You Can Live the Dream: Trading Disappointment and Discontentment for Peace, Joy and Fulfillment By Nick Nilson Book Review

In You Can Live the Dream, Nick Nilson has written his first book about how we can learn to start living our dreams. Many people know Nick as the associate pastor of Lakewood Church alongside Joel and Victoria Osteen. We need to stop focusing on what we do currently do not have and where we hope to be next. He shared how Paul stated how we are called to live by faith and not by our sight. He explained how living the dream can all come down to having the right perspective. We can have change how we are seeing our lives. We can learn to be content in whatever seasons we are facing. He chose to share a powerful example of taking his son Denver to fish for the very first time. They weren’t having any luck in catching any fish. They would bait the line with worms. Nick thought it was a super failure and he figured his son would hate to fish after that. Later, he asked his son how he enjoyed the fishing. He told him he loved drowning all the worms. He realized at that point that his son thought they were drowning worms. He used this to explain the difference in perspectives. His son had fun and thought it was a successful mission. Our perspectives can greatly impact how we view our lives and we can choose how we respond to it. He shared how we need to give His promises more attention than we do to our problems. 

 

 

One of my favorite chapters was about progress over perfection. We can choose to celebrate the small victories and the improvements we are making. He used the scripture story of the Israelites rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. After they finally finished the foundation for the temple of the Lord. The priests celebrated and praised the Lord even though it wasn’t even finished yet. Celebrating the process while we are still going through the journey can make all of the difference. He opened up about how his wife, Summer has been battling vertigo for a few years. They believed it was caused from a plane ride. She has been to many doctors and tried different things to get free from it. She hasn’t yet been set free from vertigo. One day he was at church when his wife texted Victoria and told her that she was on her way and she was driving to church. She rarely drove because of the dizziness and anxiety she faced. His wife decided to do it afraid and when she made it into the parking lot. Victoria and him celebrated the small victory she experienced. He used this exampled to show us how important it is to celebrate the process and we can rely on the truth that God will complete His work and continue it until Jesus returns. 

 

 

Another prevailing story he included was about how he felt up a $100 dollar bill and asked the audience how much it was worth. He then proceeds to crumple it up and stepped on it and made it dirty. He then offered to give it to someone in the crowd. A college student eventually accepted it gladly and without any hesitation. He used this story to explain how the bill was tattered and dirty people still wanted it. He shared how people can’t change our worth and value. We need to see our value in that we are a child of God. He clarified how getting the bigger house, job title, getting married, and whatever else we think will increase our value. When the lights go down, none of that will truly matter. He also touched on the topic of comparison and we have nothing to prove to anyone else. 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome book about living our dreams to anyone is looking for inspirations. I loved reading about how Nick wanted to play in football and how his injuries led him into the path of becoming a pastor. This was a very impactful story about understanding the power of perspective and celebrating how far we have come. I liked how he shared how we can have blessing in the margins and building character and integrity. The book also discussed how to pick out our dream team and the qualities they need to have. There is tons of helpful scripture references and teachings that will ignite our faith present in the book. Readers will be able to connect with the stories and this is a book meant to be reread and put into practice. 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Hachette Book Group/Faithwords for my honest review.”

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/You-Live-Dream-Disappointment-Discontentment/dp/1546004661 

I Hope You Fail: Ten Hater Statements Holding You Back from Getting Everything You Want by Pinky Cole Book Review

In I Hope You Fail, Pinky Cole has a goal of helping readers to overcome all of the negative hater and going after our dreams. She shared how she started her multimillion-dollar business during a pandemic. She also tried to help readers in understanding the importance of fire insurance. Her first restaurant location burned down in a grease fire. The State of New York garnish her wages until she was able to pay back the entire $17,000 debt that was due. This heartbreak led her to founding Slutty Vegan. People judged her in naming her restaurant with the term slutty. She refused to give the name and the business she wanted to create around being vegan. She explained how her father was in prison right after she was born. He was sentenced for 30 years. This caused her mother to have to work extra hard to provide for her family. She described what all this taught her growing up. She also clarified how critical it is to deal with your low self-esteem. It can literally kill your business and cause it to fail. We tend to second guess ourselves and what our business has to offer our customers. She compared it to Beyonce and how she doesn’t doubt herself when she is recording and releasing an album that she will sell copies. She also explored the topic of looking at your team and taking inventory. We need to be around people who push us to our maximize potential. 

