Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my review. The thoughts and opinions are my own.

This past summer I decided to read “The Hobbit” to my oldest son as part of his bedtime routine. I only read a couple of chapters to him because one night, he took it with him to bed and stayed up late, reading most of it without me. I think the only other chapter I read was the last and final one. While I know everything turned out good in the end, I know nothing of the adventures in between.

Because my son loved the book so much, I was intrigued when I came across a book titled, Finding God in The Hobbit to review for Tyndale. I wanted to read it and use it to initiate discussions with him about the book. it is also timely that the movie is coming out this month.

A question could be asked, “Is God even mentioned in The Hobbit?” Not unlike the book of Esther in the Old Testament, where God’s name is never mentioned but His presence is obvious, in The Hobbit, the behind the scenes work and sovereign hand of Somebody is evident. While The Hobbit is not religious in nature, and not an obvious allegory like Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, there are many spiritual truths found in the book.

That is the purpose of Finding God in the Hobbit, to point out the spiritual truths and parallels between Scripture and the book. Each chapter in this book contains a portion from The Hobbit, followed by commentary from the author pointing out a specific spiritual truth. Drawing from additional books and letters of Tolkien, the author reveals how Tolkien’s faith cannot be separated from his writing.

The spiritual truths in this book are many. A few of my favorite chapters in Finding God in the Hobbit were:

1. The author pointed to the examples of the reluctant hero, Bilbo, unexpectedly getting himself out of dire circumstances, not by his own ability, and seemingly by accident. This reminds us that God is always at work in our lives. Scripture is filled with examples of unlikely heroes whom God used in his story of redemption.

“Surely you don’t disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit?” from The Hobbit, chapter 19

2. In another chapter the author showed the folly’s and mistakes that Bilbo and company made turned out for the good. This reminds us of how God uses all things, even our mistakes and blunders to accomplish His purposes.

3. The author pointed out another spiritual truth in the pivotal event when Bilbo handed over the Arkenstone to help end the war. It was a priceless treasure and certainly well deserved after all he had gone through. This is a reminder of the importance that we surrender all those things which bring us only temporary joy.

“Perhaps we, the readers, feel the weight of Bilbo’s decision all the more forcefully because we understand that learning to hand it over is central to the meaning of the human experience. Somewhere deep down inside we realize that our lives in this world are fleeting and that it is folly to cling to any temporal thing. As a result, though we may not be able to put the thought into words, we sense that surrender is somehow the door to eternity–that a yielding spirit is the key to a vibrant relationship with the living God.” (p.123, Finding God in the Hobbit)

If you’ve read The Hobbit, plan on reading it, or expect to watch the movie this month, I highly recommend Finding God in the Hobbit. As for me, I need to go back and read all the chapters I missed, now with eyes more aware of and eager to see the deeper spiritual truths.

Photo courtesy: Lisa Tarplee Photography

Hands poised mid-air. Eyes focused in concentration. His mind scrutinized the pieces before him and there was nothing that would distract him. Planning, strategizing, and anticipating, he analyzed each and every move. And me? Well, I pretended I knew what I was doing.

A year or so ago, my oldest developed an interest in the game of chess. Since then, he has grown in his skill and understanding of the game. He’s tried to teach me as well. We’ve played many games together, most of which I spent trying to remember which direction each piece moves.

While I’ve come far in learning the game, and if asked, I can tell you that the Bishop moves diagonally and the Queen can move anywhere, I’m still not winning. Just the other day, I learned that a King cannot kill another King. And there’s this thing called “castling” that I’ve yet to figure out what it means.

Photo courtesy: Lisa Tarplee Photography

Yes, I have far to go but there is one thing I have learned from this game that has opened my eyes to an important fact:

I often treat God like an opponent in a game of chess.

My life is like the game board. I try to anticipate what God is going to do in my life. I plan, plot, and try to figure out what His next move will be. I strategize, “If He’s doing this in my life, then I’ll have to do this or else this will happen.”

I live life in the future, always wondering what’s ahead for me. I try to plan out what I will do and how I will handle what comes my way. In reality, I’m trying to have power over that which is out of my control.

