Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson

The 40 Day Prayer Challenge...This book was inspirational and convicting. I read through it quickly so that I could post a review on it but I know I need to read it again. I may even share this with my church's small group.

Last year my pastor had a short sermon on drawing circles. He even passed out a piece of chalk which I still have in my Bible. He talked about Mark Batterson's book The Circle Maker, which I have not read.  When I saw this book I felt drawn to read it and I am so glad I did.

My prayer life is lacking and I wasn't even sure how to go about it nor did I have the conviction to follow through with it. This book has inspired me to pray more, to pray more specifically, to pray better and to expect God's work.

The key words there are "God's work". I have to learn to discern what God wants to happen not what I want to happen. If it isn't God's will the answers will almost always be no.

This book is so easy to read and enjoyable. This is set up to be read over 40 days. Each day is meant to challenge the way we pray, what we pray for and how long we should pray. Which is, by the way,  for as long as it takes to get an answer. The back of the book asks:   " Do you pray as often and as boldly as you want to? There is a way to experience a deeper, more passionate, persistent, and intimate prayer life. "

This book contains many testimonies from faithful prayer warriors. It is meant to encourage us and give us a desire to become bolder in our prayers and experience growth in our faith. The prayers we are to pray are for God's glory not ours. They are to further His kingdom and to draw us and others closer to Him.

I definitely recommend this book. I wish I had read this book years ago.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Reclaiming Your Heart by Denise Hildreth Jones

It was the description of this book that caught my eye. "Have you ever wondered where the abundant life Scripture promises is, and how you seem to have missed it? Do you ever catch yourself saying, “Those were the best years of my life?” A failed relationship, a health crisis, a job loss, the death of a loved one—all can cause us to hide out, go numb, give up. Before we even know it, we’re simply coping with life instead of living it to the fullest."

After reading the book I realized that I have been through periods in my life where I have  allowed my heart to shut down. Denise talks about 8 different types of hearts. I think I related to almost all of them. I realized that the reason I can't seem to get closer to God is because I have allowed anger, shame, disappointment and critical thinking close up my heart. I also realize that I will be on a life long process of reopening my heart. It will be a daily battle to keep emotion from shutting my heart up again.

There were times I felt a little bogged down in this book. Maybe it was a spiritual attack from the enemy, after all why would he want me to open up and get closer to God. I did enjoy reading the examples she provided. It's nice to know I am not alone in my struggles. I also feltl she used scripture from "the Message"  or "Amplified" versions a little too liberally although they fit nicely with the points she was making. I am old fashion and prefer NKJV or NIV.

Otherwise this book is a good read. There is a free 10 week downloadable study guide and it could make for a good small group discussion.

I received a complimentary copy through the Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for a review. I was not required to provide a positive review and all opinions are my own.

Homemade jewelry cleaner

A while back I was looking for a sterling silver cleaner for a few pieces of my jewelry. The store stuff reeks and is just nasty in general. Silver paste was just too much work for my tiny jewelry and for big pieces as well. So I searched the internet and found baking soda, aluminum foil and boiling water. It seemed too simple. I was doubtful but it was cheap, I had the ingredients and well, why not.

WOW!! It takes like 30 seconds, although you can leave it in for longer. My silver charms were so bright and silvery again.

So here I am months later and my gold jewelry cleaner is a bit watered down and not cleaning my wedding ring as well as it used to. I have gone to the store to price the cleaners and I just don't want to pay $5 or more. I wanted to make my own, less toxic cleaner.

Many recipes I saw had ammonia in it and dish detergent. I do not have ammonia on hand. I do remember it smelling awfully strong and "toxic".  Dish detergent worked ok but it still had some tarnish in the stone settings.

Other recipes I saw had a few extra ingredients to the homemade silver cleaner I found a few months back. In addition to the foil and baking soda and boiling water, they also called for salt and dish detergent. Well being lazy, I thought, why not just try the same recipe I used on my silver minus the salt and dish soap.

It works really well. My ring is so bright and sparkly and that tarnish in the setting is gone. Apparently it's silver but don't tell my hubby, he thinks silver is cheap. *eyeroll*

So from now on I will be using baking soda, foil and hot water to clean my jewelry. Everything I have read says it is safe on all metals and most jewelry. Obviously anything glued may come undone due to the boiled water. It says it is safe on pearls although I would think it would dry them out. So I would just continue to clean those with a barely damp cloth and buff them dry.

I love cheap and natural and I know some of my friends do as well. I just had to share my experience with this in case you have heard of it but doubted it. All you have to do is :

place a piece of aluminum foil in a bowl
place your jewelry on it
cover the jewelry with baking soda (enough to cover it, but I had shaky hands and dumped alot, oops)
pour boiling water over all that (enough to cover all of the jewelry)
wait 2 to 3 minutes
rinse and dry with a soft dry cloth

Try it..it's cheap and easy.

Here is a link for pearl care:  http://www.pearloasis.com/care.html

Grace by Max Lucado

Grace : More Than We Deserve  Greater Than We Imagine by Max Lucado


I don't think we really understand the word grace. I know I didn't. I thought of it as something you say before you eat, a pretty girl's name, an adjective describing someone's personality or ability to do something. What is grace? What can it do for us? Max goes into great detail in his book with typical Max style.

