This prayer book is the best all around prayer book for daily personal (or even family)use. The Scriptures are addressed back to God and arranged by category (with direction to add certain categories of requests inbetween the sections). This adds structure to ones prayer life and breaks the monotony of "grocery list" praying. This one is a little longer than, "Praying the Scriptures for Spiritual Growth" or the "Simple Prayers" books; in my own personal devotions, it takes me about 7 minutes per daily prayer segment.

Boa has written several prayer books, all great, all solid. This is my favorite to date.

Many times when we pray we don't know where to get started, what to do, many times we just want a deeper prayer life.

This book will scripturally guide you through praying...not only the scriptures, but will guide you in praying for your world around you. It begins with praise and worship of Almighty God, leads you in a confession of Who He is, then guides you through personal renewal, petitions, intercession, and then a prayer of thanksgiving.

One of the things I liked best about this book was that it started out with each section, declaring the Word of God, then it guides you (differently each day) to pray for your leaders one day, your family the next, that you will be a faithful steward of your time and money, for God's wisdom...the list goes on and on.

Both this book and "Praying the Scriptures for Spiritual Growth" are two of the best prayer/devotional books I have ever used. If I could only keep two, these would be the two I would keep. Not only are they easy to follow, they are taken directly from the Word of God.

Face to Face is a wonderful tool to help you pray. Boa has assembled scripture into eight sections for each day. You pray through scripture for Adoration, Confession, Renewal, Petition, Intercession, Affirmation, Thanksgiving and Closing. It helps you focus and it gives a marvelous sense of the completeness of God's word. I do not recommend very many books but this is one that I would recommend to anyone. I have already given away 20 copies.

This is an absolutely wonderful book. Walter Lippman was the first modern journalist of the US: in a time of parochialism, self-congratulatory muckraking, and yellow journalism, he had an internationalist perspective and strove to introduce the American people to new ideas. At the same time, he was deeply interested in the currents of virtually all major political movements in America, and he studied and then participated in them as an opinion maker. What is truly remarkable about the book is the way that Steel recounts the elements of these movements - encapsulates them in brilliant and stimulating descriptions - in paragrpah after paragraph on the development of Lippman's restless and omnivorous mind. He starts with the muckrakers and Lincoln Steffens as well as Wilson's ideas on the League of nations, moved through the implications of Freud for public policy, to the New Deal (and the ideas of Keynes), the Cold War, and his last great battle on the Vietnam War. But as Lippman looks at each of these problems, he also critiques them, probing for their limitations before moving on to the next great movement. The result is an absolutely first-rate intellectual history of about the first 70 years of the 20C, which in my opinion were far more interesting than the remaining 30. With each movement, at least for me, I wanted to learn more, to go back to the sources and other histories and biographies. Finally, there are also fascinating anecdotes of his intereactions with the great politicos of his time, from his dismissal of FDR as a mediocre thinker to a screaming argument at a party with Dean Acheson over the COld War - "it was two titans facing off" - to the bitter obsession that LBJ developed about him in the 1960s.

Of course, Lippman had a charmed career and sprung from an elite background. This made him somewhat insensitive or disinterested in some developments that hurt people, from the Ku Klux Klan to the McCarthy era. Nonetheless, as Steel points out, in his conservatism he also reflected the most popular opinions of his time, which is the reason he was so relevant.

Steel also gives us a portrait of the man, and it is charming and admiring. His father was a slum lord, of whom he was ashamed and Steel speculates that Lippman's life was a search for a better father figure in American politicians. He also had an empty first marriage, which he abandoned when he fell in love with his best friend's wife, renewing his life in middle age and breaking a number of 1950s taboos. THe portrait is quite moving.

This is a truly great book, and I hope that it will be viewed as a classic someday. I learned an immense amount and felt hungry for more, which is my principal criterion for true excellence in writing.

Highest recommendation.

