Category: Book Reviews

If anything can cause someone to worry or become anxious, it is parenting. Yet one of the most common phrases in scripture is “Fear not.” God knows our fallen world can be a scary place, but He wants us to not live our lives constantly wrapped in a blanket of fear. He wants us to put our trust in Him and fear not.

What do you do though when you can’t seem to shake those worries and anxieties? Managing Worry and Anxiety by Jean Holthaus LISW, LMSW addresses that very question. The book reads somewhat like a textbook on worry and anxiety – covering brain science and other secular basics of the problem.

Once she moves into the practical solutions part of the book, she addresses the faith aspects along with familiar secular solutions. The faith piece of the book is practical without being the type of book that can feel more emotional than helpful. It’s also not intended to be a Bible study. There are few specific scripture references, although she does refer to God, faith and a few verses.

The author shares some personal experiences in the book, but the book doesn’t read like a story. Rather, she uses her experiences to give specific examples of some of the points she is making.

Much of the information in the book will be familiar to anyone who has done any reading on brain science, anxiety or worry. She did have several practical suggestions though, that I hadn’t seen before. For some, those suggestions could make it worth reading.

This book is a solid introduction to worry and anxiety for Christians. It incorporates faith without laying blame or adding unnecessary guilt to the equation. If you are attempting to understand anxiety and want some practical tools to try, this is a good book to read.

This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review.

One of the most common reasons we give for not doing all of the Christian parenting things we know we should be doing is that there just isn’t enough time. And some weeks that is true. When everyone is sick with a nasty virus and three major things have broken down all in the same week, you are in survival mode at best.

The rest of the weeks we parent though, our lack of time is often because our priorities are wrong or we lack time management skills or some other factor that we can control. We aren’t always quite sure where to turn for advice on things like time management. It seems most of the books focus on employment tasks, not things impacting our homes and families.

Morgan Tyree has sought to help with her new book, Take Back Your Time. It’s a time management system that has some unique aspects that separate it from others I have seen over the years. While some of the beginning chapters have a lot of general organizational tips, it’s in the heart of the book where she introduces her somewhat unique system.

I won’t try to summarize her system, but it basically involves understanding your most and least productive times and ordering your tasks accordingly. It’s a bit more complex than that, but not so complex that the reader will become frustrated and quite trying.

Having said that, her technique does involve some paperwork – at least in the beginning. She includes sample forms, which are too small to be very usable, but are easily replicated.

As a fairly organized person who manages my time better than many, I can see where her techniques could be very helpful for those who struggle. Once you get used to the system, it should become easy to do without a lot of forms – perhaps a color coded to do list instead.

I actually appreciate the thought behind her system and may add some aspects of it to my schedule. I already do that unintentionally at times, but I think doing it intentionally would have a more positive impact on both my productivity and my guilt.

If you struggle with time management, I think this book can provide you with a helpful framework. If you are trying to squeeze a little more productivity out of an already productive life, her methods may be able to help you do that. It’s definitely a book worth reading to see if it will work for you.

This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review.

Part of having a strong marriage is knowing what to say (and what not to say) to your spouse. Husbands and wives can struggle with it – especially if words of affirmation are not your love language.

Matt and Lisa Jacobson have written two volumes, 100 Words of Affirmation Your Wife Needs to Hear and 100 Words of Affirmation Your Husband Needs to Hear in an attempt to help.

It’s important to let you know this isn’t literally a book of 100 words! Each “word” is actually a word highlighted in a sentence of affirmation. After each sentence the author gives an explanation or a suggestion to go with the affirmation. Each entry is still less than a page long.

In general, the “words” are probably what most spouses would appreciate hearing more often. I have to say though, my love language is not words of affirmation. While I enjoy compliments, a few of these sounded a little cheesy or over the top to me. For those who adore words of affirmation though, the suggestions will probably sound like music to your ears.

I’m not sure if these books can transform a bad marriage, but they could probably help make a good marriage better. Often it’s forgetting those little things we did when dating that begin causing cracks in the foundations of a marriage. A refresher course like these books can often help.

These books were given to me for free in exchange for my honest review.

God never promised us that life as a Christian would be perfect. In fact, looking at the people in the New Testament being a Christian can even cause additional hardships like persecution. Yet, we are told a fruit of the Spirit is joy. How can we reconcile the troubles of living in a fallen world and joy?

Carolyn Larsen has released two new books that may help you – especially if you are currently struggling. Words of Hope for Women and Words of Comfort for Women are about the size of a smaller devotional book. Both have ninety entries that are slightly over one page long.

Words of Hope for Women begins each entry with a verse of scripture. The entries themselves are often little reminders of why our hope lies in God or suggestions of things the reader can do to be reminded of their hope. The theology in some of the entries – particularly about salvation – is a little suspect. In general though, it is just reminding readers of general principles that most Christians would agree are true.

Words of Comfort for Women has entries that are structured the same way. The content of each entry is similar to what a Christian friend might say to you if you were upset. There isn’t as much theology in this volume. Most of the entries are more practical suggestions of ways to find comfort in God.

While both volumes could prove helpful, I would suggest the Words of Comfort volume – especially for new Christians or seekers. Sometimes being able to read encouraging words when you need them can give people the extra help they need when their friends aren’t easily accessible. The best part is these books point them to God, where they can find true hope and comfort.

These books were given to me for free in exchange for my honest review.

We live in a world that not only tolerates mediocrity, it celebrates it. The stakes are too high in Christianity to approach it with lest than our best efforts. What does that even mean though? We can’t be perfect, so what will make us effective?

Oddly enough, a republished book by Zig Ziglar may have some of the answers. For those who are too young to have heard of him, Ziglar was the John Maxwell of his day. He was considered the expert on leadership, personal growth and success in general. He wrote and spoke from a Christian perspective – although his books weren’t really considered Christian books.

Top Performance is one of his best sellers. It has been edited and three chapters added to address modern issues not a factor when Ziglar was alive (He died in 2012). The book covers everything from building a foundation for excellence, to leadership qualities and much more.

This book is a classic for a reason. You could know nothing about excellence or leadership and after reading this book, would be prepared for almost any challenge. While it isn’t a Christian book per se, Ziglar weaves his faith throughout applying godly principles to much of what he suggests.

Christian parents are leaders. While this isn’t a parenting book, it is easy enough to apply Ziglar’s suggestions to how you parent your children. While you still may not be a perfect parent, you will probably be a more effective one.

This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review.