 

 

Another powerful chapter was about love and how when we own a business it makes us have to even be more careful about who we enter into a relationship with. She opened up on how she was sued after she opened her restaurant. The guy wasn’t really invested in her dream. He just wanted a quick cash out to become a part of her brand. She helps readers to ask themselves if the person they are currently with filling the vison they have of love. We need to know for a fact that if everything falls apart that they will be there for us. She strongly suggested readers to ask themselves if they have any unmet needs or daddy/mama issues that is affecting our love lives. 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome book on business and what tools we can use to grow our business. I really liked how she took a sturdier approach to making bold statements about how she hoped readers would fail because it will teach them so much more about life and business. Another impactful teaching is about dealing with negative voices and how we need to consider the source before we listen to what they are saying. I really appreciated the truth found in discovering the lie and applying the truth. This book was very knowledge and covered all the areas of our lives and the advice was all geared towards business lessons. 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, HarperCollins Leadership for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Hope-You-Fail-Statements-Everything/dp/1400242851

 

You Gotta Get Up: Grab Hold of Your Life After Being Knocked Down, Held Back, and Left Out by Kimberly Jones (Real Talk Kim) Book Review

 

In You Gotta Get Up, Kimberly Jones helps readers to become unstuck in their rut and pain and to get up again and live their lives. She begins the book by describing how she chooses to look at pain, rejection, and sadness like it’s a disco ball. We can be broken into thousands of small pieces and somehow God can still cause us to shine. She shared how rejection is God’s way of taking someone out of our future. She explained how at 36 years old she had to move back in with her parents with her two young sons. She had no income and her marriage was officially over. She shared how she was traumatized by the incredible pain. She compared parts of her story to the Samaritan woman and how she was judged from being married five times and currently living with a man. She came to the well and met Jesus. He helped her to heal and have hope again. He provided her a solution to become unstuck in life. Kimberly explained how she felt betrayed and rejected as well. She was able to let go of her failure and she realized that her past didn’t hold any influence over her life. She was able to explore her own stuckness in life and figure out all of the labels that were defining her. She offered a new and special way to get free of our imprisonment. She encouraged readers to ask “and” when they are dealing with their fear. These included you got fired, lied about, got divorced. We can use the and’s to move forward. This was very powerful tool to use against worry and asking ourselves questions to overcome our negative voices. We can learn to remember that our identity is not found in whatever things that have caused our pain. 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite chapters discussed how we need to stop living the lies that others have spoken over us. Many of us have fallen for and believed them, such as we won’t ever be loved, won’t succeed, and we aren’t good enough. If we fail victim to the lies and believe them, then they can become our reality. Instead, we need to care more about Jesus says about us. God is able to work everything out for our good. She explained how she turned all of her messes into our messages to help others. She explained how if we allow another person to control and determine our worth then this becomes like a modern-day idol. We must always remember that God thinks we are wonderfully made. 

 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome book about choosing to get up again and living your life to the fullest. I immensely loved how she included multiple different Biblical stories throughout the book to explain the message of the book. I liked how she enclosed a story in each chapter about how her message has changed their lives whether it be a podcast, speaking event, or Sunday message. She also included a declaration and a prayer to assist us in getting up. The most powerful lessons in the book that I related to was the label many of us wear every single day. We fall into the rut of hanging on to what people have spoked over us and the things we have gone through. It was astonishing to read about how she was able to find her own healing through the pain she faced in her life and surrender to God. 

 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Zondervan for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/You-Gotta-Get-Up-Knocked/dp/1400241987/

Happy Mind, Happy Life: The New Science of Mental Well-Being by Dr. Rangan Chatterjee Book Review

In Happy Mind, Happy Life, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee has written a new book about happiness and how we need to get our mind right. He has been a doctor for over 20 years. He begins the book by encouraging readers to take a few moments and ponder a moment when they were truly happy. He then asked what happened to cause us to lose that happiness. He explained how people who make small health changes in their lifestyles have brought about great change in their overall health. He has helped readers to get better sleep and practice one minute breathing techniques. He has also helped readers to manage their stress levels and making small changes to their diets. Stress is a big part of what the doctor sees when they meet with patients every single day. He has witnessed how happiness has helped readers to become healthier when they have less stress. He shared a powerful study Professor Lauie Santos completed. He injected rhinoviruses up their nostrils and discovered that the ones who were happier had a less chance of being sick. When we are happier, we have more energy to work out, socialize, and avoid bad foods. He shared that we all need to tap into our core happiness. These consist of contentment, alignment, and control. It is a forever long journey in which we walk in every day. Luckily, we can work these muscles every day to grow in strength and increase our happiness. The book enclosed ten simple ways to obtain happiness and 20 exercises to assist you. 

