Jesus

Your Sacred Yes // Book Review

by  on  in Bethany House Review, Books, Jesus • 0 Comments

Hello everyone!

Here is July’s book review:

23583854[1]Your Sacred Yes by Susie Larson

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ –

four out of five hearts
(picture from GoodReads)

GoodReads Summary:

Popular Author & Speaker Equips Women to Live Focused and Free
Women today are stretched thin, worn weary, and tired of living hurried lives. And nothing drains us more than signing up for things God never asked us to do, even if they are well-intentioned. Yet, all too often that’s exactly where we lose our way.
In “Your Sacred Yes,” Susie Larson shares personal stories and biblical insights to help you:
– Learn how–and when–to say “no” without guilt or shame
– Say “yes” to “life-giving,” not life-draining, activities
– Find joy and abundance, fulfillment and freedom, each day
When we can’t, or won’t, say “no,” we become captive to our commitments instead of free to respond to God’s invitations. Here is your chance to say no to others’ obligations and yes to the One who will rejuvenate your weary soul. Will you say “yes”?

 

My Review:

Pros:

I really liked this book, it was telling me something important, but the whole book was encouraging. Even though the book was telling me I might be spinning my wheels and wasting energy on something I didn’t need to be doing – it just pushed me to figure out why I’m doing what I’m doing and if I should be doing those things. I never felt like Ms. Larson was criticizing me for getting into that situation or for doing something I’m not called to do. That’s a really critical point for me, because self-help books don’t work well for me if they are only negative.

This book has a lot of scripture, proving points Ms. Larson makes, as well as quotes from different people and even stories from her own life. Oh my goodness, and that bonus chapter! It includes spiritual and physical challenges, I encourage all readers to consider doing the challenge because it’s a great why to move forward and change your life based on what you’ve read. This book was fantastic, giving great suggestions on how to change your life and reasons why you should.

As believers we know we are not saved by our acts, but sometimes we end up doing so much extra work that we can’t stop and rest in Him. Ms. Larson was the first author I’ve come across who really explained and assured me of the importance of resting in Him. I knew it was important, but I guess I kind of thought that God would just be pleased that I wasn’t being lazy. I realized through this book that He wants me to have the time to come to Him and not just pass out at 11 every night. Your Sacred Yes had a message saying to me that life is short and so we should make sure that we’re sure that we’re doing the work He calls us to do.

Cons:

I have none!

Overview:

I cannot wait to go back and dissect this book to pieces! I would suggest this to anyone, but especially those who reply, “Oh, I don’t have enough time to read a book right now…” 🙂

I received a free copy of Your Sacred Yes from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a 100% honest review.

 

xx

Facing the Blitz : Book Review

by  on  in Bethany House Review, Books, Jesus, my opinion • 0 Comments

23411543[1]

Facing the Blitz by Jeff Kemp

♥ ♥ ♥ – –

(three out of five hearts)

 

Overview:

Facing the Blitz was written by an ex-NFL football player and the whole book explained it’s three strategies for overcoming trials. Each strategy is thoroughly explained in several chapters, it’s divided up enough that it’s easy to understand and doesn’t skim through important topics. Mr. Kemp writes with many different life examples – ones such as in football, his home life, marriage, in fellow teammates’ lives, friends’ lives, as well as outside sources.

Pros:

This book was fantastic. I really can’t wait to go back through it and mark passages that really stood out. Even if you are not currently facing a blitz, this book goes into morals and tips for assessing your own life. Early in the book, Mr. Kemp writes that in times of hardship you can’t tell people to just stop being upset, but instead he writes to you when you need to move on and when it’s okay to be struggling. The strategies are like close friends, comforting you, but pushing you forward and towards Jesus. If you don’t know that much about football, it’s okay, because the examples are all pretty easy to understand. (Even if you don’t catch one or two examples, you will still get the idea/purpose.) Football does not dominate the suggestions/conversation more than it should. Facing the Blitz supplies tips to people who aren’t facing problems just by giving exercises that require you to check your morals and motives for the way you live.

Cons:

I really did like nearly everything in the book! I would say the only few things I would change if I could would be: a few more examples aimed towards home life. Just because I felt like we got to know more about the teammates than his own family in some chapters. Certain chapters were also mildly mature, so the book is probably best for adults and possibly young adults based on the individual case – I would recommend this book to any adult though, it’s a great book.

I received a free copy of Facing the Blitz from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

xx

Easter OOTD

by  on  in Fashion, Jesus • 5 Comments

IMG_20150405_130615 2015-04-05_13.16.30

Happy Easter, everyone!!

This is my OOTD (outfit of the day). I’m wearing a peach-colored tanktop from LandsEnd, dark wash jeggings from Indigo Rein, and gladiator wedge sandals that I have no clue where they’re from.

Have a great day, I’ll blog again soon!

He is Risen!

xx

Book Review ~ February

by  on  in Bethany House Review, Books, Jesus, my opinion • 4 Comments

I know it’s no longer February and it’s practically not even March, but my book came later so I couldn’t post it until now.

18059812[1]

Overview:

The Pleasure of His Company was a very good book. Mr. Sheets made some very good points in quick, easy-to-read chapters. Nearly every point was backed up with a personal life experience as well as a passage from the Bible. Some chapters included life experiences or notes from other people/authors. Following those, Mr. Sheets discussed the point he made in humorous conversational writing.

 

Pros:

Many of the points that were made were out of the ordinary and not something I might have thought of on my own. I found the discussion to be sound, in the biblical sense, as far as I understand it. The chapters all followed the same rough pattern, making the option to study the book, rather than just read it, appealing. The writing is conversational and pleasant as well. Each chapter covered different topics that encouraged more thought and depth, I would say the book was age appropriate for young adults and above. Chapter topics covered many different situations, showing how it’s possible for anyone to come to Christ, no matter what their life is like.

 

Cons:

Because of the “study” layout, I found that it was actually slightly difficult to just read the book. (Due to time pressure, I had to read the book and was unable to stop and study.) I wish the book had been a little more friendly towards that regard, but I am looking forward to getting the chance to go back over it later and “study”. Also because of the layout, I saw too much of a routine. It was almost always the same order of information per each chapter (life story, bible story, discussion), but again, I think this is just a studying thing. So all in all, I liked the book, just take note that it’s more like a devotional or a book to just be read slowly.

 

I received a free copy of The Pleasure of His Company from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

xx

 

Music Favs

by  on  in Favorites, Jesus, Music

I’ve been listening to these songs because I find them so positive and cheerful! All of these are Christian artists, they all have great songs! I heard the first two songs on Pandora and I listen to a lot of Jamie Grace. I think I first heard her through a Toby Mac song. (His songs are great too! 🙂 ) Hope you enjoyed!… Read more →

Time

by  on  in Creative Writing, Jesus, Life, my opinion, school

Time. Do we ever feel like we have enough? Oh, well, I suppose we do during those summer moments when you’re too hot and you’re completely out of things to do. At least out of things that sound fun. In general, we don’t feel like we have enough. Finals week: You don’t have enough time to study, do homework, and still… Read more →