The Book Corner

May 2013:

 
 
 
In honor of Mother’s Month, T2W thought this book would be perfect! Let’s face it, I’ve never met a fellow mom who didn’t suffer from anxiety! We all do! It’s like it’s inbred in our very being! It’s a constant battle to be fought day in and day out. Whether it’s about our health, our husbands, our kids, our finances, our homes, our relationships, our time, there is PLENTY of stuff we can be anxious about! Consider reading this sweet book from Linda Dillow! 
  
“Women worry a lot. We fret about our children, our friends, our careers, our spouses---the list goes on and on! Yes, we want to be content and trust God with our worries, but it’s a struggle to let go and free ourselves from the burden of anxiety. If you're tired of being held hostage to a million "what ifs," Dillow's 12-week Bible study will provide the help you need to exchange your anxieties for godly peace and contentment. 240 pages, softcover from NavPress.”


April 2013:
 
For Parents Only blew me away, just like when we read For Women Only when T2W reviewed it last year!  I read it in about two nights.  Thank you Shaunti for writing these eye opening books!  If you have read For Women Only, then you will know what I am talking about.  Shaunti Feldhahn takes the same formula and puts it in the same book form, but about parents and teens, instead of husbands and wives.  She takes answers from questions given to teens of today and puts them in plain English or “old-fogy-parent-language” so we can all try to understand our teens and what they are going through in this fast-paced, crazy world we all live in.  Mother’s Day is just around the corner!  Do yourself and your kids a favor by reading this book!  You will be so glad you did.
For Parents Only helps parents understand how their teen or pre-teen child is wired and how to give that child what he or she needs. Shaunti Feldhahn and Lisa Rice free parents to communicate in healthier ways as they discover that understanding their kids may not be as complicated as they think.”
 
March 2013:
 
The Case for Christ is an amazing book on apologetics, like all of Strobel’s books are!  Apologetics is a branch of theology that is concerned with proving the truth of Christianity.  Lee Strobel was an atheist (the best kind of teacher on apologetics mind you!) who wanted to prove that Christianity was bogus.  Well, God had other plans for that!  When his wife became a Christian, Strobel began studying the Bible, investigating Biblical claims trying to prove God didn’t exist. During this process, his heart was transformed and he became a Christian!  What a testimony!  Now he is the author of countless books proving that God does in fact exist and that he sent His only Son to die on the cross for us to save us from our sins.  What a great book for all of us to read this Easter season! 
“A seasoned journalist chases down the biggest story on record in The Case for Christ. Retracing his own spiritual journey from atheism to faith, former Chicago Tribune legal editor Lee Strobel cross-examines a dozen experts with tough, point-blank questions in search of credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth was positively the Son of God. This riveting quest for the truth about history's most compelling figure reads like a captivating, fast-paced novel, yet it's anything but fiction!  An ideal paperback for skeptics!”
 
February 2013:
 
If I had a nickel for every person who told me how much this book changed their view on marriage, I might not be rich, but I could at least go buy me a new Vera Bradley purse. 
Give your husband the respect he needs and in turn he will love and cherish you for it.  It seems so simple, yet so hard because that means giving up our pride and selfish ways to put our spouse first. 
This isn’t a new book and neither is the message it brings to us.  We can all use this reminder and T2W highly recommends this book for your marriage library.  We suggest reading it together as a couple or taking a Love and Respect class together at a local church.  Bless your Valentine with this book for a new year and a new marriage in 2013!
“Discover the single greatest secret to a successful marriage! Psychological studies affirm it, and the Bible has been saying it for ages. Cracking the communication code between husband and wife involves understanding one thing: that unconditional respect is as powerful for him as unconditional love is for her. It’s the secret to marriage that every couple seeks, and yet few couples ever find. Today, you and your mate can start fresh with the ground-breaking guidance that Dr. Emerson Eggerichs provides in this book. His revolutionary message, featured on Focus on the Family, is for anyone: those in marital crisis... wanting to stay happily married... who feel lonely. It’s for engaged couples... victims of affairs.. pastors and counselors seeking material that can save a marriage.

 
January 2013 Book Corner and Winter 2013 Book Club:
 
Our pastor at church recommended this book to his congregation last year and my husband ordered it online, read it, and couldn’t stop talking about it.  In fact, he nagged me to read it and EVEN said my Titus 2 girlfriends need to read this book too!  I couldn’t believe it.  He never nags about anything, well almost anything.  I read the back cover’s first two sentences which say, “Overload is not having enough time to finish the book you are reading on Stress.  Margin is having the time to read it twice.”  [Attention grabbed!] 
“Overload is fatigue, Margin is energy.  Overload is red ink.  Margin is black ink.  Overload is hurry.  Margin is calm.  Overload is anxiety.  Margin is security.  Overload is the disease of our time and Margin is the cure.”  [I must be dying of this disease!]   
“Margin is the space that once existed between ourselves and our limits.  It is something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations.  In Margin, Dr. Swenson provides a prescription against the danger of overloaded lives.  Focusing on margin in four key areas; emotional energy, physical energy, time, and finances, he offers an overall picture of health that employs contentment, simplicity, balance and rest.  [Where do I sign up?] 
If you yearn for relief from the pain and pressure of overload, take a lifelong dose of Margin.  The benefits of good health, financial stability, fulfilling relationships, and availability for God’s purposes will follow you all of your days.”
Join Titus 2 Women in reading Margin for the next 15 weeks!  You won’t regret it!  Look for our discussions every other Thursday on Facebook, starting January 10th , 2013 with chapter 1.
 
