Review-Angie Smith-Into the Deep

 

Into the Deep: Finding Relief from Pressure, Exhaustion, and the Need to Perform in a Shallow World by Angie Smith will be published October 6, 2026.

The main idea behind Angie Smith's “Into the Deep” is not “I’m tired in a need a nap" way. But tired in a "why does everything feel like performance" way. Smith, who's got a PhD in psychology and a knack for making hard truths feel like a conversation with a friend, is basically saying: I see you, and I know why you're exhausted.

The setup is relatable to the point of being a little uncomfortable.

·         We say we want rest, but we fill every quiet moment with noise.

·         We say we want to be known, but we're really good at hiding the messy parts.

·         We talk about wanting freedom, then try to control everything we can.

·         We say our faith carries us, but our actual behavior tells a different story.

 Smith's point isn't "you're doing life wrong", it's that these are learned survival habits, not character flaws. At some point they made sense but they don't anymore.

So instead of handing you another five-step plan to fix yourself, she goes underneath the habits-perfectionism, impostor syndrome, the comparison spiral, the low-grade anxiety of constantly performing-and asks what's actually driving them. Her explanation is we're trying to solve deep, soul-level exhaustion with surface-level fixes, and it's not working, because it was never going to.

Along the way, she pulls in stories of biblical figures who wrestled with the same stuff- identity, worth, fear of being fully seen-not as tidy examples, but as proof that this struggle isn't new, and that it's never been met with judgment. To truly fix the problem, we need to address it from a spiritual point of view.

The big idea she keeps circling back to is the world's going to keep telling you you're not enough. That's not new information. What she's offering instead is permission to stop trying to control it — to take a breath, loosen your grip, and trust that the deep water, as scary as it looks, is actually where you find solid ground. And the solid ground we find in the deep water is Jesus Christ. It is not a one-time epiphany but a slow unlearning of the scripts you didn't even realize you were performing. It is changing the way you look at yourself from seeing yourself through the eyes of the world to seeing through the eyes of God.

The bottom line is less a shortcut to being a better you and more let’s look at why you’re so tired of pretending. This is a book for anyone who is ready to stop managing appearances and start on the path to actually living.

Review-A. W. Tozer-The Radical Cross

 

The Radical Cross is a collection pulled from Tozer’s teachings from the 1940s-1960s centered on the cross of Christ and its impact on everyday Christian discipleship. Tozer's central concern is that Christians can become satisfied with a comfortable, cultural  version of Christianity while neglecting the radical demands of following Jesus. As I have found out from other Tozer books, even though it was written many years ago, it is still lessons we need to learn today.

The cross, for Tozer, is not merely the place where Christ paid for our sins. It is also the pattern for the Christian life, a call to surrender ourselves to God.

Some of the themes he covers in this collection are:

·         The cross is more than a doctrine.

·         At times, Christians can affirm the historical reality of the cross without allowing it to transform the way they live.

·         Grace does not eliminate surrender.

·         Tozer strongly emphasizes that salvation is God's gift, but genuine discipleship involves yielding our lives, ambitions, desires, and will to Christ.

·         The Christian life involves dying to self.

·         One of Tozer's recurring themes is Paul's statement in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ.” The cross confronts our determination to remain in control.

·         Comfort can become an enemy of discipleship.

 Tozer challenges the tendency to reduce Christianity to personal happiness, security, and blessing. Following Christ may require sacrifice and obedience.

The purpose of surrender isn't misery for its own sake. Tozer believes that relinquishing self-rule opens the way to a deeper experience of God's presence.

Tozer repeatedly calls Christians away from superficial religion toward holiness, reverence, obedience, and genuine communion with God.

The author makes the cross personal. Tozer doesn't allow the reader to keep the cross at arm's length as merely something Jesus did for us. He asks what the cross means for us today.

He challenges comfortable Christianity. This is probably the book's strongest feature. Tozer asks uncomfortable questions about whether our faith has actually cost us anything.

His writing is direct and memorable. The author has a gift for turning theological ideas into statements that stick with you. His tone can be confrontational, but that is intentional. He wants to wake the reader up.

 He emphasizes God Himself. Even when discussing sacrifice and self-denial, Tozer's ultimate concern is not religious performance. His goal is a believer who wants God more than anything else.

The same intensity that makes Tozer powerful can also make the book challenging.

At times, his language can seem overly absolute.

His critique of modern Christianity can feel repetitive.

Readers may occasionally wonder whether his emphasis on self-denial gives sufficient attention to the joy, assurance, and freedom that are also central to the gospel.

The Radical Cross is not primarily a book about understanding the mechanics of the atonement. It is a book about what the cross means for the person who claims to follow Jesus.

