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Praying for Your Elephant by Adam Stadtmiller (Review of an Amazing Book!)

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Praying for Your Elephant by Adam Stadtmiller

Praying for Your Elephant

I read A LOT of books… Spiritual books, Old Hollywood Biographies, inspirational books, Agatha Christie mysteries, American History books, Ancient Egypt books, cookbooks….

You get the idea. I’m almost always seen with several books in one hand, a caffeinated beverage in the other, and a cat (or two or three) in my lap.

I always have more than one book going at once – usually 3 or 5 because my interests are all over the place. Having said that, three genres are constant:

  • Agatha Christie (I read and re-read her and have one Hercule Poirot mystery going at all times)
  • Inspirational Book
  • Old Hollywood Bio

Agatha Christie is like playtime for my brain.. I simply love everything about her mysteries. Old Hollywood books are an absolute obsession – if I’m not watching an Old Hollywood movie, I’m lost in at least one biography. As for inspirational and Spiritual books – they feed my soul.

The book you see pictured here, Praying for Your Elephant, is one of the best books of any genre I have ever read. You read that right…. I loved it that much.

Have you ever heard of the phrase “Prayer Warrior?” I have considered myself to be a Prayer Warrior for many years. This simply means that I pray day and night with the fervency and determination of a warrior who is smack in the middle of the battlefield. I pray for my family, friends, people I read about, strangers, crazy drivers who run red lights, individuals I see prayer requests for, etc. With this much praying going on and with this much on the line, I need all the inspiration I can get! Naturally, the Bible provides the bulk of said inspiration, but God uses Christian authors to further inspire and motivate.

Prayer does the salvage work of raising the sunken treasure of our lives. – Praying for Your Elephant Page 57 

This particular author, Adam Stadtmiller, has written an extraordinary book and it has taken my prayers to a whole new level. I’ve always believed in asking God for all needs – from small to large and all sizes in between. However, this book has inspired me to go further. It takes the phrase “small to large” and asks, “Why stop at large? Aim for COLOSSAL!”

Elephant-Size Colossal!

From the Back Cover:

What If Your Biggest Prayers are Too Small?

Get ready to re-ignite, re-imagine, and repurpose your prayer life while experiencing great intimacy with God. This is an invitation to identify your elephants—to name, through specific and strategic prayers, the 100 most important and audacious petitions you can imagine. These are the elephants that—if answered by God—would be game changers in your life and perhaps the world.

By supersizing your prayers and daring to ask for the big things – your elephants – you will come to know God in a way you never have, even if His answers aren’t what you expect. Dive deep into the adventure that is the prayer-filled life!

Praying for Your Elephant starts off with a bang. The author guides you into a 40 Day Prayer Challenge: Forty Days to Praying for Your Elephants. He gives you 10 suggested “categories” to create to organize your prayers and all but dares you to pray big!

My take away from this section was to pray as big as the God we’re talking to. Again, COLOSSAL comes to mind.

The book provides a chart for these categories, or you can simply write them down on paper or (my own personal approach) in a Prayer Journal. Writing prayers down helps you to see, over time, which prayers are answered and which ones may take a little longer. I have also experienced something else in my prayer journal – sometimes your prayer changes as God guides you from one destination to the next.

“There is no way that Christians in a private capacity can do so much to promote the work of God, and advance the kingdom  of Christ, as by prayer.” – Jonathan Edwards

Praying for Your Elephant is available on Amazon and I, quite frankly, could not recommend it enough. I love to tell you about books that have the potential to change your life for the better… to help you open up a whole new world… to touch you in such a way that you feel empowered to do anything you set your mind and heart to!

This is such a book and I really hope you’ll grab your copy as soon as possible. You won’t regret it. ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Find out more by visiting Praying for Your Elephant!

About the Author: Adam Stadtmiller is lead pastor at one of the San Diego’s most historic churches, La Jolla Christian Fellowship. A regular contributor to Christianity Today’s Leadership Journal, he is also the author of Give Your Kids the Keys and Discover Your Kid’s Spiritual Gifts. Adam lives in Carlsbad, California, with his wife and two daughters.

Praying for Your Elephant Quote Graphic


Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God by Mark Batterson (Book Review)

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Whisper by Mark Batterson

Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God

As a book fanatic, I am completely in love with being in the middle of a great book. I carry the book with me everywhere I go – it gets a tour of each room of our house and it knows the flowers in the flower beds by name. It’s convinced coffee is it’s soulmate and wonders if all books spend time in the company of so much chocolate and so many cats.

Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God (pictured above and below, with its soulmate near its favorite location – the flower beds) is the most recent book to get this special treatment.

I even carried it with me once to meet my daughters for lunch. I wanted tWhisper: How to Hear the Voice of Godo have it handy if I beat them there, so I could sneak in a little extra reading.

Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God is by the wonderful best-selling author Mark Batterson. This book is not just a remarkable journey…. it’s one you cannot afford to miss.

“If we don’t listen to everything God has to say, we eventually won’t hear anything He has to say.” Mark Batterson, Whisper

This is not a book about hearing God speak as Moses did from the burning bush – although, if God chose to speak through any size plant to us, he certainly could, whether or not it was ablaze. The truth of the matter is, He doesn’t generally speak to us in this manner.  More times than not, the voice of God comes to us as… you guessed it, Whispers.

“The voice of the Spirit is as gentle as a zephyr.” – Oswald Chambers

{Continued Below…}

The best-selling author of Circle Maker, which helped over 2 million people learn to talk to God, now helps readers learn how to listen to God.

The voice that spoke the cosmos into existence is the same voice that parted the Red sea, and made the sun stand still in the midday sky. One day, this voice will make all things new, but it’s also speaking to you now!

That voice is God’s voice, and what we’ve learned from Scripture is that He often speaks in a whisper. Not to make it difficult to hear Him, but to draw us close.

Many people have a tough time believing God still speaks. Sure, in ancient times and in mysterious ways, God spoke to His people, but is He still speaking now?

Mark Batterson certainly believes so. And he wants to introduce you to the seven love languages of God; each of them unique and entirely divine. Some of them you might suspect but others will surprise you.

By learning to tune in to and decipher each language, you’ll be able to hear His guidance in simple as well as life-altering choices. God is actively speaking through: Scripture, Desires, Doors, Dreams, People, Promptings, and Pain. Batterson gives you the tools you need to unlock each of these languages.

God’s whisper can answer your most burning questions, calm your deepest fears, and fulfill your loftiest dreams.

Discover how simple it is to hear God’s voice in every aspect of your life!

He’s speaking, make sure you know how to listen!

{Continued Below…}

Whisper by Mark Batterson

Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God (with its soulmate)

The truth is God uses a variety of methods to speak to us – sometimes it’s a whisper and sometimes it’s through someone else’s words. Other times, He may use situations, dreams, and/or closed doors.

As this wonderful book points out, God knows us inside/out. After all, he made us! He knows what type of approach will work with each of us. How He chooses to speak to me may differ from how He chooses to speak to you simply because we’re different.

God knows how each of us will interpret or respond to His messages. He has often used visual messages or imagery with me – I lean toward thinking that this means I’m more childlike than most. I imagine God telling His angels, “I’d better paint this one a picture…”

One thing is for certain, if God is trying to speak to you, you do NOT want to miss it and you do NOT want to make Him repeat Himself. As the author says, “God has an outside voice and He is not afraid to use it!”

Mark Batterson is an engaging author who is fascinating to read. He injects wonderful humor into his books, which is part of what makes them so difficult to put down. You don’t know what he’s going to say next.

I couldn’t possibly recommend this book enough. You can find Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God on Amazon, along with other books by Mark Batterson.  This will quickly become one of your favorite book and he will quickly become one of your favorite authors.

~ Joi (“Joy”)

Note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. The opinions are entirely my own.


Booker T. Washington’s Wonderful Quote About Hate

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Booker T. Washington Quote About Hate

Three of my last 4 conversations (either online or in person) have revolved around the need for people to love one another, try to understand one another, and to be more tolerant. If you think I’m going to get on a political soap box, you don’t know me very well! I may be eccentric, but I’m not completely around the bend. Three aren’t many people I’d embark upon a political conversation with, and I certainly wouldn’t “go there” with people I’ve never met.

For one thing, I’m no one’s conscience and I’m no one’s brain. You’re more than capable of forming your own political thoughts, opinions, and views and I wouldn’t even consider telling you what to think. That’s what’s driving me crazy lately – everyone is trying to tell everyone what to think, how to feel, who to vote for, who to hate, who to love, etc.

