Book Review - The Quick-Start Guide to the Whole Bible

Have you ever watched the middle of a movie and did not know what was going on?  It seems interesting, but you missed important scenes and cannot figure out why what just happened is so significant.    Someone to fill in the blanks can be helpful so you can watch the rest of the movie with an understanding.

I like having the blanks filled in when I study the Bible.  The Quick-Start Guide to the Whole Bible by Dr. William H. Marty and Dr. Boyd Seevers is a great tool for Bible study.   This book provides an overview of each book of the Bible.   You will read about the setting, a summary and the significance.    The information about the Setting helps you understand the dates, place and the condition of the people for some books (at war, at peace, etc.).    The Summary gives a general idea of what is happening either by chapter or by dividing the book into a 1st and 2nd half.  My favorite part is the wrap-up in the Significance section.  Since the Bible is written about events that happened years ago, it might be easy to miss the message for me today.   The significance section tries to help me think about why this book of the Bible is important in our time.

The significance section of the Leviticus section was a help to me.   I would normally skip Leviticus because all of the rules become a blur. Since I am reading the Bible from the beginning, I had to read Leviticus.  I read about Leviticus in The Quick Start Guide and it summed up its purpose.  Leviticus is about holiness and separation from things that are common.  We are called to be holy because God is holy.  While reading all the dos and donts of Leviticus, the message of the book got lost for me.  The Quick Start Guide to the Whole Bible reminded me that today that I am called to holiness.

You should have The Quick-Start Guide to the Whole Bible in your library just in case you need to understand the big picture of the books of the Bible.

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers for my review.

Rating:4 stars

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Book Review - Silenced (Alaskan Courage)

Silenced by Dani Pettrey was so good that I can hardly wait for her next book in 2015.   This book is number 4 in the Alaskan Courage series. Every book is like watching an episode in my favorite TV series.  I look forward to each book.   I am completely into what happens to the McKenna family.  

Silenced is about Kayden McKenna.  She is very strong.  She climbs, exercises, eats healthy and runs with dogs.  Kayden does not want to get close to anyone.  Even her siblings recognize that she puts up a wall. The crack in her armor is her feelings for Jake Westin.  Before she knew his true identity, she convinced herself that he came from a shady background.  It was easy to dismiss him. The previous book, Stranded let us know more about Jake.  He is a much better man than Kayden thought.  Now she must deal with her growing attraction to Jake when she would rather protect her heart.  

Kayden and Jake get to spend a lot of time together while the investigate the murder of a climber.  I liked how I was able to learn more about climbing during their investigation.   The murder weapon was unique.  It was not like you could lift prints from this particular weapon.  With Kayden’s expertise in climbing and Jake’s professional detective work, they get closer to an answer.  Silenced is another great tale of murder, mystery and suspense.  I suggest you start with the first book, Submerged. The build up to Jake and Kayden’s relationship can be found in the previous books.

Visit the author's website to read her background and about her other books.

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House and Netgalley for an honest review.

Rating: 4 stars

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Book Review - God's Calling for Kids

God’s Calling for Kids by Phil A. Smouse is just right to begin or end the day with your child. This is a year long children’s devotional. This book is perfect for my five year old daughter and me to focus on God.  The devotions are short and written in a very personal way.  A scripture is included with each day’s devotional.  

Some of the devotionals are relevant to the season because it does follow the calendar. The illustrations are cute, but are not included for each day.  There are at least two illustrations for each month.   

I would recommend this book to parents with young children 3 to 7 years old. Wake up or wind down with your little one while reading God’s Calling for Kids.

This ebook was provided to me by NetGalley.

Rating: 4 stars

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Book Review - The Bible Promise Book (KJV)

The Bible Promise Book (KJV) published by Barbour Publishing is a powerful little book.  What is in it?  It is simply just the Word of God arranged by subjects such as anger, contentment, God's faithfulness and wisdom to name a few.   There are no extra comments except from God Himself.  It is small enough to be carried almost anywhere.

How do I use it?   If I feel some anger, I turn to the section on anger and read the related scriptures to get God's perspective on the situation.  It helps me not to make a situation worse..

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.  (Proverbs 15:1)

If my situation seems to be too much that worry has taken over then I read:

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  (Phillipians 4:6-7)


If I want to share God's Word with someone and not overwhelm him with the whole Bible then I give The Bible Promise Book.   You will want to have extra on hand to have in several places like in your home and your car.  You might be led to bless someone else with God's promises.  

You can buy this book from Christianbook.com.  I am not associated with Christianbook...just a fan. This book happens to be a frequent purchase of mine from them because I like to hand them out.

Rating: 5 stars

Book Review - Damaged: A Violated Trust

I was reminded that I am so glad my days as a teenager is over while reading Damaged: A Violated Trust by Melody Carlson.  This book has the typical high school drama that you might expect.  You have the normal divide of popular kids v.s. the not-so cool kids.   Hayley comes to a new school to live with her dad.  She is estranged from her mom because of her ultra-conservative views.  Moving with dad seemed like the best choice for more freedom.

Haley is the artistic type so becoming a part of the jock crowd was never part of her plan.  By chance she ends up sitting with the popular kids and starts to crush on Harris, the star football player.  Harris is obviously popular, dates the perfect girl and has the perfect life.  Haley has zero chance with him or so she thinks.  The king and queen of the school break up and Harris starts paying attention to Haley.

Haley starts to live her dream life when her and Harris become a couple.   Things are perfect despite the haters and the warnings about Harris.   The warnings must be coming from those that are jealous..right?!  Eventually Haley's dream becomes a nightmare when Harris does the unthinkable.

There are no surprises with this book.  It seems like a movie I saw on Lifetime.  Despite being able to predict what was going to happen I recommend sharing this book with a teenage girl.  It will help start a necessary discussion about date rape.   

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Rating: 3 stars