Author: jlschock

Conquering Fear 52-Week Devotional: For Superhero Kids Ages 10-12 by Julia Ball is an amazing activity book. Although it is aimed for kids ages 10-12 I think kids as young as 7 or 8 could also enjoy this book. I think that the comic book feel and colors would attract any child of reading age. The book is divided into 52 weeks. Each week has six days of devotions. The activities range from reading, prayer prompts, coloring, word searches, other word puzzles, writing prompts, mazes, drawing activities, experiments and crafts. The pictures would intrigue any super hero fan. I love how all the scripture verses stand out in bubbles like a comic book. I received the e-book version for review which made it difficult for me to show my own kids. I want to buy paperback versions so my kids can actually do the written activities. Each week, on day one, there is a Read This! section which is a short devotional with a scripture verse and Fear Buster section. The Fear Buster is a short section that explains fears and how we can overpower them through scripture and knowing who God is. Day four is like day one. There is a Read This!” section and a scripture verse but instead of a Fear Buster there is a Prayer Prompt section which asks questions and leads the reader into prayer.  Days two, three, five and six there is a “Try This!” section which covers a variety of activities geared to make kids think and apply the scripture. I think that this activity book could be adjusted to use in a children’s ministry at a church using each six day section to cover one day a week like in Sunday School. This book explains how Jesus is a super hero and how we can be super heroes too through knowing what Jesus did, following Jesus, serving Jesus, praying, living like Jesus, loving others, sharing Jesus with others, helping others, growing in faith, worshiping, singing, asking questions about God, knowing God’s plan for our lives and future, and trusting God with our future. In the back of the book is an answer key for the puzzles. I like the full color pages and the pictures though out the book. I like how this book is full of scripture and encourages bible memorization. One page stood out to me. It is a page of scripture and the reader is given the task of doodling or drawing in the margins. I think more adults should encourage kids the many ways of engaging God’s word as this book does. I suggest this book to everyone who has kids or teaches the Bible to kids. Even teenagers might enjoy this book at a faster pace.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Hendrickson Review Program. http://www.hendrickson.com/content/hendrickson-review-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.”

Sixty years ago, Moody released a series called Everyman’s Bible Commentary series. This series has helped countless readers in their learning of understanding God and His Word. Written by a large variety of biblical scholars who were experts in their field. Now sixty years later, Moody has rereleased the series as “the Everyday Bible Commentary series” in hopes that todays generation can glean from the tried and tested biblical instruction that has helped countless people in their study. I was eager to review Psalms in the Moody review program. This commentary is split up into three groups Part 1 Psalms 1-50 : Songs of devotion, Part 2 Psalms 51-100: Songs of dedication, Part 3 Psalms 101-150 Psalms of discipleship. The author takes a few pages to write about each psalm explaining the history and comparing it to other psalms and other parts of the Bible. I enjoyed reading this commentary and I learned more than I expected. I am interested at looking into other books of this series. This commentary could easily be used as a devotional or study help while studying Psalms. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to dig deeper into Psalms and even look at the other books in this series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free in exchange for my honest review from the publisher through the Moody Blogger Review Program. http://www.mpnewsroom.com/content/blogger-review-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.”

From the Back Cover

I enjoyed this book. I greatly encourage anyone to read this book who wants to understand more of how the Holy Spirit is moving today.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House/Chosen Blogger Review 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.”

Description

I decided to review Becoming a Next Level Prophet by Jennifer LeClaire because the subject really interests me. I also wanted to give the author a second chance because I read another book by Jennifer LeClaire and I really did not like it. This book is the opposite. She has so many good points and explains the ups and downs of being a prophet. I wish I had this book when I was discovering my spiritual giftings and learning about how the body of Christ operates. This book will certainly help anyone mature in their prophetic anointing. Jennifer LeClaire explains in detail several key aspects of a prophets life such as obedience, willingness, humility, selflessness, prayer, warfare, holiness, faithfulness and accountability.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about their prophetic gifting and how the body of Christ operates. This is a valuable resource that I wish I had years ago.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House Blogger Review 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.”

From the Back Cover

From Back Cover:

Many of us have our “go to” verses. The ones we memorize, post on social media, and hang on our walls. But sometimes we need a fresh word or promise for the season we find ourselves in–something that ignites our faith in the face of fear, doubt, loneliness, insecurity, or overwhelming circumstances.

