Book Review: Be-Tween You & God

This review is months overdue, but that is because my daughter has actually been and still is using The One Year Be-Tween You & God Devotional for Girls by Sandra Byrd. I had become discouraged about reviewing devotionals for tween girls until I found this one, which I can highly recommend. In the mornings, we have done it together and she has done it independently...without being reminded most of the time. I even caught her reading through it in the afternoons.
 
First let me judge this book by its teal, leather cover with impressed flowers and butterflies that my daughter found so pretty and I found so functional. It has a journal-like quality, being under 7½  x 5½ in size, making it rather convenient to carry along. It also has a gold ribbon bookmarker that keeps her place quite nicely. I was at first disappointed that the book was not in pink, previously my daughter's favorite color, but lately she has been liking teal, so she was thrilled.

Inside is not colorful, but not boring either; the pages have a girl-appeal, journal-like quality with decorative sections. A tab layered in flowers at the top with a date and beside it a note in a clean handwriting font with a question addressed to God, common and relevant to many pre-teen girls generally and specifically. Although the more specific might not be relevant to the child that day, the body of the message is still beneficial.

Dear God, I'm afraid my grades will start to fall if I get one bad grade on a test, even though I'm usually a good student.

Dear God, One of my friends gets mad if I "dare" to have another friend. I hung out with other friends, but I don't tell her. I feel dishonest. What should I do?

Dear God, I'm only a kid, really. What can I do to tell others about you? I'm afraid if I speak up, people will laugh at me.

The body of the page starts with: Consider this..." It is not preachy, but helps lead the child into a deeper thinking and change of perspective as a good devotional should. The advice given is gentle but firm, Biblical, and quite age-appropriate, like something a grandparent might say.

At the bottom of each page is another note-like section that begins with "God says..." with a scripture. Next to it is "How About You?" with one or more questions to make it even more relevant and help the child to put what was learned into practical use.

The one thing it lacked is a reminder to pray at the end of the pages. Personally, as an adult, I find such reminders in my devotionals annoyingly unnecessary, particularly when it is written about for what I should pray as if the devotional itself was not adequate to prompt a person on its own. However, considering the target age, I think a reminder to talk with God at the bottom of the page might have been beneficial for the girls who would be doing this devotional independently. So, I would suggest to parents, to begin with the child guiding her through the devotional time process ending with a time for prayer, until the child seems prepared to take the initiative to spend this precious time independently with God guided with devotional.

I received a complementary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers for my honest review.

Book Review: Cleaning House

I wish I could say that I loved Cleaning House: A Mom's 12-Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement as much as I hoped I would, but I did not. Although I found some of transparent honesty of author's personal experiences enjoyable and even funny, I had difficulty reading the book in its entirety. That may be because I am just not in the target market for the book; before I finished the first chapter, I knew that would be very little relative to my lifestyle. Unlike the author, I homeschool and part of my daughter's education is living in the real world, which includes housework, laundry, meal preparation, grocery shopping, budget keeping, yard work, etc. If anything, the author's "experiment" to add chores and projects to the lives of her children was in the direction of how things are done in my own family.

Kay Wyma started simply in the first month with just having her five children, ages four to fourteen, making their own beds and picking up clutter, very doable for all the ages of her children. Each month she either added to the chores or had them work on a particular project with the last month being etiquette.

The second month was to learn to plan a menu, shop for the groceries, prepare the food, and clean up after the meal one day each week. I thought it was much for the youngest of the children, but there was plenty of help from the mother. I also thought this was an excellent regular chore for the older children, but later in the book it is mentioned that after the second month, she only required them to cook one meal a month. That is when I had to put the book down for a few days, which turned into many weeks. I thought the older ones could do a meal at least every two weeks, if not weekly. How were the older children really going to learn how to prepare meals making only twelve meals a year?

When I finally picked the book back up, I continued to read trying to enjoy it as a chronicle of the author's experiences in her twelve-month experiment, rather than a book that would share any insights that I hoped to incorporate into my own lifestyle. However, two troubling factors kept surfacing throughout the book: the family's financial advantage and the husband not being on board.

This book was published in a time when our country had not yet recovered from a long economic recession and within the writer shares that she has a maid that comes to her home twice a week. I am happy for them and for the maid they employ, but their lifestyle is a little out of touch with those of us who cannot afford a maid or work as maids. One might think that is why her children were not doing anything, but the reality is that the parents were the ones who needed to change the most, which leads into the second problem that really grated on me: the parents were not in agreement with the experiment. It was such a major undertaking to change the entire family's lifestyle and having the father not more actively involved and supportive really bothered me.

At the end of every chapter, the author summarized what her children learned during the month and what she learned as well. After the first chapter, she writes, "I had no idea the number of areas in which my enabling tendency prevails." This was quite obvious because she was making the five beds in which her children had slept each day, not to mention she was picking up after them all as well. I am glad that this experiment helped her to see this and make lasting changes that are beneficial to her children in preparing them for taking care of themselves in adulthood. Perhaps my frustration was in reading the painstaking steps of an enabling mother finally learning how to be a parent.

