The Post-Church Christian by J. Paul Nyquist and Carson Nyquist

         The church needs to keep growing and modifying.

This book written by a father and son who are both pastors and of different generations, the father is a baby boomer and the son is a millennial. It looks at what has to be done to have a church that millennial can call their own.

We unfortunately are living in a post church age. We boomers did our best but we need to ask forgiveness for what we were unable to do. Boomers were a little too strict and narrow minded. We need to ask forgiveness of the millennial. We did the best and we have not been the best model.

“The reputation of Christians in the world today is something of a patchwork. The world has been exposed to many flavors of Christianity.”

            Paul Nyquist, the president of Moody Bible Institute and his son Carson Nyquist  have sat down and dialogued between generations. The millennials are 800 million strong. They were born from 1982 to 2000. Most have been affirmed, prodded, molded but not often criticized. They also grew up in a church and mastered many technological gadgets. The land they grew up in was overloaded with debt and unable to control spending.

            Nyquist, the father, states, “This book is written to you and others in the millennial generation. We don’t want to describe you, we want to talk with you.”

            If we boomers need to ask forgiveness the millennials need to grant forgiveness.

            This book offers a beginning and is well written. I recommend it for those who want to understand the millennial and for those who are millennials.

            To get a copy of this book I will offer a link to Amazon below.

The Post-Church Christian: Dealing with the Generational Baggage of Our Faith

For Men Only by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn

          

              Men. Do you understand your woman? Is it even possible to figure her out?

            In this revised and updated edition of the book Jeff Feldhahn along with his wife Shaunti put forth that it is possible. Shaunti wrote a book for women called “For Women Only .” Jeff has written the companion book.

            We men need a map to the female universe. This book acts as a field guide. It is for the man to help him understand the wife he has. Feldhahn explains the matrix of the woman’s mind. The adventure begins when we say “I Do” and lasts throughout your time together. Understanding her is not like a puzzle with missing pieces. It is possible according to Feldhahn.

            He has a chapter on the difference the structure of the female mind makes. Even if the world would like you to think there is no difference, think again. A woman’s brain is constructed different for a reason. It is up to the man to work out the  ramifications.

            The Bible instruct us men to live with our wives in an understanding manner. This book may help you do so.

            I found this to be a very instructive handbook style presentation. It will provide us man with a way to respond to our woman in a way she can feel understood.

            I recommend this for all men who live with a woman. In fact I would even extend that to anyone dating.

            This book was  provided to me free for review purposes by the Multinomah Publishing Group. I was not required to give a positive review. Any views expressed are those of the book reviewer and not that of the publisher.

             

Gods At War by Kyle Idleman

     With a title like that you would expect a thesis on spiritual warfare. In a way that is what you get. But it is more on the level of personal idols in our life that is being handled. We all have them

           The idols Idleman talks about are common things such as money, fame, love, power.
            Idleman is a teaching pastor at a church in Louisville, Kentucky. In his ministry he deals with these idols. Not that they are inherently bad. Just when taken to extremes.
           It has a subtitle ‘Defeating The Idols That Battle For Your Heart’ and this is The underlying message to the chapters. Each chapter concludes with an Idol Id, a group of questions that drive the point home. The Idol Id is followed by a call to choose Jesus as the solution.
            I found the easy over the fence presentation to be nonthreatening. It is not deep.  It doesn’t have to be. All of us need to think through just what we are allowing in the place of dependence on God alone for our satisfaction.
            The author held my attention and kept me reading  The information was presented chatty style. It may seem a bit simplistic at times but it is not written for the scholar.
            This book was provided to me complimentary by Book Sneeze to be reviewed
as a book review blogger. I was not required to give a positive review. The views expressed are my own and not those of the publisher.

Make Your Brain Smarter by Sandra Bond Chapman Ph.D.

      It is possible to increase your brains performance. You don’t have to allow your brain to get dull with age.

       Chapman has written a book that will help you strengthen your brain.
      
        The part of the brain that Chapman is focusing on is the frontal lobe. Take care of that area and you can ease the onset of dementia and other brain abnormalities.
      It is our frontal lobe that helps us reason and solve the complexities of life. With it you do your planning and decision making. It acts as an executive. Located in the front of your skull right above the eye it can form complex connections.
      To strengthen our brain we will need to take some effort. There are exercises we can do to keep our frontal lobe in shape. We must learn to ask probing questions about the unknown. We also need to seek new possibilities for advanced ideas and projects. And lastly we need to determine new paths that will fit in with the life changes
        Brain fitness requires lifelong effort. Our brain doesn’t stop developing cells. That means each day we make new cells.
        Damaged brain? There is no time limit to the repair. The brain we have contains 10 billion neurons and more than 10 million connections or synapse. The wiring will find a way to reconnect.
         The shocking truth, Chapman points out, is that we let our cognitive brain health decline. And we don’t have to.
           We are presented in this book with exercises to pump up our brain smartness. There is no simple formula offered to help us think smarter. No pills to take. Since we are creatures of habit doing things by rote may be harming not helping our brain smartness. Therefore we should be, learning how to reshape and process in a creative way the information we let settle in our brain.
        It is not an easy task and this book will suggest some areas to work on so  you can challenge your brain.
        We used to believe that as we age our brains became less effective until that day we wake up and have started to lose our memory never to be able to slow down the process.
         But it is possible to exercise our brains and even retard aging.
         This is a good book for people who are honest about wishing to increase their smartness. And that should be everyone. No one wants to quicken the onset of Alzheimer’s or a lesser from of dementia.
           Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D. is known as a leading thinker in the area of  transforming  how people, young and old, can build a smarter brain.

