Money Secrets of the Amish by Lorilee Craker

I was delighted to receive another complimentary book by Thomas Nelson Publishers to review. The book Money Secrets of the Amish by Lorilee Craker was one of the most helpful books I have read in a long time. The subtitle of Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing, and Saving was right on and I have made many changes in my spending habits since reading it. I was amazed that the Amish are able to save so much of their earnings by simply living a humble lifestyle and not wasting anything. The story of Amos and Fern Miller and their 14 children was in deed an inspiration. The 45 year old farmer has managed to bank $400,000 over the course of twenty years while renting a farm and raising fourteen children and remarkably none of them feel deprived and the children have a calm and peace about them because they are a happy family with loving parents and a strong belief system. This has been passed on to them for generations and it really works. We are a generation that lives in excess while the Amish repair things and dressed are worn by 7 different children before they wear out. The Amish fix what is broken, patch what is torn, and repair what is repairable. There are tips for saving money throughout the book and as you compare our spending habits with the Amish, you understand why they are able to save and most of our generation is drowning in debt. We fritter away money and become stressed while they save money and have peace and happiness. I highly recommend this book to anyone and will likely be buying two additional copies for our children. We can learn a lot from the Amish. Thanks Thomas Nelson for a fantastic book!

Women of Faith WORSHIP rejoice

I am a real fan of the Women of Faith so when I was sent a complimentary CD to review for Thomas Nelson Publishers I was thrilled. I have been to a few Women of Faith retreats and I love them. The music on this CD included Beautiful Redeemer, So Good, Forever Reign, Come As You Are, Hosanna, Our God, Glory To God, You Brought The Sunshine, Greatness of Our God, and Great is Thy Faithfulness. The songs are beautiful and after listening to the CD in my computer for hours, I have found that I stop typing sometimes to raise my hands in worship to Our Father. If you are doing your devotions, or working you will find yourself feeling so thankful and worshipful. It you are at a Women of Faith conference be sure to buy the CD or find one at your nearest Christian Bookstore so you can worship at home with the worship team. I love the verse on the back of the CD Let us rerejoice and be glad today! Psalm 118:24 You will definitely be in the mood to worship as you listen to this inspiring CD I highly recommend it!

THE BOOK THAT MADE YOUR WORLD by Vishal Mangalwadi

The Book That Made Your World by Vishal Mangalwadi is a complimentary book sent to me by Thomas Nelson Publishers to read and review. This book shows in great detail how the Bible changed the Western Civilization. This book is not for casual reading. It is filled with so much information and everything is backed up by many pages of notes in the back. The author has done much for the poor in India and his first book is used as a text book in many universities. Many humanatarian honors have been bestowed on him. The many comparisons on how the Bible has influenced our lives in the West compared to other civilizations in the East is startling. One interesting thought is that in Hollywood they are producing a whole genre of movies inspired by the idea that the human problem is not the conflict of good vs. evil, but instead is humanity vs. machines. An example is Matrix trilogy, the Terminator series and several episodes of Star Trek. There is so much information and learning in this book that it is really for the more educated reader and very serious Bible students, not for your average reader. I think most of the pages were new information to me and I was just overwhelmed by it all. I do applaud Thomas Nelson for publishing a book that if read and absorbed will show the reader how the Bible has truly affected every thing we believe and how we think and live our lives according to its words. The Bible is the greatest book ever written and it is easier for me to understand than this book.

MAX ON LIFE by Max Lucado

This is an easy blog to write since Max Lucado is my favorite author and I have read all of his previous books. The complimentary book given to me by the publisher Thomas Nelson Publishers won't spend much time on my bookshelf because it is a book I will reference frequently. This book has questions and answers that give insight to your most important questions. I love the format of the 254 page book that answers 172 most often ask questions. Scripture is given to back up his answers and that is a must for me in accepting anyone's opinion. The qustions and answers are typed, but there are also copies of some of the questions and some of Max's letters answering individual's questions. It adds a nice personal touch to the book. One such handwritten letter came from a 7 year old in the church and in his precious printing he writes "Dear Max, I'm sorry for pulling the fire alarm after 11:30 service. Please forgive me. My parents have punished me but I want to make it right with you. Please let me know what I can do. In Christ's Love, Sammy. The letter from Sammy was in the introduction as Max Lucado illustrates that questions come in all forms from young and old alike, some are easy to answer and some are not easy to answer. Max Lucado also says in the introduction that some of these questions have appeared in earlier books and I am glad he disclosed that in the beginning because if you have read all his books you notice it.

