The War On Christmas: Battles In Faith, Tradition and Religious Expression Bodie Hodge, Editor

"The War on Christmas" is composed of five headings which consist of: "What About Christmas?", "Confusions and Misconceptions", "It's All Baby Jesus", "How Christmas Came To Be" and "The War On Christmas". Under each heading are several titled chapters that elaborate and are written by several authors.

I found it not only interesting reading but I thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the lovely pictures scattered throughout which are in color and in black and white.

The book is a rather over-sized soft-cover and is well constructed with smooth-almost glossy pages and would easily be considered gift quality.

The book covers the Biblical history of the birth of Christ and goes into some detail of the type of building in which Jesus was born which is very different from what we are commonly taught. It goes on to separate fact from fiction as much as is possible, giving the reader a new perspective on what the real Christmas was probably like.

I highly recommend the book to anyone who would like a more accurate explanation of the birth of Jesus.

I was given a copy of this book by Handlebar Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion of it. The words are my own

Forgiveness: Overcoming The Impossible by Matthew West

"Forgiveness: Overcoming The Impossible" by Matthew West is a very nice and well written little book that is gift quality.  The book's construction is very good and has nice glossy pages including a page to enter "To" and "From".

There are four sections: "Forgiving Others", "Asking For Forgiveness", "Forgiving yourself" and "Embracing God's Forgiveness". Each one is comprised of individual stories related to the section, along with the author's comments and Scripture references.  Matthew writes like he is talking to you, the reader, and it makes for a very interesting read.  One of my favorite things he said is, "We are so torn, tattered, and broken by this world. Sometimes I just want to call my heavenly Father and say, "Daddy, can I come home?" That really resonated with me.

I highly recommend "Forgiveness" to anyone who needs some encouragement and help when it comes to dealing with forgiving and being forgiven. 

 I received this book from Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze review program in exchange for an honest review. The words are my own.

Wounded By God's People By Anne Graham Lotz

In "Wounded By God's People", Anne Graham Lotz takes story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar to show the reader how Hagar was "Wounded By God's People" (ie Abraham and Sarah) and adds modern day people, including herself and her family, who are "Wounded By God's People", and thereby, shoes that being wounded in that way is nothing new.

The book is comprised of 16 chapters, the beginning of which is a portion of the story of Hagar and relates today's examples to the Biblical account.  Some of the chapters include, "Jesus Understands (He was wounded, too"), "Life Is Hard" (Everyone Is Wounded"), "God Cares (You Can't Outrun God"), etc,

I found the book an easy and very interesting read and was especially impressed with Anne's openness and willingness to share her own experiences with being wounded by God's people as well as wounding God's people, herself. Reading about her personal experiences made the book really real and evoked emotions in me that I don't think I would have felt had she not included them.

I highly recommend "Wounded By God's People" to everyone-believers and non-believers, alike. Both, in my opinion, will come away feeling encouraged and hopeful.

I received a copy of the book from the Thomas Nelson Publishers' Booksneeze book review program in exchange for my review. The words are my own.

Unveiling Grace by Lynn K. Wilder

"Unveiling Grace" by Lynn K. Wilder, is a first person account of Lynn and her family's experience in the Mormon Church. Written like a novel, the book is composed of three parts-"Mormon Bliss", "Cracks In The Facade", and "Starting Over". Under each part are several chapters detailing different phases of their life as Latter Day Saints and how they were deeply into the Mormon faith. As time went on, however, they became increasingly troubled by the strange Mormon beliefs.

Troubling examples include singing about the founder of the Mormon faith, Joseph Smith, rather than about Jesus Christ.  As is the case in Christian Churches, members often gave testimonies of their faith but unlike most main-stream churches, the testimony of a Mormon focused on Joseph Smith and how they knew he was a prophet of God, etc. In addition, their chapels had "pews but no cross, windows, or art work".