I’ve looked at where my life is today and assume it’ll be this way for years to come. I get overwhelmed and fearful of the future–future tripping–all at the expense of the present. I even try to manipulate and change what will happen in the future. Grasping at control that is not mine to have often leads me to worry, fear, despair, and sorrow.

While in chess you can develop a strategy and anticipate your opponent’s next move, God cannot be analyzed or strategized. More important than learning how to win at chess, I need to learn how to let go of the desire to control my life and trust in God’s plan for me.

The question is, how?

Recently, I was invited to read and review Karen Ehman’s new book, Let. It. Go.: How to Stop Running the Show and Start Walking in Faith. Do you struggle with trying to “run the show” of your life or everyone else’s life? In this book, Karen explores all the ways we try to control people, plans, circumstances, time, and all the details of life. She goes back to the source of this desire for control–the first sin in the garden. Ever since Adam and Eve, we have all wanted to be like God, and be in control of our lives.

Let. It. Go.: How to Stop Running the Show and Start Walking in Faith helps open our eyes to the ways we try to control life. Many chapters include a short quiz with questions designed to help us determine if we are grasping control of a particular area of life. This book is filled with practical ways to relinquish control and walk in faith. From ideas on managing the technology in our life to suggestions on how to mother without smothering to helpful hints on managing a busy household, Let. It. Go. not only points out the problem of control but also gives solutions on how to let go of control.

And for someone like me, who is always trying to grasp control, this book spoke directly to me.

“Instead of longing for God to change the trajectory of your life’s story line, look for his face as you practice your faith at each twist and turn along the way.” (p.166)

As an author, Karen Ehman is witty, down to earth, and transparent. She writes in the tone of your best girl friend, sharing her own struggles with trying to control life. After meeting her and hearing her speak this summer at She Speaks, I can attest to the fact that she is the same in person as she is in the book.

As for me and my chess game, I may never win against my son. But I have learned to let go of the desire to control the direction for my life. Trusting God for His perfect plan is the only strategy for me.

To get your own copy of this book, click here: Let. It. Go.: How to Stop Running the Show and Start Walking in Faith. A companion video based study is also available for small groups.

Two readers will win their very own copy today. Simply leave a comment below and you’ll be automatically entered. Random.org will draw the names on December 8 at 8:00pm EST. Update: Melissa Deming and Donnell Holly are the winners of this giveaway. Congratulations!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for this review. The thoughts and opinions are my own.

Do you ever feel weak? Have you ever felt helpless? Have you experienced an unexpected event in your life that left you on your knees?

My friend, Emily Cook, has written a book titled, “Weak and Loved” about her journey through her daughter’s battle with epilepsy. A parent never feels so weak as they do when their child is very sick. You feel completely helpless to do anything to fix it, relying instead on doctors, tests, and medication. All the time you may wonder, “What is happening?” “Why?” and “What are we going to do?”

Through the process of learning that her daughter had epilepsy, through all the tests and treatments, and even through her daughter’s brain surgery, Emily learned not only how weak she was, but also just how much God loves her.

This book is a personal memoir of a painful time in her life where she struggled to hold on to hope and trust in His promises. As with all trials, hers was a journey of ups and downs, of seeing God at work, of doubt, of fear, and of waiting for Him in the darkness. During this time of suffering in her life, Emily clung to the promise that God is sovereign over all things and that everything will work together for the good of His children. This book doesn’t provide easy answers to life’s trials but points us to the cross and to the One who promises that one day, there will be no more pain or sorrow.

“Yes, death’s threats are everywhere, and death may even take this child of your heart this very night. You no longer can close your eyes to this, daughter. Yet there is great comfort to be found, even in this valley of death. Death would only take her from your care into Mine. Lean on me, daughter, I am faithful and My promises do not fail.”

Her story, while it is her story, is also our story. We all go through dark tunnels in our life where we can’t see what’s ahead, where fear threatens to over take us, and where our faith is put to the test. But He is there, even in the midst of that darkness. In tuning our heart to hear His voice, in trusting in His word, one step at a time, we will leave that tunnel and come out the other side.

