Book Reviews

It's hard to imagine someone as popular and sweet as Lisa Whelchel lacking for friends. But that's exactly what happened for a number of years. As an actress, there were plenty of people around, but no one with whom she had a close friendship. Over the years, Lisa built up a self-protective wall, relying upon her own strength. Within her self-sufficient barrier, she also found herself quite lonely.

In her book, Friendships for Grown-Ups Lisa shares her journey from being safe but lonesome to learning how to have close friendships. It wasn't always easy, but her ",...desire to experience connection was stronger than the desire to be safe." Her quest was filled with ups and downs as she discovered things about herself, others, and God's perspective regarding friendships. I really enjoyed this book as Lisa found the joy of godly friendships and gracefully shares what she learned in the process.

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Do you struggle with trusting God, others, and even yourself? In Sheila Walsh's book, Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God she "...opens wide her lifelong battle with trust and the moment-by-moment choices she made to follow where God led." She also includes the stories of ten people from the Bible who not only struggled, but also triumphed, as they discovered the beautiful things God did as they chose to trust Him.

I found Sheila's book to offer great encouragement. It's interesting to me that when we struggle with anything in life, we tend to feel that we're the only one, all the while assuming that everyone else has it all together. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Through her transparency, she offers hope and inspiration that you can learn how to trust the Lord and be freed from the bondage of fear.

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." Galatians 5:1

The book is also supplemented with a 12-week Bible study, which would be great to do on your own, with a friend, or a small group.

Disclaimer: I received the above books free from BookSneeze in order to review them. The opinions stated here are my own. I also received five additional copies of each book to give away. The giveaway is on this blog post. You have until Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 10:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time to enter the giveaway. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.