Take Your Best Shot by Austin Gutwein (Founder of Hoops of Hope) with Todd Hillard

I’m glad this teenager decided to write this book and I was given the chance to read it. This book is encouraging and inspiring. It is a reminder that, by God’s grace, kids and teens can make a difference. It’s not often a book comes around that makes you want to change the world and helps you believe you can really do it. I love that Austin encourages us to put spending time with God first. At the end of chapters, there is a suggested passage of Scripture to meditate on and talk with God about. We are encouraged to see the need around us and seek out our own particular vision and passion. Do something bigger than yourself! We also get to hear the story of Hoops of Hope and other kid’s stories. Wow. Nothing is impossible with God! This book is easy to read, draws some interesting analogies, and manages to be funny and serious at different times. Have you ever heard of a Pet Rock? Did you know that every five seconds a child dies because of lack of food? That’s what I mean. Light-hearted and sad. It somehow works! Those who read my reviews will notice that in most books there are at least some things that bother me. I’m not going to say anything negative about this book. That says something :).

Redefining Beautiful by Jenna Lucado with Max Lucado

I read through this book in one evening. That says a lot. I loved the casual, easy to read style. The book is meant to be made your own. It includes lines to write in, questions to answer, and a quiz to take. More importantly, it is about helping girls realize their God-given beauty. Not just on the outside but on the inside. It is about letting girls see that God is the perfect Father who will never leave them nor forsake them. Amazingly, this book has the ability to appeal to both girls who come from God-fearing homes and those who come from completely broken homes and those in between! "Life Accessories" and "Beauty Tips" are sprinkled throughout the book. Personal stories of girls from different backgrounds add another touch to it. One problem I have is that she condones dating. She dated and she seems to assume that all other girls will date. Therefore, most of her advice regarding boys does not line up with my convictions. That being said, there is still good information in the book. From meditating on the Bible to your relationship with your family to having a closer relationship with God, there is quite a bit to appreciate and agree with.

Voices of the Faithful Book 2 is a collection of missionary stories from around the world. It is meant to be used as a devotional with one story for each day of the year. Hearing from Christians who have been spreading the Gospel in so many different areas can be quite exciting and encouraging. The 366 devotionals are separated into twelve months; each month has a different topic. My personal favorite was the section on children. Each devotional includes a relevant Bible verse and prayer. One of the purposes of this book is to encourage the body of Christ to pray for missionaries and people groups. The only complaint that comes to my mind is that this book, made by Southern Baptists, is partial to Southern Baptists and the missionaries in the book are Southern Baptists.  An example of partiality is that at the end of the book, the International Mission Board (IMB) offers free resources to only Southern Baptists.  I believe division in the body of Christ is to be avoided and I cannot endorse the idea or practice of denominations. The important thing is that a believer is correct on the essentials of the Christian faith. I believe a missionary should not have to belong to a certain denomination to be supported.  Trying to convert people in other countries to be part of a particular denomination is inappropriate and unBiblical.  A westernized sect of Christianity will not appeal to most indigenous people.  Unity is desperately needed in places where the number of believers is often under one percent.  We are to be one Body.  Other than that, this book is interesting and a nice devotional.

Knockout Entrepreneur by George Foreman with Ken Abraham

Knockout Entrepreneur is an easy to read book.  Mr. George Foreman draws from his personal experiences a lot. It was interesting to know he had ten kids and named all his boys George, etc. but I wish the book as a whole could have been more practical. I understand that it is important to have the right character; I just think he focused on having the right character and mind set way too much. I would have liked him to talk more on ways to tangibly improve as an entrepreneur. There were a few tips but not enough for a book on entrepreneurship. I am glad that the book does not define success or contentment in terms of money. I also really appreciate him giving glory to God. It has quite a few inspiring stories of entrepreneurs. The book mainly encourages you to get out there and do it. (The question remains: Exactly how do you do it?) It encourages you to never give up, have integrity, be confident, be enthusiastic, never become complacent, and pick the right people for your team. One more complaint just came to mind: When he talked about playing possum, it seemed to directly contradict what he said about having integrity. If you pretend you’re upset or sad about something, when you’re really very happy about it, to make the other person think you’re at a disadvantage, is that not being dishonest/deceitful? I believe so.

