The Grace Effect: How the Power of One Life Can Reverse the Corruption of Unbelief by Larry Alex Taunton

The Grace Effect is not only an encouraging read for Christians, especially those battling atheists and secularism, but it is actually an account of how God intervenes and creates opportunities to work with God. The author does not characterize his book as such an account, but I couldn't help but notice the evidence of it. The book starts with a casual debate with Christopher Hitchens, a popular atheist, on Christianity, God, and God's relevance today. The author then begins his detailed account of his experience of adopting a ten year old girl from Ukraine. The author also explains Ukraine's history and how Christianity became suppressed for many decades. At first, I didn't realize where the author was going with this, but it became a real life, true example of how Christianity, or the lack of it, affects people and culture. The author provides an evidentiary account of how true Christianity, the only religion that is based on Grace, influences society and creates what the author calls the Grace effect. Through the author's experience of the adoption process in Ukraine, a country where Christianity has been absent for many decades, the reader can see just how true Christianity affects society, even in secularism. The adoption process in Ukraine was full of corruption, bribes and clearly did not have the child's best interests at heart. The author's interactions with citizens further illustrate how calloused and uncaring the people of Ukraine are. By explaining the history of Ukraine, with it's socialist and communist foundation, the reader clearly sees what happens to a society that is not influenced by Christianity. This is wake up call as to the dangers of the atheist movement and the damage atheism can cause to society. It is important to note that socialists and communists are atheists, which the author explains in his book. The author makes a very good point, that atheists who live in a country influenced by Christianity are not comparable to the atheists who have not been influenced by Christianity. The lack of moral conscience in Ukraine validates this point. How Sasha's (the ten year old adoptee) life has now been affected by Christianity drives the point home. Sasha is a real life example of the Grace Effect. I highly recommend this book for everyone, both Christian and non-Christian alike. It is an eye opener as to what will happen to a society that has been devoid of the Christian influence. After the adoption proceess, the author publically debated Christopher Hitchens, and the author's real life experience of interactions in a country that has been devoid of Christianity for many decades only strengthened the author's ability to successfully debate a prominent atheist. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com 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."

Ascent from Darkness How Satan's Soldier Became God's Warrior By Michael Leehan

I finished reading this book months ago. I had not published a review because I was a bit "speechless". The author tells, in short, his life story. The author describes a few childhood and young adult tragic situations that he had been through. Discouraged, not sure whether God really exists, he decides to live his life for Satan. The author recounts, briefly, incidents and actions that occurred as a result of his devotion for Satan. The author does not go into a lot of detail, but writes in the style that tries to elicit shocked reactions from his readers. Overall, I felt a lot of it was juvenile- such as leaving Satanic bibles at churches, and sensationalized, if even true. For example, the author briefly describes an incident where he encountered who he says was another Satanist, while checking out a house for sale with his girlfriend. The author claims that he and this man immediately sensed that each was a Satanist and proceeded to have heated words in a language only known to Satanists. Some how this language just spewed out if his mouth. No explanation as to how he learned it ... Other incidents recount terrifying hauntings, which he claims was even witnessed by a friend of his. Sounded like something out of a horror movie. The plot thickened when he describes how he was drawn to murder a prominent Pastor from a large, popular church. The author recounts how he was questioned for peculiar behavior by the church security and states he went into a trances and started channeling (a spirit/demon). Yet, the author never mentioned he had such powers previously in the book. To assure the reader, he states he had done this at times before this incident. No details; no explanation of how he got into channeling and previous results. There are just too many gaps in this autobiography. I found this book to be highly skeptical and it troubled me that the publisher would publish a book that had many problems- problems made worse by the authors "witnesses" that verify the truth of his story. The "witnesses" were people who knew him after he turned his life over to God. I'd love to hear witness accounts from people who actually witnessed the most horrific accounts, such as his girlfriend and his friend mentioned above. Yet, there are none. Relevant eye witness testimony is simply not included. People who did not witness the horrific and only knew the author after he turned his life over to God are not witnesses and cannot verify whether the author is truthful. Since the author did not provide relevant witness testimony when he identifies such witnesses makes it very hard to believe his story. The author states he had a muti-million dollar business that went under. The author does not provide any reasons for his loss. This only leads more credence that the author's story is either not true, grossly exaggerated or most likely a combination of the two. The author needs money. Period. I am very disappointed with the publisher's low standards. Much of this book could have been fact checked by relevant witnesses. Instead, the publisher seems to be more interested in profiting from what appears to be simply a sensationalized, grossly exaggerated and scantly true account of someone's claim to have been saved by God after serving Satan. I do not recommend this book whatsoever. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com 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."

Muscular Faith by Ben Patterson

This nonfiction book discusses all aspects of strengthening your faith and strengthening the body of Christians. Christianity is being influenced by many secular factors. Once any aspect of Christianity becomes secularized, Christianity has taken a fall. Christianity is being subjected to many ideals that would minimize it's importance. There is a quote in the book that, in my opinion, summarizes this book as a whole: "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, if of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important." This is a quote from C.S. Lewis.

This book is like a pep talk - not a preachy sermon. It helps to get you more excited about your faith, your walk with God, and the Church. All aspects are covered as the author impacts the reader with the importance of a Christ-centered life.

The book is divided into four sections:
Part 1//The Call to a Vigorous Faith
To Fight the Good Fight and Finish the Race
Part 2//The Case for a Vigorous Faith
Why Does Jesus Speak with such Severity and Urgency
Part 3//The Obstacles
You Have Enemies: The Flesh, the World, and the Devil
Part 4//The Essentials
How to Fight the Good Fight

Throughout the book, the author has singled out comments, putting them in bold and outside of the paragraph. These comments emphasize the importance of the subject. For example, "All genuine Christian action begins with prayer because all genuine Christian action begins with God."

