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Several months ago I shared the story of the time I got off Facebook. When I decided to give up Facebook those few months, it was because I had become suddenly aware of how social media (particularly Facebook) was affecting me and my relationships in a negative way. I eventually got back on, but not until I had thought long and hard about what kind of boundaries I needed to establish.
When I saw the book What Would Jesus Post by Brian D. Wassom, I was very interested in reading it, because the subtitle “Seven Principles Christians Should Follow In Social Media” reminded me of how I had set up boundaries for myself to make sure my online sharing and interactions were in a healthy place. I was curious to see how Wassom’s “seven principles” would match up with my thoughts on the subject.
I have to say, i agreed with every one of his points! He covers everything from thinking before you post, to guarding your heart against the negative effects social media can have, to building relationships online and handling online conflict. Many of the principles he discussed were conclusions that I had already come to myself, and I love how he addressed everything not just from a practical perspective, but from a biblical one. A couple of the sections also gave me knew things to think about with regards to my social media interactions (I'm not perfect, after all). I actually came away from this book with a lot of new insight (and maybe even a few post ideas, since I never really followed up on my “giving up Facebook” story).
This book is a practical guide for how to use social media to glorify the Lord, and I think it would be helpful for any Christian to read! It is short (could easily be read by anyone in one day), which I think makes it especially useful because it’s not hard to review the material. I think I will definitely be using it as a reference, and if I could I’d have every Christian who is involved in social media read this!
Note: I received this ebook for free from BookLook in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
Reservations For Two by Hillary Manton Lodge starts out with Juliette traveling to France and Italy to learn more about her grandmother’s mysterious past. She finds some old letters, and soon discovers many things about her grandmother that she never knew. In the midst of her family’s mystery she is also dealing with the opening of her new restaurant, her mother’s cancer, and her own tangled love life.
I was so excited to read this book after reading A Table By The Window (the first book in this series) last year! This book was just like the first one in that it was unhurried, but it kept me interested. There are really two storylines going, one with Juliette’s grandmother through the letters, and one with Juliette’s own life, and they are woven together very well. You can even see some parallels here and there between Juliette’s love life (though in a less dramatic sense), and her grandmother’s from so many years before. I like the characters in this book, because they seem so realistic - not too perfect, and you may not like all their decisions, but they are likable.
The word pictures that the author paints in this book are probably my favorite part, and they way she describes the gourmet food makes me hungry. I love that recipes are included for many of the dishes that are mentioned. I’m not much of a gourmet cook, but this book makes me want to try!
There was a twist in Juliette’s personal life at the end of the book that I was not expecting, and I am very interested to see how it turns out. The book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I am still very unsure about what is going to happen with Juliette and her family. I will most definitely be looking out for the next book in this series!
Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
A few months ago, we had a guest speaker at our church who spoke about Jesus’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself”. But in the message he spoke about reaching out to your literal neighbor - knowing who your neighbors are and forming relationships with them, with the hope to ultimately reach them for Christ.
I was convicted, and for Christmas we grabbed some Thin Mints from the dollar store and passed them out to a few neighbors - and for the first time in six years, I actually knew the names of a few people living around me.
When I heard about the book “How To Love Your Neighbor Without Being Weird” by Amy Lively, I snapped it up - I was hoping for more ideas on ways to reach out to these people whose names I finally know!
You know how sometimes it feels like a chore to finish reading certain books? This book was not like that. Lively opens up with her personal testimony, and then tells the story of how she started a neighborhood Bible study. She effortlessly weaves stories into encouragement for why we need to reach out to our neighbors, the benefits and challenges, and practical encouragement. I felt like there were a lot of good ideas and inspiration in this book for getting out there and really talking to your neighbors. This book is definitely more geared toward women, so if your husbands are interested in getting to know the neighbors better too, you might try finding some more male-geared resources for him.
At first I felt like the author almost assumed that you already knew a lot of your neighbors and were building on an already formed connection, and I was a little frustrated because there didn’t seem to be a lot of information for how to practically go about establishing those relationships to start with. But finally toward the end of the book she gave some ideas for how to meet your neighbors.
Lively gives ideas for different events to host or attend to get to know your neighbors, and encourages you to open your home to your neighbors. But I felt like much of the book focused on encouragement for forming a neighborhood Bible study. In a lot of her stories about her own neighbors, she talks about neighbors she has who already follow the Lord. I don’t think every neighborhood would have so many Christians in it (some might have only one other believer or none) so I think it might be a little challenging for every person to follow her suggestion to establish a neighborhood Bible study. It might work beautifully for some neighborhoods, but might not garner interest in others.
