faith

Fasting God’s Way

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Fasting God's WayFasting God’s Way by Francis Epps

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Are you ready to throw in the towel because you feel defeated or because you just don’t know how to fight a spiritual battle?

If so, it’s time to learn how to discern the mind of God through fasting and praying.

In the process of pursing these principles, God is going to teach you how to fight your battles. God created fasting so we can walk in the Spirit. When we abide in the spirit, we begin to discern the mind of God. Fasting allows our thought process to change so we can see life from God’s perspective”

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fasting God’s Way by Evangelist Fran Epps. It is not really about the “mechanics” of Biblical Fasting. This book is more about Evangelist Fran’s own walk of discovering the true purpose and blessing of Fasting… Fasting God’s Way. Continue reading →

Life Unstuck

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Life Unstuck: Finding Peace with Your Past, Purpose in Your Present, Passion for Your FutureLife Unstuck: Finding Peace with Your Past, Purpose in Your Present, Passion for Your Future by Pat Layton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Everyone has felt stuck at some point in life. Our inertia is gone, momentum is wiped out, and life trudges on devoid of passion. But God has so much more than this planned for his daughters. With passion and enthusiasm, Pat Layton invites women to imagine their world unstuck–a place where they feel at peace with the past, find purpose in the present, and revel in the possibilities that the future holds. With her rousing Unstuck Manifesto, she delves deep into the areas readers get stuck in the most–relationships, finances, ministry, career, and more–and, with the Scriptures as her guide, unveils the path to positive forward movement.”

Had I not gone any further than page 13 to what the author titled “Unstuck Manifesto”, I would already have been beyond blessed by this book. However, I kept reading. And oh how I was blessed. In Life Unstuck, the author, Pat Layton, so readily shares testimony from her own life where she was stuck, and allows us into her journey of freedom.
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When Mountains Won’t Move

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When Mountains Won't Move: How to Survive a Struggling FaithWhen Mountains Won’t Move: How to Survive a Struggling Faith by Jacob Hawk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Standing in the midst of majesty and might, Jesus said that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can look at the mountains in the distance, tell them to move, and they will (Matthew 17:20). But what happens when our faith is smaller than the smallest of all seeds? What happens when the mountains won’t move? The purpose of this book is to equip and exhort Christians to survive the most difficult days of life, so that the mountains which won’t move will move before them.”

When Mountains Won’t Move; How to Survive a Struggling Faith by Jacob Hawk is not a big book both in size and number of pages, but it certainly is big on wisdom. Death of a child, loss of a job, foreclosure of the house, your spouse is walking out, the bills can’t be paid, a serious illness is diagnosed… those are the mountains that show up in the lives of believers and non-believers alike with more regularity than we want. They are mountains that seem impossible for us to move under our own strength. Continue reading →

God’s Plan For Spiritual Battle

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ 1 Comment

God’s Plan for Spiritual BattleGod’s Plan for Spiritual Battle by Russell Stendal

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“I love a good fight. When unjustly attacked, I have learned to seek the guidance and leadership of the Holy Spirit and retaliate by Overcoming Evil with Good. There is a huge difference between a Peacemaker and a Pacifist!

This Battle Plan for spiritual warfare, gleaned from the life and message of Jesus, especially the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes.”

God’s Plan for Spiritual Battle; Victory of Sin, the World, and the Devil, is a book that is written to all Christians. The author, Russell Stendal, brings about the premise that we, as Christ Followers, not only should, but must be living our lives and interacting with this world in the way that Jesus spoke of when He taught the Beatitudes in order to live in victory over sin this world and most definitely the devil. The author walks us through each of the Beatitudes… not with flowery words, but real truth. Nothing in this book is sugar-coated. Continue reading →

Open My Ears

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

We live in a society of noise. Right now, it is mid evening and I am alone in the house. Yet it is noisy here. I can hear the music playing in the living room. I can hear my upstairs neighbors walking… walking… walking (God bless older home with squeaky floors!) I can hear the whirring sound of my computer. I can hear kids running outside. I can hear cars coming and going. And to top it all off, someone overcooked their dinner and set off the fire alarms! Everybody outside till the firemen come! Chatter, Chatter, Chatter. All kinds of noises.

All that, and its evening here. What about during the day. How much noise is there that goes on in our lives every day? And not just the noise of our life, the noise that we have no choice but to hear.   Think about it and make a list the different sounds that you hear before you make it to work in the morning, or that you hear during a simple one hour lunch break… the noise is never ending, and it is deafening.

Even with all of that, there are some noises that we just know, sounds that we can hear over the din of our daily life. There is the sound of “mommy” coming from your child among all of the other children at the playground. Then there is cry in the middle of the night that can wake you from a solid slumber.