This book is excellent. The 20th Century has often been described as the "American Century" and this book surveys the major part of that era from the vantage point of the life and work of one of America's leading intellectuals, journalists and pundits. Lippmann began his intellectual career as a young follower and aide to Theodore Roosevelt while a student at Harvard, moving quickly thereafter into the leading milieu around Woodrow Wilson for whom he authored the famous "14 Points" upon which the vison of the League of Nations and America's ostensible goal of promoting world democracy was based. Prior to that time he played a leading role in the formation of the still influential liberal magazine, "The New Republic" in 1915. After the First World War he became the editor of the New York World, a prominent New York City daily newspaper founded by Joseph Pulitzer, a demanding position, but one that did not prevent him from acting, as he did throughout much of his life from then on, as an unofficial ambassador and troubleshooter for the U.S. government and leading American business interests, first in Mexico in 1927 and later in Italy, Germany and elsewhere.

In the wake of the bankruptcy of the New York World, Lippmann became one of America's most prominent newspaper columnists and opinion leaders and in fact wrote a seminal work "Public Opinion" dealing with the interaction of mass culture and politics. Lippmann continued and grew in this role as an ideologue and high priest for the New Deal, the Allied cause in World War 2 and more generally for America's leading role in world affairs until 1971 when his last column was published, three years before his death at the age of 85. By the time of the Kennedy/Johnson administration, Lippmann had solidified his reputation as, if not the Dean, certainly the grand old man of American journalism whose life had embodied and reflected all the great events and issues of American and world history through Vietnam which he came to view with skepticism and regret, a view presaged by some reservations he had held, notwithstanding his anti-communism, towards the "Truman Doctrine" and the Cold War.

Karin shows how Jesse influences people in other countries with his handsome looks, suave smile, and woman-winning charm. It's easy to see why Karin succombed to Jesse's "negotiations"

Greenwood's account of working class life in northern England during the early 20th century is a vivid, passionate masterpiece. If you cannot rage at the social injustice portrayed in this novel, you should seek counselling. The book will stand forever as the most eloquent and disturbing account of a depressing age. A devastating antidote to any book about middle-class England you have ever read.

This book has been a truly wonderful find! I enjoy the creative process, but watercolor has never been my strong suit. I purchased this book just a few days ago, and have already created several pieces of art that amaze even me! My intention in buying this book was less to make cards (though that's something I've long done) but more to use Elizabeth Joan Black's techniques in hopes of finding a new creative outlet. I definitely got that and more. Her book gives wonderful details, with colorful pictures that would help anyone achieve results they would be pleased with. I highly recommend this book for the novice to the experienced. It really is inspiring!

The authors present a simplistic notion of therapy and hypnosis. Their talk of "mini-minds" reminded me of the movie Austin Powers. You won't find sophisticated theory here, but there is much of practical value. This book is definitely worth owning as a reference manual, but it is overpriced for what you get.

The book has a a variety of inductions, emerging scripts and scripts for dealing with assortment of situations a hypnotherapist may encounter in his practice. Most scripts contain metaphors which may work more effectively in one-on-one practice if they are adapted to the one's that may be more meaningful for the client.

Here's a sample script from this collection:

SWEET DREAMS SCRIPT
Tonight, perhaps tomorrow too,
your unconscious mind
can give you a dream,
a very special dream
that clarifies the problem
indicates the source perhaps,
but tells you quite clearly
how to solve that problem now.
And each night afterwards,
until you understand it,
until you decide to do it or not,
that dream can return to you
in one form or another.
And every day
as you go about your business,
your unconscious can find something,
some thought, perception, awareness,
a taste perhaps or a sensation,
or even a color,
that seems familiar
and reminds you of something,
reminds you fo what your unconscious mind
is trying to tell you,
until you fully understand
and use that understanding for you.

I really began appreciating this book after attending an Ericksonian hypnotherapy workshop. The induction scripts are good examples of the different kinds of inductions and are usable as written. The metaphors (where the work gets done) are also very useful as is but as you get more experienced they make great bases for customized scripts. The chapter "on doing hypnotherapy" is one of the best introductions to the art I've seen. This is the one book I use regularly while doing therapy with clients.

Christian Mythmakers is a good overview of some of the thoughts and ideas of various Christian fantasy writers. While the chapter on John Bunyan is basically little more than a summary of Pilgrim's Progress, the rest of the book is interesting and thought provoking. The chapter on Charles Williams is a "must read" for anyone interested in or confused by Williams' work.

