Stephany Writes

Categories: Books

Book Review: The Shelter of God’s Promises by Sheila Walsh

Title: The Shelter of God’s Promises 
Author: Sheila Walsh
Genre: Christian Non-Fiction
Year: 2011
Acquired: Through Booksneeze, in exchange for a fair review
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
***

From Goodreads:
In a world of uncertainty, pain, and struggle, where do you find solid assurance and unshakeable truth?

Gifted Bible teacher and inspiring Women of Faith speaker Sheila Walsh offers powerful, heart-filled teaching on ten bedrock promises of God, providing the foundation for daily confidence, joy, and hope.

In The Shelter of God’s Promises, Sheila searches Scripture for what God has promised us, what God’s promises mean, and how encounters with Christ are the eternal fulfillment of His unrelenting commitment to us. In this riveting walk through some of the Bible’s most compelling stories, Walsh unveils ten foundational promises of God that secure our lives during even the most difficult times. Sheila weaves her hallmark storytelling, inspiring personal experience, and Scripture to help readers gain a trust in God that will sustain them for a lifetime.

My Review:

I chose to review this book because my faith lately has been very stagnant. I still believe and I’m still attending church, but that’s about it. I don’t open my Bible regularly and only think of praying when I need something, so then I feel bad about only going to God when I need him to do something for me that I just have cut off all communication between the two of us. I want that fire back. I want to remember why I believe. This book, by one of my favorite women of God, had an intriguing title that I thought was worth checking out.

Throughout the entire book, Walsh weaves in stories from her own life and stories from the days when Jesus walked the earth to paint a picture of God’s promises. What He promises. Why He promises. And how He is bringing those problems to fruition, even when we feel like He’s working against us. A lot of the book centered upon the question: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do we have to struggle so much? It’s a question that I ask again and again, especially as it relates to everything that’s been heaped upon my grandparent’s plates lately. They are two of the Godliest people I know, who never seem to falter in their faith…yet God is bringing them through some major valleys.

The answers lie in God’s promises. He never promised us we would have an easy life. It reminds me of a song by Britt Nicole where she sings: “You never said this road would be easy, but You said that You would never leave. And You never promised that this life wasn’t hard, but You promised to take care of me.” So incredibly true. God knows of our troubles, He already has a plan to take care of them. This isn’t something He is ever surprised by. He is always working to create good out of our troubles. And we have hope, incredible, lasting hope, that He will see us through our bad times and be there to walk us through those easy times, as well.

If you’re struggling with your faith, struggling as to why you believe or why you’re dealing with such hardship, pick up this book. It will show you why.

And, in closing, I want to share my favorite quote from the book:

“Jesus doesn’t give us what we believe we need. He gives us what He knows we need, and He gives it out of love for us, deep, undeniable love.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the 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 diclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising“.

Categories: Books

Book Review: You Don’t Love This Man by Dan DeWeese

Title: You Don’t Love This Man
Author: Dan DeWeese
Genre: Fiction
Year: 2011
Acquired: Through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

  *I stole this above idea from Kathleen’s blog.

From Goodreads:
A novel about fatherhood, marriage . . . and bank robbery.
On the morning of his daughter Miranda’s wedding, Paul learns that the bank he manages has been robbed—apparently by the same man who robbed it twenty-five years before. As if that weren’t enough, Miranda, who is set to marry Paul’s former best friend—a man twice her age—seems to have gone missing.

Struggling to reconcile his little girl with the grown woman he’s about to walk down the aisle (if he can find her), to accept his onetime peer as his future son-in-law, and to comprehend the strange coincidence of being robbed by the same man two decades apart, Paul takes stock of everything leading up to this moment—as he attempts to navigate the day’s many surprises while questioning the motives and choices of those around him.

My review:

I’ll admit, it took me a while to get into this book. I don’t read too many books from a male character’s point of view and it was hard to connect to Paul at first. He seemed a little self-centered and self-righteous, especially in dealing with his female co-workers. Gradually, as the story progressed, I began to absolutely fall in love with every part of this book. I grew to love Paul’s character, as a father who just wants what’s best for his daughter. He’s stuck in a cycle of mediocrity, divorced with an adult child and a lackluster career. As the book follows him through this day of dealing with a bank robbery and trying to find his daughter, he begins to reflect on how he got here — from his career to his divorced status to befriending this guy his daughter is now marrying.

As I got used to the writing style and the dynamics between present-day and the past, I couldn’t put this book down. There was a powerful message hidden beneath the cover. While it was hard to relate to some aspects as I’m younger and female, there was an underlying message of life. It is what you make of it and past experiences can shape your tomorrow. It’s cliché, but it’s also incredibly true. Paul is discovering how silent he has been throughout his life and this is the first time he’s really stood up for what he believes in and wants.
I would recommend this book for anyone in search of a great book that stretches the bounds of regular fiction. It’s a book for someone searching to read something with a bigger, deeper meaning. For me, being 23 and on the verge of graduating from college and really beginning my adult life, it was a different perspective and view on things. It’s a book about fatherhood, it’s a book about life, and it’s a book about acknowledging the choices we’ve made and moving on from them.

Categories: Books

Dining with Joy by Rachel Hauck

Dining with Joy was about cooking show host Joy Ballard who can’t cook. She inherited her show from her father and her executive producer knew about her lack of cooking abilities, as well as a lot of the staff. The producer then sells the show to Allison Wild, who believes she can make Joy an even bigger star. Only problem? She doesn’t know Joy can’t cook. Enter Luke Redmond. Successful chef, owner of a failed Manhattan restaurant. During one failed live cook-off, Luke steps in to help her and saves the day. They begin working together. While Luke is a master at cooking, he is terrible on screen. (Joy is the opposite.) He soon finds out about Joy’s lack of cooking ability and proceeds to help her learn, keeping her secret. But sooner or later, the cat has to come out of the bag, right?

