The Voice New Testament: Revised & Updated

The Voice™ Bible translation was a gift to attendees at the Catalyst Atlanta Conference in October, 2011. I was not an attendee, but a volunteer and somehow missed getting a copy of this book. It was quite the topic of conversation and I made plans to get this book after I returned home.

I was absolutely surprised and pleased when I found out it was available for book review through Booksneeze.com. What a blessing!

I must say, I cannot put this book down. The stories absolutely come alive. Even though I have studied the bible and listened to many sermons at church, I found myself learning more about God's word through this book. It has a very personal touch and an easy flow.

I recommend this book to both bible scholars and ordinary, God-loving people... like me!

The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn

This book would make a great movie!

The characters and story line in this book are lively and interesting and I kept finding myself visualizing the story as a movie. It seems there are never enough Christian movies to watch these days and it would be refreshing to watch a new one. Especially this one!

The main character, Jonathan, is on a quest to find his birth mother and finds himself along the way. Totally arrogant and self centered, he has a tendency to use his power to get his way. This does not turn out to be the "norm" in Fairbanks, Alaska when dealing with the locals. He quickly learns different ways to get to the truth and eventually changes his heart and his mind about those who truly matter. A great story of forgiveness.

I found this book to be a quick read and finished it in about two hours. Not so much a surprise ending, but nonetheless, a great feel-good conclusion. I would recommend this book.