Nancy Missler

These are two studies I did recently by Nancy Missler that were AMAZING!!!

     The first is "The Way of Agape." Nancy explains the difference between God's love and Human love. She also explains how we are to demonstrate this love towards others. She goes through each part of loving the Lord with all of your: strength, soul, mind and heart. Although originally designed for a women's marriage seminar, this is in NO WAY limited to only women or only the married. This is an amazing study with brilliant principles for EVERYONE.

     The second is "Be Ye Transformed." Now that a firm understanding of God's love has been established, Nancy explains how that love is to transform our lives. She systematically explains the truths of God in order to set the believer free "from ourselves, our circumstances, other peoples' responses and Satan" in order to truly be vessels of the Holy Spirit in the world.

     Nancy Missler does a brilliant job backing up every statement with scripture, personal experience and the experiences of others. Each statement is systematic and easily understood. Her ministry is The King's Highway and is dedicated to helping believers grow stronger in their Christian walk. She is also married to theologian and scholar Chuck Missler, founder of Koinonia House Ministries, whose specializes in Current Events and End Time Prophesy.

Combat Faith

     Combat Faith was a book that my father and I did together as a devotion last summer. Hal Lindsey does a brilliant job of fleshing out what "battle-ready" faith looks like. When my parents first met it was actually at Hal Lindsey's church in California.

     This book addresses faith in a way that has largely been glossed over in the Church today. Although it was written in 1986, is sounds as if it was written yesterday. The principles are easy to grasp and explained in an applicable manner. What particularly impressed me was understanding that God does not ask for "blind faith"; God asks for faith based upon His character and His proven actions. God builds a reputation and a verifies Himself before ever asking to be trusted.

     Hal Lindsey also makes a point to tell the reader that as Christians we are at war. Every moment of every day, the evil ones are seeking to devour us. However, as in any war, there a battle tactics used by the enemy that we can overcome. Christians fight on three battle fronts: against the spirits of darkness/the demonic realm; against the culture which seeks to separate us from God; and against our sin nature. These three fronts require different strategies in order to be defeated.

     As Christian soldiers, we also need to understand our weapons of warfare: the Armor of God. Hal Lindsey goes through each piece of armor in great detail, but even more importantly -- how we put it on! Included in our bag of weapons are also the promises of God. Since God does not ask for blind faith and has provided a firm foundation for Christians to draw upon for their faith, we have a host of biblical promises from God that we can turn to for encouragement in our faith. This is probably Hal Lindsey's greatest strength; he goes through many of God promises as well as teaching the reader how to discover more promises for themselves.

     This book was a great encouragement to me. I grew so much as my father and I read and discussed each chapter together. The church has done such a poor job equipping the saints for battle; as ambassadors for Christ we must push ourselves to greater heights of understanding. This book is a great asset in understanding how to have "faith that can move mountains."

Passion And Purity

This had to be one of the most amazing books I have ever read. Elizabeth Elliot takes you through the journey of her relationship with who wold eventually become her husband, Jim Elliot. In today's society -- even with all the great Christian literature out there -- there are still some areas in relationship that are not really talked about.

No matter where or how you are raised in America, it is impossible to grow up without the influence of "the need to date" being ingrained into your mind. As much as we work to learn to not need to date, there is still something inside that whispers, "You need to date. Everyone else is dating. You can keep your purity of heart and still date. You have friends that are strong Christians and they date. How about dating, but just don't call it 'dating' -- call it 'hanging out.' Look at John and Marry; they met and got married their first year in college and they're doing just fine. What about Billy and Sue? They met in high school and got married after graduation. If you're not dating, you could be missing out on what God has planned for you." While many of these "whisperings" are not necessarily "bad" or "wrong" the real issue comes in the heart. Elizabeth Elliot does a magnificent job of dealing with each and every one of these questions.

Although this book is slightly more focused on the issues that women face when dealing with relationships, Elizabeth Elliot makes it clear that she wanted guys to read this book as well. She includes many large sections quoted directly from letters of Jim Eliot describing his struggles and desires. This incredibly raw and real book discusses the situations that come when questioning God's purposes. How does His call on my life connect with my desires? What should I do when I know I want something (a relationship), but I feel like I'm not doing what I'm supposed to in order to get it? Are there times when God will give me a desire, but then tell me I cannot have it? Each of these questions are explained in great and personal detail.