My neighborhood, for instance, is one where people are very private - that’s why we live where we live, because it’s private. We live on acres (not fractions of acres), and it’s difficult to talk to neighbors over the fence, or say hello in passing, because we are so spread out. I know that I only know three neighbors in my neighborhood by name so far, and I can’t really say we have any sort of neighborly relationship yet. I’m still working on it, so it would be a little “weird” for me to go up and just invite people to a Bible study at my house right off the bat. Lively does suggest that you establish the relationships first, but most of the book assumes you have already done that - I’d like more information/encouragement for those very first steps!
Regardless, this book was insightful and gave me a lot of inspiration for getting out there and trying again with my neighbors. I do think the “love your neighbor” commandment has been largely ignored in recent days when it comes to our literal neighbors, and I love that there are more books out there addressing this issue - and this one is a great one for more ideas on connecting with your neighbors!
Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
I just finished reading Women Are Scary: The Totally Awkward Adventure Of Finding Mom Friends by Melanie Dale. I think it’s funny that I have read two different friendship books so close together (the other was Heart Sisters), because it gives me a chance to compare them. If Heart Sisters was a guide to deepening your friendships, I think this would be more of a guide to forming friendships. Dale takes you through that awkward first phase when you know nothing about each other with humorous tips on how to take your “mom dating” friendships to the next level.
I think the subtitle does describe some of my feelings about this book pretty well - I felt like much of it was awkward. Dale uses a dating, first-base, second-base, etc. metaphor to describe the different stages of forming friendships with other moms. That was just an awkward comparison to me to start with, and Dale’s sense of humor thrives on awkward, so the awkwardness was just emphasized. If you like that kind of humor, you probably would love this book. For me, I thought the dating comparisons bordered on inappropriate at times, especially in today’s world where references to homosexuality abound. She wasn’t suggesting anything of the sort in the actual meat of this book, but that’s why I found it hard to relax and enjoy reading it. Plus, I’m just not a potty-humor kind of person, and those jokes are prevalent. Dale self-identifies as “gross”, so you can get an idea of some of the humor.
That said, I did think a lot of the situations and movie references in the book were funny! I thought there were many useful tips and inspirations for making friends scattered throughout, as well as just commonsense advice about how to handle certain difficult situations with friends. Her stories were hilarious, and if you have ever had an awkward friendship moment, you can read this book and know you are not alone. It made me think about and appreciate the friends I have who have stuck with me through all these stages, and it was good inspiration to put the effort in with some ladies I haven’t known as long. I’m not sure I would necessarily recommend this book just because of some of the humor, but it kept me interested and I did enjoy it.
Note: I received a copy of this book for free from BookLook in exchange for this review - this is my honest opinion.
Do you have one of those friends who will always stand by you - who you just know will be a friend all your life because you have gone through the ups and downs together? Someone who will challenge you, tell you the truth in love, and be the first one to offer help when you need it?
Natalie Chambers Snapp calls this kinds of friends “heart sisters” in her book by the same name. I think most people are lucky to have one or two of those kinds of friends in their lifetime, but you can greatly increase your chance of having a “heart sister” if you learn how to be one first. Snapp’s book is perfect for just that.
Heart Sisters isn’t so much about making friends as it is about recognizing the really good ones when you have them, and learning to be one yourself. Snap covers all the characteristics of a “heart sister”, things heart sisters do and don’t do. She talks about walking through conflict with heart sisters. She talks about forgiveness, and she talks about how to train our daughters to be good friends as well.
Snapp’s heart for changing the culture of female friendships to be a culture of encouragement was very clear throughout this book, and I appreciated so much of her advice! I especially appreciated everything she had to say about conflict and forgiveness, which were major themes throughout the book. I think she focused on these so much because in order to be a good heart sister, you need to know how to deal with difficult or hurtful situations when they arise - and if you handle them poorly you can lose any chance you had at forming that close friendship that might have been possible. I appreciated a lot of her advice on conflict resolution between friends, because though I’ve had to walk through it like so many women, I am not sure I have ever really read a book or article about it, and Snapp offers sound biblical wisdom on these subjects, and several others.
If you are looking for advice on how to form friendships, Heart Sisters is probably not quite the book you are looking for - but if you would like to deepen the friendships that you already have, this is the perfect book to read!
Note: I received this book for free from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for a review. This is my honest opinion.
This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Godspeed Pictures, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #wherehopegrowsmovie http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
A couple months ago, I read a news story related to people with Down syndrome. I won’t go into all the details of the story, but it reflected the attitude of some people that those with disabilities such as Down syndrome wouldn’t have fulfilling or meaningful lives because of their disability.
That story irked me at the time, and it has stuck with me since then. I don’t have any friends or family with Down syndrome, but I have met many people with Down syndrome, and I had a friend growing up with a mental disability. They are often the happiest, sweetest people you will ever meet. To suggest that they are somehow less valuable because they don’t fit into someone’s idea of perfection is just ignorant.
