Two Memoirs dealing with the Middle East ~ Part 2

Last week: March 29 - April 2:

These are two very different books, except that they both touch on the Middle East. And both stories tell what happened when the author walked the path of obedience to God. They both describe a life that is transformed by the presence and power of Christ. 

(Read Part One here)

STORM TOSSED

How a U.S. Serviceman Won the Battle of Sex Addiction

by Jake Porter

Foreword by Jerry Praetzel

Ordering Info :
172 pages
Price: $12.99
Available through Amazon.com
other online retailers
or through bookstores anywhere.
Memoir / Men's Issues
Trade Paperback

Book Description :
By the time Jake was nineteen he was feeding an insatiable lust that was looking for opportunities to act out. He found those opportunities in Mediterranean ports while serving as an aviation ordnanceman aboard the Naval aircraft carrier, USS America. At a time when the Gulf War was unfolding, Jake should have been totally committed to God and country. However, the seedy world of pornography and prostitution sabotaged his Christian life and made his commitment to the Navy a low priority. Even later, as a church-going civilian, his sins came back to haunt him. The author doesn't pull any punches in this hard-hitting story that takes the reader from the Persian Gulf War zone and the gritty underworld of prostitution to the glorious rapture of God's saving, delivering grace.

The Amazon Kindle version is FREE March 29 - April 2 here .

Learn more information about this book here
Read comments and review about this book here
Read a excerpt here

About the Author:
The life experiences of Jake Porter include being shot at a bank ATM, while working as an armored-vehicle driver; serving in the U.S. Navy during Desert Storm; and living in California, Montana, and Arizona, where he now resides with his wife. They have two young adult children, just leaving the nest.

Interview with Jake Porter:

STORM TOSSED deals with a sensitive topic. Why is your story and message needed today?
The content of this book is an honest account of my personal struggle with pornography and sexual addiction. Lust is a sin most Christian men battle against, but it is the one area in our lives we don't want to discuss. For the most part, the church and its leaders are silent on the topic. It's too dirty and too uncomfortable to address for most of us; but shying away from it isn't going to help us defeat this powerful weapon of Satan. STORM TOSSED doesn't pull any punches by tiptoeing around the subject matter.

Help us understand how a "Christian" who has grown up in the church might become a "sex addict."
Addictions are used to fill a void in our lives. Instead of turning to Christ, we may fill that hole by turning to drugs, alcohol, gambling, or overeating. In my case, I soothed my loneliness and feelings of failure with pornography and prostitutes. It didn't take long for me to be consumed with those activities. Even after I was aware of the problem, I couldn't stop. I felt ashamed, and thought I was the only one in the world who struggled with it. The problem only worsened and it began to eat away at my sanity.
My book will show readers that the roots of sexual sin are similar to idolatry and witchcraft. There is no distinction between obsessively looking at pornographic photos and kneeling before a graven image. The pornographers of the world are out to hook men and boys - and increasingly women - with their product just like a drug dealer does. One taste and they're hooked. Today, the Internet has made sex/porn addiction even more widespread.
(As a side note: The Bush Administration got some laws passed that forbid U.S. military personnel and civilians from engaging in activities overseas that would be illegal in the States. This includes visiting places that deal in human trafficking and child prostitution.) How well it is enforced, I don't know.

What hope is there?
When I cried out to God for help, He answered me. My story offers no guarantee of how to overcome sexual addiction, but it does candidly discuss what worked for me. Unless we men are free from this disabling sin, we can never be the husbands and fathers God has called us to be.

(Read Part One here)

Playing Hurt by Brian Goins

A marriage book that husbands will actually want to read!

Everyone admires people who play hurt, from the superstar athlete to the journeyman player who finishes the game even when hurt, sick, or falling apart. Everyone looks up to these athletes and wants to mimic their “never give up” attitude. Except when it comes to marriage. Most husbands are willing to take a bullet for their wives in a life-and-death situation; but when his bride fires the bullet--hurls an insult, disrespects him in public, ignores his foreplay in private--he’d rather throw in the towel than play through the pain.

Playing Hurt is a biblical playbook for marriage that speaks in the language most men understand—the language of sports. Using a sports analogy to explain the motivation, means, and methods of playing hurt, author Brian Goins shows men how to overcome the temptation to stay on the bench. Playing Hurt is more about inspiration than instruction. It’s about finding the motivation to stay in the game, despite the pain. It’s about becoming like the One who knew more about nails and thorns than any superstar athlete. Using Ephesians 5 as a biblical basis, this book will call husbands to be the heroes they long to be--men who play hurt in order to win at marriage.

 For men there are 3 relationships the author discusses in this book

• Man with God
• Man with Spouse
• Man with Children

Goins helps the reader see the importance of playing through the pain using examples of Christ and human heroes.  The author explains how the greatest struggles in our marriages happen when we take our eye off of Jesus.  Faith is a much needed item required while playing through the pain and bad performances. Goins helps the reader see who needs to be lifted up in the marriage and how to do it.  In his book, Playing Hurt, Goins helps you find help in the playbook.  Goins helps you see who the real enemy is.  The author deals with four traps that men fall into.  Goins helps you to find allies and back ups when needed.  Brian encourages the reader to push through the pain and play hurt because your marriage is worth it.  Goins's insights are worth the read when you are fighting hurt to keep your marriage alive.

Learn more about the book by snapping a picture of this QR code!

Link to buy the book

Brian Goins is the author or editor of numerous study guides, workbooks, and Bible studies that he has developed for Insight for Living (Chuck Swindoll) and Walk Through the Bible. When he’s not traveling across the country as a Family Life Weekend to Remember speaker, he and his family reside in North Carolina.

blog tour schedule

A copy of this book was provided for this review by...

She Still Calls Me Daddy by Robert Wolgemuth

Are you a dad with a daughter that is planning a wedding? then this book is for you. This book is follow-up book to Wolgemuth's She Calls me Daddy. In his book She Still Calls Me Daddy moves the father into his new role as father-in-law. He discusses the changes that are made in this new relationship with his daughter. Dad is no longer #1 man in his little girl's life. He must relinquish that role to the new kid on the block, son-in-law. It isn't easy stepping down to second string. Wolgemuth gives tips and helps on how to make this new relationship easier for all concerned. Daddy may still be your name but you have a new role and relationship with now married daughter. Remodeling the family "normal" won't be as easy as it sounds. You must help your daughter see her new role now as wife to this son that you didn't raise. Wolgemuth says, "It is a BIG Deal to turn your daughter over to this new most important man, new go-to guy." There are lessons to be learned and changes ahead for everyone. as a new "normal" is found in all families involved: bride's parents, groom's parents and new family established as bride and groom .

I have two teenage daughters so we will be fast approaching this remodeling time in our own family. I have totally enjoyed reading what Wolgemuth has had to say. I haven't read She Calls me Daddy, but may have to back peddle here and read it just because I so totally enjoyed this book. This was a very good book and I highly recommend it to any father of the bride-to-be.


For more information about this book click here.