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Finding Favor with the King

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Finding Favor with the King: Preparing for Your Moment in His PresenceFinding Favor with the King: Preparing for Your Moment in His Presence by Tommy Tenney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Have you ever had a “that night” or a “that day”? A point in time before which things were going wrong, but after which things began to go right? What are the ingredients for “that night”? What is mixed into the recipe? Understanding what goes into creating that moment of divine favor was Esther’s ultimate secret. She learned how to find favor with the king.”

Finding Favor with the King takes the reader into the life of Esther. Specifically into the one year prior to Esther’s fateful night with the king; the night that would save a nation.
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The Prosperous Soul

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ 1 Comment

The Prosperous Soul: Your Journey to a Richer LifeThe Prosperous Soul: Your Journey to a Richer Life by Cindy Trimm

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and letter life than they ever dreamed of.” “Prosperity comes from within. You were created to enjoy prosperity on every level – from a rich spiritual and intellectual life, to richness in your relationships and professional pursuits! The problem is that prosperity has often been reduced to a single measure: A dollar amount. Truth is, financial abundance is just one expression of what it means to live a rich life.”

I wondered when I asked to review this book if it was going to be another “do this and you’ll be rich… prosperity gospel” book. Oh how wrong I was. This book by Dr. Cindy Trimm is amazing! It truly spoke to my heart.
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Own Your Life

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Own Your Life: How to Grow a Legacy of Faith, Love, and Spiritual InfluenceOwn Your Life: How to Grow a Legacy of Faith, Love, and Spiritual Influence by Sally Clarkson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

God has made you with the capacity to live courageously, to have great faith, and to become a person of influence. Will you follow hard after Him and live into your potential? Will you choose today to own your life?

Learn to live each day with spiritual intention—and see how your moment-by-moment decisions add up to a breathtaking life story that shines with God’s love. You’ll come alive with confidence, energy, and purpose as you discover His fingerprints in your most ordinary days. Your life will become a lasting legacy that points others to Him—and He will honor your decisions beyond what you ever imagined.”

“What will be the legacy of your life? What story will the day of your life tell? Will you invest your life for eternity, or spend it, wasting the days on things that do not matter, on issues that will quickly fade away?” (Page xv) Those are the first words in the opening of this book and they are powerful. They are the words that challenged the author, Sally Clarkson, all those years ago. They are the basis for this thought-provoking book, a book written to challenge you to ponder your life, and own it. Own and take responsibility for your own behavior, decisions, and attitudes. Continue reading →

Fight Back With Joy

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Fight Back With Joy: Celebrate More. Regret Less. Stare Down Your Greatest FearsFight Back With Joy: Celebrate More. Regret Less. Stare Down Your Greatest Fears by Margaret Feinberg

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Great Joy Waits in Life’s Greatest Battles. Joy is stamped on coffee mugs, sewn onto decorative pillows – even displayed on dish soap. But what if there’s a deeper power and purpose to this mighty virtue? Through vulnerable story telling, a difficult diagnosis, and a good dose of humor, Margaret Feinberg revels how joy is more than whimsy. Its’ the weapon you can use to fight life’s battles.”

This is an extraordinary book that will take you by surprise. When I read the first few pages of the first chapter, I though to myself… here we go, another book that is going to try to teach me the how’s and why’s of being joyful. And then came chapter two. Continue reading →

Keep It Shut

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ 6 Comments

Do not just read this book….   study it and live it.  This is another on my list of second read 2015.  Truly loved the book.

Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at AllKeep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All by Karen Ehman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“From Bible times to modern times women have struggled with their words. What to say and how to say it. What not to say. When it is best to remain silent. And what to do when you’ve said something you wish you could now take back. In this book a woman whose mouth has gotten her into loads of trouble shares the hows (and how-not-tos) of dealing with the tongue.

Beyond just a “how not to gossip” book, this book explores what the Bible says about the many ways we are to use our words and the times when we are to remain silent. Karen will cover using our speech to interact with friends, co-workers, family, and strangers as well as in the many places we use our words in private, in public, online, and in prayer. Even the words we say silently to ourselves. She will address unsolicited opinion-slinging, speaking the truth in love, not saying words just to people-please, and dealing with our verbal anger.”

This book – Keep It Shut by Karen Ehman– arrived just before Christmas and so I was able to read it before the onslaught of the holiday madness. Oh am I so ever grateful that this book arrived when it did. While it did require some serious work on my part to Keep It Shut, the madness became a bit less maddening and my need to lash out at the perceived crazy was tempered by Karen’s words that came to mind quite often. Continue reading →