Grace happens in big and small ways everyday. Max's book is full of examples. He describes biblical examples such as Zacchaeus, the woman caught in adultery, and the ungrateful servant who went and threw a man into debtor's prison for a small debt owed right after the king forgave his enormous one. He also gives examples of modern day people. People like you and me going through things that we may be going through too. People like Victoria Ruvolo, the Amish in Pennsylvania whose daughters were killed by gunman Charles Carl Roberts, and Max Lucado himself who describes times when he was given grace by those around him and God.

On the back cover of this book several questions are asked: Have you been changed by grace? Shaped by grace? Strengthened by grace? Emboldened by grace? Softened by grace? and my favorite: Snatched by the nape of your neck and shaken to your senses by grace? Grace is God given and it never ends. It is abundant and overflowing according to several versions of 1 Timothy 1:14. It is sufficient for us, for in our weakness He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9).

I really enjoyed this book and as an added bonus it has a discussion guide in back so that you can use it as a personal devotional or a group study. I always enjoy Max Lucado's books because he brings a unique God-given perspective to godly subjects. But the point in all of his books is this: God wants us. He is so desperate to have us in his family, to be with Him and fellowship with Him. He went to the extreme to give us a way to overcome the sin that separates us. To cleanse us from that sin, He sacrificed His son. Because of this cleansing, He floods us with love and grace. We only have to accept Him and He will fill us to overflowing until we are drenched in His love and mercy and grace.

One more point to make and it is this: If God is so very gracious to us, should we not be gracious to those around us? Whether they are deserving or not, because we certainly are not.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Breakthrough by Jerry B. Jenkins

When I got this book I expected a good story and I got one. I had only intended to read a page or three a day so that I wouldn't finish it too early since I was instructed to wait to post my review until September 19th. Well, that didn't work. Once I started reading it I devoured it in 2 days. I could not put it down and was constantly on the edge of my seat.

So here I sit 3 weeks after finishing the book, finally posting my review.  It was good. It is part of a series and I felt a tad lost when it would reference his past stories but, that did not detract from the story.

Boone Drake is the main character and a newly appointed bureau chief.  After a series of unfortunate accidents (may have to read the first books to get the background and for more reading enjoyment) he is finally getting his life back on track. He is newly married to Haeley, adopted her son and most importantly rediscovered his faith.

But as in all good stories the poor hero must go through more trials. A kidnapping brings Boone to Beijing and into the world of human trafficking at a time when Haeley needs him the most. Boone relies on his skills and those of his fellow officers to remedy this situation before it's too late for the child.

Jerry B. Jenkins is a good story teller. He keeps you rivited from page to page. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys action stories. 

I received a complimentary copy through the Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for a review. I was not required to provide a positive review and all opinions are my own.

Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson

Girls have many challenges facing them these days. They are facing them at younger ages than generations before them. As parents how are we guiding them, equipping them to make wise choices. This is the ultimate guide to raising our daughters - written by a trusted family counselor, Dr. James Dobson.

I picked this book because I wanted to see what specific things  he would say about girls. I have read Dare to Discipline and The Strong Willed Child. I read those two books at a time when I felt that my 3 older children were handfuls. Let me just say now that years later my fourth makes her three older siblings look like easy and laid back children.

I was definitely impressed with the way he wrote this book and has current information which is relevant to the issues I am and will be dealing with. I should say "we", as I read many passages to my husband, who is not a reader, so that we could both implement Dr. Dobson's suggestions into our teachings.

I probably underlined half of the book. I needed to have places I could go back to, so that I could remember what was suggested for each situation I encounter with my youngest daughter. I would strongly suggest to anyone with a daughter to get this book and take his advice to heart. I know that with prayer and Dr. Dobson, I may just survive raising this last daughter and she may actually survive childhood and become an admirable and beautiful young lady.

Miracle for Jen by Linda Barrick

Miracle for Jen is an amazing true story about a family whose lives are changed when they are hit head on by a drunk driver. It is a story about their road to recovery and a deeper faith in God. Especially for 15 year old Jennifer who has a severe brain injury and the family is told she may not live through the night.

Her mother wants her daughter to be healed and whole again and begs God to make her normal. But God has another plan, one that involves answering Jen's journal prayers in a way that no one would ever imagine or ask for. When Jen finally wakes she can not remember anything or anyone but knows the words to many worship songs and scriptures. She can hardly form words except when she sings worship songs and prays to God.

This story is inspiring. It made me long for a deeper relationship with God. I was jealous for what Jen had even though I would never wish for the way it happened. Jen desired to be a bold witness for God before the accident but she was terribly shy. She often wrote in prayer journals asking God to give her a boldness and the words to say. She asked Him to change her life, to give her a testimony. God answered.

Sometimes we may not like the way things happen in life but God's ways are so much higher than ours. We don't see the future and what influence our struggles may have on someone else. We have the choice to gripe and complain or to praise and worship. We go through seemingly impossible and unfair things because He sees the greater purpose for us down the road. He loves the weak because His glory will be all the greater for that weakness.

God was able to use Jen to spread the gospel even if by our standards He didn't heal her completely. Jen often said in this story that God heals her everyday. He never stops healing. I want to say so much more about this story but that would give the whole book away. It is a must read.  It is a life changer if you allow it to be.

I received a complimentary copy through the Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for a review. I was not required to provide a positive review and all opinions are my own.