Book Review - Closer

I was so excited to have the opportunity receive a free copy of the new Bethany House couple's devotional book Closer by Jim and Cathy Burns. In the introduction the authors explain that they wrote this book with couples' busy lifestyles in mind, so instead of daily devotions this book is designed to be read together once a week. This format works so much better for us as a couple since we find it difficult to spend enough time together reading devotions daily.

The devotions themselves are each only a few pages long but they cover an incredible array of topics all designed to grow your marriage and make you stronger as a Christian couple. The topics covered are timely and applicable to all marriages and the devotions are written in a way that make them easy to apply to daily life. Although the devotions only take a few minutes to read through they often cause you to begin dialogue with your spouse which can continue for several days. Each devotional includes two features that I especially enjoy, the Faith Conversations and A Step Closer. My single favorite aspect of the devotions is A Step Closer which suggests an action you can each take to strengthen your marriage relationship. For the most part these are easy to incorporate into your daily life, but they cause you to be deliberate in showing love to your spouse.

Overall, this is the best couples' devotional book I have seen.

Book Review - The Lightkeeper's Daughter

This is the first book I have read by author Coleen Coble and I am very impressed. The Lightkeeper's Daughter combines mystery and romance in a historical setting. I enjoy both historical romance and mystery, but this is the first book I have read which combines those two genres, so when I was offered the chance to review this book through Thomas Nelson's book review blogger program I was excited to receive it. The characters were well developed and believable. The story line caught my interest from the beginning and held it through the entire book. The romantic story line proceeded in a fairly predictable fashion, but the mystery had several several surprising twists and turns. One reason I enjoyed this book so much is that it is a "grown up" version of the style of mysteries I enjoyed as an adolescent.

At the end of the book I found myself wanting to learn more about the citizens of Mercy Falls and I look forward to reading the next book in this new series by Colleen Coble.

Book Review - Let God Talk To You

I received this book from Bethany House publishers in order to read and review it. In this book the author, Becky Tirabassi outlines varied ways God talks to His people. Most Christians, at one time or another, have been in a place where they felt they couldn't hear God talking to them. This book focuses on ways that God communicates with His people, such as through the Bible, prayer, and through other people.

There's nothing surprising or new for most Christians in this book. It doesn't offer some amazing new revelation on how God will talk with you. It focuses on what most of us already know - that if we want to hear from God, we must spend time listening to and for Him by daily Bible reading, prayer time and seeking input from fellow Christians. However, although the information isn't surprising or new, it is something most of us need to be reminded of. God doesn't make a relationship with Him complicated or something that must be achieved through a difficult process. It happens simply by seeking His presence.

This book offers solid, Bible-based information on a subject of great importance. It is well-written and includes many personal anecdotes from the author. Of course the only book you really need to communicate with God is the Bible, but this book will help to focus your attention on communicating with God and make you think about how important your relationship with God is versus how much time you put into that relationship.