I believe with all my heart that every person has intrinsic value.
That’s not just a bumper sticker sentiment, it is the truth. Every person is created in the image of God, and that automatically gives them value. To me that’s a given, but it’s not a given in our culture today. It has become common to try to quantify the worth of people, to the point where some even dare to deem certain lives to have little value.
But who are we to think we can determine that?
I don’t think you even have to look too hard to see the value of those with Down syndrome. The joy they so often exude, the friendship they offer so easily, their ability to look past the faults of others (despite whether or not those people can do the same), the fact that they can thrive despite the challenges that most of us will never face - all these things are sources of inspiration to those around them.
I recently had the opportunity to see a movie that I think illustrated this beautifully. In Where Hope Grows, Calvin Campbell is a washed up baseball player and an alcoholic. In the grocery store one day he meets a kid named Produce, who has Down syndrome. He is drawn to Produce’s happy spirit, and as Campbell gets to know Produce better, he is able to find hope for his own life and relationships.
(My parents and me enjoying the movie! Derek was there too, he just missed out on the pictures.)
Where Hope Grows comes out in theaters this Friday (the 15th), and I highly recommend seeing if you can catch it at your local theater! You can watch the movie trailer here:
And this was a part of the movie that we thought was fun!
The Christian influences in this movie were subtle, which I think makes it a movie that anyone can appreciate, even if they are not believers. But I loved how it was clear that Produce’s joy was because of his faith, and his faith was a beacon for Campbell through the movie as he started to see the changes he needed to make in his own life.
Where Hope Grows has message of hope - that even when you hit your lowest point, there is always hope to turn things around with help from God, and friends and family. I loved the example of Produce’s character, that every person has the potential to impact other people and show them the love of God, even when you might least expect it.
Produce invested his days well, even as a grocery store clerk. He used the place where God had placed him to reach out to others. I think many times we get so caught up in the busyness of the day to day that we forget that God has us where we are for a reason. We get so caught up in our own selves that we forget, or are too scared, to reach out to others.
I don’t think Produce’s character even realized how he impacted the life of Campbell, or his role in helping him get back on track. That’s the beauty of influence. You might never know how you or anyone else may influence others through your life, but you can bet that God can and does use anyone He chooses to change stories.
Derek mentioned how he liked the courage Produce showed at different parts of the movie, even in protecting and standing up for those he cared about. There was something innocent and refreshing about the way Produce’s character impacted those around him that I think is reflective of many people with mental disabilities. It is a beautiful thing. It is something to be valued, something the world needs. I think this movie showed that in a compelling way.
Joni Eareckson Tada has said that people are made for one purpose - to make God real to those around them. The beauty of that truth is that any person can do this. Someone who lives a hundred years, or a baby in a mother’s womb. The healthiest person in the world, or the one with the most challenges. The smartest person on the planet, or the one you would least expect. I think those with Down syndrome and other mental disabilities in particular can touch souls in ways that others never could.
Every person in the world has the capability to make God real to those around them.
Every person in the world has the potential to make an impact on someone else for eternity.
Every person is valuable, not because any human says they are, but because God says they are.
Where Hope Grows drove that point home for me again, and I think the DVD will be joining our movie library in the near future! Definitely check it out!
A Trip Around The Sun is written by the author of The Circle Maker, Mark Batterson, and his mentor, Richard Foth. I had never read The Circle Maker, but this book looked interesting. The subtitle caught my attention "Turning Your Everyday Life Into The Adventure Of A Lifetime".
I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting when I started this book, but the first third of it kind of threw me for a loop. Each chapter of the book is written half by Batterson and half by Foth, and covers a certain topic or phrase. The back-and-forth style was confusing to me at first, and it seemed that a large portion of each section seemed to be the authors telling personal stories about people in their lives. I thought that would be interesting if I knew any of these people, or was already a fan of the authors, but I hadn't heard of any of them before. The first third came off a little self-centered to me, and I was having a hard time getting into it.
But once I settled into the rhythm of the book, I realized that rather than a practical handbook, this book is half inspirational or challenging thoughts, and half memoir. Once I realized where the book was coming from, the personal stories seemed less self-congratulatory and more as attempts to encourage readers to live their lives well. I think the point of the book actually is summed up very well in the sub-title - and the true adventure is stepping outside the comfortable and following Jesus wherever He wants to take us. I appreciated the message more the further I got into this book, and by the end I was left feeling really inspired to make sure I am not wasting my own days - precious days that could be more intentionally lived for Jesus.
If you pick up this book and find it hard to get into, give it a little time and you'll start to enjoy it, I'm sure! There are a lot of good ideas and inspiring advice in this book once you get into it a little further. Definitely an encouraging read!
Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is my honest opinion.
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