Review of Raising Successful Teens

Raising Successful Teens

By Jeffery Dean

A great read for parents … 

Raising Successful Teens is filled with nuggets of great life lessons and principles.

Jeffery states, “knowing God has chosen me, I do not take the call to parenting lightly. You shouldn’t either.”

If I had to pick a few statements as a standout statements, they would be these three:

“You are the most influential person in your teen’s life. How are you influencing your teen?”

“The truth is that your ability to lead your family begins with your willingness to let God lead you.”

“We need to integrate God’s Word into our everyday lives so these truths shape us in ways that are honoring to God.”

Reading Raising Successful Teens will will provide the reader with tools and ideas to begin implementing into your family. This book is packed with reminders of raising teens as well as new ideas to help parents navigate the teenage years.

I enjoyed the material presented. It is well written and obviously tested in Jeffery’s family.

I highly recommend Raising Successful Teens. It is a book for seasoned parents as well as parents just getting started in their journey. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review. 

Review of Hearing God

Hearing God

By Nathan Finochio

A great read. One of my top 3 books on my 2019 reading list.

Hearing God will stretch your understanding of how God speaks and how you hear Him speak in your life.

Nathan states, “You’re responsible for how you hear God in your unique circumstances. And this is a gift”

If I had to pick a few statements as a standout statements, they would be these three:

“Understanding the Bible ends when you think you’re not a student anymore - when you’ve stopped asking questions of the text and others. You don’t need a seminary degree to find the right interpretation of Scripture; you just need a humble and hungry heart that’s willing to ask questions from anyone who knows more than you do.”

“We typically dishonor people because we think we’re smarter or better than the are. When we don’t value them, it leads to all kinds of dishonoring behaviors. But if we dishonor others, we’ll almost never hear God’s voice because we’ve put ourselves at the center of our universe.”

“The door that looks so good could be the worst opportunity ever, but because we’re so antsy in the ole pantsy, we bolt! We give no time to assessing why we’re where we are in the present, and we don’t engage in a process of submitting opportunities to others in our lives who aren’t emotionally drunk on the possibility of what’s next.”

Reading Hearing God will create a hunger in the reader to develop the discipline of Hearing God. This book will also stretch you as you become open to the idea of hearing God speak in often unusual or unexpected circumstances

Another of my personal highlights in Hearing God is when Nathan said, “God speaks through opportunities. But here’s the trick: not all opportunities are from God, even though He uses them as confirmation in our lives.”

I enjoyed the material presented. It is well written and obviously Nathan’s life message.

I highly recommend Hearing God. It is a book for seasoned believers as well as new believer’s just getting started in their journey of walking with God.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Review of Rise of the Servant Kings

Rise of the Servant Kings

By Ken Harrison

A great read for men and women..

Rise of the Servant Kings is filled with nuggets of great life lessons and principles.

Ken states, “God can work in you only to the extent that you are submitted to Him.”

If I had to pick a few statements as a standout statements, they would be these three:

“Your Father is training you to be a king, and kings don’t hold on to hurt.”

“Faith is the first step away from the need to know and toward true life.”

“Walking with God is a long process of going from sinful nature’s pride and the need to know to a place of complete faith.”

Reading Rise of the Servant Kings will create a hunger in the reader to become and develop the disciplines of Servant Kings. This book will also stretch you as you become the kind of man God intended.

I enjoyed the material presented. It is well written and obviously Ken’s life message.

I highly recommend Rise of the Servant Kings. It is a book for seasoned men as well as young men just getting started in their kingdom journey. Actually, I feel like this book is a must read for all men!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Review of Reforesting Faith

Reforesting Faith

By Matthew Sleeth

An interesting easy book to read.

The title was intriguing. What caught my attention was the subtitle,
“What trees teach us about the nature of God and His love for us.”

Reforesting Faith is a book in which the author has gone to great lengths to find the significance of trees throughout the Bible.

While I’m not certain about the theology behind this book, it does cause the reader to think about many things of God.

I found the central theme of the book to be when the author states; “Every significant theological event in the Bible is marked by a tree.”

As you read, you noticed that sometimes he meant parts of a tree, not a specific tree. As I stated earlier, I’m not sure of the theology behind this book, but it is a book that makes you think.

I enjoyed the material presented. Even with my theological questions, the material was an interesting read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Review of The Life Giving Leader

The Life Giving Leader

By Tyler Reagin

A great read for anyone in leadership.

The Life Giving leader is filled with nuggets of great leadership lesson.

If I had to pick one statement as a standout statement, it would be this:

“When you are filled with abundant life, it will overflow to those you lead. It has to.”

Reading The Life Giving Leader will create a hunger in the reader to receive and reflect abundant life.

I enjoyed the material presented. It is we written and obviously Tyler’s life message.

I highly recommend The Life Giving Leader. It is a book for seasoned leaders as well as young leaders just getting started in their leadership journey.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Review of The Come Back Effect

The Come Back Effect

by Jason Young & Jonathan Malm

A great tool to add to your ministry library for developing and resourcing your hospitality teams. 

“Hospitality is about the feeling.” 

Young and Malms lead readers to understanding what a guest to your church or business “feels.” Understanding what a guest feels, positions you to prepare for them to “come back.” 

My favorite quote from the book is: “You’re ultimately representing the reputation of Jesus Christ to those in your community.” 

With that statement as our lens, we probably all need to change how we react and respond to people around us. If we are truly representing the reputation of Jesus Christ, how are we doing? The Come Back Effect helps us learn to create a culture of hospitality in our personal lives as well as in our churches. 

This book is a must read for anyone serving in any capacity in churches and businesses. 

Review of "The Aging Brain"

The Aging Brain

by Timothy R. Jennings M.D.

“While we cannot affect the passage of time, we can affect our passage through time…” (61)

Dr. Jennings has produced a great work to encourage his readers to consider the daily choices they make. While the focus of The Aging Brainis preventing dementia, the information compiled and shared by Dr. Jennings is useful for so much more than mental health. 

Dr. Jennings wrote, “It is impossible to keep our brains healthy without keeping our bodies healthy.” (23) Then he proceeds to give scientific findings and useable information to help the reader consider daily habits.

Obviously we each have things in our lives that cannot be changed like our DNA and our childhood experiences; but there are many things we have control over and have the ability to change. For example, “Exercise is a requirement for life.” (104)

Throughout the book there is information that is technical and scientific. Dr. Jennings graciously included learning points at the end of each chapter to help the reader reflect on the information.

I was a bit skeptical when I began reading The Aging Brain but I was quickly curious as Dr. Jennings began explaining his point of view concerning reducing dementia.

Dr. Jennings work has helped me better understand the things that are in my control regarding aging and mental health. I really enjoyed my journey through The Aging Brain. It was a knowledgeable and fun read.

For more information about the book, to read a sample chapter or to watch informative videos visit https://www.agingbrain.com.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.