Book Review: Healing is a Choice

Book Review: Healing is a Choice by Stephen Arterburn

One phone call from his wife ended normalcy forever for Stephen Arterburn. He knows emotional pain, and he accepts no excuses when it comes to spiritual (emotional) healing. Whether it's his own emotional pain, or that of the reader, he proposes that God has given us the ability to heal, but we often impair the process. In this book he gives examples from his own life, sharing the story of his own divorce, the subject of that phone call from his wife. As a Christian in ministry who taught about relationships, the last thing he expected was the demise of his own marriage. But it happened.

In Healing is a Choice, Arterburn outlines ten choices that lead to healing. Each choice is also paired with a lie, or a myth, such as "There is no hope for me," or "Time heals all wounds." Each chapter concludes with workbook questions and an extensive application section for the material. This is an updated version of a previous printing and both the book and workbook are combined into one.

Although it could be used in a small group, the questions and application are introspective and personal, so many people would be more comfortable with it as a journaling exercise.

I thought Arterburn did an excellent job of presenting the material in a conversational style. He writes as though having a conversation with the reader. He's also very transparent about his own struggles and he gets real with the reader. He gives solid Biblical support for his ideas which makes this more than just a pop-psych self-help book. 

The one drawback is that the application material in the "workbook" section that follows every chapter is very long. Some readers will find it too extensive. Arterburn says in the intro that he doesn't recommend skipping over parts of that, but I'm afraid that some readers will. This workbook includes more teaching from the author, exercises (and questions for reflection or journaling) that get the reader thinking about his or her own life, then more teaching, more exercises, then a Bible study with many verses to look up and exercises that correlate. Then more teaching, and journaling. I think the workbook is as long as the chapter. On the positive side, it's thorough and readers really work through their pain.

I highly recommend this book for anyone dealing with wounds that keep them from moving forward.

I received an e-book copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest and objective review.

Kindle Version of the Book

Print Version of the Book

Photo of the Week - Crab Apple Blossoms

I couldn't resist snapping a pic of this crab apple tree by the lake

Photo of the Week - Spring Snow

Winter isn't over yet...April 15

Mmm....Bread! Best White Bread Recipe

I haven't posted something practical in a long time. And, I've had many requests for my bread recipe, so why not post it? I baked rolls for our Easter dinner today with this recipe.

I got this recipe from someone special, and I love it because it's so budget friendly. I used my grandma's recipe for a while, but it takes milk and eggs, and this one is just water, flour and oil, basically. The trick to good bread, is in the kneading and it making sure it isn't too sticky or too stiff. I haven't purchased a load of white bread in so long!

In order to give me her recipe, Elfreda had to measure it out one time when she was baking. She had made this recipe for so many years that she hadn't really ever measured ingredients.

I purchase my yeast, oil, and bread flour in bulk at Sam's Club, and I figured that I can make about 25-30 loaves of bread from one 25# bag of unbleached flour. I bake 5 loaves at a time and freeze them. 

Elfreda’s White Bread

2 1/2 Cups Warm Water (about 125 degrees)

2 packages of yeast (or granular equivalent to it if you buy in bulk)

1 T. Salt

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 cup canola or olive oil

7-8 cups Bread Flour

Blend all ingredients. Knead 10 minutes. I use my Kitchen Aid with a dough hook and don’t knead quite that long. Knead in extra flour as needed so dough is not sticky. Let rest on counter coated with flour. Cover loosely with towel. Let rise until double in size. Sometimes I form it into loaves now, and other times, I punch in down and let it rise a little longer. It depends on how light you like your bread. It will be more airy if you do the second rising.

Form into loaves to be baked in loaf pans. Or into long loaves to be baked on a cookie sheet or a stone.  Let rise until double. Bake at 350 degrees for around 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven temp, until golden brown. Cool on a rack. This recipe will make 3 small loaves in pans, or two large French loaves. It also works for dinner rolls, hoagies, and cinnamon rolls.

