Experiencing God Through His Names
(Bold Vision Books, June 2016)
What’s in a name?
Names are more than groups of letters that represent a person or identify objects.
Names are powerful. A person’s character and destiny can be influenced by his
or her name. God’s attributes and personality support His unique and distinct
names. If we comprehend the meanings of His titles, we can know God more
intimately. In Experiencing God Through His
Names, Sheryl Giesbrecht walks with you on an exciting journey to
discover and absorb the truth about God’s character. In the next 31 days, God
wants you to get to know Him. Are you ready?
Sheryl Giesbrecht has
written three books, hundreds of articles, blogs, and columns. A nationally
syndicated radio host, Sheryl is a sought after inspirational speaker who
facilitates leadership training for thousands internationally.
Margie’s Comments:
It has been over 20
years ago now when my mom challenged me to begin a study on the names of God. I
didn’t know then it would become a lifelong study, but I’m always grateful for
another book that brings another layer to that study. Sheryl Geisbrecht’s book Experiencing God through His Names is a
good one to add to my list. I’ve enjoyed reading this small devotional book.
Sheryl takes thirty-one names for God and writes a short devotional for each
one. Including her own personal experiences helps to add verisimilitude to each
name and gives the reader a modern context for each ancient yet eternal name.
If you’ve never done a study on the names of God, this would be a good place to
start.
About the Book: Jesus and the Beanstalk: Overcoming Your Giants and Living a Fruitful Life (Abingdon Press, September 2016)
What if a fairy tale and ten Bible verses could free you to live an effective, fruitful life in Christ? We live in unsettling, challenging times. Everywhere we look, we see giant problems: giant obstacles to sharing faith, giant barriers to peaceful lives, giant strongholds of fear. But what if you knew eight small secrets to unlocking a strength big enough to overcome whatever obstacle life may bring?
Using allegory and a bit of humor, Jesus and the Beanstalk explores a passage in 2 Peter 1 to uncover eight truths that will help you unleash a larger-than-life faith:
—Faith —Goodness —Knowledge —Self-control —Perseverance —Godliness —Affection for others —Love
In this creative, refreshing perspective on spiritual growth, you will discover an unyielding strength when you tap the power of a God who is stronger than any beanstalk and bigger than your biggest giants.
Lori Stanley Roeleveld is the author of "Running from a Crazy Man (and other adventures traveling with Jesus)" and "Red Pen Redemption." Her blog, LoriRoeleveld.com, was voted Top 100 Christian Blogs by RedeemingGod.com and has enjoyed over 1.5 million views. Lori lives in Hope Valley, RI.
Margie’s Comments:
When I was first contacted about doing a review for Jesus and the Beanstalk, I was a little skeptical. But as soon as I started reading the book, I was once again reminded that Jesus spoke in parables much of the time, causing much the same skeptical (at least) reaction from the religious leaders of His day. So, rebuked and challenged, I changed my attitude and as I continued to read I appreciated the fresh approach to a well-loved passage in 2 Peter 1.
We all face giants who are against our desires to know Christ better and to live as Christ would have us live and to walk out Christlikeness before and increasingly unbelieving world. Lori Roeleveld has divided this Bible study into three parts: the first part makes the correlation between Christlike living and “Jack and the Beanstalk”; the second part explores how to make a difference in our increasing spiritually dark culture; and the final part takes us into an in-depth six-day study on each of the eight virtues Peter encourages us to actively pursue and incorporate into our daily lives.
As I read the book, I was challenged over and over to actively pursue Christlikeness in every area of life. I not only highly recommend Jesus and the Beanstalk to all my readers, I am praying about using this book as a small-group Bible study with the women at my church. In fact, I’m already using portions of it in my current study on the promises of God. Many thanks to the author for the courage to write the book and to Abingdon Press for publishing it and sending me a copy of the book in exchange for review.
Starving Hearts (Heritage Beacon Fiction, May 2016)
Since her assault, Miss Annette Chetwynd has
been plagued by nightmares and worries about an arranged marriage.
She yearns to find her anonymous rescuer.
Unfortunately, her health and intellect prevent it. Both repel suitors and
cause Annette to doubt God’s existence, at least until He answers her prayers
in an unusual way. . . .
