Thank You, God, For Blessing Me

"Thank You, God, For Blessing Me" is a board book written as a part of the "Little Hermie" series by Max Lucado. This hardback book contains a sweet little poem about all that Hermie is thankful for. It's size is perfect for tiny hands to hold! My 7 month old daughter loved this book, and it is often hard to keep her attention. I was excited to receive this book and look forward to reading the other "Little Hermie" books as well. I highly recommend this book to parents of children aged 0-3. 

The Blessing

This is a book every parent, teacher, and spouse should read. As a Christian, we know in our hearts that children are a blessing from the Lord, but sometimes when those little bumps in the road come, or things do not seem to go our way, it is hard to live it out. This book will change why you do things, not out of selfish motive, but out of an overflow of the heart which points upward to Christ.

Billy Graham

Billy Graham has no doubt been one of the most influential men of the evangelical moment. He has lead hundreds of thousands to Christ, and even though he no longer actively preaches, he still impacts people today. I personally think that you can discover a lot about a person from the words they say. It is one thing to be told "Billy Graham was a spiritual giant who knew and feared the Lord" and to read his very own thoughts throughout the decades. I really enjoyed this particular book, released by Thomas Nelson. This book has over 100 different subjects and which Billy Graham has spoken and is quoted. This would be a great book if you are wanting to use it as a resource and look something up quickly about a particular subject, rather than sit down and read the book cover to cover. This is a great book, and a true treasure to those who like to read quotes.

Awesome Board Book!

With a little 7 month all over the place, I am always looking for great board books. These are great for her, especially since she wants to put EVERYTHING into her mouth. With board books, all I have to do is clean them off with a wipe, and we go on our merry way. Problem is though, there aren't too many quality Christian board books out there.
I was thrilled when I discovered "God Gave Us You" came in a board back form. We have all of the "God Gave Us..." books by Lisa Bergren, but since my daughter is so little, I don't like giving paper books to her since I know it will just get eaten.
This book is about a little cub who learns that he was a gift from God. Mama bear goes into detail telling the cub all that she and Papa bear did preparing for little cubs arrival. At the end of each page she says, "Yes, my special child. God gave us you." I always want my children to know that and be reminded of the fact that they are a special gift from God. My daughter and I have already read this several times. Even though she is only 7 months old, I don't think I could tell her enough.
I would highly, highly recommend this book to all parents of young children or expectant parents!

The Hour that Matters Most

I recently read "The Hour that Matters Most" by Les & Leslie Parrott with Stephanie Allen & Tin Kuna. I have read several books by the Parrotts and was excited to delve into what they considered the importance of dinnertime. Staggering statistics reveal that the idea of a family eating together at the dinner table on a regular basis is quickly becoming a dying concept.
Recently married, I have been on both sides of this issue. Growing up, we always ate what was the quickest to prepare, frequently fast food, in front of the t.v. The only time I really remember eating at our dining table was when we had guests over or it was an important holiday, such as thanksgiving. When my husband and I married, we decided that we would not allow ourselves to become the typical American family today. We wanted to cherish our time together by having quality conversations and creating lasting memories with our children. We promised to always eat together at the table, except by rare occasions something special was occurring. We've loved it and really enjoyed it. With a young child, and another on the way, I've become less proficient though at creating wholesome, well-planned meals, which why I was very excited to read this book.
One of the chapters is about freeze and fix-it meals, something I have long wanted to do with my family. It motivated and encouraged me to start planning meals ahead, so when things get crazy, my family isn't eating frozen prepacked meals made by a company, but rather something good I created.
This book is great, although I defiantly think it would be better for someone with older kids. I felt as if I couldn't relate to many of the chapters because my daughter is so young: "cultivating deeper values," "how to listen so your kids talk," "curbing conflict at the table".
Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna, sub authors, own a prepare and freeze it company, "Dream Dinners" and I felt throughout some of the book their company was pushed forward a little too much. They did include some recipes in this book, but I think I would be more willing to share this book with others had there been more. Overall this is a great book for a working mom who is desiring to have home-cooked, nutritious meals but just needs a little motivation and encouragement.

The Hour that Matters Most

I recently read "The Hour that Matters Most" by Les & Leslie Parrott with Stephanie Allen & Tin Kuna. I have read several books by the Parrotts and was excited to delve into what they considered the importance of dinnertime. Staggering statistics reveal that the idea of a family eating together at the dinner table on a regular basis is quickly becoming a dying concept.
Recently married, I have been on both sides of this issue. Growing up, we always ate what was the quickest to prepare, frequently fast food, in front of the t.v. The only time I really remember eating at our dining table was when we had guests over or it was an important holiday, such as thanksgiving. When my husband and I married, we decided that we would not allow ourselves to become the typical American family today. We wanted to cherish our time together by having quality conversations and creating lasting memories with our children. We promised to always eat together at the table, except by rare occasions something special was occurring. We've loved it and really enjoyed it. With a young child, and another on the way, I've become less proficient though at creating wholesome, well-planned meals, which why I was very excited to read this book.
One of the chapters is about freeze and fix-it meals, something I have long wanted to do with my family. It motivated and encouraged me to start planning meals ahead, so when things get crazy, my family isn't eating frozen prepacked meals made by a company, but rather something good I created.
This book is great, although I defiantly think it would be better for someone with older kids. I felt as if I couldn't relate to many of the chapters because my daughter is so young: "cultivating deeper values," "how to listen so your kids talk," "curbing conflict at the table".
Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna, sub authors, own a prepare and freeze it company, "Dream Dinners" and I felt throughout some of the book their company was pushed forward a little too much. They did include some recipes in this book, but I think I would be more willing to share this book with others had there been more. Overall this is a great book for a working mom who is desiring to have home-cooked, nutritious meals but just needs a little motivation and encouragement.

So Why Does Church Matter?

In his book, "Why Church Matters," Joshua Harris outlines the absolute importance of being a member of a local church body, and not just being a member, but rather being an active participant.
We live in a consumer society, which translates to a "I need this... Can't live without this... What can this do for me?" attitude, which is not at all how Christ intended His bride to be. He is our groom and we are united with Him through the CHURCH. Christ calls the we CHURCH his bride, and I think it is really important to remember that. This is foundation to Joshua Harris' book. Also included in this book are discussions about why we need the local church. This life is not about us, and this chapter will allow us to see the importance of the church is a global and local way.
Another great aspect of this book are the 10 things that matter most when choosing a church. As someone who moves frequently because of employment, this is a great tool to go back and reference when choosing a new local church to place membership.
I really enjoy reading Joshua Harris' books, and was quite excited to see that he had come out with a new book. As I was reading this book though, it sounded really familiar. I went and looked at another book of his that I had "Stop Dating the Church," and realized it is the exact same book, just a new name and different cover. If you have already read this book of  Harris', you don't need to purchase this one. I would highly recommend this book to all Christians though. I even went through "Stop Dating the Church" with a prior church and really enjoyed it. Great book! Biblical advice!