Happy Monday, y’all! Today I’m doing a couple of mini-reviews for nonfiction books. My question of the day is: Do you like a pros/cons type of review or regular review style more?

ABOUT THE BOOK Find the book on: Amazon and Goodreads

Brokenness has become a buzzword. We wear it like a badge, proudly showing off the shattered pieces of our lives–while still fighting the same desperate battles. But brokenness was never meant to be the destination. Or your identity. It was meant to be the catalyst for breakthrough.

Inspiring, vulnerable, and powerful, this new book from Jennifer Watson helps you take your eyes off the idol of brokenness and experience the God of breakthrough. She shows how breakthrough is really hope moving forward, even when life hurts. And she gives you practical, uncomplicated ways to: * stop feeling shame and emptiness * leave the victim mentality behind * experience lasting restoration in your story and your soul * and more.

It’s okay to not be okay for a little while. But Jesus has a plan to see your scars become success stories that reflect his glory to the people around you.

WHY I CHOOSE THIS BOOK

The description spot-on to a huge problem I see in the world around me, plus something I’ve had to work through in my own life.

WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BOOK

This book had a lot of good information about how to deal with brokenness, pain, and problems from a Biblical standpoint. I really appreciated a lot of the information the author shared, and I liked how she went to the Bible as the guiding point for how to live life past brokenness.

Tackling the issue of how to deal with hurt but not have it become your identity was something I’ve wanted to read for a while. It’s far too easy to let your pain – or even how you got over your pain – to become what you basis your identity on, but that shouldn’t be our identity at all. I felt like the author presented a very good, balanced picture of how to do this.

The reason I only gave this book three stars is because the writing style really wasn’t one I enjoyed. Some things I actually outright disagreed with and other things just rubbed me the wrong way. Probably about ninety percent of this is simply preference in style, and the ten percent that I disagreed with didn’t overshadow the book to the point that I wouldn’t recommend it.

RATING

I’m giving Freedom! 3 out of 5 stars – Bethany House Publishers gave me this book to review. Obviously, all thoughts are my own.

ABOUT THE BOOK Find the book on: Amazon and Goodreads

One of the great privileges we have as Christians is finding favor from the Lord. Yet our understanding of “favor” can be off. We are sometimes told it’s all about us–that God gave us that house, that car, that job so we can have all we need. But his provision doesn’t stop with us.

In this fascinating, empowering book, Gary Wilkerson, pastor and president of World Challenge, paints a bigger, brighter, and more biblical picture of what God’s favor is. He shows how our loving Father showers his abundant resources upon us–things like forgiveness, restoration, peace, joy, power, and authority–not only to bless us with a favored, happy life, but for us to joyfully demonstrate this favor to others, whether they are friends, family, or strangers on the street. Because God’s favor is not meant to end with us–it is meant to show the beauty of his unearned grace to a hurting, unbelieving world.

WHY I CHOOSE THIS BOOK

I’m familiar with the author’s work in general, and I’ve read books by various family members, therefore reading one of his books is something I was interested in.

WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BOOK

I was really expecting to give this book a higher rating when I went into it, but sadly there were several things that brought the rating to three stars. To be concise, I’m going to give some pros and cons.

Pros:
*Mr. Wilkerson does a good job at explaining what God’s favor is, and what it isn’t. In a culture where a lot of people seem to think having God’s favor means getting whatever they want, I really appreciated this
*The book was written in simple language that is easy to understand, with a lot of biblical accounts backing up what Mr. Wilkerson said, as well as modern-day examples that help make the book relatable
*Mr. Wilkerson ends the book by talking about God’s unlimited favor, versus His ultimate favor. This part was my favorite as it really made me stop and think about how I live my life

Cons:
*There were multiple times that I felt like Mr. Wilkerson took verses out of context or interpreted accounts from the Bible in ways that weren’t consistent with what was actually being said. Most of these were very small occurrences, but they happened enough times that it lowered the rating of the book for me
*Some of the examples of God’s favor in modern days that Mr. Wilkerson used rubbed me the wrong way – I didn’t agree with how things were handled, or that what we were seeing was actually God’s favor being shown. This could very well have been me misinterpreting the stories, but it made me slightly skeptical as I read
*I had a few issues with the balance of how the overall book was presented.

RATING

I’m giving God’s Favor 3 out of 5 stars – Chosen Books graciously gave me a copy so I could review it for y’all. As always, the thoughts are my own.