Book Reviews

Your past does not define you

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ 1 Comment

Your Life Still Counts: How God Uses Your Past to Create a Beautiful FutureYour Life Still Counts: How God Uses Your Past to Create a Beautiful Future by Tracie Miles

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“God still has a plan for you–not in spite of your past, but because of it! Do regret and shame over your failures, sins, and shortcomings make you wonder how you could ever be loved, much less used, by a holy God? Tracie Miles felt the same way until she discovered the path to healing, peace, and significance.

She helps you recognize that God not only has a purpose for you, but He has prepared you for your divine purpose based specifically on the experiences of your past. Through her own story and stories from other women who have discovered God’s purpose for their lives because of adverse experiences, Tracie helps you see how God can turn pain into purpose. You will find forgiveness and healing from the troubles of your past, discover the courage to step out of your comfort zone to help others find hope and strength, and be inspired to step into the beautiful future God divinely designed for you.”

Continue reading →

Ignite God’s Vision

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Greater Devotional: A Forty-Day Experience to Ignite God's Vision for Your LifeGreater Devotional: A Forty-Day Experience to Ignite God’s Vision for Your Life by Steven Furtick

My rating:

Recently I became aware of a GodTube video of Pastor Furtick that I, as an evangelical Christian, find truly offensive.  For that reason,  I will not promote any products of Pastor Furtick and have removed my reviews of his books from my blog.

To understand this post, please visit:

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FFCM2CNU

Misfits Welcome

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Misfits Welcome: Find Yourself in Jesus and Bring the World Along for the RideMisfits Welcome: Find Yourself in Jesus and Bring the World Along for the Ride by Matthew Barnett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Being a misfit does not disqualify you from a dynamic life—it prepares you for it. Matthew Barnett knows a thing or two about misfits. As founder of the Dream Center in Los Angeles, a 24-hour church that ministers to 35,000 hurting people a week, Barnett has seen a little of everything. Gangsters, addicts, orphans, taggers, cutters, the sick, the suffering, the hopeless…all the misfits of the world come through the church’s doors in search of hope.”

The Least of These… This is the premise for this powerful book, “Misfits Welcome: Find Yourself in Jesus and Bring the World Along for the Ride” by author, Matthew Barnett. For more than 20 years Matthew Barnett has served the “misfits” that walk in our midst – those that most of society has thrown away – as founder of the Dream Center in Los Angeles, California. He has served them with through programs and out reach ministry. But through it all, he has served them in love. Continue reading →

Heaven Touches Earth

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

book cover

“She had been killed in an automobile accident. Her husband was in route to the hospital. I met their minister in the hospital corridor. In utter desperation, he cried, “I feel so uncomfortable coming to the hospital. It’s such a foreign environment. I don’t know what to say or do. I’ve never done this before. Please tell me what to do.” The patient said,” My pastor doesn’t make hospital visits. He can’t handle hospitals.”

When the unexpected arises and you find your parishioners hospitalized, are you equipped to support them effectively? Difficult situations can catch us off guard and unprepared. This concise “how to handbook” is a succinct resource of clear insight into hospital practices/protocol useful in training volunteers, parish visitors, pastors/chaplains and a helpful refresher guide for those that have studied hospital ministry. You will proceed with confidence as you minister to the sick and suffering.”

Continue reading →

Satan’s Deadly Trio

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and WitchcraftSatan’s Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft by Jennifer LeClaire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“You’re on your guard for the Jezebel spirit. But did you know that it doesn’t work alone? Just as the holy Trinity works together to deliver, redeem and then guide us day by day, an unholy trinity is doing everything possible to put us in bondage, strip us of our God-given identity and derail our Kingdom purpose.

Satan’s abominable threesome–the spirits of Jezebel, religion and witchcraft–is coordinating its attack. Are you? Veteran spiritual warrior Jennifer LeClaire pulls back the curtain on the calculated and systematic strategies of the enemy while offering practical biblical tactics to combat this deadly trio. Her Spirit-anointed discernment will help you understand the hidden schemes of these spirits and, with God’s help, to resist them.
Continue reading →

Come Out Swinging Through the Hard Times

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

This book is a “DON”T MISS”!  It is being added to my “second look” list for 2015.

The Pendulum: Come Back Swinging Through the Difficult TimesThe Pendulum: Come Back Swinging Through the Difficult Times by Rickie Rush

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“You Haven’t Missed It; You’re Right on Time! Many of God’s people feel guilty for going through difficult seasons. We think depression is spiritual weakness. In challenging circumstances, we ask: “God, where are You?” We consider the state of our lives and become discouraged, assuming we are not where God wants us to be. But what if we are?