This book had me re-evaluating the strength of my faith. I learned how to strengthen my fight for the good fight and to finish the race strong.

I highly recommend this book!

Tyndale House Publishers sent me a complimentary copy of this book for me to review. This in no way influenced my review

Where Will You Go from Here? by Valorie Burton

An excellent self-coaching book! No matter what your setback is, you will find this book empowering, enlightening, and encouraging. You may have lost your job; you may have gotten divorced; you may have had a tragic accident - to say this book is useful for any setback is an understatement.

This is a thorough book, which includes how to catch negative thinking; how to recognize how your emotions factor, how to figure out your next move; and much more. The author includes wisdom from psychologists, as well as the Bible. Each chapter ends with a prayer that is devoted to the topic of the chapter. Even more, the author is not condescending, and is realistic and encourages the reader to remain realistic and flexible with goals.

This is not a book that simply addresses feel good Bible verses. This is truly a highly useful book to get your life back on track, no matter what your setback is. The author starts the book with 5 key commitments you need to make to yourself to start you on the road to recovery. Here are the commitments, which are explained and in the very first chapter:

1. I will not feel sorry for myself.
2. I will not stare at the closed door.
3. I will dig deep to unearth the courage I need.
4. I will direct my thoughts - my thoughts will not direct me.
5. I will choose to believe that all things work together for good.

Using real life examples from the author's life, as well as others she has coached, this book is fantastic. The author is very realistic as to how you will most likely feel during the process of your comeback - such as, why don't I feel better, now? I highly recommend this book to everyone.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. This in no way influenced my review.

The Little Book of Wisdom by Mark DeMoss

A short read on a variety of principles that will make for a better life. The author has divided the book into two sections: Wisdom For Your Professional Life and Wisdom For Your Personal Life. Overall, you certainly will get something useful - maybe a different perspective of how to handle situations or best seek out advice, but I was a bit disappointed in the book. For the most part, take what you like and leave the rest - and you will get a lot out of this book.

From topics like getting your priorities in order, finding and maintaining your focus on life, learning the importance of listening, to advice on little ways that flatter and positively influence people (such as the lost art of letter writing - not email) this book has bits of wisdom from all over the spectrum. Of course, topics you may expect like honesty and integrity are also covered.

Personally, I had issue with the his handling of the topic: "The Best Defense... Is a Good Defense: Why I Won't Ride Alone with Another Woman". It was certainly written from a man's perspective which makes me wonder who is the intended target audience of the book. Was it really written for men?

The book has good points, but much of it is really expounding on the art of common sense. I wasn't really impressed by the book, though I must admit the one topic mentioned above has soured my view of the book. I would somewhat recommend this book, yes, you can learn something from it. Women may want to skip his topic of Why I Won't Ride Alone with Another Woman. I intend on writing the author on what comes across as his negative and generalized view of women.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com 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.”

The Quotable Roque, Edited by Matt Lewis

The secondary title is descriptive for this nonfiction book: "The Ideals of Sarah Palin in Her Own Words". As the main title suggests, this is a book of quotes from Sarah Palin. Quotes taken from the campaign trail, interviews, Palin's facebook page, etc.

Topis include: Aborotion, Real America, Living in Alaska, the Goodness of Americans, Barack Obama, Being Governor of Alaska, Being Sarah, Foriegn Policy, Crime, Faith, Taxes, etc. This book is a short read, for obvious reasons. This is strictly a "pro Sarah Palin" book that only uses quotes, or even part of quotes, that put Palin in a favorable light. The media -or "elite media" has been accused of taking statements Palin made out of context. This book is more of the same.

I have an idea. This book claims to be Sarah Palin "in her own words". Instead of reading bits of quotes from this book, such as from the Katie Couric interviews, why not watch the entire Couric interview - it can still be found on the internet. Not only would you hear Palin speak in her own words (All OF THEM), but you can also evaluate her by her body language and demeanor.

I would not recommend this book to anyone. It does little to give an accurate account of Palin's quotes - just being edits from interviews and speeches that show Palin only in a favorable light. In fact, to even suggest this book is a book of "quotes", implying a book of great quotes, is ridiculous and certainly misleading.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com 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.”

Hell, Rob Bell, and What Happens When People Die by Bobby Conway

Applause! Applause! Applause!!!! Bobby Conway does an excellent job proving Rob Bell's recent best seller, "Love Wins" is nothing more than unbiblical wishful thinking. Bobby Conway completely resolves questions regarding hell and what happens when people die, as well. Backed with Biblical references, Bobby Conway demonstrates the false hope that Rob Bell has spewed in "Love Wins".

Many people are being deceived and mislead by Rob Bell and others like him who water down the Gospels. This is a must read for anyone who truly wants to follow Christ and the Great Commission and challenge those who have false beliefs about hell and what Christianity is really about. The Emergent Church must be challenged and exposed for the false hopes and beliefs it promotes.

"Hell, Rob Bell and What Happens When People Die" not only challenges and exposes Rob Bell for his unbiblical views that promote false hope, but can also be a resource to expose other authors who, unfortunately, have gained a lot of ground in spewing unbiblical theology and false hope. For example, this book can show how the best seller, "The Shack" is perversed, misguded and simply false.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. It is a must read that is short and to the point. No fluff in this book- only the Gospel truth!

I received this ebook for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. This in no way influenced my review.