Review: Faith and Other Flat Tires: Searching for God on the Rough Road of Doubt by Andrea Palpant Dilley

Faith and Other Flat Tires: Searching for God on the Rough Road of Doubt

Andrea Palpant Dilley

Genre: Religious/Memoir

Publication Date: February 14, 2012

Publisher: Zondervan

ISBN:031032551X

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Description:

At age twenty-one, Andrea Palpant Dilley stripped the Christian fish decal off her car bumper in a symbolic act of departure from her religious childhood. At twenty-three, she left the church and went searching for refugein the company of men who left her lonely and friends who pushed the boundaries of what she once held sacred. In this deeply personal memoir, Andrea navigates the doubts that plague believers and skeptics alike: Why does a good God allow suffering? Why is God so silent, distant, and uninvolved? And why does the church seem so dysfunctional? Yet amid her skepticism, she begins to ask new questions: Could doubting be a form of faith? Might our doubts be a longing for God that leads to a faith we can ultimately live with?

Review

Rating:

I actually really liked this book, which, surprised me because I usually am not that much of a fan of memoirs, but I wanted to give this one a go. 

I thought that a lot of the authors stories, points of view, etc were great. As a sort of agnostic myself I can relate to her stories because quite honestly, I've pretty much been there 1000 and one times. I grew up in church my whole life, much like she did so I know exactly what she's talking about.

Overall this is a great book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has doubts about their faith, believing in God, or have just ever felt like things didn't make sense with religion, God, and the human condition.

*The BBB's received a copy of this book for review purposes only. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Review: Awakening by Stovall Weems

Awakening:

A New Approach to Faith, Fasting, and Spiritual Freedom

Stovall Weems
Genre: Religious/Non Fiction

Published: December 4, 2010

Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group

ISBN: 0307459535

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Description:

Would you describe your walk with God as fresh and exciting?  Would you describe your spiritual life as vibrant and passionate?  If not, would you like these attributes to be the norm in your everyday relationship with God? 
 
Are you ready to experience an awakening?
 
Awakening helps you stir up your slumbering soul.  You’ll discover how to break out of your season of dryness or get off to a great start either in the New Year or the next season in life. Take your faith-walk from a “going through the motions” or “have to” mindset to the stimulating, fresh “want to” experience of enjoying God’s presence—24/7. 
 
Weems encourages you to surrender fully, to discover the right kind of fuel for the journey, and to learn a new way to pray and fast. This lifestyle is not based on rules or religion, but on a deep, satisfying, motivating relationship with God.
 
Included in Awakening is a 21-Day Plan that will guide you through the principles that ensure a lasting, fresh relationship with God—even in a world where everything quickly becomes stale.  
 
“It’s time to wake up and put an end to spiritual sluggishness! I promise this year will be the best of your life if it is your best year spiritually.” – Stovall Weems

Review:

Rating:

Awakening, A New Approach to Faith, Fasting, and Spiritual Freedom written by Stovall Weems makes the claim that it is a 21 day plan to revolutionize your relationship with God.  This book is a step-by-step plan to change how you feel about God.  He writes that every believer should be a passionate Christian that every person who seeks God with his whole heart will find Him in a new way.  The book begins with several chapters about how God wants to be available to us and how we can grow closer to Him through prayer, Bible study and fasting.  Personal anecdotes about the author's journey to a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with God are scattered throughout the book.  These stories make the quest that the author embarked upon to find a true relationship with a loving God even more meaningful.  Pastor Weems spends a great deal of time teaching the reader about fasting and the benefits to both our bodies and our spirits.

The second half of the book is a 21 day devotional that guides the reader through a meaningful fast that is specifically tailored to the lifestyle and health concerns of each participant.  The devotions each contain commentary, a Bible reading plan, a prayer focus, and an optional book reading plan.  Quotes from notable people throughout the devotions add to the depth of the plan.

Awakening was an eye opening read and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to grow closer to God and learn more about himself in the process.

*The Book Blogging Beauties  received a copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Blogging For Books Program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Guest Post: Thankful for a Big Rear by Teasi Cannon

A big, big, welcome to author Teasi Cannon!

Take it away, guurrl!

Thankful for a Big Rear by Teasi Cannon

One day not long ago I was sweeping my kitchen floor in the near trance-like state of La La Land, when I was jolted to my senses by the precious voice of my 4-year-old nephew saying, “Aunt Teasi, you have a vahwee (very) big butt.”

I set my broom aside, smoothed my shirt, and calmly turned to face him.  Bright-eyed and curly-haired, he stood – completely oblivious to the fact that he had said the words no woman ever wants to hear.  And then I let him have it.  I bent down, coming only inches away from his little round face, and said, “Why…thank you!”  Then I smiled big, stood to grab my broom, and returned unscathed to the task at hand. 

