7 Secrets to Power Praying by Jane Glenchur

Do you engage with God during your prayer time? Glenchur wants you to learn to partner with God, establishing an intimate relationship with Him.

Glenchur shares her adventure with prayer, beginning with a stain in the carpet and asking God which stain remover was the best to buy. She was reminded that there are no restrictions in Scripture. We are to take all our cares to Him.

The book is divided into three parts. In the first part, Glenchur encourages us to rethink our limited concept of prayer. She has great teaching on learning to hear God's voice.

In the second part, she explores the seven secrets to unleash the power of prayer. The first secret has to do with being obedient to God's will. The second involves allowing God to change our hearts and minds. Another is finding out what is on God's heart. Another is about laying down the need to have every decision make sense. The rest of the secrets are also spiritually insightful.

In the last section we are taught the tools to put the seven power secrets into action, learning to ascertain God's will accurately so we can pray confidently. She has very practical suggestions for starting our days hearing from God.

This is an encouraging and insightful book. I loved her stories. They were short and perfectly illustrated her points.

Glenchur reminds us that establishing this relationship with God is a process that takes time and practice. If you want God to be an active part of your life and decisions, this book will certainly help you on your way.

Jane Glenchur, M.D., as a board certified dermatologist and dermatopathologist, worked for eight years in a private group practice. She has served in numerous volunteer capacities in addition to being active in a mother's prayer group, has been the team leader on youth mission trips, and has recently been asked to serve as a medical associate for the Global Medical Research Institute, begun by Randy Clark for the purpose of documenting medical miracles. She and her husband have two children and live in Ohio.

Chosen Books, 224 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from Chosen Books for the purpose of this independent and honest review.

Crash the Chatterbox by Steven Furtick

Does your mind produce ceaseless chatter of the Enemy? “You're not good enough.” “You always fail.”

“God has given us the ability to choose the dialogue we believe and respond to,” Furtick writes. (4) We can learn to listen to God and not the Enemy. That requires learning to defy the negative chatter in our mind, the chatterbox.

He tells us how to block out the noise on a spiritual level, concentrating on four confessions:

God says I am

God says He will

God says He has

God says I can

(I would have added at the top: God says He is.)

Furtick has great insight into how Satan gets us to questions what God has said and how we crash the chatter with the Word of God. “When your perspective is preloaded with the Word of God, lies lose their power over you.” (60) He helps us learn how to train ourselves to know the difference between the Enemy's threats and God's whispers.

“We can never hope to crash the chatterbox until the signal (God's Word) becomes louder in our lives than the incessant noise around us that clamors for our attention and depletes our courage.” (102) At the end of his book, Furtick reminds us that the chatterbox never stops. That means we never stop crashing the chatterbox. We must be persistent.

I really appreciate this book. I you want to learn how to fight that war in your mind, this is a great book with wise suggestions for battle and personal stories to encourage you.

There are four groups of discussion questions at the end of the book so this would make a good choice for a four week group study.

Visit http://www.crashthechatterbox.com to watch a trailer and read a chapter.

Steven Furtick is the New York Times best-selling author of Greater and Sun Stand Still. He is the founder and lead pastor of Elevation Church. He has a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his family lives in the Charlotte area.

Down and Dead in Dixie by Vicki Hinze

I enjoyed this new romantic suspense from Hinze. What would you do if you saw a mob murder and you knew they knew who you were? That's what happened to Daisy. Both mob families are after her, either to see her testify or to see her dead so she can't testify. Witness protection is out of the question when the authorities admit to Daisy that all their previous witnesses have ended up dead. A friend convinces Daisy the only answer is to die. But when you are not too good at faking your own death, you get into a heap more trouble than you were before.

This is a fun novel and was a joy to read. There are loads of quirky characters, including Daisy. There is lots of action as Daisy tries to outwit the guys after her. She finds romance, deception, loyalty, and much more. She makes a few unwise decisions but has a good support group willing to help her along. I love the whole idea of dying to an old life before a new one can begin, a subtle allegory of a new life in Christ, I think.

Vicki Hinze is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels, four nonfiction books, and hundreds of articles. She also writes a weekly column for the Social-In Global Network. To find out more go to www.vickihinze.com.

Magnolia Leaf Press, 265 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through the Book Group Network for the purpose of this independent and honest review.

An Aria for Nick by Hallee Bridgeman

An Aria for Nick is another great novel from this author. While it is the second in a series (see my review of Song of Suspense), this novel easily stands alone.

