Book Review: Rick and Bubba’s Guide to the Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage by Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey
Rick and Bubba’s Guide to the Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage is filled with day to day insight about marriage. This is not a counseling book; it is not necessarily trying to give tips on how to have a great marriage. This book gives real life examples from both Rick and Bubba so other couples can essentially learn from their mistakes. In the introduction, they say, “Prince Charming shows up only in fairy tales; and if we’re honest with ourselves, the Stepford Wives were a little creepy.” This gives an idea of the approach that the authors take.
The authors find humor in their day to day lives and marriages. They will keep you laughing all the way through the book with inserts such as: Rick and Bubba’s Surefire Ways for Guys to Know She’s the One, Ten Things Not to Say on the Way to Your Honeymoon, and they give the Articles in “The Book of Blame”. They also deal with tragedy, and how they got through it. Through laughter and tears, this book will provide a common sense view to marriage and in plain English; so it’s not hard to read for us guys. This provides a great resource for couples (especially guys) from two guys with experience who seek to share their wisdom and humor in marriage.
Book Review: The Joy of Living by J. Dwight Pentecost
In The Joy of Living, Dr. Pentecost goes through a study of Philippians. Dr. Pentecost, in places, is a little dry, making a slow read in spots. However, he has keen insight throughout the book and has valuable thoughts concerning application of Scripture. Through his Scriptural knowledge and life experiences, he brings out some great points and thought provoking analysis. He goes through Philippians verse by verse covering small portions (usually five or six verses) of text through each chapter in 26 chapters. At the end of each chapter are study questions that would be valuable for and Sunday school or Bible study meeting.
This book seems like it is not designed for the scholar or pastor. Rather, the layman, Sunday school teacher would get more instruction from it. The reason behind this is because Dr. Pentecost’s approach tends to be more applicatory in nature. Instead of in depth word study (although he does utilize some), grammar, or cross referencing, he focuses the majority of the book on the background of the text and how the Scripture can be used in daily life. As studies go, this is a good one, but pastors should be cautioned on their use of it as a commentary.