review

Book Review: Is your Daughter Ready?

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I have taken a bit of a hiatus from blogging and doing book reviews in the last 2 years or so. Mostly it has really just been because life has been busy. Our jobs and our 3 girls keep us busy in this stage of life. That being said, I struggle as a mom to feel like I am doing enough to raise Godly girls (or even doing it right). When the opportunity came up to review a book called “Is your Daughter Ready? 10 Ways To Empower Your Girl For An Age Of New Challenges”, I had to jump on it! *I did receive a free copy of this book for my review*

The author is a mother of 4 adult girls and she definitely has so much insight, some that came through making mistakes of her own. Throughout the pages of this book, she takes you through 10 topics that she has found can empower girls. These include love, truth, integrity, relationship smarts, perspective, discernment, connection, purpose, perseverance, and faith.

My 3 girls could not be more different. I have an eldest who is a bit of a tomboy who lives in ponytails and t-shirts and really doesn’t worry about popularity or what others think, a middle child who always has every hair in its place, has lots of opinions about everything, and doesn’t mind getting in trouble for talking back, and a youngest who’s full time job is playing, loves socializing, and has lots of emotions. Parenting 3 vastly different kids is a bit of a challenge. I love how this book takes a holistic view of raising daughters. This is not a fix all your issues at once concept. Rather, the author really wants you to parent the heart of each of your daughters with the goal of her developing her own relationship with God.

Each chapter not only has a main topic, but also Bible verses and relatable stories to help the reader understand why they should pursue those things with their own daughter. Each chapter also has a list of truths, questions to reflect on, and a prayer. In my current stage of teen and pre-teen girls, the chapter on discernment really spoke to me. My girls are starting to make more and more decisions. I want them to be discerning without mom having to lecture and babysit decisions. It is a scary world, I want my girls to be prepared to make wise decisions.

If you have a daughter, granddaughter, niece, or even just a girl you have a relationship of any kind with, I highly recommend you check out this book. It is a book that could easily be read many times depending on the stage of life your girl(s) happen to be in. If you are interested in getting your own copy or in learning more about the book and it’s author, you can do that at https://bit.ly/IsYourDaughterReady.

Book Review: Authentic Influencer

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I love learning more about some of the less talked about men and women of scripture. Sometimes we focus so much on people like King David, Moses, or Paul that we forget there are so many other characters to these stories. Barnabas is really not a minor character, however, he is one that isn’t talked about much. He was so vital to the early church that in many ways, had he not been there much of the stories about the Apostle Paul would be significantly different.

Authentic Influencer looks at Barnabas through the lens of leadership. Barnabas was an incredible leader and we can all learn from the things that he did. The author goes through fifteen different facets of leadership demonstrated by Barnabas and gives practical ways that we all can learn from his example.

Regardless of whether or not you see yourself as a leader or an influencer, we all have a sphere of influence. Learning how to handle that role is so important, especially in a world filled with social media “influencers”. Just because someone has a following, doesn’t really mean they are qualified to be a leader. So many of the biggest influencers in scripture aren’t even named but still have tremendous influence even today (think woman with the issue of blood, the rich young ruler, the Roman Centurion, the woman at the well, just to name a few). The author of Authentic Influencer reminds us of that and shows how a good leader doesn’t take issue with others rising above and possibly having a bigger sphere of influence than them. He also talks about being a bridge for others and being discerning enough to detect potential in others.

No matter what role you see yourself filling, we are all leaders. I think everyone could learn a thing or two from Authentic Influencer. If you would like to learn more or purchase your own copy you can go here. The publisher is also doing a giveaway that you can enter here.

Book Review: Amazing Grace

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Over the last year I have taken a hiatus from writing book reviews, mostly because of our move and having too much going on to commit to reading and reviewing a book. We are now much more settled, so when an opportunity came to review a brand new book about the story behind the beloved hymn, Amazing Grace, came about, I had to jump on the opportunity. I thought I already knew quite a bit of the story. However, I really only knew a small percent of the story behind the song and it’s writer, John Newton.

