Going Higher with God in Prayer: Cultivating a Lifelong Dialogue By A.W. Tozer Compiled and Edited by James L. Snyder Book Review

 

Going Higher with God in Prayer is a new teaching compiled together containing the teachings of A.W. Tozer. He begins the book by sharing the dynamics of prayer. He explained that prayer needs to be more about being in the presence of God. It doesn’t need to be rituals or repeated sayings. We need to instead believe and pray that prayer can accomplish things. He described Jacob and Esau. Jacob deceived his father and had to flee. Jacob eventually learned to communicate with God and to experience Him. He had a dream about a ladder into Heaven. He compared the message of the story to the ladder of prayer. He stated how far up the ladder we climb the closer to God we become. He described how our prayer life needs to be more on being in the presence of our Holy Savior and communicating with Him.  

 

 

I would recommend this awesome book about prayer and how we can improve our prayer life. It was interesting to read about his sermons and why he believed that the greatest curse is unanswered prayer. I liked how he looked at the three basic barriers to our prayers from being answered. This was very eye opening to read about how these can stop our prayer life. I also enjoyed reading the story about the couple wishing for corn and having their neighbors join in and believing for ten acres of corn. I liked how he related this back to James 4:2-3 and how important it is to pray and ask for it. We can’t just wish things in our lives would be different. Wishing is useless. Readers will benefit from learning how to climb the ladder into God’s holy presence. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Going-Higher-God-Prayer-Cultivating/dp/0764234048/

Doing Church as a Team: The Miracle of Teamwork and How It Transforms Churches Revised and Updated Edition by Wayne Cordeiro Book Review

In Doing Church as a Team, Wayne Cordeiro explored the scopes of building up your team within your church and letting them use their gifts to help others. He has noticed how there is much more a disconnect within the church than ever before. We aren’t in tune to the needs of people. He stated that there are 35 to 40 million people unchurched right now. Some of the reasons people have left is because of their gifts not being used, the tasks given in the church aren’t challenging to grow, disconnected from other believers, or they have been hurt by others within the church. He shared how he is the founding of New Hope Christian Fellowship of Oahu in Hawaii. He shared how his church grew in numbers and how lives were changed. He revealed how the church learned to work together as a team. He explored the three categories of gifts: office, serving, and charismatic gifts. He stated how everyone has a gift and how everybody is a 10 in something. He shared what DESIGN means and how to discover our gifts and passions. He opened up about his churches nine core values that the members are expected to live out. 

 

 

 

I would recommend this life changing book to anyone who is ready to discover their gifts and passions and they can use this within the church and outside the church. I immensely loved how he has updated this edition to become more updated with the times. One of my favorite chapters was the one that discussed the difference between secure and insecure leadership. I liked how he looked at King Saul and how insecure he was towards David. I also liked how he explained the circle design and how to build your team. I enjoyed reading about the guidelines for a God-glorifying vision. 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Church-Team-Teamwork-Transforms/dp/0764218484

 

 

The Way of a Christian: Life Lessons from Pilgrim’s Progress A 90 Day Devotional Book Review

The Way of a Christian is a 90 days devotional covering the life of John Bunyan. He was a preacher and a writer. He was jailed in 1661 for 12 years after refusing to censor his religion. His book the Pilgrims Progress has been published in over 200 languages. The devotional was rewritten to include current things to help readers to relate to the message in today’s times. The goal of the book is to assist us in the ways of being a true Christian. Each day contained a verse, devotional teaching, three questions, and a prayer. 

 

 

One of my favorite devotionals was the one that discussed the fire alarm. He shared a story about how a group of business men hearing the fire alarm go off. The senior manager thought the alarm was a false alarm. He stayed inside the building and everyone else followed suit. Then there was an explosion. He used this story to compare it to how many Christians are ignoring the warning signs of God’s wrath and judgement. We have to make our own decision on if we will follow Christ and His teachings. 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome devotional on the teachings of the Pilgrim’s Process. I immensely loved how they included current things to help us relate to the book. It made it easier for readers to connect with the message that many probably haven’t heard before. This was the first time in reading about John Bunyan and his writings. I liked how he covered the topic of a better expectation. We can let our major disappointments cause us to go into a deep depression or we can hold on to better expectations. We can instead believe that a new day is coming and that God has given us a sound mind. We can have hope for a brighter day. This will help you in the ways of becoming a better Christian. 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Way-Christian-Pilgrims-Progress-Devotional/dp/080076241X/

