baptism

Yesterday, Anthony & I were baptized at church. To clarify a few things - Anthony was baptized as a baby, I in 8th grade. His was not his choice (of course) and mine was really out of fear of hell. In the denomination in which we were raised, it's believed that you must be baptized to be saved.

We believe differently now. We believe that salvation comes from knowing that Jesus Christ paid for your sins on the cross with his own blood. Baptism is an outward confession of that faith. We have both been following the Lord for almost 10 years and were really convicted the past few weeks to be baptized.

We were blessed to have our friend Cale baptize us; he's played such a large role in strengthening our faiths and has become one of our best friends. And then our boys were there to watch us (usually they'd be in children's church); that was really special to me. Squirt is still pretty young and may not have this as a long-term memory (but he kept talking about how Cale dunked us in the water). Moose will probably remember this and it just gives us a way to explain about baptism - that we love Jesus and wish to follow Him; this is our way of telling everyone that. He says he wants to be baptized...right now, I think he just wants to play in the water. :) I pray he will be, though.

It was a lovely day, full of congratulations. Anthony & I talked about things we left out of our testimonies we told before being immersed. He doesn't want people to think we were recently saved, and I think that Acts 22:16 sums up our feelings (and my challenge I left out of my testimony because I forgot my written out testimony) "what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have you sins washed away by calling out to the name of the Lord" (that's definitely not word for word). He didn't want this to be the only way people know we're saved - which, I speak for him, is not possible. He is just so Christ-like with his patience and kindness and joy and faithfulness, etc. People see him, they see Christ. I am a blessed wife, a blessed daughter of our King.

Have you been baptized? What does that mean to you? What are you waiting for, if you trust in the Lord?

Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist: Learning to be Free by Amanda Jenkins (book review)

The title of "Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist: Learning to be Free" by Amanda Jenkins really resonated with me. I have been dealing with pride issues for a few months now and I was told that perfectionism is a symptom of pride. I was thankful for the opportunity to review this book.

image via Amazon.com

I have NEVER read a more convicting, real book. Jenkins is amazingly open with her struggles with vanity, money, recognition, relationships, parenthood, plans, pride, testimony, obedience, Diet Coke, and happiness on her journey toward freedom. I am a little ashamed to say that I equally share those same struggles with her in virtually every.single.way (except Diet Coke but I have my own to take its place).

Please, please read this first chapter of the book!! I cannot tell you how convicted I was during the entirety of this book. My copy is marked from front to back with arrows, underlines, outlines, stars! In the vanity chapter, she talks about beauty and how "we wonder what it would be like to fix that one thing. Ha. And it's not just cosmetic surgery - it's all the things we do to get pretty and stay pretty." Whoa! I have worked really hard, put in plenty of miles to get my body fat (and weight) down to a really good place. And it's going to take plenty of miles and a lot of sweat to keep it that way. But the Bible is clear that:

"People are like grass;
   their beauty is like a flower in the field.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
   But the word of the Lord remains forever."
-1 Peter 1:24-25, NLT

The recognition chapter struck me because I, like Jenkins, "want to be known." I'm not really the best at anything, although I've always vied to be. I am smart but I didn't graduate as valedictorian. I am athletic but I'll never win a race. I am a good mom but I doubt my kids will have giant accomplishments like being President or Nobel Peace Prize winners (perhaps, but looking at statistics here, people and keeping it real). But like Mary in Luke 10, I need to abide in the attention of the Lord, not rush around like Martha trying to accomplish this or that. "After all, it wasn't Martha's cooking that was written about in history books. It was the Man she invited to dinner."

Parenthood. Who doesn't want to be the best mom? To have the most well-behaved children? Throughout this entire book, I kept thinking of HOW close this woman's story is to my own - she even has an autistic child (hers a daughter, mine a son). Anyway - Jenkins talks about basically being a helicopter parent, wanting to keep our children from the worst - kidnappings, terminal illness. We need not worry about that scary stuff. In the words of Junior Asparagus "God is bigger than the Boogie Man [or other things that scare us moms]."

