"Stripped" by Jud Wilhite

"Too often we mistake grace for weakness, forgiveness for giving in. We see strength only in pointing out sin and stomping on it until it's dead. But in Jesus we find someone who has no paience for those more concerned with enforcing the rules than helping others."

- Jud Wilhite, Stripped

 

This book isn't what you expect when you look at the cover. When you first look at the book, you see the Las Vegas sign, and the title, Stripped. Well, with those togetheAr, I'm sure you're thinking of the stereotypes that define Sin City. The book is about that, but it's about how people are overcoming those sins and finding Jesus.

Jud Wilhite is a pastor at a church in Las Vegas. God called him to move out there, and Stripped tells the accounts of different people he has encountered and the stories they have told him. Of course, since these stories are real and personal, some names have been changed, and some dialogue was fabricated to help tell the stories.

These stories range from adult performers, drug addicts, police officers, and more. Every page reveals God's grace and the power of his forgiveness. It was completely amazing to see how God molded the lives of so many people in this area.

"It is a revolution. And by reaching out to God, you can be part of it...even now. Through God's power and grace, you can become the person He desires you to be. If it can happen in Vegas, it can happen anywhere!"
- Jud Wilhite, Stripped

Stripped is a book that is good for any Christian to read. Many Christians are far too comfortable in their faith, and they seem to forget that we need to reach out to those that we may be scared to reach out to. But if we don't, who will?

It is also a great book for those who are not believers. It shows so much truth of God's promises that He made in Scripture. The entire book is about how non-believers discovered God's love and grace.

God is moving in a mighty way in Las Vegas, a city that most people believe to be consumed in sin. Let's open our eyes: our world is consumed in sin, but that is no match for our Heavenly Father. Like Wilhite said, "If it can happen in Vegas, it can happen anywhere!" 

Stripped is a story that anyone can read, and I strongly encourage everyone to read it!

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What is God doing in your life? Do you have a story of your own? Comment below, if you'd like to share!

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"Maybe Someday" by Colleen Hoover

"My entire body is battling itself. My left brain is telling me this is somehow wrong, my right brain is wanting to hear her sing again, my stomach is nowhere to be found, and my heart is punching itself i the face with one arm and hugging itself with the other."
- Colleen Hoover, Maybe Someday

I waited so long to read this book. Those two months felt like an eternity! Colleen Hoover's Maybe Someday was released in March, but I told myself I could not download it until my semester ended. Therefore, on the first day of my summer, I downloaded it and proceeded to finish the book within two days. Because, honestly, how can you start reading anything by Hoover and actually put it down? I can't, anyway!

Sydney is sitting on her suitcase, in the rain, outside of the apartment that used to be hers (until today), crying. Guess her best friend and her boyfriend were closer than she realized. Oh, did I mention it was her birthday? She turned 22 today. Well, so far, 22 sucks. Her cab finally pulls up, for her to find that she left her purse inside of the apartment where the two people that she really doesn't want to see still are. Great. Now she really can't go anywhere. Crying harder now.

Just as Sydney was about to talk herself into going to get her purse from that dreadful apartment, a girl in a Hooters uniform appears. Weird, what is going on today? The Hooters girl tells her to hurry and get up because she is late for work and she is getting wet. Shocked, confused, and really out of other options, she follows the girl into an apartment just like the one she left, only it had four bedrooms instead of two. The Hooters girl leaves Sydney dripping wet in the living room. A boy comes out of one of the bedrooms, and she is suddenly aware of how see-through her shirt is and how pathetic she must look right now. He brings a blanket and a pillow to the couch for her.

She knows this boy. Ridge is the boy that plays the guitar on his balcony every night at 8 o'clock. She knew he was attractive from across the courtyard, but from across the living room -- WOW. His music is gorgeous, and she could listen to it every day. Okay, she DID listen to it every day. She pretended to go out onto her own balcony to do her homework, but she was actually just going out there to listen to him. She apparently was not good at hiding the fact that she was listening. He caught her, held up a piece of paper with his phone number, made her text him, and they've been talking about music for a couple of weeks now. She has been sharing the lyrics she wrote to his music while listening to him all those nights.  She speaks first, but he says nothing. Okay? Awkward? She speaks again, when she hears her phone. She has a text message. It's from Ridge? Why won't he just talk to me? She opens the message: Ridge is deaf.

Sydney is shocked. She can't believe that this boy is deaf when he creates such incredible music. This just makes him all the more intriguing to her. Maybe someday she will understand the way he hears the music.

Readers, I can't begin to describe to you how perfect this book is! The fact that Hoover chose to make one of the main characters deaf really brings color into the plot, and it's just the twist this love story needs. We can't always be with the one we long for, and Maybe Someday envelopes all of the emotions that comes along with that. While reading this, I noticed that a lot of Hoover's words were things I have thought before, but never knew how to say. She said them with a lyrical beauty, and touched every emotion within me as she did it.

Something unique about this book is that there is a soundtrack that includes all of the songs that the characters wrote together. Ridge and Sydney write songs together throughout the book, as mentioned in my teaser for the story.  Colleen Hoover, along with Griffin Peterson, composed the songs so that the readers could know and feel the songs that characters wrote together. I've listened to the songs, and it really took the book to the next level because hearing the songs makes it more personal than just reading the lyrics. Therefore, I suggest purchasing the soundtrack with the book so that you may hear the songs as they are written throughout the book. Also, it's good music, so it's good to listen to at anytime!

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Have you read this book? What was your favorite part? Comment below and share your thoughts!