If you try it, stop back and tell us how it turned out.  

Mmm...I can smell the bread right through my screen. Oh wait. That's the bread in the oven. Gotta go check it!

It's Never Too Late to Be Who You Might Have Been

Writer George Eliot, also known as Mary Ann Evans once said, “I would not creep along the coast but steer out in mid-sea, by guidance of the stars.”

Have you ever played it safe along the shoreline? Eliot didn't, In a time when women wrote only romance novels, she gave herself a pseudonym and went ahead with her dreams of becoming a published author whose writing was taken seriously. She didn't play it safe in other areas either.

She isn't exactly role model material in the morality department, but she didn't hide that she was a mistress, not a married woman for twenty years. She was bold and sure of herself. She couldn't rely on looks; as rumor has it, she wasn't particularly attractive. And despite the disapproval of family and friends, she forsake those relationships to pursue her scandalous relationship with a married man. She demonstrated an unconventional boldness.

Despite her shortcomings, we can learn so much from her. Eliot was over 30 when she started writing, and was 40 when her first novel was published. As a woman in my 40's who started writing around age 30, I find that encouraging. I didn't figure out who I wanted to be when I grew up until 12 or 15 years after I finished college.

Eliot also said, "It's never too late to be who you might have been."

Who have you always wanted to be? What is your dream? It isn't too late to fulfill that dream and be that person.

Book Review: His Princess--Love Letters from Your King

Do you need a reminder of who you are in God’s eyes? Each page of His Princess: Love Letters from Your King, contains a scripture verse with a promise on each page. Then author Sheri Rose Shepherd takes the concept from that verse and writes it in a letter format as if God had written a love letter to the reader.

Here is an example:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled.” John 14:27

“I know how hard it is for you to feel content in your home when you’re always wanting one more thing to make it the perfect place. I long to give you beautiful things that turn a house into the haven of a home; but My princess, you must first learn to let Me build in you a place of peace and contentment. Do your best to rest in Me and wait for Me, and then I will give you what I know will benefit you the most. I want you to make your home a place that builds relationships and reflects who you are in Me. Remember that your loved ones need you more than any material thing. So decorate your home with joy, fill it with timeless memories, and create a safe place to grow up in Me. Love, Your King and your Resting Place” p. 57

The book gives beautiful reminders to the reader. It has beautiful soft floral pictures on the pages and a padded hard cover. It’s a little pocket-sized book.

My one concern about the book is that whenever we attempt to take scripture and expand it into a letter from God, we add the author’s own voice. Although there’s nothing wrong in the example I shared above, it’s risky to write what we believe God would say. We already have his Word, so readers must remember that while the letters in the book contain scriptural principles, they are not scripture.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Book Review: His Grace is Sufficient...Decaf is Not

I'm so happy to be able to tell you about this book. One of my dear friends, Cynthia Ruchti, is one of the four authors, and it's such a well-done book.

Book Review of His Grace is Sufficient…Decaf is Not

His Grace is Sufficient...Decaf is Not, contains 100 uplifting stories with lessons straight from real life. It’s funny, it’s heartwarming, and full of inspiration. This is a devotional book in that it has a scripture at the top of each chapter, a biblical application/ lesson, and a prayer at the end. But it’s also an inspiring little gift book. It’s sweet for a gift for a friend who needs uplifting or a gift for a mom or sister. The great thing is that the stories cross generational boundaries and have broad appeal.

The book is hardcover and just a little bigger than pocket size. I love that it fits right in my purse. It also comes in a Kindle version.

I had the privilege of writing an endorsement for the front of this book. Here’s what I wrote:

This collection of daily readings packs a jolt of grace that reminds the reader that God doesn’t skimp when he fills our cups to running over. The authors are transparent about their own need for God’s abundant, never-decaffeinated grace, and their stories invite others to sip the same full loaded delight.

The other thing I love about this book is that the publisher gives a portion of the proceeds from the book to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, and my mom is an ovarian cancer survivor.