On Getting Out of Bed by Alan Noble is a book very simply about mental health. The author shares his journey with mental health struggles. He’s very open about his struggles and I was very impressed with his practical suggestions for helping those who struggle.
Who is this book for?
I started this book and quickly realized that this book was written more for those struggling with mental health issues. As a person who has struggled with extreme anxiety brought on by medication and other physiological/ health issues, I am currently not struggling. HOWEVER, though it is intended to help those struggling this book would also be incredibly helpful for those who LOVE those with mental health struggles.
So often we don’t understand how to help those we love who are struggling in these hard places. This book answers a lot of the questions we have. Another area I really appreciated that this author dealt with is the misuse of mental health to manipulate situations. He speaks directly to those who are prone to do so and does so in a very candid way.
This book was really very helpful. I will be going back to this book again and again and I will also be buying a hard copy of this book so we can easily reference this book! I highly recommend this book!
You can purchase your own copy of On Getting Out of Bed here.
I received a free Kindle edition of this book for reviewing purposes from NETGalley. I am in no way expected to give a positive review and these are my own personal opinions.
The book Christmas Changes Everything By Elisa Morgan is a wonderful devotional that takes various characters and accounts of Christmas and weaves them into the moments of Elisa’s life. The first Christmas wasn’t perfect and ideal and yet we sometimes expect that our Christmases should be.
I really appreciated how Elisa shared messy Christmas experiences and how in spite of all of the messiness we can have hope. Hope because the very reason we even have a Christmas is Jesus. He is our hope!
I read this book in the middle of living in our camper. It wasn’t going to be an ideal Christmas. (Actually, I’m not quite sure we have ever had an ideal Christmas.). Yet, I found myself resonating with her stories chapter after chapter. , and Character after Character. It was a much-needed shot in the arm I needed to take the bull by the horns and embrace our rather unconventional Christmas!
I highly recommend this book.
I received a free Kindle edition of this book for reviewing purposes from NETGalley. I am in no way expected to give a positive review and these are my own personal opinions.
When I saw the book trailer for this book I was excited because for the first time…..in forever (I know roll your eyes to the F®owen reference) I felt as though I was going to get some help for the frustration I experience during prayer. I know I know I have heard it a million times before BUT Mary You are a pastor’s wife you are supposed to have all this figured out. Well I am here to tell you I don’t and if I thought I did…God would be pretty much done with me. I Need to have a spirit of teachability- a willingness to grow beyond where I am currently at. Some days I get frustrated because it feels as though there are not enough hours in a day to pray for all the things. then there are days or weeks (ahem- like this last week) where all I can pray is HELP ME JESUS. And then there are those days that I just cannot focus to save my life. So can you see why I was so excited about this book!
It’s Been a while
It’s been a hot minute since I have done a book review and that is because of circumstances outside of my control (more on that in another Blog post). However this past fall an opportunity fell into my lap where I could yet again join a launch team for an author I Love. .Now unlike other authors I have had the opportunity to help launch their book babies I have never had the opportunity to meet or talk one on one with Sheila Walsh, however I have had the opportunity to hear her speak in person and on various other formats and this is NOT my first review of her books. You can check out my book reviews of her books Peace For Today and Loved Back to Life. I found both of those books to be of great encouragement so when I saw the chance to help launch Praying Women It was a no brainer.
The Book : Praying Women
have you ever sat down with friends over a cup of coffee (or tea) and hashed out some of life’s difficult moments.Well imagine that’s what this book is. Let’s be honest prayer is a tough subject.A lot of us have questions that we are too afraid to ask for any number of reasons. In this book zShiela so graciously deals with these struggles and helps us find the biblical answers and encourages us to have a thriving prayer life.
sShe herself is open to the personal struggles she has had and guides us through biblical responses to those struggles. Praying Women is laid out according to our struggles like Praying through God’s silence. I don’t know about you but this is very hard for me .
Here is just one encouraging thought from the book on this topic!
