Unglued Devotional

I've heard from a few people that the book Unglued is something I should read. While it does sound interesting, I have not gotten around to it. When I had a chance to read and review the Unglued Devotional: 60 Days of Imperfect Progress from Lysa TerKuerst, I thought "why not?"

Oh my. I. Needed. This.

You know that time when you're alone and feel like a failure?  You're behind on your Bible study, spoke too harshly to your kids, was short with your husband?  Kitchen is a mess, dinner was frozen waffles, and kids lunches for the next day is peanut butter crackers with gogurts?  You then happen to see a post on Facebook of a sweet friend that is gushing about her kid's quoting the entire Bible while her 6 month old just potty trained and they are headed to Paris for two weeks while she will still be homeschooling her 6 kids via Skype?

I know, I know, it's not THAT bad.  At times it feels like it, though!

This devotional is REAL. Spoken from a real wife and mother, of real issues we deal with in our heads and hearts. However it's not soft. She pulls the truth out of you, tells the root issue, then challenges you to change its God's help. Here is an excerpt from Day 21 titled "I Need to be Honest with my Issues":

"It's easier to avoid these realities than to deal with them. I'd much rather tidy my closet than tidy my heart. I'd much rather run to the mall and get a new shirt than run to God and get a new attitude. I'd much rather dig into a brownie than dig into my heart. I'd much rather point the finger at other people's issues than take a peek at my own. Plus, it's a whole lot easier to tidy my closet, run to the store, eat a brownie, and look at other people's issues. A whole lot easier."

I'd highly recommend this devotional to all women!  Next book I purchase will be her book Unglued:  Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotion. 

Check out my friend's review of the same book.

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. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Stumbling Into Grace

I decided to try Stumbling into Grace, even though the cover at first glance looked like it would be for the daughter I do not have. I'm glad that I picked it up! Lisa Harper does a great job of being frank and not too "holy" for the normal woman to read. The subtitle "Confessions of a sometimes spiritually clumsy woman" was the deciding factor for me to pick up this book. I do want to better myself but without feeling that "mommy guilt" for not being a better person. Honesty and actionable suggestions are what I search for. Lisa uses life stories with Bible verses to inspire and encourage us as women of God. I really appreciated this book!

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. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Lead. Serve. Love. 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus

I am wary of books that seem to be the "simple" way to "live like Jesus". I decided to step out of my normal thinking and read the book "Lead. Serve. Love. 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus".

Gregory Lang has amazingly put together a simple book with a lot of depth. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but follow my train of thought for a second. For instance "#96 Study the Word". I agree, but those three words alone don't change my life. However it being listed so simply will draw more people in than 18 pages written on the subject. The next paragraph is simple and to the point about how Scripture is inspired and how important it is to Study the Word. It is to the point. Want to know more? He lists for each of his 100 points scripture verses written out with the references to back up his point. I really like how he has it laid out! Not only for a new Christian or someone interested in learning more about God, but those that have been Christians for a long time. It's also a great reference tool when have discussions with others about what the Bible says on certain topics.

I really enjoyed this handy book. My only complaint is I wish I had gotten it in print rather than on my Kindle so I could thumb through it :) Gregory Lang has a blog you can follow, along with links to follow him on Facebook and Twitter. The book also has it's own page on Facebook.

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. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

A Conversation with God

A Conversation with God: If You Could Ask God Anything What Would It Be?

The title made me really interested! Alton Gansky is the author of over 40 books including this book.

There are 55 questions and some of them are excellent! However some just made me say "huh?" Like question #10: “Is nature the sixty-seventh book of the Bible?”. Really?? If I made a list of the top 1,000 questions I have for God, that question would never be on my list!

There is a fine line for a book to either be helpful and guide people towards Christ or elevate themselves to the pedestal as if they are God. I don't believe the author in any way was trying to say they know everything. However, I don't feel all the questions were answered very well. The most helpful part of this book is the scriptures attached to the questions.

I don't think this book would make anyone lose their faith, but I don't think this will bring anyone to a relationship with God. It's an ok book, but not a homerun.

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. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A Bug Collection DVD Set

We were so excited when our copy of A Bug Collection DVD boxed set came in the mail. It's volume three. My boys could not wait to watch an episode just based on the packaging, but had to wait until the next day to sit down with it.

The episode of "Milo, the Mantis that Wouldn't Pray" is my boy's favorite. It brings humor into the situation, but points Milo towards the importance of prayer. I appreciate this episode so much because you can't get this placed in cartoon form on PBS!