Why not just drive in your own lane and allow others the freedom to do the same.

No sir. No ma’am. I will not talk politics here. However, with Booker T. Washington’s beautiful (and timeless!) quote leading the way, we need to look at a few current instances of people allowing their souls to be belittled.

Unless you live in a cave, you know that the recent election in the United States caused a great deal of anger and pain. Sadly it lingers. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. In the past, anytime a candidate won, we’d simply get on with our lives – whether we voted for the one who won or not. Today, however, there are people who are just stewing in their own hate juices and I honestly worry about what they’re doing to themselves.

For example, A LOT of people (on both sides of the political aisle) who once Tweeted about sports, their pets, their kids, jokes, sports teams, etc. and who were once funny and engaging are simply miserable, complaining, argumentative shells of their former selves. BOTH sides – not just one. I’ve had to unfollow so many people simply because I couldn’t stand to see what they’d become.

The thing is, whether anyone really wants to admit it or not, there was a huge “soul belittling” problem long before this election.

If you allow yourself to hate someone because of their political affiliation, color of their skin, who they choose to love, how they choose to wear their hair, or the beliefs they stand by, you aren’t hurting them (which is, sadly, the average hater’s goal), you’re hurting yourself. You’re inviting HATE to come into your heart and reside.

As Mr. Washington so eloquently put it, you’re allowing your soul to be belittled.

I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him. – Booker T. Washington

I’m not saying you have to believe in what they believe in. I’m not saying you have to see eye to eye with them – that’s often impossible. As a Christian, for example, I’m not going to agree with a non-Christian’s belief system – nor will I ever. But hate them? Not on your life.  How anyone could have the love of Jesus in their heart and hate anyone isn’t something I can wrap my head around. He was love Personified and lived his life as a beautiful testament of love and compassion.

Unfortunately, hating others simply because they’re different is going on all around the world. Make no mistake about it, it’s not just an American thing. Far from it! The world is filled with human beings who believe that God needs them to judge everyone and everything for Him. I’m pretty sure He doesn’t need…. or desire… such efforts.

It’s also worth noting that when anyone says “intolerant,” it does not always address a conservative individual with a certain set of beliefs. Any individual who is so full of themselves that they think everyone should look, act, think, and believe just as they do… or by gosh, they’re wrong!… is intolerant. I’m seeing a great deal of intolerance shown toward Conservative Christians, Muslims, and Catholics. These individuals have the right and freedom to believe how they choose to believe – they have the right to exercise their Faith and anyone who butts into their life is just as guilty of intolerance as someone who butts into someone’s love life.

I know, I know, there’s zero chance we can get through to the entire world.  There is no way Booker T. Washington’s wonderful quote or my (or your) efforts to turn haters away from their hateful ways will be successful – not on a grand scale, anyway.  But if we can get through to just one person, it’ll be more than worth it.

When my beautiful daughters were growing up, I always tried to instill the dangers of hate in their hearts and minds.  In fact, even when they’d say something as simple as, “I hate spinach” or “I hate that color on me…” I’d say something like, “Try to use the word hate as little as possible in life. Focus on foods you love and try to think of the others as foods you simply don’t like…” And, yes, I realize that this made me sound like a hippie mother hen – I guess there are worse things to be. I mean, I don’t hate it. *wink wink

Next time you read about or encounter someone you  110 percent disagree with… and possibly even disapprove of… remind yourself that the difference between the two of you is not worth the damage that hating them will do to you.  You don’t want people you love to harm you, you darn shouldn’t allow people you don’t love to have a crack at it!

It might help to realize the following:

  • Hating someone isn’t going to change them.
  • Lashing out at an individual on social media isn’t going to harm their cause or help your cause.
  • Rounding up a gaggle of like-minded people to “go up against” others is simply an effort to create more hate than the other person will be able to stand against. Whether it’s going up against Starbucks, Target, or Chick-Fil-A (Personally, I throw more money at these three than ought to be legal) – at some point shouldn’t you just say, “The owners think differently than I do. SO WHAT?!?!” Seriously. So. What?
  • Life is too short and too beautiful to spend any amount of time hating or being angry. Let it go and live your life.

