Book Review: Love, Sex, and Happily Ever After: Preparing for a Marriage That Goes the Distance by Craig Groeschel

I found Love, Sex, and Happily Ever After: Preparing for a Marriage That Goes the Distance by Craig Groeschel a good read for singles who are seriously contemplating of getting married - whether dating or engaged, even those who are still waiting on that one person to marry. 

The book is packed with Biblical references regarding relationships that are intended to progress into marriage. 

I like how the book is organized chronologically with regards to finding the right person to marry. I also like how the author set aside one chapter each for the husband and wife to highlight the differences between men and women. 

What I like most is that the author ends the book with a chapter on habits that strengthen marriages and finally closing with a chapter on covenant marriages. Highly recommended for singles though the second half of the book is very relevant even to those who are already married.

 

About the author:

Craig Groeschel is the founding and senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv, recently ranked the nation’s second largest church. By 2010, LifeChurch.tv was hosting more than eighty services at fourteen campuses. Craig and his wife, Amy, share a passion to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. They live with their six children near Edmond, Oklahoma. 

via amazon

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Book Review: Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me: A Memoir. . . of Sorts by Ian Morgan Cron

Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me: A Memoir. . . of Sorts by Ian Morgan Cron is a very good read, one of the best books I had the opportunity to read and review.

I chose the book mostly because of its title and of my recent interest in material that tells about the lives of men in service. At one point I decided that the book should be titled Alcohol and Me but then I wouldn't think of reading it because it is not an interesting topic for me.

What I like best about the book is that is is very masterfully written and by the end of the book, I felt that I grew up with the writer. Memories from his childhood were described as if described by a child, vivid and exaggerated as a child would describe the experience.(The chapter on his first communion is so hilarious!)

As the memoir progress from childhood to adulthood, the writing style adapts to the writer's age at the time. Although this is a book on Christianity, it doesn't drown you in churchy language. Instead, the writing is honest and intimate and the writer opens up his life in areas that most would be ashamed to admit to.

I was able to see some of my own questions about life being answered. Questions as a child, even as an adult and father.  I could not forget the chapter that ended with the words, "Love stoops." God's grace described in two words! Some chapters in the book also have humorous anecdotes that carry a heavyweight lesson.

Truly amazing book and a gifted writer.

Highly recommended for men, but also for women.

About the author:
"Ian Morgan Cron writes with astonishing energy and freshness; his metaphors stick fast in the imagination. This is neither a simple memoir of hurt endured, nor a tidy story of reconciliation and resolution. It is - rather like Augustine's Confessions - a testimony to the unfinished business of grace."

- The Most Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams - The Archbishop of Canterbury

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: A Place Called Blessing: Where Hurting Ends and Love Begins by Dr. John Trent and Annette Smith

I decided to read A Place Called Blessing: Where Hurting Ends and Love Begins after I read The Blessing by John Trent and Gary Smalley. I was hoping that this would be a companion book or more like a fictionalization of the latter. I was in for a wonderful surprise!

The book is a wonderfully-written story of an orphan and his brothers and the journey that most orphan kids go through from one foster home to another and after they are 'released' when they have come of age.

I particularly like the plot overall and the honesty that is one every page. I have not only been reading a story about an orphaned boy and his journey into adulthood but it was as if I was looking at myself in a mirror with all the experiences I went through. Orphaned or not, every person has gone through experiences that would put us where the main character is and we make our own agreements with ourselves and begin looking at the world with colored lenses. 


The book is a short read and I am really glad to have read it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a book with a strong spiritual message but does not read like a church material. Also recommended for those working or engaging with 'troubled' kids.

About the authors:
Dr. John Trent is president of StrongFamilies.com and founder of The Institute for the Blessing at Barclay College. John is a sought-after speaker and an award-winning author of more than twenty books, including six books for children. He has been a featured guest on numerous radio and television programs across the country and leads The Blessing Challenge, a joint partnership with Focus on the Family and StrongFamilies.com. John and his wife, Cindy, have been married for more than thirty years and have two grown daughters, Kari and Laura.


Annette Smith is a novelist, nurse, and a master storyteller. Her first book of short stories, The Whispers of Angels, sold more than 100,000 copies. Annette has written four additional volumes of original short stories, two parenting books, and five novels, all set in small towns. Her fourth novel, A Bigger Life, was named by Library Journal as one of the best novels of 2007 and was a finalist in the American Christian Fiction Book Awards.