Mr. Peter Adsley is joining the clergy, and
he desires a godly wife by his side. After a failed attempt to obtain one, he
engages in a clandestine meeting with the bewitching young woman who keeps
crossing his path. But she is so unsettling.
Destined for disappointments, Peter and
Annette both endure disgraceful situations. Will Peter’s faith sustain him
through overwhelming setbacks? Can Annette overcome her doubts? Or will their
starving hearts yield to the machinations of a mad man?
Janine Mendenhall teaches teens
English, of all things! Sometimes she sleeps, but most nights she reads, writes,
or watches movies like Pride and
Prejudice and claims she’s researching her next book. “Splickety Love” and
“Splickety Prime” have published her flash fiction. She and her husband, Tom,
live in North Carolina where they and their two golden retrievers help gratify
the needs of their five children and two cats.
Margie’s
Comments:
Janine Mendenhall is a new
author to me, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Starving Hearts. But I was pleasantly surprised by a fresh approach
to a pre-Regency romance—a time period I’m interested in and have done a
certain amount of research into. The story is captivating, and the characters
are real and appropriate to carry the story for the most part. If I have any
criticism is that no one but the main characters seems to see people as they
truly are. Some of the villainy seems a little over the top. For example, while
Peter’s brother’s demise adds a twist that Peter doesn’t want to deal with, it
also seems inevitable. Overall, however, Starving
Hearts is a pleasurable and satisfying read.
Will Annette's search for love and
acceptance replace the loss and hurt in her heart? Find out in Janine
Mendenhall's book one, Starving Hearts, of
the Triangular Trade Trilogy. Since her assault,
Miss Annette Chetwynd has been plagued by nightmares and worries about
an arranged marriage. But she yearns to find her anonymous rescuer.
Unfortunately, her health and intellect prevent it. Both repel suitors
and cause Annette to doubt God’s existence, at least until He answers
her prayers in an unusual way. . . .
Join in the search for love and acceptance with Janine
and Starving Hearts by entering to win
the Delightful Heart Gift Pack Giveaway.
A recipe for love and loss, merriment and mayhem,
fun and faith in the backwoods of the Pacific Northwest can
only be found in Fetching Sweetness by
Dana Mentink. It should have been so simple for
Stephanie Pink: Retrieve a reclusive author's valuable new manuscript
and be promoted to a full-fledged literary agent. But when the
author's canine companion, Sweetness, makes a break for it and
Stephanie has to track Sweetness down, she meets Rhett Hastings. They’re
in for a surprising string of adventures and misadventures.
Celebrate the release of Fetching
Sweetness with Dana by entering to win the Sweetness
Unleashed Prize Pack!
About
the Book: Fetching
Sweetness (Harvest
House, July 2016)
Standing between Stephanie and
her dream is one hundred pounds of lovable trouble.
It should have been so simple for Stephanie
Pink: Meet up with Agnes Wharton in a small town in California, retrieve the
reclusive author’s valuable new manuscript, and be promoted to a full-fledged
literary agent.
But Agnes’s canine companion, Sweetness,
decides to make a break for it before Stephanie can claim her prize. Until
Agnes has Sweetness safely back at home in Eagle Cliff, Washington, Stephanie
will never set eyes on the manuscript she needs to make her dreams come true.
When Stephanie tracks the runaway mutt to a
campground, she meets Rhett Hastings—a man also on the run from a different
life and a costly mistake. Rhett agrees to help Stephanie search for the
missing dog . . . thus launching a surprising string of adventures and
misadventures.
Once Sweetness gets added to the mix, it’s a
recipe for love and loss, merriment and mayhem, fun and faith in the backwoods
of the Pacific Northwest.
About the Author: Dana
Mentink lives in California, where the weather is golden and the cheese is
divine. Dana is an American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year finalist
for romantic suspense and an award winner in the Pacific Northwest Writers
Literary Contest. Her suspense novel, Betrayal
in the Badlands, earned a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award. Besides
writing, she busies herself teaching third and fourth grade. Mostly, she loves
to be home with her husband, two daughters, a dog with social anxiety problems,
a chubby box turtle, and a feisty parakeet.
