Amazing Encounters With God / Review

Author: Clayton King
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736937765

Book Description:
Mac Powell of Third Day called Clayton King’s previous book, Dying to Live, “A must-read.” An evangelist and missionary, Clayton has spoken to millions, including hundreds of thousands in the teen-to-thirties age group in the U.S.

Through his firsthand stories in Amazing Encounters with God, believers will see freshly that they can step back and be amazed by God…as Clayton is after poking around in a dark church basement; meeting a drunken millionaire on an airplane; considering a horse sticking his head through barbed wire; having a surprise encounter with the IRS; seeing a baby born dead…and God’s credibility in a whole village start to crumble.

A great reminder that God speaks through ordinary occurrences, using ordinary things to reveal Himself.

“He is still close, maybe as close as the next person you meet, the next song you hear, or the next conversation you have.”

My Review:
Do you want to meet God today? Clayton King takes us to a place we rarely enter...God's presence, and reminds us that we are in His space at any given moment; that He is there at the most common events; that He is there when we don't realize it. God is everywhere in our world and in our personal lives. We can commune with him if we open our spiritual ears, eyes, and hearts to His existence. Each moment of our life can become a sacred moment when we learn to recognize Him. He is waiting.

Amazing Encounters With God (Stories to Open Your Eyes to His Power) is well-written and inspiring. It will take you on a grand adventure and sit your heart in the providence of God. Highly recommended.

(Thank you to Harvest House for my review copy.)

Accidental Genius

Author: Mark Levy

Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Second Edition edition (August 9, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1605095257

Book Description:

When it comes to creating ideas, we hold ourselves back. That’s because inside each of us is an internal editor whose job is to forever polish our thoughts, so we sound smart and in control, and so that we fit into society. But what happens when we encounter problems where such conventional thinking fails us? How to get unstuck?

For Mark Levy, the answer is freewriting, a technique he’s used for years to solve all types of business problems, and generate ideas for books, articles and blog posts.

Freewriting is deceptively simple: Start writing as fast as you can, for as long as you can, about a subject you care deeply about, while ignoring the standard rules of grammar and spelling. Your internal editor won’t be able to keep up with your output, and will be temporarily shunted into the background. You’ll now be able to think more honestly and resourcefully than before, and will generate breakthrough ideas and solutions that you couldn't have created any other way.

Levy shares six freewriting secrets designed to knock out your editor and let your genius run free. He also includes fifteen problem-solving and creativity-stimulating principles you can use if you need more firepower—seven of which are new to this edition—and stories of problems he and others have solved through freewriting.

Also new to this edition: an extensive section on how to refine your freewriting into something you can share with the world. Although Levy originally taught freewriting as a private brainstorming technique, over the years he and his clients have found that, with some tweaking, it’s a great way to generate content for books, articles, and other thought leadership pieces.

My Review:

This is a book for anyone who writes. Bloggers, authors, journalists, marketers, etc. will benefit from Accidental Genius by Mark Levy. The book has been around for several years and is now in the second printing, proving it has the enduring quality of solid information and wisdom. Chapters include: Drop You Mind On Paper; You Are What You Focus On; and Learn To Love Lying. The 192 page book is well-written, simple, and clear...very readable. Highly recommend!

(Thank you to the author for my review copy!)

How To Be Perfect

Author: Daniel M. Harrell

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: FaithWords

(January 5, 2011)
ISBN-10: 044655717X

Book Description:

Influenced by A. J. Jacobs's The Year of Living Biblically, Harrell managed to recruit 20 members of his Boston congregation to join him in a month-long effort at living Levitically. Holiness was the ultimate goal, but so was learning.People who take the Bible seriously never know what to do with the book of Leviticus. And yet Leviticus is historically considered by Jews, and thus by Jesus, as the pivotal book of the Hebrew Bible. It's impossible to fully comprehend such key New Testament terms as sacrifice, atonement, or blood without some understanding of Leviticus. The "second greatest commandment," which Jesus said was "Love your neighbor as yourself," comes from Leviticus (19:18).As a longtime minister and preacher who had successfully skirted Leviticus for most of his life, author Daniel Harrell wanted to come to grips with all that Leviticus teaches--not just loving neighbors, but the parts about animal sacrifice, Sabbath-keeping, skin diseases, homosexuality, and stoning sinners, too. Yet rather than approaching Leviticus with a view toward mitigating its commands, he decided to simply obey them. The surprising lessons they learned impressed on Harrell both the power of obedience and the necessity of grace. This book traces the adventures of a group of people eager to understand the Bible by living it.

