Forgotten God

(review by Julie)
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars)

I got hooked on Francis Chan's books after reading Crazy Love several years ago (which was also a great book!). He's so authentic and tells you exactly what's on his heart.  I was reading Crazy Love with a group and we watched his video clips to go with the book. Since then I've seen a few other videos of Chan, and they have all been so raw and real. Now, whenever I read something he wrote, I see his facial expressions and hear his voice in my mind.

In Forgotten God; Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit, Chan once again lays it all out there. He lays out principles regarding the theology surrounding the Holy Spirit (which many of us haven't spent much time thinking about before), what a relationship with the Holy Spirit looks like, and then he imagines what the church would look like if we all got real and lived by the Spirit.  I highly recommend this book! It broke my heart and inspired me to go deeper with the Holy Spirit.

Draw the Circle

(review by Julie)
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge, by Mark Batterson is a follow up to Batterson's earlier book, The Circle Maker. While Batterson's emphasis remains the same: Pray the big prayers God inspires, there is also a lot of new material in the personal testimonies people have sent Batterson since The Circle Maker's release.  Since, Draw the Circle is set up as a 40 day prayer challenge, it's arranged into 40 shorts chapters that can be easily read in five to ten minutes each.

I enjoyed this book, and I found myself inspired to pray harder. I love Batterson's message and I applaud his work in teaching us all to pray. However, I was frustrated with all the short quips and cliche one liners. Since I also recently read Batterson's In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day, it may be that I'm just a little burnt out on his writing style.

Overall, I like recommend Batterson's Circle books, but I suggest you pick either The Circle Maker or Draw the Circle to read, based on which style of book you enjoy more.  There is no reason to read the books in any particular order so, if you're really craving more when you're done, pick up the other and continue on!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not encouraged or required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”