I have been reading the paperback devotional and I enjoy it greatly. It is non-judmental and very loving. My fave devotional!

I noticed that my mother was using her copy of this devotional to write little prayer requests and thoughts in the margins. This prompted me to buy her the journal version of the devotional which gives her much more space to write and includes the same powerful devotionals. It was a great gift!

Another great idea is the "Devotions for Morning and Evening With Mrs. Charles E. Cowman : The Complete Daily Devotions of Streams in the Desert and Springs in the Valley". Even though it is a little harder to find, my mother claims that the evening devotionals which are taken from Cowman's "Springs in the Valley"
are just as moving as the Morning devotionals (taken from "Springs in the Desert"), if not more so.

I noticed that my mother was using the paperback edition of this devotional to write little prayer requests and thoughts in the margins. This prompted me to buy her the journal version of the devotional which gives her much more space to write and includes the same powerful devotionals. It was a great gift!

Another great idea is the "Devotions for Morning and Evening With Mrs. Charles E. Cowman : The Complete Daily Devotions of Streams in the Desert and Springs in the Valley". Even though it is a little harder to find, my mother claims that the evening devotionals which are taken from Cowman's "Springs in the Valley"
are just as moving as the Morning devotionals (taken from "Streams in the Desert"), if not more so.

I have been reading the paperback devotional and I enjoy it greatly. It is non-judmental and very loving. My fave devotional!

I noticed that my mother was using the paperback edition of this devotional to write little prayer requests and thoughts in the margins. This prompted me to buy her the journal version of the devotional which gives her much more space to write and includes the same powerful devotionals. It was a great gift!

Another great idea is the "Devotions for Morning and Evening With Mrs. Charles E. Cowman : The Complete Daily Devotions of Streams in the Desert and Springs in the Valley". Even though it is a little harder to find, my mother claims that the evening devotionals which are taken from Cowman's "Springs in the Valley"
are just as moving as the Morning devotionals (taken from "Springs in the Desert"), if not more so.

I have been reading the paperback devotional and I enjoy it greatly. It is non-judmental and very loving. My fave devotional!

This is a wonderful book. I found myself staying up late so I could read "just one more chapter."

I have to admit that in the past I have had trouble with some of Paul's writings, while at the same time, his letters to the churches never fail to deepen my relationship with Christ. But,
I always tended to think of Paul as the "saint of saints" and this was very intimidating.

This book has helped me to see Paul as a real human being. I am still overwhelmed by his total faith in the grace of God, but I now have a deeper understanding of the journey he took and how he let God use him. I no longer feel that this type of faith is reserved for "the chosen few."

I appreciated Mr. Swindoll's way of showing how Paul's experiences could be applied in my life. This book is not just a traditional biography of a great man, but it has helped me see how to let God increase my faith.

I have had few heroes in my life. This book has brought one home to me. I hung on every word. My book is filled with tabs and notes. The world of Paul is not so much different from what we live today. Searching for God and the Truth, this one book has given me new hope and reinforced the faith I am growing in. Charles Swindoll was able to blend his experience and the experience of others in the study of Paul without distorting the word of God. At the end of 22 chapters I found a new beginning to my life.

Paul: A Man Of Grace and Grit is an extraordinary work detailing the life of the apostle Paul. The book outlines and explains the biblical and cultural history and signifigance of the life and times of Paul in a way I have never before discovered. I cannot recommend it enough. The book presents history mixed with important lessons mixed with timely analogies. It is a must read for Christians and non-Christians alike. I guarantee that reading it will affect your outlook on life and make you feel uplifted as it did me.

I picked up MoonHeart which was my first book to read from Charles De Lint. I didn't really know what I was about to read, other than that the book was re-printed and a fantasy story. With the different areas of people in the book, such as Indians, the Bard, Wizards, Elves, Magic, Evil, and of course, Love. All this is fit into a world that is in the same as our every day life, yet this other world of magic is in small pockets of our own world. This book has made me want to read other books of Charles De Lint. I now want to start a collection of his books. If you are a Charles De Lint fan and you haven't read this book, you should.

This is the best of the best, and one of the first in urban fantasy.