 
December 2012 Book Corner and T2W's 2013 Devotional:
 

 
Looking for a daily quiet time focus to add to your Bible reading? Wondering if there are any good, new devotionals out there? Here is a great one T2W has found that we have been using lately. Missionary Sarah Young has a heart for Jesus and a heart for helping others spend time with Him! Jesus is calling us every day to carve out time to meet and be intimate and transparent with Him. Don’t miss out! Start the New Year with these fresh motivating words from Sarah Young.
“Jesus Callingis a devotional filled with uniquely inspired treasures from heaven for every day of the year. After many years of writing in her prayer journal, missionary Sarah Young decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever she believed He was saying to her. It was awkward at first, but gradually her journaling changed from monologue to dialogue. She knew her writings were not inspired as Scripture is, but journaling helped her grow closer to God. Others were blessed as she shared her writings, until people all over the world were using her messages. They are written from Jesus' point of view, thus the title Jesus Calling. It is Sarah's fervent prayer that our Savior may bless readers with His presence and His peace in ever deeper measure.”
 
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Do you get overwhelmed, frustrated and tired at Christmas?  Do you feel like because of this you are sometimes missing the true meaning and all that Christmas stands for?  Start your day during the holidays right!  T2W has found a sweet little Christmas devotional book from Max Lucado!  For the next 30 days in December, open this book for some great reminders for you and your family slow down, ponder and pray about the gift of Jesus during the holiday season.     
Let Advent come alive in your life this Christmas.
“Every Christmas, Christians all over the world celebrate the Advent season, recognizing the love, hope, joy, and peace that is found only in Jesus Christ. Through this 30-day devotional, Max Lucado brings to light the many events in the life of Christ from birth to ascension that demonstrate His omnipotence and the gift that God has given each one of us to enjoy during this Christmas season. Experience each moment as our Savior becomes the center of this Christmas for you.”
 

 
November 2012 Book Corner and Spring 2012 Book Club:
 
 
 
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with all your stuff, life, media, noise, stress, etc.?  Do you want to simplify and slow down, but don’t really know what that means or how to do it?  Are you ready for a real life-changing experiment that you will never forget?  T2W was certainly feeling that way and we recently read this book, while engaging in the “7 fast” and loved it!  (Of course we admitted earlier this fall that we aren’t half the woman Jen Hatmaker is and so we only did two weeks on each area of fasting.  Yeah whatever, we really wanted to be done before Thanksgiving, so there! J)  For more information on how we did or if you’re bored and want to read a bunch of whining, “like” and checkout our Facebook Page!  So, read on our friend!
American life can be excessive, to say the least. That’s what Jen Hatmaker had to admit after taking in hurricane victims who commented on the extravagance of her family’s upper middle class home. She once considered herself unmotivated by the lure of prosperity, but upon being called “rich” by an undeniably poor child, evidence to the contrary mounted, and a social experiment turned spiritual was born.
 
7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence.
Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. They would spend thirty days on each topic, boiling it down to the number seven. Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing, and spend money in seven places. Eliminate use of seven media types, give away seven things each day for one month, adopt seven green habits, and observe “seven sacred pauses.” So, what’s the payoff from living a deeply reduced life? It’s the discovery of a greatly increased God—a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends social experiment to become a radically better existence.
 

October 2012:

 
Are you feeling run down, confused, and spent?  Are you struggling to find your place in Christian life and where you fit in and what you are supposed to do?  Do you need an “Ah Ha Moment” book to read?  Then this is the book for you!  So read on our fellow bookworms! 
“Every woman was once a little girl. And every little girl holds in her heart her most precious dreams. She longs to be swept up into a romance, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, to be the Beauty of the story. And yet―how many women do you know who ever find that life?
 
Most women think they have to settle for a life of efficiency and duty, striving to be the women they "ought" to be but often feeling they have failed. Sadly, too many messages for Christian women add to the pressure. "Do these ten things, and you will be a godly woman." The effect has not been good on the feminine soul.
 
The message of Captivating is this: Your heart matters more than anything else in all creation. The desires you had as a little girl and the longings you still feel are telling you of the life God created you to live. He offers to rescue your heart and release you to live as a fully alive and feminine woman, a woman who is truly captivating.”
 
 
September 2012:

 
is one of our favorite books of all time. Nancy Leigh DeMoss does not beat around the bush or tip toe around any issues. She shoots straight from the Word of God. This book is no different, she counters many of Satan’s lies that he uses to bring women down such as: doubting ourselves, feeling like failures, and discontent to name a few. If you find yourself constantly believing negative thoughts read this book. It is chalk full of scripture and truth for you to put in your tool belt when under attack.
Maybe you don’t even realize you are believing lies, read this book to see how some worldly views have crept into your thought process you don’t even realize they are lies.  Nancy will help you walk in truth so that you may be set free!
 