 

 

 

I would recommend this book to anyone who is ready to become happier and they are tired of being burden down by stress. I immensely loved the different exercises to work on our journey to happiness. I thought they were very helpful and powerful to guide us. I loved the topic of learning to treat ourselves with respect and I think this will be very beneficial to readers. This book has the potential to help us to manage and control our stress. I loved the breathing techniques and how we can take the time to slow down and reflect. I enjoyed how he contained numerous studies and explored the science of happiness. 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, BenBella Books for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Mind-Life-Science-Well-Being/dp/1637742118/ 

Life After God: Finding Faith When You Can’t Believe Anymore by Mark Feldmeir Book Review

 

In Life After God, Mark Feldmeir explored the topic of a faith and our doubts. He first opens up about a personal story about being in his seminary professor’s office. He pulls out a gun and points it at his chest. He then proceeds to ask him an important question if he believed in God. He then explained that it’s a finger gun. He shared how he has always been a Christian and felt the call to ministry. He then asked if he believes that God is all powerful and that he could stop a bullet from entering his body. This leads to a discussion about omniscience and God’s loving nature. He later shared how his 48-year-old father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was very real in opening about faith and living with fear. He compared it to a sudden downpour and how he struggled with a river of doubt. He strongly suggested readers to give permission for our doubts to exist and he explained how this could lead us to embrace what we might believe. 

 

 

One of my favorite stories was about the topic of what we are living for. His wife, Lori is a behavior interventionist for special needs children. She works with them to teach them how to communicate with children and express themselves in nonverbal ways. She was actively trying to assist with this one girl with her meltdowns. She was struggling with a way to connect with her. She would bang her head of the floor and she would refuse to engage. She one day heard her humming a song and she knew it was Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”. The girl would jump, dance, and spin when she heard Kelly’s music. He shared how we need to live with the mindset of the fullness of time and living like every moment matters. 

 

 

I would recommend this splendid book about faith and our doubts in a God we may no longer believe in. I really enjoyed how he explained the powers at work in the creation of our future and he broke them down into three key areas. It was really beneficial in learning about the power of shalom and living in the presence. Peace will greatly help us to find contentment. I immensely love how he described the presence of God and how we seek Him. He did a wonderful job at looking at faith and how to have faith when we are having trouble believing. I liked how this book contained a book club discussion guide and a small group study guide. 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Westminster John Knox Press for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Life-after-God-Finding-Believe/dp/0664268404/   

Just Jake: Sweet Travels Series Book 1 by Jaimie Engle Book Review

 

Just Jake is the first book in the brand-new series, Sweet Travels. It has also been recently released as a movie. The main characters are played by country artist, Rob Mayes and Brittany Bristow in the movie. Amber Gibson is an entrepreneur of her family’s restaurant Pop’s Place. She also working at the Lesson Center music school helping students with their gifts. The main character of the book is actually country superstar, Jake Collins. He had his first sold out performance as a headliner. When he was growing up, he used music as an outlet to deal with his parent’s constant fighting. His mother finally had enough and decided to leave. He became a musician and signed with Moose Records before he even graduated high school. They discovered him on TikTok. He was struggling in the studio and there was a disconnect with him singing the lyrics like he meant the words. He was encouraged to go home to his hometown, Lincoln. He really didn’t want to because of his abusive father and he made him feel less than. There was also an old romantic flame, Amber. They were dedicating the new performing arts center in his name. He would have to face his past and reconnect with Amber. She was very heartbroken when he left and choose to go after his musically dreams and forget about what they had. He also chooses to volunteer and help Amber with teaching the kids at the music school and getting them prepared to take the stage. This forced them to spend time together and reconnect.

 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome new series to anyone who enjoys country music, mixed with faith, and romantic. I liked the storyline of this book and how it touched on never giving up that hearts can’t be mended again. It was interesting to read about their struggle with forgiveness and healing and reconnecting after their broken hearts. I liked how the book contained a few Christian Bible verses throughout the book. God was still trying to reach him and reconnect with his heart. After reading this book, I’m excited to watch the new film that is already out. I really liked how they picked Rob Mayes for the role of Jake and I already have his music on my phone. It will be exciting to see how the book compares to the film and what was added and changed. 

 

 

 

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

 

 

 https://www.amazon.com/Just-Jake-Jaimie-Engle/dp/B0C5YXY675

Check out the trailer: