How often have you longed for a spiritual mentor—someone to travel alongside you, encourage you, and teach you from both the Word and personal experience about your walk with God? Popular author and speaker Linda Evans Shepherd becomes that mentor in her new release, Experiencing God’s Presence: Learning to Listen While You Pray (Revell, 2013). Much more than a treatise on prayer, this book shares a treasure trove of information about developing a deep and intimate relationship with God. The author of everything from a popular novel series (The Potluck Club series, with coauthor Eva Marie Everson) to multiple books on spiritual growth, Linda shares personal illustrations, practical principles, and model prayers as she leads readers to know Him more. The book contains numerous special features that add to its value. “Behold Jesus in Prayer” and “Making it Personal” sections offer ready-made prayers for those who need someone else to offer the words they lack. Scripture lessons in story form provide a refreshing look at numerous aspects of ways God’s people through the years have navigated their spiritual journeys. Blanks that allow the reader to respond to Scripture by writing down thoughts and praying through them to discern if God is speaking give the book an interactive edge. I’ve spoken on the topic of listening prayer but, as I read this book, received some new and welcome insights. I’m glad to have the opportunity to have read this inspiring work from an author many of us consider both friend and mentor. Have you had an experience where you can say you heard from God? Feel free to share it in the comment area below. Just like Linda’s, your words may encourage someone else. Blessings, and be sure to watch for my Words with Friends interview with Linda Evans Shepherd later this week. CONTEST WINNER! Although she’s “not old yet,” Barbara C is the winner of I’m Too Young to Be This Old by Poppy Smith, featured in last week’s READ review, along with a bonus book. I’ll contact her so we can make arrangements for shipping. CONGRATULATIONS! (FTC Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book free from the publisher. I was not asked or expected to post a positive review.) Find a local Christian bookstore Find this book on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or at Christian Book Distributors...

The seventeenth birthday of my youngest child seems like a good day to post this review. I can remember feeling old during my pregnancy with her. I seemed to hurt more, sleep less, and experience every ache and pain more than I had as I carried my previous four. But I know now that I had no clue what “feeling old” was like. I’m starting to have a clue. And so is Poppy Smith, author of the best-selling I’m Too Young to Be This Old (Harvest House, 1997). If you’ve ever seen a picture of yourself from a few years ago and realized how much different you look now, or wondered how that baby you rocked just the other day can be getting her driver’s license, or had your child look down from his now-towering height and call you his “little mother,” you’ll want to read this book. Written with faith, hope, and a large dose of humor, I’m Too Young to Be This Old offers encouragement and practical advice to help women through the midlife years. So many of us in this season find ourselves feeling like a Panini sandwich: pressed hard on both sides. On one, we have teen and young adult children with their various needs and desires: navigating college, relationships, finances, and more. On the other, we have aging parents, so we face the issues of illness, caregiving, and important life decisions. Do we lose ourselves in the middle of the hard press? Or can God use it to create something delicious? Poppy, a popular author and conference speaker, shares with transparency about her own midlife struggles and victories, including many stories of others as well. Twelve chapters chock-full of information and advice reflect the real feelings of real women, including “What’s Happening to Me?” (Chapter One); “If Only I Had . . . Or Hadn’t” (Chapter Seven); and “Where Do I Go From Here?” (Chapter Ten). But the author does more than point out this age group’s concerns and problems. Her positive, humorous style allows her to combine biblical truth and practical tips in a way that leaves the reader feeling, “I can do this—with God’s help.” “Reflections” (review questions) at the end of each chapter make this book a natural choice for either group or individual study. And Poppy’s constant admonishment to look beyond yourself and into God’s desires for your life make this book one I can recommend to women at any stage of life. We can’t stop the aging process, so why not embrace it with grace? Allow Poppy Smith to show you how. It’s October, and a great time for another book giveaway. What’s the biggest struggle you notice among...

In the past year or so, I’ve stopped posting reviews on Amazon and other bookseller sites. I know too many authors to feel right about attempting to give unbiased opinions of their work. But here at home on Read. Write. Pray, of course, I do post reviews. And I try to share my connections with my author friends through the rising-in-frequency “Words with Friends” feature. But some books, I still can’t review. That holds true in the case of a wonderful new Bible study series entitled Sword Study by Tammy McMahan (Glass Road Media, 2013). Tammy is a precious friend. She and I got to know each other, in fact, when we both prayed for a young man named BJ Higgins whose story became another book close to my heart, I Would Die for You by Brent and Deanna Higgins (Revell, 2008). God blessed me by allowing me to assist his parents in telling their son’s story. Out of our prayer partnership came a beautiful friendship and spiritual sisterhood. It didn’t hurt that, a year or so after we became friends, Tammy and her family moved to the small Ohio town where my parents lived (my dad has since passed away). My children became friends with hers. And God provided other connections, too. For all these reasons and more, I can’t review the Sword Study. The “more” includes the fact that I do some writing and editing work for the Shelby Kennedy Foundation. Founder and sponsor of the National Bible Bee, the Foundation uses the Sword Study in tandem with the Scriptures as its primary curriculum. The “more” also includes the fact that I wrote the Vignettes (fictional accounts of real people) that introduce each Sword Study week. Much as I might like to, I can’t offer a review of my own work. And why would I like to review it? Because this fall, I’m spending part of my morning quiet time in Level 4 (ages 14 and up) of the 1 John Sword Study. And I’m loving every step of the deep, meaty, challenging, convicting, inspiring way. Of course, that’s not the only reason I’d like to review the Sword Study. Here are a few more of its special features: Age-grading/Family-Friendliness: The Sword Study is written on multiple levels, from Level I (preschool) to Level 4 (ages 15 and above). Each level includes age-appropriate language and activities synchronized so all family members study the same passage at the same time. In this way, a family can customize a Sword Study purchase to fit its needs. I love this unique element of the Sword Study and wish I’d had something like it when my children were small. Availability: So...