"Buzzbee and the Grumblebees" is an episode about bee-having (haha). This is a common pre-school show subject, but the presentation and animation still held my children's interest. That makes it a winner in my book!

"Haily & Baily's Silly Fight" is an episode that is one of MY favorite as a mom. It's about getting along. I appreciate the encouragement for children not only to stop bickering, but work at loving one another and getting along.

We have watched these episodes more than one, and will be sharing with our friends!

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. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Couples Who Pray

This is my first e-book review, and I think I like e-books! I had the chance to download or wait the 10-12 days for a hardcopy of the book. Don't get me wrong, I love the feeling of a book in my hand. However, I thought this could be a great e-book to keep on my iPhone. I downloaded the Kindle app and was on my way! (I'm thinking a Kindle or something similar might be my next electronic purchase...)

BACK TO MY REVIEW!!

I was able to review from Booksneeze Couples Who Pray: The Most Intimate Act Between a Man and a Woman. I really like the idea of being able to have this as an e-book for travel, or just convenience.

I think any books that will help couples read the Bible and pray together is wonderful! However, if you are couples that are long time Christians, I would skip this book. It's a good launching point, but does not get super deep.

I really do like the basic insights included in this book, but I would love to see it listed as a beginner type study. I think the basics are laid, and it would be a great book to see a more in depth study as a sequel.

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

The Beginning Reader's Bible

The Beginning Reader's Bible is such a wonderful Bible for my kids! I was shocked at how BIG it is! Not only is it 180 pages, but it's about 10 inches by 9 inches. That is quite a bit larger than most Children's Bibles.

I LOVE how the stories are told in the actual Bible verses. It shows each verse break, just like a regular Bible. The illustrations are very eye catching and not hokey looking. The stories are in Old Testament and New Testament order and highlight the main kid's stories in the Bible. The resources in the back of the book are so wonderful! I love the charts I can do with my kids, the memory verses list that is a verse from each story, the books of the Bible, Apostles, Tribes, songs and more. I think it appropriately ends with the Prayer of Salvation.

There are only two negatives in my eyes, which are quite minor. The first one is that it has a table of contents with page numbers to look up the stories or resources, however the entire book doesn't have any page numbers! The second is I don't tend to like the little prayer blurbs for the parents to do with the kids. I enjoy all the other helpful hints on the pages for parents, but the prayer ones are not for me. I'd rather do the prayers with my kids than read it, but that is my opinion. It did earn 4 out of 5 stars in my eyes just because it is missing the page numbers

The positives WAY outweigh the minor flaws and I would recommend this Bible highly for anyone looking for a Children's Bible.

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

"Big Red" Holy Bible - Contemporary 3-D Art

I was excited for the Big Red Bible to come in the mail. I know it's a little above my boys age limit, but I knew with help they would have fun reading it.

I will start off and say... if you have any pre-teens that want this Bible, or anyone for that matter that wants this Bible, let them go for it! We need to not discourage anyone from wanting to read a Bible.

However, it was just not for this crowd. The pictures were only in certain parts of the Bible, not all the way through to go along with the chronological order of the Bible. We had to flip around, and most stories didn't have a picture. Also, they were a little too video-game looking for me. It actually looked almost freakishly too realistic!

It's a fine Bible, just not for us.

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions For Kids

Sarah Young has written the book "Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions For Kids". It was listed for the starting age of 3. I was so excited to get this book in the mail! The cover art is super cute. The devotions are good, but I think I will wait a little while longer before using this book again with my kids. We tried this for a few sessions and it just didn't work for my 4 year olds. Maybe because they are boys, or because they are 4, but there were not pictures in it. The content is great, but they enjoy the visual parts of Bible reading at this time.

I think this is an awesome devotional for kids. Since I have gotten it, I now see on Amazon the listed age is 9-12. That is appropriate. Get it! Reuse it! Gift it!

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

"Outlive Your Life"

We live our lives for the day we stand before the Lord. We pray, seek, and yearn to hear the words "Well done, my good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:23 NIV)

"Outlive Your Life" by Max Lucado is an inspirational read. He helps us look past the horrific statistics that we hear every day, and have learned to live with. Rather than seeing the whole, we can look at the part and take notice of the one person we can help. The way to make a difference, the way to make it last, the way to outlive your life and make an eternal change.

Max Lucado takes a practical look at Acts and the call of the church, and helps make it relevant in todays society and generation.

This book is motivational, well written, and practical to anyone that reads it.

Join Max Lucado on Facebook or Twitter.

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

"One Hand, Two Hands"

Max Lucado amazes me how he goes from a serious adult book, to a whimsical kids book. My boys thought this book was funny, and were repeating parts as they walked away. They did get a little lost when it talked about the smell of hands when depending on what they play with, "stinky cheese".

"One Hand, Two Hands" is a cute book for children. The discussion points on the last two pages help bring up kind things we can do with our hands. The only thing I did not like about this book was the phrase that included "Pooey". I know it's not a horrible word, but I have to watch what my three boys hear for "yucky words" or it seems to stick with their vocabulary. Fortunately the first time we read the book and I by accident said it, I was able to move on fast enough so it did not stick in their heads. All the times since I have changed the word.

It does not change the meaning of the book to show how helpful our hands can be! My favorite part is showing how they can use their hands to hug their Mom & Dad.

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

"The Butterfly Effect"

The adult's version of "The Boy Who Changed the World" has been written by Andy Andrews and is called "The Butterfly Effect".

There was an Ashton Kutcher movie with same name a few years back. Andy Andrews also takes this same look at this so called "butterfly effect".

If you are not familiar with this concept, Edward Lorenz proposed his hypothesis at a 1963 New York Academy conference that "A butterfly could flap its wings and set molecules of air in motion, which would move other molecules of air, in turn moving more molecules of air— eventually capable of starting a hurricane on the other side of the planet."

I applaud Andy Andrews for writing this book. He stepped out and discussed a concept that brings up more questions than answers, but still brings to light the Christianity side to this concept. We may have not been using the actual words "Butterfly Effect", but I would say it's safe to say that most Christian's believe in a concept like this. Andy brings out scriptures to go along with this inspirational book about our choices and how they can effect others for decades beyond our grave.

Of course this book will have scholars debating and could have Christian's on the defensive. It is written to inspire Christians and non-Christians to think about their actions and its effects. I enjoyed the challenge.

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

"The Boy Who Changed the World"

As a mom of three boys, I was anticipating reading to them the book "The Boy Who Changed the World" by Andy Andrews.

It starts out talking about a little boy named Norman and how he grew up in the corn fields of Iowa. Then he used his knowledge of agriculture as an adult to help feed billions of people. Then it goes on to tell the story of 4 additional great men of our history and how they grew up.

This book is beautifully illustrated. I also highly applaud this book for the message it is trying to get out there for our children today.

However, I had to rate it 4 out of 5 stars. The only reason why is because my boys had a hard time keeping up with which person we were talking about and the names that went along with their story. I wish this book had a little more details about each person, and made them into their own "chapters" or even their own books. Kind of like a toddler Bible and how it separates out the stories. I am overjoyed at this attempt to bring the story's lesson down to a younger age, and will continue to read this book to my boys. However, I will only talk about one of the men at a time, so as not to confuse them.

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

"Never Let You Go"

"Never Let You Go" by Erin Healy was an intense book! Single mom, deadbeat druggie husband that left her, murdered sister and now the one accused of her sister's murder is on parole. She has to come to terms with the past demons coming back to haunt her. The surprise twists and turns of this book were a pleasant surprise!

I have never read a book by Erin Healy, but I will look for her books to read again!

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

Bibleman DVD "Combating the Commandment of Confusion"

I have memories of my younger brothers-in-law watching these shows all the time years back. Now that my boys are 4 years old, I thought they would thoroughly enjoy the Combating the Commandment of Confusion (A Bibleman Live Adventure) DVD. We sat down to what seemed like a VERY long time and watched it. This was not the Willie Aames Bibleman that I remember watching years ago. From an adults view, the lip synching is off, the acting is poor, the video is of a live church show, and the story line is very week. However, it had a decent message, and kept drawing my boys back in every couple minutes. They enjoyed the "fight" scenes with the swords. I would rate this one star, except it did get my boys talking about the "good guy" beating the "bad guy" because he obeyed God and made good choices.

I received this DVD free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

"The Story of Easter"

“The Story of Easter” is a children’s book with fun illustrations by Steve Smallman. Each page spread has the title and scripture reference that is covered. The author, Gwen Ellis, has the page spread end with either a probing question or a pondering comment. A bonus DVD comes with the book that includes 6 short narrated stories totaling 18 minutes, and DVD-ROM coloring pages.

For the most part, the book was good and my children liked it. Some of the questions and comments were not worded well enough for my 4 year olds to understand. The page titles made it seem like each layout could stand alone; however, the book needs to be read as a whole. Some re-working of words had to be changed for my children to understand such as “linen” to “cloth”. While the DVD was narrated stories of more than just Easter stories, it kept my kids attention. The coloring pages span all 6 stories on the DVD. All in all it was a good book, and packaged with the DVD it is a great value for the money.

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.