Blind Hope - Kim Meeder and Laurie Sacher

I recently read the book, “Blind Hope,” by Kim Meeder and Laurie Sacher. This book is about “an unwanted dog and the woman she rescued.” Kim Meeder owns and operates the Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in Oregon with her husband, Troy. They have seen many miracle stories come from their ranch, but this miracle story comes from one of their employees, Laurie Sacher. Laurie has dealt with many sorrows in her life, namely, “guilt, hopelessness, shame, selfishness, pride, fear, sorrow, worthlessness” (p.29).

Laurie heard of some animals that needed rescuing and could not shake the feeling that she was supposed to take one of the dogs (p.13), so she went to the residence. The dog was not at all what Laurie envisioned (p. 15-16).

Meeder tells the story about her visits with Laurie and the stories she tells her about her life with her new friend, Mia. Mia is a blind dog with physical problems. After learning about each other and building trust, Laurie and Mia form a bond that cannot be broken…even in the face of death. And thinking she was doing the right thing by rescuing Mia from a potentially lethal situation, Laurie eventually felt like it was Mia who saved her.

In addition, this story weaves God’s pursuit of and love for Laurie through it. Many people have a skewed view of who God really is, but throughout this story, the reader can see the truth unfold.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Lioness Arising - Lisa Bevere

Recently, I have been reading books that challenge me in ways that I needed to be regarding my relationship with God and my faith.  “Lioness Arising,” by Lisa Bevere, continued along that same vein.  This is not a book to make you feel good about yourself but a book to challenge you to get yourself together, make some close and lasting friendships with other women, stand together for those who cannot stand up for themselves, and in return, you will make a difference in your world.

She starts off explaining a dream she had while being pregnant.  It was about a lioness and what she believed she heard as this revelation… “With the birth of this son, you will awaken a lioness” (Bevere, p.3).  As she searched for the meaning of this very vivid dream, she wondered if maybe, despite her past and her present, God believed she was intended for more (p.9). She soon after learned that maybe the “Lioness Arising” was not about her.  Maybe it was a charge for Christian women to rise up together and change our world (p.12).

This book is an encouragement for us to look for ways to, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.  Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.” (Proverbs 31:8-9)

Bevere examines the lioness and the way she interacts with other lionesses, with her prey, and the way she fiercely protects her young… She talks about the fact that lionesses are loyal to each other in their pride, and they help each other, groom each other, take care of one another’s young, and they are protectors.  These lionesses work together, not separately.  They are stronger when they are together.  This sometimes goes against the grain of the world where women are constantly competing for different types of power.

After reading her book, I am going to be looking into the other books she has written.  Her style is easy to understand and kept my attention.  If I could have read the entire book in one day, I would have.

Lisa Bevere is described on her website this way… Passionate. Edgy. Relatable. Powerful. Funny. This seemed to be true of her as I read through her book.

I would certainly recommend this book to any women who want a challenge to be more so they can do more for others.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

The Goodness of God - Assurance of Purpose in the Midst of Suffering

I was very interested in this book by Randy Alcorn when I first saw it listed as one I could read for review.  Every single person in the world has this question, "Why do bad things happen?" And I wanted to find out what this author had to say about the subject.
Personally, I thought the beginning of the book was very good.  Randy Alcorn talked about where evil and suffering comes from.  He gave Biblical answers to the questions of where the pain began, what our choices are, and who causes natural disasters. He still had me interested when I began reading the second chapter, but if I am honest, I will tell you that he totally lost my interest somewhere around the fourth chapter. 
While his arguments were Biblically and intellectually based, I don't really feel that this book reaches down to those people who are seriously suffering through a situation.
If I was not a Christian, I do not think that I would have read this book past the first couple of chapters because it would not have been what I was looking for.
But, because I am a Christian and I had a task at hand, I continued.  I had to wait a couple of days, though, to continue past the middle of the book.  When I finished it today, I thought the last few chapters were good again.
I think Chapter 11 is my favorite... it's called What We Can Do.  Really, the first suggestion is to "become a student of God's Word."  I think that is possibly my favorite line of the whole book.  To know God, to really know Him, we absolutely have to read the Bible.  He is the Word.  The Word is Him.
If anyone is looking for some grand answer as to why suffering occurs, however, I would not recommend this book.  It is more intellectual than practical, in my opinion.  When people are looking for answers, they want to feel like the books they read will reach them in a place that makes sense and appeals to their brokenness.  The Bible is good for that.
I don't believe this book will give you the answers you are looking for in the midst of suffering.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