Margie’s Comments: I had a hard time putting down this book. And
that’s not a comment I make about a book very often. I do like Dana’s books, so
I was glad when I received her latest, Fetching
Sweetness, from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I hadn’t
read one of her romances, though, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I got
was a good, solidly written story, with plenty of fun and adventure—like the
author’s romantic suspense and mystery books. The characters are well
developed, from the very first sentence (“Stephanie regretted driving over the
wedding cake.”) to the last. And the theme of discovering God’s perfect plan
from Jeremiah 29:11 really caught my attention since I’m at a crossroads right
now. I highly recommend this book.
About the book: A Beauty Refined (Bethany House, July 2016)
What does it take to reveal the
true beauty of a hidden gem?
Phoebe Von Bergen, the daughter of a German
count, is excited to visit America for the first time while her father
purchases sapphires in Helena, Montana. Little does she know, however, that her
father’s intentions—both for her and the gemstones—are not what she thinks.
Ian Harper, a lapidary working in Helena,
finds the dignified young woman staying at the Broadwater Hotel more than a
little intriguing. Yet the more he gets to know her, the more he realizes that
her family story is based on a lie—a lie she has no knowledge of. And Ian
believes he knows the only path that will lead her to freedom.
Meeting Ian has changed everything for
Phoebe, and she begins to consider staying in America, regardless of her
father’s plans. But she may not be prepared for the unexpected danger that
results when her family’s deception begins to unravel.
Tracie Peterson is the bestselling,
award-winning author of more than one hundred books. Tracie also teaches
writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational
romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.
Margie's Comments: It has been a while
since I’ve read a Tracie Peterson book, and oh what a refreshing read it was! A Beauty Refined has all the qualities of
good Christian historical fiction I’ve come to expect from Tracie: good
characters, great setting, interesting premise, and good clean romance.
Watching Phoebe and Ian’s story unfold in and around the sapphire mines of
Montana early in the last century was a joy as I relaxed with A Beauty Refined over the weekend. This
is definitely a book worth reading.
Travel back in time in Kelli Stuart's new
novel, Like a River from Its
Course, as the city of Kiev
is bombed in Hitler's blitzkrieg across the Soviet
Union. This sweeping historical saga takes the
reader on a captivating journey into the little-known history of
Ukraine's tragedies through the eyes of four compelling characters who
experience the same story from different perspectives. Based on
true stories gathered from fifteen years of research and interviews
with Ukrainian World War II survivors, Like a River From Its
Course is a story of love, war, heartache, forgiveness, and
redemption.
Celebrate the release of Like a River
from Its Course with Kelli by entering to win a Kindle Fire
Prize Pack.
Young
Madeline and Roark are desperately running from the shadow that destroyed their
home and is threatening their lives.
One day, they encounter Tatus, an older man who
has sworn to avenge the death of his family at the hands of the shadow, and
they form an alliance with him. Tatus promises that he can keep them safe from
the shadow if they will help him build a fortress. So they build.
But as fortress-building consumes their lives,
Madeline and Roark are increasingly filled with anger and fear, and an unseen
evil threatens to ultimately destroy them. When they finally face the shadow,
he presents them with an unthinkable offer that will reveal shocking secrets of
the forgotten past, the unseen present, and the unimaginable future.
We’ve all had the feeling that something’s not
quite right with our lives. It’s bigger than any specific failure or
disappointment. It’s bigger than any person. No matter what you achieve or how
much you drink or sleep, you can’t shake it. It haunts you-night and day-and
propels you to do something. So you build. You build and build the maze that is
your exhausting life. Sound vaguely familiar?
The Seed: A
True Myth is a journey into the personal labyrinths we create to
protect ourselves and those we love from the pain of living in a broken world.
Guzman’s “true myth” takes the reader on an unforgettable journey that is, in
essence, the grand narrative of God’s redemptive work in the world. This
page-turning Christian fantasy tale is packed with mystery and drama, and
readers will feel the weight and power of redemption as they journey alongside
Guzman’s characters in their epic battle. The
Seed deftly communicates the heart of Trinitarian theology through
story—without using theological language or Christian terms—and reinforces
biblical themes such as God’s character and man’s true identity and calling.
