Book Review: Dug Down Deep (Joshua Harris)

Joni Eareckson Tada lists three “Inspirational Books” on her list of favorite things: Crazy Love by Francis Chan, The Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennett…and Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris. To those in the homeschool world, Josh Harris is a fairly recognizable name. His relationship books I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl (neither of which I have read, by the way) took both the homeschool and Christian worlds by storm several years ago.

Dug Down Deep also focuses on a relationship, but not the same relationship he talked about in his two aforementioned books. Dug Down Deep instead focuses on our relationship with Christ and, as the subtitle says, Building Your Life on Truths That Last.  In the book, Josh spends 11 chapters digging into why our beliefs about the God matter and the practicality of right beliefs. He takes a rather candid approach and explains his own spiritual journey in a way that is both frank and real, with some humor mixed in.

The book was very down to earth. And very encouraging and challenging. As Josh points out, in the end nobody will be right on every single issue of the Christian life: “One day in heaven there will be only one right person. I’m sorry, but it won’t be you. Or me. It will be God. Everyone else in heaven will be wrong in a million different ways about a million different things” (p 227). But it is important to be right about the things that really matter, and that is what Josh tackles in this book.

Thank you to Waterbrook Multnomah for providing me with a complimentary review copy of this book, which I have wanted to read for awhile.

Book Review: Praying For Your Future Husband

Like most girls, I would like to, someday, get married. And also like most girls, I sometimes stop and wonder who my future husband is, what he is like, and where he is at that exact moment. So when I saw the book Praying For Your Future Husband: Preparing Your Heart For His by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer available for review, I figured it would be something worth my while to read.

I remember, even as a young child, praying that God would be with my future husband, wherever he may be, and keep him safe. But that was about the extent of those prayers. Of course, when you are young, you aren’t really too concerned with who you are going to end up marrying when you are old, anyway. At least I wasn’t. But as you get older, you start to think about it more. And you start to care more about the type of person you will someday pledge the rest of your life to. And that is where this book comes in.

Throughout the book, Robin and Tricia not only share personal stories about their own lives and their own relationships with their husbands, but they devote each chapter to a different trait that you should pray for in a future husband as well as traits you should pray for in yourself so that you will be ready for Prince Charming when he comes along. For example, Chapter 4 talks about praying for patience. When it seems like it is taking forever for Mr. Perfectly Imperfect to show up on your doorstep, pray for patience to wait for God’s perfect timing and His perfect guy for you. In addition, pray that he will have patience to wait for you as well. This is just one example of a topic that the book discusses. And with 13 chapters in the book, I assure you there are more little gems.

One of the coolest things I found in this book is that they gave a list at the end of the book of 52 scriptures to pray for your future husband – one per week, for a year. I think this is a great idea.

I did feel like this book was geared more towards the high school/young college-age crowd, but as a single girl in her mid-20s that is waiting on her future husband, I did still find it to be a good read and worth my while. I would recommend it to other girls in the same situation as well.

I received this book for review from Waterbrook Multnomah as part of their Blogging for Books program. I was required to give an honest, and not necessarily positive, review. Thanks, WBM for the opportunity to read this book!

Book Review: When The Soul Mends (Cindy Woodsmall)

When the Soul Mends by Cindy Woodsmall is a delightful glimpse into the life of Hannah Lapp. Upon receiving and beginning this book I was excited to remember that I had read the first book in the series a few months ago and now got to continue to see how Hannah’s story would unfold (I would recommend you read the books that precede this one first so Hannah’s story makes more sense).

Cindy Woodsmall does a great job really drawing her reader into the storyline. I had a hard time putting the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen. Would Hannah choose to go back to her life as an Amish girl? Would she choose to remain “English” and living with Martin and his niece and nephew? Would Martin wait for her as she ran back and forth between her family and his when the need arose for her to go back “home” to her family?

Cindy weaves a common theme of “forgiveness” into the story. Hannah’s family needs to forgive her for running off and making mistakes in the past. Hannah needs to forgive her family, especially her father, for mistakes they made in her life, too, such as blaming her for something that they knew was not her fault. And most of the other characters, in some way or another, show forgiveness.

I highly recommend this book. I wish there was another one in the series so we could continue to have a peak into Hannah’s life now that she has made her decisions. Pick up a copy of When the Soul Mends or any other book by Cindy Woodsmall – you won’t be disappointed!

**I received this book for free courtesy of Waterbrook Multnomah’s Blogging For Books program in exchange for an honest review.**

Book Review: The Bridge of Peace (Cindy Woodsmall)

I love Amish fiction. So you can imagine my delight to be able to write a review about "The Bridge of Peace" by Cindy Woodsmall.

When the book arrived, I learned that it is the second book in a series. However, I was able to jump right into the story without needing to have read the first book in the series (regardless, I am planning to check out Book #1 from the library very soon, as I enjoyed this book and these characters so much!).

This book really drew me in. I felt like I was right there with all the characters as events unfolded. I rejoiced with Gray when it looked like his marriage was beginning to turn around, and I sympathized with him when tragedy struck. I felt the excitement that Deborah felt when her corn maze was successful, and I could feel how much of a blow Lena experienced when she lost her teaching position. I also rejoiced with several characters towards the end of the book (I don't want to give *too* much away!).

This is one of those books that I had a hard time putting down. Although the ending was a bit predictable (at least to me….maybe I’ve read too many Christian fiction books……), it was still interesting to see how the characters reached that point and I grew to love each of them dearly along the way. I can’t to see where Book #3 in the series (due out this year) takes them.

I highly enjoyed this book….it was Amish fiction at its finest, and I look forward to reading more by Cindy Woodsmall.


I received a complimentary review copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.


I would love it if you would take a minute to rank my review for BloggingForBooks.

Book Review: Lady in Waiting (Susan Meissner)

I would imagine that, for an author, writing two stories simultaneously and splitting them up so you have part of one story followed by part of the other story, and so on, would be a bit of a challenge. Susan Meissner does it perfectly with her book, Lady in Waiting. The book follows the story of Jane Lindsey, antique store owner, wife and mother who is trying to figure out how to save her marriage, in one part, and the story of Lucy Day, seamstress for Lady Jane Grey, future 9-day Queen of England, in the other.

Jane Lindsey and Jane Grey have something in common: both are waiting for a change in the direction their life is going. Both feel trapped and not able to make a choice as to how their future will play out. Fortunately, Jane Lindsey realizes soon enough that she is able to choose. Unfortunately, Lady Jane Grey realizes too late.

While I enjoyed the book, I found myself most drawn to the sections from Lucy’s perspective about Lady Jane Grey. I was not familiar with Jane Grey before I read this book but I found myself doing some research on her after I finished the book. Lady Jane Grey really was queen of England for 9 days before her cousin, “Bloody” Mary I took over the throne. Sixteen-year-old Jane’s fate was eventually sealed and she realized that even though she thought she never had the right to make choices for herself, she had made the choices that had gotten her to this point in her life and she had to live with those choices.

Jane Lindsey realized that she had control of her life, too. She could choose to constantly wonder why her husband walked out on her and on their marriage, or she could choose to do some things she had always wanted to do and hope to save her marriage in the process.  And in the end, she made the right choice and we are left to believe that things worked out well for Brad and Jane Lindsey.

I found this book to be a fun read. I loved the fact that it incorporated two storylines .And I loved the historical element with the story of Lady Jane Grey.

Many thanks to Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Company for providing me with a review copy of this book! Please use this handy ranking tool to rate my review. I would appreciate a 5-star if you think it is worthy. :)