The Simplest Way to Change the World

How to make disciples using hospitality

Deep down, every Christian wants to make a difference. But for many of us, the years come and go and we never do. The good news is: change can be as simple as opening your front door.

The Simplest Way to Change the World is about biblical hospitality and its power for the gospel. Since people will sooner enter a living room than a church, hospitality is a natural and effective way to build relationships for Christ. You’ll learn:


How the home can be a hub for community
How hospitality leads to joy, purpose, and belonging
How it grows families to love the things of God
How it’s not about being the perfect host
How to be hospitable regardless of your living space
Hospitality is a beautiful legacy of the church, and a great way to make disciples. As you open your life up to others, you share in the very character of God and experience His joy. And you get to witness lives change—including your own.

Includes 20+ creative ideas for hospitality, plus questions for small groups

My thoughts: This book is such a great little read! I appreciated the thoughts on how just opening your home and learning the art of hospitality is such a simple but effective tool to impact the world around you. Doing a better job of hosting and having people over has been on my mind a lot since we bought our home, but I constantly use the excuse that no one wants to see our on going remodel projects. But, when we have opened out home, it has helped friendships to grow and blessed us tremendously. I look forward to trying this book out with a small study group.
I received this book from Moody in exchange for my honest review.

Convicted

Jameel McGee: “For the next three years not a day went by that I didn’t think about my son who I had never seen and the cop who had kept me from him. And for most of those three years I promised myself that if I ever saw this cop again, I was going to kill him. I intended to keep that promise.”

Andrew Collins: “I watched this angry man march through a crowd, a little boy and another man struggling to keep up with him....The man walked straight up to me, stopped, and stuck out his hand. I took it. “Remember me?” he asked in a tone that sounded more like a threat than a question.
Somehow, a name came to me. ‘Jameel McGee,’ I replied.”

It reads like a gripping crime novel…except this story really happened.

Racial tensions had long simmered in Benton Harbor, a small city on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, before the day a white narcotics officer--more focused on arrests than justice—set his sights on an innocent black man. But when officer Andrew Collins framed Jameel McGee for possession of crack cocaine, the surprising result was not a race riot but a transformative journey for both men.

Falsely convicted, McGee spent four years in federal prison. Collins also went to prison a few years later for falsifying police reports. While behind bars, the faith of both men deepened. But the story took its most unexpected turn once they were released--when their lives collided again in a moment brimming with mistrust and anger. The two were on a collision course—not to violence—but forgiveness.

As current as today’s headlines, this explosive, true story reveals how these radically conflicted men chose to let go of fear and a thirst for revenge to pursue reconciliation for themselves, their community, and our racially divided nation.

My thoughts: Wow! This was such an incredible story about how God used a horrible situation and a man's innocence and turned it into a beautiful story of forgiveness. Well written and reads like a fictional story, but sometimes truth is stranger, or in this case, more powerful, than fiction.
I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Over Maya Dead Body

FBI Special Agent Serena Jones arrives on Martha's Vineyard with her family, ready for a little bit of R&R and a whole lot of reminiscing as they celebrate the engagement of an old family friend. But crime doesn't take a vacation, and she's soon entangled in an investigation of a suspicious death tied to an antiquities smuggling ring.

When her investigation propels her into danger, Serena must stay the course and solve this case before anyone else dies. But just how is she supposed to do that when the two men in her life arrive on the scene, bringing with them plenty of romantic complications--and even a secret or two?

My thoughts: This book was the perfect conclusion to the series! I enjoyed the fun combination of mystery and art that this series brings to readers. It is such a fun trip into the cultured world surrounding art! I also loved Serena and her chance at love. This one is an excellent series to pick up if you love art, mystery, or are just looking for a engrossing read. Two thumbs up!
I received this book from Revell in exchange for my honest review.

A Name Unknown

Edwardian Romance and History Gains a Twist of Suspense

Rosemary Gresham has no family beyond the band of former urchins that helped her survive as a girl in the mean streets of London. Grown now, they concentrate on stealing high-value items and have learned how to blend into upper-class society. But when Rosemary must determine whether a certain wealthy gentleman is loyal to Britain or to Germany, she is in for the challenge of a lifetime. How does one steal a family's history, their very name?