I found this book help me personally more than practically all the other books I have read put together! Passion and Purity takes a rather radical stand on living a life truly devoted to God; there were sections that I had to fervently pray over, deciding whether or not this behavior really was "outdated." Through my own personal devotions, I have found this book to be completely sound, and it is my behavior that needs to change.

This book is wonderful for anyone seeking a truly deep and devoted life to Jesus -- not solely in the world of dating, but in every area of life. Radical by today's standards, Elizabeth Elliot calls the readers to the ultimate example of excellence and purity -- Jesus Christ, for whom there is no excuse in compromise.

Dragon Keeper

Title: The Dragon Keeper Series (By Donita K. Paul)

Rating/Review:
Language (1 being clean, 5 being cuss-a-thon) - 1, zero swears!

Morality (1 being hethanistic, 5 being righteous) - 5, total purity!

Violence (1 being clean, 10 being a blood bath) - 3.5 There is fighting between the "good guys" and "bad guys"

Theme (1 being satanic, 5 being righteous) - 5 there is an EXTREMELY strong Christian theme throughout the book. There is a God and Jesus character with whom the main characters all ineract.

Over-all interest and read-ability (1 being terrible, 10 being amazing) - 9 very interesting. There is action and a good plot to the story that keeps you wanting more.

Plot Summary: Kale, an orphan, discovers she has a gift with dragons. In her quest to protect eggs, she finds herself pulled into battling an evil that threatens her land. With the help of God (Wulder) she overthrows temptations to attain her goals.

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Inkheart

Title: Inkheart

Rating/Review:
Language (1 being clean, 10 being cuss-a-thon) - 4 there were a couple d--n's and perhaps a few hell's

Morality (1 being righteous, 10 being hethanistic) - 3, the only morality problem I have with the book is the excess of lying (I think ANY lying is excess.) The characters are constantly lying to each other (especially the father to the daughter and vise versa) because they think it's for their "best".

Violence (1 being clean, 10 being a blood bath) - 2, there is no out and out bloody violence. There is a chase scene, but no gore.

Theme (1 being righteous, 10 being satanic) - 2, there was nothing satanic in the book. The main characters have the ability to read things and people out of books (which I consider more like a "super power" rather than sorcery).

Over-all interest and read-ability (1 being terrible, 10 being amazing) - 6, I think the book could have been a bit more "exciting" -- more action I mean. The writer takes time to go into everyone's thoughts and describes in great detail the scenes and people.

Plot Summary: Meggie discovers that her father can read people out of books, and unfortunately, he has read one of the most evil villains of all -- Capricorn -- into our world. Meggie and her father, Mo, set out to discover a way to defeat this evil and perhaps find her long lost mother.

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Shiver

Title: Shiver

Rating/Review:
Language (1 being clean, 10 being cuss-a-thon) - 7, several d--n's and a lot of hell's

Morality (1 being righteous, 10 being hethanistic) - 7, these characters have nothing wrong with sleeping together behind their parents' backs. The relationships between parents and children shows the parents to be uncaring, stupid clods, while their children are really the ones who care.

Violence (1 being clean, 10 being a blood bath) - 3, there were several bloody scenes of wolves attacking people (not severely bloody) and one scene of a boy having his wrists cut.

Theme (1 being righteous, 10 being satanic) - 4, Werewolves were the main theme of this book. There was zero magic involved, but there was a very subtle line that hinted that the church was not the place to go in a crisis.

Over-all interest and read-ability (1 being terrible, 10 being amazing) - 7, it was a good read, but I like a bit more action in a story, this book seemed to be a little slow for my tastes.

Plot Summary: Grace gets saved from an attack of wolves by a wolf with yellow eyes. Over the next 6 years, grace forms a special, yet distant, bond with this wolf whom she constantly sees in the woods behind her house. One day, after being shot by a hunter, Grace sees the wolf change into a man, Sam. Since Grace's parents are never home and don't care about parenting her, it's easy for Grace to hide Sam in her room for the next several weeks. During this time the become co-dependent on each other as they try to keep Sam human while helping the rest of the "pack". While Sam is living with Grace, she begs him to sleep with her which he ends up doing right before he rejoins his pack as a wolf.

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Set-Apart Femininity

I just got finished reading "Set-Apart Femininity." That was possibly one of the best books I've ever dared to open! It is an almost radical look at how we as girls really are to be set apart from the world to god! It goes over everything from the way we act to what we allow to affect us to our relationship with god. The thing I love about Leslie Ludy is she really does address everything. Whenever there is a chance that you might find a loophole in trying to be wholly God's (because let's face it, we are sinful people, and without conscious, persevering effort to become more like God, we will do whatever we think we can get away with) she slams it will a good dose of Bible verse and Godly examples from great Christians from the past.