In the end, I am torn about giving this review. On one side, I can see it would be helpful for some families who need it, but I found it to be less helpful and somewhat irritating to read being on the other side of the fence.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Book Review: Unglued

Why had I become completely unglued about bathroom towels? Towels, for heaven's sake. Towels!
~Lysa TerKeurst in Unglued

Ladies, I have the book for you! Trust me, you need it. First of all, let's judge this book by its cover: a woman bent over on top of a rock in the middle of a nowhere field screaming into a large yellow bag. Need I say more? How many times have you felt just that way?

Unlgued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions by Lysa TerKeurst is a raw emotion vs. spirit empowerment revelation with intimate confessions of unglued moments and engaging Biblical wisdom. She invites the reader to journey with her "imperfect progress" toward holiness. Although there are large portions of meat in the principles, there is the spice of sarcasm and sweet, tender desserts in the author's personal and humorous confessions that compliment this spiritual feasting. Yes, this is a book I ate up eagerly. It is written in a lighthearted style, but is raw in conviction. I felt Lysa TerKeurst's welcoming embrace of been there, done that, might do it again but trying not to understanding and love through her writing. Perhaps it spoke to me more because it was such a timely read as I was struggling with my own overloaded schedule and was having more unglued moments than usual.

TerKeurst describes four types of unglued reactions that women tend to do (men too, I suspect): the exploder who shames herself, the exploder who blames others, the stuffer who builds barriers, and the stuffer who collects retaliation rocks. I agree with the author's comments that there is not one that we do all the time, but rather we do them all in differing situations. Identifying and classifying our reactions is one thing, but then what do we do?

The author created a "Biblical Procedure Manual" for the purpose of "positioning [your] heart into the flow of God's power"--such a compelling description!--for those oncoming unglued moments based on the story of King Jehoshaphat reaction to being hopelessly surrounded by armies of neighboring nations.

• Step 1: Remember who you are (to and in your Lord).
• Step 2: Redirect your focus to Jesus.
• Step 3: Recognize God's job isn't your job.
• Step 4: Recite thanks and praises to God.
• Step 5: Realize reactions determine reach.

TerKeurst's descriptions of unsubstantiated, imprisoning, critical, negative mind chatter sprinkled throughout the book is spot on. Her technique of using scriptural ammunition to fight it off is effective and practical. However, the very last chapter is what surprised me and thank you, Lysa, for also writing that coming unglued isn't all bad, that it can be an outward expression of internal indications (things that we hide away but eat at our spirits) or just an overloaded, overwhelming schedule...both are fixable. The things broken inside us can also be used to bring us broken spiritually before our Lord and knowing that we come unglued on others at times, can also help us to understand that when others come unglued on us that it may not be about us, but something internal in them that needs tender, loving attention...giving us the opportunity to position our hearts into the flow of God's power.

I received this book for free from Zondervan in exchange for my honest review.

~ My Lord, thank You for providing this book when I needed it most and bless all those who were involved with bringing it into my hands and heart. You are so amazing!~

Book Review: The 5 Love Languages of Children

I rarely read a book from cover to cover twice, but when I was given the opportunity to receive a free copy of the 2012 Edition of The 5 Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell for review, I was eager to do so, particularly since my daughter was so young the first time I read it that I could not determine her love language at the time. To be honest, even with the Love Language Mystery Game to help determine a child's love language, I still cannot be sure of my daughter's even though she is old enough that I should be able to do so. There is nothing wrong with the concepts described in the book, I think it is just that my daughter seems pretty balanced as she receives all five gratefully and gives all five as well, which I believe suggests that her father and I successfully have been keeping her "emotional tank" full most of the time.

The book proposes that as loving as parents may try to be, a child may believe his parents love him, but may not feel loved because the parents are not speaking in the child's love language. While one child may be happy with a gift when the father comes home from a business trip, another child may not feel loved by getting a gift because his love language is quality time. This book helps parents to determine which of the five love languages--physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, or acts of service--a child appreciates and needs the most as well as how the parent can help the child to feel loved. It also stresses that every child needs all five, but one will be predominate.

I highly recommend this book for all parents, particularly those who are having difficulties with their children, but it is beneficial even to those who think they have happy, loving children. Probably just as important as understanding how to speak in the child's love language is how to discipline with love without causing damage to the parent-child relationship by using a type of punishment that empties the emotional tank; a chapter is devoted to this subject.

If you are like me and have a 1997 Edition, let me explain the main differences I noticed between the two books, besides the change in the cover. The earlier edition often referred to keeping the emotional tank full would help to avoid drug use and teenage promiscuity, which was not in the latest edition. In the 2012 Edition, there were some updated statistics and reference to a book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua that was published in January 2011. Some of the names in the stories had been changed to more popular names at the time of the rewrite. The most notable addition was the list of suggestions to speak the child's love language at the end of each corresponding chapter. Otherwise, there were only minor editing changes here and there. I did think that the hand print in the heart on the cover of the first edition was a better depiction than the green rubber boots with flowers, but that is a minor point.

I received this book for free from Moody Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Around the Word in 60 Seconds

As a homeschooling parent, a morning Bible study and/or devotion is part of our lifestyle. I am always on the look out for good books as a resource. Now that my daughter is in the middle of the tween stage, I was hoping to find a devotional that would guide her into a more personal relationship with God's Word. I was excited to have the opportunity to review Around the Word in 60 Seconds: The Ultimate Tween Devotional. However, after using it for a few weeks, I have mixed feelings about it.