Finally (yes, the hippie mother hen is on the homestretch), I just want to make sure I’m not misunderstood. If there is a cause you believe in…. support it! Stand up for what you believe in and keep standing until they have to carry you away. JUST BE SURE TO ALLOW OTHERS TO DO THE SAME. And DO NOT allow hate to move into your heart and mind. It will unpack it’s nasty bags and live there forever – and if you think that won’t do harm to you, you’re wrong.

You’ll rot from the inside out and I don’t want to see that happen. You’re better than that.

I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him. – Booker T. Washington

~ Joi

See More Booker T. Washington Quotes. He was one of the brightest men to ever live. He’s one of those people who, the more you read about them, the more you like them.


Review: Life After Heaven by Steven R. Musick with Paul J. Pastor

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Life After Heaven by Steven R. Musick

Life After Heaven

If (like me) you’re an avid reader, you know the feeling: You’ve read an absolutely wonderful book  – one that has moved and stirred you greatly that you feel like you’ve taken a spin in the blender. You want to tell everyone in your world to read the book… but you recommend books so regularly, you’re afraid they won’t know just HOW much you want them to read this one.

So the challenge is afoot. How do you convey to them that they simply must read this book – if they’ve ever loved or trusted you before?!

Okay, maybe it’s not that dramatic – but it’s close.

I recommend books frequently to my daughters. And, by recommend, I mean I hand them the books and say, “Oh, girl, you have to read this…” as though they’re still 10 years old, still sitting at the kitchen table, still in our home-school, and still under my “assigned reading” control.

They’re not still any of those things, but I still want them to read the best books. Problem is, with all the reading I do, I’m always coming across great books – so, when I come across one that goes beyond being a “great” book and enters the “blender” zone, I’m met with the challenge of getting my point across… you know, short of sitting on them and reading the book aloud to them.

Kind of like I had to do with Shakespeare with a few of them…

Life After Heaven is an amazing, amazing book. Wherever you happen to be in your Spiritual life, I whole-heartedly recommend this book because it will lead you to the next level. As a Christian, I found this book to be a beautiful accompaniment to my morning Bible reading and Bible study. It opened up my eyes to many Heavenly things I had not considered or thought about.

I am one of those people who (for better or worse) lives VERY much in the moment. I think about my relationship with God as it stands today. I think about my family as they are today. I think about the world (we won’t get into that one right now) as it stands today.

If Life After Heaven only did one thing for me and that thing was open my eyes to the importance of tomorrow, it would have been more than enough. I do find myself more frequently thinking of eternity after reading this remarkable book.

While I know where I will spend eternity, I now think more frequently about others and where they will spend eternity.

From the Back Cover:

After a deadly medical mistake sent a navy sailor to the presence of Jesus, he returned from his near-death experience with new eyes to see the kingdom of heaven in this life. Now he wants to help you experience heaven on earth today.

For years Steve Musick kept his amazing story to himself, afraid no one would believe or understand it. A major allergic reaction had stopped his heart, hurling him into a five-week coma and a powerful experience of heaven. After returning to life, he couldn’t forget the memory of that vibrant place—and, most of all, the loving words and touch of Jesus.

But that was only the beginning. An amazing series of miracles, dreams, and other supernatural events had been set in motion, showing Steve that heaven was close, even in this life. God was calling him to discover echoes of heaven in the here and now—echoes that can happen at any moment, to anyone—that bring overwhelming joy.

At last Steve is ready to tell the story of his journey of a lifetime—two lifetimes. In it you’ll learn the secret of bringing heaven to earth in your everyday world, and how to nurture a relationship with God so real and intimate that you’ll feel his nearness as strongly as Steven did.

Experience one man’s incredible vision of heaven—and learn how you can live in God’s presence and power today. 

About the Author

STEVEN R. MUSICK is founder and CEO of Destiny Capital, a respected financial advisory firm. With three master’s degrees in management, financial services, and international economics, Musick has taught at the University of Denver Daniels College of Business. Steve and his wife, Elaine, have three grown sons, three daughters by marriage, and three grandchildren.

PAUL J. PASTOR is a writer, editor, and journalist who loves telling stories of God at work in our world.

