AFA Staff
AFA Journal staff reviews movies, books and other resources
Above, Todd and Jennifer Gerelds
June 2020 – Everyday Grace for Mothers: 60 Devotions
Written by co-authors, Denaé Jones and Jennifer Gerelds, Everyday Grace for Mothers is a refreshing look into motherhood through the lens of Scripture and real-life experience. The format and the book’s content offer life giving grace for moms who need to steal away for a few moments of peace and truth.
Its beautiful, full-color design, presentation page, and ribbon marker add the finishing touches that make it a delightful gift. Available online and at retail bookstores.
Anne Reed
Always Fall Forward
Always Fall Forward: Life Lessons I’ll Never Forget from “The Coach” is a 52-week devotion written by Todd Gerelds, son of legendary high school football coach Tandy Gerelds. Even for a non-football fan, this is a rich collection of devotions about relationships and God’s faithfulness. It just happens that much of what Gerelds has learned on those two fronts has come in the context of football. Each devotion concludes with Scripture references and introspective questions. Available at online and retail bookstores. (See feature story here.)
Anne Reed
The Daniel Prayer
Can one Christian’s prayer bring renewal, restoration, and revival to the nation? If so, then why do prayers often lack power, passion, and persuasion? What is the missing ingredient?
These are pivotal questions Anne Graham Lotz answers in The Daniel Prayer: Prayer That Moves Heaven and Changes Nations. After witnessing 600 people in Suva, Fiji, simultaneously pray with an unprecedented level of intensity and passion, Lotz was inspired to study prayer extensively. Her studies led her to Daniel, one of the Bible’s greatest prayer warriors.
Lotz chronicles her findings in The Daniel Prayer, beginning with a detailed look at Daniel’s undivided commitment to and persistence in prayer. Then, in four sections, she examines key components of Daniel’s life: preparing for prayer, pleading in prayer, prevailing in prayer, and patterns for prayer.
Each section contains practical tools, intimate reflections, and scriptural references. Finally, Lotz reminds readers that prayer is a serious, subtle, and invisible battle ultimately won through Christ.
Available at online and retail bookstores.
Joy Lucius
A Holy Pursuit
As a military wife, mother, and founder/editor of Deeply Rooted Magazine, Dianne Jago understands the dilemma Christian women face when seeking fulfillment in today’s self-centered culture. The world encourages women to follow their hearts and chase their dreams at all costs. But what does the Bible say about a Christian woman with a burning dream in her heart? Jago confronts that dilemma and provides an alternate answer to that of the world in A Holy Pursuit: How the Gospel Frees Us to Follow and Lay Down Our Dreams.
A Holy Pursuit does not offer a one-size-fits-all approach for women seeking fulfillment. Instead, Jago looks to the Bible for Christ’s pattern of surrender. Using personal illustrations, she demonstrates how laying down self-centered dreams is the first step to realizing a more fulfilling dream – God’s perfect plan.
A Holy Pursuit also reveals some “secret weapons” and spiritual discernment tools God provides for His dreamers. Ultimately, Jago reminds women that a life lived in holy pursuit of Christ will never be a wasted life.
Find A Holy Pursuit at online and retail booksellers.
Joy Lucius
Son of My Love
In her book, Son of My Love, Sue Sharp takes a new spin on the life of Christ. In this narrative, she tells the story of Christ’s life, the things He accomplished, and the war that was raging between heaven and earth. Through this, Sharp looks at some interesting characters such as Jesus’s half-siblings, the archangel Michael, and fictional angels that are sent to protect Jesus through His time on earth.
While this is a creative take on the life of Christ, readers should be cautioned to remember it’s a story based on biblical truths. To enhance the story line, Sharp adds details that go beyond Scripture in such familiar stories as the demon-possessed Legion, the women at the tomb, and the Last Supper. Perhaps this will inspire readers to go back and read those gripping stories in the Bible itself.
Available at online and retail booksellers.
Hannah Harrison
That Way and No Other
At age 27 in the mid-1890s, missionary Amy Carmichael went to India and helped hundreds of young girls being sold into prostitution. After creating Dohnavur, the safe community for such girls, Carmichael has been an inspiration to many missionaries and women around the globe for more than a century. A compilation of excerpts from her many books and guides, That Way and No Other is an encouraging tool that shines a light on the heart of Carmichael.
“Amy Carmichael’s words in this little book can be a guiding light through the times of storm and drought we will surely face,” wrote Katelyn Beaty in the introduction to the book.
It is the ninth title in the Plough Spiritual Guide series and is available at online and retail booksellers.
Hannah Harrison
Gripping new narratives find roots in biblical truths
Two of today’s master wordsmiths have new novels ready for the reading. I’m taking the liberty of first person just so I can say, “You’ll love reading these two!” I read about 20 Christian novels a year, and these two authors are my favorites of the last decade or more. CAUTION: When purchasing, be aware there are other books by both of the titles below.
The Light
I’ve never read a phrase from Buck Storm that wasn’t time well spent. His new book, The Light, brings to life the confusion and challenges facing believers in Jerusalem during the time from the day of Resurrection to Pentecost.
Storm’s superb gift of storytelling shines bright in this gripping narrative. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus seem to walk off the pages and invite readers to join them for the conflict, fear, and intrigue in the treacherous, old city streets.
Christians are in disarray, and Roman authorities search frantically for the body of the crucified Christ. The lives of believers are in danger.
The Light is a sequel to Storm’s The List (afajournal.org, 6/19), which covers the three years of Jesus’s earthly ministry as characters record a list of fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. Following that same theme, The Light will be available soon; pre-order at humphreyhouse.co.
Torn Asunder
Get ready for a roller-coaster ride with Torn Asunder, Mark Alan Leslie’s apocalyptic thriller. Leslie opens with scary, soul-stirring landslides, tsunamis, earthquakes, famine, and weird disease. It is the epitome of the genre – “end times thriller.”
After that hair-raising intro, the author back pedals a few years to probe into the lives of well-crafted heroes and villains.
The good guys include Darek and Jillian, a newly-married media sensation. Their boss, Jake McMillan, is a solid Christian and head of Truth Publishing and Broadcasting empire, a world player in media circles.
But as the world spirals into political, social, economic, and theological chaos, McMillan and conservative Christians are targets of the One World Government and the Universal Church. This evil alliance will stop at nothing – lies, assault, intimidation, even murder – to stamp out biblical truth. Available at online booksellers.
Randall Murphree
