Gravel Road Musings

  Stories of Grit and Grace from the Front Lines of the War This is definitely a contemporary book written just a few months after the war with Ukraine started. Kyle and his wife had adopted a son from Ukraine a few years prior and so there is a connection with Ukraine that a lot of us would not have. I enjoyed the stories,but didn't feel like there was really that much front-line stories.  A lot of stories seem to either go back years or focus more on the war that started back in 2014.  The most interesting story to me was following his journey across the border and how long it took to cross over as an immigrant.  I'm not quite sure how to describe this book. I enjoyed it, but it didn't quite have the front lines of war that I expected and maybe that is more because I expected more tales of close escapes or of hiding in the basement for weeks before being rescued. I had to remind myself that this book was written so soon after the war started that there a lot of sto...

  What Really Happens When You Are Born Again And Why It Matters Steven takes the story of Nicodemus and Jesus in John 3 and expounds on it verse by verse in a chapter by chapter format. Who was Nicodemus? What was he searching for? Why didn't he understand more about who Jesus was?  Steven does a really good job of explaining the plan of salvation and what happens when we accept Christ. He talks about the irresistible power of the Holy Spirit to draw people to Jesus and how unfathomable the Holy Spirit is. I found the book very easy to read and understand and I think it would be a really good resource for new Christians in understanding the new birth experience and in just answering questions that they might have. I received this book from Baker Books and was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

  How the Power of Sisterhood and Taking Risks can Jump-Start Your Joy What do sky-diving, white-water rafting, zip lining, motorcycle riding, etc. have in common? They take Sheri Hunter out of her comfort zone and force her to find strength to move on. In facing her fears through physical feats, she is also able to face her fears inside of herself and find joy in life once again. Her husband, Mannard, was her rock. They had a good marriage with dreams for the future until one day when it is all cut short. Mannard suffers a heart attack and dies at only 50 years of age. Sheri is devastated and unsure of how to move on. There were so many things Mannard took care of and now she is left to flounder on her own. But she has a group of friends who has been there for each other and they stand by her now. They stand by her and encourage her to take risks. They become known as the Dare Divas, and while they have some rough spots, they are committed to standing together and this enables She...

  A Fascinating Guide to the Land of the Bible It took me a long time to pick this book up. When I requested that I wanted to review it, I was thinking it would be what the title says: an atlas. Then I got it and it was filled with writing in small print and it looked more like a textbook than anything and I lost interest. So here I am, months later, finally reviewing it. And to be honest, I was surprised. It is full of writing and full of maps, but I found it interesting as John gave a look at the lay of the land and how it related to different eras in the Bible, starting with Creation. I found the book informative and well-written. It provided a better view of how the geography and the Bible interconnected and how the lay of the land affected the stories. And once again, I realized that Israel was not just a fertile soil that produced crops with ease, it was a hard land that required much labor, but it was still the land that God gave to His people. I received this book from Bake...

  Proven Practices for Community-Based Outreach Ministry And on a completely different note, let's talk about this book.  "Say yes unless you have to say no." This is the guiding principle at Faith Church in Lafayette, Indiana.  And this is the premise that this book is based upon.  After reading this book, I want to go out and do all the things and make all the difference. I want to shake people and say, "Wake up, we can make a difference right here, right now, let's do it."  But on the other hand, this book challenges my comfort zone. It pushes me to think outside the box. They started with Biblical counseling for who ever needed and today they have 5 campuses with something for everyone: rehab for men and women, schools for children, an institute with all kinds of classes for the community, a seminary, counseling and the list could go on and on. It is fascinating to hear how they have made a difference in their community and a challenge to see what each r...

Living Joyfully through Allegiance to King Jesus This book stabbed me in a few uncomfortable places. It's the most fun to read books that just agree with how you are living life; it's less easy, though more worthwhile to read books that challenge you and convict you.  This book did that. Am I bowing to King Jesus or to self-allegiance? Do I have false allegiances that I am clinging to because it's too scary to give them up? Why is it so hard to give full allegiance to Jesus and to trust Him to meet all my needs. Christine tackles some common areas of self-allegiance: control, escape, approval, comfort, and  more.  But can't you see in those four how this book might be applicable? I like approval, I certainly like to be comfortable. If I can be in control, I can feel a sense of security that I can handle what life is bringing my way. But none of these things leave room for Jesus to be the King on the throne of my heart and so they must go if I truly want to love Go...

Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life Anne tells the story of going to Trade Joe's and debating endlessly about buying flowers. She puts them in her cart, does all her shopping, stands in line at the check out and then takes the flowers back, only to get home and regret that decision while also realizing she missed buying the thing she really needed at the store.  I can SO relate to this. I will debate and debate a purchase and generally I will leave without it. Currently, I have 4 tabs open on my computer, all with purchases I need to make, and most of them I've simply been procrastinating or debating about. I need the items, but what if? What if I find something I like better? Or I just don't want to spend the money right now. But really, I'm not going to want to spend the money in a week either, so just do it and get it over with so I can move on. All that to say, I think I needed this book. There were a couple really good...

