The Return

Review: How to Listen So People Will Talk: Build Stronger Communication and Deeper Connections Becky Harling Bethany House 2017 New author to me, but I went ahead and picked this book.   Certainly not for the cover design or the title, though.   The publishers did her no favors with either of their choices.   But, the content is worth reading, particularly if you want to improve communication with just about anyone.    Harling covers the bases well in this easy to read book.   Listening with the intent of engagement with the other person is the point.   Each chapter has a set of short activities, exercises to practice, which start with listening to God, then move to listening to your own heart, and finally listening to others.   She identifies plenty of ways to improve and some of the most common pitfalls of real communication.    There’s nothing here that’s really new.   You know this stuff from experience or...

Review: Alive in the Spirit: Experiencing the Presence and Power of God A.W. Tozer Bethany House Publishers 2016 James L. Snyder has compiled and edited several of Tozer’s sermons related to the Holy Spirit that have not been published in the past.   He had been given the rights to do so by the A.W. Tozer estate based on his prior work on Tozer. He chose this selection from more than four hundred audio recordings of the author’s work, a rather daunting task.   The arrangement chosen for this book allows the reader to progress through Tozer’s teachings about the Spirit and His function within the believing community.   Even though the material comes from the the mid 1900’s it is as relevant today as it was then.   Maybe because the author does not venture into areas that are not well supported by the Bible itself.    He does point out the differences between man powered efforts and Spirit empowered efforts that still hold true today as...

Review: Come with Me: Discovering the Beauty of Following Where He Leads Suzanne Eller Bethany House 2016 There’s an old song attributed to S. Sundar Singh, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, that many have heard sung in a church service at one time or another.   If that song became a book it would be very like the one Eller has written.   In her latest book she encourages the reader to step up and follow Jesus as He invites you to become one of His disciples.      As the original disciples had to discover the what, how, and where of their journey with Jesus, the more recent disciples have a similar journey to accept and travel if they want to truly know the way of Jesus.   Borrowing from that old song and the back cover of the book…though none go with you, you are not alone.   Ever.   The basics are not new, but her presentation shows how it looks in today’s world.   And that is the reason to go get a copy of this book and r...