Review of Finding God in the Waves by Mike McHargue

I grew up assuming God existed because that was what my parents and my church told me. I never questioned their credibility. I just believed they were telling the truth and evidence wasn't required. I became a follower of Jesus when I was fifteen, and all was well. Except the older I got, the more questions I had. Certain things about the Bible didn't make sense. I also had a fascination with science, which often comes into conflict with religion and faith. In college, I decided the evidence for God's existence was weak and turned away from my earlier belief. It was scientific evidence that led me back to a belief that God must be behind the universe we live in.

My story is exactly why I couldn't wait to read Mike McHargue's book Finding God in the Waves. I still have questions, many years later, and Mike's story is similar to my own. When I picked up the book, I almost skipped to the second part, bypassing Mike's personal story. Not that I thought it would be boring, I just wanted to get to the evidence part. Thankfully, I decided to read Mike's story first, which resonated with my own experience on almost every page. It's a powerful story of losing God and not so much finding him again but being found by him instead.

Then in the second part, Mike outlines the evidence for why we should believe. He covers God's role in creation, how neuroscience points us to God, and why we can trust that Jesus is who he says he is. Some things can't be easily explained by science, but so much can, and so much of it points to God.

Finding God in the Waves may not convince everyone, nor is it supposed to, but for many, Mike's story is a welcome one because of its honesty with the experience many of us share.

Review copy provided by Blogging for Books

Review of THE CALLING by Rachelle Dekker

Rachelle Dekker, daughter of bestselling author Ted Dekker, returns to the intense dystopian world she established in her debut novel The Choosing with the second book in the series The Calling. In The Calling, a secondary character from the first novel takes center stage as he leads a team of Seers back into Authority City to rescue other Seers out. The Seers recognize the oppression of the leaders in Authority City and the false representation of God's law, but they're nearly powerless to do anything about it. As Damien Gold, the city's newest president, ramps up the executions of the followers of Aaron, the Seer's mysterious leader, Remko, Carrington, and their team must risk their lives and the future of their movement in order to save as many people as they can and show the Authority that they won't just accept things blindly anymore.

I loved The Choosing, and as a longtime fan of Ted Dekker, I was very impressed with the skill Rachelle exhibits that's every bit as intriguing as her father's. There's no doubt that she learned a lot from being the daughter of Dekker, but her stories have a distinctive feel that's all her own.

The story was reminiscent of when I read The Hunger Games. It's a very different story, but it definitely had that feel. In fact, it's one of the reasons why I enjoy the story because when I finished The Hunger Games trilogy, I wanted to read something that made me feel the way that story did.

The first book in the series was written from Carrington's perspective, and the The Calling is from Remko's perspective. The transition from female to male voice in between books was flawless and you get a real sense of the struggles Remko deals with, especially his fear. The only complaint I have about the book is that I wish the theme of the book hadn't been written as a subtitle on the book's front cover. I would have rather discovered that from my own reading of the story, rather than having it fed to me before I even began the book. Of course, that's a publisher issue rather than an author issue. The theme is handled well, and I could identify with it.

Rather than ending this review with a "If you're a fan of Ted Dekker... ," I'd say if your a fan of fast-past thrillers that deal with some of the world's most burning questions, check out The Calling. I look forward to the conclusion of this trilogy.

Review copy provided by Tyndale Blog Network

Review of HAPPINESS by Randy Alcorn

I've enjoyed Randy Alcorn's work ever since discovering his book Heaven in the wake of my grandfather dying several years ago. What I enjoy about Alcorn is his commitment to digging deep into the Scriptures and discovering what others often miss along the way. That's very much what reading Heaven felt like when I first read it.

In his latest book, Happiness, Alcorn tackles the question of whether or not God wants us to be happy. Christians are frequently taught that God cares more about our holiness than our happiness. Often, we're told to have joy instead of happiness, as if the two are completely separate things. With these teachings in mind, many Christians assume a life of grudging sacrifice is what God most wants for us. Happiness presents a God who not only desires our happiness but is himself infinitely happy.