This book is a fascinating look at ten Christian mythmakers, that is authors who have used the power of myth to convey Christian truths in a new way. The narrative begins with John Bunyan and his seminal Pilgrim's Progress, continues through George Macdonald, G.K. Chesterton, Charles Williams, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and finishes up with Madeleine L'Engle, Walter Wangerin, Robert Siegel, and Hannah Hurnard.

Professor Hein begins with a short biography of the author, and then proceeds to explain the author's work, examining its theology and significance. I found this book to be quite fascinating, with the author giving me a look at these masterpieces of Christian literature in a way that I had never thought of before. If you are a fan of any of the authors above, then I highly recommend that you get this book!

I had the privilege of taking courses under Dr Hein in the early 90's at Wheaton. He is a very knowledgeable teacher and has great affection for the people he is writing about in this book. If you have any interest in these authors, this book is a must read. I wasn't aware that he had written this book when I came across it looking for books on George MacDonald and C.S. Lewis. As an Economics major, I somehow ended up taking four Lit. classes from Dr Hein because he is such a good instructor and passionate about his subject matter.

The NASB Study Bible is simply the NIV Study Bible adapted for those who prefer the translation of the NASB to the NIV. It therefore includes all the strengths of the NIV study Bible: copious notes, cross-references, concordances, and maps, et al. Few would dispute that in a world of competitive Study Bibles, the NIV Study Bible is perhaps the finest produced by evangelicals.

Why then am I less enthusiastic about the NASB Study Bible? One simple reason: The NIV Study Bible works because the translators of the NIV produced all the notes. Many of the comments focus on the translation of the NIV itself and provide justification for difficult decisions in translation made by the translators. Adapting the notes for another translation almost seems pointless.

Admittedly, Kenneth Boa has admirably adapted the new edition for use with the NASB. Yet doubts remain. Why use notes principally designed for use with another translation? I suppose the obvious answer is that the market lacked a critical study Bible that uses the text of the NASB and that this was the cheapest route. But that raises another question: Must a Study Bible be made available in every translation to cater to everyone's diverse tastes?

Bottom line: If you want the NIV Study Bible, I recommend the NIV edition. If you absolutely must have the NASB then this compromise is certainly acceptable, even excellent, but not ideal. The NASB is one of the few translations that actually works well on its own, without an accompanying study notes because the footnotes and additional readings are so extensive.

I was glad to see Zondervan match the NIV study notes with the more accurate NASB translation. While the NIV is more readable, the NASB is more literal and therefore more helpful for study. The notes in this Bible can be trusted primarily for historical accurracy and for accurate protrayal of the various doctrinal viewpoints. The outlines and references to other passages within the study notes are very helpful also. The only drawback with these notes is that in fine points of doctrinal differences, they are somewhat ambiguous in an effort to appeal to all the different camps. All in all, a fine combination.

If you love the NASB, and are a serious student of the Word, this is the bible for you. It has the award-winning study notes of the NIV Study Bible plus the reliable New American Standard Bible translation with the 1995 update, hailed the most accurate word-for-word (while extremely readable) bible on the market. It has exhaustive center-column references. Charts on almost every bible subject possible are included. Introductions to every book of the bible are extensive and include information on the following: Style, Date, Author, Subject Matter, Cultural Information, and very indepth outlines. There are hundreds of intext maps and a very extensive chronology of the bible included at the beginning of the bible. The best thing about the study notes is that they are not biased to any particular denomination. When more than one view exists on a subject, generally at least three views are presented. Information from all kinds of archaeological and historical sources offers much needed insight to difficult passages. This is your one-stop for cultural, historical and theological information for almost every verse in scripture. I'm a youth minister and this bible is my main source of study and lesson preparation. I find that I don't need much more than this. If you're a minister or just a student of the Word, then you can't go wrong with the NASB Study Bible.

The Kennedy's provide a well-needed dose of sanity for 1990's America. The chapters of the book would stand on their own easily and each is worth the price of the book. If you liked Limbaugh's, "The Way Things Ought To Be", you'll like this book.