Leslie Ludy challenges to truly put God first, above everything else, and fights the ideologies of the world -- even the "seemingly harmless" good ones. She addresses the apathy in church and simply edifies her fellow sisters in Christ.

One thing I would suggest is that guys interesting in learning what kind of girl they should look for should read this book. I really think it is a good idea for us to read books written for each other (as in girls read "guy books" and guys read "girl books"). Guys who read this book will be better able to understand and help their sisters in Christ (and wives) and they will also get a better idea of what they should be looking in a girl they are interested in marring.

This book, however is not reserved to single girls or guys who are interesting in learning about us. I encourage married coupled to go through this book. There are many applications that can be used in married life as well. Radical ideas like using "date night" for prayer or limiting your interaction with singles of the opposite gender after marriage are just some of the topics Leslie touches on.

This is another absolute MUST read for Christians who are interested in taking the next step in their relationship with God. Every step forward brings you closer to God, let us all step together!

The Harris Twins

I just got back from a book tour by Alex and Brett Harris (brothers of Joshua Harris, writer of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye") And it was one of the best things I've ever gone to -- I wish CHURCH was this good!!!

The seminar was from 9am to 4pm and did the Holy Spirit move!

Alex and Brett have started a movement called "The Rebelution" a movement targeted at teens. The Rebelution seeks to break the low expectations the world has set before us and change us into the best that God would have us be...

Alex and Brett have written two books thus far, their first being "Do Hard Things." "Do Hard Things" is really the core of the Rebelution. It gives insight and stories to a time before complacency and ways to become people of God driven excellence. This book shows that giving in to "the easy way" and accepting the attributes that the world had ascribed to us (rebellious, lazy, irresponsible, childish) is giving in to low expectations. Low expectations that channel the way our entire lives will move. And how having high expectations for ourselves will grow us and change us into real fighters for Jesus Christ, and true threats to the enemy.

Their second book, "Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are." Answers many of the questions a person starting to seek high expectations and do away with the low.

As for the actual seminar, Alex and Brett are amazing speakers; their passion and energy flows into the room -- both entertaining and educating the audience. They share spiritual truths and don't hold back when it comes to saying what we may not want to hear. They led the room in the most beautiful alter-call I have ever heard -- not sugar coating anything for the new-coming believers. Their brother Joel led the band in several worship songs through out the day, and Joshua closed the evening.

I STRONGLY recommend these books to anyone who is sick of
a) sleepy Christians in the world
b) non-Christians in the church
c) both

Check out their website at TheRebelution.Com.

Are you part of the Rebelution?

The Luxe

Title: The Luxe Series

Rating/Review:
Language (1 being clean, 10 being cuss-a-thon) - 8, several d--n's, hell's, bastard, and b---h

Morality (1 being righteous, 10 being hethanistic) - 9, these girls think nothing of their virginity. The first guy they fall in love with, they sleep with. The series paints the picture that it's okay to have sex before marriage or extra-marital sex, as long as you really do love the person (we can see a billion theological problems with that statement RIGHT THERE!) There are at least two sex scenes, MANY kisses, and a host of other problems!

Violence (1 being clean, 10 being a blood bath) - 2, I don't believe there is any actual "violence", but there is verbal abuse, backstabbing, viscous scheming and plotting.

Theme (1 being righteous, 10 being satanic) - 6, this book takes place in the Victorian era, where keeping a clean, high-society image is a must. But these characters have no problem being lying adulteresses.

Over-all interest and read-ability (1 being terrible, 10 being amazing) - 9, unfortunately, this is a very well written book. By the world's standards, an "enthralling read," but the repeated abuse of modesty, morality, and truth make it quite poisonous.

Plot Summary: (I'm going to due a HUGE sum up, because this is such a twisted plot!) Elizabeth, Penelope, Diana, and Carolina live in 1899 Manhattan, and play at gossip, slander, and backstabbing to get the men that they desire.

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Sirena

Title: Sirena

Rating/Review:
Language (1 being clean, 10 being cuss-a-thon) - 6, there are a number of d--n's

Morality (1 being righteous, 10 being hethanistic) - 10, the main characters never wears clothes, there are several sexual connotations (including an actual "sex scene".) There is also constant mis-trust between Sirena and her husband.

