More or Less by Jeff Shinabarger: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity

I read a lot of books…  And it seems like they all try to sell you on something.  Follow these three steps and you will be….. you name it.

So when I received a copy of MORE or LESS by Jeff Shinabarger back before it released it ended up on my stack.  I really ‘wanted’ to read it but just assumed it would be like all the other books that challenge you, leave you feeling bad about yourself because you don’t live in a shoe box and give your house and entire income away to others.  As a father of 6, two of whom we have adopted, I don’t have a lot of access in my finances.  Just coming off the Adoption 7 months ago, Hearing aids over the past 4 (Which Insurance doesn’t cover) and now Cochlear Implant Surgeries I don’t see extra money on my ledger sheet anytime soon.

So I expected to start this book and then put it down… you know, one of those SKIM reads.  Well, I started this book with the introduction by Bob Goff whose book I really enjoyed.  His honest words came through sounding genuine and not showing the typical air of “I really only read 4 pages of your book, but let me make a catchy and ironic statement about this title being as good if not better then my book…”  He gave a heart wrenching applaud for this book.  So I was curious.

In one sitting I read 5 chapters.  I couldn’t stop reading.  Jeff writes in a simple way that helps to steer you without prodding, to guide without shoving. 

When you look at our lives if we look truthfully we can find access.  This book gives you examples of how people took the simple things in their lives and made them extraordinary.  The topics all hit home and leave you with a ‘I CAN DO THAT’ feeling.  Making life change simple and compelling!

Some of the topics are finding excess in: your Junk (those items you really don’t need); your kitchen Pantry; Your Clothing; Your gift giving and getting; your time; Transportation; Access; Gift Cards; etc…

Have you ever thought of simple things you could do to raise awareness and funds for a local ministry?  What if you had a Game night and charged a Gift Card (Used one at that) as the admission fee?  20% of gift cards go unused!  Yet for example the local Pregnancy Resource Center could use them to supply needed Bottles, Formula etc. to their clients.  Maybe your kitchen… ever look at your pantry and fridge and say “There is nothing to eat?”  yet you have multiple can’s etc.. staring back at you.  What if you took the challenge to eat only what you have in house (getting milk, bread and eggs occasionally)… how long could you go and how much could you save to give to a Food Pantry or homeless shelter? 

The ideas that Jeff shared REAL examples of are endless.  He has saught to create a new culture in giving.  It is not just about FINANCES.  You don’t have to be rich!  Just use what God has given you!

I am drawing my lines on the ENOUGH scale.  I am personally looking at my closets and giving away.  I am personally looking at my income and setting a ENOUGH level.  I want to be the one to set the level on what ENOUGH is in my life, not the media, culture etc..

So why don’t you take this challenge with me!  Check out this book and then take the challenge in the area God is calling you to take it in!  Together we can make a difference in our communities!

Prototype by Jonathan Martin

Pastor challenges believers to follow Jesus as their model and find a ‘whole new way of being human’

Grappling with tough issues one night concerning the bride of Christ, Pastor Jonathan Martin wrote “A Letter to a Ravaged Bride.” Martin’s letter challenges God’s people to “once again become the beautiful people of God for the world,” he writes.

In Prototype: What Happens When You Discover You’re More Like Jesus Than You Think?, Martin discusses how it is possible for the church to become beautiful by following Jesus’ example on how to live. Martin sees Jesus as a model for believers—“God’s prototype for a whole new way of being human.”

The author argues that each child of God must begin with an accurate understanding of his identity, just as Christ knew his true identity—that He “was loved by God the Father.” He explains that if believers encounter God like children, with innocence and trust, before fear and disappointment crept in, they can see that they, too, are God’s beloved simply because they exist. When believers know this deeply, Martin says, it affects their every decision, and they become more like Jesus.

Martin also examines what he calls “obscurity.” While it is not valued in our culture, he says, separating oneself from the busyness of life and focusing on God are important so that God can deepen the believer’s relationship with Him. In this type of wilderness, the Christian is strengthened, identity is reinforced, and he or she is freshly able to distinguish the voice of the accuser, as Jesus did in His wilderness experience. 

Obscurity then leads to calling, even though believers are all unlikely workers for God’s purposes, as Moses and David were, Martin said. At the author’s church, Renovatus in Charlotte, N.C., members embrace the reality that all believers are misfits. They call themselves “a church for people under renovation.”

Further, Martin points out that following Jesus involves the sacraments, the “bodily, physical practices” of baptism, communion and caring for the sick. He emphasizes community—with depth of relationship—and says that when we understand how much God loves us, we long to tell others our story of “belovedness” because it is part of a larger story, of what “God has in store for His creation.”