I like how each week was organized by various challenges: grumbling, betrayal, forgive, etc. One does not need to start at the beginning of the book and go through to the end, but can chose a particular challenge that would be currently relevant. I like the concept of using the blank space under the daily scripture as a journal to jot down thoughts or draw a picture. I may have even understood the purpose for each day's devotional time possibly taking as little as sixty seconds just to get a child started with a daily devotional, because that really is not enough time for devotions.

Unfortunately, I did not like the unevenness of book. On the first day of each week, which is supposed to be Monday, a scripture is given and then a short fictional story. Afterward, there is a section called "Take Action" which is like a suggested assignment to do during the week, some which could easily take over thirty minutes to do. Following that is a scripted prayer.

For the days of the rest of the week, there is only a scripture and then a question or two. There is one page per day plus one page per weekend, and the author encourages the reader to use the blank space to write out the answers to the question, but also suggests writing down a poem or pasting in picture or any other creative work as one would in a journal. The journaling is a nice idea, but pasting things on the pages of a paperback with over 400 pages would be messy at best and make it hard to write on other pages or cause stress on the binding.

I have a highly imaginative, creative, and fairly self-discipled tween, but I think the way this devotional is structured that it would be better for an older teenager. I feel it does not give adequate guidance on the days following Monday to be a devotional for a child of the ages of eleven and twelve to do alone. It reminds me of fast food: it has meat, but that does not make it a substantial meal.

I also was not particularly impressed with the Bible version used for the scriptures, but that was a minor point as I did appreciate that it was in a more contemporary language that children would easily understand.

I would not recommend this devotional for a tween to be done alone and I am even a bit skeptical about it for a young teen.

Tyndale provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Cruel Harvest

So the cotton sack, though heavy,
   and the terror of each night,
Did not ever break our spirit;
   we kept Jesus in our sight.
~Fran Elizabeth Grubb (last lines of her poem)

Rarely does a book get under my skin in the way that Cruel Harvest: A Memoir has done. I will never forget it. It is a raw, haunting tale of Fran Elizabeth Grubb's life as the daughter of an abusive, alcoholic migrant worker up to her bold escape at the age of fourteen and her greatest desire to find members of her family to mend their relationships. The book mercifully flashes between her adulthood as each brother and sister is found to her memories of the life they endured before they scattered.

It is a book I found disturbing to read and yet I could barely put it down. The accounts of starvation and abuse of emotional, physical, and sexual natures were sensitively described in just enough detail to wrench my heart and yet throughout it I felt this undercurrent of hope and even joy, because in a flash to her adulthood it is clear that she had not only survived, but conquered her past. Sadder to me was that her father was not her only abuser and I wondered how a child who had so little experience with good people could even recognize goodness at all. Still, while I sensed that all she survived had shaped her early life, a victim is not who she is today. She had found God along the way and had given forgiveness to those who had done what others might see as unforgivable acts against herself and those she loved most.

Finding and connecting with her family members was Fran's dream, one that her husband worked with her to make come true, a dream that she hoped would mend her broken heart for her family. If she lived through it and could write about it demonstrating the joy she has now, then one can endure the discomfort of reading through the abuse to beyond, to receive the blessing of forgiveness I believed Fran wished to share. No matter how bad another can make your life, the true freedom, hope, power, and joy is in following Jesus' example of forgiveness.

Thank you, dear Fran, for writing this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

~ My Lord, I ask that you continue to bless Fran and her family as well as the countless children who have abuse in their lives. May they seek and find You. ~

Review: Soul Detox

In the purest sense, Christianity is not intended to be one of the world's major religions, but rather it is supposed to be a relationship with the one, true, living God through his Son, Jesus. ~ Craig Groeschel in Soul Detox (2012)

There is so much of Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World by Craig Groeschel that I liked, but I admit, in opposition to the cliché, I was drawn by its simple cover of yellow-gloved hands wringing out a blue sponge. If only cleansing the soul could be as easily done!

However, the cleansing of one's soul requires some work because we live in a sin-contaminated world. Just as exposure to harmful toxins can accumulate in the body causing disease, the toxins of sin accumulate in our souls a little at a time diseasing our relationship with God. The analogy was quite fitting, even the names of the chapters were as interesting as their content was insightful.

Toxic Behaviors
Deception Infection: Telling Ourselves the Truth
Septic Thoughts: Overcoming Our False Beliefs
Lethal Language: Experiencing the Power of Life-Giving Words
Hazardous Waste: Uncovering Our Hidden Sins

Toxic Emotions
Bitter Roots: Digging Up the Destructive Source of Resentment
Green with Envy: Scratching the Poison Ivy of Comparison
Rage Rash: Neutralizing The Acid of Anger
Scare Pollution: Unlocking the Chokehold of Fear

Toxic Influences
Mood Poisoning: Purging the False Promises of Materialism
Germ Warfare: Cleansing Our Lives of Cultural Toxins
Radioactive Relationships: Loving Unhealthy People without Getting Sick
Religion Gone Bad: Tossing Out Moldy Legalism, Spoiled Churches, and Sour Christians

While the author pulls no punches in identifying sinful practices, it is done in the least condemning way and with some confessions of his own. In fact, there is a sprinkling of humor that I found quite engaging with such a serious subject. I also appreciated his stance against legalism:

Some people disagree with me, but I refuse to take a legalistic stance and draw a hard line based on someone else's standards. For example, when it comes to movies, I've heard respected Christian leaders say, "Going to see an R-rates movie is always wrong."… The fact that we're called to discernment and not indoctrination is crucial to understand. The Passion of the Christ earned an R rating for its brutal violence, yet most Christians agree the movie has tremendous spiritual value. But at the same time, there needs to be a line somewhere. As you pray, I believe God will show you where to draw that line.