I read the Plans chapter at the perfect time when it was clear I wasn't going to run in my marathon as I'd planned. The Lord makes our plans; "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11)." Testimony chapter was where my underlinings got real thick! Thinking about "what really draws people to Jesus" and realizing that it was not myself. I should not be trying to "win the approval of people, but of God (Galatians 1)." Here's my admission: I get scared to share the gospel or even talk about Jesus with people who I'm not sure love Him like I do. How crazy is that?! He DIED for me and I can't even go through an awkward moment for Him? I don't need people who don't know the Lord to think I have it all together in this cookie-cutter Christian image - because that's fake! Authenticity and transparency of a changed life - that's what the Lord uses to win people to Himself (because we don't win anyone - we plant seeds). It's OK if I look foolish, as long as I'm real and open about how the Lord has changed me (and He has!).

I didn't think the Diet Coke chapter would pertain to me at all. I don't drink pop! Oh dear, well, I hadn't learned that Jenkins's life mirrored my own obviously. For her, it's Diet Coke and those quiet hours of nap time. For me, lately, it's been candy and those quiet hours of nap time. "I feel desperate for..so desperate that when I don't get it, it affects my mood for the rest of the day." Oh wow. "But I know the whole reason I need to depend on God is because Diet Coke [insert your own vice: coffee, reality tv, reading, exercise, etc] doesn't satisfy for any longer than the time it takes to drink it, and the hour I spend with the housewives provides laughs and gasps, not peace." Jenkins really struck a note with me - I need to abide in the Lord, not in silly worldly things. Those things have their proper place but not as a NEED.

I was impressed with the openness of this book, obviously. I really enjoyed the part in the Diet Coke chapter about fasting - I haven't delved into fasting because it was confusing. She breaks it down so it's understandable. I could go on and on here, people. I need to meet this woman who has written my memoir (or just read her Q&A)! The study questions in the back were wonderful - didn't take very long but dug into Scripture and real life. Too often the questions are easy "duh" answers in books like this but I really dug into my own heart with these.

I really really really really really recommend this book. I've hardly stopped talking about it to everyone in my life - our small group, my friends, my Bible study. It's seriously amazing. I cannot wait to read it over again with a group of women! Find this book at Amazon or other retailers (only $9.99 for Kindle edition as I write this on Amazon).

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own; others may not share them.

We Choose Virtues giveaway WINNER!

And the winner of the We Choose Virtues giveaway (picked by random.org) is....

Tiffany Faith! I will be sending you an email and will need to hear from you within 48 hours to collect your prize of a Kids' Kid from We Choose Virtues!


True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:12Powered by RANDOM.ORG
Thank you to all who entered!

Here's to More Birthdays with American Cancer Society (sponsored post)

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the American Cancer Society.





Those are fighting words (pun intended). Cancer is no something to be silent about or to sit idly by and watch people die from. Not that everyone can be a doctor or medical professional or scientist, but we can help!

The American Cancer Society (which turns 100 on May 22, 2013 - happy birthday, ACS) is going to start this really aggressive and historic research study: Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3). It's going to help us understand how to prevent cancer, which will save so many lives. They have this goal of 300,000 adults from every racial/ethnic background from everywhere in the US by the end of 2013 (and you know how fast years go by).

My Grandma Kay had ovarian cancer. She died of complications of numerous things, that being one of them. That affects me every day. I don't get to write my grandma letters or call her on the phone to tell her about Moose and Squirt or my running. She never even met my boys, never even knew I picked up running or started being the story time lady at our library. She met my husband before he was my husband, but she didn't get to see me walk down the aisle. I never shared Jesus with my grandma.

Grandma Kay - in younger years :) (image from my Uncle Mike)

image from my Uncle Mike - this is him and his mom, my Grandma Kay

Those things, those life events, eternal events that so many people don't get to share with a loved one because cancer has stolen them. Stolen. I wish so often she could be here to see the woman I've grown into, but she can't. But maybe someone else's grandma can be here for them.

I don't have a ton of experience with the American Cancer Society, but their stats are terrific. They have contributed to a 20% decline in cancer death rates here in the US since the 1990s. That's 1.2 million lives - people! They have helped lead a 50% drop in smoking since the '60s - holy moly.

They aren't stopping there! They are doing that research study I wrote about, they want to help people who are staring cancer in the face to have help meeting needs like a place to stay during treatment and a way to get to that treatment. They want to keep fighting for our ability to have quality health care, screenings that can save lives, and clean air. That's an organization worth standing behind. Will you stand behind ACS and help others have one more birthday??

This post is sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

We Choose Virtues (review & giveaway!)

