Beautifully written. Well organized. Simply a fabulous read.

Thomas Nelson Incorporated, Feb 19, 2013 - 516 pages

What an incredible journey John MacArthur takes us on. One Perfect Life by best-selling author John MacArthur is nothing short of fantastic. Without a doubt MacArthur put a lot of time and effort to take verses and prophetic passages throughout the bible of Jesus and makes one seamless continuous account of His life and mission. With Matthew as the base, MacArthur pulls the other four gospels together and makes it one grand story without missing links, parables, stories or discrepancies. Matthew is said to be the base because it was written to the Jews and along with one of the missions of this book shows how the Old Testament prophecies pointed to Jesus as being the Messiah. MacArthur begins the book showing how all signs pointed to Jesus as the Messiah and inserts the proof directly from one part of the bible into the gospel stories as he goes on to make it all the clearer for the reader to see and understand.

What is so beautiful about MacArthur’s work is how he shows and marks the transitions from one passage or verse to another and where that passage comes from in the bible. The passages are word for word without any additions of his own. MacArthur does, however, provide a short commentary at the bottom of each page for references, deeper understanding or further study.

All in all, I have never read another book the puts the goals together so neatly and well organized with exact notations of the passages so if the reader wanted to they could as easily follow it in their bible as in this book. Beautiful work and highly recommended!

This book was provided by Thomas Nelson, all opinions expressed were based on my own readings and thoughts.

The Great House of God - Great Reminder

Thomas Nelson Inc, Jan 1, 2013, 240 pages

The Great House of God by Max Lucado is a rejuvenating look at an old prayer. We all know the Lords prayer, many can recite it, but what does it mean to us? How do we use it in our modern life and modern culture? Max does a wonderful job taking the prayer and applying it to our daily life, our daily troubles and situations. He shows us that God is in the midst of everything we go through, all our thoughts and all our problems. He wants to make a home within us and we need to see and realize this.

I really enjoyed this book, no it wasn’t deeply theological, did not go into analyzing ancient Greek and Hebrew, and from going to church my entire life I already have been taught many of the lessons Max writes about. But that doesn’t mean I didn't thoroughly enjoy the book and that I didn't need it. It was an awesome reminder of God’s love and blessings upon us, that God wants to live within us and to be more open toward making God a permanent inhabitant within us. So many of us (like me) get caught up with small issues and the need for deep discoveries but forget the true, simple love of God, and this book is a great reminder of that.
Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing this book for an honest review.

Made Me Enjoy LOTR All The More

Lion Publishing Plc, Nov 7, 2012 - 240 pages

Millions have read and watched the story of Middle Earth unfold and become one of the greatest epic adventures ever to be told, but how many know the story behind who wrote it? In J.R.R. Tolkien: The Making Of A Legend, Colin Duriez does a first class job of introducing and detailing the life of Tolkien.

As soon as I began reading I felt that Colin Duriez knew the life Tolkien better then anyone I’ve heard from before. Colin Duriez, in this book, not only knows the life of Tolkien very well but he also tells it as a skilled storyteller. I love the story of Lord of the Rings, I’ve watched the movies and read the books but I hardly knew much about Tolkien and now I see so much more the motivation behind Middle Earth and the characters within it. I was fascinated to read how some events from Tolkien’s life became events in the book.

Most lovers of LOTR know little of Tolkien’s life and hardships, but after reading this biography I now realize that I was missing a vital part of the story having not known of the person who wrote it.

To lovers of LOTR and all other of Tolkien’s works I would highly recommend reading about the this fascinating and incredible man, it will change how you see the story; furthermore I feel like there is no better author to tell you about the making of this legend as Colin Duriez. I loved it, enjoyed it, and recommend it to all LOTR lovers and those on the fence.
This book was provided to me for an honest review.

Awesome Production of an Awesome Story

Les Miserables, Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, a three hour audio drama presented by a Focus on the Family radio theater was truly a five star production. The same day I listened to this complete audio drama (I could not stop after disc 1 or 2, I had to know what happened!) I was curious to see how the movie (currently out in theaters) compared to this production. Put it simply I regret wasting money watching the movie when Focus on the Family radio theater did such an awesome job.

Although I would recommend reading the books first, if you aren't familiar with the story, I do know that most people don’t have the time to read a 1000+ page story so don’t worry the details are filled in and you are never lost within the drama. This audio drama was spectacular to listen to and kept my ears glued till the end. The actors voices were fantastic, the music was beautiful, and hands down I would recommend this audio drama instead of watching the movie.

I had a wonderful time listening to it, and it is something the whole family would enjoy. It’s safe, has a wonderful message, entertaining, and simply it’s a classic story that no matter what age you are or your level of education everyone can enjoy. Thanks to Tyndale for a copy for an honest review of the drama.