Book Review: A Minute of Vision for Men

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A Minute of Vision for Men, Book Review, Christian, Devotional, Men's Devotional, Roger Patterson, Tyndale House Publishers

Title: A Minute of Vision for Men: 365 Motivational Moments to Kick-Start Your Day

Author: Roger Patterson

Published by: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (December 6, 2016)

Blurb: Do you have a vision for your life?

All of us need a compelling vision to live for. Scripture says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Today, so many of us are living on autopilot instead of engaging the battle of living up to our God-given potential. We lack a vision for life. Too often, we settle for less than what is best for us, our families, and our careers. We struggle with pinpointing our purpose in life.

A Minute of Vision for Men is an investment in a different sort of life―one with vision, purpose, and integrity. This book will help you connect with your purpose. It’s written so that you can start your day on the right foot, focused on what matters the most.

Start each day with a potent, daily dose of vision for your life.

My Thoughts: Devotionals tend to be a genre that are hit and miss, with some days being great and others falling a little flat. It is hard to write something that speaks perfectly to everyone, and my guess is the sports-heavy references that have appeared in many of the daily devotions in this book will fall flat for some men and be hits for others. Since the majority are football-related, this one can be categorized as a hit for me. Not only that, its promise in the title of being a minute is pretty close to accurate. There are only 3-4 paragraphs to read for each devotion, and each one weaves some passage of scripture into the message (and is also repeated at the bottom of the page for easy reference).

I love the variety of messages, and as we approach Valentine’s Day, how the devotions leading up to that day center around topics that are important and relevant to that holiday. For instance, there was one on February 12th that talked about the importance of “dating your daughter” early and often so that she can learn from her father how to expect to be treated by boys who want to win her attention and affection. I look forward to reading the devotion for Valentine’s Day itself, as it is certain to pertain toward my beloved wife and my relationship with her.

Overall this is exactly the sort of devotional I both needed and enjoy going through. I have moved it to a centralized location in the house for easy access, so that I have no excuses to not dedicate that minute toward expanding my vision toward the things that matter most. It has already blessed me so much in 2017 and I look forward to those blessings continuing as I journey through this book for the rest of the year. I highly recommend this book to men, so long as you don’t mind a fair number of sports references along the way that help illustrate the message.

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Book Review: Writing Devotionals That Stick by Kathy Widenhouse

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Book Review, Christian, Devotional, Kathy Widenhouse, Sticky Content, Writing, Writing Devotionals that Stick

Title: Writing Devotionals that Stick: A Step-by-Step Guide for Writing This Unique Genre for Today’s Busy Readers

Author: Kathy Widenhouse

Published: 10/29/2016

Pages: 143 (Kindle)

Blurb: Writing Devotionals That Stick is a writing guide that shows step-by-step how to write devotionals (a unique genre in the faith-based market) in a way that stays with today’s busy, distracted readers.

Leaders, entrepreneurs, students, moms, professionals, Christian writers (or those who want to be), and many others who want to share their experiences with God have learned to write sticky devotionals and meditations by using the principles found in this book. It’s a fun and easy-to-use guide packed with examples, writing tips, and “Try This” exercises to help you put the steps into practice right away. Author Kathy Widenhouse shares these principles drawn from 15 years of her experience producing hundreds of devotionals for clients, leaders, and publishers.

My Thoughts: This book fills a very specific need in a very specific niche for writing. In spite of its narrow focus, this is a book that I would heartily recommend to all kinds of writers, not just ones who are looking to write devotionals. There is so much good, practical advice in here that all writers can benefit from many of these pointers. We should all desire for our writing, whether fiction or non-fiction or devotional, to be sticky with our readers.

Whether she is discussing what a devotional actually is, how to identify the readers you are trying to write for, or what makes content sticky, Widenhouse’s content itself is sticky. The chapters are short, to-the-point, and center around only one point within the topic. This is something I try to get across to my Composition students, the necessity of drilling into only one topic at a time in order to make that part of the paper more effective. I could see the wisdom in this book being something that could apply to an entry-level composition class.

