Hope

Empowered

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ 4 Comments

made to crave coverSo this week I started an online bible study through the Proverbs 31 Ministry website, called “Made to Crave“, based on the book by the  same name by Lysa TerKeurst.  This isn’t your typical Bible Study.  Nope, this one has challenged me from the first page.

It has asked me to confront some of my deepest emotional triggers when it comes to my food issues.  For example…  the author asks “Is it possible that I love and rely on food more than I love and rely on God?”  Yikes.  Now that’s a loaded question for sure.

When it comes to comfort, joy, happiness, sadness, reward, lonliness where on the spectrum do I turn?  Do I rely more on food?  Well, if the number on the scale represents anything… I would have to be honest and say yes.

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A Match Made In Texas – A Review

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A Match Made in TexasA Match Made in Texas by Karen Witemeyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“There’s a Secret Matchmaker at Work in Frontier Texas!” “In the small town of Dry Gulch, Texas, a good-hearted busybody just can’t keep herself from surreptitiously trying to match up women in dire straights with men of good character she hopes can help them. How is she to know she’s also giving each couple a little nudge toward love?” Continue reading →

Let Me Fall: The Love Story Between God and His Dimwitted Daughter – A Review

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Let Me Fall: The Love Story Between God and His Dimwitted DaughterLet Me Fall: The Love Story Between God and His Dimwitted Daughter by Beth Pensinger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Anyone who’s struggled with an addiction of some sort would agree that finding lasting contentment from the actual addiction is much like a dog chasing its tail – only a lot less adorable.”

“Let Me Fall is the love story between God and His dimwitted daughter.  I’m the dimwit in case you were wondering.”

“Let Me Fall is where my literal world figuratively collides with God as He shows me once more of who I am and who He is. My story isn’t a formula for falling in love with God. But I would be thrilled if it is a catalyst for others to do the same.”

I won this book through a Goodreads.com giveaway. I was so excited for it to arrive, as I was intrigued just from the title alone. I have to say, I was not disappointed!! I loved this book. Though the author states that this book is her story through her addiction… this book spoke to me in a very different tone. It spoke to me in the words that God knew I needed to hear. What a blessing this book was to me. It is not a book that I will read one time and put up on the shelf.

Thank you Mrs. Pensinger for being dutiful to that heavenly nudge and putting pen to paper.

*Disclaimer: I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.

*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Deeper Shopping, and Goodreads

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The Prodigal – A Ragamuffin Story – A Review

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The Prodigal: A Ragamuffin StoryThe Prodigal: A Ragamuffin Story by Brennan Manning

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Prodigal – A Ragamuffin Story by Brennan Manning and Greg Garrett
Zondervan Publishers

Jack Chisholm is “the people’s pastor.” He is the founder and leader of a growing mega-church. His slogan… “We have got to do better”. He can do it all. He knows how to preach, teach, write, and he knows how to chastise people into performing. What he doesn’t know is… grace. But after one night of reckless behavior that causes him to loose everything that is precious to him…. He learns the meaning of Grace.

I LOVE this book! It grabbed me from page one and didn’t let go until the last page. Nothing got done around here today. I thought that perhaps it was going to be one more “formula” story about the fall and redemption of a sinner where everything ends up totally restored and smelling like roses. This book is so much better than that. Continue reading →

Emma of Aurora – A Review

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Emma of Aurora (Change and Cherish Historical #1-3)Emma of Aurora by Jane Kirkpatrick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Change and Cherish Trilogy based on the true story of Emma Wagner Giesy.

“A Clearing in the Wild”
When Emma’s outspoken ways and growing skepticism lead to a clash with the beloved leader of her 1850s Bethel, Missouri, colony, she finds new opportunities to purse her dream of independence. But as she clears a pathway West to her truest and deepest self, she discovers something she never expected, a yearning for the warm embrace of community.

In 1850 at Bethel Missouri, we meet Emma Wagner a young feisty 17-year old. Emma is in love and will stop a nothing to be married to Christian Giesy, a man nearly 20 years her senior. The leader of the Bethel religious colony is dead set against this marriage… but with Emma’s cunning ways and “reverse psychology”, she becomes Emma Giesy. Continue reading →

Pathways To The King – A Review

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Pathways to the King: Living a Life of Spiritual Renewal and PowerPathways to the King: Living a Life of Spiritual Renewal and Power by Rob Reimer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“The Church in America desperately needs revival. We have fewer people attending church now (percentage wise) than ever before in the history of the United States. But how do we experience revival? How do we usher in God’s kingdom on Earth and see the next great spiritual awakening? It starts with you. God wants you to draw near to Jesus and to be a carrier of His kingdom, and He wants you to expand the kingdom to others – just like Jesus did. Pathways to the King provides you with 8 Kingdom pathways that you’ll need to incorporate and internalize in order to experience and expand God’s kingdom on Earth. When you begin you walk down these pathways, you will develop intimacy, authority, and power in Christ and become a kingdom-minded person living out the compelling life of the Spirit.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It served as both a wake up call and a reminder for me that I have been becoming complacent in my walk. I was “OK” with the way things were… instead of being hungry for more, and wanting all that God had for me – like it was all those years ago when I first met Jesus. Not only do I need revival, but also the Church needs revival.

The author brings out 8 pathways that we need to walk in order to bring about a fresh revival and renewal – both corporate and personal. We are called to internalize the pathways – personalizing our identity in Christ, pursuing God, purifying ourselves, praising, praying kingdom prayers, claiming promises, passing the tests, and persisting – in order to walk in continuous revival.

