Last year, I reviewed Stephen R. Lawhead’s book, The Skin Map — the first book in his new Bright Empires series. You can read my review of that book here, but in short, I really liked it. It took me a while to get into it, but once I was in, I was completely absorbed.

So it didn’t take much thought for me to decide that I wanted to read the second book in the series, The Bone House. Though I initially received a free electronic version of the book through NetGalley, I liked it enough that I ultimately purchased the hardcover so I can read and re-read the book as desired, as well as loan it out to others.

Because this is the second book in a series, I hesitate to discuss too much of the plot. I’m reluctant to inadvertently reveal any spoilers of the first book.

In essence, The Bone House continues to follow Kit Livingstone and his cohorts as they travel through space and time (on things called ley lines), and seek to avoid or thwart bad guys while searching for pieces of the skin map — something that absolutely, positively must not fall into the wrong hands.

Here are some things I particularly liked about The Bone House:

• The author included a recap of the first book right at the beginning. It was perfect — just enough information to remind of what I had read the prior year, re-whet my thirst for more, and get me running full speed in The Bone House.
• Lawhead does a masterful job jumping between characters and situations with each chapter. There’s a lot going on in these books, and every time I thought, “Okay, after this chapter, I’m going to close the book and go to sleep”…well, it was not to be, because I would notice that the next chapter was about one particular person or situation that I’d really been wondering about. So I’d have to read on… Some authors drive me crazy with too much jumping, but in my opinion, it was perfect in The Bone House.
• The author also did a good job at answering some questions for us, while presenting enough new questions, characters, and plot lines to keep me intrigued.
• The Bone House is a page-turner. And I love page-turners. This was the book that kept me up way too late this fall, reading long past my bedtime. And when I passed it on to my husband, it did the same to him. Good stuff.

In 2 Corinthians 13:5, the Apostle Paul tells the church in Corinth that they should examine themselves, test themselves, with the goal of determining whether or not the faith they claim to have is real.

In the same way, people today who call themselves “believers” or “Christians” should take honest stock of their lives, and examine themselves to see if they truly are followers of Christ.

To that end, Mike McKinley has written a book aimed at helping us evaluate whether we’ve truly come to faith in Christ, or whether we’ve been deceiving ourselves: Am I Really a Christian?

In this book, the author emphasizes that it’s not enough to think we’re Christians just because we say we are, or just because we think Jesus was a good man. Walking down an aisle, saying a prayer, or raising your hand in church do not guarantee your standing before God.

Instead, a person who has true faith in Jesus Christ will demonstrate a transformed life, an inability to live comfortably in sin, an increasing love for others, and a diminishing love for the things of this world.

Every step of the way, Mike backs up his assertions with Scripture. And much of what he says is challenging. Essentially, if our lives are characterized by things like continual and habitual sin, a love for “stuff,” or a disregard for others, we have some serious thinking and praying to do.

At the same time, Mr. McKinley is quick to remind us that saving faith is not about what we do, but is about what God has done and will continue to do in us — he repeatedly points readers back to God’s love and grace. The bottom line is, it’s not what we do that saves us, but when we are truly saved, God will work through us to bring about those hallmarks of genuine faith.

At the end of each chapter, the author offers some helpful “next steps” — things to think about, pray about, remember, and discuss with others. I found these action steps to be helpful, sometimes challenging, but encouraging at the same time.

Mr. McKinley is very sensitive to two possible dangerous reactions that readers might have to this book. One type of person might be hyper-self-critical, reading each chapter with growing despondency, beating themselves up at every turn, convinced that every failure means they have never been saved. The second type of person might read this book with an “Oh, this could never pertain to me” attitude, deceiving themselves and remaining unaware of spiritual danger.

Because of these possibilities, the author repeatedly urges readers to go through this book with fellow Christians, in the context of a local church. Reading and discussing the principles in this book with others can help the reader get to a more balanced and realistic evaluation of their life.

One final thing I appreciated about this book was the author’s humor. Though Am I Really a Christian? deals with serious, eternally significant matters, McKinley interjects humorous anecdotes and self-deprecating remarks that keep the reader feeling connected and engaged.

Overall, I found Am I Really a Christian? to be a helpful read. Yes, it made me examine myself more closely than I otherwise might. But taking a hard look at ourselves in light of what the Bible says and in light of God’s love and grace is always a good thing, and serves to draw us closer to God.

You can find Am I Really a Christian? at Amazon.com (of course), and you can also read more reviews of the book there.

How appropriate is it to read a book about conquering “food issues” and “weight issues” right as the new year begins? So many of us pick January 1st as a prime opportunity to get serious about losing those last ten (or more) pounds. So when the LitFuse Publicity group asked if I would like to read and review a new book by Lysa TerKeurst entitled Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire With God, Not Food – I said yes.

In a nutshell, I really appreciated this book. But before I tell you more of my thoughts, let me tell you how the publisher describes Made to Crave.

What the publisher says:

Just because a woman finally fits into her skinny jeans doesn’t mean she’s won her battle with food. Too often, women overlook the spiritual component to their physical struggle with healthy eating. Made to Crave taps into the desires God gave you to consume food without letting food consume you!

Made to Crave is the missing link between a woman’s desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen. The reality is we were made to crave. Craving isn’t a bad thing. But we must realize God created us to crave more of him. Many of us have misplaced that craving by overindulging in physical pleasures instead of lasting spiritual satisfaction. If you are struggling with unhealthy eating habits, you can break the “I’ll start again Monday” cycle, and start feeling good about yourself today. Learn to stop beating yourself up over the numbers on the scale. Discover that your weight loss struggle isn’t a curse but rather a blessing in the making, and replace justifications that lead to diet failure with empowering go-to scripts that lead to victory. You can reach your healthy weight goal – and grow closer to God in the process. This is not a how-to book. This is not the latest and greatest dieting plan. This book is the necessary companion for you to use alongside whatever healthy lifestyle plan you choose.