I almost think I needed this Kids Kit from We Choose Virtues almost as much as my sons. I mean, check out this list: patience, kindness, obedience, diligence, forgiving, attentive, etc. I have such problems with patience and attentive (anyone else get distracted by stuff online?)! So I know that it's important to teach these virtues to my children, too (and learn alongside them). Jesus was patient, forgiving, obedient, diligent, forgiving, attentive, self-controlled, content, etc. We are supposed to imitate Jesus and so I thought this was a good way to help me teach them how to do that.

image from the WCV website

Like I said, I reviewed the Kids Kit. It came with a Kids Virtue Poster (that tells all of the virtues & sayings that go along with them), one Fan Poster (your choice; a large poster that shows one virtue and saying), Virtues Clues & a clear acrylic card holder (business card sized cards with one virtue per card), "I'm a Virtue Kid" button, The Kids of VirtueVille Color-My-Story Book (coloring book that tells more in depth about each character), 12 butterfly stickers (to be used in the coloring book), Kid's Awards (little certificates for each virtue). Then you get downloadable PDF tools: Kid's character assessment and a t-shirt iron-on template. Lots of stuff for $29.99 (look for a promo code at the end of this post)!

It took me awhile to figure this out. I like rules and regulations: this is how to you use this specifically. There's more freedom with We Choose Virtues - which is great and lets you personalize it to fit your family. I started out having each boy work on 3 virtues...that didn't go well. I couldn't remember who was working on what. Once I emailed my contact at We Choose Virtues and got a little more direction, I figured out something that worked for us.

Once a week, I figure out one virtue I want both boys to work on. Eventually, as they grow, they'll need to work on different things but (for us) one virtue at a time to focus on (not saying the others aren't watched at the same time, they just aren't the focus on conversation) works well so far. Patience is what we really worked on! My boys (like many children) are very good at saying things like "can we go?" or "I'm hungry." Not that those things are bad but repetitively said, they grind on my nerves and make me impatient, which can cause me to sin.

image from the WCV website

My sons learned easily the catch phrase for patience: "I wait, and wait, and wait, with a smile." We're not 100% patient after our few weeks of working on patience. I think the catch phrase has helped the most. I can remind the boys to "wait and wait and wait - with a smile" and then they do! Or I ask "what does patience mean?" and they answer that back to me. All of parenting isn't going to be done in one day (or two weeks)  so this will be a lifetime of learning - it still is for me! I did implement a sticker system with our virtues - if the boys showed me that they were obedient, they got a sticker. When they got so many stickers, they got chocolate ice cream. Incentives work wonders but sometimes it's hard to tell whether they are going for the rewards or the heart change. Always a challenge.

The other day, I got to give my younger son, Squirt, a sticker in his coloring book for Forgiveness. Another kid had bit him at school. When the teacher told that boy to say sorry, Squirt said, "I forgive you." I about cried when I heard that because that's something we've worked on between the boys over and over and over. It didn't seem here at home that they understood, but out in the world, Squirt had the opportunity to forgive someone - and he did. And it made an impact on his teacher, too. I think that's beautiful. I love childlike faith.

GIVEAWAY! You have an opportunity to win a Kid's Kit from We Choose Virtues (valued at $29.99). I'm so excited to share this system with you so that you can have some help teaching your children virtues (isn't it nice to have something help you along in this messy parenting business?)!

from the We Choose Virtues website

TO ENTER: Please visit the Kid's Kit page on We Choose Virtues website and tell me what big virtues poster you would choose. Leave a comment (mandatory entry).

Extra entries: Not required but will give you more chances. Please leave one comment per entry (if you leave it all as one comment, it will only be counted once for ease of myself).

- Like We Choose Virtues on Facebook
- Like S Club 4 on Facebook
- Follow We Choose Virtues on Pinterest
- Tell me what virtue you need to work on yourself!

GIVEAWAY OPEN UNTIL MAY 6, 2013 AT 11:59PM. WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON MAY 7, 2013 (EMAIL WILL BE SENT IF POSSIBLE). MUST BE 18 AND OVER TO ENTER AND LIVE IN THE USA. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

Disclaimer: I received a We Choose Virtues Kid's Kit in order to write an honest review. Others may or may not have the same experience(s) that we've had using this product and/or with this company.

God's little miracle

Although my children are His miracles as well, this post is not about my bundles of joy (who aren't really bundles anymore, huh?). No. Today God worked a miracle! I have not been able to run for about 4 weeks without severe pain in my right foot (muscle overuse...go figure).

Today I walked 10 minutes. Then I ran 10 minutes. No pain. Not even a little except my legs which said "hey I thought we were biking?"

I was floored! Those 10 minutes were miraculous. Yes, there was much work put in by myself, my wonderful chiropractor (Dr. L), and ice. But myself, the doc, the ice does not work miracles. God heals. God works miracles. As I'm thankful for my doctor's work and wisdom, I know God is the Healer, the Great Physician. And I'm so thankful to Him for healing my foot.

Tomorrow I will try to run 4 miles. I may make it without pain. I may not. That does not distract from today's miracle.


Then God worked another miracle by allowing my 3-year-old to live as a van used her brakes before hitting him (she was probably 4 yards from him and it would have totally been his/my fault). No injuries and he's no better at looking for cars before crossing the street.

Anyway, I wanted to share the miracles God has worked (just today!) in my life. Where are your miracles?

my command center

Command center. What a silly name, right? But it seems to be all the rage on Pinterest. I've seen several tutorials on there of beautiful command centers. What is a command center? A place of organization where your house comes to thrive!

I love organization. I've never been to Ikea or Pottery Barn (scratch that, I've been to PB...I think), but I imagine it'd be a little slice of Type A heaven for me. After seeing all of these lovely organizational pretties online, I decided a little DIY was in order in the S Club.

After scouring online for hours...yikes...I decided on simpler (and cheaper - whoa prices can skyrocket on organizational items).

Below is the main part of our command center. The largest frame is one we had an engagement picture in where everyone wrote well-wishes on a mat. I got a poster board from Dollar General and put a generic calendar on there (no numbers, just days of the week). Then I use a marker board marker to write up our schedule. The file folder underneath is for my planner and papers that pertain to me.

 The four picture frames have our chore chart (really, my chore chart but hopefully it'll evolve to include our kids - they do help around the house by picking up or with chores I ask them to help me with), our weekly menu, a to-do list, and our family rules. I used a PDF with the little design at the top, then used picmonkey.com to design them. Again, I use a marker board marker to write or cross stuff off our list.

This bulletin board is on an adjacent wall. It holds shower & graduation invites, school calendar, and other extras that need hung up but not put away. Under it are two frames for the boys' school newsletters (I haven't gotten Moose's yet, hence the empty frame). 

These file folders are for mail, bills, and boys' school papers. This has cut down on my counter clutter SO much! Which was the main reason for installing this command center.

I got everything except the big frame from walmart.com. I don't remember where the big frame was from but the poster board was from Dollar General. I think we spent around $50 on this. That may or may not be correct (I have the worst memory!), but it was money well-spent in my mind.

Ellie: fashion-forward looks mixed with high-tech activewear (review & 20% discount)

I run. I love to dress up. Why not look fashionable while I run? That's the basic idea behind Ellie: fitness meats fashion. It's simple, really. Two ways to sign up: non-member or Fit Fashionista Club Member.

Non-member. Shop the Ellie tops and bottoms, collections - to your heart's content. Your pieces usually arrive in 5-7 days and you're ready to break a sweat in style.

Fit Fashionista Club Member. Sign up. Choose any two pieces for $49.95 each month. That's $25 per piece (top & bottom, two tops, two bottoms); hard to find that price really, especially on bottoms. FREE shipping, no matter how often you order. Priority access - get the pieces you want before collections are released so they aren't sold out before you get to them. Access to exclusive things like flash sales, discounts, etc.

No hassle guarantee. Don't like something? Doesn't matter the reason; return it for something new and get free shipping both ways. That's pretty awesome!

I had the opportunity to try out this whole shebang with Ellie. I got in while their Love, Ellie Collection was hot hot hot. Quite a bit of time was spent deciding on my two pieces. I chose the Peek-A-Boo Tank ($34.95) and Electric Love Capri ($54.95). Just think about this: if I were a Fit Fashionista Club Member, I would get those pieces (valued at $89.90) for just under $50. That's quite the deal!

I haven't had the opportunity to run in these pieces except for my two minutes at the chiropractor the other day before my injured foot hurt. However, I've biked several hours and exercised on the elliptical for a few times, too.

My favorite thing about these pieces is the color of the capri - I just am ready for summer and I love the bright colors. I'm not sure when my legs start to sweat what this material will look like; it doesn't seem like it will cover it like black bottoms would. Oh well. These are a statement pant!!