Summer 2012 Book Club:

 
Dancing with My Father by Sally Clarkson

“Do you sometimes feel victimized by circumstances? Are you overwhelmed by weariness, fear, or discouragement? Do you wonder, Where can I go to claim the promise of Jesus that my joy could be made full?  Let Your Soul Dance with Delight in God!
When trusted author and mentor Sally Clarkson noticed a lack of joy in her own life, she realized how easy it can be, especially for women with overloaded to-do lists, to feel weighed down by drudgery and disappointment. But rather than slogging through her days, Sally wanted to know the delight of God's presence. She began prayerfully exploring how to cultivate deep-rooted joy even in the midst of difficult seasons.”

May 2012:

A Mother’s Heart by Jean Fleming is an amazing book to help each mother figure out their role and God’s role in raising children. She explains how to take a spiritual inventory of your child’s life, and teach you to pray effectively for your child. She’ll also help you be thankful for your child’s strengths and weaknesses.  I hope you are blessed by this book as much as I was. It’s a book you will always want to keep on your bookshelf and someday pass on to your child as she becomes a mother.


 
and
 
The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson is one of my most favorite books of all time. This book will forever be on your bookshelf and you will want to read it every year for inspiration and insight. Sally is an amazing mom of four children and has written several books. She is a godly woman with so much wisdom. This book shows you how to get to the heart of your children. “How to make life’s mundane and nitty-gritty moments work for you and not against you.” Most chapters have sweet prayers at the end and other have some thoughtful questions for you to ponder and take action.


April 2012:
 
Heaven is for Real
by Todd Burpo

Curious if there is a heaven? Wonder what it could possibly look like?  Heaven is for Real is a beautifully written story of a young boy’s trip to heaven and back. The story is retold by his father after his son nearly lost his life.  The details are amazing! The story is so powerful, the quotes from the child will stay with you. My new favorite line of encouragement is, “Ask the Holy Spirit to shoot you down some power.”

March 2012:

Have you ever been around a person who has so much joy it radiates from her face? Someone who has a positive outlook on everything? Have you ever walked away from a woman and said to yourself ,“I want what she has; how can I get what she has?”
Is your spiritual life at a standstill? Are you hungry and thirsty for more? Priscilla Shirer will show you how to be bold and leave the wilderness unlike the 2 million that died there.
Be one in a million and experience the abundant life that Jesus tells us we can have. Are you done with your half -way faith? This book will show you how to have a deep, daily experience of God.
“Get over being average. Break out of the box. Don’t just want it. Live it. Today and every day.” Priscilla Shirer

February 2012:

Redeeming Love
By: Francine Rivers

A STORY OF LOVE THAT WON’T LET GO — NO MATTER WHAT
California’s gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep. Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.
Then she meets Michael Hosea, a man who seeks his Father’s heart in everything. Michael obeys God’s call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel’s every bitter expectation, until despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw. But with her unexpected softening comes overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband’s pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does…the One who will never let her go.
A
 powerful retelling of the story of Gomer and Hosea, Redeeming Love is a life-changing story of God’s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love.

January 2012:

Secrets to Getting More Done in Less Time
By: Donna Otto

Donna Otto is a gifted speaker who loves the Lord and loves helping other women. In this book she gives great tips on how to organize your entire life, with time left over to have fun and do what you really want to do. Donna used to be a disorganized mess, she’s even hid her dirty dishes in the dryer when company came over. Now she doesn’t go anywhere without her planner and encourages women to empower themselves with wonderful tools within her book to help you get organized. Numerous tips and pages you can copy right out of the book to make your own planner. Sit down with a highlighter and get ready for a makeover.

and



Simplify Your Life


Are you always late? Do you think you are organized? Do you have piles of paper in the kitchen or “office”? This is another great book with so many stories of women just like you with real issues and real solutions.  Macia Ramsland gives you helpful steps to simplifying your life. Her tips have been found in many organizational magazines and appearances on TV. She too talks about creating a“planner”. You can answer a few simple questions to evaluate if you really are an organized person. Best of all she ends each chapter with a simple prayer.

December 2011:
 

The One Year Bible

The One Year Bible, which helps people read the entire Bible in as little as 15 minutes a day, guides readers through God's Word with daily readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.  I love the Women's version of this with quotes from great Christian women.

November 2011:

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
A beautifully rich writing on grace, thanksgiving and slowing down to embrace God in every moment. The truths in this book will resonate with you and transform your life forever.

October 2011:

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala
Do you feel like your prayers are bouncebacks?  Are you wanting a spiritual awakening? This book will change your spiritual walk forever.  God wants us to be “hot” for Him. Start a fire in your soul with this great book.

September 2011:

For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn
One of the most important books you will ever read!  This little book lets you in on the biggest secrets ever, when you want to really know what's going on inside your man's head and much more.