NIrV Minecrafters Bible

Anyone that enjoys Minecraft will definitely enjoy this bible. This translation is very easy to read for kids and doesn’t diminish the importance or value of the scriptures. The added beauty to this bible is the 24 color pages of illustrations based on the game of Minecraft. Anyone into the game will be inspired by the illustrations and drawn into the stories to visualize them in ways they never have before. The combination to mentally view the bible stories differently and to integrate the game with the bible is a simply perfect match for fans of the game. The illustrations not only give creativity and fun to the pages but also discuss the stories they portray, where they are found and give tasks to do in the game that would integrate the story into the game.

This bible is a great idea to motivate a child who loves Minecraft to open and read the bible, understand and visualize the stories and try to implement the bible and its stories into their game. There is no better way of learning than active learning and this bible tries to motivate children to learn, visualize, and implement the stories in new ways. I highly recommend it for any Minecrafter fans. Thank you to Zondervan for blessing me with this bible for this honest review.

The Mind of Terror by Tass Saada

Reading ‘The Mind of Terror’ by Tass Saada has been an eye opening experience. Tass Saada has quiet the extraordinary background being a former Muslim sniper for Yasser Arafat and then turning his life over to Jesus Christ. He first hand knows what motivates ISIS and other extremist groups and provides enlightening explanations what goes through their minds as well as how we as Christian should counteract them. Rather than staying clear of Muslims he advocates communication with them and explains why and how to do so.

I’ll be honest despite reading many books about Islam, Islamic books themselves for sheer interest, and being over to the Middle East for over a month I still had a rather negative image of Muslims and did not see much need to reach out to them since they seem to be so set in their way. Tass Saada has opened up my eyes and my mind to think differently. It is not our job to convert anyone; it is our job to be friendly, loving, kind, inviting to develop a relationship so Muslims do not think we are a bunch of hypocrites and sinners. Once they see that there is good within Christians and not just what movies and news portray maybe then they will start to be more open to the Christian message/ the Holy Spirits calling within their own lives.

Tass Saada does a marvelous job opening up the readers mind and gives tools and explanations on how to reach out to Muslims, without his input I likely would have still carried on not wanting anything to do with Muslims, thinking they are hopeless but now I can see clearly that it is not my decision to see who is hopeless or not, my job at the very least is to be friendly, that does not take much but can go a long way.

The Wired Soul by Tricia McCary Rhodes

The Wired Soul by Tricia McCary Rhodes speaks nothing but the truth in this book and that’s what drew me in. Just by reading the back cover I knew she was on to something. I know my perpetual need to go online; to go on Facebook and YouTube is probably not the best use of my time and you probably know that too. Tricia goes a bit further giving us reasons to change our habits and how. From the get go I was really pulled in and thought to myself, gosh she has a lot of sound points how I can improve my spiritual relationship with God, slow down and enjoy life in a deeper way and so I kept reading and reading. The next day I was done the book. I am sure everyone can relate that we have a constant NEED to be connected at all times and I am also sure that everyone can learn a lot from this book and be able to enjoy life deeper than ever before.

Although I resonated with what was said, and enjoyed her sound points backed by research and many quotations throughout as well as ways to practice what she teaches at the end of each chapter, a little past halfway through the book I felt it starting to get a bit repetitive almost. By this time I felt I got the point and it stopped being as interesting to me. Other than that, we all have work to do and Tricia in her book is helping us and teaching us how to develop deeper spiritual relationships with God and with others. Thank you to NavPress for blessing me with a copy of this book!

Beautiful, Captivating Bible

The full color NKJV study bible is truly a beautiful bible. I have lots of bibles, a couple shelves in my library full of bibles, and I have to say this is probably the most beautiful of all. The colors light up the pages and make reading a little bit easier for me.  Don’t get me wrong black and white is perfectly fine but this captures my attention and helps me stay focused on the page unlike most other bibles. I have no issues with attention or focus, I am in graduate school and doing quiet well and I’ve always known that highlighters, pictures, and colors help me study with more focus and more interest in the subject matter when I study for my classes but I never thought that the same would also work for my personal bible study time.

