Friday, December 20, 2013

Book Review: My walk with Christ


My Walk with Christ by Delbert D Hobbs is a collection of thoughts by the author about his faith and stance on many things in the church and Bible.  Ever since the fateful night Delbert Hobbs gave his life to Christ, his life has changed drastically. Through his conversion and many years of faithful serving and learning, Delbert Hobbs has come up with a collection of his hot topic points that he discusses in his book.  Many of these views I agree with, some I do not have the same interoperation as he.

I started out really liking this book.  From the title I assumed this book would be about the author himself and his journey to and through faith. Instead it is more a quick synopsis of his he came to faith followed by a long list of “Here’s what’s wrong with Christians today” stance.  Although I agree that many Christians today are just floating through life not taking a stance when one is needed on many topics, somehow Mr. Hobbs comes off as self-righteous and elitist in this views and practices of holidays, family, and his personal health issues.  I am glad that God has given him a clear path on how to deal with this pain and his family but just because I decide to stay in contact with my family or take medication when necessary for pain does not mean I have a lesser faith than he.

All in all I would not recommend this book to anyone I knew to read.  The book is written in a broken format and has too many comments and harsh legalistic viewpoints that I do not agree with

 

Note: I was given a copy of this book to read and review for free.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

 

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Book Review: Country Faith


County Faith is a collection of 58 country music stars favorite verses and why.  This collection includes stars like Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Scotty McCreery, Trish Yearwood, and many many more.  Each singer gives a short discussion on why they chose the verse they did and what significance it has in their lives.  This book is being sold as a one a day reflection.  Each passage/singer’s thought is very short and only takes a minute or two to read.  This book is also a good coffee table book with pictures of each of the singers for a quick read in your few minutes of quiet.

This book is refreshing to see how the Bible has effected so many country singers and how they hold onto these verses to give them guidance, strength, and peace in their lives.  In that way their lives are not so different from ours.  They still have the same struggles, losses, and obstacles as the average American. 

Some of the passages are better written then others.  Some are more personal and others very vague and generic but in general the book the very well put together.  Also I think it is great that 1% of the listed price of the book is donated to Sophia’s Heart Foundation.  Yes, 1% isn’t very much but considering the large number of county music fans I’m sure it will accrue into a substantial donation.

 
Note: I was given a copy of this book to read and review from Zondervan publishing from free.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Book Review: Lean Body, Fat Wallet


Lean Body Fat Wallet by Ellie Kay and Danna Demetre is a book on how using the same simple approach and tips you can lose weight, dump debt, and save money.

Ellie Kay has many years of personal and professional experience in how to eat right, lose weight, and keep it off.  Danna Demetre also has many years of personal and professional experience in getting out of debt and saving for the future.  Together they realized the same concepts of what goes in must equal what comes out, fighting temptations, etc. can be applied to both areas in life.

While the book is easy to read and the authors do a great job and presenting a simple method, I found the concepts and applications a little too simple.  Yes, we all know calories in should be less than or equal to calories out and that you should spend more than you earn but the book went little further than that and many keep yourself accountable and positive. 

This book would be good for beginners who are starting out fresh in either area.  There are some helpful hints but it’s more about creating the right attitude and general concepts.  I do wish they would have brought their faith into it a lot more.  I think these are two areas that the Bible has a lot of references in how we should live and not live and they are rarely mentioned.  I am surprised the book genre was labeled as Religion/Christian Life. 

Note: I did receive a copy of this book to read and review for free from Thomas Nelson Publishing.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.