The Kennedy brothers have done it again. This researched history provides some insight as to how we got to where we are at present. Then, most interestingly, the authors give some suggestions to unravel this mess we've been forced into by our present tyrannical government. These solutions offer a refreshing possibility of escape unlike other works that offer the problems without any possible solutions. You may find yourself highly agitated but keep reading, possibilities await you near the end.

There are a lot of good study Bibles and several reliable modern translations to choose from. I've settled with the NIV study Bible because I find that it possesses the best mix of all the features that make a study Bible useful. It may be debatable whether the NIV is the most accurate translation, but it is certainly a reliable and responsible translation while being the easy to read. The notes do not interpret the Scripture but instead provide observational data such as definitions of words, background information about people, places, and events, and point to other related passages. Multiple explanations or views are provided in the notes on tricky or controversial passages. It comes with a large concordance plus a subject index for both the Bible and the notes. The timelines, many maps, charts, introductions, and outlines are also very helpful. I also appreciate the blank pages in back for my own notes. When traveling without any Bible study resources other than this study Bible I have been amazed at how much I can rely on it. Whichever Bible you choose, may you rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you and assist in learning more about our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The NIV Study Bible is of outstanding value for providing readers a greatly enhanced understanding of The Bible.

1. GENERAL EVALUATION: There are many Study Bibles on the market. Including the NIV Study Bible [Zondervan Press], I own and use three. While my two other versions, one is the older RSV and the other the newer NRSV, give some information to explain the more difficult to understand passages and add commentaries, none go into the depth that the NIV does. The commentaries and explanations in the NIV Study Bible are, to say the least, profuse. Yet, not overwhelming in long elucidations that tend to make you forget what you just read. Rather, the commentaries are brief, to the point and very well develop understanding. The commentaries are not biased toward any single religious canon. They are simply information. Commentaries are cross-referenced, thus allowing the reader to gain further insight from related passages.

2. FORMAT: The page format is exceptionally well planned and implemented. The design is the traditional two-column format with references in a column between the texts. The commentaries are located at the bottom of the page to which they refer. The type font is large enough to easily read and is crisp.

Icons are used to quickly identify to what the commentary refers. These icons are: Character Profile, Archeology and Personal Application.

Maps relating to the particular text are on the same page as are diagrams. The four-color maps, located at the back of the book, are excellent. There are also time lines to assist the reader in grasping the time frames.

3. SUGGETSIONS: The following comments/suggestions may only apply to those who embark on an in depth study of the Bible. Since The New Testament documents were originally in Greek, a wise choice of a companion Bible to further augment the NIV Study Bible would be the NSRV-NIV Interlinear Greek and English Bible. The NRSV and the NIV texts are on either side of the Greek text in three columns. Under the Greek, is a word for word translation. Greek of New Testament times was a rich, scholarly language and some words, like English, had varying meanings and implications. A Greek Lexicon would be helpful to understand those shades of meaning.

4. CONCLUSION: No matter for what reason(s) any person cares to study The Bible, the NIV Study Bible, in my opinion, is the most readable and understandable on today's market. For those of you who may wonder about my qualifications to comment on this Bible, my minor was theology. My studies included Greek and Hebrew; I base my opinions on those studies and having read many-many works on the Bible, the culture of the times and recent archeological finds.

I think many evangelicals know the Bible only in terms of life application. They don't know the difference between God and God the one and Only (see John 1:18 NIV), nor concern themselves with theological or historical aspects of the Bible. The NIV study Bible should help change this. Its notes are concise, numerous, and very informative. When I got this Bible, it opened up a whole new area of fascinating biblical study that perviously I had overlooked. The translation of the NIV is readable and for the most part accurate (though they sacrifice literalness for the sake of readability a lot). The notes represent the conservative side of theology and I agree with most of what they say, though I always have other versions on hand to broaden the depth of study. My only real big complaint is the lack of the deuterocanon. Though I do not consider the books to be 'inspired' scripture, I do believe for a complete study of the Bible they should be consulted. Maybe in a future addition they will be included. If people ask me which Bible to buy, I usually say this one.