by Susan Barnes | 24 Aug 2026 | Book Reviews>Recent Reads
Choosing to See is Mary Beth Chapman’s autobiographical account of her life, particularly concerning her daughter’s death. She shares her story to encourage readers to view their lives from God’s perspective and choose to see God’s goodness amid tragedy. Mary Beth...
by Susan Barnes | 6 Jul 2026 | Book Reviews>Recent Reads
A Beautiful Death evokes a strong emotional connection with the story’s main character, concert pianist Cassie Brennan, whose career comes to an abrupt end when a younger-onset dementia diagnosis forces her admission to a nursing home in her hometown. A recently...
by Susan Barnes | 22 Jun 2026 | Book Reviews>Recent Reads
Sharon Hodde Miller begins her book, Free of Me : Why Life Is Better When It’s Not About You, by explaining why life is better when we are less self-focused and more God-focussed. There is freedom in living to please God and not being burdened with our self-image, our...
by Susan Barnes | 27 Apr 2026 | Book Reviews>Recent Reads
I feel the title of Lysa Terkeurst’s book, I want to trust you, but I don’t is a little deceiving. I assumed from the title and the blurb that Terkeurst was having trouble trusting God. Though Terkeurst does discuss this, the majority of the book was about Terkeurst’s...
by Susan Barnes | 16 Feb 2026 | Book Reviews>Recent Reads
The subtitle to John Ortberg’s book, called Steps, is: A guide to transforming your life when willpower isn’t enough. This gives the impression that the book is for everyone since willpower alone is never enough to transform our lives. Whoever we are and whatever our...
by Susan Barnes | 27 Oct 2025 | Book Reviews>Recent Reads
In his book, Winning the War in Your Mind, Craig Groeschel outlines four principles to change your thinking and thus change your life. Groeschel firmly believes that “our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. What we think shapes who we...
by Susan Barnes | 13 Oct 2025 | Book Reviews>Recent Reads
Jennie Allen’s book, Untangle Your Emotions describes our emotions and the implications on our lives when we don’t manage them well. It’s written in four parts. In part one, Jennie relates her personal journey of wondering why she was having unexpected...
by Susan Barnes | 5 Sep 2025 | Book Reviews>Recent Reads
Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist is written as a series of essays, which don’t necessarily flow neatly in chronological order. Rather, the essays are a series of snapshots of her life over some time, where she came to a deeper understanding of herself and her...