There probably is nothing new described in this book, but the principles described are well organized without being overwhelming and certainly can be put to use for cleansing one's soul, as suggested. I recommend Soul Detox highly for every Christian.

Disclosure: I received this book for free from Zondervan in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Tough Guys and Drama Queens

I was really looking forward to reading Tough Guys and Drama Queens: How Not to Get Blindsided by Your Child's Teen Years because I can see that the Princess is a tween drama queen in the making and I was pleasantly surprised that the core of Mark Gregston's philosophy is not just how to handle the turbulent teen years but how parents can better prepare their teens for adulthood. Having worked with teens myself, I am impressed that Mark Gregston, founder of a Christian residential counseling center called Heartlight, has had thirty-eight years of experience with more than 2,500 teens.

The author explains the steps of the parental roles in memorable terms. In the first five years parents try to please their children. In the elementary years, there is a shift to protecting the children. Middle school aged children need parents to provide. The remaining teen years should be about preparing them for adulthood. Unfortunately, many parents get stuck in over-pleasing, over-protecting, and over-providing modes. The result is their teenagers are not prepared to be self-reliant adults and they take on the very traits the parents were hoping to avoid, but were inevitable with their parental approach.

At first, it grated with me that Mark Gregston feels that the parenting approach that worked well with me as a child would not work today with the overexposure to information, the overloading children due to our heightened technology, but then I have to admit that today's culture is significantly different than when I was a teen. There were no such things as cell phones, home computers, and cable TV in my home as I was growing up, much less the Internet, email, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, texting, digital pictures, and video games. Between the pressures of school, activities, homework, chores, peer pressures, social media, and parental expectations to excel, a child could be starving for a loving, peaceful, and restful relationship with his parents, as the author suggests. I have felt strictly curtailing online and gaming activities would alleviate these pressures, but I agreed with the advice in the book that at some point teens need to be encouraged to make their own decisions, so they can learn from their mistakes--and, yes, they will make mistakes--at home with forgiving parents.

I highly recommend this book for parents whether or not you are struggling with your tweens or teens. The book has suggestions on what parenting practices to avoid and what ones work. There are examples of previously ideal teens suddenly turning onto the wrong path and why other teens seem rebellious most of the time. Most importantly, I feel the wisdom contained helps the parent realize in a big picture way that the goal is not to have the "perfect teen," but to allow the teen to be imperfect. Not to buffer the teen from the world, but allow him to test the waters of self-reliance, self-control, and self-discipline by increasingly allowing him to make his own choices and realizing, as hard as it is to allow him to fail or get into trouble, that he will learn from his mistakes more than any lecture.

Tough Guys and Drama Queens: How Not to Get Blindsided by Your Child's Teen Years will be staying on my shelf as a reference book to be reread in the future if only to remind me of the ultimate goal is to launch the teenager into adulthood and to encourage me stay on track with that big picture.

Disclaimer: I was given this book from Booksneeze in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.

Book Review: Living Close to God

Traditional religion still has ways to make life miserable for those who question the status quo. ~Gene Edwards in Living Close to God

Living Close to God (When You're Not Good At It) is a good introductory book for those who want to get past religion and find God. The first part of the book describes the author's journey starting with his own lack of spiritually. Then it engages you to try what he did. Using Psalm 23 as his foundation, he simply asks that you pause, wait, and slow down as you say the words as God would say them to you and you back to Him. It was the beginning of his spiritual awakening. I felt it was powerfully moving also. He suggested taking 30 minutes to go through this exercise; I found I had taken an hour and most of it was in tears.

The author suggests not to spend quantity time with the Lord but highly quality time. This is not to replace prayer, devotions, or scripture reading if these are part of your routine, although I suspect it will enrich them. It is about connecting with God even if you do not have a devotional routine. It is also about giving God a loving hug without asking for anything for just a few moments at a time. Just saying "I love you" in a still and quieted mind a few times a day. It is a spiritual-life changing book.

That said, it was the last chapter, "Getting to Know Christ Can Be Dangerous," that grabbed me because it is both illogical and profoundly true:

"Many believers who have come to a deeper relationship with Christ get into trouble. There are reasons for this.

First, they get into trouble with other Christians, even friends, who no longer understand them.

Second, they get into trouble with the church, because a deeper relationship with Christ conflicts with church as it is practiced in their generation.

Third, they may cause trouble, which in turn means they get into trouble.

Most Christians do not want to accept that growing closer to Christ would put them at odds with the church....It is even possible you might lose friends and become a byword among believers."