A few years ago those innocently spoken words would have completely obliterated me, and rather than a thank you, might have actually incited an immature come-back such as: “Oh, yeah?  Well, you’re short and you talk funny.”   

But now, to the glory of God, moments like that are reminders to me that the miraculous has happened: I no longer hate my body (especially my back side); in fact, it has become one of the biggest blessings in my life.

Like most women (really every woman I’ve ever met), I lived years literally disgusted with what I saw in the mirror.  The territory between my ears felt like nothing short of a war zone, with battles being fought everywhere: the bathroom, the grocery store, the bedroom, even church.  I could never silence the ambush-ready community of inner critics (those hurtful thoughts we all think) that called my head home.  And I missed out on so much: parties I refused to attend because my pants were too tight, dates with my husband because of a few gained pounds, quality time with my kids.  I know I’m not alone in this.

We women have been lied to for years.  We’ve been told that our value – our very right to be seen and celebrated - is determined by our waist-to-hip ratio or the proportions of our facial features, and that’s just not true.  Our value is determined by the only One who really knows it: our God. 

After hitting my head hard on the floor of my personal pit of despair, I slowly began my journey toward believing that.  One inch at a time of healing, truth, and righteous anger led me to a life-saving realization: All those years I was desperate to change how I looked, God was desperate to change how I see.  And He did.

Truth is, if God can make a prostitute the great grandmother of the Messiah, turn water into wine, and make blind men see; don’t you think He can turn a big bottom – or a big nose - or bird-thin legs – or whatever it is you hate – into a blessing.  He did it for me, and I’m so ridiculously happy about the journey that I wrote a book about it.  

About Teasi:

Teasi Cannon Teasi (pronounced Tee See) is married to her best friend, Bill Cannon, and they have three awesome children: Carli, Ben, and Sam. Teasi has a master’s degree in pastoral counseling from Liberty Theological Seminary, and is a sought-after speaker who loves to help women remember who they are in Christ.

Check out Teasi's book & our review of it below!

My Big Bottom Blessing

How Hating My Body Led to Loving My Life

Teasi Cannon

Genre: Non Fiction/Religious

Published: May 8, 2012

Publisher: Worthy Publishing

ISBN: 1617950769

Our Review!

Book Trailer!

Review: My Big Bottom Blessing by Teasi Cannon

My Big Bottom Blessing

How Hating My Body Led to Loving My Life

Teasi Cannon
Genre: Non Fiction/Religious

Published: May 8, 2012

Publisher: Worthy Publishing

ISBN: 1617950769

Description:

The media feeds us distorted images of beauty and what an "ideal woman" should look like. Weight loss is nearly a $55 billion a year business. Ninety percent of high school girls diet regularly, even though only 10 to 15 percent would be considered truly overweight. In My Big Bottom Blessing, author Teasi Cannon speaks from personal experience, offering a way out of distorted body images and the pain of self-rejection. She says, "My obsession with fat and failure robbed me of a lot of the good in my life. God's definition of beauty has far more to do with what's going on inside of us than what's skin deep. I have been miraculously set free from the lie that being thin equals being beautiful."

My Big Bottom Blessing offers us Teasi's story—and real-life solutions for the millions of young women who struggle with poor self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy and rejection. She shows that God loves the whole person unconditionally and that whatever it is that you despise most about yourself (it doesn’t have to be weight) can become the catalyst for serious life change. From a search for self-acceptance to finding true love and contentment just as we are, Teasi proves that emotional pain can be healed and confidence found in knowing that authentic beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

My Big Bottom Blessing is a joyful, compassionate, and wise guide from someone who knows the power of exchanging the way we look with a new way of seeing.

Review:

Rating:

This book by Teasi Cannon is more than a book about overcoming self image issues, its about truly becoming a daughter of The King.

I absolutely love the way that this book is written. Not preachy, not impersonal, like your typical self help book. It was like sitting down and talking with a friend most of the time ( you know, those friends who give it to ya straight). I think this was a great way to write it because a lot of people can relate and be engaged. If this book was more preachy, then I think that I would have skimmed right through this book without skipping a beat, but the writing style pulled me in instead. 

I also love how real this book is. In the book the author talks about hearing the voices of  "trainer" and other internal voices. I think that we've all had those thoughts or "voices" at some time or another. Its something that we all deal with, but we hardly ever talk about. 

I think that the authors transperancy with her life, and her willingness to talk about different womens issues, and issues with people in general, really made this book for me. There are a lot of truths to be found in this book, for sure.

I also loved how she didnt just talk about her life, etc. She backed everything she was saying with scripture, so you could actually see that the Bible lines up with what she's saying.

The only thing that slightly annoyed me with this book, was the little workbook like pages at the end of chapters. Honestly, I thought that you made the connections to your own life as she was telling the stories just fine without the workbook pages. It seemed like that was trying a bit too hard. But that is literally my only qualm with this book.

