20 Things We'd Tell Our Twenty-something Selves by Kelli and Peter Worrall

From Amazon:
Foster good habits. Press into pain. Never, never get another perm. 

Despite what many think, our twenties aren't that dead space between youth and real life. Done right, they can be among our most important years. 

In 20 Things We'd Tell Our Twentysomething Selves, Peter and Kelli Worrall look back on it all--the good, the bad, and the miserable--to give you the best of what they've learned. With humility, warmth, and brilliant storytelling, they invite you not only into their wisdom but into their lives, sharing about marriage, faith, drawn-out adoptions, dark nights of the soul, and the God who's in it all.

This is one of those books you could use as a devotional or just as a book to keep you company. The Worralls write as if they were seated across from you on the couch--and I wish they were. ;) They make you laugh with stories, but yet challenge you to think deeper and produce actions consistent with biblical living.

I requested this book for review after a friend reviewed it, and I'm quite pleased to add it to my library. Kelli and Peter Worrall discuss major topics that most 20somethings will end up thinking about. Things like habits, doubts, self-care, sin in yourself and family and others around you, grace, healing, and an eternal perspective. Each chapter begins with a short introduction based on the chapter title. I haven't seen another book do that before, and I enjoyed it very much. Just knowing the topics and the outcome from each chapter even before I started reading it was refreshing.

The Worralls give kind advice, not shirking from calling out sin, but yet providing grace instead of judgment and condemnation. Every chapter includes "actions to consider", "questions for reflection and discussion", and "other things to read" at the end of it. I very much appreciated the practicality of their suggestions, and the reflection questions were excellent. Perhaps one day I will go through and use the book as a devotional and journal my answers. The reading suggestions were also interesting to me, as I'm always on the lookout for reading material.

I love how the Worralls are parents with children, and yet they can write a book specifically for 20somethings. I think many older people are so far from their 20s, that they've forgotten what it's like. And the teenagers are just a little below the 20s, so they aren't able to process it all either. But this couple sounds like they're living in it, and take joy in it. I'm sure it comes from daily counseling and teaching teenagers and 20somethings.

My favorite chapters would be #15 (Embrace Grace) and #16 (Seek Healing) [but it's hard to pick favorites--most of the chapters would have to be "my favorites" :P]. I appreciated the honesty that the Worralls share with their readers--not hiding the messy parts of their lives, but sharing them as they went and giving us insight into how they sought grace and healing for their struggles and challenges. And because of those challenges, they were equipped to teach and counsel others, not because they necessarily have the exact experience, but because they know themselves how God can heal. As they have received grace, so they have given to others throughout this book.

This book blessed me in many ways. I highly recommend it.



*I received this book free from the publishers. The opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.

From the Dark to the Dawn by Alicia A. Willis

From Amazon: 
Decadent Rome, 61 Anno Domini. The masters of the universe have crushed the Iceni rebellion with an iron hand, slaughtering and enslaving her people.

For Philip, his existence as a captive means living to hatred. He despises his rich, young master, resenting his life of servitude and the wrestling feats Marcus forces him to perform. Bitterness engulfs his soul until he only lives for the day when he will crush the might of Rome.

Then Christianity enters the picture. Taught by a Jewish breadmaker to know the man called Christus, Philip begins the struggle to forgive and honor his master. But forgiveness is not easy towards one who lives for himself.

Marcus Virginius knows nothing but power and pleasure. Destined to a successful career serving Nero in the Praetorian Guard, he wants no part of Christianity. And he is determined to crush Philip’s newfound faith – no matter what it takes.

Join Philip and Marcus in their journey of redemption, faith, and forgiveness. Is love enough to conquer hate? And will the light of the gospel ever surmount the darkness of Rome?

Persecution abounds – will the two young men survive its terrors and live to experience the bright hope of a new dawn?

Alicia Willis is one of my favorite Christian modern authors. I got this book free on Amazon almost two years ago, and I just finished my second time through it. It's one of those books you want to read again and again, but the intense plot makes you read it less, but think through it more.

There are not many authors who can capture the horror of slavery and culture without dwelling on the painful or gory details, but Philip's life and the general Roman culture is described in a way that deepens our understanding of the times, but also points to a future greater Dawn.

Philip's journey to salvation is a hard road--made harder by his master. Though his master is just and fair in most of his dealings, he uses his authority to attempt to disuade Philip from his faith. Marcus's growth as a character is perhaps the most surprising, since he is a person of great wealth and power.

This is a story of the time of the martyr's under Nero, and this story does not hide the reader from the intense persecution. The countless Christians who died under his reign are still not forgotten, and though this story has fictional characters, the story of persecuted Christians is the same. The closeness of the Christian brothers and sisters is a joy to read, because the friendships and relationships are pure. They stand for one another and do not give in despite persecution. They reach out to the lost, regarding not their own lives.

Besides Philip, Alexander and Diantha would be my two favorite characters. I love how Willis gives us insight into all three of these characters minds (some more than others). We see their mental struggles, but we see the power of Christ shining in a dark place. This is a story of much sorrow, but yet of much hope even in the pain. Broken hearts that rejoice. Slaves that conquor. Death, yet life everlasting. Darkness, yet the Dawn. A story that leaves you serious, but with an internal never-fading joy. Definitely a book worth reading again and again.