Eventually, Lynn and her family came to discover that Mormonism and "The Book Of Mormon" were not at all like the Bible when they began to read the Bible for themselves. Now, out of the Mormon Church, Lynn tells others about their experience and has a passion to reach those still in the grip of Mormonism.

I found the book very interesting and well written. While it is written like a novel, Lynn shares many facts about the Mormon doctrine and includes portions of Mormon scripture and scripture from the Bible side by side so the readers can see the discrepancies for themselves. I highly recommend the book and the fact that it is presented in story form, would interest readers who normally wouldn't be drawn to that type of subject matter.

Bound Together by Chris Brauns

In the book, "Bound Together" author Chris Brauns expounds on the Biblical truth that people are affected by other's choices in life whether for good or ill. He calls this , "the principle of the rope".  In a very interesting way, Chris explains how it works. His style of writing is easy to follow and it flows nicely keeping the reader interested.  He demonstrates that in reality, "no man is an island" and how all humans are connected to (have "solidarity" with) Adam and original sin and how believers have "solidarity" with Christ.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it, albeit with some reservations. I have a problem with the Bible versions he uses-NIV and the ESV.
I don't believe those are the best versions to use. I also have a problem with some of the statements he makes in regard to "The Gospel and Assurance of Salvation in his appendix 1. An example is his statement that "if you profess Christ and yet are content to live your life with no consistent local church involvement, you should question your salvation."  Nowhere in the Bible is local church attendance a requirement in order to be saved.  Another statement he makes is found in the "forward" which says, "If we want to understand the gospel, we'll have to think more like a Christian and less like an American."  It is impossible for a person who is not a Christian to "think" like a Christian.  One must be a Christian to think like one.

But, having said that, I would still recommend the book as a worthwhile read.

"Second Chances" By Max Lucado

"Second Chances" by popular Christian author Max Lucado is another in his long list of books that I found really interesting. In this one, he takes portions of some of his previous books and ties them together in one volume to show how the Lord loves us and is so willing to give us another chance when we mess up.  His love for His people was beautifully demonstrated in the Old Testament with His chosen people of Israel. Time and again, the people of Israel strayed from God, yet, He repeatedly rescued them.

In "Second Chances", Max gives us thirty short stories that demonstrate God's love for us and His willingness to forgive and heal us when we fall. God wants only the best for His children and while He will discipline those who stray, He is always with us and urges us to come to Him for forgiveness and cleansing, showing us that He still loves us and that all is never lost.  With God, Christian's today can receive His forgiveness and healing just as His Chosen ones in the Old Testament did.

I recommend "Second Chances" to anyone. It is an easy read full of encouragement for those who feel there is no hope for them. With God, there is always hope.

"When God Makes Lemonade" created by Don Jacobson

"When God Makes Lemonade" created by Don Jacobson is a compilation of true short stories which demonstrate the lemonade that God blesses us with when we experience the lemons of life. The stories range from happy to funny, and even sad, but all are inspirational.  There are a total of 68 stories most of which are but a couple of pages in length so even the busiest of readers can easily read one or two at a time. The book is 344 pages in length.

I have always enjoyed this type of book and this one reminds me of the very popular "Chicken Soup For The Soul" books. This, like the "Chicken Soup" books, is one you can pick up anytime you want an uplifting little story to read. While it is excellent for anytime of day, in my opinion, it is ideal for reading at bedtime. One nice added feature I appreciated was the addition of the author's own story.  It's always nice to learn something about an author beyond the usual  "About The Author" portion of a book.

I highly recommend "When God Makes Lemonade" to everyone. Even older children would find the stories of interest and the brevity would attract them as well.

I received a free copy of this book from Booksneeze a review program of Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion. The words are my own.

Heaven's Lessons by Steve Sjogren

  Heaven's Lessons by Steve Sjogren is about the author's "Near Death Experience" that resulted from a relatively simple operation that went wrong and the lessons he learned from it which he passes on to his readers. 