Violence (1 being clean, 10 being a blood bath) - 5, there is a "cat fight" between the main character, Sirena, and her sisters. Several men drown, and there is a fight between a man and bear.

Theme (1 being righteous, 10 being satanic) - 8, this book very accurately follows ancient Greek mythology. There is no salvation by grace (but there is by works, according to the book D:<) and it takes place at the beginning of the Trojan war.

Over-all interest and read-ability (1 being terrible, 10 being amazing) - 2, the writing style of is book is very boring. Very little happens, there is no excitement. Very poor reading.

Plot Summary: Sirena is a siren seeking immortality. She may only become immortal if a man sleeps with her, but being a siren, she believes no man will love her because of her fish half. She rescues a man from drowning and helps heal his persistent wound. They end up living together, giving Sirena her immortality. A ship arrives in need of the man's help to kill Achilles in the Trojan war. Sirena allows him to leave, never to see him again.

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

The Juliet Club

Title: The Juliet Club

Rating/Review:
Language (1 being clean, 10 being cuss-a-thon) - 4 the use the word "damnable" once

Morality (1 being righteous, 10 being hethanistic) - 5 there are three kisses shared between the main characters, and one scene where a girl goes to a party in an immodest dress. Giacomo is presented to be a lady's man. Both Kate and Giacomo are from divorced families. Silvia is rebelling against her parents.

Violence (1 being clean, 10 being a blood bath) - 2 there is a re-enactment of a sword fight

Theme (1 being righteous, 10 being satanic) - 3, there is no "Christianity" described in the book, however, with that said, it was a very moral book. There are scenes where Giacomo talks to a Catholic saint in his prayers (instead of Jesus Christ).

Over-all interest and read-ability (1 being terrible, 10 being amazing) - 8, this story was very entertaining, and believable. The characters try to help sort out love-questions, and on the way, find out what their hearts are really searching for.

Plot Summary: Kate is a very practical girl. Everything is logical and precise. When she wins a contest to study Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet's city of Verona, she must learn that not everything must be "short, concise and to the point." With fellow Americans Lucy and Tom they meet Italians: Giacomo, Benno, and Silvia, they eventually become entangled in a romantic mess of their own.

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Title: The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch

Rating/Review:
Language (1 being clean, 10 being cuss-a-thon) - 1, I don't recall there being any cussing

Morality (1 being righteous, 10 being hethanistic) - 1, there was no "weirdness" in this respect.

Violence (1 being clean, 10 being a blood bath) - 11, this was probably the equivalent of an R-rated horror movie put to paper. There were scenes of a witch eating cakes made out of blood, and a scene where all of a child's blood was graphically sucked out through his finger.

Theme (1 being righteous, 10 being satanic) - 9, although the main character and his teacher show witchcraft to be a bad thing, they still use some magic, and don't see ALL witchcraft to be evil. There are several witches performing rituals, and a witch (instead of a demon) possession scene -- all of which are VERY graphic!

Over-all interest and read-ability (1 being terrible, 10 being amazing) - 4, the actual story was interesting, but the sheer graphicness, and abounding witchcraft and magic absolutely ruined it for me. I had to practically force myself to finish, and promised myself to never read anything like that again!

Plot Summary: The seventh son of a seventh son decides to become the apprentice of a Spook (someone who deals with magical creatures). He meets a girl who tricks him into freeing a witch, and must save his family (and the town) from being slaughtered by her.

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Tsubasa (Vol. 1-5)

In our media saturated culture, we think little of reading books or, even more, watching TV and movies. I'd like to do some more reviews so that you know what you are really putting into your head. What we see and read eventually becomes a part of us, so please take care in what you put inside your head...

Title: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles (Vol. 1-5)

Rating/Review:
Language (1 being clean, 10 being cuss-a-thon) - 6, they occasionally use hell, d**n, and even b***h

Morality (1 being clean, 10 being hethanistic) - 5, the only morality problem I have with it is that some of the girls are dressed provocatively.

Violence (1 being clean, 10 being a blood bath) - 7, the characters do a lot of fighting, and quite often people are killed. There is a lot of bloodiness.

Theme (1 being righteous, 10 being satanic) - 7, although the strong display of selfless love is prevalent between the main characters, there is a powerful witch who controls the show. There are also several side characters that use powerful witchcraft.

Over-all interest and read-ability (1 being terrible, 10 being amazing) - 7, this series is very interesting, and keeps you turning pages. You feel the pain and joy of the characters as they go through their adventures. However, I have a lot of difficulty getting past the witchcraft and swearing.