This book is filled with great information that just makes sense. There are probably 100 “blubs” (for lack of a better word) scattered throughout the book. They are wonderful nuggets of wisdom and truth that will certainly give you something to ponder through your day. A personal favorite – “If you believed the things that God believes about you, it would revive your soul”!! While this book is an easy read, I feel that this book deserves great attention and certainly more than just one reading to fully absorb the message that is so desperately needed in our Country.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the “For Readers Only” group at The Book Club Network, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.

*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Deeper Shopping, Goodreads, and to be featured on my blog at http://titus3.wordpress.com

View all my reviews

This book is available online at
Deeper Shopping Books and Bibles

A Rooster Once Crowed – A Review

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A Rooster Once Crowed: A Commentary on the Greatest Story Ever ToldA Rooster Once Crowed: A Commentary on the Greatest Story Ever Told by Bryant Cornett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“We live in those few moments between the first and the second crow of the rooster – between decision and indecision, between knowing and being known. But do you even care? Small; decisions made today establish our path for all time and yet we people with a piece of this and a taste of that we diet on wisdom from antiquity and gorge on culture that is next month’s joke. This story is an opportunity to gorge on scripture – from Genesis to Revelation – in context it is the gospel of Jesus Christ and an opportunity to see for yourself what it actually is. Rather than what we mold it to be and to finally choose whether or not to care.”

“Through small stories and a modern context, this book will help you understand and decide what you believe about the greatest story ever told.”

A Rooster Once Crowed is truly a fascinating read. It challenged me, in a good way, from the first chapter by asking me to examine how much I really do know about God, Jesus, Heaven, Creation, the Trinity, the Gospels, the Crucifixion…

Using Scripture references, commentary and personal stories, the author placed me on a journey to either accept and re-affirm my faith or to deny it all together by giving me insight into God’s love for Man (me), the Fall due to sin, and the price/debt Jesus paid, His sacrifice, to bring mankind (me) into God’s plan.

In the last chapter, we are given an Invitation to the final and greatest “Dance”. Will you accept or decline? It is hoped that we accept, and if we do… what do we do until the dance? And how do we prepare? That is the crux of it all.

This is a powerful book that, in conjunction with Scripture, brings forth the truths of my/our belief’s and all that that includes. This book truly is nourishment for the soul.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the “For Readers Only” group at The Book Club Network, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.

*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Deeper Shopping, Goodreads, and to be featured on my blog at http://titus3.wordpress.com

View all my reviews

This book is available online at
Deeper Shopping Books and Bibles

Castles of the Heart – A Review

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Castles of the HeartCastles of the Heart by Hale Meserow

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“A Love story, a tale of immense personal courage, a gritty fight against entrenched racism, and a life lived in God’s care, all set in the beautiful back country of western North Carolina and the frenetic bustle of New York City…”

Castles of the Heart is a delightful book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. There were several strong female characters developed throughout the book, with the lead character as Starlight O’Bannion. The story follows the life – from the moment of conception – of Starlight. We are with her during her formative years, as she rises herself from the backwoods mountains of North Carolina to attend a most prestigious college to become a top ranked female attorney… something rarely heard of pre-world war 2. We are with Starlight at her marriage, her sudden young widowhood and the birth of her daughter.

As with most women of that era, Starlight is a strong and powerful woman, except when it comes to love. She again walks down the bridal aisle. We, the reader, can see where it is headed, but the young Starlight doesn’t.

With her professional life on a meteoric rise and her personal life in ruins, Starlight takes on the legal case of her life – to save the son of a lifelong family friend. I will stop this review there as much more will give away the entire ending.

I truly did take pleasure in reading this book. Though the length of the book did take me back a bit at first, I found the story to be an easy and enjoyable read. While there is clearly a Christian aspect to the entire story, I did not find it preachy or pushy.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the “For Readers Only” group at The Book Club Network, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.

*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Deeper Shopping, and Goodreads

View all my reviews

This book is available online at
Deeper Shopping Books and Bibles

Forgotten Road – A Book Review

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forgotten road book cover

Forgotten Road by Randall Arthur

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Nashville music star and family man, Cole Michaels, is persuaded to embrace an “American Dream” Theology that promises comfort, happiness, and success. But when the unimaginable happens, Cole blames God and abandons his faith. More vulnerable than ever, he is clueless that an evil character with an unspeakable secret is using every available resource to find him.

Down every forgotten road is a new discovery. Sometimes pleasant. Sometimes frightening.

There’s no “fairy tale’ Christianity here. But there is a true –to-life drama that will captivate your heart and mind. And resonate in your soul.”

Forgotten Road by Randall Arthur is the first book that I have read by this author and it is unlikely that it will be the last. It is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. It is at times sweet and other times rife with raw gut-wrenching emotion. This book will grab you on page one, touch your heart, jangle your emotions, and not let go of you until the last paragraph. It is filled with Cole Michaels’ personal road to really discovering the truth who God is and how to humble himself not only before God, but before man as well to let HIS light shine through.

I can’t say enough about this book… but to divulge too much would give away the story. You must unwrap this story yourself. I will warn that there are a few paragraphs/pages that are seriously graphic – so sensitive readers be aware.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the “For Readers Only” group at The Book Club Network, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.

*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Deeper Shopping, Books A Million,  and Goodreads
View all my reviews

This book is available for purchase at:
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Take What You Need

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” Psalm 119:105

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” Hebrews 4:12

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”
Matthew 24:35

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” John 8:32

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for training in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16

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