Peter Holstein, given his family's German blood, writes his popular series of adventure novels under a pen name. With European politics boiling and his own neighbors suspicious of him, Peter debates whether it might be best to change his name for good. When Rosemary shows up at his door pretending to be a historian and offering to help him trace his family history, his question might be answered.

But as the two work together and Rosemary sees his gracious reaction to his neighbors' scornful attacks, she wonders if her assignment is going down the wrong path. Is it too late to help him prove that he's more than his name?

My thoughts: I have enjoyed each of Roseanne's books immensely, so I was thrilled to get a hold of a copy of this book! This series is off to a wonderful start, I enjoyed the characters and the intrigue surrounding the time of their story, which is set in 1914 when England was on the cusp of World War I. This book revealed some interesting history about the king of the time and how anyone with a German surname was under suspicion. This is an excellent story to pick up! I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series, as Roseanne's characters are very realistic and go through a lot of growth through the course of the story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book.

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Beginning

A mysterious scroll transports a brother and sister back to the time of God's creation of the world in this chapter book for emerging readers.

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series follows siblings Peter and Mary and their dog, Hank, as they discover ancient scrolls that transport them back to key moments in biblical history.

In the first adventure in the series, Peter and Mary find themselves witnesses to the creation of the world just as God is speaking it into existence. Can they unlock the mystery of the scrolls before they get trapped in history forever? Children will discover the answer as the two characters ride rhinos, meet the angel Michael, and talk to a certain snake in the Garden of Eden. Riveting text and engaging illustrations bring this beloved Bible story to riotous life. Ages 6-9.

My thoughts: What a fun start to a great series for kids! My daughter and I enjoyed reading this one together, since it is a great way to introduce your kids to the story of the creation. We have talked some about it, but this book helped it come alive for my daughter, since it is told in an engaging way. It sparked some great conversations about what happened during the creation of the world and what happened after it. We enjoyed this book immensely and look forward to the next one!
I received this book from Worthy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Return

Beautiful and winsome, Betsy Zook never questioned her family's rigid expectations, nor those of devoted Hans, but then she never had to. Not until the night when she's taken captive in a surprise Indian raid. During her captivity, Betsy faces brutality and hardship, but also unexpected kindness. She draws strength from native Caleb, who encourages her to find God in all circumstances. She finds herself torn between her pious upbringing and the intense new feelings this compelling man awakens within her.

Handsome and complex, Hans is greatly anguished by Betsy's captivity and turns to Tessa Bauer for comfort. Eagerly, Tessa responds, overlooking troubling signs of Hans's hunger for revenge. When Betsy is finally restored to the Amish, have things gone too far between Hans and Tessa?

Inspired by true events, this deeply layered novel gives a glimpse into the tumultuous days of prerevolutionary Pennsylvania through the eyes of two young, determined, and faith-filled women.

My thoughts: After reading the first two in the series, it was interesting to start this story about Betsy, Hans, Caleb and Tessa. I like thought that the historical details were interesting and well done. There is a lot going on with this story, and it is fascinating to get to know all the characters. Whether you read the previous books or not, this is an excellent read!
If you are interested in the book, be sure to check out Suzanne's giveaway here
I received this book from Revell in exchange for my honest review.

Paint Chips

What lies beneath the layers of hurt?

Though haunted by her troubled past, Dot has found a safe haven. She has a fierce protector and a colorful collection of friends...but sometimes she wonders if her life will ever be normal again. Though college and romance await her, embracing them requires a new kind of strength one she isn't sure she has.

Emerging from years of confusion, Cora struggles to latch hold of the sanity she needs to return to the real world. She yearns to find a place of peace...but first she must deal with the ghosts of her past.

Can this mother and daughter overcome abuse, betrayal, abandonment, and the horrors of sexual trafficking, and make it back into each others arms?

Facing the past is never easy. But as they chip away the layers, they might just find something beautiful beneath the mess.

My thoughts: This book was hard to put down, but at the same time, it was a hard story to read, since both of the main characters (and a lot of those around them) have had to work through a world of hurt and abuse. I especially had a hard time reading about Cora's childhood. Written in such a way that the past merges with the present to show you how Cora and Dot got to the place they are at the start of the story. I did appreciate that this story also focuses on hope for tough situations.