Plot Summary: Syaoran must travel through dimensions and worlds to recover the lost memories of his childhood friend, Princess Sakura. Using the power of the Space and Time Witch, Syaoran and Sakura along with Kurogane (an outcast bodyguard) and Fay D. Flourite (a wizard hiding from his native land) travel through space and time searching for the lost memories.

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Paige Armstrong

I discovered this artist when I was at Sunday school. My family and I all attend the same class Sunday morning with a bunch of other adults (my sister and I are the only "youth"). A gentleman came up to me and started telling me about his daughter's, Paige's, music. I listened to it and I was hooked!

Paige Armstrong is a 19 year-old cancer survivor with a heart for America's youth. Her rock-with-a-message music is great and one of my new favorites!

Visit her Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter pages, and here is her testimony...



And here is some of her music (live)...



And if you like better sound (like I do)...

For YOU only

I was introduced to these books sometime ago by my Mom while I was doing a study on guys. The writer, Shaunti Feldhahn, goes on a journey to discover what makes men tick. (You men think that we girls are crazy? We think the same about you XD!) The book "For Women Only" goes through hundreds of national scientific surveys and polls and even more interviews from guys themselves about how they think.


In the sequal "For Men Only," Shaunti teams up with her husband Jeff to explain to men how women think. Once again, through national scientific surveys and interviews, this book explains the thought process of girls.

Everyone on the planet should read these books! They will BLOW YOUR MIND!!!

(If you'd like to check out her website visit Shaunti here!)

Wondrous Strange

I thought I'd try my hand at writing a book review, so here it goes!

Wondrous Strange by Leslie Livingston was a book I decided to try reaading when I was at my local library. Leslie Livingston is "a professor" in faeriology and Shakespeare and her book shows it. Her novel is about a 17-year-old girl, Kelley, living in Manhattan who is trying to make it in a theater play of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The play ends up coming to life when she meets a young changeling by the name of Sonny. He shows her that characters of the play (Oberon, Titania and Puck) are actually REAL. Wrapped up in a giant faerie conspiracy to reawaken a faerie death hunt against humans, Kelley and Sonny must use what they know of faeries to their advantage...

The book itself is VERY well written with 50/50 perspectives from both Sonny and Kelley (making this a both girls and guys book.) There's a touch of romance, with the sum total of about 2 kisses, and lots of semi-graphic battle scenes (blood is spilled, but I wouldn't label it "gory"). The BIGGEST problem I have with the book is its language issues. The book uses the "B-word" and "S-word" at least once and "D---it" is used well over a dozen times.

From a secular point of view it's a very good book -- however! -- because there is so much perverse language, I would NOT suggest reading it.

HB

I love this band! I'm crazy about the "Orchestra Rock" sound (as I call it). This band from Finland has the perfect blend of music and meaning: the music itself is awesome and the lyrics are hymnal-holy! Their English album, Frozen Inside, was released in 2008. The only technecal glitch I've come across is, in the recording, the studeo didn't mix the vocals with the instruments as best as they could have (the singing should have been a touch louder.) My Dad was a musician so that is the only way I would have noticed. OTHER THAN THAT, this is probably my new favorite band!

Fireflight/Flyleaf and Skillet/Decyfer Down

So, here are two amazing girl rock bands and two amazing guy rock bands I wanted to give props to. I love all four of these guys' music! The only thing I would change about them (and I know I'm going to get booed for this) is that I would personally like their lyrics to be more vocal about Jesus as in actually saying the name "Jesus Christ". Another thing is that some of their music (namely Flyleaf) can get a little on the "dark" side. Other than that, Fireflight, Skillet, Flyleaf, and Decyfer Down are great bands to add to your stash of good-sounding Christian bands!

Fireflight!


Skillet!


Flyleaf!


Decyfer Down

Decyfer Down - Fight Like This (Official Music Video). Watch more top selected videos about: Decyfer_Down

Julian Drive

Ah. More music! Here's another Christian band I am quite fond of: Julian Drive. If you are into lyrics that are really meaningful (and I mean as in with meaning behind the music) this is a great band!

Petra!

I know that there simply isn't enough good christian rock bands; so I am going to share one of my favorites: Petra. Petra has liricks as "holy" as the hymns you sing on Sunday morning, but a hard rock feel of BonJovi or Deaf Leopard...

Here is "Think Twice"


...And here is "Judas Kiss"