Erik
Guzman is Vice President of Communications and Executive Producer at Key Life
Network. He’s the cohost of the nationally syndicated talk show Steve Brown,
Etc. and announcer for "Key Life." His writing has been featured in
Key Life's magazine and online at KeyLife.org, Liberate.org, Burnside Writers
Collective, and Sojourners (sojo.net). He is also a Lay Eucharistic Minister, a
drummer, and a 5th degree black belt in Aikido. Erik, his wife, and three children
live near Orlando, Florida.
Margie’s Comments:
The Seed is an interesting book on several levels, though I found it
somewhat difficult reading. I’m not sure why. I don’t normally mind reading
allegorical or mythical books. In fact I’m in the minority when it comes to
other writer/editor friends in that I like speculative/fantasy/allegorical
fiction.
But
this was hard for me to get into. Maybe because it started out rather dark. But
I kind of expected that, knowing the basic subject matter. Maybe because the
timeline jumped about rather than in a straight line. But even that I could
handle once I understood why the author chose to write it that way.
The
characters were okay, though I had trouble getting into them at first as well.
Again I think that might have been the timeline-jumping thing. Also the lack of
names and then name changes for each of the characters was a little tricky to
keep up with.
But
in the end, I did like the book. However, I think you’ve really got to enjoy
this genre if you’re going to read this book. And it does help to have a good
grasp of allegory and allegorical features and the theology behind the story. So
not a highly recommended book, but not a “don’t ever read this book,” either.
Just what the doctor ordered: heart-thumping
suspense and intrigue, courtesy of Richard Mabry’s new medical drama, Medical Judgment. Someone is after Dr. Sarah Gordon. They’ve
stalked her and set a fire at her home. Trying to recover from the traumatic
deaths of her husband and infant daughter is tough enough, but she has no idea
what will come next. As the threats on her life continue to escalate, so do the
questions: Who is doing this? Why are they after her? And with her only help
being unreliable suitors in competition with each other, whom can she really
trust?
Join Richard in celebrating the release of Medical
Judgment by entering to win an e-reader!
One grand prize winner will receive:
A copy of Medical
Judgment
A Kindle Fire HD 6
Enter today by clicking the icon below, but
hurry! The giveaway ends on June 21st. The winner will be announced June 22nd on the Litfuse blog.
# # #
About the Book:
Medical Judgment (Abingdon Press, May 2016)
Dr. Sarah Gordon lost her husband and daughter. Now
she’s about to lose her life.
After losing the two people she loved the most,
Sarah Gordon doesn’t think life could get worse. But, after a fire in her
garage is ruled an arson, she begins to realize someone is after her—and that
person wants to see her dead. But first, they want to see her suffer.
Her late husband’s best friend, Kyle Andrews, and a
recovering alcoholic detective, Bill Larson, are trying to solve the mystery
before it’s too late, and they’re both trying to win her heart, too. Not only
does Sarah feel torn between two men, she also feels as though she cannot trust
anyone.
With creepy threats that become more and more
sinister, Sarah finds herself in constant fear, but even the best home alarm
technology won’t protect her. Who is doing this, and why are they after her?
Dr. Richard Mabry is a retired physician who writes
“medical suspense with heart.” His novels have won multiple awards: a
semifinalist for International Thriller Writers’ debut novel; finalists for the
Carol Award, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award, and Romantic Times’ Reader’s
Choice Award; and both finalist and winner of the Selah Award. He and his wife
live in Frisco, Texas.
Once again, “Doc” Mabry has
come through with another excellent medical suspense. Medical Judgment is his latest release from Abingdon Press. As I
read, I couldn’t help but be pulled into the story with Mabry’s latest
characters, who are varied and well developed. Although the stage was set for
the ending, it was still a surprise when Sarah’s stalker was revealed. So kudos
to “Doc” for another excellent read. Again, I can highly recommend Medical Judgment to anyone who loves to
read medical suspense.
Marjorie Vawter is a professional freelance editor who proofreads for CBA publishers, edits for individual clients, and does a little writing herself in her “spare” time.
Unless otherwise noted, all the books reviewed on The Writer's Tool are review copies the various publishers provide free of charge for the purposes of review.
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