I got this through Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger program.

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Product Detail ISBN: 0849921392 ISBN-13: 9780849921391 Format: Jacketed Hardcover Trim Size: 6.20 x 9.30 x 1.10 Style#: 9780849921391 Page Count: 224 Carton Qty: 24

With Fearless Max Lucado examines some common fears. By re-examining our fears through the lens of the Bible, we can gain a new perspective on them "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Tim 1:7 The book includes a discussion guide with sections on "Examining Fear", "Exposing Fear" and "Battling Fear" making it suitable for personal, or group, study. It has fifteen chapters, so it could easily fill a few months' classes. The book's content is only 180 of it's 224 pages, so it's suited for light reading, as well.

Lucado does a fair job of examining common fears in broad strokes, i.e. 'Fear of Not Mattering', 'Fear of Disappointing God', etc. He uses anecdotes, examples from his own life, and examples from scripture to look at the source, the consequences, and an appropriate response to the fear. For me, his use of so many different translations of the bible (the acknowledgments lists ten), sometimes several within the same paragraph, got very annoying. He quotes 'The Message' a lot, which, to me, is the same as being too lazy to paraphase a verse yourself. It gave me the impression he was just using whichever translation fit his interpretation at the time. He always give references, so you could read it in your own preferred translation, though. That being said, I'd still recommed the 'Fearless'. In fact, I'm loaing to one of my church's education ministers tomorrow.

What You Didn't Learn from Your Parents About: Sex By Matthew Paul Turner

Product Detail ISBN:1-57683-940-0 ISBN-13:9781576839409 Format:Paperback Trim Size: 5x7 Page Count: 217

Sex is a topic many christians are more than a little uncomfortable discussing. For many christians, this book delivers on it's title. Matthew Paul Turner gives not only the clinical information that no book about sex should be without, but scriptual advice on sexual topics, from a focus on having a 'holy and healthy' sex life. He draws from interviews he conducted (with both single, and married, christian women and men) and from his own life to show the reader that no matter the issue, question, or concern they may have, they are not alone. His presentation humourous in a way that's a little disarming, in a good way. Many people want to laugh when they're uncomfortable. Since one premise of the book is that too many christians are too uncomforatable talking about sex, it's only natural to throw in some levity to take the edge off a bit.

The publisher labeled this books as for 'twentysomethings', but there is value here for teens and married adults.He gives advice and encouragment for abstaining until marriage and how to make married sex the experience it was meant to be.

Pocket Guide to the Bible by Jason Boyett

Product Detail ISBN:0-9768175-4-3 Format: Softcover - Trade Paper Trim Size: 5x7 Page Count: 208 Carton Qty: 48

The Pocket Guide to the Bible is a sometimes-humourous book about The Bible, its contents and its history. I enjoyed it. Though, in a couple places, it felt like he may have sacrificed relevance for the appearance of hipness. Unfortunately, in those places, the hipness falls a little flat, too. On the whole, I thought it was pretty good.

It includes:

Biblicabulary

a list of terms

Cast of Characters

a run-down of significant(and not so much) people

What Happens Parts 1 & 2

a book-by-book synopsis of both the Old and New Testaments

The Brief History of Holy Writ

a timeline of The Bible itself

Versions and Perversions

Comparisons of some of the most well-known, if not popular, versions of The Bible

List Ye Be Smitten

a chapter of lists, kind of an appendix, that didn't fit elsewhere in the book, i.e. "The Four Best Moments for Donkeys"

Selected Bibliography

Not funny, just a good reference for further reading or research

The book's strengths are 'The Brief History of Holy Writ' and 'Versions and Perversions'. The 'Biblicabulary' and 'List Ye Be Smitten' had some good bits. I thought the 'Not to be confused with' and 'Please use it in a sentence' sections of each definition was a great idea, even if the jokes didn't always land. What's left wasn't bad, per se, he did as good a job with summarizing the entire Bible, book-by-book, mind you, in under 50 pages as anyone could. The same can be said of the 'Cast of Characters'. The sysopses and character lists were the weakest parts of a pretty good book.

That being said, what people find funny, or offensive, or inappropriate is subjective. Some people may buy this book _not_ expecting to see the words 'apeshiznit','beeyotch', or 'bazongas', or more to-the-point expecting _not_ to see them. These people may be disappointed...or pleasantly surprised. It's really going to depend on the individual's attitude. Some people will find this to be hilarious, some will not. Either way, it will give you something to think about, and may even teach you something.

Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl by N.D. Wilson

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Product Detail ISBN: 0849920078 ISBN-13: 9780849920073 Format: Trade Paper Trim Size: 5.40 x 8.10 x 0.70 Style#: 9780849920073 Page Count: 224 Carton Qty: 36

I got this through Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger program.

Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl is a short collection of essays on Art, Creation, Life and how the changing seasons can affect your perspective on them. They are written in a frenetic, stream-of-consciousness style that lends the book to a quick read, but does not make it very memorable. There are recurring ideas, Creation as Art with God as Artist,changing seasons,etc but no narrative to tie it all together.

The seasonal imagery in each essay fills some of those gaps, though, giving at least a nod to continuity. Wilson does do imagery well. You can tell that he genuinely sees beauty in the behavior of ants as easily as falling leaves and melting icicles.

I'll Make You An Offer You Can't RefuseInsider Business Tips from a Former Mob BossBy Michael Franzese

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Product Detail ISBN: 1595551638 ISBN-13: 9781595551634 Format: Jacketed Hardcover Trim Size: 5.50 x 8.30 x 0.60 Style#: 9781595551634 Page Count: 224 Carton Qty: 24

I got this through Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger program.

In 'I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse' Michael Franzese offers some sage advice on running a business, from a former crime boss's persepctive. It is not so much an instructable on success in business as an explanation of a business philosophy. He explains the mafia's fascination with Machiavelli, contrasting his 'the end justifies the means' approach with Solomon's more tempered advice from Proverbs.

The book is the perfect size for in-flight reading, roughly 6"x8" and only 150 pages. Each chapter is followed by a short summary of what the reader should take away from it. The book is released as a Nelsonfree product, so the ebook and audio versions can be downloaded for free after registering the hardcopy version.

There is probably not much here that someone involved with business has not heard before. But, what sets this book apart is Franzese's perspective as a former crime boss. He draws on his experiences in, and outside, 'the life' to illustrate his points in each chapter, giving application for legitimate business ventures. He offers insight on hard work, integrity, and the real meaning of success, and how that insight has changed since trading the life of a boss in the Colombo Family for the life of a family man and motivational speaker. It is not his advice so much as his ability to contrast business in the crime syndicate with legitimate business and apply what he learned in one to the other that make this book worth the read.

Searching for God Knows What

I read 'Searching for God Knows What' this weekend. In it, Donald Miller argues for a Christianity that is more focused on a relationship with Christ. Too often, in evangelical denominations, the Gospel can be over-simplified, boiled down to a checklist or bullet-points that hit the highlights without conveying the greater story, essentially separating the meaning from the truth.

One theme that runs though the book is that humans' damage from the Fall causes us to seek validation & acceptance from some while denying it to others, constantly vying for a better position in some arbitrary ranking. A true realtionship with Christ allows us to see this raking for what it is: arbitrary and ultimately meaningless. When He was on Earth, Christ accepted and loved the people marginalized by this system and held in comtempt those who'd exploited it.

Like 'Blue Like Jazz' Miller illustrates his points with personal stories and anecdotes drawns from his own experiences. The result is an accessible, but relevant book.

The Art of War

This is actually the second time I've read this book. But, like many books of a philosophical nature, you gain a little more, maybe a little different, insight on each reading. I can't speak to the quality of their translation, as I don't read or speak ancient Chinese. But, while reading the essays and commentary included in the book you get the impression that they have gone to great lengths to preserve the spirit of the original while making it accessible to a modern, English-speaking, reader. This is complex book, but I hope to at least pique your interest enough to seek out a copy for yourself.

Before reading the Art of War,(*spoiler alert*) it may be helpful to know that it isn't about war as most laymen perceive it. Sun Tzu advocates victory by 'taking whole'. Rather than obliterating the enemy, it's people, infrastructure, and resources, wouldn't it be better to win with all of those things intact _and_ on your side? Destroying everything in order to win only insures that you win a desolate state with a resentful populace and a lot of work to be done...a further drain on your resources.

The Art of War is comprised of 13 chapters ,each dealing with a different aspect of war, how that apect fits into the greater picture, and how each can help to achieve the ultimate goal of 'taking whole'. At the heart of taking whole is the ability to recognize, read and interpret shih, the potential in the current configuration of all the disparate pieces that make up now. Are the current circumstances propitient for action? If not, can they be altered to make them so? If not that, can they be altered to make them less advantageous to the enemy?

