Troubled Waters by Susan May Warren

Here is the book summary:

Billionaire Ian Shaw can have everything he wants--except a happy ending. Or at least that's what it feels like with his fortune recently liquidated, his niece, Esme, still missing, and the woman he loves refusing to speak to him. In fact, he doubts she would date him even if they were stranded on a deserted island.

Despite her love for Ian, Sierra Rose knows he has no room in his life for her as long as the mystery of his missing niece goes unsolved. The only problem is, Sierra has solved it, but a promise to Esme to keep her whereabouts secret has made it impossible to be around Ian.

When the PEAK chopper is damaged and Sierra lacks the funds to repair it, Ian offers a fundraising junket for large donors on his yacht in the Caribbean. But the three-day excursion turns into a nightmare when a rogue wave cripples the yacht and sends the passengers overboard. Shaken up and soaked to the bone, Ian finally has a chance to test his theory when he and Sierra do indeed find themselves washed up on a strange, empty shore.

It will take guts and gumption for the PEAK team to rescue the duo. But it will take a miracle to rescue Ian and Sierra's relationship.

And now, my review:

This is book 4 in a series of adventure, intrigue, and romance by Susan May Warren.  I’ve personally read a couple of the others in this series.  This was a book that could stand alone but adds on to the other 3 if you’ve read them.  I found myself very drawn into this one.  The characters are loveable for the most part and “real.”  I love it when a book teaches me while I’m enjoying a fiction read and this book did just that for me.  Now every time I see a wave I think about what this book has taught me.  I also love the dialogue between a couple characters and one of them is saying, what happened to you and how did you come into relationship with God all of a sudden.  The reply was, I went through a hard thing just like you did and God provided just what I needed.  OH so true!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

https://www.amazon.com/Troubled-Waters-Montana-Rescue-Book-ebook/dp/B0741FGCW9/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1524935993&sr=8-2&keywords=troubled+waters

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/troubled-waters-susan-may-warren/1126332869?ean=9780800727468#/

https://www.christianbook.com/troubled-waters-4-susan-warren/9780800727468/pd/727463?event=ESRCG

A Life Beyond Amazing by Dr. David Jeremiah

Here is the book summary:

There is a way to experience a better life.

Are you ready to become the person God has called you to be?  In A Life Beyond Amazing, bestselling author Dr. David Jeremiah uncovers God’s strategy for change and challenges you to make nine important decisions that will transform your heart, your life, and your world.

This life-changing book explores the nine qualities of character that carry us forward. Three of these have to do with our relationship with ourselves, three deal with interactions with other people, and three of them focus on our relationship with God.  Spiritual principles are true in any situation. But we must make a conscious decision to employ them in our daily lives.

God has given us wisdom for these days.  A Life Beyond Amazing answers the questions that keep us up at night and shows that the way forward is a reminder of who we are in Christ and why it matters. 

And now, my review:

First off I would say this book has been a joy to read. I love and have always loved the way Dr. Jeremiah mingles stories that make you laugh sometimes and think sometimes but always takes you to a deeper understanding of what he is trying to say. It sure keeps me engaged in what could at other times be academic. This book I think speaks about how God intends our lives to be lived. Not about self-seeking and pleasure pursuing, but full of the fruit that the Spirit produces in us. The book takes you through a deeper look at each of these aspects of the Spirit in our lives. Life Beyond Amazing talks about selfless love and generosity that you see when you give yourself not to the things of this world, but the plans God has for us.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Beyond-Amazing-Decisions-Transform-ebook/dp/B06Y4TNZDZ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524933553&sr=8-3&keywords=a+life+beyond+amazing+by+david+jeremiah

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-life-beyond-amazing-david-jeremiah/1126613767?ean=9780718079901#/

https://www.christianbook.com/a-life-beyond-amazing/david-jeremiah/9780785221449/pd/221443?event=ESRCG

When We Say Father by Adrian Rogers and Steve Rogers

Here is the book summary:

Adrian Roger's last written manuscript before his passing in 2005, has been edited and brought together by his son Steve, as a final joint work. When We Say Father takes the Lord's Prayer and breaks it down to its most basic components for readers to easily learn how to pray from the ultimate source, Jesus himself.

