I came across The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson when I was doing a search for books on prayer. Am I ever glad I found this book.  Mark has done a great job in this book of finding a good balance between challenging readers and also encouraging readers to pray more often, pray for more than you have before and to build your personal relationship with Christ.

I highlighted and dog-eared a number of passages in this book, but one of my favourites is this one:

“When you live by faith, it often feels like you are risking your reputation. You’re not. You are risking God’s reputation. It’s not your faith that’s on the line. It’s His faithfulness. Why? Because God is the one who made the promise, and He is the only one who can keep it. The battle doesn’t belong to you; it belongs to God. And because the battle doesn’t belong to you, neither does the glory.”

And just because I can’t pick only one favorite out of the book, here is another one of my favorite passages:

“The reason many of us give up too soon is that we feel like we have failed if God doesn’t answer our prayer. That isn’t failure. The only way you can fail is if you stop praying. Prayer is a no-lose proposition.”

Mark’s book, The Circle Maker has definitely challenged and encouraged me with my own prayer life and I have enjoyed his writing style so much in this book, that I’m eager to read another one of his books, All In, very soon.

If you want a book that will stretch your faith and deepen your prayer life, this book is a good one to read!

Francis does a great job in this book of portraying the incredible love that God has for us and challenging readers to move from lukewarm faith to living out your faith on a daily basis in a manner that reflects your heart for God. He helps to re-ignite reader’s faith and calls them to think deeply about their relationship with God. It may make you a little uncomfortable, but Phillipians 2:12 tells each of us to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, and so examining our faith by reading scripture and absorbing a teaching like this one from Francis Chan can be a very good thing for us.

This book inspires readers to gain a deeper relationship with God and to pursue a life not filling it with more material possessions, but instead, one where we realize that what we do with our time, possessions and lives matters a whole lot more than we have previously thought.

With many scripture references and lessons, I really feel that this book is a good read for any Christian who is committed to following Christ.

I found Jennie Allen’s book, Anything, in an online bible study group. It was the first time I had read any book by Jennie or even heard of Jennie Allen. I have to say that I was very impressed by the depth of honesty in her book.  She openly shares her own journey of faith, from living for Christ day in and day out in the mundane everyday details to going to overseas and adopting a son.  She invites readers to join her as she longs for something beyond finding happiness in empty pursuits. Jennie’s writing style makes it easy for readers to connect with her making this one book you don’t want to miss.

Anything is a thought-provoking read that challenges readers to consider their own lives and the choices we make. It is full of wisdom and love.

Leading a group of 20-25 women through a bible study with each one of us reading Anything at the same time was an experience that has changed each one of us.  I can honestly say there wasn’t anyone in our group who did not love Jennie’s book. Each of us were challenged by it and the areas we felt challenged in were not all the same.

It was especially refreshing to feel challenged without feeling judged by Jennie and that is something that I really appreciate about her writing style.

If you are looking for more of God in your life, this book will help you engage deeply in your faith and encourage you to pursue God and the adventure He has planned for your life.