The idea of victory by taking whole is what has contributed to the Art of War's application to conflict resolution off the battlefield, as well. Lawyers, businesspeople, and generals alike have reflected on it's nuanced wisdom for years. There is definitely application for it in many of life's little grievances, even if only to give one pause to think before you act.

To Own a Dragon

I finished Don Miller's "To Own a Dragon: reflections on life without a father". This is undoubtedly a book I will read many times. The book is fourteen short chapters, each dealing with a specific area that Miller felt was impacted by the lack of a father in his life.

A recurring idea in the book, is the God-as-Father metaphor with which every christian is familiar. What Miller gets at is not what that metaphor says to The Church as a whole, but what that metaphor should mean to every christian father. When a child first hears "Our Father which art in Heaven", that child's father is responsible for how that child perceives that relationship.

Before I started to read the book, I was a worried that I might be tempted to over-empathize with him, to let myself think I could relate to everything he went through because my relationship with my father wasn't that great. But, that's not an option here. This isn't a book about how not having a father around can affect some boys. This is a book about how he was affected, personally. He illustrates his points with specific, personal examples from his childhood. Like "Blue Like Jazz", Don's writing feels genuine...without affectation. While the prologue includes a tongue-in-cheek warning for "women who attempt this book", his writing can speak to fathers as easily as the fatherless.

Finished Blue Like Jazz

When I read what Jon over at "Stuff Christians Like" wrote about Donald Miller I was pretty sure I'd have to read "Blue Like Jazz". It's a great book. I wish I could have read it years ago.

When I first started reading it, I compared it to Mere Christianity, because it seemed they both fit in the same niche. But, Miller's book is so much more than that. More than an exposition on what Christians believe, his book is about what he, personally, believes, how he arrived at those conclusions, and the bumps, bruises, and missteps along the way. Don Miller isn't someone trying to capitalize on credentials, or his christian pedigree to get people to listen to what he has to say. He's just genuine, telling us about the people and events in his life that God has used to reveal truth to him.

Shortly,I'll be adding three more of his books to my list. I'm looking forward to reading them.

Started blue like Jazz

I've started reading Donald Miller's "Blue Like Jazz". The subtitle for "Blue Like Jazz" is as fit a description as any:"Nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality". There are parallels between Miller's book and C. S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity". The conversational syle of both books doesn't give the impression that the authors have an agenda. However, Miller draws more anecdotes from his own life to illustrate his points. This book is as much about Miller's own personal journey and how his own faith developed, as about christian spirituality. Like, C.S. Lewis, though, Miller is writing to be accessible to non-christians. His target audience are those people who have questions about christianity; or don't have questions, but are completly wrong about it.

Finished "Mere Christianity"

It was a good read. What I liked most about it, and that you don't often see in 'religious' books, is that he frequently refers to the feedback he got from the radio talks and from sending the text to friends in the clergy to be critiqued before publishing it. Many authors would just read the notes and feedback, and either edit the book accordingly, or ignore them altogether. Lewis handles it in a way that lends to the conversational tone of the book.

As an atheist-turned-christian Lewis has a different perspective than most christian authors, especially with respect to explaining our faith. His goal was to present the barest essentials of christianity in a manner that would be accessible to non-believers, in the hope that their interest would be piqued and that they may become believers themselves. To that end, he relies less on scripture than parable and logic to make his points. It reminds me of Plato's "Dialogs".

While his intended audience was the non-believer, there is much there for christians of any denomination. His approach to the how and why of what we believe gives everyone a lot to think about.

Started Mere Christianity

I started reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis tonight. If you're unfamiliar with it, it is a collection of books he wrote on what it means to be a Christian. The first book was adapted from radio talks he gave over BBC radio during WWII. His goal in the three collected books, is to explain the core of Christian belief. Those things to which all Christian faiths adhere. Going so far as to have the second book reviewed by four clergymen: an Anglican, a Methodist, a Presbyterian, and a Roman Catholic. Other than some critique of his presentation of a couple of ideas, they were all in agreement. He presents his books as a way to introduce to a non-believer what all Christian faiths have in common, instead of trying to seel his particular 'brand' of faith.

It makes me wonder how he would feel about the trend in 'relevent' churches, and branding, advertising, and marketing of churches. Was he trying to make Christianity 'relevant' to 1940's Great Britain? Or, would he find the even further fragmenting of our faith into so many nearly indiscriminate gatherings of people professing practically identical beliefs troubling?