Emily and her family have come out the other side. In this book, she shares her deep love for her daughter, the truth about God’s grace, of giving the hard thanks, and her battle with trusting God with her daughter’s illness. She writes with honesty and transparency, taking the reader inside the heart of a mother who suffered as her child suffered.

“God helped me loosen my grip on Aggie, just a little. She was a gift from God, on loan to us for as long as He chose.”

May we all grasp the truth that while we are “weak for now”, we are also “loved forever.”

Emily is offering a free digital copy of the book, July 15-19. Click here to get your copy. To read more about her daughter’s progress, click here.

Disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. The opinions are my own.

My friend, Heather Bixler, recently wrote a mini topical Bible study on the subject of rejection and acceptance. Who has not experienced rejection at some point in their lives? I know I have. More than I care to remember.

This wonderful e-book is a four-week study that dives deep into the sources of rejection, the pain of rejection, the lies of rejection and points us to the only source of complete and full acceptance–God our Father. Using examples from her own life, Heather shares her journey in refuting the lies of rejection and embracing the unconditional acceptance of God. A favorite quote of mine is this, “Rejection is all about us, it’s all about the flesh. Rejection is a lie from the enemy that we have chosen to believe. Acceptance is all about God. Acceptance is the truth.”

What I appreciate so much about this study is the emphasis on Scripture memorization. The only way to defeat is a lie is with truth and the source of all truth is God’s Word. Each week has a memory verse and a memorization plan to go with it. (Just what I need!). There are also discussion questions at the end of each chapter to be used in the context of a group.

Are there stories of rejection in your life? Has its lingering sting paralyzed your life in some way? You are not alone in that struggle. Want to learn more? Click here: Rejected – Four Week Mini Bible Study (Becoming Press Mini Bible Studies).

I was not asked by the author to do this review. The opinions here are my own.

Just in time for Easter, R.C. Sproul has written a new book titled, “The Donkey Who Carried a King.” This children’s picture book focuses on lessons of contentment and humble service, like that of our Savior.

Following the pattern of many of Dr. Sproul’s other children’s stories, the main character has a problem and a close family member tells a story, often an allegory, to help them solve the problem. This story begins with a little boy who was continually being picked last to play games with his friends.  He was quite upset so his grandfather told him a story about a donkey named Davey who was never picked for any jobs. Then one day, he was given the important job of carrying a King into Jerusalem. After this experience, he grew prideful and grumbled about other jobs he received, thinking he was too good for them.

Until the day this donkey saw the King being taken up a hill with a cross on his back. He was very upset about the way the King was being treated. Davey ended up having a talk with an older, wiser donkey and learned lessons on humility, service, and contentment.  The grandfather concludes with the real story about Jesus, the Humble Servant King.

At the end of the book is a series of discussion questions for parents to use in helping children understand the meaning behind the story.

We have a few of Dr. Sproul’s other children’s books and love each and every one of them. I appreciate how he uses allegory to teach a spiritual truth.  My children find the stories engaging and meaningful. The Donkey Who Carried a King was a fun read with my children, sparking enlightening conversations. The illustrations are engaging and interesting to young eyes. This is an excellent book that teaches children not only about following Jesus’ example of humble service, but more importantly, about Jesus, the Servant King who carried the burden of our sins on the cross.

To learn more about this book, visit Reformation Trust Publishers.

I received this book for free from Reformation Trust in exchange for this review. The words and opinions are my own.

For many, life’s hurts do run deep. The trials, pains and sorrows of our lives can cut deep canyons into our hearts. The impact of loss, abuse, rejection, and debilitating illness can wreak havoc in our lives for many years. We may cry out and question God asking, “Why?”

Why does God allow such pain in our lives and how do we get through it?

This is the question that Kay Arthur addresses in her book titled “When the Hurt Runs Deep.” As a gifted Bible study teacher, she takes us deep into Scripture for the answers we need. She teaches through much of the book of Job, in verse by verse fashion, showing the source and reasons for suffering.  She emphasizes God’s sovereignty in all things, including our pain, hurt, and suffering.  Kay Arthur points out errors in common thinking that Christians should and will be free of suffering and goes into detail describing the reasons why God allows deep pain in our lives.  Her tone is compassionate, yet continually affirms the truth in God’s word.

