Title: Immeasurable: A Memoir
Author: Diana Anderson-Tyler
Publishing House/Publication Date: eLecto Publishing, LLC/2015
Genres: Memoir; Devotional; Inspirational Non-Fiction
Number of Pages: 107 Continue reading
Inspirational Non-Fiction
Today is the Day review
Do 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”.
Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health review
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2, NIV)
Have you ever considered the deeper truths of this Scripture verse, the portion that states our minds can be renewed, and it is a process that can – and will – transform our lives? If you’ve ever felt trapped by your thought patterns, or held captive by toxic ideas or past traumas, Dr. Caroline Leaf can help you. Her newest book, Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health, was published by Baker Books in the fall of 2013. While this book has been called ‘the owner’s manual to how our brains work’, it is also so much more. Drawing from decades of scientific research, as well as her own Christian faith and beliefs, Dr. Leaf shares with us in an understandable, scientific language the fundamental functions of the brain. Using these facts as a foundation, she then explains how, with the Holy Spirit and Scripture as our guides, we can transform our minds from toxic to healthy. In essence, we can ‘detox‘ our brains.
Just a few of the incredible points made in this little book include:
– Science is just beginning to catch up with the Bible, showing us the evidence of verses such as 2 Timothy 1:7. “For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (KJV)
– Neuroplasticity, the concept that shows how changes in thinking actually change the structure of the brain and effect behavioral change, can truly help us renew our minds and, consequently, transform our lives. (Romans 12:2)
– In dozens of cases encountered and documented by Dr. Leaf, people of all ages who applied the steps and perseverance necessary to detox their minds excelled beyond all typical expectations. For example, car accident victims deemed by neurologists as ‘vegetables’ managed to retrain their brains enough to complete their education and became successful, contributing citizens.
– In the later portions of her book, Dr. Leaf outlines the basis for her 5-Step Switch On Your Brain Learning Process, which is used each day in the 21-Day Brain Detox Plan, also outlined in this book.
If you are like me, the large amount of scientific data contained in the pages of Switch On Your Brain may be a little intimidating. However, I discovered that by focusing on the portions you are able to understand, and using them as a tool for bringing the focus of your mind closer to God, your life will be transformed. If you let the Holy Spirit work in you as you read the information contained within this book, Philippians 4:8 will become the ‘new normal’ of your thought life. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”
“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”.
Prairie Sky Book Reviews 