I have always been fascinated by angels. I believe they walk with us and protect us – sometimes from ourselves. Over the years I have heard some lovely stories about angels – guiding, protecting, leading, comforting, and even inspiring. Angels are so captivating and beloved by so many, yet so misunderstood. So, I was excited to have the opportunity to read Angels by one of my favorite Bible teachers, Dr. David Jeremiah.
Many contemporary beliefs about angels are based on misconception and myth. Dr. David Jeremiah uses scripture to unveil the remarkable truth about these agents of heaven, and their role and work in our world — and lives. What are angels? What is their role in God’s plan? Are they present? Do they give us personal insight about our work, our worship? Relevant, little known biblical facts help readers sharpen their knowledge and sensitivities toward the spiritual reality of angels.
I have been a student of Dr. Jeremiah’s for several years – watching his live programs and listening to him on radio. I always get a fresh perspective whenever I listen to his biblical teachings. For anyone with a fascination for angels but want to know some fresh facts based on biblical truths, Angels is the book to pick up.
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Book Review: Angels
Book Review: The Male Factor
I happened on Shaunti Feldhahn’s book For Women Only a couple of years ago. I wasn’t in the market for a book on relationships or how the male mind works. But the book offered some excellent perspectives and some eye-opening insights about why men do what they do; and how the women who love them must respond and behave. I have recommended it to many of my women clients and workshop participants. So, I was excited to read Feldhahn’s newest work, The Male Factor. This book looks at the inner workings of men in the workplace from a Christian perspective.
There is already the proverbial glass ceiling when it comes to women in the workplace. Not only do women have to navigate their way through the job market, but also when they get the job they must navigate a different kind of ship. Trying to figure out how to behave around male colleagues, bosses and customers doesn’t leave much room for doing a good job, let alone being her best.
Many talented women today risk undermining their careers without realizing it, simply because they don’t understand how they are perceived by their male colleagues and customers. In The Male Factor, some of the issues we learn about are men’s unwritten “rules” of the workplace; how men perceive workplace emotion; and why revealing clothing can sabotage a woman’s effectiveness in the workplace.
“Never before has an author gotten inside the hearts and minds of men in the workplace – from CEO’s to non-profit managers, from lawyers to factory workers – to discover what they commonly think about women on the job, what their expected “rules” of the workplace are, what “managing emotion” means, and what factors improve or harm a man’s respect for a female co-worker.” ~ From the inside book jacket
The Male Factor equips women with the information they need to make informed decisions and compete on a level playing field.
Email me at bwpwithcarolyn{at}gmail.com and share a story of why this book would be helpful to you and have a chance to win a free copy of The Male Factor.
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. To purchase a copy, please visit the Random House website.
Book Review: The One-Day Way
I wanted to review this book and post the review as a way forward for 2010. I believe the most promised resolution for the new year is around fitness and weight loss. I can pass my local health and fitness club and see it full. The folks are running in place on the treadmills and really wanting to honor their resolution. By the first week of February, that same club is only half full. Why? There was that momentum in the beginning, as with any goal or dream. Then, after some time, the momentum simply wears off. We no longer believe we can attain the goal we set only four short weeks ago.
What I love about The One-Day Way by Chantel Hobbs, is that it can be applied to any life goal, not just weight loss. It’s about creating a new mindset in order to create a new way of life. The One-Day Way gives you everything you need to lose weight and get fit in body, mind, and spirit. Chantel teaches daily fitness tasks from a faith-based perspective that develop into lasting habits. By focusing energy and attention on doing the right things every day, she frees you to achieve your weight loss goals one day at a time.
Chantel writes, “When you begin to build your new life, the first thing to change is your thinking. You’re going to overhaul your old mentality so you can change the way you think from now on.” She takes you through one day at a time because she says, “Too often o your best efforts get sabotaged by worries about the future…. Obsessing over the future will prevent you from achieving the life you want to build.” This is brilliant. Sometimes our goals are so big and so long-range that we have difficulty focusing on what’s right in front of us.
She also writes, “So as you approach this new life one day at a time, figure out what you want to build. What kind of life are you constructing?” Chantel includes simple, high-energy meal plans and her at-home program for cardio exercise and strength training. If you are tired of the diet roller-coaster and want to create a lasting health and fitness plan for your life, then The One-Day Way will help you achieve your goals.
To purchase a copy of The One-Day Way, please visit Waterbrook Multnomah at Random House.
Be the first to send me your 2010 weight loss goals and win a free copy of The One-Day Way by Chantel Hobbs. Send your goals to bwpwithcarolyn@gmail.com. Include One-Day Way in the subject line.
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
Book Reviews: Treasured and God Gave Us…
If you are still looking for the perfect gift to give this holiday season, books make the best gifts because they are like buried treasures within the pages. Books can hold a sacred lesson meant only for the reader to garner. Once again, I am happy to present three such treasures: Treasured by Leigh McLeroy; God Gave Us Love and God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren.
In Treasured, McLeroy considers tangible reminders of God’s active presence and guides readers in discovering evidence in their own lives of his attentive love.