I Want Audacious Faith

I was excited to read this book because of what I have heard about it.  I have also watched a couple of the *Sun Stand Still* messages from Steven Furtick online.  But this book surpassed even all of my high expectations.
In the chapter entitled Wave Jumper, I especially liked the analogy about God lifting us up in the middle of the heavy waves.  "He only requires that we have the faith to wade in as deep as he leads and keep reaching up to him." Steven Furtick has lots of examples in his book that back this statement up.
He does not just give advice on how to live with audacious faith... he lives it himself.
The segment "The Ramen Noodle Revival" was very moving.  God took something seemingly small, food, and turned it into something great.  Just like the loaves and the fishes.  This was the point in the book that I started believing that God could use me for something great.  In fact, I laughed, I cried, and I read it aloud to my husband.
Furtick is also realistic in his chapter "When the Sun Goes Down." So many of us watch as the sun goes down on our dreams, and we get to a place where we don't want to dream again.  He mentions how all of our favorite plots of stories have conflict, but we wouldn't want our own stories to be written that way.  However, "It doesn't work that way.  It can't work that way.  Because you'd never see how strong God is if there were no oppponent for him to overcome in your life."
And then, "The process is the point."
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for God, to anyone looking to boost their faith and move forward in the direction God's plan will take them... for anyone who has been disappointed and hurt and disillusioned with the church.  This book points people back to the person of Jesus Christ.  He is the one who is able to do all of the things that we hope for in this life.
I want a faith like Joshua.  I want that Audacious Faith.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Tuesdays With Morrie

I have been wanting to read this book for a long time.  And when I saw it at the library the other day, I quickly grabbed it off the shelf and placed it in my already large stack of books to read.

This is another example of a book that encourages us to live life to its fullest extent.  Morrie was dying of ALS, and he could have just given up to the disease, but he didn't.  He was a teacher by trade, and he continued teaching up until the last day of his life.  He may not have been in a traditional classroom, but that didn't matter.

It also showed the importance of younger people taking an interest in older people.  They have a lot to teach, a lot of experiences that need to be shared and a lifetime of knowledge and wisdom that we will never know about if we don't take the time to get to know them.

This story is a true story, and it's very touching and real.  I think it's a great book, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Mitch Albom's books.

Reba McEntire

When the television series Reba came out in 2001, I was either too busy or too tired to watch it.  I had five kids - ages one to six.  All I wanted to do in the evenings was to get these kids in bed! I wasn't interested in watching a tv show about someone with more problems than me!

But this year, while having Sciatica for several weeks, I started watching the series on the Lifetime Channel.  And, although the theme is definitely for adults, I really liked it.  If you want to know more about the show, you can look it up on google.

Now, I am not a country music fan, but there are some people involved in the country music profession that I really admire and like.  Reba is one of them.  And I have been curious about what would make her go into acting in a show like this one.  I still can't find the exact answer I'm looking for about that, but I did read a book she wrote before she had the show.  It's called Comfort From a Country Quilt.

Reba tells about her family, her travels and her experiences with life.  She talks about losing her band members in a horrific crash, and I don't know if I ever heard of that happening. 

I think the most important things I got from the book was that we should live each day to the fullest and to live your life with passion.  She is just a girl from an ordinary place living an extraordinary life doing what she loves... singing.  We all have the capability to live an extraordinary life.  It depends on what you do with what you've got.

I don't think that reading the book will cause me to start listening to country music, but it does let me get to know her a little bit better.

The Shack

I can now say I have read The Shack.  It is an interesting book, to say the least.

I think the thing that really stuck out more than anything was that in this story, God shows up to this man in a way that he can understand... a loving person, which is really the essence of who God really is anyway.

If you are having questions about what has happened in your life, and you don't understand, I cannot tell you that you will understand those things after reading this book.  However, if you are looking to find out some attributes of God, you will find some here.

I read it in two days.  And I thought it was good.