The Mrs. & the Minister

At first I was a little uncertain about The Babylon Bee's new book, How To Be a Perfect Christian:  Your Comprehensive Guide to Flawless Spiritual Living .  Even the title betrays so much of what makes the website so popular:  Sarcasm and humor.  But once I started this book, I simply couldn't put it down!  There are some amazing tidbits about doctrine -- which, in an interesting way, makes you start wondering what it is that authentic Christians believe, not the cultural Christians who are the punch-line of nearly every joke in this book.  But there's a coloring page to boot! You simply cannot miss this book. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review here.

Katie Davis Majors' Daring to Hope: Find God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful tells beautiful stories about the triumphs and tragedies Majors faced as an adoptive mom and missionary in Uganda. After her adopted daughter's biological mother took the child back, Majors questioned God as she pleaded for him to bring her daughter home.  God did not give her the answer she desired, and for the first time in her life, she wondered whether God was good. From there, Majors embarked on a journey of doubt and loss that brought her to a place of hope and understanding.  While serving a disease- and poverty-stricken community in Uganda by volunteering at a hospital and eventually starting Amazima Ministries, Majors felt helpless watching many of the people she cared for -- including friends and their children -- suffer and sometimes die in her home. Pondering these events, she comes to the realization that God is good, gracious, near, faithful, and strong

Louie Giglio's The Air I Breathe:  Worship as a Way of Life is a deceptively small book packed with insights.  Perhaps his most important, though, will also seem his simplest:  Everyone worships something or someone, because God has designed us all with the drive to worship.  We only have to study how we spend our time, energy, affection and money to discover the current object of our worship.  Thinking about worship in light of the book's simplest definition -- "our response to what we value most" -- is both eye-opening and thought-provoking. The Air I Breathe then proceeds to urge readers to devote their worship to God (the only One who's worthy of it) and to make worship a way of life rather than just something they do in church.  Giglio's beautiful writing -- which is full of simple, yet profound statements and fresh energy -- successfully motivates readers to ponder his points.  But as persuasive as his narrative is, it lacks sufficient

Kim Vogel Sawyer's Beneath the Prairie Moon is a novel about expecting the unexpected, and about being pleasantly surprised by how good the unexpected can be. Having experience setbacks in life, our main heroine, Miss Abigail Grant (Brantley) have some hard lessons to learn.  Yet as readers, we learn with her.  I love the premise of this not your typical "mail order bride" scenario.  This time, the rugged men of the frontier will learn what it means to "court" and to take on a wife.  Throughout the story, there's a certain way to the author's visualization and words that feels authentic and distinct at the same time.  I enjoyed how many different personalities we've encountered, and also show the internal strength of women.  I'm quite surprised by how much the author is able to put into this story.  Romance, friendship, adventure and a message of God's unique plan for each of us, including matters of the heart. It's a gre

First, a confession:  My husband and I love The Crown on Netflix!  We sit in bed and watch episodes together, and I'm in withdrawal until the next season is released! So imagine my excitement when I saw The Crown:  The Official Companion , Volume 1.  This book adds rich detail to Queen Elizabeth's story and is a great way for fans like us to tide themselves over until season 2 of the Netflix series premieres in December. Written by the show's historical consultant, royal biographer Robert Lacey, and filled with beautifully reproduced archival photos and show stills, The Crown:  The Official Companion:  Volume 1 adds expert and in-depth detail to the events of the series, painting an intimate portrait of life inside Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street.  Here is Elizabeth II as we've never seen her before. Fans of the series and of the Queen and Royal Family need this book! I received a free copy of this book from publisher in exchange for my honest

Come as You Aren't: A Role-Playing Game for Adventurous Couples is a simple role-playing kit for couples who want to explore and experiment in ways to seduce one another that they simply wouldn't have imagined otherwise.  The set is meant to offer one partner who draws a Who, a What, and a Where card at random and places them in an envelope for the other partner.  From there, it's up to them to enact the scenarios as they see fit. The instructions are printed on the back cover of the box and the deck comes with a few blank cards for couples to customize. This is a fun little gift for couples -- and just in time for the holidays. I received a free copy of this game from the Blogging for Books review program in exchange for my honest review here.