Amazing Grace really is an incredible hymn that has survived 250 years. It it probably one of the most well known hymns in the world. It has been sang by little children, church goers, and even our nation’s president in 2015. It has been recorded by countless singers from practically every genre and even experienced a rebirth in 2006 when Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) was released and has been sung by many churches since.

I did not grow up attending, nor do I currently attend, a church that sings out of a traditional hymnal (although many in my family do). From time to time I do attend churches that do though. Whenever I do, I always see the value in the old hymns. There are so many life stories that were written into the words of those songs. Honestly, I think the songs mean so much more when you know those stories. For Amazing Grace, when you realize the pain that John experienced through out his life and the stark contradiction between a man studying his Bible while being the captain of a ship hauling slaves, you really understand the amazing grace of God in the fact that He really did save a wretch like John Newton.

In the book, you experience moments in John’s life starting around age 7 when he lost his mother clear through his death. It is written as a novel because the authors took the writings of John himself to create dialogue and stories, but it is really a biography. I love how the authors told the story of John, warts and all. They didn’t cover up his shortcomings and sins. They also didn’t hide the pain he experienced in his life. I highly recommend checking out this book. If you would like to purchase your own copy you can do that here. The publisher is giving away two copies of the book and you can enter to win one of those here.

I will be giving away a copy of the book as well you can enter to win that here. I will announce the winner on my Facebook page and will mail the book to the winner.

Book Review: Dear Sister, Letters of Hope and Encouragement

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When we think of missionaries, we may sometimes glamorize it and somehow believe that people who are involved in overseas ministry are spiritual giants and not susceptible do discouragement or doubts. However, that is just not the case. Missionaries and their spouses need encouragement just as much, if not more that people in ministry in our own country.

Dear Sister is a collection of letters Gisela Yohannan, who serves as the international director of Gospel for Asia, to both the women in ministry throughout Asia, as well as the wives of ministers. This collection of letters spans from 1999 to 2005 and are actual letters that went out to the women over those years. She really encourages the women with scripture and calls out the women to really step up and step out for Christ. At the end of every letter there are very specific prayer requests that allow the reader to see what Gospel for Asia is doing throughout those years.

In the area where I live, there are a lot of refugees from many of the areas mentioned in the book. It is so neat to see how this ministry may have served the very people who would have been parents of some of the kids I may have taught over the years. It makes the plight of the people in Asia more tangible.

I hope you will check out Dear Sister. If you would like to get your own free downloadable copy of this book here

Book Review: Everybody Fights

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I am so excited to share with you the book “Everybody Fights: So Why Not Get Better At It?”

If you haven’t heard of Kim and Penn Holderness, it is likely because you have been living under a rock or possibly because you aren’t on social media. Whatever the case, you really need to check them out. They became social media sensations because of their funny and creative videos that poke fun at the normal everyday things of life. The best thing about their videos, is that they are family friendly, and often even include their own family.

I was incredibly excited to have the opportunity to review this book, and after having read it I was not disappointed. This is a marriage book unlike any that I have ever read (and I have read a lot of marriage books). Kim and Penn do not proclaim to be experts at marriage. However, they do get real and raw about things they have struggled with and how they have learned to fight better in the process. They use real life examples of fights they have had in their own marriage and after each of them shares from their own perspectives what happened in that fight, look through ways they could have communicated better. The advice they share throughout the book is a combination of things they have learned in the school of hard knocks, as well as things they have learned from their own marriage coach.

Throughout the book they go through so many practical topics that absolutely every single person who has been married for any period of time will go through. Kim also gets real and honest about her struggle with anxiety and depression and how that affects their marriage.

This is not an overtly religious book. There isn’t a Bible verse in every chapter. However, there is a sense of dedication to making a marriage work at all costs. There is also an emphasis on working together and learning to better understand each other that every single marriage could benefit from.

If you want to check it out for yourself you can do that in a couple of ways. First, you can watch this silly book trailer here. You can also download or listen to a free chapter and purchase your own copy here.

Book Review: The Marriage Ark

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If you have been married for more than a day, it is pretty certain that you have encountered conflict in one form or another. It is inevitable for two people to live in a close relationship day in and day out without rubbing each other the wrong way from time to time. Regardless of whether you have been married in the past to someone else, have lived together, or have been dating for a long time, when you get married you enter a new level of relationship. This new relationship is one you enter with all the best intentions to make last, yet around 41% of 1st marriages end in divorce. I have yet to attend a wedding where the bride, or groom didn’t have all sorts of dreams about the future, none of which included divorce.