This was a sweet love story, with Christian themes. The main character was strong and someone I could identify with. Joy had a hard time trusting people, especially men. She had a hard time defining her worth, especially as she is a fraud in the foodie world. She doesn’t exactly know what she wants out of life, but wants to make her father proud, since she never seemed to connect with him while he was alive. There was something about Joy I deeply connected with, and was just rooting for her to take a chance on love. And Luke. Oh, Luke is one of the good guys. Another strong character with his own hang-ups, but someone who strives every day to make something more out of his life. I was incredibly sad when I finished this book because these two characters wouldn’t be a part of my life anymore.

This book is centered around Christian themes, such as what God has called you to do. But deep down, it is a love story. It’s one of those sweet love stories that makes you fall back in love with the process of falling in love. Character development is strong, as well as plot. While it wasn’t a book I couldn’t put down, it was one of those that sucked me right back in when I started reading it again. Rachel Hauck is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. A part of me wishes there was a sequel, just so I could get a taste of Joy and Luke again.

Has there ever been a main character that you closely identified with?

Categories: Books

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen was a book about friendship and coming into your own. It focused on 15-year-old Halley, whose best friend, Scarlett, finds out her boyfriend, Michael, had been killed in a motorcycle accident. They had only been dating for a few weeks but she later finds out that she is pregnant with his baby. Halley becomes focused on helping Scarlett through this, especially with all the other girls in high school Michael had dated, crying over his loss. Halley also finds a new (and exciting) friend in Michael’s best friend, Macon. They begin dating, even though they are as different as night and day. Through all of this, she begins pulling away from her parents and sticking close to her friends and boyfriend.

I don’t want to give the story away, so that’s the gist of it. I haven’t read YA fiction in a really long time, so I wasn’t sure how I would like the story but I loved it. Dessen has this amazing voice throughout the entire book and the characters are so well-developed. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, the plot flowed along smoothly, and it was real.

There were a lot of issues brought up in the book: virginity, sex, love, friendship, rebellion, drinking, drugs, parents, and teenage pregnancy. And I have to say that Dessen did an awesome job covering them without going too over the top, or being too preachy. It was a little hard for me to read because I have cousins the same age as Halley and Scarlett and I see a lot of the same emotions in them as I saw in these friends. Many times, I just wanted to hit Halley upside the head for the hurtful things she said to her mom or the way she treated Macon as the best person she’d ever known, only because I’ve seen the way my cousins have lashed out or acted like their friends were better than family. But it also helped me to see their side. In high school, things are crazy. Emotions are all over the place and the only people who really understand what you’re going through are your friends because they’re going through the same things. They get you.

This is the first book of Dessen’s that I’ve read and I enjoyed it so much, I’m definitely going to pick up more of her books. The story was real and honest, and something I would definitely recommend for a teen or someone who enjoys YA fiction.

What was the last YA fiction book you read?

Categories: Books

Book Review: Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

I’m attending my first book club this month and this was the book on the list. Admittedly, I wasn’t excited. I don’t typically read these types of books and the fact that it has gotten rave reviews turned me off. For some reason, I end up enjoying books most people don’t like. The fact that Megan said it was the “greatest book she’s ever read” and Becky said that she was “hooked from the first paragraph” assured me that I wouldn’t like this book.

Oh. My. Gosh. I was wrong.

Water For Elephants was about a boy named Jacob who joined the circus after his parents died just because he was going to take his tests to certify him as a veterinarian. The story also involves Jacob as an older man, 90 or 93, who is living in a nursing home and reminiscing about his early days with the circus. Younger Jacob quickly becomes the show’s vet, even though he’s technically not certified, and he watches over the flurry of animals for the circus. He befriends a man named August and his wife Marlena, whom Jacob falls hard for. The book follows the progression of Jacob, as he grows up and learns the harsh realities of the world. He learns about love, about hatred, about caring for animals and the strength he has within himself.

I absolutely loved every single page of this book. I fell head over heels for both Younger Jacob and Older Jacob because they both possessed an innate strength and zest for life. Seeing how he grew up as he grew into himself was inspiring.

I thought the plot was fantastic and there weren’t any parts that dragged. Gruen kept it moving the whole time. The dialogue was great and I just loved the development of Jacob and Marlena’s relationship. I hated and loved August, all at the same time.

I can’t pinpoint what I loved most about this book, but I was a little surprised at the ending, simply because of the type of book I thought it was. Others might have thought it predictable, but I didn’t. (This is probably because I read a lot of predictable books and really don’t mind the predictability of them.)

I am really, really excited about the movie adaptation of this book. Robert Pattinson is going to play Younger Jacob, which I think can work. I’m not the biggest Pattinson fan, but he was a little of what I pictured Younger Jacob looked like. Reese Witherspoon is going to play Marlena, which I’m not quite sure about. But since I love Reese, I think she can pull it off!

What did this book teach me? I’m not sure. That I need to give popular books a second chance? 😉 I think it taught me about inner strength and that you can’t sit back in life. Cliché as it may be, you really have to make lemonade out of lemons. Jacob was on his way to becoming a Cornell-educated veterinarian and joining his father’s practice. Instead, his parents died and he joined the circus. Yet he still managed to make something out of it and found himself in the process. We don’t know where life will take us, but it’s up to us to make the most out of whatever life hands to us.

Have you read this book? What were your thoughts?