In this powerful, accessible new book, author and speaker Laurie Short mines the Scriptures, revealing insights and promises from 40 verses we often overlook. Digging in to these “in between” verses, she unearths fresh wisdom, guidance, and encouragement that will help you seek and experience God in new, dynamic ways.

From trusting God’s timing, to not worrying about the future, to holding on to faith when things look dark, the hidden insights found in these verses will help you navigate the challenges that cross your path, breathe new life into your weary soul, and ignite your faith once again.

My Review:

40 verses to Ignite Your Faith is not your typical devotional. The author takes verses that are often overlooked and shows the reader that there is meat in all of God’s word not just in the well known go to verses. Most devotionals are focused on well known sections of the Bible that everyone can relate to but 40 verses to Ignite Your Faith shows 40 verses that are just a easy to relate to. Each devotional is about three pages long and covers a variety of topics like The Subtle Insertion of Doubt, Moving Ahead of God’s Timing, Hearing God’s Voice, The Decisions before the Decision, The Story Within the Story, The Writing om Our Hearts, Running Away from God, When Circumstances Bring Doubt and The God Who Weeps. Each devotional consists of a story and has a memorable quote from the devotion like “If we never give God the things we have, we will never know what God could have done with them”. At the end of each devotional there are a set of three reflection questions.

I loved 40 verses to Ignite Your Faith by Laurie Poloch Short. I loved how it brought to light how much is right in front of us that we overlook. My favorite and most inspiring quote from this book is “Be careful when you think ‘Someone should do something’ It may end up being you” I highly recommend this book to all readers.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House Blogger Review 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.”

From the inside dust cover:

The power of Providence:

My hope for this book is that in reading it, you will learn to discover the power of Providence in the midst of your personal pain, fear, gain, loss, and even love. What’s more, I want you to discover the very personal nature of God as He maneuvers humanity along multiple pathways, intersecting each of us in His intended aim.

My review:

Tony Evans book Pathways: From Providence to Purpose is about how personal struggles and experiences through life get us to the destiny that God has planned for us. The book captivated me on the first page and I could not put the book down from that point on. Tony Evans uses stories that we all know and can relate to and weaves in many stores that I didn’t know but I found myself explaining these stories to others. One of my favorite quotes is found on page 69 ” Because once you understand the providence of God, you’ll know that God is in the details all the more.” This book is full of stories of people’s lives and how their destiny effected everyone around them.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves history and learning through other people’s lives.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BH/Lifeway Bloggers program. https://www.bhbloggers.com/ 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.”

Product Description

What to do when you feel like giving up

When you said, “I do,” you entered marriage with high hopes, dreaming it would be supremely happy.

You never intended it to be miserable.

Millions of couples are struggling in desperate marriages. But the story doesn’t have to end there. Dr. Gary Chapman writes, “I believe that in every troubled marriage, one or both partners can take positive steps that have the potential for changing the emotional climate in their marriage.”

Loving Your Spouse When You Feel Like Walking Away, the revised and updated edition of the award-winning Desparate Marriages, teaches you how to:

• Recognize and reject the myths that hold you captive
• Better understand your spouse’s behavior
• Take responsibility for your own thoughts, feelings, and actions
• Make choices that can have a lasting, positive impact on you and your spouse

An experienced marriage and family counselor, Gary Chapman speaks to those whose spouse is any of the following:

• Irresponsible
• A workaholic
• Controlling
• Uncommunicative
• Verbally abusive
• Physically abusive
• Sexually abusive
• Unfaithful
• Addicted to alcohol or drugs
• Depressed

Marriage has the same potential to be miserable as it does to be blissful. Read Loving Your Spouse When You Feel Like Walking Away to learn how you can turn things around.

My Review:

I decided to review Loving Your Spouse When You Feel Like Walking Away by Gary Chapman in hopes to help some of my friends who are having difficult times in their marriages. Loving Your Spouse When You Feel Like Walking Away addresses many issues like spouses who are irresponsible, a workaholic, depressed, controlling, verbally abusive, physically abusive, sexually abusive, uncommunicative, unfaithful and addicted to alcohol or drugs. Each chapter focuses on one of the above mentioned issues but focuses more on the issue than the solution. Most solutions are just seek counseling. There are a few insightful points through the book and the stories help the reader relate to other people going through similar situations.