Moonheart was the first De Lint book I ever read, and turned him immediately into a favorite author of mine. His
characters are diverse and likeable, female characters are
never wimps, and he weaves mythologies of several cultures
together deftly.

I've been devouring books since I was a small child, and
my first taste of Moonheart sent me back to the bookstores,
special-ordering everything that could be acquired by De Lint.
If you enjoy fantasy fiction - the kind you can't put down,
Moonheart is a must-have!!

In Moonheart, Charles de Lint proves himself to be one of the best urban fantasy authors. This book blends Celtic & Native American folklore with "real" life situations. The narrative grabs ahold of you from the onset and never lets go. The only regret I had was when I reached the last page of the book, and I realized I had reached the end. In all, it is one of my favorite all-time stories, and one that can, and should, be read time and time again without losing its magic or flavor.

Every time a pick up a book from Swindoll's "Great Lives from God's Word" series I think that nothing can be better than the last one. Starting with Joseph and then reading Moses gave me the impression that these were his best. Now I've returned back and read David and continue to find that brother Chuck has been blessed with a deep understanding about God's word, God's people and God's ways. As with the other books, Chuck doesn't leave any stone unturned in David's life and digs deep into the things that we can all relate to. I recommend this reading especially to those who are facing the giants in life whether they are physical or spiritual. King David is a great study for all of us seeking to be a "man after God's own heart."

This Book is a MUST have for all Christians! Charles Swindoll is a gifted writer and brings the story of King David to life while pointing out timeless Christian lessons to be learned from David's life.

Chuck Swindoll is an excellent author that helps me under stand the bible very easily. in an exsample of how much I enjoyed what I have learnd, i'll tell you that I have started reading the book "Moses a man of selfless dedication" and have the one on Josphe on the book self that I bought through amozon.com. Seindoll pours over all the detail to bring King David into a real sence and not a bible caricter that lived 3000 years ago, but some one that I can understand and see in life, or in someone around me, I loved what the book tought me and what makes me different then david and how to become more of "a man after Gods own heart".

I really enjoyed this book! It was more of a devotional book than anything else, touching on the principles of reaching true happiness, success, and evils such as greed and being negative. Success God's Way reminded me that in order to have true success one has to put God first and everything else will fall into place. I have now adapted one of the techniques that Dr. Stanley stated in the ladder part of his book, which is prioritize the initiatives and goals that you want to accomplish for the next day on a flash card before you go to bed and then put it in your pocket throughout the whole day. It is amazing how much more one can stay on task. The true examination I believe that this book illustrates is are one's goals Godly purposed goals striving to go along with God's plan, or are they individualized goals that do not fit in God's initiative, which makes their purpose lost and unmeaningful? Definately read Success God's Way!!!!!

What a terrific book. Dr. Stanley points out that the only way to truly be successful is to follow the Lord's plan for you. Pray. Ask the Lord what He wants you do. Pray for the strength and courage to do it. Listen. Follow. They are simple guidelines to being successful. Success is not always measured by wealth and material things. Those are nice and all, but without the Lord, it's like trying to "buy love"; it just doesn't work.

Dr. Stanley relates certain experience to Scripture in ways that truly reinforce the messages.

I am actually going to go back and re-read the part on goals. I will set mine with the Lord's guidance, for maximum success potential.

I am a Christian, but not a Baptist. Dr. Stanley writes his book not on Baptist ideals but on true Christian ideals---right from the Bible. I am actually looking at purchasing some of his other books for additional spiritual knowledge and growth.

I will be giving this book as a Christmas gift to my brothers and sisters!

This book is head and shoulders above any "success" book I have ever read. I have a virtual library of success literature by all the familiar authors, Norman Vincent Peale, Og Mandino, Zig Ziglar, et. al., but after adding this book to my collection I might as well throw all those other books away. Dr. Stanley does a splendid job of giving you the "nuts and bolts" of what it takes to live a successful life, presented in a straightforward, no-nonsense style. Unlike so much of the self-help junk on the market today, this book gives you PRACTICAL advice on HOW to achieve "success God's way." Buy it, read it, absorb it, and live it!

