Unleashed by Erwin Raphael McManus

Unleashed is a short, quick read about releasing the untamed faith within and choosing the barbarian way. You might be thinking, "Barbarian way? What is that?"

Simply put, it is to give your heart to the Only one who can make you fully alive.

It was an interesting concept that I enjoyed reading about. I agree, it's very common now a days for Christians to fall into a lull and forget their first love, their passion, their fire. In fact, it's even dangerous.

I loved all the stories about his daughter Mariah, his big mouth at church meetings, him letting his son jump off the roof (all I can say on that one is...read the book!), the miracle about God sending snow to just let someone know that He loves them, and much, much more.

Plus, I really liked the cover of this book and the title. I don't know why, but as soon as I saw that cover, I knew it was the author's daughter, Mariah, on the front. He described her so well, with her passion to help people, that her picture on the front really sums up the whole book. Free and unleashed.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Galileo by Mitch Stokes

From physics to religion, Galileo's life changed the world and how we perceive it.

Despite a debilitating life-long illness, Galileo changed physics from a purely philosophical subject into one involving mathematics and careful observation. But his innovations didn’t stop there. He also challenged beliefs about the very structure of the universe, arguing that the earth moves around the sun at dizzying speeds.

But suggesting such dramatic changes made philosophers uncomfortable. And because they were unable to refute Galileo on their own playing field, they sought help from theologians, sending Galileo headlong into a conflict with church officials. In this biography readers will be privy to the intrigues, personality clashes, and misunderstandings that led to Galileo’s famous trial and condemnation.

This book, Galileo, is part of the Christian Encounters series by Mitch Stokes. It follows Galileo all through his life, from his childhood to his death. It's a journey through time as we watch events unfold as Galileo kept going, made brilliant discoveries, and mentored young proteges.

I love Galileo's story so I was very excited to read this book. It was full of interesting facts like that Galileo's full name was Galileo Galileo (how crazy is that?!), he loved poetry, and that he disagreed with many of his professors. It sorta had too many facts for me, I like more a story when it comes to history. It's great for educating yourself, but I wouldn't pick up this book to read an adventure, romance, suspense, etc. It's more of a history lesson of the life of Galileo. Very interesting book though.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Reason Why by Mark Mittelberg

The Reason Why covered six basic questions people have about Christianity. Is there a God? Can the Bible be trusted? Are we accountable to God? Who was Jesus and what was His purpose? Is divine forgiveness available? And last, but not least, what do I need to do?

If you have any of these questions churning in your head, this is the book for you!

It's a short and easy read, only 126 pages. It's a small book. It's full of facts and things that make you think. Mittelberg used a lot of example to get across his point, which I loved. I love little stories thrown in to make things easier to understand. I also liked the fact that this boom can be read by Christians or non-Christians. I would actually highly recommend it to people who aren't Christians. The book lets you make up your own mind about God and includes a (optional) prayer in the beginning of the book that just asks "God, if you're really there and if these things I'm reading are really true, please show me" (page 4). They also encourage you to be open minded.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.