Whatever the Cost: Facing Your Fears, Dying to Your Dreams, and Living Powerfully By: David & Jason Benham

Without knowing a single thing about the Benham brothers I picked up this book based on the cover caption said: “Facing your fears, dying to your dreams, and living powerfully.” What I found between the covers I never expected; I mean the book sounded interesting and all but I had doubts it would WOW me.

Let me tell you I read the first hundred pages non-stop. The stories and testimonies of David and Jason contained between the covers are fascinating, incredibly motivating and extremely inspiring! We all face hard times and most of us have had our dreams die or fade away but the way Jason and David let the Lord guide their lives through the good times and the bad is such a valuable lesson for all Christians today. The lessons they provide in their brief point boxes throughout the chapters are incredibly wise! Each one of them can be framed as a motivational poster.

I’ll be honest, my dreams have shifted within the last few years and I have been really banking on God’s leading to point me in the right direction in life and although I believe God has led me on the right path, and continues to lead me, I really would have loved to read this book earlier, be inspired, and encouraged especially during the transitional periods where life was full of uncertainty. The Benham brothers show that no matter what stage in life we are in we can (and should) serve God to our fullest potential and glorify God knowing that He is in control and works for our good.

What an incredible testimony, definitely a MUST READ. Incredible story, makes me want to be a better/ harder worker and overall a better Christ follower.

Thank you Thomas Nelson for blessing me with this book!

The Daniel Cure: The Daniel Fast Way to Vibrant Health (Susan Gregory & Richard J. Bloomer)

The Daniel Cure is not just a book about a type of diet, it contains a recipe for a healthy, spiritual, vibrant life. The book starts out by first addressing the question what exactly is the Daniel cure and what’s the deal with fasting anyway? After understanding the big picture and the vital aspect that fasting plays on our spiritual and physical health Gregory and Bloomer dive deeper to describe how the type of foods we eat affect our health. What type of diseases we are at risk for and how those diseases work in our bodies.

Being in medicine I know that this is where a lot of people get lost and because people cannot fully conceptualize what is happening in their bodies on a micro scale they don’t tend to think about it or worry about the affects that will come in the future. This book however, does a wonderful job spelling out simply what the different diseases are relating to our diet, how diet plays a vital role in controlling those diseases, and how those diseases’ work. The information was clear and easy to understand and digest and if anyone had previously failed to understand how diet and disease are directly correlated or how those disease are brought about and affect our lives part 2 of this book will lift the fog from your eyes.

So far I have only mentioned 2 of the 6 parts of this book and yet already this book is worth a read! Part 3 helps us get our final preparations ready to begin the Daniel fast and part 4 gives us an immense amount of meal planning and recipe ideas for the diet.

This is an amazing resource for anyone wanting to go through a Daniel fast, it’s not only helpful by giving us the details of our health and recipes but is also encourages and motivating.  A 21 day devotional is also found in part 5 of the book and so this book will not only point you in the right direction regarding your health but also can help flourish your spirituality.

Thank you to Zondervan for blessing me with this book.

The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life

The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life is a book that ALL people should read. We are all aware of the health epidemic facing our country but even more importantly facing our own lives. I love this book because it doesn’t simply talk about exercise or food but is also talks about our mind, focus, and most importantly spirituality.

Let’s face it, we all know we need to exercise more and eat healthier, we don’t need some book to tell us that. But do we really know why? Do we know of the complications of us ignoring the facts other than heart attacks and diabetes? Do we know how it’s affecting our brain? And do we know how it is affecting not only our relationships here on Earth but our relationship with God? This book has a lot to teach you but it does so by encouraging you, not by making you feel even worse about yourself and your choices.
If you know nothing about how to change your life around, what’s healthy and what’s not, this book will point you in the right direction and, and if you’re like me (already a health freak, medical school student) that knows a lot of the information already there is much more to learn here.
I absolutely love how God and spirituality are intertwined in this book to change a person’s life (as I believe it should be) and all the facts and all the help is laid out for your disposal – exercise plans, daily plans, recipes, food guides, you name it this book has it. There is absolutely no excuses for you to read this book and not turn your life around to a healthier, more vibrant, optimal you.
I would like to thank Zondervan for blessing me with a copy of this book.

The Book All Christians Must Read - Vanishing Grace by Philip Yancey

Vanishing Grace is another classic work by Philip Yancey. To those that are familiar with the style and writings of Philip Yancey you should not expect anything less what you are used to, and to those that have not yet discovered the genius of Philip Yancey you will understand why he is one of the best authors in the Christian world today.

Philip Yancey has done his research once again and presented how grace is being all but cut out of society and church as a whole. Yancey first deals with the problem that rather than proclaiming the good news Christians today are reviled and are seen as bearers of nothing more than bad news and judgment. Yancey does not simply state this but backs it up with statistical, conversations, and situational evidence all pointing to the sad reality.

Yancey addresses issues such as where we can learn and how we can learn to apply grace, how grace and Christianity fair against other religions and worldviews, and how Christians can move forward and rather than being seen as a nuisance can be the relief to a world in need of grace. What is beautiful about reading any work by Philip Yancey is his attention to detail, his research, quotes, examples, and historical examples. This book is not something simply spewed out of the mind of Philip Yancey rather it is a collection of a vast variety of authors and individuals throughout history shown as examples and quoted to make the points clear. 

This is exactly the book the Christian church needs at this time. Christianity is heading down a slippery slope and if we fail to demonstrate God’s love to others it wont be God’s fault, we will be held responsible. What the world needs now is a dose of grace, if we continue down the road we’re going the results are evident but if we learn from Vanishing Grace our potential and relationships with others as well as God can only grow deeper.
Thank you to Zondervan for blessing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinions and review.

Prayer Makes A Difference

Naeem Fazal, author of the book Ex-Muslim, has an incredible, and what I would say heroic story to tell. As the title implies Naeem grew up Muslim, his family was from Pakistan, and he himself was born in Kuwait. He describes himself as being a conservative Muslim that however, all changed once he came to school to the US. Naeem’s brother was the first to get involved with Christianity and once Naeem found out his brother was as good as dead. God had other plans.

Incredibly through different means Naeem found out for himself who Jesus really was and made the radical decision to forsake Mohammad and follow Jesus. His book shares his obstacles, experiences, and how one by one his brothers and sisters decided to follow his decision and convert to Christianity.

Naeem was willing to lay everything on the line, his relationship with his parents and his entire family just to follow the Savior.  There were certainly a fair share of struggles described in the book but it’s absolutely incredible to read about the transformation that had occurred from a zealous Muslim boy to become a church pastor.

I recommend this book for anyone that is looking to go on an adventure, to discover a bit more about life outside the walls of your present church. Anyone who wishes to understand a bit better the struggles and difficulties that people face not just in Pakistan and the Middle East when faced with the decision to follow Jesus, but also happening right in our own country and all around us.
I want to thank Thomas Nelson for providing me with a copy of this book; I was totally blessed by it!