As for the peek-a-boo top, I absolutely love it! I wasn't sure if it were a little scandalous, but it's really airy. I love air flow when I work out, so this is perfect for me. It doesn't really show anything except my back, but it's just fun. I like fun in my clothes! It is mesh-ish, but it's not see-through (except for the purposeful opening on the back). The only thing more fun would be if it were in color.

I have an opportunity for you ladies! If you use my Ellie banner on the left side of my blog (or link under this paragraph or banner at the top of this post), you receive 20% off! Who doesn't love a discount?! Ellie also has an affiliate program - you can earn $20 for friends who sign up. Pretty sweet, right?

Save 20% on Ellie!

Go on over and check it out. Look at their new Coral Crush collection - the hottest color this season, I'm told. It's definitely pretty and you'll be pretty hot (and sweaty) while you workout! Find Ellie on Facebook and Twitter, too.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary outfit in order to facilitate an honest review. I also participate in their affiliate program. 

ignoring God

I think I've been ignoring God. Not to say this has been on purpose (hence the 'I think' part), but He has been glaringly clear about the pride in my life recently that I think I must have missed His whispered warnings prior to this scream.

I gathered a few weeks ago, reading in the gospels, that I may have a pride issue. Oh, that was probably one of the aforementioned whispers. Crud. Anyway, I thought about it a bit and well...thought process was all I got around to.

We had a leadership meeting last Monday at church. It's a lovely time of a light supper (always delicious), a message (either from our pastor or a DVD series or something - usually growth producing), and then ministry teams meet (I flit between missions team and children's church). Well, this past Monday, God decided to have the pastor speak directly to me. Not literally - wouldn't that have been freaky, "Randi, you have pride in your life." - but indirectly. He spoke about a book he'd read that had 7 symptoms that you have a pride issue in your life. I don't remember all of them but a few were "temper, irritability (which I associate with annoyance and Squirt has been heard lately saying "that's annoying?" which I wonder where he picked that up...), unteachable-ness (I realize that's not a word)" There were more obviously, but my mind eludes me tonight, so let's just say that I met 6/7 criteria for pride.

I pondered that while reading The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shrier. The chapters for that week were about word vomit (not really but in a sense). How we don't always need to be right, don't always need to have the last word, don't always need to talk just to hear ourselves talk.

"Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut." - Proverbs 10:19

That is one of my favorite verses. I've taught it to my children. We've memorized it together. I know I need it. Yet I forget. I realized in this past week that I love to be the center of attention. I love compliments. I love being noticed and appreciated. While it's nice to receive compliments, attention, and appreciation, it's prideful to go out of your way (even in your thoughts, as in 'I wonder if so-and-so will comment on these sweet shoes I'm wearing') to get them. My new haircut has brought around this realization. I just soak in those compliments...like it were God complimenting me rather than His creation. Ugh.

THEN I started to read my latest book for review: "Confessions of a Raging Perfectionist" (by Amanda Jenkins - review soon). Very funny. Very relatable. Very convicting. Ouch convicting. First three chapters: Vanity. Money. Recognition. Oh me, oh my. Perfectionism. Type A personality. That's me. I think this woman really took my memoirs and changed the names (which stinks because what ever will I write my New York Times bestseller about??). Not really but it's so SO relatable it hurts. It brought me to tears, to my knees, broke my heart today.

Even my hurt foot could very well be God's way of getting my attention that I was being prideful, bragging even, about my marathon training. Not saying running a marathon is bad, nor is running bad, but when I sought out conversations where I could slip it in that I was training for a marathon - because of the admiration/praise/confusion/attention it brought me. Oh me, oh my. The hurt foot could be coincidence but I don't know God's ways.

I agonize over what to wear. Who cares?! My friends compliment me often - and mostly not about clothes. I don't think that most people, most women even think about who is wearing what most of the time. I don't notice what my friends are wearing most of the time. I do like to compliment them when they look nice but compliments should be icing on the cake, not expected. Nothing to agonize over. Who cares if so-and-so doesn't open her lips to say she likes my necklace. Do I like it? Does my husband like it? Am I dressed modestly and appropriately? Am I dressing to bring attention to myself (from men or women?)? Pride.

