Book Review: "Searching For God Knows What"

Searching For God Knows What is the first work that I've read by Donald Miller.  I've seen some of his stuff before but never taken the time to sit down and read it all the way through.  This book seeks to show that "relationship is God's way of leading us to redemption." Miller seeks to deal with an issue that in today's world many have just taken a formulaic view of God, and this is not good.

I personally thought that this was a pretty good read.  Miller does have a humor about him and can easily bring that out in his writing.  Who doesn't want something that can make you chuckle every now and then?  I will say that this book seemed to be a slow start for me.  I appreciated the stories and all that were contained in the first few chapters, but it didn't seem to kick into gear until you almost got to the end.  When it did kick in, Miller had some great things to say.  One of my favorite quotes from the book was...

"It would be most tragic for a person to know everything about God, but not God; to know all about the rules of spiritual marriage, but never walk the aisle."

If you are looking for something that will entertain you and give you a few things to really think about and ponder, I would recommend checking out Searching For God Knows What.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Book Review: "Take Your Best Shot"

Last night, I finished this book from Austin Gutwein about his journey to making a difference in this world.  I was intrigued about this book when I found out that Austin was a young boy who really believed that God could use him to make a difference in the world.  This book was a very quick read for me and easy to follow.  I really liked how it had challenges at the end of each chapter for the reader to put into practice.

This story is amazing and so true as to truly how great our God is.  He took the small efforts of a young boy shooting free throws to change the dynamics of a culture torn apart by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  This book will challenge any reader to search out ways that God may want to use them to make a difference to someone in this world also.

I really liked the layout of the book.  It wasn't filled with a bunch of facts and reports from what was going on.  It was truly the heart of a child sharing how God had rocked his world, and how that child was being used to impact Africa.  I would highly recommend this book.  I believe that it will get your mind to spinning about what can we really do... one step at a time to make a difference for the Kingdom of God.

Rating: A

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Book Review: "Love and Respect"

This was the latest book that I got from Thomas Nelson Publishers to review.  I had heard about this book from different people that it was a good work on the different needs of men and women in relationships.  My wife had mentioned it to me also, so I decided to check it out.  Here's what I came away with...

Good Points

• Dr. Eggerichs used some very common language that can easily be understood.  Though there was a lot of psychology in this book, it did feel more like it was you and the author sitting down somewhere talking.


• Great suggestions.  Eggerichs puts forth some great suggestions to help meet the emotional needs of your spouse (both for men and women).  The COUPLES and CHAIRS segments were really good and gives the reader something to put into practice.


• Good use of Scripture.  Throughout the work, Scripture is used (and in context).  It doesn't surprise me much seeing how Dr. Eggerichs is a former pastor.  It was good to see a work out there that is saturated with God's word getting so much attention.


• The great motivation.  The principles of unconditional love and unconditional respect are to be carried out not because the person deserves it but because Christ Jesus said that is what we should do.  I thought that this was good (and just like a pastor) to save this little nugget until the very end.

Not So Good Parts

• Repetition.  I thought that I was never going to get through the first seven chapters.  They seemed to be saying the same thing chapter after chapter.  I thought that they could have been condensed into one good chapter and said the same thing.  Once I got passed this seven chapter intro, the rest was pretty easily navigated.


• Infomercial-like at times.  I like the testimonies from people who had been to the "Love and Respect" Conferences that Dr. Eggerichs and his wife do.  But at times there were so many that it started to sound like a late-night infomercial.

Overall

Overall, I thought that this was a good book that really addressed the different emotional needs of men and women.  I would recommend it to couples to help understand why sometimes things are seen differently.  I would give this book a "B".

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