What I thought:

Like many women in their (ahem) mid-to-late thirties, I struggle with my weight and can often be found somewhere on the continuum between “I’m doing great and counting my calories!” and “Oh forget it — give me the chocolate!”

And for years, I’ve been convinced that there is a significant spiritual aspect to the whole weight-loss thing. It’s not that I think God wants a specific number to appear on my scale tomorrow morning. Rather, it’s that as someone who claims to want to honor Him, I need to acknowledge that part of honoring Him is taking care of the body He’s given me.

Does that mean no chocolate, ever? I don’t think so. But it does mean making choices about food and exercise that contribute toward being healthy and maintaining a healthy weight.

That’s where Made to Crave comes in. In this book, Lysa won’t tell you how many calories or fat grams to consume. She won’t tell you to visit Weight Watchers or buy Lean Cuisine. This isn’t a “diet plan book” at all.

Instead, Lysa reminds us of the many ways our relationship with God is impacted by and reflected in how we eat and move.

She asks hard questions like, “Is it possible we love and rely on food more than we love and rely on God?” And she doesn’t hesitate to share ways in which she has turned to food for comfort, stress relief, security, etc. rather than turning to God.

Lysa also offers practical ways to rely on Scripture, prayer, and the Holy Spirit to combat cravings and unhealthy desires, and to shift our responses from over-indulgence to self-discipline. And she lovingly lets us know that we can’t fill our deepest longings or our deepest needs with food — or with anything else, except God.

At its essence, this book doesn’t tell you what to eat. But it does talk about why we eat to excess, why we should make healthier choices. And it gives Christians a foundation, a starting point, and a heart-motivation for making better decisions when it comes to our bodies.

Made to Crave is written in a conversational tone. Lysa shares honestly about her own struggles and the journey she is on to better honor God in the area of eating and weight-loss. Each chapter ends with questions for personal reflection and application, helping you go deeper and filter what you’ve read through your personal circumstances.

You can read more reviews of Made to Crave at Amazon.com. Or feel free to visit the official blog tour post for Made to Crave over at LitFuse, to see what other bloggers think about this book. (And you might want to visit that post anyway, because Lysa is holding a contest where you can win a free Kindle — information on how to enter the contest can be found over at LitFuse.)

I recently received a copy of Stephen R. Lawhead’s new novel, The Skin Map, from the nice folks at Thomas Nelson.

Stephen R. Lawhead and I go back a long, long way (though I doubt he knows that). As a kid, I enjoyed his Dragon King Trilogy, and then as a teen I was pulled into the Pendragon Cycle. In recent years, my husband and I have both enjoyed his take on the Robin Hood story, through the books of Hood, Scarlet, and Tuck. So it didn’t take much deliberation before I happily agreed to read and review his latest novel.

Here’s how the publisher describes The Skin Map:

It is the ultimate quest for the ultimate treasure. Chasing a map tattooed on human skin. Across an omniverse of intersecting realities. To unravel the future of the future.

Kit Livingston’s great-grandfather appears to him in a deserted alley during a tumultuous storm. He reveals an unbelievable story: that the ley lines throughout Britain are not merely the stuff of legend or the weekend hobby of deluded cranks, but pathways to other worlds. To those who know how to use them, they grant the ability to travel the multi-layered universe of which we ordinarily inhabit only a tiny part.

One explorer knew more than most. Braving every danger, he toured both time and space on voyages of heroic discovery. Ever on his guard, and fearful of becoming lost in the cosmos, he developed an intricate code — a roadmap of symbols — that he tattooed onto his own body. This Skin Map has since been lost in time. Now the race is on to recover all the pieces and discover its secrets.

But the Skin Map itself is not the ultimate goal. It is merely the beginning of a vast and marvelous quest for a prize beyond imagining.

So what did I think?

In short: I liked it. To be honest, it took me a little while to get into the book. I think that for the first couple chapters, I didn’t particularly like any of the main characters. They seemed overly irritable, self-absorbed and, well, annoying. But before long, as they were pulled into an adventure that stretches the imagination, I came to like them and even to cheer them on. The second half of the book completely absorbed me and I had a hard time putting the book down in order to attend to things like, say, cooking dinner.

Kit, the book’s primary antagonist, finds himself following his grandfather along mystical pathways called ley lines, into other times and other places. They seek to recover and protect a “skin map” — essentially, a map of these mysterious routes and inter-dimensional roads that was once tattooed on an explorer’s body. (Yes, I know that sounds a bit gross, but it’s not that bad.)

At the same time, Kit’s girlfriend, Wilhelmina, gets taken along for the ride (quite against her will), but is separated from Kit and ends up in 17th Century Austria, where her entrepreneurial instincts and flair for business help her land on her feet.

As with any good adventure, there are bad guys pursuing the good guys, multiple plot lines that begin to merge as the book goes on, and enough twists and turns to keep readers intrigued and turning pages. The Skin Map does have a healthy dose of science fiction (I’m guessing the inter-dimensional travel already clued you in to that fact), but is full of both suspense and adventure.  It’s the first book in the Bright Empires series, so now I’m stuck waiting until the second book comes out, before I can see what happens to Kit and Wilhelmina.

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