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Lifestyle
Spiritual direction and help with ethical decisions in our everyday living.
Archive - Book Titles reviewed - Y
Year of Plenty- One Suburban family, Four Rules and 365 Days of Homegrown Adventure in Pursuit of Christian Livingby Craig L Goodwin Though this book is very much an American experience of doing the Urban Good Life – i.e. choosing to spend a year living local and home-grown – it is still an interesting book and given the rise in urban gardening and recycling and a subtle shift to eco-community life over the past few years here in the UK this book could well be of interest to those looking at the possibility of making a change in their own lives. One of the strong themes to come out of this book is how when we return to a more community centred and locally lived life we strengthen not only ourselves but the whole of our community, how when we learn to use what we have better we learn to let go more and to share more, we learn to give of ourselves and how in turn this creates a stronger community and a deeper, richer faith. A wonderful antidote to the consumer culture that even seems to intrude into our faith. Anyone interested in a more back to community, eco sustainable and renewable life, with leanings towards the new monastic movements or living a life of radical ordinariness will probably find a lot to interest them and spark some ideas from this book. Review by Melanie Carroll (03/11/11) |
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| Paperback Price: £8.99 Publisher: Spark House imprint of Augsberg from Alban Books ISBN: 978-1-451-40074-8 View this book on its own page >> |
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Yes You Can- 20 Testimonies prove Everyone can serve the Lordby Keith Giles 20 Testimonies prove everyone can serve the Lord. Yes I think they do, these are short but inspiring stories of how God has taken ordinary people and used them for extraordinary tasks. Each story describes the steps each person has taken in answering Gods call and moving out in response often against impossible odds. If you are thinking about the mission field then this is the book for you. The stories focus on worldwide calling from Africa to Ireland, Russia to France, and as it says the workers are certainly needed. Review by Hilary Morgan (28/07/05) |
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| Paperback Price: £5.99 Publisher: Ambassador Productions from Trust Media Distribution Published: 2004 ISBN: 1-840-30161-9 View this book on its own page >> |
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You Can Make a Differenceby Tony Campola No wonder this book was chosen by a shop to be among their top ten recommended titles. Tony Campolo wries in a way that holds your attention and enables you to learn from every page. He talks from his long experience of working with students, teaching them and counselling them, and meeting many other people. He tells of these meetings, describing what was said, and how he responded, and building a challenging picture of how you and I can learn from these stories and change to a better outlook which in turn will help and change those around us. Updated edition of this classic book. Review to follow Review by publisher (21/12/05) |
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| Paperback Price: £6.99 Publisher: Authentic Media Published: 2005 ISBN: 1-860-24523-4 View this book on its own page >> |
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You Can’t Play the Game If You Don’t Know the Rules- How Relationships Workby Irene Alexander I’m a sucker for books with titles like this one, so it had to be me to review this! I am so glad I did. I only had to read the introduction to know I was going to read, mark and learn from this book. Dr Irene Alexander is a Lecturer in Counselling and Psychology and readily admits she does not have all the answers, and she has a broken marriage to prove it; but she is still willing to learn and to help others to work towards good relationships. I found this book very easy to read, and only too easy to understand when the author told a story of particular two peoples conflicts and how they had arisen, usually through misunderstanding of the others position, or needs. I know I do not get all relationships right, and can think of others who would benefit from reading this excellent book. Christians are in need of this guidance just as much as others. There would be far less conflict and distress in our lives if only we would heed Dr Irene’s teaching. An excellent book which needs reading by as many people as possible. Review by Mary Bartholomew (10/12/08) |
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| Paperback Price: £7.99 Publisher: Lion Published: 21 November 2008 ISBN: 978-0-745-95331-1 View this book on its own page >> |
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Your Best Life Now- 7 Steps to Living At Your Full Potentialby Joel Osteen If your life is marked by “low self-esteem, worries, fears, feelings of inadequacy and insecurity”, then this book has been written for you. It comes across rather like a long sermon, full of illustrations from Osteen’s family life, and with, to my taste anyway, rather too many glowing references to Joel’s ‘daddy’, his predecessor as minister of North America' s largest church, Lakewood, in Houston. Osteen urges us to become ‘favour-minded’. God’s ‘favour’ (a word he cherishes, meaning God’s ‘preferential treatment’ towards those who belong to Him) sometimes seems frankly worldly – parking spaces, position in shop queues, and the like. “God wants to increase you in His wisdom and help you to make better decisions. He wants to increase you financially.” Sounds suspiciously like the ‘prosperity gospel’ school of thought, in which Joel Osteen is a leading light. That has alarmed some reviewers! To be fair, Osteen adds that it’s not merely financial increase that you can expect, but “supernatural promotion in every area of your life”. Step Number 6, “Live to Give”, was the one I warmed to. “God created us to be givers not takers. If you miss that truth, you will miss the abundant, overflowing, joy-filled life that God has in store for you.” Good, but there is a danger that giving is a tool to self-fulfilment rather than the expression of selfless Christian love. Even when Osteen stresses the importance of excellence and integrity (Step 7), he can’t resist saying, “integrity and prosperity are flip sides of the same coin”. For all my dissatisfaction with some features of the book, I have to admit it is readable and down to earth. But even if these 7 steps – and they are not particularly original to Osteen - will lead you to “a life filled with an abundance of joy”, the question remains, how do we implement the advice? What if you try to take the steps, but don’t experience the favour of God? Whose fault is that? Review by Barry Vendy (29/08/09) |
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| Paperback Price: £8.99 Publisher: Hodder Published: 20 March 2008 ISBN: 978-0-340-96451-4 View this book on its own page >> |
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Your Money and Your Life- Completely revised and updatedby Keith Tondeur and Steve Pierce An inability to handle money properly is one of the great problems that many people, including some Christians, face today. This book aims to demonstrate how to handle money God’s way. The book begins by looking at the Biblical teaching on the subject of money and possessions and then covers such areas as budgeting, dealing with debt, giving and saving. The authors emphasise that there is nothing wrong with creating wealth, but that what matters is our attitude to it. They also warn of the dangers of getting into debt. The chapters are full of practical advice and suggestions followed by study questions. The book also provides a link to a website, where some subjects are explored in more depth. Those who find financial matters daunting will not find this book difficult to read. Those who are involved in counselling others on this subject will find it a great help. Review by Alan Hill |
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| Paperback Price: £9.99 Publisher: SPCK (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge) Published: 19 August 2010 ISBN: 978-0-281-06238-6 View this book on its own page >> |
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You’re an Angel- Being Yourself and Sharing Your Faithby Peter Neilson and David Currie |
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ISBN: 1-905-02226-3 Price: £11.95 |
Published: 2005 |
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