Thursday, July 10, 2014

Book Review of 50 Things You Need To Know About Heaven by Dr. John Hart

In Dr. John Hart's book, 50 Things You Need to Know About Heaven, each chapter answers one question about Heaven.  Many of the chapters begin with a short anecdote or story.  Many of the answers are Dr. Hart's scriptural interpretations with some biblical reference with his response.  At the end of each chapter, there are Bible verses pertaining to each question for your further study.   Dr. Hart gives simple, straightforward explanations of things like salvation and justification as well as many common questions that people may have about heaven.

I expected to have more biblical reference in the chapters rather than an explanation to each question from Dr. Hart.  I think if a person is looking for answers about Heaven, that this is a good book to use with the Bible.  The book is easy to read, and each chapter is reasonably short.

*I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.*

Book Review of Stuck Together (Trouble in Texas Book 3) by Mary Connealy

Stuck Together is the third book in Mary Connealy's Trouble with Texas series.  While this book is mainly about the relationship between Tina Cahill and Vince Yates, there are many other relationships and side stories that are included.  Tina Cahill is pickets daily at the saloon in Broken Wheel and is determined to get it closed.  Vince Yates is the sheriff and lawyer in Broken Wheel.  Vince is nicknamed "Invincible Vince" because of his reputation for letting nothing stop him.  However, his past catches up with him when his father, mother and a sister he didn't know he had arrive in Broken Wheel without warning.  Vince finds himself with a lot of people depending on him.  He also keeps finding himself stuck with Tina over and over again.

I honestly would suggest reading the first two books before this one because I found myself a bit confused until I got further into the book. With that said, I did enjoy reading this book and found myself unable to put it down once I got to a certain point.  If you like historical romance, I would recommend reading this book.

*I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.*

Book Review of Face to Face with Jesus: A Former Muslim's Extraordinary Journey to Heaven and Encounter with the God of Love by Samaa Habib and Bodie Thoene

If you would like to read a book that is life changing, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Face to Face with Jesus: A Former Muslim's Extraordinary Journey to Heaven and Encounter with the God of Love by Samaa Habib and Bodie Thoene.

The first chapter of the book is called "Explosion."  From the back cover of the book: "It starts as a story ripped from the headlines of the war-torn Middle East. An extremist faction of Islam bombs a church during a service. The one door in the back isn't big enough for five hundred people trying to escape. Some are killed. But after the chaos and fire and smoke, one young woman comes back to life."

Before we see Samaa come back to life, the chapters that follow tell Samaa's life story and how she came to convert to Christianity.  Throughout the book, Samaa is full of hope and overflowing with Jesus' love.  She thirsts for more of Jesus' word, and she shares the gospel with her family and friends despite the chance of persecution from the Muslim culture.

 This is an amazing, amazing book, and I cannot recommend it enough.  Samaa's faith in God is extremely encouraging to me.  I definitely agree with Joel Richardson, New York Times bestselling author and teacher, when he said, "One of the most powerful testimonies to the reality and faithfulness that I have ever read.  You cannot come away from reading this book without being awed."  If you are ready to be inspired to go deeper in your walk with Christ, I encourage you to read this book.

*I received this book from Chosen Books, A Division of Baker Publishing Group, in exchange for an honest review.*