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In The Marriage Ark: Securing Your Marriage in a Sea of Uncertainty, author Margaret Phillips walks through how to build a strong marriage from 30+ years of experience as a licensed marriage and family therapist. She uses the story of Noah and the uncertainties he faced as an analogy for marriage. She really focuses on first the foundation of the marriage. She talks about how vital it is to look at things realistically, not in the technicolor glasses that so many people enter marriage with.

Throughout this short book, the author give some great advice about how to avoid major conflict before they start, especially for those who are not yet married. She also addresses how important it is to have the flexibility to withstand the natural twists and turns that you will encounter as a married couple. So many of us, myself included, enter marriage with the 20 year plan of how life is going to look. News flash: that twenty year plan rarely turns out exactly like you have it planned out. I know that from experience! 13 years into this marriage thing and my life looks much different than that wedding day plan. Different is not always bad though.

This is such a great book to add to your collection, whether you have been married 30 years, are engaged, or maybe just hope to get married someday. The author has so many practical tips to guide readers on how to deal with conflict, loss, and change. I really hope you will check this book out. If you would like a chance to win your own copy, please check out my Facebook page here.

Book Review: Resilient

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As a mom, one of my biggest struggles is how exactly to “train up a child in the way they should go” (see Proverbs 22:6). This world is a scary place. As a public school teacher to primarily freshmen, I see this firsthand every single day. Everything from peer pressure, to phone addictions, to bullying, to drugs and alcohol use go on every single day. Not to mention, especially with all three of my children being girls, the temptations they will face with boys. It can be overwhelming at times. I also don’t want to raise my girls to be fake in their Christianity. I want them to be all in, not just on a Sunday morning. I want them to be excited about their beliefs, but I want them to be just that: THEIR beliefs. I want them to discover faith for themselves.

Discipleship of our children should be at the forefront of every Christian’s mind. Especially in the secular world we live in that seems to be running away from Christianity as fast as possible. When given the opportunity to review a book about discipling children, I was very interested.

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Resilient: Child Discipleship and the Fearless Future of the Church is a much needed resource not only for parents, but for the church as a whole. The focus of the book is on the church of 2050. The authors focus on the kids of today that will be leading the church in the future. They take a realistic look at the current state of kid’s ministries (or KidMin, as they refer to it). They point out some of the areas that may be lacking in children’s ministries that may not be giving kids tools to thrive in this secular world. They give some specific strategies to help reach the kids in this current generation.

This book does a great job of looking at the great things of the past, and coming up with ways do disciple the children of the future. It also looks at discipleship from two perspective, that of a parent raising children today, as well as for the church that is trying to disciple children. It is very unique and even gives specific ideas that a church could initiate.

Like I mentioned earlier, discipling my own children is something that I often think about. I see kids today who lack morals, work ethic, and integrity, the last thing in the world I want is for my kids to be one of them. I want my girls to “seek first the kingdom of God” in absolutely everything they do. I don’t want them to feel like they have to follow the whims of the secular world they live in. I want them to have a strong faith foundation that is their own, not just because their parents have a certain set of beliefs. Resilient gives me some great advice on how to do that.

If you would like to get a copy of this book you can find out more and get your own copy here. Better yet, you can also enter to win one here. I hope you will take a look at this book, the future of the church really does depend on how we disciple the children of today.

 

Book Review: Off the Hook

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So many of us have them. That person, or those people who once upon a time did something that hurt us, and we carry that burden with us. Every time we see them the hurt rushes back over us. We can go from having a great day, do a deep pit of despair just with a memory of what they did to us. We can’t seem to let it go. Forgiveness doesn’t seem possible, because after all, they were the ones that did us wrong. We shouldn’t let them off the hook easily, right? The sad thing about that line of thinking though, is that us holding onto the hurt, only really hurts us.

