Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris

Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters by Joshua Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an excellent book of back to the basics of doctrine. Written in an easy-to-read style, the doctrines of God, salvation, church and others are covered. It wasn't just a list of dry facts, but truths that are important to the Christian life. The ending chapter wrapped it all up with how to make these truths a part of our lives and have them affect how we live.


quotes that impacted me

"...theology matters...what we know about God shapes the way we think and live. what you believe about God's nature - what he is like, what he wants from you, and whether or not you will answer to him - affects every part of your life."

"Theology matters because if we get it wrong, then our whole life will be wrong."

"...often this culture, with its own rituals and music and moral values, comes to represent Christianity far more than specific beliefs about God do."

"...what are we actually choosing when we choose to be Christians"

"Being a Christian means being a person who labors to establish his beliefs, his dreams, his choices, his very view of the world on the truth of who Jesus is and what he has accomplished - a Christian who cares about truth, who cares about sound doctrine."

"Doctrine and theology are always meant to be applied to our lives - to shape and reshape not only a statement of faith but also the practical decisions of how we think and act."

"Will we obey when we don't like what the Bible has to say?"

"The Bible insistently denies that we have the spiritual power to save ourselves or even contribute to the process."

"Salvation is accomplished not by our striving but by God's power."

"...if there isn't some degree of holiness in our lives, there's a real question of whether we've truly experienced God's saving work. If we don't love what Jesus loves, if we don't want to be like him, then maybe we've never really met him."

"...the way we live proves the reality of our salvation."

"What if the church is the means by which God has chosen to accomplish his purpose for us and for the world? And what if it is irreplaceable?
"...we'd realize that rejecting the church is rejecting God himself."

"The journey of the Christian faith was supposed to be made with other believers."

"Am I building my life on who Jesus is and what he has done? Is my life built on the rock of a true knowledge of God?"

"The only thing that enables us to stand firm is Jesus and his words. The only thing that enables us to know and dwell with God is the solid rock of the Savior."


*I received this book from the publisher through LibraryThing EarlyReviewers.

My New Toy

Lookie what I got!!



















I now have a Kindle!

I have had a lot of fun trying to find free books on Kindle. I have not yet purchased any books for my Kindle. But here is the list of books that I have downloaded for free so far.


Invisible by Lorena McCourtney
Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith
Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand
Bible ESV
Concerning Christian Liberty by Martin Luther
On Prayer and the Contemplative Life by St. Thomas Aquinas
Fox's Book of Martyrs
The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery
Kilmeny of the Orchard by L.M. Montgomery
The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery
What's Wrong with the World by G.K. Chesterton
The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat by Laura Lee Hope
Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry
Through the Fire by Shawn Grady
Orthodoxy by Chesterton
Cloudburst by Ryne Douglas Pearson
Twelve Types by Chesterton
What I Saw in America by G.K. Chesterton
The Wreck of the Hesperus
Love Me If You Must by Nicole Young
In His Steps by Charles Sheldon
After the Fire by Kathryn Shay
Of Mice and Murderers by John Stockmyer
Origins (space trilogy) by Randolph Lalonde
Cash Burn by Michael Berrier
Delivery by Diana Prusik
Reinventing Leona by Lynne Gentry
Maggie Come Lately by Michelle Buckman
When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol Kent
Homefires by Emily Sue Harvey

L.M. Montgomery Short Stories 1907 to 1908
L.M. Montgomery Short Stories 1909 to 1922
L.M. Montgomery Short Stories 1896 to 1901
L.M. Montgomery Short Stories 1902 to 1903
L.M. Montgomery Short Stories 1904
L.M. Montgomery Short Stories 1905 to 1906

Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Further Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

Anne of Avonlea
Anne of the Island
Anne's House of Dreams
Rainbow Valley
Rilla of Ingleside

My pile of regular books is still huge so I am trying not to buy any books for my Kindle until I have weeded out more of my already-owned books. We'll see how long I can withstand the temptation! :-) But I am allowing myself to take advantage of the free ones, even though it means my TBR list is growing as well.

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book addresses the reality of past and current India and the desire for baby boys over baby girls. I read this article several weeks ago and found the truth of it encompassed in this fictional story.
A poor Indian woman gives her daughter to an orphanage to keep her husband from killing her like he did their first baby who was a girl. An infertile couple in California looks into adopting from India, where the husband is from. The story follows both families through the years. In India, the desire is for boys more than girls. Often if it is discovered that the woman is expecting a girl, the baby is aborted. This reality hits home for an adopted Indian girl who visits India as a young adult and is curious about where she came from.
This was a great book and a well-written story. The insight into Indian culture really brought the story alive. Having lived in Bangladesh for several years, the story was meaningful for me as there are similarities between Indian and Bengali culture.