The In-Touch Ministries version of the NASB is a welcome addition to the NASB Update family of Bibles. I have the Top Grain leather edition, and I have not found a Bible on the market that can match the leather quality of this Bible. The top grain leather is extremely soft and thick. Even the inside of the covers are made of the leather resulting in a Bible that literally "fits your hands like a glove." The paper is of high quality- easy to turn and it does not allow bleed through of ball point pens and some markers. There are extra pages in the front and back for extended note taking. The concordance and maps are standard NASB/Foundation additions. The print is a good size for reading and clear on the page. The Bible should receive a five star rating except for two things: 1) the lack of cross-references is limiting to Bible study; and 2) there have been some quality problems in the printing process that results in page-fold errors throughout the Bible. Lockman and Foundation Press are aware of these problems and they are working to correct these shortfalls. In summary, if you're shopping for a Wide Margin NASB Update, and cross-references are not important to your method of Bible study, this is the Bible for you. The investment in the Top-Grain Leather is worth it just to hold it in your hands as you "taste" the word of God.

I just received my NASB Wide Margin Edition. To me, the aesthetic qualties of a Bible are important. And in terms of the aesthetic qualities of this Bible--well, the leather is a delight to the eyes and feels wonderful as it just lays in your hand like a well-worn baseball glove. The paper is wonderful. [One of the things that bugs me about so many Bibles on the market today is the flimsiness of the paper--with all the attendant problems--bleed through, etc.] The text itself is nice and clean. A comfortable size font that is easy on the eyes and uncluttered in appearance. In short, IN TOUCH MINISTRIES and LOCKMAN FOUNDATION have produced a product that is an absolute delight to the senses.

I have used many translations over the years. But I find myself always going back to the NASB. I just know that when all is said and done, I "trust" it. I use the NIV also, but there are just too many passages in the NIV that, upon closer examination, add or subtract from the text of the original Greek. For example, in Luke 9:62 the NIV translators add two words to the text that are not in the Greek "...no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for SERVICE IN the kingdom of God." The NASB simply translates what the actual Greek text says--"...look back IS FIT FOR the kingdom of God." If I did not know Greek, I would not have known that the NIV adds words that are not in the Greek text. In short, the NAS does not supply so much "interpretation" to the actual Greek text. It sticks to "translation." I just find over and over again, that when I read my NIV I either have to pull out my Nestle Greek text or my NAS to see if that is what the verse REALLY says.

The NIV is a great translation in many ways, but for serious Bible study, the NASB is, I believe, the most trustworthy translation on the market. And so, if you are going to go with the NASB text, why not get one with the best aesthetic qualities as well? This Bible has it all!!!

Only 3 drawbacks: I wish this Bible had included:
1. the cross-references found in most editions of the NASB
2. ALL of the footnotes that appear in most editions of the NASB (this one is pretty bare-bones), and
3. a little more margin space on the inside margins (not a whole lot of room to write on the inside margins).

But on the whole, I love it and am glad I purchased it. It's my favorite Bible (and I have many Bibles).

The In-Touch Ministries edition of the NASBU is a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind Bible, with buttery-soft calfskin leather in your choice of navy blue, burgundy, or black. It even excels the Cambridge editions. It is smyth-sewn, and has quality paper.
Unfortunately, all the Bible has is text and concordance with coloured maps in the back, and wide margins. No helps whatsoever.
I would even hesitate before I marked up the Bible, that's how beautiful it is. However, if all you want is a pretty cover, buy it. Otherwise, forget it. Other NASBU reference or study Bibles in genuine or top-grain leather are available at lesser cost. So, save yourself a few bucks and get yourself something that has more information.

...featuring luscious graphics and design layouts, "The Art of Charles Schultz" is definately aimed at those who are already big fans of his work. This is not a standard collection of comic strips. Instead, there is commentary about the development of the strip and Schultz's devlopment as an artist. The first 50 or so pages contain samplings of his pre-Peanuts work, which is fascinating for how it shows the development of his ideas. Next the book provides a real service by providing a generous helping of the early Peanuts strips (circa 1950-54), many of which have never appeared in book form. The characters look radically different and their personalities were just starting to settle in. Charlie Brown was a bit of a dandy instead of always being a loser, Lucy was sort of an airhead and Snoopy didn't "talk" yet.