Prototype includes a study guide and releases this month from Tyndale Momentum, an imprint of Tyndale House Publishers.

UnFinished by Richard Sterns

Richard Stearns, president of Christian relief organization World Vision, has spoken to countless people worldwide from all walks of life, and found that many express a common concern. In Unfinished: Believing is Only the Beginning(9780849948510, $24.99, Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins Christian Publishing), Stearns observes that believers want to be sure they are living out God’s calling for their lives.

The April 30 release is a book about “what it means to be a follower of Christ in the 21st century,” Stearns told Christian Retailing. 

The book’s title has a dual meaning, he said. It refers to the unfinished mission Jesus gave His disciples: to preach the gospel to the whole world. But it also refers to how many Christians “feel incomplete in our faith, that’s something’s missing.” 

More than evangelism, Stearns said the Great Commission is “really what Jesus always called the kingdom of God … going into the world and showing the world a different way to live, a different way to relate to one another, a different way to relate to God, caring for the poor and the vulnerable and the widow and the orphan, being people of integrity, people of compassion, people of justice.”

However, Stearns writes, with the endless details of everyday life, many believers have lost sight of God’s larger narrative. To help them recover what that is, Unfinished begins by investigating a big question, “What is Truth?” and then summarizes God’s grand story. 

Stearns describes what he calls the clash between “the magic kingdom”—the affluent Christian life—and “the tragic kingdom”—the Christian life shaped by poverty. He says neither reflects the true kingdom of God, which requires individuals submitting to God’s rule, communities governed by His values and people going into the world as His ambassadors. 

Among the examples he cites are Steve Reynolds, who introduced U2 frontman Bono to Ethiopia’s famine, and the Stu and Robin Phillips family, who sold their Wyoming ranch to build God’s kingdom. 

Stearns’ previous book, The Hole in Our Gospel, also from Thomas Nelson, won the 2010 Christian Book Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. 

Killing Jesus by Stephen Mansfield

Latest project: Killing Jesus: The Unknown Conspiracy Behind the World’s Most Notorious Execution (9781617951879, Worthy Publishing).

Why did you choose to write Killing Jesus? We can’t allow a gloss to form over the brutality of the crucifixion. It is the central event of our faith. Everything that leads to the death of Jesus was redemptive. I wanted to tell this story beyond what can be said in an Easter sermon or the usual Bible study. Frankly, it is a very gruesome tale, more gruesome in some cases than Mel Gibson’s film [The Passion of The Christ]. 

Why did you think it important to explain Jesus’ execution in gritty realism? The story demands it. The sacrifice demands it. My gratitude for what Jesus endured demands it. We are told in Scripture that, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.” I don’t want to be guilty of laziness in searching out anything concealed about the sufferings of Jesus. 

What research did you conduct? I relied on scholars in Israel, Turkey and at major universities here in the United States. I also used “old school” scholars like Alfred Edersheim and “new school” scholars like Marcus Borg. Of course, any book of this kind has to involve Josephus and Tacitus—all the classical writers who shine light on the pages of Scripture. 

You did not write this book in your office, as you typically do. Where did you write? I found it too gritty and disturbing to put on the page in my very comfortable office. I know this sounds odd, perhaps even contrived, but I did genuinely write in public places. It seemed fitting. I wrote in Washington, D.C.’s Union Station and sitting with Israeli troops at the Citadel of David, for example. I just had to be among crowds and human drama to get this on the page. 

How is the material organized? It is chronological with several of what I call “periscope” chapters. These are chapters in which I stick my head out of the historical moment and look back over Jesus’ life in summary fashion. 

Will you explain your use of present tense and multiple perspectives in the narrative portion? I did it for dramatic effect, certainly, but I also did it so that the reader can better imagine himself on the scene. Some very wise professors of mine taught me to read the Bible “architecturally,” meaning actually inside the story looking around. It has made a profound difference in my orientation to the Bible. 

You write that the conspiracy to kill Jesus should not be read hastily. Why do you think this caution is necessary? Understandably, we Christians read about the crucifixion of Jesus a bit overly eager to get Him in the tomb. We tend to miss the meaning of what comes before. For example, is there any connection between Jesus driving moneychangers out of the temple courts and His death? I say there is and that it is extremely important, but we often miss this in our eagerness to get to the victorious moments in the story. I share that excitement—I’m a Christian! But every word in Scripture was written for a reason and we should take time understand the meaning intended.