What if the very circumstances that threaten to destroy us are the very things that launch us into our God-ordained moments of destiny? In The Pendulum, Pastor Rickie Rush shows you that there is a time for everything under heaven.

The Pendulum by Rickie Rush is an interesting book that got my attention and as well as it got me to thinking. Everyone seems to think that once/if you’re a Christian then life is filled with unicorns and pixie dust. How I wish that were true, but it isn’t. Christian deal with all the same life issues, the same difficult times that everyone else does. We have all the same triumphs and tragedies. And just like everyone else, sometimes we just don’t know how to get back up and fight. Continue reading →

Empowered By His Presence

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Empowered by His Presence: Receiving the Strength You Need Each DayEmpowered by His Presence: Receiving the Strength You Need Each Day by Kevin G. Harney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Receive God’s power for the journey ahead. Are you in need of strength, encouragement, and hope? Empowered by His Presence will set you free to face life head-on and follow God’s glorious vision. Kevin Harney weaves together biblical stories and modern narrative to form and stunning tapestry of grace and hope? In the pages of this book, you will find four surprising and God-given sources of strength: Suffering, Loss and Pain, Sabbath and Rest, Community, and Mission and Purpose. Discover how each of the power sources can help you live boldly, serve humbly, and overcome life’s obstacles.”

This book, as the author suggests, should probably be used as a four-week study whereby the reader can really uncover the wisdom and truths written on these 200+ pages. Or you can, as I did… devour the book in a couple of days.

Continue reading →

The Answer To Our Cry

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

The Answer to Our Cry: Freedom to Live Fully, Love Boldly, and Fear NothingThe Answer to Our Cry: Freedom to Live Fully, Love Boldly, and Fear Nothing by Rick McKinley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“We all long for freedom. Freedom from anxiety, fear, and sin. Freedom to love others completely as God loves us. And yet we are shackled by insecurity, prone to selfishness, and wary of letting down our guard. That’s not the life God designed for his followers. When his people cry out to him for freedom, he hears–and responds.

Now pastor Rick McKinley shows how true freedom–the kind we see as God delivers his people in the Scriptures–is always in the form of relationship with God rather than our popular notion of complete independence. He calls us to look to the Father, Son, and Spirit for the model of perfect, self-giving freedom and shows how that kind of freedom can utterly transform us.”
Continue reading →

The Life You Are Longing For

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Life with a Capital L: Embrace a Bigger Gospel. Experience a Bigger Life.Life with a Capital L: Embrace a Bigger Gospel. Experience a Bigger Life. by Matt Heard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“What is it that you long for? Dream about? Hunger after? We all desire more than just the endurance of our daily routines. But often we feel limited and stuck — like we’re merely existing instead of living. That’s not the way it was meant to be. God intends the humanity in each of us to be deeply experienced, lavishly enjoyed, and exuberantly celebrated. In fact this is what the gospel is all about.

Yes, the gospel. Contrary to conventional thinking — inside and outside the church — following Jesus is not about denying our humanness but embracing it. Rather than acting more spiritual or being more religious, we’re called and enabled to become more fully human… and alive. Matt Heard escorts us on a journey of discovery: that Jesus didn’t come to save us from our humanity — Christ instead yearns to restore it to what God originally intended. Matt then explores ten key areas where everyday life can become extraordinary Life. Christ promised we could “live life to the full.” He didn’t just mean eventually. Life with a Capital L is the Life you are longing for. Now.”
Continue reading →

Not A Chance

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Not a Chance: God, Science, and the Revolt Against ReasonNot a Chance: God, Science, and the Revolt Against Reason by R.C. Sproul

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“Despite claiming unbelief in God or any higher power that may have designed or created the world and all that is in it, modern scientists often write and speak of chance as some kind of being or force that can cause things to happen. In one breath they push the evolution agenda and in the next they say that creatures were “designed” with specific traits. In this classic book, R. C. Sproul and Keith Mathison call the scientific world to employ logic and clarity in their discourse, to leave the word chance as an abstract concept to describe mathematical possibilities rather than an ontological being that can actually cause change. This expanded edition includes a new chapter dealing with the most recent attempts to defend irrational scientific statements. Two new appendices answer critics and review other literature on scientific discoveries that support belief in a Creator God.”
Continue reading →