Tozer's basic message could be summarized this way:

The cross that saves us is also the cross that calls us to surrender.

That makes the book particularly valuable for Christians who have been walking with Christ for many years and find themselves asking whether their faith has become too comfortable or routine.

Its call to move from believing about Christ to actually surrendering to Christ.

It is best to read this slowly, perhaps one chapter at a time, with an open Bible. Tozer is much better suited to reflection and examination than to simply reading quickly for information.

The Radical Cross is a challenging and spiritually provocative Tozer book. It will probably not make the reader more comfortable, but it can make the reader think more seriously about what it means to belong completely to Jesus.

This is a book I will return to in the future.  Tozer’s themes and approach were a wake-up call for me. It is one of my favorite reads of 2026.

Review-Esau McCaulley-God's Colorful Christmas

 

God’s Colorful Christmas written by Esau McCaulley and illustrated by Rogerio Coelho. Published September 8, 2026.

Esau McCaulley offers a fresh and thought-provoking look at the Christmas story in God’s Colorful Christmas. He reminds us that Jesus’ birth is not simply the story of a baby in a manger, but part of God’s larger plan to bring people from every nation, culture, and background into His family.

He engages the reader with sections such as the description of the shepherds.  By describing them as “they didn’t get invited to parties for the rich and famous” and not being chosen first for sports teams, I believe this is something that readers of all ages can connect to.

The description of the wise men traveling to see Jesus is used to remind us that God still brings people from all over the world to see and worship our savior.

The book challenges Christians to see the church as a reflection of that diverse family and to resist attitudes of exclusion and prejudice.

This is a short but meaningful Christmas book that encourages us to look beyond the familiar nativity story and consider the broader implications of Christ’s coming.

Coelho’s art is stunning.  It helps bring the text to life.  When you read this book, take the time to actually look at the drawings.

I highly recommend this book for children.

Review-Trusting God in Turbulent Times

 

Trusting God in Turbulent Times by Tony Evans. Published September 8, 2026.

I have never met Tony Evans but started listening to his sermons and reading his books many years ago.  When our oldest son was diagnosed with leukemia and went to his heavenly reward, a couple of Evans’ books helped me through those days.  His “Hope for the Hurting” and “Divine Interruption: Holding on to Faith When Life Breaks Your Heart” (co-written with his family) were good books that helped me through the dark days. I have recommended them to various people going through similar circumstances.

I look at this devotional as an unofficial part of the same series.

As the author describes it in the introduction, it is easy to be faithful when things are going well.  It’s when the turbulence hits that our faith and trust in God is tested.

As you read through the devotional, Evans keeps bringing the reader back to Scripture.

This is not simply a collection of inspirational thoughts. Scripture is intended to be the foundation for the devotional material. Each entry begins with a selected biblical passage or verse, followed by reflection and application.

That is important because Christian encouragement becomes shallow when it is disconnected from God's Word.

The interactive challenges are a particularly good feature. Evans doesn't simply say, "Trust God." He encourages readers to consider what trusting God actually looks like in their circumstances.

One of the book's best qualities is that the answer to turbulence isn't presented as "God will make everything go the way you want."

Instead, the emphasis is on God's faithfulness and presence.

That's a much more biblical foundation for Christian hope.

Readers shouldn't approach this expecting a lengthy theological examination of suffering or divine sovereignty. The format is deliberately accessible: Scripture, reflection, and application. That makes it easy to read one entry a day.

I see this as a devotional I will return to in the future.

Highly recommended.

Review-Matthew Boswell-Create in Me a Clean Heart

 

Create in Me a Clean Heart by Matthew Boswell. Published September 1, 2026.

There are some Christian books that give you information. There are others that make you stop and examine your own heart.  Matthew Boswell's Create in Me a Clean Heart: Experiencing God's Abundant Mercy in Psalm 51 is one of those books.

Psalm 51 is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible concerning repentance. It is David's prayer after his devastating sin. David had failed miserably, but instead of running away from God, he ran toward Him.

That is the heart of this book.

Boswell takes us through Psalm 51 and shows us what genuine repentance looks like, what God's mercy accomplishes, and how God can take a broken and sinful heart and begin the work of restoration. The book follows four movements in Psalm 51: a repentant heart, a restored heart, a renewed heart, and a responsive heart.

I found that progression particularly helpful.

David begins by acknowledging his sin. He doesn't make excuses. He doesn't blame someone else. He doesn't try to convince God that his sin wasn't really that bad.

He simply confesses. And that's where repentance begins.

We live in a world where people are very good at explaining why they do what they do. We can always find someone or something to blame.

David doesn't do that.