Teen-aged Aria has a talent at the piano that assures her of a future to which few can aspire. Her other heart's desire is Nick, a fellow student, who ignores her or pushes her away every time their paths cross.

In truth, Nick is as attracted to Aria as she is to him. But he knows he's not worthy of her. Abandoned by his mother, mistreated by an alcoholic father, he knows he would never be a good husband or father. Wanting to escape his hated life, Nick joins the army right out of high school.

Aria is devastated when she receives notification that Nick has been killed in action. Life for Aria takes even a more devastating turn when at the funeral, Nick's father, in a drunken stupor, aggressively attacks Aria and breaks her wrist. Multiple surgeries do not return the wrist to full strength and Aria must take another career path.

Fast forward years. Aria is working for a high tech company and suspects nuclear espionage. She pursues making federal authorities aware of what she knows and her life takes a deadly turn.

I really liked this novel. The quality of the plot and its development are right up there with well known authors. There are enough twists and turns and surprises that my interest continued to the very end. The novel is well crafted with believable characters. Christianity is an essential part of the plot and the growth of the characters. A very good romantic suspense novel.

Hallee Bridgeman and her family live in a small town in Kentucky. When she is not writing she blogs about cooking and homemaking (www.halleethehomemaker.com).

Olivia Kimbrell Press, 322 pages. You can buy a copy here.

I requested and received a complimentary egalley of this novel from the publisher for the purpose of this review.

Rich in Years by Johann Christoph Arnold

As a baby boomer, I really appreciated this book. It has given me much to think about in my retirement years.

Arnold has written this book as an encouragement to keep on going. He speaks from experience as he himself is well into his 70s. He notes that we who have reached old age have gained much knowledge from our experiences. We can be a source of wisdom, hope,and inspiration to others.

“Growing older can be a gift,” he writes, “but only if we surrender ourselves to God's plan.” We can stop complaining about what we can't do anymore and find the new ways God is using us. He has included many inspiring stories of people doing fulfilling things in their latter years.

He helps us understand that having a sense of humor is essential to growing old well. He writes about dealing with physical disabilities, combating loneliness, and deciding whether this is a time to fulfill our own desires or whether it is an opportunity to give in ways not possible before. He has a thoughtful discussion on growing older and the role of doctors and medicine.

Part of getting old is planning to die well. Arnold writes about doing so in peace – confessing, forgiving. He reminds us that even in dying we can proclaim our faith and lead others to Jesus.

This is a thought provoking book for those of us entering into the golden years of life. Arnold encourages each of us to keep going as we follow God's plan for our lives.

Food for though: “Each morning when I wake up I am happy because I have been given another day to love and to serve.” (Emmy Arnold)

Johann Christoph Arnold is an award-winning author with over a million copies of his book in print. He is a senior pastor of the Bruderhof, a movement of Christian communities. He was born in Britain in 1940 to German refugees. He spent his boyhood years in South America and emigrated to the United States in 1955. He and his wife have eight children and 42 grandchildren and life in upstate New York. You can find out more about him and his books at the publisher's author page.

The Plough Publishing House, 168 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through handlebar for the purpose of this independent and honest review.

Incognito by Andrea Raynor

Raynor attended Harvard Divinity School in the 1980s. It was an era of a lively gay and lesbian caucus, marches on Washington, and fellow classmates going through sex changes. In this memoir she shares her challenges, surprises, and life-changing experiences that led her to understanding God's call on her life. She writes about having Henri Nouwen for Thanksgiving dinner and her experiences serving in the Pine Street Inn homeless shelter, for example.

Raynor says of her time at HDS, “I was not only there to study God, I was there to experience God and to apply this living communion in my life and in the world around me.” (122) She shares the moments that subtly shaped her, nudged her or altered her course in some way. “And if we are able to accept the all of it, with gratitude,” she writes, “then we will be able to accept ourselves, and we will more keenly feel the love of God, which has no before or after, but has always been.” (240)

I have mixed feelings about the book. It is interesting to read about her experiences at Harvard Divinity School and in the city of Boston. As an evangelical Christian, I was frustrated with her speaking about God as He/She. She has a relationship with the Divine but there is nothing in her book about salvation or belief in Jesus' death and resurrection. She says of a spiritual experience, “I can't quite explain it – call it the Holy Spirit, Something Greater, the Goddess, the Calling – but something came over me...” (224) Reading that tells me her understanding of God is vastly different from mine. Perhaps one could say she is spiritually open within the Christian tradition (as she described her parents).