The book has a genrous helping of photographs of Schultz, his staff and of various Peanuts memorabilia. The Sunday strips are rendered in glorious full color and there also rough drafts of strips that give an idea of how the creative process works. The book's only drawback is that it is oddly laid out, with some strips cut in half at page breaks and other pages featuring minaturized strips, apparently to save page space. Nevertheless, this book is of high enough quality that it will look good on any Peanut fan's coffee table.

I have loved Peanuts since childhood, and have an almost complete collection of Peanuts books. Charles Schultz has always been an inspiration to me in my work as an occasional professional cartoonist. Not only is Schultz unsurpassed as an artist, he is also one of the great philosophers of twentieth century life in America.
This book is, first and foremost, a celebration of the comic strip. It is a work of art in its own right. All the cartoons in the book are photographed from either their original drawings, or directly from the newspapers. The reader can see the artistic details that Schultz has used in creating each frame in photos of the originals. And the use of the original strips, with their rough paper and newsprint lines, brings back the joy of reading the comics for the first time in the funnies. The Sunday comics are complete with the little color dots that created the color images. There are literally hundreds of comic strips, both daily and Sunday, in this book, and they give a good overview of Schultz's long career.
There are many photos of Schultz's doodles and rough sketches, of his desk and his artist's tools, early cartoons 'Sparky' sold to the Saturday Evening Post, early drawings of certain characters, some of which pre-date 'Peanuts' itself. One can actually see the characters develop, artistically and as human beings. Interspersed with the cartoons are textual explanations and stories about Schultz and his characters, including many insightful comments by Charles Schultz himself about the evolution and personalities of his characters. Also included are photos of early Peanuts toys and dolls, and even these are photographed lovingly and with attention to detail and shadow.
This is a magical book, and any Peanuts fan would love it and treasure it. It is a book one can return to over and over to enjoy. Leave it lying around the living room where everybody can enjoy it and relive the joy Charles Schultz and the Peanuts gang gave us for over fifty years. Better yet, introduce a new generation of kids to the strip. The Peanuts gang is a microcosm of us, and reading it reveals much about ourselves and helps us to look on life with tenderness and humor.
Buy this book, read it, and share it. It would make a wonderful present as well. It is the best Peanuts book to date.

I am an ardent collector of books related to the Peanuts comic strips created by Charles Schulz. But one thing you learn when you have this hobby is that not as much exists from the early days of Peanuts (particularly the first five years or so). My understanding is that as time went on, Schulz wasn't as fond of the earlier days of Peanuts and did not want these strips reprinted if he could help it. These were the days when Charlie Brown's shirt didn't have the famous zig-zag and Snoopy walked on all four legs and didn't have his famous "thought balloons".

This book "Peanuts: The Art of Charles Schulz" is focused primarily on those early days of Peanuts, with most of the material from the first ten years of the strip (the 1950's). The strips are photographed from Schulz's archives and there are many strips I have never seen before (and I've seen just about every one that was published). You even get to see the long forgotten Charlotte Braun, who was in the strip for a short period around 1954 and had the fussbudget personality later assumed by Lucy. Fascinating. You see Lucy, Linus and Schroeder as babies. You see Charlie Brown with a huge head (much bigger in proportion to his body than you are used to seeing). And you see Snoopy as basically just a dog before he assumed his own thoughts and imagination.

There is also a lot of sketches and strips from the pre-Peanuts days (Lil Folks) that can really give you insight into how Peanuts eventually came to be. This has never been done to any great extent is any Peanuts book that I have seen.

The strips are terrific and the style of the presentation is very pleasant to look at as well. This book is laid out more as an art book than as a collection of comic strips. And it is very well done at that. It's better than just about all the books that were issued every five years to celebrate landmark years for Peanuts (25th anniversary, 30th, etc.)

This book is a must for any hardcore Peanuts fan who wants to see how this tremendous icon of American culture for the last half of the 20th century got its start.

