The Return

Review: No Fear in Love: Loving Others the Way God Loves Us Andy Braner Baker Books 2015 What do love and fear have in common that they end up together in a book title?   Yes, you know the verse from 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”   But what about ridding yourselves of the fear that keeps love from acting and being complete?   That’s pretty much what this book is about. Braner looks at overcoming that fear through examples from his own life.   He never professes to be perfect though and tells his readers how that worked out for him.   And could also work for you and me. Divided into three sections Braner’s book the basic fear package that most of us haul around, then drills down more looking into world views that are different, and finally cultural factors that can cause fear.   The first section covers some...

Review: Adventures in Saying Yes: A Journey from Fear to Faith Carl Medearis with Chris Medearis Bethany House Publishers 2015   I must say that I agree with the back cover quote from Lynne Hybels, “Reading Adventures in Saying Yes is so much fun you don’t realize at first how profound it is.”   Each story told by Medearis gives the reader a fresh perspective on not only the adventure he and his family traveled, but also another way to move from fear to faith.   Things incredible, things tragic and the full range in between those poles are part of this book.   The author’s style is so readable you feel like he is across the table telling you all these adventures.   If storying is an effective way to relate to some people groups, then this guy has it down pat. So yes, I do recommend this book.   It accomplishes its goal in illustrating his journey from fear to faith in a soft spoken, life lived way.   It also is a great look ...

Review: Yawning at Tigers: You Can’t Tame God So Stop Trying Drew Dyck Nelson Books 2014 OK.   I admit I chose this book because of the title.   I had to find out how this author would pull off mixing tigers, yawning, and God.   I am here to say that he succeeded and succeeded well.   Part 1: Tiger Territory and Part 2: Divine Embrace work together to balance our perspectives of God.   I really thought my own balance was fine, but discovered it needed a bit of tweaking.   And that is what this book is about and does.   Gently and without needing a dictionary.  The discussion guide is one of the best I’ve seen lately.   It is light enough to work for a group, but deep enough to provide some place to start serious considerations.   Well done there, and combined with the reading a book can change perspectives or rebalance them for nearly anyone.   Mature believer or the new believer. I obviously recommend this bo...