And now, my review:

When We Say Father by Adrian Rogers and his son, Steve Rogers is an amazing book on a deeper look at the Lord’s prayer!  I love how he writes with Truth and adds stories to bring the reader in.  It makes it very relatable and enjoyable as you are reading through.  He slowly takes us through “Our Father who art in heaven…” and brings us phrase by phrase to understand what Jesus was teaching to the response of his disciples asking Him to teach them to pray.  It takes your two-dimensional thinking about the subject and gives it a third-dimension.

I received a copy of this book from B&H/Lifeway Bloggers for my honest review.

https://www.amazon.com/When-We-Say-Father-Unlocking-ebook/dp/B079QGC7ZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523895916&sr=8-1&keywords=when+we+say+father

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-we-say-father-adrian-rogers/1126808857?ean=9781462771301#/

https://www.christianbook.com/when-we-say-father/adrian-rogers/9781462771301/pd/771303?event=ESRCG

The Prayer Wheel By Patton Dodd, Jana Riess, and David Van Biema

Here is the book summary:

Award-winning religion journalists describe a recently rediscovered medieval prayer tool that provides fresh inspiration and daily prayers for contemporary Christians.

All people of faith struggle at times to sustain a flourishing prayer life--a loss felt all the more keenly in times like ours of confusion, political turbulence, and global calamity. The Prayer Wheel introduces an ancient prayer practice that offers a timeless solution for the modern faithful.

The Prayer Wheel is a modern interpretation of the Liesborn Prayer Wheel, a beautiful, almost wholly forgotten, scripture-based mode of prayer that was developed in a medieval times. The Liesborn Prayer Wheel resurfaced in 2015 in a small private gallery near New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. It faithfully and beautifully presents seven prayer paths for personal or group use. Each path invites contemplation on the "big ideas" of the Christian faith--the Lord's Prayer, the Beatitudes, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and key words from the life of Christ.

In the tradition of lectio divina and walking a labyrinth, The Prayer Wheel simply and directly takes readers into a daily, wholly unique encounter with God. As the prayers in this book unfold, readers will find an appealing guide for contemplation, a way of seeing God in new ways, and an essential new tool for Christian formation.

And now, my review:

The Prayer Wheel is a book about a wheel that you can follow around as a journey in prayer.  It moves from place to place and has the idea of always leading you "home".  This means to God as the ultimate source of prayer, power, and peace.  I have been on many silent retreats that have used many different methods of being silent before the Lord.  They have included Lectio Divina, Consciousness Examen, Contemplative Prayer, the Labyrinth, etc.  This book leads you through 7 weeks and beyond of day-to-day times with the prayer wheel.  At the end of the book, they encourage you to take the tools and bring your own reflections and creativity to it to make it your own.  This is how I will use this book for my personal use.  I am not Catholic.  I found doctrinal differences throughout this book that I marked all up with the Scripture and so I will change it to make it follow my Protestant faith in Jesus.  If you are looking for resources from a Protestant view, I would recommend you check out author Jan Johnson and also the study of Live A Praying Life by Jennifer Kennedy Dean.  

I received a copy of this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for my honest review.

https://www.amazon.com/Prayer-Wheel-Renewing-Rediscovered-Spiritual-ebook/dp/B0738KHZFR/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1523670530&sr=8-2&keywords=the+Prayer+Wheel

https://www.amazon.com/Live-Praying-Life%C2%AE-Power-Provision-ebook/dp/B00960HH5G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1523669876&sr=8-2&keywords=A+praying+life+by+Jennifer+kennedy+dean

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=jan+johnson