The Offering By Angela Hunt

ASK THE AUTHOR: Angela HuntLATEST PROJECT: The Offering: A Novel (May 14).PUBLISHER: Howard Books.

What is The Offering about? 

The Offering is a story about a woman who agrees to become a gestational carrier in order to earn extra money for her family. But problems arise, so she has to make crucial decisions in the course of unfolding events. It’s a story about family. 

Where did you get the inspiration for this novel? 

My agent actually dropped the idea into my lap. Knowing that I have a keen interest in adoption and other life issues, she told me about a trend for military wives to serve as surrogate mothers.

What kind of character is the protagonist, Amanda? 

She’s a young mother, a wife and an often-bewildered member of an extended Cuban family. Since her father died years ago and her mother lives in another city, she’s grateful for her husband’s family’s support. 

How does her concept of family change in time?

She begins to truly appreciate family instead of taking them for granted. She has been “adopted” by her husband’s Cuban relatives, but she doesn’t really appreciate them until much later in the book. Finally she comes to understand that love, not blood, is what binds a family together. 

Amanda is sometimes influenced by her dreams. Why did you use this device? 

Dreams were perfect for this story because women really do have unusual dreams during pregnancy. The experience is common enough that many women dream the same sorts of dreams, so dreams were the perfect device to use in this story. 

What research did you conduct for this novel? 

Obviously, I had to do a lot of research on surrogacy, in vitro fertilization and Cuba. Fortunately, I’ve written other books that dealt with most of the elements of this story, so it was simply a matter of seeing how the landscape had changed, so to speak.

Did you draw on personal experience to write The Offering? 

I am an adoptive mother who waited years for her babies to arrive, so a lot of this story felt very personal to me. The emotions were there, I simply had to tap into them—and keep some tissues handy.

What else would you say to Christian retailers as they promote The Offering?

Surrogate mothers—more accurately referred to these days as “gestational carriers”—are increasingly more common. Unfortunately, many people who investigate surrogacy aren’t fully informed about the process, particularly in the area of what happens in in vitro fertilization [IVF]. I have no problem with IVF per se, but all too often too many eggs are harvested, too many are fertilized and too many are frozen. These are tiny human lives, and we cannot lightly dismiss them. I’m hoping that this story will help people think about all the repercussions involved in these procedures. My book club just finished reading this book, and I was amazed at how the book touched those ladies, particularly those who have had some experience with adoption.

St. Francis of Assisi by Demi

Lots of books have been written about Saint Francis.  This is a new title that tries to help connect with a younger crowd.

Here is what the publisher had to say:

Review

The beloved saint gets colorful treatment from Demi, who retells his biography at length, beginning at the beginning, when Francis was born in a stable in Assisi in 1182. Francis’s early life gets extended treatment, with the depiction of medieval military scenes. Those unfamiliar with the details of Francis’s life—he is credited with beginning the use of a Nativity scene to commemorate Christmas—will find it in edifying visual detail, including Francis’s legendary encounter with the wolf of Gubbio. The narrative can be repetitive, but it provides a great excuse for the compelling visuals. Even the end papers are lavishly illustrated, with parade-like ranks of animals along with the words to Francis’s prayers, including the Canticle of the Sun. As usual, Demi’s mixed-media illustrations feature intricate decorative borders, along with lots and lots of animals. A visual feast and tribute to a Christian figure said to have lived like Jesus. Ages 6–up. (Oct.) (Publishers Weekly )

About the Author

Demi is the award-winning author of over 130 bestselling children’s books. Her titles have sold over half a million copies. The Empty Pot was selected by former First Lady Barbara Bush in 1990 as one of the books to be read on the ABC Radio Network Program Mrs. Bush’s Story Time, sponsored by the Children’s Literacy Initiative. Demi’s book Gandhi was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and received an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award. In addition, she represented the United States at the First International Children’s Book Conference in Beijing, China, in 1992. She lives with her husband in Yarrow Point, WA.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Originally I received an electronic Kindle version through NetGalley and it just didn't impress.  But true to form of a high class publisher, I received an email asking for a second chance to impress properly.  Before too long I received a printed copy of this book to review.

St. Francis is a figure who has intrigued the masses for generations.  This book is a beautiful rendering of his life story.  The author/Illustrator does a great job at telling the story.  The illustrations appear as if you are looking at a period/medieval time painting of the story which adds a level of authenticity.  

This book is a beautiful piece to give as gifts to young and old.  With Christmas coming this would make a great item to add to your stockings for your family members who are interested in church history.

Thanks to Wisdom Tales for providing a free copy so that I could give an honest evaluation.