Let me preface my remarks by saying that I'm a HUGE fan of brother Chuck, and I have great love and admiration for him as one of today's preeminent Christian leaders. Of all the persons I could choose to emulate, it would be Chuck Swindoll. In reviewing this book, my comments are intended to be totally objective and not a criticism of the author.

My main impression of this book is that, while it provides some valuable insights about some spiritual disciplines that every committed Christian should undertake, it stops far short of being a truly practical resource. Chuck Swindoll steps aside briefly from his hectic life to take stock of some key things that many (most?) Christians miss in their day to day walk with God. He introduces some disciplines which we would all do well to practice, but doesn't really talk about the "how."

In other words, and at the risk of sounding flippant, my reaction on finishing this book (about a one-hour undertaking) was: "Tell me something I don't already know." As a believer who seeks a closer relationship with God, I have long since recognized the need to try to slow down my lifestyle and find time to get alone with God for prayer, study and meditation. I have been struggling with these very issues for some time: how to balance work, parenthood, church activities, household chores, rest, etc. while still finding a way to spend a meaningful amount of time communing with God.

It was my hope that this book would be more of a "how-to guide" than just a simple overview of these truths, and in that sense I was a bit disappointed. Don't misunderstand me, I think the book is great as far as it goes, but I wish Chuck had taken the time to take this important subject into much greater detail. He speaks of "depth" but doesn't really provide it here. Had he done that, I'm sure I could have derived much greater benefit from it.

This small, quick read packs quite a powerful punch for the Christian looking for a closer walk with the Almighty.
The author shares with us his experiences with his walk with the Lord and helps us to see, through his life how he was able to draw closer to the Almighty, bringing him to a more fulfilled relationship.

He uses examples, such as turning from our busy lives and being still to know that He is God. He speakes to us of what it is to trust God and to surrender to One that loves us. Tenderely he leads us step by step into a deeper knowledge of knowing the way to a closer walk with Him.
This is a very good read, not too long, but extremely useful to the Christian seeking intimacy with their Maker.

If every Christian followed the principles in this book, the world would take notice. No American Christian should neglect meditating on the truths Swindoll delivers in this short audio book.

Coming from the premise in Ecclesiastes, "God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated," Swindoll suggests four principles to overcome ourselves for a better, more God-honoring life. Simplicity is a discipline 21st Century Christians need, and we aren't going to find it at the mall or in many other Christian books.

If it wasn't for Oswald Chamber's wife, MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST would never have been published. After Chamber's death, his wife collected some of his writings together into this devotional book. Praise God for such a woman of noble character.MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST is one of the best daily devotions around. Chambers doesn't mess around with wishy-washy, look-at-the-Jesus-in-my-pocket Christianity. Instead, he delves deep into the essence of what it means to be a Christian. Chambers knew the importance of a moment and this book is full of wisdom in living a life pressed out to the best, giving one's utmost for His highest. There isn't another daily devotion to compare.

Each morning I read this book, I find myself drawn to a place of accountability and yet filled with a desire to worship and commune with my Lord. Oswald Chambers has a way of opening the reader's eyes to the plan that God has for each one of us individually. Combining this book with reading the scriptures included for each day has expanded my morning devotional time to a depth and breadth I could not have imagined before.

This compilation of Oswald Chamber essays and sermons was originally captured by his wife after his death. The format of a daily devotional provides an excellent daily read for the avid and growing Christian.

The individual devotionals are not easily devoured in one reading, generally requiring a second or third reading to fully grasp the depth of Oswald Chambers' deeply Christian messages based on Biblical scriptures. This is not light reading, but in the small fifteen minute devotional increments daily, this makes for excellent reading and provides specific daily focus for the Christian reader. This thought-provoking book can easily become a favorite habit, and it also makes an excellent evangelical gift to those who are new to Christianity.

If you buy only one Christian book this year, buying Oswald Chambers' 'My Utmost for His Highest' would be an excellent choice.

"There is little to be satisfied in reading this book"?? I couldn't disagree more. Bleak House left a profound impression on me, and was so utterly satisfying a reading experience that I wanted it never to end. I've read it twice over the years and look forward to reading it again. Definitely my favorite novel.