Being ordained within the United Methodist Church has allowed Raynor to minister to others in meaningful ways. She has a compassion for others that is amazing. She helps and comforts those many “born again” Christians would happily pass by. Hers is an inspiring story of one who is spiritual, has found her spiritual calling, and is living it out helping others.

Find out more about the book and watch a video at the publisher's author page.

Andrea Raynor received her Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and served as a chaplain at Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A cancer survivor herself, she now continues helping others through her hospice work. She lives in Rye, New York.

Howard Books (a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc), 320 pages.

I received a complimentary galley of this book from Howard Books for the purpose of this independent and honest review.

Death by the Book by Julianna Deering

I grew up on Agatha Christie, P. G. Wodehouse, Dorothy Sayers, and the like. I love British mysteries and I love the ones Deering has created.

I love the witty and “terribly clever” dialog, the tongue in cheek comments, the repartee between Drew and Madeline. I love the characters – that Aunt Ruth, the “old pepper pot,” is a kick! I love the Chief Inspector Birdsong and his relationship with “Detective” Farthering.

Drew is just a darling fellow, such a gentleman, and a fine Christian. He is so in love with Madeline. He has an insatiable curiosity and is intrigued by the murders, even though they are becoming uncomfortably close. He's pretty smart too, even if he did miss the clue when it nearly bumped into him. He is certainly a hero worthy of any British (or American) maiden.

I love the way the mystery is slowly but methodically investigated, how the author has deftly choreographed the action. I love the literary references to Shakespeare and the overall writing style. I love the author's use of language. (When was the last time you saw “lief” in a novel?) I love the bit of humor added from time to time. I love how this is a thinking person's mystery.

This is a delightful British murder mystery set in the 1930s. It is extremely well written with the perfect balance of developing plot and compelling dialog. I do hope they'll be another in the series soon.

Julianna Deering, author of Rules of Murder, is the pen name of the multi-published novelist DeAnna Julie Dodson. A fifth generation Texan, she makes her home north of Dallas. Learn more at http://juliannadeering.com/.

Bethany House Publishers, 320 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this independent and honest review.

The Deeper Life by Daniel Henderson with Brenda Brown

How long has it been since you've thought deeply about who God is, who you are, your purpose in life, your priorities, and the legacy you will leave? If it has been a while, or never, you need this book.

Henderson says we have been created to think deeply and that is what he asks you to do in this book. In the process you will write your personal theology statement, a biblical identity statement and a life purpose statement. He has created a process where you think seriously about the deep longings of the soul, helping you clarify truths about yourself, your purpose, values, etc. The longings he has identified are:

Who is God?               (my theology)

Who am I?                 (my identity)

Why am I here?          (my purpose)

What really matters?   (my values)

What shall I do?         (my priorities)

How shall I do it?        (my goals)

When shall I do it?      (my time)

How will I finish?         (my legacy)

The book is divided into two parts. The first 166 pages are teaching on the longings with some directed questions and ideas for thinking deeply. The second half of the book contains the Discovery Exercises, taking you through the actual process of writing out your statements of theology, identity, purpose, values, priorities, goals, time, and legacy. Once written, he suggests you memorize it so you have it within you when you face a crucial event. Having strong convictions of who God is, who you are, your purpose, etc., helps you make hard decisions.

I am really impressed with this book. I remember going through this kind of intense thinking when I was in college. But that's been decades ago. As Henderson says, one should go through this thinking process periodically. God doesn't change nor would the personal theology statement, but our life situations do change. We need to think deeply about our purpose, priorities, goals, etc. about once a year. Another great time to go through this process would be when facing a career change, anticipating marriage, retirement or other major change in life.

This is an excellent book for Christians willing to think deeply about who God is and who they are. This is not a book you just “read,” however. The exercises will take time and effort. The idea is to read a chapter in the first half of the book and then do the corresponding exercise in the latter half of the book. You could do it alone or with a group. There are discussion questions at the end of the book for group use. Henderson has included samples of his own statements so you get an idea of the end result.

You have been created to think deeply, Henderson says. If you are willing to turn off the TV and do some serious life inventory exercises, this book just might be life changing.

Daniel Henderson is President of Strategic Renewal, existing to ignite personal renewal, congregational revival, and leadership restoration. He has spent 26 years in pastoral ministry, including associate positions and as senior pastor. In addition to his work at Strategic Renewal, he serves part-time as the Pastor of Prayer at Mission Hills Church in Littleton, Colorado and is an adjunct professor at Liberty University. He and his wife have been married for over 30 years. They have three children and two grandchildren. You can find out more at http://www.strategicrenewal.com.

Bethany House Publishers, 272 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this independent and honest review.