read. The author imparts a variety of characteristics and interesting facts about the animals mentioned in the Bible which makes for a greater understanding of the verses. He also shares some fantastic stories relating to the animals from his personal experiences as a zookeeper and veterinarian’s assistant. For example, he shared about the time he was cleaning the bear exhibit and the bear opened the gate and let the other bears in with him, or the time a deer jumped into the lion exhibit and the time he pet a lion. I love animals so enjoyed this book very much.

All God’s Creatures also makes for some good background material when studying certain Bible passages or verses that mention animals. It is a quick, easy read that is organized with separate chapters for each animal. I could easily skip around and read the animals I was most interested in first. I shared about the lion and the wolf in a ladies’ Bible study class and got very positive feedback afterward. I recommend it to all animal lovers and anyone who is interested in the Bible. It certainly shows God’s amazing work throughout the animal kingdom. Now I want to go back and take notes or mark it up! This is one I own.
(Karen's Review, rating 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

The International Children's Bible Packs A Punch!

For my personal devotions this year, I have been using the International Children's Bible. It is especially helpful when reading through the Old Testament books.

I was brought up using the King James Version of the Bible and so memorized my scripture from that. I was always hesitant to read other versions but over time, I have come to accept the New International Version (NIV). I just think part of the charm and uniqueness of the Bible is the old English. It reminds me how old the scriptures really are and how God has protected his word throughout time.

However, here is an example of how some verses can really be more powerful when put into plain English.  This particular verse jumped out at me and then I looked it up in my KJV Bible to see if I had it marked. I did, but oh, how much plainer is the International Childrens Bible.

Here are three examples of Proverbs 18:15 so you can see how much easier the Childrens version is to understand:

KJV:

He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.

NIV:

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent--the LORD detests them both.

International Children's Bible:

The Lord hates both these things: letting guilty people go free and punishing those who are not guilty.

If you have children, I recommend getting them The International Children's Bible and use it yourself too for a better understanding of the scripture!

Have you seen this before? Which translation of the Bible do you prefer?

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JESUS: 90 Days With The One And Only by Beth Moore (Giveaway)

JESUS: 90 Days With The One And Only by Beth Moore is a devotional book with her insights into scriptures that all relate to Jesus. It has 1-3 pages on each passage of scripture with questions for reflection, space to write notes and her thoughts about the verses. I used it as a devotional book and liked it. I only wrote it in a little bit because I realized it would be a good book to pass along. Also, I found many of the thought questions required too much thought for me. It is a great book for focusing on Jesus and she made some very interesting points. It was like having her in a Bible discussion with me.

If you don't mind having some of my answers, live in the U.S. and would like this book, just let me know in the comments. It does no good just sitting on my shelf. To keep it simple, the first to comment gets it if you give me your email so I can contact you for your address. It has 436 pages.

Beth Moore is a well-known Bible teacher who speaks at conferences and has written many Bible Studies.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

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"Couples Who Pray—The Most Intimate Act Between A Man And Woman" by Squire Rushnell and Louise Duart

Couples Who Pray--The Most Intimate Act Between A Man And Woman by Squire Rushnell and Louise Duart presents the challenge for couples to spend 5 minutes every day praying together for 40 days and gives benefits of doing so supported by research and inspiring testimonies of 24 couples, including celebrities.  The hope is that after the 40 days, it will become a habit you will want to continue. 

The website for the 40-day prayer challenge is:  www.coupleswhopray.com  In addition to praying together, other factors are mentioned as well based on Biblical principles that should be part of any marriage.  My favorite quotes were these: “Our purpose in our marriage is to serve each other and love each other as much as we can.”—Louise Duart  and “Not long ago we drove by a little church with a great saying posted out front:  Loved the wedding, invite me to the marriage!  God.”

Couples Who Pray has inspired me to try again to pray together with my husband every day.  We have done this on and off, but maybe with the support of the website challenge, we can stick to it.    I liked the L-A-U-G-H-S acronym for 6 steps to a successful relationship in the last chapter:  Laughter, Appreciation, Understand, God, Honor, Support.  For me, this book dragged a bit when it hit on the existence of God and the reliability of scripture because I am already familiar with that; however,  the stories of the celebrities are quite interesting.  I encourage any couple to read this and give the 40-day challenge of praying together for just 5 minutes each day a try! 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.