In the last part of the book is a seven-session small group study guide and also a seven-week personal guide. Both basically question the reader and reiterate the information. Some may find these parts of the book redundant and some might find them very helpful in supporting the few and very simple principles presented. This book is definitely worthwhile to give you ideas about how and when to take special moments with the Lord and just love Him.

I received this book from WaterBrook Press in exchange for my honest review.

Ayn Rand and Her Book

We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force. ~Ayn Rand

Now that I am finally caught up on the book reviews I had made commitments to do too long ago, I have the pleasure of sharing just a few of my thoughts on a book that some have claimed as one of the most influential books of all time, second to the Bible. I finished Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged a few weeks ago and, as I said in this previous post, Who is John Galt?, I found it quite disturbing, even though I found my myself enraptured by it at the same time.

Ayn Rand wrote about a world in the near future without many sci-fi props. It is one of the greatest love stories of all time: the love for an ideal man unknown, the love of one's life-work, the love of personal freedoms, and the love of a country as it should be. It is the destination of a transcontinental political collectivism railroaded into the minds of generations delivering what it should have never promised and could not sustain.

No one can really read this book and not feel the author's anguish. It was very personal.

Ayn Rand was born Alisa Rosenbaum in Russia in 1905. Although non-observant Jews, they were subject to strict anti-Semitic laws, but her pharmacist father was successful in owning his business. At twelve years old, that all changed as Rand witnessed Bolshevik soldiers march in and take her father’s business. Her father would never really work again. No doubt this birthed her ideas on “looting and mooching” from productive businessmen by use of government-supported force and policies. It is also quite pronounced in Rand's book that she valued reason as the highest of man's attributes for she was an atheist. Ayn Rand died in 1982.

A few days ago I watched a documentary called Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged and I found tears in my eyes. Those tears were not for how the critics of her day (and even yet today) slammed her ideas, but in how she took ten years to write this one book and yet so many of her readers, fans even, failed to understand the philosophy she so brilliantly portrayed in Atlas Shrugged. Even if you disagree with her objectivism philosophy completely, which has been criticized as rationalized self-interest, how can you not appreciate her valiant effort to make it clearly understood?

Are there flaws in her philosophy? No doubt, just as in any man-made idealism. There was a part that I felt should grate against my beliefs, but even then I could not escape the purity of her concept in the "virtue of selfishness" and the enslavement of guilt. I know, I know. She was an atheist and true atheism is the religion of guiltless selfishness. Still, her logic was amazing and even before I read this book I have wrestled with the ideologies of selfishness and selflessness.

Selfishness is supposed to be unchristian-like, therefore quite undesirable, although perhaps inescapable, but on the extreme opposite side complete selflessness makes it impossible to sustain one's own life. I addressed some of my conflicted thoughts on selfishness about three years ago in my post Selfishly His. Some believe to be truly selfless would be to give everything you have to everyone you can that does not have those things, but then two things would happen: you would eventually have nothing because there is always someone in greater need and eventually you would be in greater need, but then you cannot depend on others to have anything left to give you.

I do not know if selfishness is actually a virtue, but I am not fully convinced that it is all bad either. I have deeply contemplated whether God Himself is selfish in some manner and, if He is, would it not be virtuous? Does that thought disturb you? Does He seek to please us above His own purpose, above His own pleasure? I would not expect this of my Lord. He gives us what we ask when and how it pleases Him to do so. If one person prays for rain and a neighbor prays for a sunny day, would He be likely to please both? He is God and will do whatever He will do because He chooses to do it--who can find fault with that!

How can God enjoy us if He was not for selfishness? For that matter how can one enjoy anything in life without selfishness? When I take a bite of chocolate, how can I enjoy those moments of delicious chocolate melting in my mouth without selfishness knowing that thousands have never tasted chocolate and worse may not have had any food available to eat for the entire day? Just desiring the chocolate I should feel guilty, right? Do you think God feels guilty having a throne in heaven while people still suffer on earth?

Ayn Rand had some things to say against religion causing this guilt factor. She illustrated how people would be convinced by their guilt, if not their own needs, to want government to be the equalizer, penalizing those who prospered to provide for those in need. The more needy or dependent, the more guiltless and noble one's life would be, so the goal would be to own nothing and willingly be paid according to your need rather than the contributions you would make to serve society. This idealism also would not stop at international borders, so there would always be some place in the world with people in greater need...always. Ayn Rand believed in separation of economics and government because she saw that collectivism resulted in all people of wealth being the evil ones and all those in need could, should, and even would have the right to take from them by the way of government. When I hear President Obama speak, I hear this sentiment loud and clear.

To that end, Ayn Rand said it herself when interviewed about the prophecy made in Atlas Shrugged: "Only that I am sorry it is coming true so exactly." And that was 40 years ago!

I rarely look back on my life and wish it went differently, not that it was so good, but that knowing myself I would have made the same choices without the wisdom gained from results of those choices. However, I do wish I had read this book before I graduated high school as I know it would have profoundly altered my perspective and changed the course of my choices as a young adult. My only excuse is that I did not know of Atlas Shrugged then and that is why I am sharing information here on my blog this day, so that those of you who have not yet read it will consider adding it to your reading list soon.