Grace by Max Lucado

I recently received a free copy of the new Max Lucado book Grace.

This was one I picked up not sure of how it would turn out. 

Max is one of the.most gifted story tellers of our age; yet sometimes the story tellers stories can begin to sound a lot alike.

So I picked this up really not sure of where this would go.
here is what the author had to say:

Grace.

We talk as though we understand the term. The bank gives us a grace period. The seedy politician falls from grace. Musicians speak of a grace note. We describe an actress as gracious, a dancer as graceful. We use the word for hospitals, baby girls, kings, and premeal prayers. We talk as though we know what grace means.

But bestselling author Max Lucado says we've settled for a wimpy grace, a goldfish grace that sits in a bowl on the shelf and never causes trouble or demands a response.

There's more to grace than we've ever imagined, and in his brand new trade book Lucado shares the truths of this cornerstone message of his ministry. He challenges readers to not only receive grace but also to be changed by grace. Shaped by grace. Strengthened by grace. Emboldened by grace. Softened by grace. Snatched by the nape of their neck and shaken to their senses by grace.

This book worked on a progressionary scale. Each chapter seemed to not be a separate entity but a continuation or even a perfecting of the one before. It is as if we are seeing God's system of grace unfolding a little more on each chapter.

This is a book not on Prevenient grace, saving grace or sustaining grace but a book on all three (primarily the later two as I'll explain in a moment) 

Max does a great job taking the reader through these stages of grace without the doctrinal jargon.or rhetoric upon which denominations split. In fact my only cringe was.at.the end when two words slipped in Eternal Salvation. It made clear Max's beliefs on eternal.security while potentially alienating.those from the Wesley side of the discussion. 

Yet in it all I found a book well worth the read; captivating.  Profound.  Simple in its revealing of the.complex; yet detailed enough to not leave room for the readers personal opinions on The topic.

I.truly would recommend this to anyone as a great read and a great gift. Share the GRACE!

Faith and other Flat Tires by Andrea Palpant Dilley

I recently received a book Faith and Other Flat Tires by Andrea Palpant Dilley for free to review from the publisher.

My first thought when I got this book was a bit disgruntled.  Why?  Well, in this day and age where we live so many people are writing books that are just outright negative towards the church.  While I perfectly agree with many of the points, being a PK (Preacher's kid) myself I can relate with some of the issues; but since misery loves company I feel that these books can fuel a negativity fire that is very hard within the church to distinguish.

But before I get into the review let me give you the publishers take:

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 refuge in 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?


So I finished this title and really found it a great and easy read.
While it does come out of a memoir of the multiple times that the author had where the air was let out of their Faith tire, it doesn't leave you there in misery.
It is out of the misery that your faith can begin to ask questions and challenge you to live, learn and truly believe.

So check out the book and see what you think?  It might just help you through a challenge you are going through that is similar with the author.

Heaven Changes Everything by Todd and Sonja Burpo

I recently received a sample preview of the soon to be released Heaven Changes Everything book.
This book is a devotional based off passages from the best selling, and in some circles controversial book, Heaven is for Real.

The sample I received was for the first 20 copies.
Each read starts with a short passage of a paragraph or two from the book Heaven is for Real, and then is followed up by short, 2-4 page bit of deeper digging on the topics that were raised.

Each chapter then finishes with a introspective line and in some cases even an action such as listen to a specific song lyrics etc...

Here is what the publisher said of the book:

Live every day with the hope of heaven 

A shattered leg, kidney stones, and a lump diagnosed as hyperplasia. Times were tough, money was scarce, and the bills and frustrations were piling up. It was into this kind of stressed out life that God sent Todd and Sonja Burpo the interruption of a life-threatening illness and emergency surgery for their almost four-year old son Colton. An interruption that included his unforgettable journey to heaven. 

How did they cope? And how can they help us keep thoughts of eternity in mind in the midst of our own overly busy, stressed out lives? 

In fifty unique inspirational readings based on excerpts from their story, Todd and Sonja share their family's responses and reactions to the "Heaven Is for Real "experience. They answer questions about what it's like to struggle with and question God, to doubt, even get angry with Him. And offer new insights into what God might be doing with those interruptions he allows into our lives. Each reading closes with a scripture to provide biblical reinforcement of the ideas shared and a take-away thought or action point to help readers incorporate the reading's inspiration into daily life. 

Keep the hope of heaven alive in your life. Heaven truly "is "for real, and it changes everything

This sample was only partial of the entire book but from what I saw I would recommend it.
Very simplistic, yet very personal and in a great story form it hits you easily where you are.