She takes us to Scripture as well for the answers on how to handle suffering. There are a few passages in Scripture that she recommends memorizing to give hope when the hurt runs deep. She also uses example of friends she has known who went through great trials, sharing how their faith strengthened them. She also shares with great transparency about her own hurts, all the while lovingly directing us to the Source of all healing.

When I chose this book to review, I selected it because I knew Kay Arthur would address the problem of pain biblically and I wasn’t wrong. I appreciated the compassion and understanding tone in her writing. The practical helps and verses to study brought me directly to the lap of my Father, the God of all comfort.  I believe strongly in the importance of developing a theology of suffering before tragedy or trial strikes. This book will be an essential aid to anyone desiring to do just that.

This book also includes a study guide at the back of the book. It can be used individually or in groups. For more information on this book, visit her website Precept Ministries. Want to read chapter one? Click here. For more information about Kay Arthur, click here.

Interested in a free copy of this book? Leave a comment in the comment box below and you’ll be entered in the drawing to be done on 3/24.

Update 3/24: Random.org randomly selected KanalyKoaster as the winner of this book. Congratulation!

I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers in exchange for this review.

It’s no secret that I love to read. Fiction is especially enjoyable because I get to travel and visit another place, if only for a short time. When reading Amish fiction, I visit a world completely different from my own. I enjoy reading about their slow pace of life, deep faith, and of course the sweet concoctions they eat each day.

In A Harvest of Grace, the characters deal with the same kinds of trials as the non-Amish world. This book is the third in a series (Ada’s House Series) and continues the story of several people from the previous books in the series.  It also highlights the lives of two characters who struggle with pain from past sins.  The female character is Sylvia who has run from betrayal and shame in her home town to live and work for a farmer in another Amish town, all in the hopes of escaping her pain.  Different from most Amish women, she prefers to spend all hours of the day working at a dairy farm than to tend to the cares of a home.  On the dairy farm she works at, she meets the owner’s son, Aaron, who has just returned home from rehab where he received treatment for his alcoholism.  He experiences a rough uphill battle to restore broken relationships and broken trust with his family.  Initially, Sylvia and Aaron don’t see eye to eye on how the dairy farm should be run.  The more they work together, their friendship begins to grow.

This book ends the Ada’s House Series.  I had not read the previous books when I began this one. After reading it, I definitely want to read the first two.  For anyone who enjoys Amish fiction, books by Cindy Woodsmall are quickly becoming a favorite of mine and I highly recommend them.  Want more information on this book, click here.  To read an excerpt, click here.  Want to buy it now? Click here.

A Harvest of Grace is a story of healing, forgiveness, and the grace of God–something we can all understand, Amish or not.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. The words and opinions are my own.

It’s amazing how bringing a little person into the world can change you.  Not only are you forever connected by blood to this new eternal soul, you are also responsible for the raising and training of that soul.  Parenting has changed me in countless ways.  I’ve often remarked how God has used parenting to reveal my sin–and depths of sin I never knew existed.

A blogging friend of mine, Wick Anderson, has written a book titled “Different: how God uses parenting to transform us wholly.”  He too has experienced the major changes that parenting brings.  Upon reflecting on those changes, he points out how God uses those changes to bring about spiritual growth in our walk with Christ.    From changes in commitments and priorities to growth in relationships, humility and forgiveness, our daily lives as parents give us many opportunities to learn and be transformed.  Wick challenges us to look at the areas in our life where we need to grow in our walk with Christ.

Providing humorous and lighthearted examples of life with three daughters, Wick uses these examples to point out how parenting changes us.  This is not a how-to parenting book, but rather an honest look at the unique ways in which being a parent can move us forward in our faith.  Instead of looking back on life with young children with a sense of regret for what we didn’t do, we need to seize each moment and use it as an opportunity for change.  Children not only hold up mirrors to reflect our sin to us, they also reveal to us the heart of the Kingdom.  Their quick forgiveness, excitement about life, and eagerness to try new things remind us of what Jesus said about needing faith like a child.

I hope you’ll visit Wick’s blog to learn more about him and his heart.  Interested in reading the book?  You’ll find a link to purchase the book on his blog.