How God uses our dreams and disasters to accomplish the impossible. I will read anything Kristen Welch writes. This is her fourth book and I've read three of them and I need to read her first book, Rhinestone Jesus . Her books are easy to read, practical and full of stories that help make the lessons come alive. We all face mountains in our lives and everyone's mountain is different. Some are big, some are not so big, but they all need to be faced and climbed. Perspective can make such a big difference in how these mountains are handled. Kristen is honest about her life and her mountains. She has chosen to dedicate her life to helping empower impoverished women around the world by creating things that are then sold online, in store and through Fair Trade Friday subscription boxes. It's a fascinating work called Mercy House Global.  It started as a dream to help young, pregnant women in Kenya have a safe place to have their babies and it grew from there. There are ...

The Untold Story of Dwight D. Eisenhower's Faith Was Dwight's faith in God real or was it political? That is the question this book works to answer. Since I knew basically nothing about Dwight Eisenhower, this book was interesting to me in just hearing about his life and who he was. Some of his previous biographers wanted to say that his faith was only political because he didn't get vocal about his faith until he was the President.  Dwight was the only President to be baptized while President. He also joined a church for the first time after he was President. He chose to wait until after he was President because he didn't want people to think that it was for political purposes. One of the most fascinating things I learned in this book was that Dwight or Ike as he was called, was born into an Anabaptist family. His grandpa was a minister in the River Brethren church in Abilene, Kansas. Dwight's own parents left the River Brethren and his mom became a pretty ...

How Encountering Heaven Changed My Life I got this book by mistake, I clicked the wrong button when I was requesting my review books. When I got the book, I read the back and thought, oh this might have been a good mistake. This looks intriguing. Listen: "Kay had spent most of his adult years as a devout agnostic. Then one day, after an accident that ended his life, he met the One he had sought to disprove. From that time, though many challenges lay ahead, his sense of emptiness was transformed into genuine joy." In reality, that is not what the book is about, Kay was an agnostic until, I would guess, his mid-20's. While an agnostic, he did have an accident that should have killed him, but he walked away unscathed and still an agnostic. There was no accident that resulted in him nearly dying. It was a medical condition. His near-death experience is fascinating and plausible, but I struggled to make sense of what happened before the experience and what happened a...

Have you ever wondered what inspired Stuart Hamblen to write "This Ole House?" Actually, if you're like me, your first question would have been who wrote "This Ole House" in the first place. The answer is curiosity. He spotted an old, abandoned-looking house and had to see what it was. He found an old dog and a man who had passed away in the last week or so. Fascinating isn't it? This book is filled with stories like this. Okay, I don't think anyone else stumbled across a body, but you get the idea. The inspiration for these songs came from all kinds of places and were written by all kinds of authors. I knew a fair amount of the songs, but there were also quite a few that were new to me. "Victory in Jesus", "I'll Fly Away", "Roll, Jordan, Roll" and many more are talked about in this book. There's a short chapter for each song and, if possible, the song is written there as well. Another thing going for this bo...

9 Keys to Building a Positive Lifelong Relationship with Your Kids What is my why in parenting? This is the question I take away from the book, the one I want to think about occasionally. Michael Hyatt said, "People lose their way when they lose their why." And to quote Mike Berry, the author, "When we don't know why we are doing something, when we've forgotten our purpose, we get lost." "Remember that you are in this because you love your child, and ultimately you want to raise a human being who lives with character and integrity and who leaves a lasting impression on the world."  That sums it up well, that is why I try to be consistent, that is why I listen and try to answer 10,000 questions a day, that is why I am trying to teach obedience and respect and responsibility.  But it is easy to lose the long-term focus and just see the day and all its pressures and frustrations and lose heart and patience. Mike offers some good practical soluti...

Business Powered by Relationships "The single greatest factor impeding healthy relationships is myopia." Randy says this tends to look like me-first. "It's the tendency to make choices based on what is best for me, with blatant disregard for how choices may impact those around me." "A good marriage is a work of art crafted over the course of time by two broken people who recognize their frailty and extend grace to each other." Now I recognize that that last quote seems completely unrelated to the title of the book and in many ways it is, except the context in which this quote was placed in the book. Randy was called in to help solve some less than desirable work relationships and realized the manager was also on the brink of divorce. He focuses instead initially on this man's relationship with his wife, gives him some feedback on what he should take responsibility for in that relationship and then, over the course of time, divided his time ...