How do you solve a problem like Harriet Beamer? That’s the question her son, Henry, often faces. And it seems to arise more often now that his salt-and-pepper-shaker collecting, adventure-seeking mother, Harriet, has moved into the home he shares with his attorney wife in Grass Valley, California. In the first book of this series by award-winning author Joyce Magnin, we traveled with Harriet as she made the trek to her son’s home via bus. Now, she’s doing her best (most of the time) to make Grass Valley home. Lacking the close relationships she had back in Pennsylvania, she spends time at a neighborhood café only to get sucked into a deal that seems too good to be true. Harriet may have left the road, but her journey continues. In this novel, the reader joins her as she travels through pending grandmotherhood, a tenuous relationship with her son and daughter-in-law, and important lessons like forgiveness and letting go. All that glitters may not be gold, but the hidden nuggets in Magnin’s latest Harriet Beamer novel make it well worth the delightful, come-as-you-are read. Well done! Note from Marti: I consider author Joyce Magnin a friend, but I loved her work long before I met her. A frequent conference speaker, Joyce will keynote our Florida Chapters Word Weavers Retreat this October where she’ll speak to us about the Power of Words. I’ve posted two WRITE interviews with her, which you can read here and here. (FTC Disclaimer: I received this book as a gift from the publisher. I was not required to post a review or a positive response.) Have you read any of Joyce’s previous books? What other novels have you read with a senior citizen as the main character? I’d love to receive your comments and will pass them on to the author.  Find a local Christian bookstore Find this book on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or at Christian Book...

Some books take you to places you’ve never visited. Some introduce you to people you’ve never met. And some pull you into an adventure that becomes a journey of your own. The second of Joyce Magnin’s middle-grade novels, CAKE: Love, Chickens, and a Taste of Peculiar (Zonderkidz, January 2013) contains the whimsical, magical elements that made books like Charlotte’s Web and The Secret Garden the childhood favorites I still enjoy. Twelve-year-old Wilma Sue has bounced from one foster home to another before landing in the unlikely dwelling of sisters Ruth and Naomi. The steady love and acceptance the retired missionaries show their new addition meshes with the quirky elements that have become Magnin’s signature style. In CAKE, these include neighbors from a variety of backgrounds, bonding time with a tribe of chickens, and luscious homemade cakes that produce more-than-unusual effects. When a new friendship goes from worse to horrific, Wilma Sue faces the biggest challenge of her life. And as she moves from struggle to struggle and cake to cake, she learns a little about baking and a lot about the nature of genuine love. Magnin’s rich imagination and keen insight into human nature make this book as rich—and as tender—as one of Naomi’s delectable delights. Go ahead. Cut a generous serving of CAKE. You’ll savor every bite. Find a local Christian bookstore. Find this book on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or at www.christianbook.com. What are some of the favorite books you read as a child? Why do you think they captured your attention and interest? Feel free to share your stories, and watch for a WRITE interview with author Joyce Magnin coming soon.  (FTC Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reading Copy of this book free from the publisher. I was not required to post a review or a positive...

Pastor Mark Batterson has a genius for making the obscure prominent. His In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day highlights the biblical story of Benaniah (Bena-who?) and makes a pertinent application to those who face challenging circumstances. And his Wild Goose Chase pulled its title from an ancient Celtic name for the Holy Spirit.  In The Circle Maker: Praying Circles AroundYour Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears (Zondervan, 2011), Batterson again draws from obscurity via a legend that pre-dates the Old Testament. Here, he uses the story of Honi the Circle Maker, a prophet who dared to believe a miracle and watched as it happened to the glory of God. This book has sources other than legend, however. Batterson shares both from Scripture and his own experience as pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. His basic premise: when you believe a prayer is in the will of God and will bring Him glory, you should circle it in prayer the way the Israelites circled the wall of Jericho. Pray hard, pray long, and watch for God to work. Batterson does a great job of sharing  both story and principle in an inspiring, entertaining way. At times, I felt his catchy sound bite-type wording seemed forced. At other times, I marveled at his agility in turning a phrase. At times, I wondered if he was veering into name-it, claim-it philosophy. At other times, I wondered why my faith is so small. And that’s the real strength of this book. Although “circling,” as I see it, is only a paradigm for effective, fervent prayer, this new way of thinking has already enhanced my prayer life. I realized I was often praying what I expected God to do anyway. It was time—past time—to trust God for the miracles I know He can do. It was time I asked Him for the impossible, the work only He can perform. Read this book with a critical eye. Go back to the Word and check its points. But I believe you’ll end up, like Batterson, circling your family, your friends, and various situations in your life with the kind of powerful prayers God uses every day. And that obscure Circle Maker? He’ll be smiling. What book about prayer has had a dramatic impact on you? I have a growing collection and would love to know your favorites.  Find a local Christian bookstore Find this book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or at Christian Book...