~ My Lord, it is so difficult to watch the dying breaths of this nation. ~

Book Review: Big Book of History

Big Book of History: A 15 Foot Fold-Out Time-Line from Creation to Modern Computers is a Christian-based child-friendly timeline marking interesting events with colorful illustrations designed for ages 7 to 12. This high quality hard cover measures 14.5 x 9 inches and the inside folded page is made of a very high quality paper similar to the cover of a paperback book.

There are actually four color-coded timelines running parallel to each other: Biblical/Christianity, World Events, Inventions/Technology, and Civilizations/Empires. The snippets of history begins with the God's first day of creation dated 4000 BC and ends with 2010 AD with "President Barack Obama declares the U.S. is no longer a Christian Nation." This fold-out sweeps with broad strokes across history, but is a nice presentation of events that is not too overwhelming for young minds. I recommend it as a wonderful visual supplement to any history curriculum or just to spark interest in historical events.

I received this book for free from New Leaf Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The World of Animals

The World of Animals is a wonderful introduction to the classifications of the animal kingdom. The first section covers Simple Animals like protists, sponges, hydroids, and coral. The following sections are Worms, Snails & Starfish; Insects and Other Arthropods; Fish; Amphibians & Reptiles; Birds; and Mammals.

This hard back book of 256 pages is high quality with an eye-catching holographic picture of a tiger integrated on the cover. The World of Animals would be good for 3rd to 9th grade children, best for the average 5th to 7th grader. Each turn of the page brings eye-catching illustrations and interesting facts. I was so impressed with the book and my daughter's response to it that I decided to use it as one of the main science books this coming year when we cover the animal kingdom.

As a Christian homeschooling parent, I have a very difficult time finding science books that just give facts without evolution theory webbed in and presented as fact. This book is definitely ideal as it does not have any evolution theory at all. It also is not apologetics, but does credit God as the Creator in the Introduction. It is foremost a science book about facts as they are right here, right now, as science should be.

Although I do like The World of Animals as a reference book very much, I do think it could have been better if it had provided simple trees to help visualize the relationships. Also, I would personally have preferred more use of the Latin names as well. From a homeschooling perspective, this book is arranged more as a reference book than a curriculum. It provides facts but no inquiries, summations, or reviews so it would need to be supplemented.

I received this book for free from New Leaf Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Switched!

Switched! is the fifth book in the TJ and the Time Stumblers series written by Bill Myers. My daughter likes sci-fi and Christian books so I thought this might be something she would enjoy. We received this book from Tyndale in exchange for my daughter's honest review and she was eleven years old at the time she read it. Her review:

The book was weird, in a way. It would not be my favorite book. I like some parts of it, some of the parts make me laugh and some parts are not very interesting, but it is very hard to understand, even though, it is under my reading level. I like the part when TJ and Herby are trying to talk to Tuna, who is outside a taxi that is running something close to seventy miles per hour or something like that. Tuna can't understand what Herby and TJ are trying to say, so when TJ says “You're sure Chad and Doug will know what to do?” Then Tuna says “What?” TJ repeated “They'll know what to do?” Tuna says “They'll know what the drew?” “No, no.” TJ tried again. “They'll know what to do?” Tuna looked alarmed “They now have the flue?” Of course, it went on like that. That part was my favorite. Thank you for sending the book.

Book Review: World of Science

As a Christian homeschooling parent, I find my beliefs are at odds with many resources in the various fields of science available to teach my daughter, but World of Science is exactly how I think science should be represented. This book is not apologetics; it does not try to prove God existence through scientific means. Instead, it states God created everything straightforwardly and then details our limited understanding of the wonders of His creation, which is what science really should be. For example, under the subtitle "Converting energy," it reads: "Energy cannot be made or destroyed except by God. It can only be converted...."

Still, God is not really mentioned much throughout the book. This text focuses on the science, not the religion. It is more about what it does not include, than what it does that matters the most to me. There is no mention of "millions of years" or evolution theory often presented as fact in comparable books. When covering the five kingdoms of living things, it does not suggest anything about their development over time. Perhaps, the first paragraph in the introduction explains it well enough: "'In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.' From its very creation, the Earth was formed with guidelines established by our Maker."

The book has seven sections: Matter and Chemicals; Energy, Motion, and Machines; Electricity and Magnetism; Light and Sound; Earth and Life; Space and Time; and Scientific Experiments relating to each of the previous six sections. Although not highly in-depth, it has all the elements of over 800 photographs and bright illustration arranged attractively among snippets of reading information, which are so poplar with modern science reference books and textbooks.

This hard back book of 248 pages is high quality with an eye-catching holographic picture integrated on the cover. I believe it is best suited for children in grades 4 to 6, but it could easily be used for grades 3 to 9. An added plus, many of the 60 experiments can be done with household items on hand or easily found at local stores--no need for fancy equipment!

I received this book for free from New Leaf Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The 60-Minute Money Workout

So moveover money "makeovers," it's time for the money workout. ~Ellie Kay in The 60-Minute Money Workout

While I find the information sound in The 60-Minute Money Workout: An Easy Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Finances into Shape by Ellie Kay and I understood the intention of the "workout" concept, it felt regimented and less motivational in comparison to other books I have read on personal finances. However, I can also see how this book would be very beneficial for people who need a positive structure in approaching discussions about finances with a spouse.