I would recommend this book to anyone in a marriage with the understanding that I’m unsure if the subtitle “Real Help for desperate Hearts in Difficult Marriages” is accurate because this book rehashes the issues instead of offering much help.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free in exchange for my honest review from the publisher through the Moody Blogger Review Program. http://www.mpnewsroom.com/content/blogger-review-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.”

Book Description

What is God saying to you in your dreams?

Decoding Your Dreams provides an in-depth explanation of the true source of our dreams, dream classifications, and even dream symbols.

There are dozens of mentions of dreams in the Bible. From Abraham to Joseph, from Daniel all the way to Pontius Pilot’s wife, God has communicated with His people through dreams throughout recorded history.

Why would God choose to speak to us while we sleep?

Perhaps it’s because we are too distracted during the day to sit still long enough for Him to share the deep secrets of His heart.

Jennifer LeClaire is convinced God speaks to us in ways that are very personal. At times he may use pictures, memories, impressions, or even a still small voice.

Let Decoding Your Dreams help you embrace your Spirit-inspired dreams!

My Review

I was excited to review Decoding Your Dreams by Jennifer LeClaire but when I began reading it I was very disappointed and almost disgusted at how the author related to the reader. This book has more of a worldview than a biblical view on dream interpretation. In the introduction, the author says “You are the best interpreter for your dreams– you know best how you relate to God and hoe He relates to you” The title of the first chapter is “God Speaks Through Dreams” I think that the person talking would be the best person to ask about what is said and therefore God would be the best interpreter of dreams. In . In the first chapter, she explains a dream and then says “I’m not spiritually dense, so I understood the overarching meaning of the dream.” Dense means stupid. So what if you don’t understand dreams? Does that mean that you are stupid because you don’t understand dreams? Why would you write a book to help people understand what the Lord may be saying to you while you’re sleep if anyone who doesn’t understand dreams is dense? In Chapter two, The Biblical World of Biblical dreams, the author explains the importance to “understand what the Bible says about the dream world so you can avoid New Age pitfalls and get on the same page with God about what He’s saying to you in the supernatural realm.” But on the contrary, the author then covers cultural dreams in chapter 6 using a world view standard when many of the topics have biblical insights that the author could have mentioned. She continues the chapter explaining the difference between dreams, visions and trances. In chapter 3 she explains the scientific evidence of the negative effects that happen when people are not allowed to dream like tension, anxiety, depression, lack of concentration, eight gain and a hallucinations. Chapter 4 the author explains different types of common dreams. Chapter 5 has a short dictionary of codes. I really like that each term is backed by scripture. Chapter 6 I did not like because it is a world view of the terms instead of God’s view of the terms. Romans 12:2 says ”  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” The rest of the book has questions answered, examples of dreams and activations.
I have several serious issues with this book.  Either we trust God for interpretation or we do not and look to the world. It is not wise to go back and forth between God and the world while warning about doing so at the same time. There are many more reliable books about biblical dream interpretation like Dr Joe Ibojie, Ira Milligan, James Goll, Adam F. Thompson, Adrian Beale, John Paul Jackson and Herman Riffel. I would only suggest Decoding Your Dreams by Jennifer LeClaire if you have read these other authors and are using this book as part of your Biblical dream book library.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers 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.”

From the Back Cover:

My Review:

What About Kids Ministry is a practical resource for anyone needing help with their children’s ministry. The book is a collection of essays by 19 experienced children’s ministry workers. The book consists of ten chapters. Each chapter has a question and topic for a title. Topics include Crafting a plan for your ministry, managing ministry specifics, sharpening your ministry basics, developing your ministry team, understanding the kids in your ministry, sharing the gospel in your ministry, connecting your ministry with families, ministering in difficult situations, navigating relating in ministry, and balancing life in ministry. Each article has a question for a title. Some questions include What about developing a vision? What about my role on church staff? What about VBS? What about training? What about today’s kids? What about the age of accountability? What about equipping families? What about hospitals? What about friendships? What about my spiritual growth?
This book intrigued me. It answered many questions and things that I was curious about children’s ministry before reading it. I recommend this book to anyone involved with children’s ministry even if that is just raising your own kids.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BH/Lifeway Bloggers program. https://www.bhbloggers.com/ 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.”