About the Author...
Daniel M. Harrell is senior minister of Colonial Church in Edina, Minnesota. For 23 years he served as a minister at Park Street Church in downtown Boston. He is the author of Nature's Witness: How Evolution Can Inspire Faith as well as numerous articles that have appeared in Leadership Journal, Christianity Today, The Christian Century, and Regeneration Quarterly. He holds a PhD in developmental psychology from Boston College and has lectured at Fuller Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Gordon College, and Boston University. He lives somewhat obediently by grace in Minneapolis with his wife and daughter.

My Review:

It seems the nature of man is to desire perfection in one's self. Pastor Daniel Harrell found 20 church members who agreed to enter, with him, into an experiment involving Old Testament teachings. They would follow the commands of Godly living as recorded in the book of Leviticus. What would they find out about themselves at the end of this experiment? Could they actually obey the teachings? Could they obtain godliness?

What the group finds are surprising personal weaknesses, hard lessons in obedience, and that God's grace is sufficient.

4 stars****

(Thank you to Hachette BookGroup for my review copy.)

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Peace and Plenty

Author: Sarah Ban Breathnach
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
(December 29, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446561746

Book Description:

"When money is plentiful, this is a man's world. When money is scarce, it is a woman's world." Unearthed in a 1932 Ladies Home Journal, this quote is the call to arms that begins PEACE AND PLENTY, Sarah Ban Breathnach's answer to the world's-- and her own personal-- financial crisis.

As only Ban Breathnach can, she culls together this compendium of advice, deeply personal anecdotes, and excerpts from magazines, books, and newspapers-- particularly those of the Great Depression-- to inspire readers who are mired in today's financial difficulties. Focusing on her own personal path, Sarah Ban Breathnach will relate never-before revealed details about how she fell from the financial top to the bottom.

Readers will immediately see how deeply she understands the plight of those trying to maintain a happy and comfortable home, while at the same time not even knowing if they will be able to make the mortgage to keep that home.

Sarah has proved to be the voice of comfort for years to women who are spiritually bankrupt, and now she will reach to those who are financially strapped, showing them how to pull themselves out of their psychic and fiscal crises while providing deep comfort and reassurance throughout.

My Review:

I came to be a devotee of author Sarah Ban Breathnach several year ago after reading Simple Abundance. In fact, I gave it to many of my friends. Now Sarah once again shares, with women, her vast store of wisdom and knowledge-- this time it's about money and how to gain financial peace. As she tells us about her own personal struggles, we relate to how important financial security is to our future happiness.

Well-written and down-to-earth, this book is a lesson from the pen of one who has been there. It gives sound advice on how to get out of financial hell, and maintain a life free of money worries.

(Thank you to Hachette BookGroup for my review copy.)

The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook

Author: Georgia Varozza

Spiral-bound: 272 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

(March 1, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0736928588

Book Description:

Just about everyone is fascinated by the Amish—their simple, family-centered lifestyle, colorful quilts, and hearty, homemade meals. Straight from the heart of Amish country, this celebration of hearth and home will delight readers with the pleasures of the family table as they take a peek at the Amish way of life—a life filled with the self-reliance and peace of mind that many of us long for.

Readers will appreciate the scores of tasty, easy-to-prepare recipes such as Scrapple, Graham “Nuts” Cereal, Potato Rivvell Soup, Amish Dressing, and Snitz Pie. At the same time they’ll learn a bit about the Amish, savor interesting tidbits from the “Amish Kitchen Wisdom” sections, find out just how much food it takes to feed the large number of folks attending preaching services, barn raisings, weddings, and work frolics, and much more.

The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook is filled with good, old-fashioned family meal ideas to help bring the simple life home!

My Review:

I am absolutely delighted to have received this beautiful Amish cookbook for review! Immediately after opening it, I found it to have, not only delicious recipes, but also inspirational prayers, scriptures, and tips on both cooking and gardening. It also gives insight into the simple Amish way of life.

Coming from a background of homemaking and cooking for a large family, I at once identified with the spirit of home and family that The Amish Kitchen Cookbook encompasses. It is beautiful not only in format, but in Amish wisdom as well. It surpassed my expectations and will have a special place in my cookbook collection. Definitely 5 stars *****for this one!

(Thank you to Harvest House Publishers for my review copy!)