Nelson’s Illustrated Guide to Religions: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Religions of the World by James A. Beverley

This book was educational.  It covered a wide range of religions. Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, and more.  Many groups I’ve never heard of are included.  In my opinion, it was a little too soft towards false religions but it did compare them with essential Christian doctrine and attempted to have a Christian perspective.  Still, this book should probably only be read by believers who already know where they stand.  Children should definitely not read this book as it is very blunt toward the sick practices of the world and of certain cult leaders. This book is very long (over seven hundred pages) and holds some unnecessary information in my view.  I would be more apt to recommend this book if it was not so incredibly dry.  If I had not been obligated as a reviewer to finish the book, I probably would not have finished it.  I was very relieved and happy to finally be done with it.  That is one of the reasons why, although I appreciate the amount of research done and helpful information offered, I cannot give it that high of a rating. The pictures are interesting but are not enough to balance out the blocks and blocks of text.  With all that being said, it works well as a reference book.

Fireproof, in true Sherwood Pictures fashion, was a wonderful movie!  It was dramatic and yet there was humor, too.  The acting was well done...I especially applaud the actor who played Caleb's best friend and the actor who played Caleb's dad.  Very good job!  (The two lead actors did fine, too :))  I appreciated the Gospel being presented once again.  Also, I am glad that love was not portrayed as a "feeling".  I do, however, want to make a point.  The husband is not supposed to be a slave.  Seriously, the husband should not have to work a full time job and then do the housework as well.  If he wants to help out occaisionally, that's great.  But it is the wife's job to be a helpmeet and keeper at home.  I do not want any women out there to expect their husbands (or future husbands) to do everything for them while they sit back (or go pursue a career outside the home)!  We are not created to be that way.  The husband and wife are supposed to be co-laborers for Christ with the husband as the head and the wife as the submissive helpmeet.  Anyway, when everything is considered, the theology, story, acting, and technical ability, it is still one of the best films out there and I look forward to their next production.  I give Fireproof four and 3/4 stars.  I simply cannot give a five to any film, yet! 

Edit: I was speaking of husbands and wives in general.  I realize that Catherine was not a Christian and could not be expected to fulfill the role of a Biblical woman and also, I realize that Caleb was trying to win back the heart of his wife.  Therefore, those were special circumstances.  I simply didn't want Christian women to apply it to their own life wrongly and expect too much from their husbands.

The Widow's Might was great!  I enjoyed it.  The music and singing were wonderful!  I had the song that Angela sang playing in my head for quite awhile after the movie ended.  I like the Western parts; I would have preferred the whole movie being a Western...but well, that's not the way it was made :).  The technical side of it and the acting were good.  The story was a little confusing (especially in the beginning) because it was a movie within a movie and The Widow's Might within The Widow's Might.  You will understand when you see the film.  It sure was interesting!  I'm going to stop now before I spoil anything more.  Oh, in case you have not heard, The Widow's Might won Best of Festival and Audience Choice at the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. I give The Widow's Might four stars.

This is my review for the book, My Little Girl by Tim McGraw and Tom Douglas(for product info., you can go to http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/custom/top20/My_Little_Girl_Tim_McGraw_Tom_Douglas.asp)

My Little Girl is the story of a little girl and her daddy and the wonderful day they share together enjoying each other’s company. Doing simple things such as watching animals or clouds can be special when you do them with someone you love. There are many illustrations; they are cute. I like the fact that this book promotes a loving relationship between dads and daughters which is really important. Dads must protect, provide for, instruct, discipline, and love their daughters. Daughters must embrace their dads’ protection, honor them, help them, further their vision, and love them. The dad-daughter relationship is sadly neglected nowadays. Daughters, it is great to confide in your mom but please, confide in your dad, too. Tell your dad what you appreciate about him; look for ways to help him. Do not worry about your dad not being perfect; you are not perfect, either. Your dad is unique; he will have different strengths and struggles than other men. Just as you have different abilities and weaknesses than other girls. Do not compare you dad to other dads. And do not forget how important it is to remember to say these three words sincerely: I love you.