A Matter Of Trust by Lis Wiehl

        

         Another entry in the mystery genre. Wiehl is starting a new series of mysteries. Her main character in this series is going to be a female prosecutor who is a widow and parent of two children, a teenage son and a four year old  daughter.

          This story starts fast. Maybe it is because of the short blasts of action we have come to expect from our television programs. No build up Just boom. You are in the middle of the action.

          A friend gets killed while making a phone call. From there our main character, Mia Quinn, whom this series is going to be built around, starts to move into action.

          Mia is a prosecutor and also a mother. She is also a widow trying to hold her family together. Her teenage son is hard to handle and is influenced by the bad element at school. He seems to be looking for peer approval. Her daughter is having nightmares.

          To pursue the case she joins up with a detective who in the past has disappointed her. There is tension as they work the case.

          This book covers FaceBook stalking and peer pressure. Also the issue of trust.

          Tension mounts as the home life of Quinn and the case she is working on start to intersect with each other.

          Wiehl has good characterization. This could be a good series in the making.

          She has done, in the past, The Triple Threat Series and the East Salem Trilogy.

          I have receive this book free from the BookSneeze  book reviewer program to review and the views expressed are those of the reviewer and not the publisher. I was not required to give a positive review.                  

  Another entry in the mystery genre. Wiehl is starting a new series of mysteries. Her main character in this series is going to be a female prosecutor who is a widow and parent of two children, a teenage son and a four year old  daughter.

Another entry in the mystery genre. Wiehl is starting a new series of mysteries. Her main character in this series is going to be a female prosecutor who is a widow and parent of two children, a teenage son and a four year old  daughter.

          This story starts fast. Maybe it is because of the short blasts of action we have come to expect from our television programs. No build up Just boom. You are in the middle of the action.

          A friend gets killed while making a phone call. From there our main character, Mia Quinn, whom this series is going to be built around, starts to move into action.

          Mia is a prosecutor and also a mother. She is also a widow trying to hold her family together. Her teenage son is hard to handle and is influenced by the bad element at school. He seems to be looking for peer approval. Her daughter is having nightmares.

          To pursue the case she joins up with a detective who in the past has disappointed her. There is tension as they work the case.

          This book covers FaceBook stalking and peer pressure. Also the issue of trust.

          Tension mounts as the home life of Quinn and the case she is working on start to intersect with each other.

          Wiehl has good characterization. This could be a good series in the making.

          She has done, in the past, The Triple Threat Series and the East Salem Trilogy.

          I have receive this book free from the BookSneeze  book reviewer program to review and the views expressed are those of the reviewer and not the publisher. I was not required to give a positive review.                  

          This story starts fast. Maybe it is because of the short blasts of action we have come to expect from our television programs. No build up Just boom. You are in the middle of the action.

          A friend gets killed while making a phone call. From there our main character, Mia Quinn, whom this series is going to be built around, starts to move into action.

          Mia is a prosecutor and also a mother. She is also a widow trying to hold her family together. Her teenage son is hard to handle and is influenced by the bad element at school. He seems to be looking for peer approval. Her daughter is having nightmares.

          To pursue the case she joins up with a detective who in the past has disappointed her. There is tension as they work the case.

          This book covers FaceBook stalking and peer pressure. Also the issue of trust.

          Tension mounts as the home life of Quinn and the case she is working on start to intersect with each other.

          Wiehl has good characterization. This could be a good series in the making.

          She has done, in the past, The Triple Threat Series and the East Salem Trilogy.

          I have receive this book free from the BookSneeze  book reviewer program to review and the views expressed are those of the reviewer and not the publisher. I was not required to give a positive review
                

The Customer Rules by Lee Cockerell

          This business book of rules has 39 rules that are simple to follow and are essential to remember.

            There have been many book of rules that have been written and no doubt there will be many more penned ,for as Solomon, the wisest man, has said “of the writing of books there is no end..”

            What makes this collection so good is that it is so evident but rarely realized. If we were to keep these rules in mind we could give better service and have more customers than we can handle. As he points out you can win a customer one at a time or lose them in the  thousands. It only takes one person tweeting or posting on FaceBook to make or break your company.

            What we need to realize is that true customer service is not a department but a personal responsibility. In fact, these rules can be applied to the church  leadership also. The people in the congregation and visitors are the customers there.

            Cockerell  uses personal stories to illustrate his recorded rules. That is putting flesh to abstracts. 

            I would recommend it for all who are giving customer service as well as ministers within the church.

            I was sent this book free from WaterBrook Multinomah Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to give a positive review. The views expressed are those of the reviewer and not the publisher.

           

As Silver Refined by Kay Arthur

          In this book we have presented God as a refiner and us as a piece of silver that is being worked upon. Only unlike the silver we can  choose how the fire is refining us.. The silver is refined by being put in the fire. We on the same hand are refined by the fire of disappointment.

Part of the refining fire Arthur seems to say is a form of  warfare with Satan. She spends fifteen chapters in her style of presenting truth informing us that the sovereignty of God acts as an umbrella over the refining activity.

We have a choice when it comes to responding. We can act in disappointment and allow Satan to draw us away from God or we can allow the disappointment to be interpreted as God’s appointment to refine us into His image..

Arthur is a teacher who strives to plant her readers on the .foundation of the Bible. What does it say? What does it mean in my life? 

I find her style of presenting biblical themes and topics easy to digest. She informs and prods.

The information is presented in a cohesive appealing manner. It is presented in a tone that soothes and draws you to God. She even makes an appeal to the reader who isn’t in relationship with God to start up a journey with Him..

I would recommend this for small groups to study.

            I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multinomah Publishing for this review. I was not required to give a positive review. The opinions expressed are those of the reviewer and not of the publisher.