Blind since birth, the life story of Michael Hingson is truly amazing and enlightening.  He overcame many challenges in life, to become successful both professionally and personally.  The battles that face a blind person in a sighted world, are more than we can ever imagine, and many blind or visually impaired people rely on the help of a guide dog to assist them.  The bond between a person and their guide dog is unique and based completely on trust.  This trust was tested to the absolute limit on 9/11, as Micheal Hingson was working on the 78th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Centre when a plane flew into the building.

The story of how Michael and his guide dog Roselle narrowly escaped is amazing.  The book takes us through the events of that day, and is mixed in with stories from Michael’s life that are both humorous and informative.  I learnt a lot about guide dogs and the training they go through before they are entrusted to a blind person.  When you read of how Roselle coped with the events of that awful day, and the extreme pressure she was working under, it is almost hard to believe its a true story!  I fully recommend this book to you all.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This was a very interesting and enjoyable book to read.  Lucado uses a question and answer format to address many issues regarding life, eternity, forgiveness, finances, suicide and many more topical issues.  While there are many questions that will remain unanswered until we reach Heaven, Lucado is able to give biblical references and explanations that reveal a little understanding of certain issues.

This is the type of book that once read, may sit on the shelf for a while until a situation arises  when we need a reference for someone going through a particular struggle or difficult patch.  Overall, quite a useful book, but not one of Lucado’s best.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This is one of the most fantastic books I have ever reviewed. Without a doubt, there will be many of my friends and family who will be getting this book as a Christmas gift this year. Stanley uses very biblical principles and examples, to show us clearly how the ‘principle of the path’ works. The basic definition of the principle is this, “direction, not intention, leads to destination”. I had to read this a couple of times to grasp the understanding, yet it is a very simple concept. For example, I intend the lose weight this summer and my intentions are really genuine. However, my direction today involved eating a box of maltesers and a Chinese takeaway for dinner, with very little exercise during the day. If this behaviour continues, it will result in my destination of being the same weight, possibly even heavier! While this is a very small example, Stanley applies the principle in other more important areas of life such as our finances, marriages, raising children and so on.

In using king Solomon as a main example in the book, we clearly see that although the ‘principle of the path’ is a very obvious one, even one of the wisest men to live on earth lost his way at times, and did not see clearly where the direction he was taking was leading him. There are so many lessons to be learned from this book and I highly recommend it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Regret Free Parenting is a great read for mothers (or fathers) of all ages. Whether your children are babes in arms, or fully grown adults, there is something every parent can learn from this book.  Hickem writes from an obvious psychotherapist point of view, but in very easy to understand language.  The book is broken down into seven keys principles for helping parents reach a point in their lives when they can say they do not regret the way in which they raised their children.

An interesting theme I picked up from the book was that regret-free doesn’t mean mistake-free!  While we, as parents, are bound to make some mistakes along the way, we always have an opportunity to move forward and improve.  It is recognizing what we are doing wrong, and fixing it, that makes us ‘intentional’ in the way we raise our children.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This was a very unique book to review.  Beautifully designed, it takes the form of a gift book, with short historical stories, used to show how the ‘butterfly effect’ can be seen in human behaviour.  The Butterfly Effect is based on the idea that every single thing we do has an affect on everything and everyone around us.  Andrews sums this up at the end of his book by explaining, ” The very beating of your heart has meaning and purpose.  Your actions have far greater value than silver or gold.  Your life and what you do with it today…..MATTERS FOREVER”.  While I can see some biblical justification for this logic, in that every day we should be making a difference in our Christian lives, I remain unconvinced that this book expresses this in the correct way.  For example, many of the stories are taken from American history, but I can think of a lot biblical stories from which the same principles can be drawn.

On the whole, the book could make a nice gift, but in my opinion we could not categorize it as a spiritual or biblical book.  It is at best, inspirational, in the sense of encouraging people to live well and purposefully.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A very interesting little book from David Jeremiah.  He has written the book in a very sensible way, addressing questions that many people have and about the End Times.  I would say that the book would be best suited to those who have little or no knowledge on these topics, as it gives answers in an understandable way, but does not go into great depth on any one question. The topics explained are Current Events, The Rapture, The Tribulation, The Antichrist, The Second Coming, The Millenium and The New Heaven and the New Earth.  The size of the book is very compact (6 x 4) and would make an ideal gift.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Another thought-provoking book by Max Lucado.  The very short chapters and easy-to-read style have contributed greatly to the success of this book.  While I wouldn’t be in complete agreement with all his interpretations of biblical accounts, he does make some very valid arguments as to the way in which God uses very ordinary people for extraordinary things.  The vast amount of bible characters he discusses makes it easy for the reader to identify with at least one character and learn lessons from a particular story.

The chapter on Joseph was particularly interesting, as Lucado highlights the way in which God decided to plan the events of the Lord’s birth was probably not what Joseph had expected.  So often when things happen in a different way than we expect, we question whether it is God’s will or not. But Joseph still acted obediently despite the adverse and unusual circumstances.  He trusted in God more than his own plans.  I think this is something we could all learn to do in our daily walk with God.  Overall, the book was very encouraging, light reading.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Dave Ramsey has effectively compiled this book as an easy to use resource for people of all ages who need answers to financial questions.  Issues such as how to tackle huge debt, how to budget or how to teach children to manage money are all dealt with very clearly.  The question and answer format is very effective, as the book could just be used for reference only or as a complete guide to finance in general.  While being easy to read, it is not ‘easy reading’, in that Dave Ramsey is very direct in speaking the truth, eg. “your finances aren’t the problem, YOU ARE!”.  Many of us could learn a lot from the many home truths this book reveals.  I think his approach to finance and wealth is unlike many other books of its kind, because he very often uses biblical justification for his arguments.  Tithing, giving, labouring for our money are all ideals set in a Christian perspective and so I would recommend this book, and any of Dave Ramsey’s other books to Christians who are seeking financial advice.  My favourite quote in the book has to be “Money is like manure.  If you leave it in a pile, it stinks.  But if you spread it around, it does a lot of good.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”