The Road to Becoming – A Guest Review by Hayley

Jenny Simmons

“The fact that I survive, even grow and thrive in my desert season of lostness has little to do with my own ability to stay alive. It has everything to do with the fact that I am kept alive and sustained by the Giver of Life. It has everything to do with the truth that even when my life seems silent and barren, if there is a heartbeat, then the Great Comforter is present. Is a heartbeat not God’s most basic presence? How can the Giver of Life be non-present if life is present? If there is a heartbeat, there is a God. He dwells within us – who are created in His very image.”

The Road to Becoming imageThis short excerpt is just one of many gems of wisdom you will find in Baker Publishing’s new release The Road to Becoming, by former Addison Road lead singer Jenny Simmons. Her heartfelt, whimsical writing pulls us in like a warm embrace from a long-lost friend, and she continues to hold our hand and walk with us every step of the way, gently encouraging us in our walk with the Lord, and guiding us on our own road to becoming with a depth of understanding that can only come from someone who has been there. Continue reading

Look Outside the Box – a guest review by Tracy

Boundless imageI invite you to stretch your mind, to think outside the box in what following Jesus may look like in other parts of the world. Boundless by Bryan Bishop has explored, in-depth, other cultures and how they are following Jesus as their Savior while still living within their culture. This book expanded my knowledge that following Jesus has many, many different looks to it, not just the typical Western Christian view to which I’m so accustomed. Imagine celebrating Jesus while dancing in a full native headdress. Or listening to stories being told about Jesus in a small gathering in India. Continue reading

A Special Guest Review by My Mom, Tracy

Stronger headerStronger: How Hard Times Reveal God’s Greatest Power by Clayton King is for:

  • Anyone who wants to know Christ
  • Anyone who has given their lives to Christ
  • Anyone who has prayed in the name of Jesus to use them according to His will
  • Anyone who is following Christ with their whole heart and also going through the toughest times of their lives

The author of Stronger, Clayton King, deserves much praise for his honesty and real-to-life words. He pulls no punches and lets you in to see some of his innermost thoughts, feelings, and pain. I personally know how extremely difficult this is to do. Yet Clayton does, and the reader is much better off for it. Continue reading

Shining with Grace

From Good to Grace imageTitle: From Good to Grace: Letting Go of the Goodness Gospel
Author: Christine Hoover
Publishing House/Publication Date: BakerBooks/2015
Genres: Christian Living; Inspirational Non-Fiction;
Number of Pages: 219

You should read this book if… You have ever felt as this woman did, when she “poured out her… thoughts of despair and worthlessness that had kept her relationally isolated, wracked with guilt, and so sure that she was a deep disappointment to… her God. She could not receive the gifts God offered her – grace, rest, the enjoyment of her children, his strength in her weakness, joy in life – but could only twist them into shame-inducing evidences of her failure. Her sin was so much in view and grace so far out of range that she could only hear condemnation.” (Page 199) Continue reading

Today is the Day review

Today is The Day imageDo you have a dream hidden deep in your heart?  A dream so big, so out-of-the-ordinary, or so seemingly impossible that you’ve pushed it to the back of your mind and all but forgotten about it?  But you can’t forget about it completely, because God placed it inside you for a reason – a purpose…  Maybe now is the time to pull that dream out, dust it off, and take a deeper look at what it means to your life.  Maybe, ‘Today is the Day’.

Bil Cornelius is a best-selling author, and the founder and pastor of a large and still-growing church fellowship.  In addition, he is a believer in following your God-given dream, and his newest book brings to life various action plans to help his readers do just that.  ‘Today is the Day: Find and Embrace Your God-Given Dreams’ was published by Baker Books in January of 2014, and is certain to help anyone who feels like a personal dream is beyond reach, or is unsure how to get started on realizing a lifelong goal.  With an energetic, encouraging, easy-to-follow style, Mr. Cornelius breaks down his process for making dreams an actuality using Biblical concepts and proven methods for success.

The first portion of this book was my favourite, as it dealt with identifying if your dream is truly from God, recognizing that God has great plans for each one of His children, and breaking down the ultimate goal into tiny, daily, doable actions.  Fittingly, many Bible verses accompany each section, steeping the concepts in Biblical truth.

Towards the middle of the book, however, I felt it spoke less to me, because my dream is a quieter, smaller-scale, primarily internal-based dream.  It focused  more on readers with far-reaching dreams such as opening a business (or entire franchise!), starting a world-wide ministry or mission, or climbing to the top of a corporate ladder in a large company.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with such dreams, and the world needs large-scale dreams to bring about large-scale changes for the better.  But people with smaller, less earth-shattering dreams are also necessary, and God has given us those dreams with just as much love and care as a dream to found a multi-million dollar business.

If your dream is far-reaching and world-changing, this book could very well change your life, or at least your perspective on how you view the dream.  I can easily picture business owners hoping to expand, church leaders with a vision, and company workers with a passion for their job gaining a great deal of spiritual help and guidance from this practical book.  However, if your dream is of a quieter nature, not every aspect of this book will resonate with you…  Certain aspects may be beneficial, as they were for me, but on the whole this book may not be the best choice for readers seeking guidance towards a simple, low-key dream placed deep in the heart by our Creator.

“Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from BakerBooks, a division of Baker Publishing Group”.