It was great! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about truly becoming a daughter of God, or someone who has self esteem or body image issues, but I would also recommend it to just about any christian woman out there. There are a lot of truths to be found in this book, whether you are having self esteem issues or not.

Stay Tuned for a chance to win your own copy of this book!

:D

In the meantime, enjoy this First Chapter Preview of My Big Bottom Blessing!!

*The Book Blogging Beauties received a copy of this book from Worthy Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Illusion by Frank Peretti

Illusion

Frank Peretti
Genre: Mystery/Christian Fiction

Published: March 6, 2012

Publisher: Howard Books

ISBN: 1439192677

Description:

Dane and Mandy, a popular magic act for forty years, are tragically separated by a car wreck that claims Mandy’s life—or so everyone thinks. Even as Dane mourns and tries to rebuild his life without her, Mandy, supposedly dead, awakes in the present as the nineteen-year-old she was in 1970. Distraught and disoriented in what to her is the future, she is confined to a mental ward until she discovers a magical ability to pass invisibly through time and space to escape. Alone in a strange world, she uses her mysterious powers to eke out a living, performing magic on the streets and in a quaint coffee shop.

Hoping to discover an exciting new talent, Dane ventures into the coffee shop and is transfixed by the magic he sees, illusions that even he, a seasoned professional, cannot explain. But more than anything, he is emotionally devastated by this teenager who has never met him, doesn’t know him, is certainly not in love with him, but is in every respect identical to the young beauty he first met and married some forty years earlier.

They begin a furtive relationship as mentor and protégée, but even as Dane tries to sort out who she really is and she tries to understand why she is drawn to him, they are watched by secretive interests who not only possess the answers to Mandy’s powers and misplacement in time but also the roguish ability to decide what will become of her.

Frank Peretti has crafted a rich, rewarding story of love and life, loss and restoration, full of twists and mystery. Exceptionally well written, Illusion will soon prove another Peretti classic.

Review:

Rating:

 Illusion by New York Times Bestselling author Frank Peretti was frankly, a bit of a letdown for me. Peretti has long been one of my favorite authors in the area of Christian fiction, always dazzling me with suspense, mystery, and a deeper meaning in his work. This time however, I was very disappointed.

I found this book to be quite boring actually. It seemed to never quite draw me in the way that some of his previous books have. I think that one of reasons I didn’t quite get into it was the characters. They were all very flat, and also very forgettable. I think that in order for this to be a stronger story, the characters need to be a bit more dynamic.

Another thing that I didn’t really care for in this book was how the dialogue and storyline seemed to jump around from person to person/perspective to perspective. I normally don't mind these kind of breaks, but in this book I found them to be a bit confusing at times.

I did like the authors added note in the back of the book, relaying the less obvious but deeper meanings that can be found in this book. I think that it was a great move to put that in there, and will give readers something to ponder on after they have read this book.

I also enjoyed the basic storyline in this book, the sort of science fiction with a twist. It was very refreshing compared to the normal science fiction story lines that have been storming the shelves lately.

Although this book didn’t meet my expectations, I would say that this book was an OK book overall. I would recommend this to someone who enjoys a mystery, with just a touch of science fiction!

;)

*The Book Blogging Beauties received a copy of this book from the publisher/Handlebar Marketing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Redeeming Love

Francine Rivers

Published: May 9, 2005

Publisher: Multnomah Books

ISBN:1590525132

Description:

California's gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep. 

Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside. 

Then she meets Michael Hosea. A man who seeks his Father's heart in everything, Michael obeys God's call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel's every bitter expectation, until despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw. 

But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband's pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does ... the One who will never let her go.

Review:

Rating:

I read Redeeming Love based on the recommendation of a friend. I have to say that it is not the type of book that I normally would pick up, but since I am broadening my horizons I gave it a try. I made a good decision.

 It centers around a young woman named Angel brought up in a horrible life of prostitution from a very young age. A man named Michael Hosea rescues her. Well, he thinks he is rescuing her but she wants nothing to do with him. The story follows the trials and tribulations that face a girl with a dark, shameful past and a God-fearing, Christian man.
The story is a Christian novel, which again is not something I have familiarity with reading, but the Christian themes are played in so well that it does not feel like you are sitting through a sermon. It simply made you realize the affect your faith can have on your life. The idea that everything can be dealt with if you trust in God is central throughout the story. Granted, there are some things in the story that are hard to believe. Such as a man's willingness to forgive as quickly as Michael does. But it is portrayed to be testimony of his faith in God.
Francine Rivers did a wonderful job of making you fall in love with her characters even though you knew of all of their misgivings. Most people cannot relate to a prostitute but people can relate to wishing you had not done something in your past. Everyone has something they regret and there are times that that regret makes you feel unworthy of something or someone. That is Angel in a nutshell.

*The Book Blogging Beauties did not receive a copy All opinions are that of the reviewer. We are dedicated to providing our HONEST opinion about books etc. We were not compensated for this review.