Courageous by Randy Alcorn

The first chapter of this book was amazing! Without being a spoiler, it wasn't until I finished the first chapter that the reality of what I had just read hit with a bang! The first chapter was clever and drew me in and gave me a taste of more intriguing storylines.

The second and third chapter were a bit slow and I had to dig deep to keep going. While I struggled with Chapter Three, I realized Courageous was in my movie theatre! I thought that was cool and knowing this was also a movie, I cracked open the book and dug in (I like comparing books to their movie counterparts).

After becoming familiar with each of the four families discussed in this story, I began to look forward to realizing how the lives would connect. This book was family-friendly, Christ-focused and a blessing to behold. Courageous depicted the hard life of boys without fathers who turn to gangs to belong. The author also was quite graphic in describing the violence and danger associated with being a cop. I appreciated that graphic depiction, as many Christian fiction stories can be a little too "nicey nice" for the evil days we are truly living (Matthew 24:4-14).

A criticism I had was the repeated reference to the 'Resolution'. The Bible could have been that reference point to draw the men into the agreement to be better fathers and husbands. A page from the Bible could have just as easily been printed out and framed and referred to by Scripture and verse. I feel there was a bit of a marketing/promotion of a new fad which I have come to realize is correct, as "Focus on the Family" is pushing for a men's group to embrace the 'Resolution'. I am all for men becoming more godly, but have them bring their Bible's and not a new program with materials. We have enough 'programs'! We need to wear out the pages of our own Bibles (that is just my opinion.)

Another criticism I had what that there way too many references to food in this book! Not just humans consuming, preparing, or rejoicing over food - but the people giving their dogs food often and food that dogs should not be eating! One of the dogs was sick so the father took it to the vet. The man had just told the wife that he had given the dog people food (forget what it was) and then the dog wasn't feeling well so he brought it to the vet. Right after bringing the dog home from the vet he gave the dog pancakes, bacon and maple syrup! Duh. No wonder the dog was sick. I hope the dog didn't get fed unnecessary antibiotics in between.

Not to beat a dead horse so to speak, but, the dog eating badly scenario occurred with three separate dogs and those dogs were each mentioned at least twice each. I found those types of food discussions ridiculous. Christians including food in everything I am used to - but the inclusion of the canine cooking eating badly - did not enjoy so much!

I hope to see Courageous the movie soon. The book was really good. I enjoyed reading it and hope to hear more family-friendly plots from author Randy Alcorn!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tyndale Publishers as part of their  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Are you a manufacturer of a product or currently market a service? Christina will review it! Email christina@wordsofgrace.info with product name, description and manufacturer's suggested retail price along with any other information relative to said product. You will receive a response via email within two weeks if product will be reviewed. Please note not all products will be considered reviewable. Please do not send products without prior consent. Note: Products sent for review will not be returned. Product submission authorizes consent for said product to remain in sole possession of recipient. No monies shall be exchanged for product submission nor permission granted for reviews prior to submission. Reviews shall remain effective and in full force at sole discretion of blog administrator and/or authors related to http://www.christinawillreviewit.blogspot.com.

Earthen Vessels by Matthew Lee Anderson

Guilty. I chose this book by its cover.  In this case, that adage applied. Wasn't wise. Why don't I ever learn? I was also drawn to the concept which I understood to be how our bodies as believers in Christ mattered to our faith.

I found that concept fascinating as I am very much into an organic lifestyle basically involving our implementation of a Mediterranean diet. For those two reasons I chose to review this book.

I smiled as I read the Contents page. Tough topics were presented: Evangelical Inattention and the Secular Body, Tattoos and the Meaning of our Bodies, Homosexuality and the Christian Body, etc.

I still had high hopes for a great read after I dove into the Preface titled In Which I Clear My Throat. Chapter One included Scripture and mention of Paul the Apostle. It was interesting.

However, Chapter Two presented a roadblock. I did not  understand the author's intention with the use of the word "evangelical." I consider myself an evangelical Christian. I try not to stereotype any people group. I understand truths to be evident when presented with statistical data. In this book, I heard the author's opinion with regard to his summation that overall most evangelical Christians are not interested in having healthy bodies at least as compared to having a healthy faith. I did not read of proof of his conclusion.

Therefore, since he was using supposition, he should have used personal examples to make his case. Do case studies, use your experience, man! There truly is danger in making assumptions with regard to any class of people.

Chapter Seven was awkwardly presented. In that chapter titled The Body and Its Pleasure the author loosely threw in Scripture about Paul being the most equipped to speak about sex. On page 124 I realized without a shadow of a doubt that this would not be a book I would recommend. Respectfully, Scripture is not to be interpreted with an "I think I can" attitude. The author made the mistake of referring to Scripture and then reasoning how he "thought" it would apply and then speaking it to his audience as if it were truth.

Page 124," What follows in the rest of this chapter, then, is not a comprehensive treatment of human sexuality, but my attempt to outline what I think is distinctive about Christian sexuality in a world that worships sex. My goal is to say what I think Scripture thinks sex is rather than focusing primarily on what sex is not. Naturally, I draw on the account of the body I have sketched in earlier chapters to make my case. But I should also note that much of what follows is heavily influenced by-though not a direct translation of-John Paul II's Theology of the Body."

There were many broad brush strokes outlining how to do this or that. Legalism was mentioned. The author seemed to want to teach and guide and solve problems in "the church". There were rays of sunshine throughout but getting through the wordy, opinionated, secularly quoted sections was a struggle.

Writing a nonfiction work in the Christian market these days no doubt is a challenge. The market has become broad and if a book focuses too widely on too many facets of the "Christian Church" of course some will be offended, some may applaud, and some may change the channel.

I fell into the latter group. Mr. Anderson, I am an evengelical that does care about the body, does love God's Word and gosh darnit I can crack open that book and hear from the Holy Spirit. I will then learn all I need to know about my body, sex, and homosexuality!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Are you a manufacturer of a product or currently market a service? Christina will review it! Email christina@wordsofgrace.info with product name, description and manufacturer's suggested retail price along with any other information relative to said product. You will receive a response via email within two weeks if product will be reviewed. Please note not all products will be considered reviewable. Please do not send products without prior consent. Note: Products sent for review will not be returned. Product submission authorizes consent for said product to remain in sole possession of recipient. No monies shall be exchanged for product submission nor permission granted for reviews prior to submission. Reviews shall remain effective and in full force at sole discretion of blog administrator and/or authors related to http://www.christinawillreviewit.blogspot.com.