LEAD SERVE LOVE by GregoryE. Lang

I was delighted to get to review this newest complimentary book by Thomas Nelson Publishers LEAD SERVE LOVE by Gregory E. Lang.  I believe that this book with its simplicity of 100 three-word ways to be like Jesus can change your attitude as you read it, I know it changed mine.  This is a lovely gift book with a beautiful cover.  I will no doubt be giving many of my friends this book.  The three word titles to each devotion cover every need we face as we strive to be more like Jesus.  A sample of a few of the hundred devotions and scriptures with the three word titles are :Smile At Everyone, Share With Others, Listen With Understanding, Forgive All Wrongs, Soften Your Heart, Overcome Your Worry, Make A Difference, Accept What Comes and ninety two others.  This book has a short devotion on one side of the page and scriptures to back up the devotion on the page beside it.  I would consider this book to be a devotional and a gift book.

The book starts out with a presentation page and ends with a note from the author that presents himself as being like the rest of us a sinner saved by grace (my word, not his).  This book would lead you to believe that Mr. Lang has a well studied mind toward what we must do in our walk to be more like Jesus.  He is very humble, but I suspect he was lead by The Holy Spirit to write such a powerful book and surely must have the gift of writing  and being able to communicate with others.  The acknowlegments at the end of the book include Mr. Lang's email address.  I never write the authors, but this is one time I feel compelled to communicate my thanks for him writing this life changing book.

JOLT! by Phil Cooke

I had no expectations when I first received the complimentary book JOLT! by Phil Cooke.  The book is published by Thomas Nelson Publishers.  The quality of the book meets the high standards of Thomas Nelson with its beautiful cover and most important its content.  I have in my personal library many motivational and business culture books.  I was not prepared for Phil Cooke's easy read of basic suggestions on how to get the jump on a world that's constantly changing as suggested in his subtitle.  Every example given applies not only to our business life, but also our personal lives.  I could not put the book down as I read chapters such as Start at the Finish Line, Jolt Your Priorities,Better Choices, Borders and my personal favorite The Power of Focus to name a few.
  The Power of Focus looked at multitasking and the impact it has on mistakes and cost of fixing those mistakes.  The chapter on Focus also dealt with our sleep habits and the old saying sleep on it.  It points out how important REM sleep is and power of our dreams in helping us sort out our problems.
  The chapters end in questions and review and the book points out how important asking the right questions of ourselves and our behavior.  The book has experiences that Mr. Cooke has had that demonstrate the benefit of his suggestions.  It is a must read for everyone that wants to succeed in business and life.

The Final Summit by Andy Andrews

The Final Summit by Andy Andrews was a complimentary book sent to me by Thomas Nelson Publishers.  I have never received or read a book by Thomas Nelson Publishers that I did not throughly enjoy.  This book has me thinking about it all the time.  It was the hardest book I have ever had to review, but I received so much by its spiritual content that I believe it is a life changing book.  This book reminded me a lot of C.S. Lewis style of writing.  Everything in the book and David Ponder's life has a meaning to it.  David Ponder is the main character and the books starts just after he loses his wife of many years.  David is seventy four years old and a very successful businessman for the second time.  He lost everything once, but quickly gained it all back after an encounter with Archangel Gabriel as he guides him through Seven Decisions for Success with the help of other travelers such as Ann Frank ,Col Chamberlain and Abraham Lincoln just to name a few.

David Ponder is in deep depression at the loss of his wife and Gabriel appears again and off to heaven they go again so that David can lead the Travelers Summit.  The attendees of the the summit help find the answer that they must come up with the solution as to what must happen to save humanity.  The answer must be two words and they have five chances to come up with the right answer as time runs short for the Final Summit.  I hesitate to give too much away or to give you my personal impressions of the meaning so I will leave that up to you as you journey with the travelers.