The Full Armor of God: Are You Sure You Got Dressed Today? by Crista Crawford, Planted in Him Publishing

““You are completely and utterly alone.” Satan celebrates 

when we check into the “Isolation Hotel” knowing 

we will experience an evening of despair and misery. 

During my windfall of attacks, 

I may have checked in for one too many nights.” 

-Crista Crawford, p.3-4

Crista Crawford shares her personal and up-close experiences with life. She explains how she dressed in full armor to counter attack the unwanted advances of Satan.

Chapter 1 entitled The Naked Truth begins the journey and story of Crista leading to each piece of armor worn in subsequent chapters two through seven, ending with Chapter 8 and how the war was won.

Chapter 2 asks the question “What are the qualities you value in the people within your inner circle?” Honestly, have ever asked yourself that question and arrive in a satisfied place? Most would probably say yes because of the trust in the relationship. 

One of many of the best parts read in this book is on page 125, About the Author. It states, “Crista Crawford is an imperfect Christian writing about her perfect God.” (I love it!)

Further in the very last paragraph of the book:

          “Our stories are meant to be shared because our testimonies

          have the power to light the path for those who are still struggling

          in the dark. What we overcome may be the very foundation for

          others to use as their stepping stone.”

How great is that? Some of the best inspiration written I have read in a while.

I  highly recommend to everyone looking for inspiration to move forward no matter what comes in his or her path. Get suited and booted and prepare for battle with your full armor of God.

I received this book from Book Crash Reviewer Program in exchange for an honest review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission Guidelines.

Believe Boldly: The Power of Simple, Confident Prayer to Unleash the Supernatural by Erica Willis, Chosen Books

“That morning I finally came to understand that my life had become a series of safe encounters with God – calculated, formulated, (under)whelming.

I could not stand it anymore. It had to change.”  -Erica Willis

Erica Willis takes off the gloves and gives it to you head on to believe boldly living through faith, fasting, prayer and reading the Word.

Believe Boldly is presented in three sections. Part One: My Doubting Heart; Part Two: God’s Perfect Truth; Part Three: A Spiritual Launching Pad. Willis gives insight to building or reclaiming your faith in God by sharing personal experiences, scriptures, and thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter (Check Your Pulse).

Interesting sub-headings such as God is Not a How-to Book, The Overflow Valve, The Sneaky Gardener, and The Battle is Real correlate well with the book’s intended topic. The topic of fasting is also covered in the way to boldly believe.

Conveying the message to believe boldly is straightforward in approach and leads to soul searching for a way to revive or strengthen the relationship between yourself and God.

Recommending to believers of faith to further enhance or renew their prayer and fasting techniques. I received this book from Chosen Books Reviewer Program in exchange

for an honest review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission Guidelines.

Lies Women Believe: And the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, Moody Publishers

“Generally speaking, people don’t fall into spiritual bondage overnight. 

They don’t just wake up one morning and discover that they 

are addicted to food or have a temper they can’t control. 

There’s a progression that lead to enslavement, 

and it begins when we Listen to a lie.”

-Nancy DeMoss Wogemuth

Lies Women Believe was released in 2001. This updated and expanded version tackles the subject of women being set free from the lies they believe concerning personal distractions designed to lessen your faith in God.

Wolgemuth presents statements that her target audiences of women often speak and believe to be true. She counters the lies that often lead to misguided decisions with the truth from bible scriptures. Each lie discussed is explained from the point of deception women perceive as being the truth.

Other discussions are personal experienced from women who once believed in worthlessness, self-destruction, and bad circumstances will never change. Some lies examined in depth:

o   God is not really enough

o   I have to have a husband to be happy

o   My circumstances will never change -this will go on forever

Lies Women Believe has a study guide for individual and small group study to aide indentifying lies and ridding themselves of the bondage that accompanies the untruth. Also, available are other books with study guides: Lies Young Women Believe; True Woman 101 and True Woman 201 are  found on the website liesbooks.com.

Recommend to believers of faith for individual and group reading study groups. I received this book from MP Newsroom in exchange for an honest review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission Guidelines.

Unleash the Power of Prayer in Your Life by Horace Williams Jr

“Either I did not like the answer I received from God, or I grew impatient 

and tried to do things on my own. This behavior led me to suffer heartache 

and pain because I was unwilling to trust God’s leading and wait on His timings.” 

-Horace Williams Jr.

Unleash the Power of Prayer in Your Life shares personal experiences on the power of prayer after Williams suffered a stroke showing what the blessings and healing did in his life. His testimony of powerful prayer he put into place for healing and trusting God with full faith was the answer to his prayers.

Williams shares how you can be blessed while learning to ‘strengthen your pray life’ as you speak to God one on one. He also includes the importance of praying for others as you pray for yourself and praying God’s will, not yours.

Other chapters that give insight to praying are The Power of Listening to God and The Power of Hearing from God that relays how you should spend time in His word. Each chapter includes a Power Point (actually you could label it Powerful Point) and a Prayer.

I recommend adding this short book (60 pages) to your collection of biblical references bookshelf. It can definitely enhance your prayer life whether you are just starting or whether you are a full-fledge person of prayer.

I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

The Last Arrow by Erwin Raphael McManus, Waterbrook

“Frankly, over the years, many young men have come and asked me how they have my life, but what quickly becomes clear is that they want the life without the path. They want my life without my wounds; they want my life without my scars. In fact they don’t actually want my  life; they want the rewards.”

The title The Last Arrow is based on 2 Kings 12:14-20 of the Hebrew scriptures. McManus refers to life and using all the arrows in your quiver. He believes that using all your arrows leaves nothing for the next life is how life should be lived.

McManus references several scriptures throughout his book as well as movies films he’s seen along with other books he’s written and books by other authors. In his book, McManus shares inspiration to live life to the fullest with stories of his own personal experiences as well as others.

I enjoyed reading about his outlook on living life as he heels the way God would want you to live by saving nothing for the next life. For this reason, I recommend to persons seeking spiritual inspiration.

I received this book from Blogging for Books reviewer’s program in exchange for an honest review in accordance with Federal Trade Regulations guidelines.

The Landlord by Cheryl Colwell, Inspired Fiction Books

“For land distribution to succeed,

one-tenth of the peasants must be destroyed.”  

Chairman Mao, Communist Party, China, 1948

“He’s gonna destroy two centuries of democracy in two years.”

Secret Service Agent-in-Charge Charles Krueger,

United States, Present day

“He finished his beer and left, an uneasy feeling in his gut at the state of the union 

and the state of the White House.”

Agent Dain Ryder, Secret Service, United States

Present day

Dain Ryder has been commissioned by the President of the United States to join a task force that includes agents from China to uncover the person or persons behind recent attacks on United States soil. What Ryder does not know is the situation goes much deeper than suspected.

Dain communicates with his Chinese counterparts Jimmy and Lian becoming suspicious of Lian, as he gets closer to solving the problem. Meanwhile, Ryder framed for two murders, must race against time in revealing the mastermind behind the chaos without being apprehended.

There are several twists in this novel and an interesting plot. I had to re-read a few paragraphs or two to comprehend what just happened (a good thing). I enjoyed reading a book that is not normally my genre of espionage and double agents.

The plot kept me reading with some excitement to learn what the next turn of events would bring. I never solved the big picture until it was revealed because the person behind it all was not who I had picked out.

I recommend to persons who love the political espionage genre and solving mysteries. I received this book from Book Crash reviewers program in exchange for an honest opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines.

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