*I got this book through my local library.

More Shelves

Some friends of ours are moving to Japan as missionaries and were getting rid of a bunch of their furniture. We were able to have their dining room table, a couple bookshelves and an entertainment center.

Our first real dining room table (after almost 14 years of marriage!)

Entertainment center has doors to close

We are getting rid of a bunch of our dvds, so our remaining dvds all fit in the new entertainment center. So we are using the old dvd shelves as bookshelves now.

The cats had a great time exploring and checking out this new stuff. Mocha flattened her body and went under the entertainment center. Here she is crawling back out.

One of the shelves went at the top of the stairs.

 Another set of shelves is in the living room.

Mocha figured out a way from the dvd shelves up into the hole with the stair railing. There's now stuff on top of the dvd (now book) shelves which may or may not stop her from doing this again. :-)

I love our home!

The Last Christian by David Gregory

The Last Christian: A Novel by David Gregory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting book. A missionary kid who has been raised in the jungle of Papua New Guinea and never been away from her village goes for help when her village is sick. She ends up going back to America to find that Christianity has died out. Her grandparents leave her a message telling her they think God wants to use her to bring Christianity back to America. She faces a completely different world than the one she is used to. This is set in the future - 2088, so technology has advanced considerably.

Neuroscience has advanced to the point that they have discovered a way to create a silicon brain, upload software of the human and then transplant the silicon brain into the human in place of the biological brain. Most diseases have been cured so people are living a long time, but eventually the brain wears out. By transplanting to the silicon brain, basically living forever is offered as an option. This is the society that Abby faces to try and convince to turn back to God and Christianity.

The book started getting suspenseful towards the end as Abby's life became in danger and I ended up staying up late to find out what happens. A great read, futuristic yet suspenseful, with a little romance thrown in.

*I received this book from a blog giveaway.

Mental Illness and the Church

Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness by Kathryn Greene-McCreight
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

One woman's journey through depression and bipolar disorder. Mental illness seems to be a taboo subject in the Christian community; those who struggle with it don't tend to share their experiences as it seems to hold a stigma. Then there are the platitudes "you just need to pray more" or "trust God to heal you". There are medical reasons behind mental illness just as there are behind physical illness. The church needs to be aware of the issue of mental illness and how to support those who struggle with this. This book shares this woman's story - the medications, the hospitalizations, the therapy. There is nothing to be ashamed of with a mental illness. It is an illness just like any physical infirmity. We need to no longer be silent on this issue.

*Got this book through my local library

I myself have a mental illness - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I am on medication to keep it under control. It took me a while to be willing to even try medication, partly due to the stigma among Christian circles. Yet being on medication for my OCD has changed my life and allowed me to live normally. This is an issue close to my heart because of how it affects me personally.

No Buy til 25 Challenge

I'm finding that my owned TBR seem to be growing rather than dwindling. Part of this is because of my getting books out of the library rather than reading my own books. But the other problem is that I continue to buy books that then just sit on the shelves rather than reading what I have before buying more. So I have issued a challenge to myself to try to make a dent in my TBR (owned) books. I must finish 25 of my own books before I can buy another one. Books that I receive for review do not count. Library books do not count. Books received through paperbackswap are allowed.

Let the countdown begin!

1. The Last Christian by David Gregory
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*Update: 8/14/11 - Gave up on; goal for doing this wasn't working.

Halfway Through - Challenge Progress

TBR Challenge - finished 7 of 12

Medical Mystery Madness - finished 4 of 4 - COMPLETED

Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge - finished 8 of 12

Chick Lit Challenge - finished 6 of 8

Christian Non-Fiction Challenge - finished 6 of 10 (my personal goal is 12, so 6 of 12)

What's in a Name 4 - finished 4 of 6

Futuristic/Sci-Fi - finished 1 of 4

Operation Deepen Faith - Level 1 - 2 of 3 translations for Ephesians (The Message, New Living Translation); Level 2 - 2 of 2 theological books (Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey, Radical by David Platt) (edited 9/4/11 to add: also read Why Church Matters by Joshua Harris and The Ever-Loving Truth by Voddie Baucham to qualify)

Vanish by Tom Pawlik

Vanish by Tom Pawlik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is not an easy book to review as I don't want to give anything away. A few people see a weird storm cloud and then lose consciousness. When they wake up they discover that everyone has vanished. As they begin looking for other people, they encounter strange creatures watching them. In their attempt to escape these creatures, they find each other and begin traveling to find answers to what has happened.


I had a theory early on as to what was going on and it turned out my theory was close. This book grabbed me from the beginning and kept me turning pages to find out what was going on. Very suspenseful and intriguing plot.


*I got this book through inter-library loan