I want my kids to behave and have wonderful manners. They can drive me nuts with a few repetitive noises or phrases (which is very unfair to Moose who has some sort of echolalia and he's a kid). I am so embarrassed and feel I need to explain about his autism to most people when he has an outburst - like others kids don't have outbursts in public? It raises my blood pressure when my children don't listen and obey like robots (not that listening and obeying the first time isn't a grand thing but they have minds of their own and sinful little hearts that desire their own ways, just like mine). I want others to see me as Super Mom...when that's impossible because we are all raising children who have minds of their own and sinful hearts - just like us!

Oh me, oh my. I'm sure I could go on. I even contemplated making my Facebook status something about this - for attention seeking, ugh. I hesitated to even write this post because I really do desire God's attention, not human's attention. Then I thought 'what if someone else is in the same boat?' That's usually what prompts me to write posts of this nature that are revealing of my sinful nature (who wants to write about how much their innards suck?!). Sin comes from secrecy and I don't desire this sin to continue so I'm bringing it to the light. *deep breath*

So, if you are out there and you feel irritable about everything (even your husband's loud eating annoys you), then you're in the right place. God can help you, too, like He's helped me. He's shining light on your pride as well as mine. He will take our loads and give us his load which is easy. He loves us so much, He created us to want compliments - but those found in His Word. He wants us to know that we are special just because He loves us (not my words, taken from the perfectionist book). Can you believe that?

It's hard but I want to believe that.

God's Not Dead by Rice Brooks (book review)

I'm intrigued by apologetics (which is fancy talk for defending your position - usually in regards to faith, as in this case). Last year, Big A & I facilitated an apologetics study for church called The Truth Project (super good!).

As Christians, we should be able to defend our faith. Childlike faith does not mean blind faith; Jesus said if we ask, we will receive. That is in regards to wisdom and knowledge, too. I think it's good to ask questions and keep seeking truth. As I learned from our class, the truth will always lead you back to God. "God's Not Dead" by Rice Brooks was right up that alley of truth-seeking/faith defending, so I broke it open and absorbed.

image via Book Sneeze

I did not like it to begin with. I was thinking from the introduction that there would be more scientific, fact-like evidence. The first few chapters seemed more like "he said, he said" conversations with atheist point of views contradicted by Christian point of views and back and forth. Which, it seemed through the entire book that whenever there is a religious debate, Christians always kick butt of their agnostic and atheist counter parts. Not sure if that's true but you would think these guys would get bored of debating and losing. Or would realize they're wrong and turn to God.

I really enjoyed the chapters about morals and good/evil. If there is no God then where exactly do our morals come from? Every human knows it's wrong to kill another human - if a Designer didn't put them there, then how did we all evolve to have this same capacity? Where do the standards for good vs. evil come from? To a Christian it's obviously God starting with the 10 Commandments (and before because we all know that it was wrong of Cain to murder his brother) and continuing with Jesus's statement about loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and loving your brother as yourself.

"God's Not Dead" talked about how some naturalists (I believe) feel like we are just animals, bound by our primal urges. However, if we are merely animals, how is it that it's wrong (so wrong) to kill another person but lions are allowed to kill the weaker of their own kind? If we were animals, then we would be bound by Darwinian survival of the fittest. Yet, we are not. We are made in the image of God!

We also have a higher purpose - not merely survival, 'eat, drink, be merry' sort of thing. We seek to fill ourselves and yet come up empty handed most times. Food does not fill, material things does not fill (as shown by this statement "if happiness came from material things, Americans and other Westerners should be the happiest people on earth" and yet we aren't...."we are desperate for relationships, for significance, for a real reason to live."), children and family does not fill (although very nice!). As religion is pushed out of our world, there is little hope. That hopelessness is shown in the number of suicides - people desperate for hope but having not found that One who will fill them (not that this is the only reason for suicide, but it seems to be a large account of them).

The book concludes with proof of the resurrection of Christ (historical and Biblical/historical proof), information about the grace effect (in regards to when grace abounds we give grace), and ends with beautiful testimonies from all over the world sharing about atheists/agnostics whose eyes have been opened to the love of Christ.

What an amazing book to have. I believe apologetics make us stronger Christians, able to defend our faith and be firm in it. This book brought forth some interesting ideas that I hadn't heard, but a majority of them I had heard while going through The Truth Project. Still a valuable resource.

Disclaimer: I received this book in order to write an honest review. Others may or may not have the same opinions and/or experiences with the book and/or publisher.