Monday, September 17, 2012

Back Cover Review:
by Michelle Perry
 
Open the Floodgates of Life-Changing Encounters with God

Born without her left hip and leg, Michele Perry is no stranger to overwhelming impossibility. Yet again and again among the vulnerable children in South Sudan, God uses her and her co-workers--and even the children--to accomplish the impossible. Here she shows you, too, how to experience God's supernatural intervention genuinely, fully in your everyday life--wherever you live.

Each chapter includes practical keys, discussion questions and application exercises to show you:
  • how you can grow in awareness of God's presence
  • how you can be sure of His voice
  • what it's like to see a vision
  • how to recognize the holy in the ordinary
  • how to foster your own supernatural encounters with God
  • and more!
Accept His invitation and witness Him moving in miraculous and wondrous ways again and again.
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"A must-read."--Randy Clark, overseer, Apostolic Network of Global Awakening; co-author with Bill Johnson, The Essential Guide to Healing and Healing Unplugged

"A major mentoring tool for your life."--Sid Roth, host, It's Supernatural! television show

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Michele Perry is the pioneering director for Iris Ministries South Sudan, founded in 2006 under Rolland and Heidi Baker. She also founded Nema International in 2007 and has spent the last fifteen years ministering and speaking around the world. A native of Florida, Michele studied at Baylor University and has previously served in Bangladesh, India, and the inner cities of the U.S. She is also an artist, photographer and poet and spends her time between the work in South Sudan and establishing a support structure for its practical needs in the U. S.

About the Author

Michele Perry is a visionary and creative whirlwind. An artist, author and photographer, she travels the world to share the lessons she is learning on this unpaved road into God's heart-- and to keep learning.

After five years of basing in South Sudan, Michele continues to oversee the work there while spreading her time between establishing a Western base of creative support structures for project needs, traveling to speak and being onsite in South Sudan roughly 1/3rd of the year mentoring and encouraging the amazing team of missionaries and indigenous leaders that God is raising up.

She longs to see a supernatural company of people who take walking lessons from Enoch be released to soar into the wildest dreams of God, embracing the audacity of heaven, walking in two realms at once. Michele's first book was Love Has a Face.

She is the founding National Field Coordinator for Iris Ministries, Inc., in South Sudan and is ordained by Heidi and Rolland Baker under Iris Ministries. Michele is also the founder/ director of Nema International, Inc. She writes regularly at fromtheunpavedroad.com and is frequently available for speaking engagements in the West.

 Back Cover Review:

The title honestly says it all...this book is an invitation to hear God's voice, to intimately know Jesus like we were created to and to desire the Holy Spirit (who the Bible clearly says God has sent to help us) to be active in our daily lives.

What does the dictionary say “supernatural” means? of, pertaining to, or being above or beyond what is natural; unexplainable by natural law or phenomena...of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or attributed to God or a deity.

I did discover that the word "supernatural" scares some people. One person literally ran the other way shortly after I told them the title of this book. I went home and asked Chet (my husband) why he thinks that is? He said he thinks it's because many of the things labeled "supernatural" focus on the demonic. I think people confuse the word "paranormal" with "supernatural". Media encourages this confusion further.

Let me assure you, it is clear that Michele is passionately in love with Jesus and that her goal and her aim in this book and in her life is for others to know Him too.

"In this supernatural journey, if I want to walk in the fullness of every promise He has given, I must never reduce my theology or my expectation to the level of my current experience."

God does not fit in any box that man creates. He is an out-of-the-box God and it’s not His desire for us to live “in the box” either. Within what He shows us in Scripture? Absolutely. Within our own limits of faith? No.

This is what is in my heart after reading Michele’s book: Yes LORD, Invitation wholeheartedly, hungrily accepted! I want to hear God's voice. I want to do what God wants me to do. I want to be who God says I am. I want to know Him. Not just in Heaven but Here and Now. I do not believe that I can pick and choose from His Word. I believe that every word of the Bible is true and relevant for today. What the Disciples saw and did, we can do. The Holy Spirit is not less powerful today than He was then. These things are not just for yesterday, they are for today and they are for tomorrow. God can be trusted. Jesus can be trusted. The Holy Spirit can be trusted. Every Person of the Trinity is of God, all safe, all Love in its pure and perfect form. And I will choose to trust anything the LORD wants to do. He is Good. And He is Great. And it is my pursuit to be completely Heavenly-minded so that I can truly be of some good here on earth!




This book was provided for review by Chosen Books but the views expressed in this review are entirely my own (and I already bought a copy for my family to read - mine is too marked up to share!). ;)

Friday, January 27, 2012

Back Cover Review: Raven (The Sewing Circle Series) by Christl Boyd


Years of "entertaining" men at the Urbane Saloon have left Raven Caitlyn Wirth feeling hollow inside. After sneaking away on a train headed west in hopes of finding a place to live where no one will bother her, she stumbles upon the town of Walnut Creek. There she meets Rancher Beau Mason whose steadfast character and unwavering faith in God make her wonder if perhaps she isn't meant to be alone after all. Can Raven heal from the wounds of her past or will her former way of life catch up with her and destroy everything she's ever dared to dream of?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Christl Boyd grew up with a fascination for life in bygone eras and a first name spelled so uniquely that her teachers usually said it wrong. (It's pronounced, "Crystal" by the way.) As a teenager, she discovered a love for writing and an awareness of how powerful the written word can be in peoples' lives. The desire to 'breathe life' wherever she goes has translated into opportunities to have two short stories published (Faithwriters: Come Away with Me), author skits and dramatic productions for churches, as well as teaching at women's bible studies, retreats and conferences. She is a pastor's wife, mother and homemaker who enjoys great mexican food, the sound of the ocean and riding roller coasters in her homestate of California.

BACK COVER REVIEW:
Raven is beautifully crafted Historical Fiction. It is a story about grace and restoration. It is also the best self-published novel I’ve read (as good as many coming from a regular publishing house) – VERY well done! I felt emotionally connected to Raven, the main character and I didn’t want to put it down either – it only took me two days to read which is quick at this stage in my life. =D

The punctuation is a little rough around the edges but the story held its own…and you can’t beat 99 cents on Kindle for a great story…

I’ll definitely recommend and will be reading more from the Sewing Circle Series by Christl Boyd.

I purchased Raven (The Sewing Circle Series) with my own ten dimes and the opinions expressed in this review are definitely my own.