Overall, I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is writing, whether you have an interest in devotionals or not. It is a short read that can be managed in small chunks and, in fact, it is designed to because many chapters end with some tasks that you can do to put the principle covered into action. I have aspirations to someday write a devotional, and I know that I will be pulling this back out again when the time comes to work on that.

Book Review: Praying Through the Bible For Your Kids by Nancy Guthrie

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Book Review, children, Christian, Devotional, Nancy Guthrie, prayer, Praying Through the Bible for your Kids

If it seems like a flurry of book reviews are hitting, you’re right. A lot of books I’ve been working through have reached their end, and at least one more is on the cusp of being finished. So bear with me, I’ll try to slow down on my reading while I get through the burst of reviews.

Title: Praying Through the Bible For Your Kids

Author: Nancy Guthrie

Published by: Tyndale Momentum (10/15/2016)

Pages: 400 (Paperback)

Blurb: Daily encouragement for parents who realize the things they want most for their kids are things only God can do . . . so they pray.
As parents we want to protect our children; we want them to move forward in life; most importantly, we want them to take hold of and grow in Christ. And while the advice offered by parenting experts can be helpful, at some point we realize there are no simplistic formulas or sure-fire methods. We need wisdom from God’s Word for this all-important task.

In The One Year Praying through the Bible for Your Kids, trusted author Nancy Guthrie weaves together wisdom and insight from each day’s reading in The One Year Bible, providing encouragement through the triumphs and turbulence of parenting. Day by day you’ll find your dreams and desires for your children are becoming shaped more by Scripture than by the culture around you. Worry less, pray more, and help yourself to a daily dose of perspective, hope, and grace as you parent.

My Take: I love diving into this book as part of my daily walk with God. It is the first thing I do, opening with the verse for the day, the short devotional based upon that passage, and then the short prayer for my child (and, sometimes, myself). The commitment to do this takes only a minute or two, yet I feel overjoyed to know that I am praying over areas of my son’s life that I might not have considered praying about yet (especially with him being so young still). I know the power that a praying parent can have in shaping the character and personality of a child, and I am thankful to have this book to keep me motivated and on-track with this area.

I also appreciate how the book doesn’t jump around from book to book, picking a verse at random to apply to a certain day. Every devotion that I have done so far, dating back to the end of October, has all come from verses in the book of Hebrews. This encouraged me to dive into that same book with my own study time in the mornings, an added benefit to steeping daily in the same book of the Bible.

Regardless of the age of your children, and even for those whose children are yet to come, this can be an excellent addition to your daily devotional time. It could potentially be a devotional to do as a family, although I think it would be better suited to do either individually or as a couple. This is a wonderful resource to have and will continue to bless me and my family for many years to come.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Book Review: Advent in Narnia by Heidi Haverkamp

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Advent in Narnia, C.S. Lewis, Devotional, Heidi Haverkamp, Narnia, NetGalley, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Westminster John Knox Press

Title: Advent in Narnia: Reflections for the Season

Author: Heidi Haverkamp

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press (September 14, 2015)

Pages: 96 (Paperback)

Blurb: “Walking into Advent can be like walking through the wardrobe.”

With its enchanting themes of snow and cold, light and darkness, meals and gifts, temptation and sin, forgiveness and hope―and even an appearance by Father Christmas―C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe fits naturally into the Advent season. As the reader seeks a storied king and anticipates the glorious coming of Christmas, these twenty-eight devotions alternate between Scripture and passages from the novel to prompt meditation on Advent themes. Each devotion also includes questions for reflection. The book also provides several resources for churches, including four sessions for small group discussion and ideas for creating a “Narnia Night” for families. Readers will ultimately come to know God better while journeying through Narnia.

My Take: Devotionals that tie in with anything Tolkien or C.S. Lewis are always a welcome discovery for me. So when I noticed an Advent-themed Narnia devotional I knew that I had to get my hands on it. And let me start off by saying that this is worth every penny to put it in your collection.

So much thought clearly went in to compiling this devotional. It contains four weeks worth of devotional material, alternating between a chapter tied primarily around a scene in the book (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and a chapter tied primarily around the Bible. Each devotion has ties with both, of course, but the primary content alternates by day which is a nice approach. The end of each day has 1-3 questions for reflection, as well, which makes this great for a family devotion, and each chapter tied to Narnia also mentions which chapter(s) in the book it pairs with.

