Monday, January 16, 2012

The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge by Tony Dungy - Giveaway!!



When I chose this book to review I knew a little about Mr. Dungy from watching a few football games and I respected him for his willingness to stand for the Lord in a secular field such as professional football.
This is a great daily devotional book for boys or men. Or for ladies as well...it is just that he refers to sports in many of the devotionals so I believe it would be a great devotional tool for men. :)
The book focuses on seven themes, with each theme repeating every seven days. Therefore, every week you will read one devotion from each of the themes:
1) Core
2) Family
3) Friends
4) Potential
5) Mission
6) Influence
7) Faith



Each devotion includes Scripture and an Uncommon Key - an application or action to implement based on what you've just read. The goal is to spend time with God daily and to engage you to act on what you read. He emphasizes to just jump in on whatever date you decide to start reading it.
If you would like to download the first chapter of the book, you can for free by clicking on this link. First Chapter

He is a very humble man and you can feel this in his writing. He is honest and transparent and that makes this devotional very appealing. I was glad that I was reviewing it and could go ahead and read ahead to different days!
See for yourself what Coach Dungy has to say in this video about the book.

Tyndale, I believe, has partnered with a man after God's own heart in releasing this book and I believe God will use it for His glory.
You can investigate more for yourselves at Tyndale or at Coach Dungy's website.

Tyndale has generously provided me with a free copy of this book to give away to you, my readers!
I will choose at random on Wednesday January 18th from everyone who leaves a comment on this post and the winner will be mailed an award certificate that you can redeem at your local Christian bookstore for your free copy of The Uncommon Life Daily Challenge. I believe you will enjoy this book :)

Thanks to Tyndale for providing a copy of this book for me to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Miracles are for Real by James L. Garlow and Keith Wall

This is a book subtitled What Happens When Heaven Touches Earth.
The book is about miracles and the authors are very scientific in their discussion of what constitutes a miracle as opposed to something else. I like the way they categorize the "inexplicable".
1) Simple Answered Prayer
2) Complex Answered Prayer
3) Coincidence
4) Against All Odds event
5) A Miracle

I was glad to read this book because it wasn't just a collection of many people telling their "miracles". The authors only included verified stories that fit their definition of a miracle. That is not to say that God is not involved in each of the other instances as well. Answering prayers is to us a "miracle" because we cannot see how the Lord can answer our prayers at times. Or the lining up of several coincidences to provide for a certain event can certainly seem like a miracle and certainly at times the hand of God may be involved in this as well. But the miracles are events that extend beyond all the scientific known laws.
An example is of a person who had their entire eye removed due to a tumor. Later during a miraculous healing this person can now see from that eye socket ...where no eye is present. This has been proven through doctors' examinations and numerous tests such as covering the good eye and using only the socket to see things.
This is an inspirational book for those who believe in miracles and a wonderful resource for those who are unsure whether miracles exist and tend to want to have explanations for things that happen in life.
I was blessed by reading this book, and challenged in my thinking of miracles as well. Excellent book!

I received a copy of this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Blue Ridge Holler - January 27 6:00 pm - Union Mills Learning Center

First Date by Krista McGee

To be honest, when I chose this book I was thinking based on the cover and the title that it would be a book of fluff, no substance, some romance novel. I don't really enjoy romance novels except for some by Grace Livingston Hill. So when the book came I put it aside. Finally, this week I picked it up because I didn't have anything else to read.
As I started reading I realized my preconceived notions were all wrong. I should know better by now than to judge a book by its cover. I really enjoyed this book.
It is about a 17 year old girl who is chosen by her Christian school principal to be a contestant in a reality TV show where girls compete to be the prom date for the President's son. Addy, the main character, has no desire to be a part of this. However, the principal tells her it will help their struggling school with their finances because the publicity could get them more enrollees. So she prays about it and decides that this will be a situation sort of like Daniel and the lion's den. She will go there but she will not like it.
The book is humorous and moves quickly. I read it all in two nights. The writer has really developed her characters and I felt like they were young girls I might meet in our church youth group. Addy is not a perfect Christian girl. She struggles with what God would have her do, with her attitudes, with fear, and with sharing her faith. However, she learns from this experience and draws closer to God through it all.
I think any young girl would absolutely devour this book. I am in my 40s and I ate it up! The writing was excellent. The story line showed how God can use any situation for His glory if we are only obedient to Him. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from Ms. McGee!

"With thanks to Thomas Nelson Publishing through the Booksneeze program for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion."