Who Made the World? by Kathleen Long Bostrom

I received Who Made the World by Kathleen Long Bostrom through Tyndale’s Blog Network and am very glad to have had the opportunity to review another book in the Little Blessings series. The books are illustrated by Elena Kucharik and published by Tyndale House.

These small, 5 3/4 X 7 1/4, hardcover books are a great addition to any Christian’s home. Helping little ones ages 3 to 6 get answers that sometimes even adults have trouble answering, whether the trouble is that we don’t actually know the answer or we’re unsure as to how we need to word it for a child, this book helps. At 80 pages it’s a quick read or it can be made into a mini Bible study using the Bible references at the back of the book and going, as age allows, into more depth about what the book teaches.

The illustrations and wonderfully done and engaging to children of any age. My children were constantly pointing out something new about a picture that I had missed. The illustrations shows children being active in the world around them and enjoying God’s creations of animals, space and plants. The children are happy in the books and I noticed when reading this to a grumpy or tired child their disposition changed for the better – a more Godly attitude.

I do recommend this book for any family that wants to keep instilling Biblical truths in their children, as we are told to do through out the entire day. These books would be ideal for any Christian, regardless of denomination, just to simply answer children’s questions. Church libraries, private school libraries would even benefit from these books, they would also make a wonderful Christmas, Easter, birthday or baby dedication gift as there is a illustrated “presented to” area in the front of the book.

Please visit Tyndale House Publishing for more information about purchasing this cute little book for a child in your life.

North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson

I had the chance through Waterbrook’s Blogging for Books program to read Andrew Peterson’s new book North! Or Be Eaten.  With this being fantasy it’s not something I usually read but I was willing to give it a try to see if it is something my children will enjoy and I am so glad I got to participate in this blog tour!

North! Or Be Eaten is the second book in the Wingfeather Chronicles and continues on from the first book title On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness with the story continuing of the Igiby children, Janner, Tink, Leeli and their mother, Nia, grandfather and book store keeper.  This is a joint review of both books and I will say that I enjoyed Dark Sea a lot, as it was the first time I’ve read Andrew Peterson and for me usually the first time I read an author new to me the first book is the best.

Mr. Peterson is the author of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats. He’s also the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter and recording artist of ten albums, including Resurrection Letters II. He and his wife, Jamie, live with their two sons and one daughter in The Warren near Nashville, Tennessee. Visit Andrew’s websites: Andrew Peterson  and Rabbit Room.

From the start I was intrigued by the Igiby family and their lives in a town fill with Fangs and ridgerunners and forests filled with toothy cows and all other manner of creatures.  There is a short history given on the start of the world – and it resembles that of God forming Adam and Eve although God is called The Maker and Adam and Eve go by different names.  Often the reader will find a character praying to The Maker and relying on them for their source of strength.  Although, a secular reader could also read this without lining up the books creation story with the real Creation story.  The reader can tell the devotion to The Maker just like Christian’s have devotion to God.

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness takes place in the town of Glipwood that is inhabited by both humans and Fangs – the Fangs who cannot stand humans and are the law of the land.  The Fangs want to find the precious jewels and are constantly seeking them and that is how the Igiby’s go on the run in North! Or Be Eaten.  With the help of friends and a quirky uncle the Igiby’s can escape from the Fangs, leaving behind all the Igiby children have ever known and Janner wondering why the jewels seem more important than him or his siblings.  A surprising twist comes which the reader will shocked by but also amused – and the Igiby’s will stop at nothing to put distance between them and the Fangs.

The suspense continues to rise in North! Or Be Eaten as we meet more strange characters and try to avoid more Fangs.  These books do contain some violence, in the form of evil against good (representing spiritual warfare) but since it is Christain fantasy there is no cursing or lewd behavior.  They are listed as juvenile fiction but make a good read for an adult as well, my 7 year old is eager to read them and I think she will see the Biblical parallels in the books.  These books are well worth it and if you enjoy classics like Narnia these will be right up your alley.  You can find purchasing information here and here.  

Sometimes A Light Surprises by Jamie Langston Turner

Sometimes a Light Surprises by Jamie Langston Turner and published by Bethany House Publishers was another first me in regards to authors. I was very glad that I had the chance to review this book through Bethany House because it gave me a lot to think about and also clearly had God trying to shine through all the characters at some point.

The following is taken from the Bethany House Publishers website: “Ben Buckley has never gotten over the loss of his wife. More bewildering than the mystery surrounding her death is the radical change that occurred in her shortly beforehand–a “conversion,” she had called it. Baffled, angry, and still feeling guilty for the way he’d withdrawn from her during those final weeks, Ben now lives behind the protective walls of severed relationships and rigid routines.
An unlikely young woman knocks on the door of his narrow world. Her simple honesty and childlike faith are incomprehensible to him, but in spite of his misgivings Ben finds himself on a journey he never would have begun on his own.”

The one female lead character, we find out was home schooled – which for me, instantly made the book more in touch with my life. I could easily relate to the characters because they were well established and not some flat, one dimensional character. All the characters were well developed which lent even more credibility to the book and the author’s work. When reading a book I like to ‘know’ the characters, even if I don’t always agree with them. Ben Buckley’s character, while the other characters were sometimes annoyed at his useless information, I liked it as I am also one who likes to gather what some consider ‘useless’ information. I felt pulled into the character’s lives, such as one of Ben’s daughters and wanting to yell at her to forgive her father, wanting to tell another one to give up her amateur crime detective work, and cheering on the young home school graduate.

When I first started reading the book it was a little hard to get into because the story takes awhile to pick up but I am glad that I stayed with it because the rest of the book well made up for the slow start. I enjoyed how the author weaved in people of God at just the right time as well as seeing some of the characters hearts soften – even if they don’t yet recognize it’s God working in them. It was a great way to incorporate a great book and then a reader can see and recognize how God is present in their lives right now – it could be something as small as providing a nice park ranger and tire guy when you have a flat with three of your children with you – but He is there with you and is always working some of His great Works. Regardless of the circumstances though, good or bad, this book definitely makes me want to keep my eyes open for even more of Him and praise Him for it when I recognize it. So grab this book and get reading, I can almost guarantee you’ll like it.

What Is the Bible? by Kathleen Long Bostrom

What Is the Bible? by Kathleen Long Bostrom is a series in the Little Blessings
line of books published by Tyndale House Publishers. The book is illustrated by Elena Kucharik, who is known for her artistry work of the Care Bears.

Here is what the Tyndale House Publishers site says about the book: “Little Blessings question books help young children understand basic truths about the Christian life. Perfect for ages 3-6, What Is the Bible asks and answers questions about the Bible, such as: Who wrote the Bible, who is the Bible about, how do you read the Bible? Parents can use this book as a fun tool to answer questions their little ones may have about God’s Word.”

This is a beautiful, hardcover book that any child would love to be read from. There is a very cute presented to page to begin the book, perfect for a baby dedication, new baby, baby shower, or any number of events in a young child’s life. The illustrations appear to be water colored and get and keep a child’s attention. With young children and animals as the focus of the illustrations it makes it more applicable to a child’s life as they can see other children, like them, enjoying learning about the Bible.

At the end of the story the Scripture references are given for each answer given in the book. I could not see anything unBiblical or Scriptural about the book and all three of my children enjoyed the book and the colorful illustrations. What Is the Bible? is a great way to answer children’s questions in a way that children will understand and relate too. I would recommend this book to any parent who wants to help their child learn more about the Bible on their level.

King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust Modern Translations? by James R. White

The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust Modern Translations? by James R. White goes into detail about the different translations of the Bible and the historical facts behind the King James Only and the modern translations such as NASB, NIV and ESV. This book is answering those who believe that using the KJV is the only Bible to use and any other person who uses another translation is heretical.

James R. White is the author of several other books including The God Who Justifies and The Forgotten Trinity. He is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics organization, he is an accomplished debater and elder of the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church.

As a person who enjoys her KJV Bible, I know that my way isn’t the only way – Christ is, so that is why I choose to receive this book from Bethany House Publishers through their blogger review program. This was a very heavy read, one that took some time to digest as one reads it’s pages. Full of historical documents and history of the Bible from the beginning of it’s being found one must read through the book keeping in mind the different texts that eventually made up the Bible that we know today, whether it’s the NIV, KJV or any other translation. It was hard for me to keep track of which texts were which as I continued to read, which slowed my reading down considerably.

I thought this book has a lot of merit though and the reader can tell hours of research went into writing this book, which adds credibility to the work. Mr. White goes through a lot of trouble to explain how the different translations were written along with the history behind each. He also gives side by side examples of the Scripture of both the KJV and another version. That made it easy to see what the differences were that Mr. White was explaining in each chapter. I do recommend this book for those who are KJV only proponents, pastors of churches or just the regular lay person who wants to know more about the historical and Scriptural background of our Holy Bible.

The Friends We Keep/40 minute Bible Studies by Sarah Zacharias Davis/Kay Arthur and CONTEST

The Friends We Keep

by

Sarah Zacharias Davis

The Friends We Keep is Sarah’s thoughtful account of her own story and the stories of other women about navigating friendship. With heartfelt, intelligent writing, Sarah explores the questions every woman asks about friendship and more with personal stories, cultural references and history, faith, and grace. In the process, she delivers wisdom for navigating the challenges, mysteries, and delights of friendship: why we need friendships with other women, what it means to be safe in relationship, and how to embrace what a friend has to offer, whether meager or generous.

Summary for The Friends We Keep

During a particularly painful time in her life, Sarah Zacharias Davis learned how delightful–and wounding–women can be in friendship. She saw how some friendships end badly, others die slow deaths, and how a chance acquaintance can become that enduring friend you need.

The Friends We Keep is Sarah’s thoughtful account of her own story and the stories of other women about navigating friendship. Her revealing discoveries tackle the questions every woman asks:

• Why do we long so for women friends?
• Do we need friends like we need air or food or water?
• What causes cattiness, competition, and co-dependency in too many friendships?
• Why do some friendships last forever and others only a season?
• How do I foster friendship?
• When is it time to let a friend go, and how do I do so?

With heartfelt, intelligent writing, Sarah explores these questions and more with personal stories, cultural references and history, faith, and grace. In the process, she delivers wisdom for navigating the challenges, mysteries, and delights of friendship: why we need friendships with other women, what it means to be safe in relationship, and how to embrace what a friend has to offer, whether meager or generous.

About Sarah Zacharias Davis

Sarah Zacharias Davis is a senior advancement officer at Pepperdine University, having joined the university after working as vice president of marketing and development for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and in strategic marketing for CNN. The daughter of best-selling writer Ravi Zacharias, Davis is the author of the critically-acclaimed Confessions from an Honest Wife and Transparent: Getting Honest About Who We are and Who We Want to Be. She graduated from Covenant College with a degree in education and lives in Los Angeles, California. 

 

40 Minute Bible Studies

by

Kay Arthur

The 40 Minute Bible Study series from beloved Bible teacher Kay Arthur and the teaching staff of Precept Ministries tackles important issues in brief, easy-to-grasp lessons you can use personally or for small-group discussion. Each book in the series includes six 40-minute studies designed to draw you into God’s Word through basic inductive Bible study. There are 16 titles in the series, with topics ranging from fasting and forgiveness to prayer and worship. With no homework required, everyone in the group can work through the lesson together at the same time. Let these respected Bible teachers lead you in a study that will transform your thinking—and your life

Summary for 40 minute Bible Study series

The 40 Minute Bible Study series from beloved Bible teacher Kay Arthur and the teaching staff of Precept Ministries tackles important issues in brief, easy-to-grasp lessons you can use personally or for small-group discussion. Each book in the series includes six 40-minute studies designed to draw you into God’s Word through basic inductive Bible study. There are 16 titles in the series, with topics ranging from fasting and forgiveness to prayer and worship. With no homework required, everyone in the group can work through the lesson together at the same time. Let these respected Bible teachers lead you in a study that will transform your thinking—and your life.
 
Titles Include:
•The Essentials of Effective Prayer                                          •Being a Disciple: Counting the Cost
•Building a Marriage That Really Works                                  •Discovering What the Future Holds
•Forgiveness: Breaking the Power of the Past                       •Having a Real Relationship with God
•How Do You Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk?                    •Living a Life of Real Worship
•How to Make Choices You Won’t Regret                                •Living Victoriously in Difficult Times
•Money & Possessions: The Quest for Contentment            •Rising to the Call of Leadership
•How Do You Know God’s Your Father?                                  •Key Principles of Biblical Fasting
•A Man’s Strategy for Conquering Temptation                         •What Does the Bible Say About Sex?

About Kay Arthur

Kay Arthur, executive vice president and cofounder of Precept Ministries International has worked with her teaching staff to create the powerful 40-Minute Bible Studies series. Kay is known around the world as a Bible teacher, author, conference speaker, and host of national radio and television programs.

These books can be found at The Friends We Keep and do a search for Kay Arthur’s 40 Minute Bible Studies.

The Contest

I have one copy of The Friends We Keep to give to one of my readers.  This is open to U.S. readers only and will close on August 15th at noon EST.  Please be sure to include a way for me to contact you should you win!

Leave me a comment telling me how you deal with a friend who is constantly in strife or some sort of turmoil.  Do you pray for them, cut off contact or some other way of dealing with them?

That’s it.  Only one entry per person – this keeps it simple for you and me 😀   

God's blessings!!!

Yesterday was my 31st bday.  Yes, I have a unique birthday of 8-8-78 and no I don’t mind admitting my age LOL but yesterday proved to be a very exciting, long but blessing filled day so here’s the story:

My children and I picked my mom at 9:30a.m. to go to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery (a very neat children’s museum if you overlook the evolution) so off we go.  My mom gave me my card and present on the way – no worries I stopped at a stop sign before opening it 🙂  We get on the highway (keeping in mind my DH just had new back tires put on a few weeks ago) and after we turned on the road before the museum’s road, I start hearing a THUNK, THUNK sound.  I ask my mom "what is THAT noise?" she looks out her window and she says "um your tire is flat, really really flat".  Great!  I put on my hazards and continue to get passed by other drivers – none of whom think to stop to ask if two women with three children need any help.  I finally get pulled over.  My mom calls triple AAA (she later tells me she had a feeling she should bring her AAA card, I said you know who that was right – it was God telling you, she agreed) and I call DH (who is still home with a nasty summer cold).  After still being passed by several other drivers, who were kind enough to stare at us without stopping and a park ranger, another ranger finally pulls over and asks if we would like his help.  I accept (by this time it’s starting to make us roast out in the heat) and he shows me how to get my full sized spare out from under the van.  We believed it would be at least an hour or so before AAA could get someone to us.  They call my mom back and say they should be about 10 minutes.  It took a little longer than that but the ranger decided to wait to change the tire since I had what the tire guy later called a bear trap for a jack.  Thankfully the ranger did stay and he told me why – an elderly man who hangs around the various metro  parks smoking his pipe and looking in people’s cars had stopped and he said while this man hadn’t been caught doing anything illegal or bad the rangers weren’t sure of his intent.  Finally the tire guy arrived and was very nice and allowed all of my fascinated children to watch him work with his hydraulic jack and other tools.  I told my mom, "you know you’re a homeschooler when your children gather to watch the tire being changed"  LOL.  He got the tire changed and inflated and off we went.  We had a nice time at the museum and wasn’t very busy at all, especially for a weekend.  Then we had lunch at Tickets (a great Greek/American restaurant) and I brought my DH some of his favorite food from their.  The children all behaved well and we had a general fun time!

So what were the blessings?  Many:

1. We weren’t on the highway when the flat happened that could have been catastrophic going 65 MPH.
2. My mom got a feeling from God telling her to bring her AAA card.
3. I had a full sized spare.
4. The ranger and AAA tire guy were very nice
5. We were still able to enjoy our day.

All of the above made for a good day but had anyone of those things changed, had it happened on the highway, had the ranger been rude, the tire guy grumpy, it could have made a bad situation even worse.  Thankfully that wasn’t the case and God was definitely watching out for this birthday girl yesterday – for which I so glad I serve a faithful, loving God.

New School Year (2009-2010)

The new school year is upon us and I need to work on getting my notification and all the lists that go with it ready to be sent in to our super of our school district.  It isn’t too hard or demanding (other States have it a lot worse and then some countries aren’t even allowed to homeschool!) so I am not complaining.  This year I will be having a 7 year old who is doing 2nd and 3rd grade work (by the end of 2009 she should be all in 3rd), my soon to be 5 year old  is going to be doing Kindergarten work (mainly math, phonics, reading, writing) and my 3 year will be doing preschool.  Below is my list of resources that we will be using for this year, I am not seperating out each child but it should be obvious as to what curriculum is going to be used for each (except for the preschool where I don’t use any set curriculum).

Books and Other Resources (2009-2010)

1.  Bible and Character Study

            A.  The Holy Bible

            B.  FIAR Bible Supplement

            C.  Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett study  (If interested it’s free at Shiver Academy’s blog)

            D.  various biographies and autobiographies on missionaries and church history

 

2.  Language Arts

            A.  Alphabet Island Level 2

            B.  Alphabet Island Level 1

            C.  New American Cursive from Memoria Press

            D.  Selected literature based unit studies from Before Five in A Row, Five in a Row, Beyond Five 

                  in a Row by Jane Lambert

             E.  Copywork pages

             F.    Scot Foresman online grammar and writing handbook.

             G.   various books and classics based on age, morals, godliness appropriateness.

             H.   Portraits of American Girlhood by Cindy Sotelo

              I.  Simply Grammar An Illustrated Primer (Charlotte Mason) by Karen Andreola

3. History and Geography

A.  Mystery of History: Volume 1 by Linda Lacour Hobar

B.  The Star Spangled Book and Workbook by Joel F. King

C.  Portraits of American Girlhood by Cindy Sotelo 

D.  Five in a Row and Beyond Five in a Row by Jane Lambert

E.  Book of Continents (ebook) by Ann Tatum 

F.  various books, tapes, CD’s on famous people and places as well as on countries.   

4. Mathematics

A.  Saxon Math K

B.  Saxon Math 2

C.  Saxon Math 3

D.  various math games found on internet

E.  Times Tales

 5. Science

A.  Co-op science class

B.  Science in the Creation Week by Unfred

C.  Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day (Apologia) by Jeannie Fulbright

D.  Science for Christian Schools 2

D.  various DVD’s and other resources as needed from the local libraries 

6. Fine Arts – Art and Music

A. Artistic Pursuits

B.  Spears Art Studio

C.  free art, drawing, painting, creating with clay, markers, crayons and various other mediums 

D.  various CD’s and DVD’s of classical music available at our local libraries.

E.  Ballet and performance in The Nutcracker and other plays

F.  art class in our Co-op

7. Foreign Language

      A.  Sign Language instruction from dad 

8.       Physical education

 A.                               A..  Soccer

B.     Basketball

C.     Wii games involving physical activeness

D.      Ballet

E.  playing, walking, running around outside

I’d like to add some logic/critical thinking into our schedule as well as maybe continuing on with Latin.  Of course I also add in lots of stuff from Homeschool Share (HSS) and various other free sites for lapbooking, unit studies as well as stuff to fill in missing spots.  Likely as not, things will change during the year as we try to do what each child enjoys, so we may get on a dinosaur kick and run with that and then go back to our reguarly scheduled programming.  My intent with homeschooling isn’t to solely focus on academics but to raise children to be godly adults and prepare them to follow Him and His Ways while being able to participate as an active, productive citizen but having them realize we are only visitors to this place. 