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Off the Hook: How Forgiving You Frees Me, deals with that very topic. You may not even realize that you are holding onto unforgiveness, until you are able to walk the path of forgiveness. Off the Hook uses stories of real life people who had to deal with very difficult forgiveness journeys, but were able to experience freedom that they never thought possible when they did. The authors also use Biblical truths to help the reader know how to truly forgive.

Throughout the book there are sections revealing Lies that we believe, as well as truths that will set us free. The forgiveness in this book is also not limited to that person who hurt you. They also address how to forgive when you have been hurt by the one institution that is supposed to lift you up, the church. This is a book for every single person, even if you don’t think it would apply. We all have areas of unforgiveness in our lives, and it is so freeing to find those areas and learn to truly forgive.

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If you would like to learn more, please visit the Off the Hook webpage or watch this book trailer to see more details. You can also enter to win your own copy here. If you just can’t wait and want to get a copy for yourself, the authors are running a Kindle Countdown sale February 20-27 starting at $0.99 1st day. (Regular price $5.99)! I hope that you will get a copy and get rid of some of the heaviness of unforgiveness in your own life!

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Bible Review and Giveaway: He Reads Truth

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I am extremely excited to bring you something a little outside my wheelhouse. As a matter of fact, I had to call in the big guns for this one: my husband. I thought that it was only right to get a man’s perspective, since the all new He Reads Truth Bible is written for men.

Let me give you some of the specifics first. The copy I received is a hard cover that also has a storage box. This Christian Standard Bible (CSB) features 66 hand-lettered key verses, 17 full-color timelines, 21 maps, 122 charts (including infographics and lists), and 4 illustrations. There are also reading plans for every book of the Bible, a one-year Bible reading plan, detailed book introductions, a key verse list, two colored ribbon markers, and wide margins for journaling and note taking.

I am a huge fan of the CSB version, it is so easy to read and understand. So the big question is, what did my husband think? There are several things that he really liked about this Bible. The first thing he noted was the reading plans with check boxes. He is a huge list guy, this would be a great way for him to have a structured way to read through either a book of the Bible, or the entire Bible. He also really liked the outline, history, and introductions for each book of the Bible. As a history major and former social studies teacher, that is a huge plus. He also said that it has good reading passages and explanations throughout the different books of the Bible. One example he gave was a passage about God’s covenant with us. The final thing he mentioned was that he liked the key verses section at the end of the Bible. After he spent some time reading and looking it through, he told me that it would probably become his new go-to Bible. I would say it has his stamp of approval!

If you want to see more check out this video

I hope that you will check out this Bible and consider getting one for the man (or men) in your life. One way to do that is by entering the giveaway here. Or, if you would rather buy one you can go to lifeway.com and use the coupon code HEREADS50 to receive 50% off your order!!! (code is valid through 4/1/20).

Bible Review and Giveaway: Fresh Start Bible

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If you are like practically every other person on the face of the planet, there have likely been times that you were in need of a fresh start. Maybe you messed something up so badly that that you can’t even bear to think about it without hanging your head in shame. Or perhaps you have been a “pretty good person” your whole life, and you are just feeling in a rut. Regardless of where you have been, we can all use a fresh start.

The start of a new year is always a great time to start fresh.  One great way to do that is by recommitting to read your Bible. Whether it is a formal plan or simply committing to a chapter or two every or maybe even just choosing a verse a week to focus on, I think it is important to find a fresh new way to ignite your faith.

I am so excited to share with you an amazing resource to do just that. Gateway Publishing has released the Fresh Start Bible (yes, they are associated with Gateway Church, Pastor Robert Morris is one of the contributors). This is an awesome resource for both brand new Christians, as well as those who really just need a fresh start. There are so many great articles about everything from the foundation of the faith, through some of the more controversial topics of our faith. There are also great introductions to each book of the Bible, in depth devotional content (and plans to follow for those),  and small articles to help give background all throughout the Bible. There are also so many great contributors to this Bible, along with Robert Morris, another widely recognizable one would be Jimmy Evans.

I love the resources that come along with this Bible. Check out this video to learn more.

 

I am so excited to give a way 2 copies of this new Bible. To enter to win please visit this page between 12/4/2020 and 12/12/2020. You can also enter to win through my Facebook page here.