I don't know what the previous reviewer's demands are when reading a novel, but mine are these: the story must create its world - whatever and wherever that world might be - and make me BELIEVE it. If the novelist cannot create that world in my mind, and convince me of its truths, they've wasted my time (style doesn't matter - it can be clean and spare like Orwell or verbose like Dickens, because any style can work in the hands of someone who knows how to use it). Many novels fail this test, but Bleak House is not one of them.

Bleak House succeeds in creating a wonderfully dark and complex spider web of a world. On the surface it's unfamiliar: Victorian London and the court of Chancery - obviously no one alive today knows that world first hand. And yet as you read it you know it to be real: the deviousness, the longing, the secrets, the bureaucracy, the overblown egos, the unfairness of it all. Wait a minute... could that be because all those things still exist today?

But it's not all doom and gloom. It also has Dickens's many shades of humor: silliness, word play, comic dialogue, preposterous characters with mocking names, and of course a constant satirical edge. It also has anger and passion and tenderness.

I will grant one thing: if you don't love reading enough to get into the flow of Dickens's sentences, you'll probably feel like the previous reviewer that "...it goes on and on, in interminable detail and description...". It's a different dance rhythm folks, but well worth getting used to. If you have to, work your way up to it. Don't start with a biggie like Bleak House, start with one of his wonderful short pieces such as A Christmas Carol.

Dickens was a gifted storyteller and Bleak House is his masterpiece. If you love to dive into a book, read and enjoy this gem!

This is the second book by Dickens I have read so far, but it will not be the last. "Bleak House" is long, tightly plotted, wonderfully descriptive, and full of memorable characters. Dickens has written a vast story centered on the Jarndyce inheritance, and masterly manages the switches between third person omniscient narrator and first person limited narrator. His main character Esther never quite convinces me of her all-around goodness, but the novel is so well-written that I just took Esther as she was described and ran along with the story. In this book a poor boy (Jo) will be literally chased from places of refuge and thus provide Dickens with one of his most powerful ways to indict a system that was particularly cruel to children. Mr. Skimpole, pretending not to be interested in money; Mr. Jarndyce, generous and good; Richard, stupid and blind; the memorable Dedlocks, and My Lady Dedlock's secret being uncovered by the sinister Mr. Tulkinghorn; Mrs. Jellyby and her telescopic philanthropy; the Ironmaster described in Chapter 28, presenting quite a different view of industralization than that shown by Dickens in his next work, "Hard Times." Here is a veritable cosmos of people, neighbors, friends, enemies, lovers, rivals, sinners, and saints, and Dickens proves himself a true master at describing their lives and the environment they dwell in. There are landmark chapters: Chapter One must be the best description of a dismal city under attack by dismal weather and tightly tied by perfectly dismal laws, where the Lord Chancellor sits eternally in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Chapter 32 has one of the eeriest scenes ever written, with suspicious smoke, greasy and reeking, as a prelude to a grisly discovery. Chapter 47 is when Jo cannot "move along" anymore. This Norton Critical is perhaps the best edition of "Bleak House" so far: the footnotes help a lot, and the two Introductions are key to understanding the Law system at the time the action takes place, plus Dickens' interest in this particular topic. To round everything off, read also the criticism of our contemporaries, as well as that of Dickens' time. "Bleak House" is a long, complex novel that opens a window for us to another world. It is never boring and, appearances to the contrary, is not bleak. Enjoy.

After years without picking up a novel by Dickens (memories of starchy classes at school), I decided to plunge into "Bleak House", a novel that had been sitting on my bookshelf for about ten years, waiting to be read. Although I found it heavy going at first, mainly because the style is so unfamiliar to modern readers, after about ten pages I was swept up and carried off, unable to put the hefty tome down until I had finished it. This book is a definite classic. The sheer scope of the tale, the wit of the satire (which could still be applied to many legal proceedings today) and the believable characters gripped me up until the magnificent conclusion. One particularly striking thing is the "cinematic" aspect of certain chapters as they switch between different angles, building up to a pitch that leaves the reader breathless. I can't recommend "Bleak House" too highly. And I won't wait so long before reading more Dickens novels.