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52 Weeks In The Word by Trillia J Newbell | Review

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  52 Weeks in the Word  by Trillia J Newbell is a companion for those reading through the Bible in a year. This is not a study, the questions for each reading are the same. However, this book outlines a reading plan and questions to ask yourself as you read. This is designed to help you get in the Word, stay in the Word, and gain Biblical literacy. Each week has daily scripture readings, daily reflection questions, prayer prompts, space to write your own prayer, a weekly reflection on text from the reading, and a day of rest. There is no pressure - if you miss a day, just pick up again where you left off. You don't even need to read it in a year, you can use this guide for however long your read-through takes you. I think this would be a really helpful guide for someone trying to read through the Bible in a year. The reading plan is clear and manageable, and the book provides guidance and space to track your own observations. She also suggests switching up the way you read the Bibl
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Holy Hygge by Jamie Erickson | Review

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In her book Holy Hygge: Creating a Place for People to Gather and the Gospel to Grow , Jamie Erickson explains the concept of hygge and how we can incorporate it into our lives. In addition to learning about the practice, she also teaches readers how to use the methods to make their home a place that honors and reflects Christ.  Erickson explains that the Gospel and hygge have the same basic markers: hospitality, relationships, well-being, welcoming atmosphere, comfort, contentment, and rest. In each chapter, she goes over one of the markers and explains both the hygge and Gospel connection. She also gives plenty of useful, practical ways to put each into practice, so you have a starting point for how to apply this information when you're done reading the book. She gives both seasonal and everyday ways to put these into practice. Every chapter ends with questions, verses, and a prayer.  This is written for Christian women specifically, more likely for those with families who entert
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Know Own Change by Joshua Clemons & Hazen Stevens | Review

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  In their book Know Own Change , authors Joshua Clemons and Hazen Stevens urge readers to tear down racism and be united as one. Obviously (I should hope) everyone reading this review can agree that is something we all want. However, it's more difficult to know how we can get there. Throughout this book, the authors describe how we can reach this goal, and how doing so is how we can follow God's instruction for the world.  The authors describe how kingdom diversity and gospel-centered reconciliation is God's plan for the world, and how we can see that in Scripture. Gospel love says that our neighbor's problems become our own, so it is clear that we all have the responsibility to combat racism. They also explain the history of racism in America and the church, so we can understand what happened to get to where we are today.  The theme of this book is to know, own, and change. We need to understand the way racism continues to oppress our brothers and sisters, own our own
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Glad You're Here by Walker Hayes & Craig Allen Cooper

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In Glad You're Here, Walker Hayes and Craig Allen Cooper talk about their lives and their friendship, and how that friendship changed and shaped their lives. Craig showed Walker the love that Jesus shows us and showed him how to love like that, and that is the story they are sharing with their readers. They tell the reader and show them how to welcome people like Jesus does. One of the biggest lessons I got from this book is that most of us spend our lives avoiding the people Jesus would have spent time with. These are the people Jesus wants us to show love to, yet they make us uncomfortable so we stay away. Walker and Craig show their readers how to welcome and engage with those people in a very real way. They also emphasize that we must not treat non-believers like a project. We need to love them where we are, and they will see Jesus through those actions. I have seen far too many times non-believers pushed away by the dehumanizing treatment by Christians in their attempt to &quo
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An Unexpected Revival by Erica Wiggenhorn | Review

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This is an 8-week study of Ezekiel that teaches readers about God's goodness in times of disappointment and doubt. We see a unique picture of revival through Ezekiel's prophecies, and we see how that can be the case for us today as well. We see how the sins of that time are still prevalent in our lives, and how God's promises and lessons in Ezekiel still apply to us today.  Throughout the devotional, we learn how to listen and posture ourselves for revival, and to have the same resilience to share God's message with the world. We learn the things we do that stops revival, and the things we can do to invite it. There are activities, questions, and readings all throughout to help the reader understand and learn. God has already given us the tools we need for revival.  Since I read this for review, I did not to the activities and instead simply read this cover-to-cover, so I did not get much out of this book. However, I do think you might (and other reviews seem to agree)
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All That Fills Us by Autumn Lytle | Review

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  First of all, this book deals with eating disorder, exercise addition, and mental illness. Though eating disorder is mentioned on the back, I think it would be nice to have a bigger trigger warning about these themes at the beginning. In this book, Melanie finds herself faced with entering rehab to combat her eating disorder. Having always felt a pull to this region and wanting to avoid rehab, Melanie decides to go on a sort of pilgrimage and hike from Michigan to Mount Rainier in Washington. The people she meets along the way help her understand herself. I picked this book up because I am a bit obsessed with thru hiking, however the bulk of the book had very little to do with hiking. This book is more about Melanie's recovery and the people she meets along her journey. My favorite parts of the book were when Mel was in a place I've been, I love to read about places I've visited. I also really enjoyed the focus on chosen family, and how this book did not sugarcoat toxic p
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My Yes Is On The Table by Jennifer Hand | Review

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  In this book, Jennifer Hand shares lots of personal stories of times she was afraid, yet trusted God anyway. She uses personal stories and stories from the Bible to show us how saying "no" to fear is saying "yes" to God, and how our lives can be changed because of it.  The author explains that giving in to fear means saying "no" to God. None of us want that! Instead of letting fear stop us, we need to trust in God to keep moving. Hand refers to these crossroads and choices in our lives as "faith steps" or "fear stops". We can either say yes to God and move forward in faith, or say no and stop in our tracks. Throughout the book, Hand uses the story of the Israelites to show us what happens when we say yes or no to God. Using these examples, she emphasizes that saying no to God can keep us from reaching our "Promised Land", whatever or wherever that may be.  Hand uses many personal stories as examples. While some have clearly
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