He says, in essence, "God, I have sinned."

That is a difficult prayer to pray…but it is also a liberating one.

We need more than forgiveness.

One of the things I appreciated about Boswell's approach is that he doesn't stop with forgiveness.

David asks God to cleanse him.

He asks God to create something new within him.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God."

David realizes something important: he can't fix his own heart and neither can we.

We can change our behavior for a while. We can make promises. We can try harder. We can convince ourselves that we will never make the same mistake again.

But ultimately, we need God to do a work in us. That's what makes the gospel so powerful.

Christianity isn't simply about becoming a better person. It's about allowing God to transform us from the inside out. This may be the part of the book that spoke to me the most.

What do we do after we fail?

Some people hide.

Some become overwhelmed with guilt.

Others try to convince themselves that what happened wasn't really that serious.

David gives us another response.

We go to God.

David doesn't pretend his sin didn't happen. He doesn't minimize it. But he also doesn't allow his failure to become the end of his relationship with God. He asks for mercy. He asks for cleansing. He asks for restoration.

And then he asks God to restore the joy of his salvation.

That's an important reminder for Christians.

Sometimes we know we're forgiven, but we don't live like we're forgiven.

We continue carrying the guilt of something God has already forgiven.

Boswell reminds us that God's mercy isn't simply about wiping our record clean. God's mercy begins the process of restoring our relationship with Him.

The title of the book comes from perhaps the best-known verse in Psalm 51:

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

That is a prayer worth praying regularly.

Notice David doesn't say, "God, help me become a little better." He says, "Create."

That's a powerful word.

David knows he needs something God alone can provide. And isn't that true for all of us? There are attitudes we can't seem to change. There are temptations we continue to struggle with. There are hurts we can't seem to let go of. There are sins we wish we could erase from our past.

We need more than willpower.

We need God to create in us a clean heart.

Another strength of the book is the way Boswell connects repentance with worship.

We might think of repentance as something negative, something associated with guilt, sorrow, and failure. But Psalm 51 doesn't end there. It ends with praise.

David's experience of God's mercy leads him to want to tell others about God's ways and declare God's praise. That's a beautiful picture of what God can do with a restored life. Our greatest failures don't have to be the final chapter.

God can use even our brokenness to point others toward His grace.

We don't praise God because we've never failed.

We praise Him because He is merciful when we do.

I appreciated the fact that Boswell takes sin seriously without leaving the reader hopeless. There is no attempt to make David's sin seem insignificant. But the book also doesn't leave us sitting in guilt. The emphasis is on God's mercy.

That makes this a very pastoral book. It's a book that speaks to the person who knows they've failed. And, if we're honest, that's all of us.

I also appreciated the Christ-centered nature of the book. Psalm 51 points us toward our need for forgiveness, and ultimately that forgiveness is found in Jesus Christ. We don't earn God's forgiveness by feeling bad enough. We don't earn it by trying harder. We receive it because of God's grace.

He wants us to understand Psalm 51, but more importantly, he wants us to feel the weight of its message in our own lives.

At times, some of the ideas are repeated. But I didn't find that particularly distracting. I often repeat the main idea a few times in my sermons. I think God has to repeat things to us in the Bible so that it will stay with us. When the subject is repentance, forgiveness, and God's mercy, sometimes repetition is exactly what we need.

Who Would Benefit From This Book? I would recommend this book to anyone who has struggled with guilt, shame, or failure.

 

I could especially see it being helpful for:

·         Someone trying to understand biblical repentance

·         A Christian struggling to accept God's grace and forgiveness

·         Someone who has experienced a serious moral failure

·         A small group studying repentance and forgiveness

·         Pastors preparing to preach or teach Psalm 51

·         Anyone who feels spiritually distant from God

 

It would also make a good devotional read. I wouldn't rush through it. Psalm 51 (like the rest of the Bible) is a passage that deserves time for reflection.

One of the things I love about Psalm 51 is that David's failure isn't the end of the story.

God's mercy is.

That's also the message I took away from Matthew Boswell's Create in Me a Clean Heart.

We all have things we wish we could go back and change.

We all have words we wish we hadn't spoken.

We all have decisions we regret.

We all have moments when we have failed God and failed others.

The temptation is to hide. But the gospel tells us to come to God.

Confess, repent and receive His mercy.

Allow God to begin His renewing work in our hearts. The Christian life isn't about reaching a point where we no longer need God's grace. It's about discovering, day after day, just how much we need it…and how abundantly God provides it.

Create in Me a Clean Heart reminded me that repentance isn't about running away from God because of our sin.

It's about running toward God because of His mercy.

And that is a message every Christian needs to hear.

Highly recommended.