 I Cannot Recommend This Book Enough

I don’t want to give anything away whatsoever about Life After Heaven or the author’s remarkable journey, so I am simply going to recommend this with all of my heart to anyone and everyone. I want each and every one of you to get your hands on your own copy. I recommend finding a quiet place each day to read and enjoy this book. You will take an emotional, Spiritual journey and… please forgive me for sounding cheesy… but your life will be changed.
Life After Heaven will be one of the most important books you ever read.

Note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. The opinions are entirely my own.

Review: Seven-Mile Miracle by Steven Furtick

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Seven Mile Miracle by Steven Furtick

Seven-Mile Miracle by Steven Furtick: A Number 1 Best-Seller on Amazon!

To say that I have a “thing for books” would be a gross understatement. I’m entertained by them, moved by them, motivated by them, changed by them, and… make no mistake… fascinated by them.

I even collect certain types of books – with collections numbering in the obscene:

  • Agatha Christie Mysteries
  • Bible Study Books
  • Cookbooks (new and vintage)
  • American History Biographies
  • Books About Kentucky
  • Inspirational Books
  • Books About Tea
  • Books About Herbs
  • Books About Mental Health & Brain Fitness

There are others, but that’ll give you an idea of the kind of book fanatic you’re dealing with here.

Oftentimes, I’ll come across an author that I resonate so completely with that I set out on a mission – a new collection consisting of every book they’ve ever written. That’s what has happened with the book you see here, Seven-Mile Miracle. Steven Furtick has a gift for taking very informative, inspirational, moving, and compelling words and doing something few are able to pull off…. he has a lot of fun with them.

When you open the book, you completely expect the beauty of the story  – any story about Jesus is going to be beautiful after all, since He defined beauty. You even expect the story to be inspiring, motivating, and eye-opening – and this book is all of these things. You may not, however, expect it to be so much fun to read that you don’t want to put it down and you certainly don’t expect it to contain so much humor that you laugh out loud (I always get such stares from my cats when I do that).

Steven Furtick’s humor caught me delightfully off guard and that’s why I will soon have yet another book collection I’ll be working on – all books by Steven Furtick.

Seven-Mile Miracle is, not at all surprisingly, a number 1 best-seller on Amazon right now. Seems I’m not the only one who knows a great author when she reads one or a great book when she’s lucky enough to hold it in her hands.

His Final Words Are Your New Beginning

It’s Good Friday. The Son of God is giving up his life. What does he want to say to us in His final hours? What does He tell the people standing at the foot of the cross, to pass down to the ages? He speaks only seven short statements. Words of forgiveness, salvation, relationship, abandonment, distress, triumph, and reunion. Seven statements that mean everything.

In Seven-Mile Miracle, Pastor Steven Furtick shows us how Jesus’s last words offer mile markers for our journey in relationship with God. It’s a lifelong journey and it’s not always easy. But Jesus is both our guide and our destination as we travel.

Includes questions for reflection and a forty-day reading guide to Jesus’s death and resurrection.

A Proven Path for Spiritual Growth

From time to time we all feel stuck in our relationship with God and frustrated by life’s setbacks. Jesus faced what could have been the ultimate defeat on the cross. Yet he emerged triumphant through his relationship with his heavenly Father. And he showed us the way so that we could do the same.

In Seven-Mile Miracle, Steven Furtick explores how Jesus’s seven last statements on the cross offer a proven spiritual growth path for us. You will experience the Easter message more personally than ever before as you engage the words of forgiveness, salvation, relationship, abandonment, distress, triumph, reunion.

After all, we are not simply believers—people who have put our faith in Jesus. We are not simply disciples—pupils who learn from him. We are called to be followers of Christ. This is your opportunity to follow Jesus through his death, and move forward in his resurrection power, starting now.

Review Continued Below….

Seven Mile Miracle by Steven Furtick
Seven-Mile Miracle reads fast, yet you’ll find yourself slowing the process down, just so you’re certain to catch every nugget. I found myself taking notes along the way – a sure sign of a very special book.

I also loved the reflection questions and the Bible reading guide. Each were very thoughtful additions that help transcend a wonderful read into a wonderful source for Bible study.

I hope you’ll head over to Amazon and grab a copy of Seven-Mile Miracle today. You might just bump into me as I search out other books by Steven Furtick. His humor, love for Jesus, and excitement for the Bible resonate with me and I’m certain they will with you as well.