A life-long Texan, Annette lives in Tyler, Texas with Randy, her husband of thirty-one years, and an affectionate, shaggy mutt named Wally. Annette has worked as a registered nurse in a variety of settings. Her current home-hospice position gives her a unique position in the lives of relative strangers, and she often finds herself bearing solitary witness to intimate, behind-the-scenes situations full of grace and meaning.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: The Blessing by John Trent and Gary Smalley

I found the book a very engaging read. The authors skillfully shares the five elements of Biblical blessing and how it applies in daily life. For most of us who might have felt that we have missed out on the blessing, the book has also provided hope on how to be able to receive the once elusive blessing.

One thing I particularly liked about the book is the way the authors masterfully weaved stories of real people - thereby making the principles more real. The authors have also shared their own experiences of missing out and receiving blessing.

As I was reading the book, there were moments of clarity and some tearful moments as I realized where some aspects of my life and those around me that were results of both experiences of receiving and not receiving the blessing.

Overall, the book has encouraged me to live out the principles and be intentional in blessing others.

Highly recommended for parents. Also recommended for those who feel that they have 'missed out' on something and would want to know how to be blessed.

About the authors:
Gary Smalley is one of he country's best-known authors and speakers on family relationships. He is the award-winning, best-selling author or coauthor of sixteen books, as well as several popular films and videos. The Blessing and The Two Sides of Love have won Gold Medallions, The Language of Love won the Angel Award as the best contribution to family life, and his other titles have received Silver Medallions. His national infomercial Hidden Keys to Loving Relationships has been viewed by television audiences all over the world. Gary and his wife, Norma, have been married for over thirty years and live in Branson, Missouri.

Dr. John Trent is the President of The Center for StrongFamilies and StrongFamilies.com (registered as a 501(c)(3) under the name of "Encouraging Words"). He is a nationally known speaker and award winning author. His recent books include the recently revised and updated million selling book, The Blessing, (An ECPA Gold Medallion Winner) The 2 Degree Difference, The Treasure Tree (a children's book that is also a Gold Medallion Winner)and Chasing Skinny Rabbits.

Dr. Trent released two... Read more at Amazon's John Trent Page 
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Book Review: Point Man: How a Man Can Lead a Family by Steve Farrar

I came across a copy of this book from a friend who bought it at a used-books store. Point Man refers to the person in a military unit who takes the lead in any operation. One false move and the whole squad becomes casualty.

Farrar uses war analogies, much like John Eldredge(Wild at Heart, Waking the Dead), which suits very well with me. But unlike other books written by Christian authors, Farrar allows himself to use language that could be very disgusting. But as he says, sin is disgusting so why sugar-coat?

Those expecting a how-to book will be disappointed as Farrar spends about 80% of the book dealing with man's private self in light of the grand-scale war against his family. The book provides a very honest look on the ways a man could fail in his role as point man.

I recommend this book to all men who are serious in raising a Godly family.

About the author:
Steve Farrar is the founder and chairman of Men's Leadership Ministries in Bryan/College Station, Texas, and brings his message to thousands of men each year. He holds a master's degree from Western Seminary and an earned doctorate from Dallas Theological Seminary.

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Book Review: The Five Love Languages Gift Edition: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman

In The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman writes that all acts of love may be classified into five groups or love languages.

It is important to know our mate's love language since most of the time, the way we express our love is not the best way for our mate to receive love.

The book describes the five love languages in detail and provides some real-life examples encountered by Chapman while counseling couples. Newer editions of the book include practical examples of the love languages. The book also include a chapter on kids(a book for kids has also been written).

I found this book very practical and saved me and my wife from a lot of frustration since we both have different ways of giving and receiving love.
I would recommend this book to couples, marriage counselors and to those who are engaged to be married. Also recommended to singles(although a singles' edition has also been written.

About the author:
GARY CHAPMAN, PhD, is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling The 5 Love Languages. With over 30 years of counseling experience, he has the uncanny ability to hold a mirror up to human behavior, showing readers not just where they go wrong, but also how to grow and move forward. Dr. Chapman holds BA and MA degrees in anthropology from Wheaton College and Wake Forest University, respectively, MRE and PhD degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has completed postgraduate work at the University of North Carolina and Duke University. For more information visit his website at www.5lovelanguages.com.

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