I felt the author added confusion in some areas about how to use the book. For instance, in the second chapter: The 60-Minute (Split) Personality Workout it reads:

Now that we are ready to look at what this workout entails in detail. Please don't read ahead in this chapter, because you will spend part of your sixty minutes reading about the different personalities and another part of the timed work assigning a ranking to those personalities. You don't want to jump ahead of yourself because you'll lose some of the spontaneity that is essential in getting the kind of instinctive response that might be lost if you work ahead. Read the following carefully, and then go straight to the 'Workout Tip Sheet' at the end of the chapter, skipping over the money personality section, and you will find the workout much more genuine as a result.

I found myself thinking: Why not just put the Workout Tip Sheet before the money personality section? She also put the chapter on retirement and saving before the one on debt, yet advises do the debt repayment workout first. I think it would be less confusing to place the chapters in the order she suggests they should be done and just recommend those without debt to skip the chapter on debt repayment.

There were also Preworkout Tests in the chapters that help the reader evaluate his financial situation. Like most finance advising books this one covers debt, spending, retirement, savings, being thrifty, recreation, college, and starting a home based business--just like the author has done.

Ellie Kay's ideas on children's allowance lined up with my ideas on it very well. She believes "[t]he main objective in implementing an allowance is to teach our children about responsibility." She does not believe in tying allowances to chores because then a child would not do them unless paid, but if chores are done by another family member because they were left undone, the child would have to pay the one who did them and lose some of his allowance. I think that many of the bad financial decisions people make are because they did not learn how to manage money as children and the chapter on allowance, although brief, is a balanced approach in preparing them for financial responsibilities in adulthood.

Overall, the book is helpful for those coming to the table about managing finances for the first time in their lives and slanted towards those who are in military (understandable as the author's husband was a fighter pilot) and others who appreciate a regimented approach to manage finances.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for my honest review.

Book Review: The Essential Guide to Healing

Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
~Excerpt from the Lord's Prayer

Healing seems to be the one thing for which everyone has prayed whether to benefit other people and themselves. As Christians, we believe God heals. He can heal, but the question that lingers is will He heal? The authors of The Essential Guide to Healing: Equipping All Christians to Pray for the Sick--may God bless them--have changed my perspective on this part of the prayer Jesus taught to his disciples. He prayed God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. I have always thought that was kind of saying that God's will is not done on earth as it is in heaven but we wish it were. I did not think about the scope of this simple yet awe-striking concept, until I read this book and now I will never perceive those words the same as I did before. We shall see God's will being done on earth (just as it is in heaven) when we live as if we are in the kingdom--as Jesus did--and believers are living in the kingdom, but Christianity has become a religion of "unbelieving believers" who do not recognize this.

Jesus said the Kingdom was at hand (here right now)...and He healed people here on earth because it is God's will. These are a few excerpts from the book:

"Healing was a major part of Jesus' ministry. There is no cancer in heaven. Neither is there any blindness or deafness or any other malady in that realm. Freedom from disease is God's will on earth. Period. God has not commanded us to pray for healing in order to frustrate us."

"Remember, healing is not just something God does. It is who He is. His name is Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. (Exodus 15:26)"

"While it can truthfully be said that Jesus did not heal everyone alive in His day, it must also be noted that He healed everyone who came to Him. No exceptions. The measure of faith people expressed varied..."

The book tells a bit about the history of the church and about how it has come about that Christians today succumb to liberalism, not believing in anything supernatural ever happen whether as recorded in the Bible or today, and cessationism, believing that the gifts of healing and other works of miracles no longer exist in the sense of someone having these gifts or that such gifts were given to the apostles only. This book address these concerns as well as other misconceptions that most "unbelieving believers" have.

I cannot fully express how thankful I am to to have had the opportunity to read and review this book. I wish to thank Bill Johnson and Randy Clark for co-authoring this book, each giving his unique perspective within individually written chapters. It truly has been one that spoke to my soul and spirit. I was not raised in a charismatic church, yet having been sensitive to other people's pains for years now (in answer to a spiritual fast seeking to surrender to and receive guidance from the Lord), being given knowledge about things I could not possibly have guessed, and having prayed for healing with some healed, I am now more confident in these words of knowledge and healing prayers just knowing that others, like the authors, experience exactly the same things. This is not a book just for those who believe in healing, but it is a book I highly recommend for people who desire to be in a healing ministry, sensing guidance and the workings of the Holy Spirit. If I could, I would give this book to every member of my church...and every church!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House Publishers book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

~ Thank you, my Lord, for placing this books into my hands and into my heart. Thank you for providing the answers I sought and I thank you in advance for those answers You have given that I have not yet recognized. ~

Book Review: The Promise of Provision

God longs for you to have fruitfulness in every area of your life. God is a God of abundance. I pray that He will grant that revelation to you as you read. ~Derek Prince

Coming from a childhood of poverty, I have struggled for many years with the concepts of wealth and poverty as well as blessings and curses. The Promise of Provision: Living and Giving From God's Abundant Supply is the first book I have ever read on God's provision that is truly Biblical as well as easy to understand. Although I have learned some of these principles in my own life over many years, I find my own experiences to be confirmation of Derek Prince's provision philosophy as expounded in this book.