Words Unspoken by Elizabeth Musser

Words Unspoken by Elizabeth Musser didn’t appear to be much of a book when I first started it but I was pleasantly surprised. Bethany House has again published another great book by another accomplished author. Having never read Mrs. Musser’s books before I know I will be returning for more of her books when I get a chance.

We begin being introduced to Lissa Randall who has had a lot of tragedy in her life, while she excelled in academics a tragic accident that took her mother’s life sets her back. She needs to drive again but even after eighteen months she finds she can’t do it until she gets referred to Ev Mcallister’s driving school. The story is set in Tennessee amongst Lookout Mountain with a full cast of characters.

At first the full range of characters scared me, I am not one who likes a lot of characters in the books I read. So I was worried I would forget who was who when I really got involved in the story and have to begin flipping back and forth to remember who they were. Fortunately, Elizabeth Musser made it easy to remember what each character’s role was in the book – no forgetting or flipping back and forth. All the characters well well rounded and well developed, something I appreciate, I don’t care for flat, undeveloped characters. Mrs. Musser did a wonderful job in really making the characters have life and making the reader feel like they know them.

The book moves well and there are a few surprises along the way, which are weaved into the story at appropriate times. A story of forgiveness and love even while the character may not feel loved or forgiven. There is talk of suicide so if that is a sensitive subject for a reader I would want to warn you about that, but even if it is a subject that is near to your heart (I know it is too mine) it is a wonderful book. It almost felt as if Elizabeth Musser knows me, knows my heart, especially towards the end of the book. This is simply a great book with a lot of potential and I recommend you curl up with it and savor it until the end.

The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall (blog tour and giveaway!)

The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall is another great book in the Amish fiction genre and published by Multnomah Books, a division of Random House.  Cindy Woodsmall is the author of several other books, a mother of three sons, two daughter in laws and wife of thirty one years.  Her books have the authenticity of the Anabaptist people by her real life connections to the Old Order Amish and Amish Mennonite families.

I knew as soon as I started this book that I would be captured by the characters and plot.  Cara Moore who was raised in foster care and is a widowed single parent is hounded by fear, poverty and a stalker.  She wants more for her daughter than one of constant moving, so when memories start to surface she leaves the city bound for Amish country, Pennslyvania.  She is met by resistance from the Amish community, especially once the community realizes whose daughter she is.  One man though who believes that God told him to help her, despite being shunned, desires to help her and her daughter get on their feet.

I have enjoyed Cindy Woodsmall’s books and this one is no different.  Well developed characters, that lend an authenticity to their backrounds and plot, makes for a well developed story line and Mrs. Woodsmall has accomplished that in her new book.  I felt pulled in to the characters lives and felt my self cheering for Cara when obstacles keep being put in her way.  Although, I know that some Amish are closed off some are very welcoming to Englischers and so I was saddened to think of how they might actually treat Cara if she were real. 

This was a wonderful read and I finished it in two days, it was fast paced and one I dreaded to put down.  The twists and turns that happen in the book makes you keep turning the pages long after the sun has gone down.  The surprise ending is a great way to leave off the book and I’d love to have another book continuing on with Cara’s life as she continues to live among the Amish, as well as her relationship with her Amish relatives.  Anyone who enjoys reading Amish fiction will enjoy this new book, The Hope of Refuge is a welcome read in a time when most books have flat characters and not enough plot.

You can also learn more about Cindy Woodsmall by visiting her website.  You may also purchase The Hope of Refuge  by visiting   Random House.   There is also a video of Cindy Woodsmall on Nightline.

I have one brand new copy of The Hope of Refuge to giveaway to one of my readers.  This is open to U.S. residents only (no Canada for this one, sorry) and will end on August 8th (my 31st birthday by the way) at noon.  So how can you win this book?……

First make sure to leave me a way to contact you, an email, blog, FB link, something – if I can’t contact you I can’t get the book to you.

Leave me a comment telling me one way you try to live life simply, wether it’s going without a/c in the summer or totally going off the grid (like the Amish), what do you do?

That’s it, simple this time huh?  So go on and enter and make sure to get the book and enjoy another great novel by Cindy Woodsmall!