(From the Publisher) Boone Drake has it made. He’s a young cop rising rapidly through the ranks of the Chicago Police Department. He has a beautiful wife and a young son, a nice starter house, a great partner, and a career plan that should land him in the Organized Crime Division within five years. Everything is going right. Until everything goes horribly, terribly wrong. His personal life destroyed and his career and future in jeopardy, Boone buries himself in guilt and bitterness as his life spirals out of control. But when he comes face-to-face with the most vicious gang leader Chicago has seen in decades, he begins to realize that God is a God of second chances and can change the hardest heart . . . and forgive the worst of crimes. A thought-provoking police thriller from New York Times best-selling author Jerry B. Jenkins. (more…)

I’m always weary of reading books authored by individuals I have never heard of, but this one succeeded any expectations I may have had. Couples Who Pray is so convicting, encouraging, and motivating to be a Husband who not only prays, but leads my wife well in the area of prayer as well. Before reading this book my wife and I have been in the habit of praying every night together, but after reading this book I realize that those prayer times just before I fall asleep are much more valuable than I’ve made them. Prayer is what protects, sustains, and fuels our marriage. Perhaps there is no greater act that I can do with my wife than lead her in prayer, this book actually confirmed that there is nothing better I can do for her. Nothing. One of the things this book did extremely well is leave not only a challenge, but also application. The authors made it so easy to apply this book to your own lives as they lay out the 40 day challenge of prayer with 10 easy tips. Those tips are the following 1. Just start talking to God more. 2. Make time to pray (we make time for the things that are important to us!) 3. Develop an attitude of prayer and appreciation. 4. Seek forgiveness through confession. 5. Pray out loud with your spouse (this personally helps me stay focused). 6. Don’t ramble, keep it short. 7. Don’t try to over-spiritualize it, use normal language. 8.Pray for your marriage. 9. Pray for others and yourself. 10. Have faith, and expect God to answer your prayers. Some of you reading this review may be like, duh? But regardless of where you’re at I believe these are great reminders. Also at the end of the book it has appendixes you can fill out to gauge your relationship with your spouse. All in all I really liked the lay-out and content of this book!

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.”

Embarking on this short 99-page read would be more beneficial than I initially thought. Being married for almost 3 years I feel as if we are beginning to exit the Honeymoon stage, but perhaps in certain ways this book encouraged me in ways I can lead my marriage back into a “honeymoon” like stage. What an encouragement it was to hear of some Christian pillars (Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Hutchison, Phillip Dodderidge, Benjamin Steele, Henry Venn, Thomas Charles, Samuel Pearce,and several more) and the way they pursued their wives, struggled with their wives, lead their wives, and were honest and vulnerable with their wives!
This book encourage me in so many ways to step up my game as a husband. There are so many things we can accomplish in this world, and even convince ourselves that it is for the Kingdom. But there is no greater accomplishment a married man can achieve than the lifetime pursuit of his wife! Not only was this book of letters a great reminder for me to keep my wife as my first ministry, but also kicked me in the rear to write her more love letters, so that perhaps one day when my grand-kids read these letters to my bride they will be encouraged to pursue their wives, as this book has encouraged me. A must read for a married man.
In order to comply with Federal Trade Commission guidelines, I would like to note that I will receive a free copy of the book as compensation for my review.

This country has been blessed with incredible leaders that have been placed by the Lord in different demographics of leadership. Ronald Reagan the 40th president of the United States is one of those leaders that we have been blessed with. Recently I have developed an interest in reading a little more into the faith and background behind some of our country’s most powerful leaders. With the recent release of George Bush’s book ‘Decision Points’, I found Mary Beth Brown’s book ‘The Faith of Ronald Reagan’ another book I wanted to pick up. During his life Ronald Reagan made the powerful jump from a successful actor to running and winning his candidacy for President of the United States. As I read through his life, it was so apparent that the Lord blessed President Reagan early in life with his mother, Nelle Wilson Reagan. (more…)

Mike Flynt had credibility in writing this book. And he lays that credibility throughout the pages of this book as he gives personal stories and background as to how he has overcome odds, realized his own life’s goals and dreams, and grown in his walk with the Lord. This book talks about several areas that are “power bases” for the reader to develop a lifestyle that is filled with love, productivity, and healthy, both physically and spiritually.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Flynt, seeing how I have never heard of him, or read a book by him. But I think he did a great job at relating to the reader, and being personal. Not my favorite book of all time, but I do feel it is worth the read. (more…)

Audacious is not really a word that I’m accustomed to hearing or reading about. However, this word is something that I’m sure to enter into my vocabulary immediately. Author, Steven Furtick, does an incredible job laying out a plan to live out not just your faith in Christ…but to live it out audaciously. I have often questioned the audacity of my faith, and exactly how bold am I living it out. For those of you who want a little refresher, audacity is: “extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless” (via dictionary.com). Now do me a favor and think this in your head, My live out an  __________ faith. (more…)

I cannot get enough of Andy Stanley’s ‘The Principle of the Path’. The book had been sitting around for me to read for sometime, and I finally decided to pick it up. Once I started, I couldn’t believe how well it related to me and so many of my friends that are currently going through a transitional period of their lives. Stanley’s book is based off of this simple phrase “Direction, not Intention, determines your destination.” That phrase has stuck with me, and I have passed it on to so many friends. I loved how Andy was able to relate to numerous areas that I was struggling with in terms of my direction. Each chapter was laid out perfectly as it walked you through developing a plan for your life. I think that we can get get too busy at times and forget the intentions that we had once we made certain decisions. Reading this book was a solid reminder for me to line up my directions and intentions. If I’m not careful I could end up going down a path that others have laid out for me, (more…)

Few other authors that I’ve read saturate their writing in as much Scripture as John MacArthur does. From giving the reader the original meaning to either Hebrew or Greek words, to helping the reader understand the context in each passage, MacArthur does a great job of making the Bible clear and precise. In this book in particular he does an excellent job of explaining the context of slaves during the time period the Gospels and Pauline epistles were written. Today when we think of slave it brings with it a negative connotation. Something none of us desire to ever be encapsulated to. But after reading this book and understanding the context of what it means to be a Slave to Christ, perhaps there is no greater longing in my life. (more…)

Over the past 7 years I have tried several devotionals that walk you through the Bible in a Year, from Bruce Wilkinson’s Closer Walk devotionals to Phil Joel’s Deliberate People, to a few different devotionals in between. In this book “A Year With God” I found some things I really like, and some things I didn’t like. Some of the things I really liked were the specific topics catergorized in the opening of the book. The entirety on the daily devotionals are all based off God’s Word which is always the most important thing for me when doing any devotional. The one thing I really disliked about this book is that it orders itself by days rather than dates. for example, it will say Day 19 at the top of the page rather than January 19th, so unless you start this devotional on January 1st and are really good at math you could lose your place in this book. But then again I guess that’s what bookmarks are for

I’d never heard of the author Andrew Klavan until I happened upon his book, The Truth of the Matter. Though this was Book 3 of a series called ‘The Homelanders’, I quickly was engulfed on a thrilling adventure led by Charlie West. An 18 year old kid who has suffered from a bout of amnesia and doesn’t know how he went from the life of a normal teenager to being wanted by the police for a murder he can’t remember and chased by members of the terrorist group Homelanders who want answers. Everyone who is chasing him is after the information in his head, but for whatever reason he can’t remember what has happened in the last year. He doesn’t know who to trust, can’t put his family in danger, and only his faith and determination keep him pressing on. (more…)