If you have been waiting for a long time and God has been silent, let me ask you this: Do you still believe He loves you? When answers don’t come, do you still believe He is for you? Jesus asked if He will find faith among us when He returns. Will He? Do you believe God is in control? Do you believe He has a perfect plan for your life? Do you believe His timing is perfect? Until we settle how we will wait in the silence, we will be unsettled in our lives. When we determine to trust God in the silence, our faith in who He is grows stronger. Our witness becomes more powerful. Like Angus we can say to those who wonder why we’re still holding on, “He’s never failed me yet!” When we choose to place our hope in God, we have been promised that this hope will not disappoint (Rom. 5:3–5).
nNot only does Sheila Walsh share her own personal journey and struggles but she also waves in the accounts of others journeys and struggles. Two such stories are that of Joni ricks Tada and Michele Cushatt. these women’s powerful testimonies and personal struggles help us to understand we aren’t alone even when our stories are so different.
My Review: Praying Women
I am a huge fan of this book and not just because I was chosen to be on the launch team. This book meets a desperate need in the hearts of women and answers questions people on a whole have been asking for aery long time.
Yes it is a serious book on Prayer but Shiela writes in such a skillful way that has you giggling one minute and in tears the next. I love that she speaks truth and hasn’t glossed over the reality of her struggles. She write from an honest place of struggle with depression.
if we all lived with this kind of honesty and transparency both with each other and with God our walks with Him would be uninhibited.
I give this book 5 stars!
My two biggest Takeaways
By the end of the book I realized that there are two things I need to do. The first of which is I need to make sure I am putting my whole Armor on- I want to write out my armor in my prayer notebook so it’s easily found I also would like to post an abbreviate version by my desk as a daily reminder.
The second thing Sheila said that really stood out to me was the need for a battle verse. One that when we struggle with doubts and fears and the enemy’s sneak attack jumps out of no where we can pull it out and remind ourselves who we belong to and whois fighting for us!
IT’S GIVEAWAY TIME!
Who is ready for a giveaway? Let’s deal with the technical stuff first, this is for U.S. shipping only. AND you only get one entry. Since I was so graciously given a free copy for review I thought that I would pass the blessing onto you. All you have to do is comment below and tell me what your biggest struggle is in prayer. For me it is getting distracted. So leave your comments below. Comments will close Sunday evening at 8 pm EST at which time I will randomly pick a number by using random.org and if I pick your number you are the winner of the book! I will contact you and we will work out shipping details.
Great big THANK YOU!
Thank You so much to Baker Book house for providing me with a free digital and hard copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions given in this review are my own and I am in no way compensated for a positive review. Thank you Shiela Walsh for writing this book. I cannot imagine writing it was easy but it was very much a huge blessing.
You Can purchase Praying Women HERE. (not an affiliate link)
Settle My Soul: 100 Quiet Moments to Meet with Jesus By Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk Is a Pressing Pause Devotional published by Zondervan. Each 2-3 page devotional hits you right where you are at. They are skillfully written and definitely encourage the reader in their everyday walk with Jesus!. The quality of the book is great and the cover is beautiful (though I will say it got kinda dirty).
I know the picture really doesn’t do it justice BUT people the title in PINK foil lettering. Also included is a lovely sage green ribbon bookmark. And the Paper. At the end of every devotional, there are a couple of questions and some lines provided in which to answer. Can I just tell you, the paper is Thick. I don’t think I had any bleed through or shadowing. It’s a great size and very portable!
There were a few of the devotions that really stood out to me:
Day57- “God Call’s us to love our neighbor, but first we must notice them and get to know them.”
Day 66 entitled ” would you follow you” starts out with this statement, “Friendships are not optional in the Christian life. they are necessary for sustaining us through all that life throws at us.
Day 79 (Driven to distraction) “He invites us to hold up our too full places up to Him, allowing him to scrape off any activities that aren’t in His will. This lets us say no to multitasking and begin to focus on the things God may have for us.”
Day 86 (Putting on Patience). There was nothing specific in this one it was the whole thing that just deeply resonated with my Soul.
This is just a tiny sampling of what this book holds.
My Soul Review
When I got my hands on this book back in April, it was exactly what my soul needed. My soul had been depleted. we were in the last few months of school and I have to be honest we as a family needed some deep soul rest. We are hoping to get that in the coming weeks but I was really struggling with near burnout and ministry exhaustion. This book met me where I was and really helped to feed my soul exhaustion.
I only really have one complaint and that’s that the book did get dirty but that’s more my fault (I haul my books everywhere) and it seems to wipe clean, unlike some other books I own.
So I give this book 5 out of 5 stars!
Also a big thanks to BookLook Bloggers for providing me with a free copy for review. These opinions are soley my own and I have NOT been paid for a positive review.
