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 When I saw the title of this book, I thought it would be a rehash of a little booklet I read decades ago called Tyranny of the Urgent. Some of the principles may be the same, but Burton brings everything into present-day context. She examines some issues that weren’t even dreamed of in the 1960s when Tyranny of the Urgent was written.

Burton is a busy wife, mom, speaker, life coach, and author with a background in psychology and motivation. With all that going on, she certainly needs to be able to master her time!

Writing from a Christian perspective, Burton uses personal stories from her family as well as examples from the lives of friends to illustrate her points.   Burton introduces the idea of thinking about time in the same terms we use to think about and discuss money. We can be in time debt, be time poor, and even build time wealth.

For those who want to get the most out of this book and start to apply Burton’s lessons, she gives meaningful assignments and exercises to help you realize how you are spending your time and discover the motivation for the choices you are making.

Burton’s writing is clear and the book is well organized. It’s About Time offers a significant value in a small package. Is it time to reorder your priorities?

#ItsAboutTime #NetGalley @valorieburton ‏ @ThomasNelson @HarperCollins

Animal-lover Melissa Loomis was seeing to her two barking dogs one early morning, in hopes she could quiet them before they woke the neighbors. She discovered their barking was incited by a raccoon climbing over the fence into the back yard. One of the dogs went for its tail pulling the raccoon from the fence and into the yard.

Melissa knew she had to separate the raccoon from her dogs, as much for the raccoon’s safety as the wellbeing of her dogs. She reached into the fray to grab the dogs’ collars, and it was then that the raccoon bit her hard on the right wrist and scratched her left arm. Using both hands, Melissa grabbed the wild animal and hurled it back over the fence.

Thus begins the story of the injury that cost Melissa her hand and lower arm, opening the way for what the doctor treating Melissa calls a series of miraculous happenings to align just right so that in 2016 Melissa could become the most advanced bionic woman on the planet.

The groundbreaking medicine in this case was not just a prosthetic hand that could grasp and hold in a surprisingly helpful way. The new breakthrough was an artificial hand that could send signals to the brain mimicking feeling.

This was great news for Melissa in her tragic circumstances, of course. Although it was experimental at the time Melissa went through it, Dr. Seth closed the book by describing efforts to bring the same technology to the amputees at Walter Reed Hospital, which treats wounded American soldiers.

This is an inspirational book if you can look for the many positives that come out of the story. If you are prone to stand with your mouth agape when the amputation occurs, not able to move past that point, Rewired may not be for you. For the rest of us, let’s follow Melissa’s example of rolling with life’s punches and looking for the good that comes our way.

@ThomasNelson @DrAjayKSeth1 #Rewired #NetGalley

Format:  Paperback

The 5-Minute Bible Study for the Anxious Heart follows this formula:  

Read – the short scripture passage selected for the study.   

Understand – by pondering the provided prompts throughout your day.

Apply – what you have learned with further thoughts from the brief devotion.

Pray – with help from the author’s provided prayer. Allow time to hear from God.

Following Thompson’s formula, you should be able to hurry your anxiety through each one of these devotions in five minutes flat. If you are that pressed for time, I can see why you are anxious.

I’m sure the ultra busy person loves the condensed “5-minute” Bible studies. No doubt this one can calm your anxious heart, because God’s Word always accomplishes what it is sent out to do. But I believe if you linger a little longer over the scripture, prompts, and application; and take time to add your heartfelt sentiments with Thompson’s prayer, you will receive much more benefit from these studies.

The scripture passages have been wisely selected and the rest of the study’s words carefully chosen. Thompson wasn’t rushed when she put this Bible study together. Do yourself a favor and stretch these studies until you perceive God’s Word taking root in your heart. At some point you will realize it is no longer an anxious heart!

#The5minuteBibleStudyForTheAnxiousHeart #NetGalley @Barbour @BarbourBuzz @booksbyjanice

John MacArthur has written a strong defense of the Bible as God’s Word. He lays out a very clear argument that the Bible is under attack in today’s world, but the Bible is Truth and it is Authoritative.

Throughout the book MacArthur repeats his view that God speaks to His people only through the Bible. Hunches, intuition, words of prophesy, and words of wisdom are not – according to MacArthur – valid ways to hear from God.

MacArthur condemns the Charismatic Movement for relying on the above methods “while the Christian in the pew has the Bible unopened beside him,” a phrase MacArthur repeats at least half a dozen times.

I wholeheartedly agree with MacArthur on the inerrancy of Scripture, and that the Bible is Truth. But not every Christian who seeks extra-Biblical means of obtaining God’s direction leaves his Bible closed. Not everyone who identifies as a Charismatic is Biblically illiterate.

Otherwise I believe MacArthur has written a fine book. He uses multiple scriptures and is well-versed in the Word of God.

#FinalWord #NetGalley @johnmacarthur @RefTrust

I remember attending a conference in the early 80s in which Elisabeth Elliot was one of the speakers.  Do I really remember her delivering a condensed version of this book in her talk, some 38 years ago, or do I just want to think I remember?

Regardless, this book has stood the test of time. Joyful Surrender was originally penned in 1982 by Elisabeth Elliot, under the title Discipline: the glad surrender.