Like Heaven, Happiness dives into the relevant Scripture passages to challenge the assumption that God isn't interested in our happiness. It turns out that God cares deeply about our happiness and fights for it every day.

Happiness is a game-changing book because it challenges something many of us have accepted as part of the Christian narrative for so long. Happiness is important. God is happy, and he wants to share and expand his happiness with us.

Review copy provided by the Tyndale Blog Network

Review of FREEHAND FIGURE DRAWING FOR ILLUSTRATORS by David H. Ross

Drawing from a photo as a reference is difficult when you're first learning how to draw, but not as difficult as trying to create a drawing on paper from just your imagination. The proportions inevitably end up imperfect, and your drawing itself comes out looking nothing like you imagined. That's why Freehand Figure Drawing for Illustrators is such a helpful book.

This book helps you to develop the skills to draw any figure without reference and create drawings that come out just as you imagined them. After some foundational instruction on perspective in drawing, the author, David H. Ross, walks readers through several types of figure drawings, giving them the reference points to draw any figure from imagination.

If you want to learn how to draw from memory, Freehand Figure Drawing for Illustrators will help you to develop the skills you need.

Review copy provided Blogging for Books

Review of THE STORY OF GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU by Sally Lloyd-Jones

I have loved reading the Jesus Storybook Bible to my children because it paints a clear and endearing picture of God and his pursuit of us in the life of Jesus. Now, Sally Lloyd-Jones repackages the text of the Jesus Storybook Bible for adults. 

What's great about Lloyd-Jones' writing is that the stories are beautifully told and cover key points in the entire biblical story. A common refrain of the book is that every story of the Bible whispers the name of Jesus. It's a fresh retelling of the redemptive story that is faithful to that story.

If you've never read anything by Lloyd-Jones, The Story of God's Love for You is a great introduction. If you have children, the Jesus Storybook Bible is just as great.

Review copy provided by Book Look Bloggers

Review of Centralia by Mike Dellosso

Centralia is the latest novel from Mike Dellosso and his first to be published with Tyndale House. I've been a fan of Dellosso's ever since I read his book Scream, so I'm always eager to read whatever he has out next. Centralia is a gripping story because of its premise. A man named Peter Ryan can't find his wife and daughter, and although everyone tells him they died, he refuses to believe it's true. He begins a journey to find the truth and soon discovers that not everything is as it seems.

Dellosso has a way of crafting a story that keeps you guessing and also gets you thinking about deep questions of life. This book has been compared to The Bourne Identity, and there are some similarities, but the book struck me as the kind of story that Dellosso would write.

If you haven't read a Mike Dellosso novel, he's a truly gifted storyteller. Centralia is another example of this.

Review copy provided by Tyndale Blog Network

Review of THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir

When Mark Watney is believed to be dead on the surface of Mars, the rest of his Ares 3 team is forced to leave the planet before ever finding his body. But Watney isn't dead, and now he's alone on the surface of Mars with limited supplies and no way to contact his crew or Earth to let them know he's alive. Anyone in his position would likely lose hope of ever getting off of Mars alive, but Watney is resourceful, and he knows another team will return to Mars someday. If only he can gather all his resources to survive.

The Martian by Andy Weir was one of the most intense and most brilliant novels I've ever read. Weir clearly spent a lot of time researching for his story to make it seem believable. After all, no one has ever been on Mars, and any chance of survival seems hard to fathom, yet Weir tells a story of a man who is desperate to survive and has the wits to give it a solid try.

I loved the way the story was told. Watney writes log entries almost every day of his experiences on Mars. Those log entries are periodically interrupted by third-person narratives because Watney does face death at almost every moment. It's definitely one of those stories that keeps you on the edge of your seat to find out what will happen in the end. I highly recommend reading The Martian.

Review copy provided by Blogging for Books