When I first began reading "Heaven's Lessons", I wondered what was I letting myself in for and I wasn't sure I would be able to finish the book.  In the very first chapter entitled, "We Live In A Spiritual World", he starts out writing about the gal bladder surgery and the complications of it which caused his heart to stop for seven minutes at which time he experienced his Near Death Experience or NDE for short. The book isn't focused on the NDE but rather the lessons he learned. What really had me wondering was some of the statements he made in the chapter when he talked about the spiritual world we live in. He mentions doing what he called, "biblical dream interpretations", saying, "God goes out of his way to connect with people, including giving them dreams about Jesus". He, then, goes on to say how there is a dark side and how he has "expelled demons out of dozens of people".  Several things he mentioned in the chapter had me wondering, what sort of guy is he?  He tells of another incident in which he was led to ask a shopper at a Best Buy store if he could pray for him and how God said he would give him one of His prayers to pray.  When the shopper gave him permission to pray for him, the author said when he took hold of his arm, he had a mental picture that told him the shopper was a medical student in class and even what he was wearing. I won't go into all of the parts I read that led me to have questions about the author. Those interested can read it for themselves.

Once I got past the rest of the first chapter, and some of the next, it was more believable, more in line with Biblical Christianity.  The remaining chapters deal with facing our fears and getting over them, why we, as Christians, needn't fear death, how God heals gradually, about perservering in the Christian life, being thankful, etc.

The author writes well so it is an interesting read but because of the initial problems I had with some of what he said, I don't know that I can really recommend the book. This is a book that the reader must judge for themselves.

I received this book free from the Thomas Nelson Publisher's Booksneeze  review program in exchange for my thoughts. The words are my own.

Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado

"Six Hours One Friday" by Max Lucado, one of the most loved Christian Authors tells the Biblical account of Christ's crucifiction when He voluntarily gave His life to pay the penalty for our sins in our place.  Most, if not all, who read this book have read or heard about the crucifiction several times but Max tells the story beautifully, in a way that makes it really real and he makes you, the reader, feel as if he is carrying on a conversation with you. He makes plain the love Christ has for us as well as the agony and torture He experienced in dying in such a horrible way.  Max has you see what Christ did for sinners in a fresh, new way.

I highly recommend "Six Hours One Friday" to everyone. It isn't a long read-just 214 pages-and each of the 19 chapters is a good length-not too short or too long. The chapters are divided under three "Anchor Points"-- "My Life Is Not Futile", "My Failures Our Not Fatal", and "My Death Is Not Final".  Also included is a Study Guide in the back of the book that covers each chapter.

I received a free copy of "Six Hours One Friday" from Thomas Nelson Publisher's Booksneeze review program in exchange for an honest review. The words are my own. 

Grace: More Than We Deserve-Greater Than We Imagine by Max Lucado

I have read several excellent books on the grace of God and Max Lucado's "Grace: More Than We Deserve-Greater Than We Imagine" is one of them. I love reading about God's wonderful grace and if it were possible, I would read every book written on the subject! In everyone I have read, I always come away with either something new or a different way of thinking about grace.

Max Lucado received much praise for this book from several well known authors and that's not surprising. Max is a is a very talented and prolific writer. He writes like he is carrying on a conversation with the reader which makes it really difficult to put the book down.

Max's book is comprised of 11 chapters and a conclusion. Following the conclusion is a Reader's Guide with sections for each chapter of the book and questions for the reader to answer. Every chapter is worth reading, and it's hard to say what my favorite chapters are because they're all good and hold your interest. He has such a beautiful way of putting words together. An example I really love is: "Let grace happen, for heaven's sake. No more performing for God, no more clamoring after God. Of all the things you must earn in life, God's unending affection is not one of them. You have it. Stretch yourself out in the hammock of grace. You can rest now", which comes from page 49 of chapter four.

Max makes God's grace so easy to understand. It's like he's talking to a friend. I highly recommend that everyone read this book, whether you are a new Christian or a seasoned one and especially if you are not, yet, a Christian and are seeking God.  It's not a book you'll soon forget.

I received this book free from the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze review program in exchange for my honest review of the book.