First Impressions: Off-Screen Conversations with a Bachelor on Race, Family, and Forgiveness by Matt James with Cole Brown Book Review

In First Impressions, Matt James opened up about his personal life story and how he became the first Black Bachelor on the hit reality tv show, The Bachelor after two decades of it being on air. He explained how he led a prayer to God at the start of the first episode and this led to controversies. In the book, he shared how his mother accepted Jesus as her Savior. Most of it was because she saw her coworker life and how joyful she was. He explained how his mother married his dad and how unfaithful he was in their marriage. She stated how she never trashed him in front of her two children. She chose forgiveness towards him and Matt revealed his personal struggle with forgiveness and seeing it as a weakness. He explained how he grew in his own personal faith and how his brother stopped believing later on after he went to prison a few times. In the book, he also opened up about being half white and how people viewed him differently when they learned that his mother was white. He opened up about his experiences growing up and how his own grandfather treated him differently. He also discussed the topic of racism, the wrongful death of George Floyd, and the protests that occurred. In the book, he also shared how he became an NFL athlete and the experiences he faced during that. 

 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome book to anyone who enjoyed watching him on the Bachelor. I don’t watch this show personally but I enjoyed reading about his personal life and how he is a Christian trying to assist others through his nonprofit, ABC Food Tours. I loved how in his Bachelor book he focused more on his roots and Christian values. I was deeply touched by his story of his grandfather and how he refused to tell his brother, John and him that he loved them. He also shared how he wouldn’t help John with his math homework and judged him for his grades. Even though he has a degree in chemical engineering. He would show the other grandchildren more love and attention then John and Mark. I also love reading about how all that changed when his grandfather needed help after falling down. This story is a wonderful example of forgiveness and change.

 

 

"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/First-Impressions-Conversations-Bachelor-Forgiveness/dp/1546002081/

On the Edge of Hope: No Matter How Dark the Night, The Redeemed Soul Still Sings by Mark Chironna Book Review

On the Edge of Hope, Mark Chironna explored the darkness and the suffering and how we can get our hope back. He opened up about how he spent three and a half years going into a deep darkness. He felt anxiety, depression, and tremendous pressure from life. He compared his pain to that of his experience with kidney stones. He shared how he felt he lost his voice and the pain he experienced. He lost about twenty pounds because he stopped eating as much and had to force himself to eat. He shared how he lost his own personal power. Before his breakdown, he was traveling a lot and speaking 4-5 times a week and he had a hectic schedule. He was a pastor and did coaching. He shared how we believe that all of our thoughts are accurate because we are thinking them. These can be positive or negative thoughts or even a mixture of them. In the book, he looked at the story of Job and how he suffered and he dealt with feeling like a bus hit him. Mark shared how he also went through a period of darkness and what he learned along the way. 

 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome book to anyone is going through a period of darkness and they are looking for a ray of hope. I appreciated how open Mark was when he shared how he dealt with his darkness and how he was able to turn his life around and come back into the light. I also liked how he shared a personal story about his grandfather and the struggles he endured. I liked how he shared that when his own father lost his own brother it changed him and influenced how he raised his own son, Mark. I immensely love how he explored Job and what we can learn from his own hardships. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Hope-Matter-Night-Redeemed/dp/0800762576

Gigi and Nate New Movie in Theaters September 2!

Short Synopsis: 
Nate Gibson’s life is turned upside down after he suffers a near-fatal illness and is left a quadriplegic. Moving forward seems impossible until he meets his unlikely service animal, Gigi – a curious and intelligent capuchin monkey – who helps Nate find what he needs most: Hope.

 

 

 

I’m really excited to see this family friendly movie. It’s based on a true story. The movie appears to have a great message about never giving up and always having hope. Gigi, the monkey brings peace and helps him relearn how to enjoy life again after experiencing a life changing event. They face opposition from the community about having a monkey in the area. I also loved seeing that Jim Belushi was in this movie I loved him in Underdog and According to Jim. I’m sure he will add fun humor to the film. I liked seeing that Marcia Gay Harden was in this movie. I loved her in The Morning Show, Code Black, and Flubber. I’m curious to watch Nate and Gigi’s story. 

 

 

 

 

 

Official Website:

 

https://www.gigiandnate.com

Instagram: @gigiandnate

TikTok: @gigiandnate