“The idea for the book came from a cigar box filled with odds and ends of my grandfather’s life that arrived a few months after his death. Sifting through the objects in the box, I experienced him in a fresh new way. This made me wonder what treasures might be tucked away in Scripture that could frame God for me in an equally intimate, tangible way. This process also helped me uncover my own “treasures” of my walk with the Lord: objects that remind me of my history with him and his faithfulness to me,” says McLeroy.
Drawn from the pages of Scripture, the author considers twelve such treasures and personalizes their meaning for readers, such as a green olive branch that offers proof of God’s “new every morning” mercy and a scarlet cord that demonstrates his willingness to adopt “strays” of every sort.
Weaving these treasures together with scenes from her personal history, Leigh McLeroy invites readers to discover God’s heart for them and embrace their unique role in his redemptive story. Treasured offers readers a guided experience of God’s love and character and invites them to consider their own treasures that point to their part in God’s ongoing story.
Two enchanting story books for children, God Gave Us Love and God Gave Us Christmas beautifully written by Lisa Bergren. In God Gave Us Love, Little Cub and Grampa Bear’s fishing adventure is interrupted by mischievous otters, and the young polar bear begins to ask questions like why must we love others . . . even the seemingly unlovable? Why is it easier to love those we like? Where does love come from? And why does God love her so much?
Grampa Bear patiently addresses each one of Little Cub’s curiosities by explaining the different kinds of love we can share: the love between friends, the love between families, the love between moms and dads, and the love for God.
He also assured Little Cub that because of the love God has given her through his Son, there’s nothing she can do to make God love her any more or any less. Through Grampa Bear’s encouraging Little Cub to love others with a “God-sized love,” children will be inspired to love others and to be patient, gentle and kind, so that in every way, they too can demonstrate God’s love.
In God Gave Us Christmas, as Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate the most special day of the year, the curious young polar bear has something on her mind: “Who invented Chris tmas?” she asks. “Is God more important than Santa?” 
Her questions reflect the confusion of so many children during the holiday season. And this heartwarming story takes them on a wonderful journey of discovery – right to the heart of Christmas.
Through Mama’s gentle guidance, Little Cub learns that God loves her and everyone – polar bear, moose, or human – so much that he gave us Jesus, the very best gift of all.
Books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, a division of Random House.
Blessed reading!
Coach Carolyn
Book Review: Kiss Me Again
It seems as if the issues around relationships and especially the loss of them are prevalent. When I signed on to do this review, I thought this book was a romance novel. The title says it all: Kiss Me Again! Then, I read it. Not a novel, but very refreshing and novel in its approach.
Barbara Wilson, author of Kiss Me Again: Restoring Lost Intimacy in Marriage, says that many married women genuinely want to feel more desire toward their husbands. But while sex before marriage was hard to resist, now resisting seems like all they do. In her new book, she shows how couples can suffer for years from the “invisible bonds” of previous relationships without even knowing it. Hidden emotions of distrust, shame, and resentment can sabotage even the most loving marriage.
In the book, Barbara shares her own story of healing and renewed desire, helps women forgive themselves and their husbands for past choices and shows readers how to break free from “invisible bonds” while helping couples reignite the passion that they thought was lost, and all from a biblical perspective.
With assessment tools, write-in exercises, and gentle guidance, Kiss Me Again offers a biblical plan for rekindling the closeness and passion women long for in marriage. Because no past is beyond the reach of God’s healing touch.
Just from reading some of the questions, I was opened up in ways I did not expect. I invite you to visit the Random House website and purchase Kiss Me Again if you desire the passion in your marriage that you thought was lost.
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
Coach Carolyn
Book Review: Extraordinary
“Isn’t it true that we long to see the extraordinary, experience the extraordinary, do the extraordinary? Yet, so often we settle for mediocrity when greatness is within our grasp.” ~ From the Back Cover
That’s the question that troubles many believers: “Why am I not experiencing more joy, more hope, more satisfaction, more intimacy, more power, more everything in my Christian life – didn’t Jesus promise that?”
In his newest release, Extraordinary, author and speaker John Bevere, takes you on a journey of discovering your extraordinary lives. Bevere builds a convincing case, straight from Scripture, for a way of living marked by extraordinary experiences and accomplishments – the life God always intended for his children.
God did promise an abundant life, but too many people are trapped by the curse of “the ordinary.” They have accepted the wrong idea that following God means losing individuality, creativity, and a passion for achieving lofty goals. Here is a guide to understanding God’s incredible plans, and how to enjoy a life where he adds the “extra” to “ordinary.”
“I see a generation comprised of all ages, inclusive of men and women, awakening to the extraordinary qualities hidden within. The power to accomplish remarkable feats and live an exceptional life is not defined by an individual’s family, education, or occupation; it’s a disposition of the heart. Unless it’s suppressed, there is an innate desire to rise above the norm. I encourage you to step into the unknown, embrace the divine empowerment, and live your extraordinary life.” ~ John Bevere