Interested in reading other book reviews? You can check out my other book reviews by clicking here.
Good evening everyone! I am sure that most of my readers have heard the Contemporary Christian song “I can Only Imagine ” written and sung by one of CCM’s (Contemporary Christian Music) biggest groups MercyMe, and maybe just maybe like me you have seen the movie BUT I’m guessing just maybe you haven’t read the Memoir of Bart Millard. One might ask why should I read the book if I have already seen the movie. Well let me tell you honey, the movie really is just a condensed snapshot of Bart’s life. The book has far more details and is a fascinating read.
One of the neatest things about this book is that each chapter is titled after one of MercyMe’s songs. and then a snippet from the song. Bart then takes the theme from that song and the scriptural truth behind it and weaves in through the chapter. You are left stunned seeing just how much his life has impacted the music he writes and we like to sing on the radio.
Bart’s Life
Bart’s life would be defined as difficult. with an abusive father and a mother who leaves her husband and children behind (though not quite how it was depicted in the movie) it would be understandable Bart rejected any sort of Faith. BUT God…..had a much bigger plan for Bart! and just so you don’t think that life was all peaches and cream for that Texas boy once “I Can only Imagine” became a hit, you couldn’t be farther from the truth. just keep reading as you learn about the struggles that abuse can have on your life even after the abuse is over. Then there’s the death of a loved one (not referring to his dad) and the lifelong illness of a child.
Bart skillfully writes a poignant autobiography that has you in stitches one minute and reaching for the tissues the next. and back to laughing just a minute more. This is the first review I have struggled to write in a long time, except for this time it’s not that it’s bad. It is because it is soooooo good! I know I am breaking how reviews are written BUT. this , this is different. I struggle in what exactly to share only because I want to share it all, but that my friends would be plagiarism, and quite frankly I like to blog!
I’ve also said before that is so very hard to critique ones life story because it is their God-given story. BUT there is something to be said about the skill level and talent in writing ones story. And just like his music Bart has written this book with great passion, love and sincerity. One of the greatest things weaved throughout this book is to see his passion for ministry and to reach others with the gospel of Christ. * if you bear with me I will share a personal experience with MercyMe that exemplifies just that!- yep I said PERSONAL.
What is “I Can Only Imagine”
“I Can only Imagine” is the MercyMe song that talks about what heaven might be like. It quickly rose to #1 on the CCM charts and surprisingly made big waves on secular radio as well. It came from Bart’s Mammaw Millard’s statement about what her son was witnessing in heaven – so not only did Maammaw Millard name the band, she also named their biggest hit.
This is quite easily the best book I have read this year. It was so down to earth and real I couldn’t put it down. I seriously read it in a week….and that’s huge for me! I walked away feeling like I have been Bart’s friend for years. That is just the way he writes. Like it’s a conversation! I walked away being challenged in my faith and to forgive !
I just wanted to say THANK YOU to Bart for such a real, open and honest peek into his life. It is refreshing to know you aren’t alone in your struggles and that those struggles and insecurities don’t go away even when everything appears to be “better”. What an amazing testimony of God’s great love!
Another Amazing thing is the two resources at the end of the book. The first is a bible study of sorts. It’s all about our Identity in Christ with verses that go along with each characteristic. And secondly is a run down on the history of the band….a bulleted timeline if you will. I found it interesting going through the timeline I learned a lot.
Let’s Get Personal
Now on for my personal story with MercyMe. First off let me just say I have never met any of them in person, but in October of 2017 we were able to go see them in concert. We had a ball and they put on a FANTASTIC show (HAPPY DANCE-if you don’t know what on earth I’m talking about go to YouTube and search MercyMe and Happy Dance, you will NOT be sorry!!) . But as I said before they seek to lead people in worship and to have a personal relationship with Christ. And that was exemplified through a rare action. I have been to numerous CCM concerts BUT MercyMe s the only band I have ever seen that has put ALL of their CD’s down to just 5$ a CD. including their newest CD Lifer. They do it for Every. Single. Concert. No joke!
It’s no surprise that I’m going to give this book a whopping 5 stars.
Now go get the book and be blown away!
Thanks so much to BookLook Bloggers for providing me with a free copy of this book for reviewing. They never expect a positive review just my honest opinion and that is AWESOME!