When God blessed His people, He did so by promising them children, abundant harvests, increased herds, plentiful food, victory over enemies, bountiful storehouses, good weather for crops, prosperity, productiveness in their labor, recognition of their county by other countries, and more. In Deuteronomy 28, He blessed the people who obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and stated that these blessing would "come upon you and over take you." Such a powerful promise in exchange for obedience!

Prince describes the five basic principles of God's provision:

1. All of God's promises hold the provision.
2. All of God's promises are our inheritance.
3. All of God's promises are an expression of His will.
4. All of God's promises are now available to us through Christ.
5. All of God's promises being fulfilled do not depend on our circumstances, but rather upon our meeting God's conditions.

The five conditions outlined in the book are admitting your true motive; faith is essential; honoring through giving; right thinking, speaking, and acting; and let God add--in His way and in His time. Then there is the purpose for provision which is to invest in people.

I have been very moved by this book, because it is not about building wealth nor glorifying poverty, it is about God's promises of provision, which not only are sufficient but are abundant. It is about understanding that God wishes to give to us, so that we can give abundantly in honor of Him. I highly recommend this book for Christians in all financial situations.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House Publishers book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

~ My Lord, thank you for drawing me to this book and that it was provided to me freely. Bless this book and may I pass on these principles to others. ~

Book Review: No School Today

A couple of years ago, I was searching the Internet to find comics about homeschooling and I was not finding much, but doing an image search I discovered a delightful but virtually unknown comic strip artist, Cristina Ramos-Payne. She not only devoted her talents to portraying the lighter side of the homeschooling lifestyle, but had a blog, Home Spun Juggling, where her comics could be viewed by the public.

Now the really interesting thing is that Cristina does not just juggle her life at home, but she really does juggle! Since I have found this delightful woman, I have spent hours giggling through her older posts as well as waiting in anticipation for her latest rendering of homeschool humor. I have even featured a few posts on her work with links back to her website in the past.

I highly recommend No School Today? A Home Spun Comic Strip Collection to all homeschooling parents! First of all, any homeschooling parent would get it and probably has lived through it. Second, true to the backbone spirit of homeschooling Cristina published the book herself. Third, it is only $10 for about 200 comic strips in a book that you can take anywhere, even where computers cannot go, and she has some in the book that had never been published on her blog.

Now if I could just get my copy back from my daughter! I could use a laugh today, how about you?

Book Review: Healing is a Choice

The latest edition of Healing is a Choice: 10 Decisions That Will Transform Your Life and 10 Lies That Can Prevent You From Making Them is an excellent 10-step emotional healing program that has been revised to include a full workbook. It emphasizes that healing is a choice. First, it is God's choice. Second, it is the choice of the one needing to be healed. He reveals how emotionally injured people tend to hide away their hurting and hinder their own acceptance of God's healing.

The author, Stephen Arterburn, has an amazing style of writing for this type of book. He is not condescending at all. Rather, he reveals his own vulnerability and draws the reader in with a simple use of the English language. I nearly felt as if I was in a room being gently but firmly counseled by him. I found it to be very encouraging.

The author presents each of the ten steps as a choice to heal and to dispel myths along the way. Also emphasized is the need to make connections with other people while going through the healing process. He strongly suggests several times that having support is essential and the book is not a self-help program to do on one's own. As such, it is an excellent book for using in a small support group.

I was hoping this book would include more on physical healing, but it merely touched on the subject here and then more as a result of emotional healing, which does happen to some degree. On this issue I was a bit disappointed, but I plan to use this book in a woman's support group study that I hope to start this year.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Book Review: To Be Perfectly Honest

Some people have imaginary friends. When I cut the grass, I have imaginary enemies. ~Phil Callaway, from Day 2 of To Be Perfectly Honest: One Man's Year of Almost Living Truthfully Could Change Your Life. No Lie.

Few books make me laugh out loud as many times as To Be Perfectly Honest: One Man's Year of Almost Living Truthfully Could Change Your Life. No Lie.--a book I received for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. Imagine a Christian man taking an oath to be truthful for 365 days with the intention to write a book about his experiences! I enjoyed quips of the author's life immersed in his unique twists of humor very much. I will never forget Day 182 when I could not stop laughing for twenty minutes, but it would not be funny unless you had read the days before about the ordeal of a watch bought at the Mongkok Market in Hong Kong. That is all I am going to say on the matter; you just have to read it for yourself.

Now, to be honest, since we are on the subject of truthfulness, I thought, at first, that Christians are truthful or at least try to be, but I learned through these journal entries written nearly every day that I could relate with this man's shortcomings, perhaps way more than I would like to admit. Who knew that a piece of me was inside Phil Callaway's mind!

This book really made me evaluate my truthfulness, not with profound wisdom and deep meaning, but with humor and even those embarrassing circumstances when we tend to avoid the truth the most. I will say that even though I could relate well, I do believe this is a book that men might enjoy even better. However, it was definitely worth the read and the only thing that would have made somewhat more to my liking would have been that it had a bit more depth at times.

~ My Lord, thank you for this lighthearted nudge to help me look deeper at my own twist of truthfulness and help me to be truthful without my on twist on it. May my truthfulness be Your Truthfulness. ~