Letting Go Of Your False Self to Uncover the Person God Created Pruning open? Do you know what that means? I didn't before I started this book and I'm not sure if I have a good grasp on it yet, but I have a little understanding. It's a gardening term of opening up the tree or the shrub from the center, the process of subtracting to make it more beautiful, stopping and looking and evaluating how best to trim and prune to produce the best and most beautiful results. Now take that "pruning open" concept and apply it to your life and what do you get? My first thought is pain, pruning is cutting and that sounds painful, but it is also the secret to a fulfilled life. The first thing, for me at least, is to recognize my true identity, in Christ, and get rid of the rest. Michelle takes you on the journey of finding identity in God, not in accomplishments, of sitting and resting without having to produce something and then to the deeper pruning of getting rid of the ...

8 Biblical Keys to Resolve Conflict and Preserve Unity "Preserving unity is not just about seeing ourselves in the right light - captive and called as peacemakers - as important as that is. It also has a great deal to do with the way we navigate relationships in the church - redolent with love and grace." And that is a great theme of this book: relationships, which in reality is what peace making involves. But it's more than just that. Curtis dedicates a chapter to intercepting conflict before it occurs, so dealing with maintaining good relationships rather than waiting until they deteriorate. He also stresses the virtues that are necessary for being a good peace maker: all humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and eagerness One thing that I think makes this book really good, actually two things. The first is his emphasis on Scripture. I feel like he uses a lot of Scripture verses to make his points. He's not just pulling ideas from the air. He also u...

A Guide to Better Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Wellness The timing for this book was excellent. It's January, 2019 and everyone is thinking about goals and resolutions for the new year. This book offers a four month challenge to anyone truly wanting to revolutionize their lives. Physically, this book emphasizes exercise, healthy eating, and lots of water, etc. Spiritually, this book talks about a relationship with God and also with the local church. They said something in this book that really stuck out to me. I hear people talking about how being a member of a church isn't that important or necessary, etc. "Being a member of a local church family is part of God's process for developing you into the new you. It is part of his process for growing you. Sometimes the idea of becoming a church member can be a little intimidating. But really, the concept of membership is everywhere in our culture." And they go on to explain that you have gym membe...

A Study of Matthew 5-10 I will say right at the beginning, I have not read the whole book, but it's going to take me awhile to get through it and I wanted to get a review posted before another couple months go by. D. A. Carson takes these chapters from Matthew section by section, sometimes verse by verse and really expounds on them and what he thinks they mean.  He has some really good things to say. I really liked what he had to say on the Beatitudes and how they build on each other. We need to first be poor in spirit before any of the other Beatitudes will even be able to be applied to us. I haven't agreed with everything I have read in this book. As a person of Anabaptist faith, some of our principles don't jive with his, let's put it like that. However, that being said, I was reading yesterday his explanation of Matthew 6:1 and it was so good. It's the verse that says, in the KJV, "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them.....

How God Transformed an Unlikely Generation and How He Can Do It Again Today The 60's are often known as the hippie generation, but what we don't often hear about is the Jesus Revolution that came at the end of the 60's and into the 70's. This was totally new information to me and very interesting. Greg Laurie, pastor today of one of the biggest churches in America, was once a hippie. But when drugs, sex and free living didn't bring him the peace he was looking for, he surrendered his life to Christ. He became involved in the work of Calvary Chapel and at age 19 basically was put in charge of his own Bible Study/church. The book is written in a very informative and yet interesting and captivating style. I had no problem hanging on to the end. What I most liked about the book was the emphasis that is placed on Jesus. It's not about making the church acceptable and a fun place to be, but it's about preaching Jesus, preaching the Bible. I have never at...

The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life This was a pretty gift-sized book, meaning it's smaller than your average book, filled with fun little chapters about books and reading. In many ways, I would almost call it a collection of essays, because I feel like you could pretty much pick up any chapter and read it as a stand-alone. Now maybe if I tried that, I would disagree with myself, but that is my opinion at this point.  The chapters are short and can easily be read in just a few minutes.  There is a chapter dedicated to how to decorate your bookshelves, a chapter to quotes from the acknowledgements section of books, section Anne encourages you never to miss reading, and there's a chapter on the ways your reading style changes over time. One of the most interesting and intriguing ideas Anne mentioned was having a library history, a way to go back and see all the books you ever borrowed from the library. I find that a fascinating idea. She does encourage everyone...

How God Displays His Power to Ordinary People Taking the prayers of seven Biblical characters: Eliezer, Hannah, Jonah, Habakkuk, David, Daniel and Mary, Michael provides a formula maybe for a good prayer life. Let me start with a quote from the chapter on Mary, a prayer of praise for the way God was blessing her. And in reality, in her day and culture, blessed is probably not the way most people would have described her life. And yet, she gave thanks and praised God in the midst of that. That says a lot for Mary and I think it says a lot for her parents as well, especially since Mary is believed to have been a pretty young teenager. "Show me a person whose prayer life is focused on magnifying the Lord, and I will show you a person who is contented and full of joy. Show me a person whose prayer life is consumed with glorifying God, and  I will show you a truly happy person. Show me a person whose prayer life is focused on seeking the righteousness of God, and I  will sh...