This is my review for the book, Boomtown Chang’s Famous Fireworks Factory (Book One) by Nowen N. Particular (for product info., you can go to http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1400313457.)

Boomtown is a humorous, tall tale, adventure book for kids. It all starts with the Button family arriving in Boomtown. They have many outrageous adventures. The people of Boomtown are eccentric to say the least. They love blowing stuff up...you will learn about all kinds of crazy explosives such as hen grenades, exploding elves, and lots more. And yet, the people of Boomtown are very nice and welcoming. Once moved in, the Button family come into contact with surprise after surprise. You would not believe all the different inventions they learn about. Soon, a mystery surfaces. Things begin disappearing. What’s going on? The book sounds pretty good, does it not? However, there were some things I did not like about the book. In one chapter, I thought they were disrespectful toward the Holy Spirit. I also did not appreciate them trying to make something seem like a "curse". Finally, the kids are disobedient, the wife is not supportive, and both the kids and wife are demanding and inconsiderate. They are not what you would call good role models. They make it a joke that the kids get into so much trouble and the kids do not seem to get punished for it! I personally would not pay money for this book. Also, because of all these things, I would not recommend it to others.

This is my review for the book, The Moon Shines Down by Margaret Wise Brown, Illustrated by Linda Bleck (for product info., you can go to http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=140031299X). 

The Moon Shines Down is being published for the first time ever after being found deserted in a trunk!  It was written by Margaret Wise Brown, the author of Goodnight Moon; my mom read that book to me many times when I was little kid.  It is funny that both books had to do with the moon :).  Laura Minchew finished the incomplete manuscript.  This book is a cute story for children.  The illustrations are very bright and colorful.  The story is told in poetic form and it is told from the point of view of a little koala.  The koala travels from the Australian outback to China to England to Mexico and onto other countries.  I am sure the pictures of children and scenery from around the world will be appealing to children.  The "theme" of the book is that the moon shines on everyone in the world...on children everywhere.  It reminds me of a Bible verse.  "He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matthew 5:45  Do I like the book?  Yes and no.  I think the illustrations were nice and as I said, the story was cute but it is for young children and does not interest me very much.  A verse from the book that sums this review up well is, "God Bless the Moon And God Bless me." 

I am a book review blogger for Thomas Nelson Publishers.  For more information, you can go to their website: http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/.

This is my review for the book Billy The Untold Story of a Young Billy Graham and the Test of Faith that Almost Changed Everything by William Paul McKay and Ken Abraham (for product info., you can go here: http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=0849920671):

If I were to describe the book with one word, it would be: Interesting! Before reading it, I was somewhat worried that this book would be a boring biography. But it wasn't! There is quite a bit of dialogue which keeps it entertaining. I finished it in four days; it’s a 272 page book! There was a lot of information about Billy Graham that I had never known. Its main "topic" or "theme" is the fact that when Charles (Chuck) Templeton and Billy Graham, who were both young evangelists and very good friends, struggled with doubts/a test of faith, one of them became an agnostic and the other continued to be an effective evangelist. It also shares the life of Billy Graham from his days as a young man on a dairy farm, to a college student, and on to an evangelist. He was told many times that he would not amount to anything great, that he was a failure, and that he did not have the talent necessary to preach. God gave him every ability he needed. It also shows how so many decisions led up to what he was eventually able to do. He could have become a farmer or a military chaplain. Instead, he became an evangelist.

~Alyssa 

Note: Of course, everything he was able to do was because of God, not because of him. All the thousands that came to hear his preaching and received Jesus into their hearts...Billy Graham did not have the power to make them come or to save them. God did. God is the One Who changes hearts and Who saves.