Needless to say I love the NKJV bible but honestly you can get so many different types of NKJV bibles so why pick this one? Because, for me at least, the whole lay out and display is beautiful, easy to ready, great for study, and captures my attention and increases my desire to read the bible even when I get a little lazy. I love it, it’s been a while since I found a bible I have loved and thought so highly of as this one. See for your self, the beauty and color really does excite you to read more and stay focused on what you’re reading. I want to thank Thomas Nelson for blessing me with a copy of this bible for this honest review.

94 Feet from Fishflix

94 Feet (http://www.fishflix.com/christian-movies-94-feet-dvd.html) is a touching story about a town experiencing rough times. Businesses and factories have shut down, jobs are scarce and people have lost hope of a bright future. This story may be based on a particular true story regarding a tragic mine explosion which trapped people inside but I’d also say it’s a good representation of what is happening to towns (and cities) all over America. This is not just about how one town in America dealt with its tragedies but it is far more reaching to all those that are in desperate times with a hopeless outlook. Although the message is good, I would have to say it is very slow and a bit dull. The acting is much better than anything I could ever do but not at the level I am used to. 94 feet is a decent movie with a message that many in America need to hear and can resonate with but a bit boring for what I am used to. To see more about this movie and many other Christian DVDs visit http://www.fishflix.com/. If you join their email list (www.fishflix.com/5gift) you can get a $5 coupon or join by texting 5-GIFT to 44222. I want thank flishflix for blessing me with a copy of this move.

Answering Jihad: A Better Way forward by Nabeel Qureshi

Answering Jihad: A Better Way forward by Nabeel Qureshi has been the best and most concise book I have ever read about the Muslim faith without being biased and harsh but honest and clear. I have read the Quran as well as other books about Islam, took world religion courses in university that have delved deep into Islam but found the Quran was at times difficult to read and understand, jumping all over the place and contradicting itself quite often (I read an English translation of it) and never understood why that was. Other books and religion courses never really dealt on controversial topics or ever tried to dig into something that could offend Muslim readers/ believers, even if it was true, so this book was completely new and enlightening to me.

Answering Jihad did a fantastic job of teaching me the beliefs, where they came from, why they are practiced as well as giving me the background knowledge to put verses and statements into perspective. Qureshi, coming from the background he did has good authority to be able to write a book like this and be honest on both fronts. The fact that he grew up Muslim knowing his theology more than most Muslims yet also had the courage to search for answers that lead him to Jesus gives this book a unique perspective that cannot be obtained from other authors.

To anyone who is curious why Muslims believe what they do and where it comes from, this is the book that will give you clear concise answers. The answers are historical and based on sources like the Quran or the Hadith and so are reliable and cannot be argued from a Muslim perspective. Many Muslims don’t even know themselves where some of their beliefs stem from and why they believe what they do, this will not only educate you about their faith but also educate you how to approach Muslims to get them thinking why it is they believe what they do and possibly point them in the right direction of ultimately finding Jesus as Qureshi himself found.

Thank you to Zondervan for blessing me with a copy of this book for my honest review of it.

Your Best Destiny Doesn't Need to Wait Any Longer

Your Best Destiny: Becoming the person you were created to be by Wintley Phipps was an inspirational and encouraging reminder that God has amazing things in store for me. It emphasized that I have every ability of becoming the person that I desire to be, that others would be proud off and that would give me joy and fulfillment.

Phipps, who has excellent stories, examples and experiences breaks down how to fulfill the longing we all have to become better, more joyful, more fulfilled individuals through eight key steps: 1) Belief 2) Virtue 3) Wisdom 4) Self-Control 5) Perseverance 6) Sacredness 7) Kindness 8) Love.

Although these 8 keys do not seem like anything new, we all know we need to love more and practice self-control, but what Phipps does is help us make these things not just words that we know we ought to practice and live by but helps us recognize ways to live them out and the difference that’ll make once we start practicing them.

Whether you are satisfied with the way you are living and who you are right now or not I highly recommend you read this book. You will see how much more you can learn from Phipps about being the best you can be not just meeting human standards and expectations but also knowing you have God’s blessings pouring out on you and on those that come in contact with you.

Thank you to Tyndale for blessing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.