But the real gold is what you’ll find after the devotions, and that is what elevates it from a good devotional to a great one. There is a 4-week series that I would have loved to have used when I was teaching in Children’s Ministry, each week centered around a theme from the book and the Bible. It mentions all sorts of props, activities, and many other great things to use and do, and this would be something that could even be done as a family at home providing a major focus once a week to go hand-in-hand with the daily devotions. There is a guide to the three film versions of the book, as well as some recipes and other great stuff. Crafts, props, and more are all covered in varying depths, and at the least it will spark ideas that could lead to some searching on Pinterest for how to pull them all together.

Overall this was a wonderful devotional, one I plan to pull out again in a few years once my little one is ready for his first venture into Narnia. I cannot recommend this one enough, especially with the Advent season right around the corner.

**I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Act Like Men by James MacDonald

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Act Like Men, Biblical Manhood, Book Review, Christian, Devotional, James MacDonald

Title: Act Like Men: 40 Days to Biblical Manhood

Author: James MacDonald

Publisher: Moody Publishers, 10/1/2014

272 Pages (Paperback)

Blurb: Man up; it’s the best thing you can do for others—and yourself

Men are so busy doing so many different things; when not working, their free time is often full of the trivial or sinful. But what society and church so desperately need are men who embrace all that God created them to be, who long to follow God without limits and meet the needs of those around them without hesitation.

To get there, we need what Pastor James MacDonald calls “radical surgery”—a deep, probing exploration and reparation of all that it means to be a man.

In his definitive, bold voice, MacDonald calls men to be watchful, firm in their faith, strong, and loving. This isn’t a call for bravado and bluster. It’s a call for men to mix tender and tough, to be humble, to follow Jesus. It is a call to be leaders, men of God, husbands who are present and caring and strong. It is straight talk—no posturing or posing or beating around the bush—inviting men to redemption and restoration in their manhood.

Read Act Like Men and take bold steps toward being all that God designed you to be.

 

**Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this
review.

My Take: I needed this book. As a Christian man, this one hits some deep truths and hits them hard. The whole forty-day journey is based around, and continually points back to, two verses in Scripture that sum up what a man should strive to do and to be: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (ESV). By focusing the central messages around these five points, Dr. MacDonald delivers a practical, easy-to-remember set of principles for every man to live his life by.

The early entries are laced with humor, the type of jokes and situations that every man can relate to on some level. I felt like the first ten or so entries really did a great job of welcoming all men into the study, breaking down any walls or barriers they might have to hold them back from plunging into the heart of the material. But once it hits the heart, oh man, does it hit home. Men in general do not like to admit they need help, guidance, direction. But Dr. MacDonald cuts to the core of what men truly need to grow in their biblical manhood, pointing out those stubborn habits that usually hold us back from accomplishing those objectives. The importance of deep, meaningful friendships with other men comes in the closing chapters. It is a topic important enough that, had he devoted the entire 40 days to that it wouldn’t have covered the topic enough to emphasize its importance. It is an area that I need to continue to grow in, surrounding myself with the right men and praying with/for them and having a deeper fellowship with.

Looking back I wish I had been graced with time to approach this in the intended manner: as a 40-day devotional where one chapter is tackled each day. I plan to keep this one on my shelf and, in a year or two, pull it back out and revisit it in that manner with a group of men. Because there are questions at the end of each day, along with a prayer, that really drive things home and I know that diving in and answering those questions (and discussing those answers with other men) would enhance the experience to its fullest potential. But even for those who approach it as I did, as a book to read and absorb the biblical principles, this one stands tall among the crowd of books geared toward men.

The ten podcasts at actlikemen.com add an additional level of depth and really drove home some of the points being made in the pages of the book. I would highly recommend listening to those, as well, during the 40-day journey to biblical manhood. All in all, I don’t know that there is a single man out there who couldn’t gain some great benefit from studying this book alongside other men. If you are looking for a book to help you in your own walk to biblical manhood, or are looking for something to study in your men’s group or with a group of men, this is the first one I would recommend.