I’ve started realizing there are a lot of sites that I come across that I find super cool. But I never tell you about them. So here are four awesome websites I’ve visited today that I think you should know about.

Magntize- No, it’s not misspelled. But it is awesome. Magntize is a free service that allows you to set up a free personal online profile. Everything about you goes here–websites, pictures, and more. It’s a bit like an online business card.

Movieclips- This one’s rather self explanatory: they have movie clips. The sweet part is that they have movie clips from movies made in this decade unlike a lot of other sites. Finally, a place to show your friends the movie clip you keep quoting. Every 5 seconds.

Standard Theme- Standard Theme is the theme that’s been powering this blog for about the last month. (I was a beta tester.) I must tell you, it is the most powerful, flexible theme I have ever used. Period. And it just launched today.

Yancy Devotional- Preteen music sensation and all around awesome person Yancy launched the companion devotional to her “Rock-N-Happy Heart” CD today. I think you need to check it out.

Overview:
If you don’t read Matthew Paul Turner’s blog or follow him on Twitter, your Christianity is only half-complete. He’s one of the funniest Christian authors today, and probably ever. Funny and Christian just don’t go together all that often. A few months ago I had the opportunity to review MPT’s book Churched, and was really looking forward to reading Hear No Evil. Thankfully, “Thew” (as he attempted to refer to himself in college) didn’t let me down. Hear No Evil is the story of Matthew trying to get into the CCM industry despite his fundamentalist background, along with all of the bumps, confusion, and general insanity that happened along the way.

Originality:
Answering this one was tough for me. Matthew is a very unique writer, and everything that he writes is original simply by nature. However, I don’t really feel like Hear No Evil brought anything “new” to the table as far as his writing goes. It was an awesome book, don’t get me wrong, I just think Matthew could have done more as far as his own personal originality.

Overall Readablity:
Do you like to laugh while you read? Then you’ll love Hear No Evil. It’s a great comedy/satire book. It helps to know a little bit about Christian music going into the book, but Matthew’s style of writing is very engaging and makes you want to keep reading.

Outstanding Quotation:

My knowing the difference between a rocker and a Christian rocker is similar to the ability most people possess to distinguish a female from a drag queen. It’s usually obvious, like the plot of a romantic comedy starring Matthew McConaughey.

- p. 6

Observations:
Hear No Evil is yet another awesome effort from Matthew Paul Turner. He never ceases to reveal things about Christianity and the Christian life to you while still doing it in his own biting humor sort of way. It’s a bit like Mary Poppins: “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down…” You’ll learn things about yourself without even trying. That’s what makes MPT’s writing so powerful. He does a great job of pointing out the little quirks and some downright angering things of the “Christian” music industry- from our faux rockers to our hyper-conservative magazine editors. (Make sure you don’t miss the part near the end regarding CCM and Amy Grant…)

I also feel, on the other hand, that Hear No Evil is more of a sequel to MPT’s book Churched than it’s own book. It’s not marketed as such, but I think it should be. A lot of the humor is a lot funnier if you’ve read Churched. It’s a bit like Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2: the first was amazingly fantastic and one of a kind. The second one had perhaps lost a little bit of it’s “luster” over the first, but it was still great.

Own It:
I think you should- after you buy Churched. Read Churched first, then Hear No Evil. You’ll be laughing for weeks.

O Book Reviews Rating:
4/5 stars

Drumroll please…. I am hereby pleased to announce another EvanDoyle.com GIVEA-YAY! No, I didn’t misspell that. This giveaway is so exciting that I’ve turned it into a givea-yay. Here’s the lowdown:

1. How to enter: Simple. Just leave a comment on this post. Make sure to include your email address so I can get it touch with you if you win!
2. Extra entries: There are three ways to get an extra entry:
   a. Follow me on Twitter. My username is kidzmatter2me. Once you’ve done that, come back here and leave another comment!
   b. Tweet the following: “I’m entering to win a copy of @jesusneedsnewpr’s Hear No Evil from @kidzmatter2me. Enter yourself at http://bit.ly/brrnBn.” Once you’ve done that, come back here and leave another  comment.
   c. Post a link to this page on your Facebook account. Then leave another comment.
3. Rules: You must be at least 18 years old. (Sorry kids.) You must be a resident of the United States. (Sorry Canada.) You must not be a family member. (Sorry Mom.) You must really, really want a copy of Hear No Evil. (Sorry boring people.)

That’s it! Now get commenting, tweeting, Facebooking, and whatever else it is you young-ins do!