The title and the cover have been changed, but I believe just about everything else has been kept as it was. The Scripture versions are all the original ones Elliot used, and some are rarely listed as modern references: The New English Bible, The Jerusalem Bible, and J. B. Phillips translation of the New Testament.

The seven disciplines Elliot examines are of the Body, Mind, Place, Time, Possessions, Work, and Feelings. Elliot speaks some hard truths, calling fat, fat (even gluttony); and lazy, lazy.

She related an incident in which a woman asked her to pray she would get a job. Elliot asked her how long she had been out of work. The woman replied she had been out of work, and on government assistance, for two years. Elliot asked her what type of work she was looking for and the lady wanted a job in the television industry.

Elliot told her she could surely find a job cleaning, and be able to get off of government assistance. But the woman was offended at the suggestion, because she had a Master’s degree, and only wanted to work in that field.

Elliot reminded her of Paul’s words that those who do not work will not eat. Elliot suggested that if she got busy doing the most menial work, God may be inclined to provide a job more in keeping with her education.

#JoyfulSurrender #NetGalley @RevellBooks

I had been using the NIV Study Bible for nearly forty years, and I was ready for a change. I wanted Scripture to feel fresh and alive as I read it.

I’d be the last person to call myself a Bible scholar, but I love digging deeper when something sparks my interest. I also write for publication on Christian topics, and it is important to be accurate.

Some translations go back to the original language to begin, while others start with an English translation. My thought was the closer to the source, the fewer man-made errors. I also hoped that as time passed, study of Biblical languages was advancing and allowing for a more accurate translation. The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) started from scratch with the original language, published in 2004. Since then the translators have updated the text with corrections, better word choices, and revisions. The result is the Christian Standard Bible (CSB).

A few translations attempt to match the original language word-for-word, resulting in an often awkward English phrasing or sentence structure. On the other end of the spectrum from word-for-word translation is thought-for-thought. This more closely captures the meaning of what is said, and results in a more reader-friendly text. One of the best examples of this type of translation is The Message, by Eugene Peterson. The CSB falls right in the middle.

It is important to me that the translation be accurate and faithful to the original language. I didn’t want a new Bible that was going to suddenly challenge traditional Christian doctrine!

Although I wanted a translation that was different from my familiar NIV, I didn’t want one so vastly different it sounded foreign to me.

The presenter at a women’s conference I attended a couple months ago was using the CSB. When she read a passage from the Psalms that I was familiar with from the NIV, whole phrases matched what I had committed to memory. Yet, there was a difference too. As the conference progressed I could see that these differences might just be the fresh and alive elements I was looking for in a new translation!

This study Bible contains not just the Scripture, but word studies, photographs, paintings, timelines, maps, charts, an introduction to each book, outlines, theological themes and insights, and notes. In this study Bible, it is all right there on the page of the verse it relates to, which is a huge improvement over the e-Bible I was using! Sometimes the size of the type is made small to cram all that information. I ordered a large print edition, and the 10 pt font makes it easier on my aging eyes. This significantly increases the size of the Bible; it is big enough, as we used to say, to choke a mule.

I reasoned that I wouldn’t be carrying this heavy book back and forth to church. I have long since switched to my tablet or phone for following the pastor as he reads Scripture. The CSB would remain on my desk as a study tool.

Old habits die hard. The first time after my CSB arrived that I needed to look up a passage in a study Bible, I reached for my phone. Then I caught myself and thumbed through the CSB. I read the passage, a related note, and then skipped back to the introduction of that book. I kept going deeper and getting a more complete picture of my subject.

The CSB Study Bible offers a lot of information, and would be up to the task for a minister who does in-depth study for sermon or Bible study preparation. A Bible scholar, writer like me, researcher, or the serious layman could all benefit from the CSB Study Bible.

Aesthetically, it’s a beautiful book. The leather-like cover is soft and appears durable. The page edges are golden and uniformly coated, and I was pleased to note the gold did not come off on my fingers. The two place-finder ribbons can be positioned in the Old or New Testaments. I got the indexed version, but I’m not sure that’s such an important feature for me. If I were to order again, I wouldn’t include it. But I don’t think I’ll need to order for another thirty years or so. This CSB should do fine.

@BHpub bhpublishinggroup.com @LifeWay @CSBible

Run with the Horses is Eugene Peterson’s commentary on selected passages from Jeremiah. Peterson, best known for his paraphrase of the Bible into modern language – The Message, uses that text as his platform. I say platform instead of starting point, because in many instances in Run with the Horses Peterson returns to scripture’s original language to tease out not just the definition of a word, but the intent of the meaning as it is used in a passage.

The book’s title comes from the twelfth chapter of Jeremiah. Jeremiah starts by complaining that the wicked have it better than the righteous. In verse 5 God begins his answer to Jeremiah:

So, Jeremiah, if you’re worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses?

It reminds me of when my daughter was in middle school, whining about the difficulty of her homework.  I nonchalantly said, “Oh. I thought you could do it,” as if to imply she couldn’t.