If you don’t win the giveaway, you can o-cquire your copy at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Random House

Extremely Boring Yet Legally Required Disclosure:
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Overview:
Crave. I love that word. The analogy the author of Crave, Chris Tomlinson, uses is that of a slightly chubby child with a big spoon and an even bigger tub of ice cream. And he can’t get it in his mouth fast enough. That’s how Chris wants you to see God at the end of this book: you can’t get more of Him fast enough. And I must say that he has done an amazing job of it. Chris uses stories, quotations, and original thoughts to draw you to the place where you want God on a giant spoon.

Originality:
Chris’ book is one of the most original I’ve read in a very, very long time. He uses a unique method of tying images to his big ideas to make some great points. His thoughts on suffering and joy are beautiful. In the originality department, he gets an A+.

Overall Readablity:
Reading Crave is unbelievably easy. He does a good job of breaking up the text with stories, quotes, Scripture, and personal opinion. As with many books for the Christian market, it does assume some background in Christian-ese. And he quotes John Piper, who I find it increasingly hard to take seriously the more I follow @fakejohnpiper on Twitter. So that makes me chuckle at inappropriate moments. Other than that, very readable.

Quotes, recommendations, and more, after the jump!

Continue Reading…

Overview:
Free Book. Sadly, it doesn’t mean free as in no cost, but free as in totally and completely focused on freedom. Not American freedom, but Christian freedom. Freedom to live life to the fullest as we’re empowered by Christ. It’s a crazy powerful message. It’s a message I am head-over-heels in love with. The author, Brian Tome, does a great job communicating this throughout his book. Let’s look a little more at how he does it.

Originality:
The discussion over whether Free Book is original or not really depends on what kind of original you mean. Is it original in the sense that the things within its pages have never been said before? No. Its basic principles and ideas are straight from the pages of Scripture. Is it original in the sense that the things within its pages haven’t been said enough? Absolutely. We as the church tend to get so caught up in the “dos and don’ts” that we forget the freedom that Christ has brought us. That’s Brian’s whole point. We need more voices like his to speak out and stand for freedom.

Overall Readablity:
There isn’t a lot to be concerned about here, but the book is definitely written to a college-educated audience. It’s not hard to read by any means in the terms of vocabulary used- it’s actually rather easy. There are just a few analogies that Brian employs at times that require some back knowledge of either major religious figures, Bible stories, or philosophers, but nothing that changes your ability to grasp the meaning of the book. It was a very enjoyable read.

Outstanding Quotation:

If you’re focused on maintaining balance–trying to satisfy all the people in every area of your life and just skating by with a little energy here and there–you probably aren’t moving, and you probably aren’t experiencing the blessings that come from a life lived in freedom.

- p. 148

Observations:
Brian isn’t afraid to be brutally honest with you in this book. He shares with you about mistakes he’s made, mistakes a lot of people make, and just generally stupid things people have done. He doesn’t try to beat around the bush. He’s especially clear about this in the third chapter, when he really gets down to defining freedom. He talks about the American definition of freedom, meaning absolute freedom from restrictions. However, he slaps that idea upside the head with his definition: “Freedom requires a decision to follow someone, because freedom is not about your isolation and independence.” Throughout the book he shares personal stories of times when he hasn’t lived life in total freedom. He’s not afraid to show you his true colors.

On the other hand, I think that at times he can take his brutal honesty too far, even to the point of “cliche” Christian honesty. One of the very first of these cliche traps he falls into is on the very first page: pastors who curse to be “cool.” I can’t fully know his intention for it, but seeing as it’s the only time in the entire book that terminology like that is used, it just feels a bit like it’s there more for bragging rights than because it actually makes a point. He also makes repeated reference to drinking beer with his buddies. While I’m not going to get the whole alcohol debate started here, it again feels like it’s more of a “look at me I’m a drinking Christian” show than actually serving to further his point.

All in all though, I think Brian has done a great job with Free Book. He’s spoken a message too many are too scared to proclaim. Freedom.

Own It:
It’s found a permanent place on my shelf, and I think it should on yours too.

O Book Reviews Rating:
3.5/5 stars

O-cquire your copy at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Extremely Boring Yet Legally Required Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

In case you hadn’t noticed, my blog has gotten a fresh coat of paint. Purty ain’t it? I’m helping John Saddington beta test his brand new, thoroughly customizable, rock-your-face-off awesome theme called Standard Theme. I’m loving it so far. I did some super-duper color switcheroos from his standards, but other than that the awesomeness is all Standard Theme-powered.

That said, it is still a beta, meaning you may perhaps spot a few glitches here or there. If you do, let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to squash them like the annoying little bugs they are. Any other comments about the redesign can be posted in the comments too.