This made her angry and she started telling me she could do anything she wanted; she could become a doctor if she wanted to. I told her that doctors don’t get there by whining and saying, “This is too hard.” That stopped the whining, mostly.

Things were about to get a lot worse for Jeremiah, and I think God was challenging him, asking if he would be up for the task ahead.

This is the Commemorative Edition released not long after Peterson’s death. This newer version uses The Message for scripture quotations, and it contains the text of Peterson’s funeral homily delivered by his son Eric Peterson.

Peterson was a great communicator. Even so, one pass through this book left me just skimming the surface. I believe that’s owing to the complexity of the Book of Jeremiah. I wouldn’t recommend Run with the Horses as this summer’s beach read, but if you are a serious Bible scholar, it should be on your list!

By the way, my daughter is now entering her third year at a top college in their honors program. **SPOILER ALERT** Jeremiah was faithful to God until the end.

#RunWithTheHorses #NetGalley @ivpress @PetersonDaily

 

Witold Pilecki was a patriotic Polish farmer in 1939, and an officer in the cavalry reserves. Pilecki lost most of his men in their first battle. He and another Polish officer, Jan Wlodarkiewicz, decided to form an underground resistance cell. The underground mainly did “hit-and-run” warfare against Soviet troops.

Pilecki and Wlodarkiewicz started out as good friends, but Pilecki started to distance himself when Wlodarkiewicz began incorporating anti-Semitic sentiment into his leadership of the resistance cell. Eventually Wlodarkiewicz proposed that Pilecki allow himself to be captured and sent to Auschwitz to start an underground within the camp and to report on conditions within the camp.

Pilecki accepted the dangerous assignment. If you have read horrific accounts of Auschwitz before, this is no different. Pilecki could have been killed at any time, just randomly. Upon arriving and disembarking from the train, soldiers were shoving the men with their gun butts, beating or shooting them if they didn’t move fast enough.

One group of soldiers told a prisoner to run toward the fence. When he did, he was shot for trying to escape, while the soldiers laughed.

Then there was the gas chamber, crematorium, lice, typhus, starvation, lethal injections in the camp hospital, and more random killing from the guards. Some days prisoners’ numbers were read out and they were marched to a wall where they were shot.

I won’t say if Pilecki ever got out of Auschwitz alive, if he was able to send any messages to the underground outside the prison, or if he was able to establish a working underground resistance within the prison.

The Volunteer is a well researched, riveting read. Because of the content it may not be an easy read for some. I have read a few books about Auschwitz this year and the cumulative effect is causing warning bells inside my head to go off. I need to give this graphic history a break.

But if you haven’t reached your quota of explicit wartime violence, this is an important read to preserve history, and hopefully teach us which path of evil to avoid.

 

@jackfairweather @HarperCollins @AuschwitzMuseum @HolocaustMuseum  #witoldpilecki #thevolunteer #auschwitz #NetGalley

Review of God Will Make a Way by Don Moen with Robert Noland

Don Moen has had an incredible life of following God. That’s not to say it has been an easy life – far from it. But as Moen has been faithful, God has used his life to yield much fruit.

Moen was raised in a very strict religious home. He was made to take piano lessons, but was told that any music with a beat was sinful. Moen studied music in college and at the same time played professionally for area symphonies almost every night. But his fear that he was sinning – based on the theology he was taught as a child – caused Moen quit school to return to Minnesota to become a lumberjack.

Read this book to find out how God led Moen out of the woods to attend Oral Roberts University, meet his wife-to-be, and begin a long-term association with Terry Law and Living Sound to minister all over the world.

Moen is perhaps best known as a pioneer of the modern Praise and Worship movement.  As part Hosanna! Integrity Music, Moen visited churches around the world to collect the latest praise and worship music, which was shared on a global level.  While with Integrity, Moen signed now well-known song writers and worship leaders like Paul Baloche, Ron Kenoly, and Darlene Zschech.

The tragic death of Moen’s nephew caused the spiritual wilderness or desert, which in fact became the fertile ground for Moen to write what he describes as the defining song of his music career, “God Will Make a Way”. 

Moen uses the story of how “God Will Make a Way” was written to encourage others who are feeling despondent, like they’ve prayed but nothing will change. If you need a shot of encouragement, this will be a good read for you. If you get excited reading about the miraculous ways God leads and works through His people, you’ll love this book!

@HarperCollins @ThomasNelson @donmoen @RNolandAuthor #GodWillMakeAway #NetGalley

The Alice Network is better than most WWII fictional narratives; although after having recently read The Book Thief, and The Tattooist of Auschwitz, the bar has been set too high for me to award this book more than four stars.
Hold on tight and watch where you are going, because the story in The Alice Network meanders a bit, hopping between two World Wars, three pregnancies, spying, lying, betrayal, expensive cars, and uncontrollable rage. An odd trio sets off to find the missing and exact revenge, while fighting against being controlled, and suffering the burden of guilt though not guilty.
I don’t want to drop any spoilers, but the above paragraph may give you an idea of the complexity of this book. It is engaging and at times suspenseful and worth the full four stars.
Thanks to my local library for the loan of the audiobook of The Alice Network!

#WWII #spy #audiobook