God's Promises Devotional Journal

First off, what a beautiful cover design. As soon as I received this hardback book; I immediately ran my hands over the upraised leaf design on the cover. This is a devotional journal and the gorgeous design on the front just pulls you in; compelling you to write something inspirational inside.

This book holds 365 days of God's promises; each day consists of a Bible scripture(various versions), a small passage from over 20 christian authors and a place to share your thoughts on the day's blessings. I found this book inspiring, encouraging and thought provoking. Having the journal pages inside the book allows you to be able to look back later and remind yourself of God's blessings at that moment in time.

This book would make an absolutely wonderful gift for a family member, friend, or someone struggling to find the good in their life.

*This book was sent to me by the Thomas Nelson Publishing company through their Booksneeze program in exchange for honest review.

Bringing them Home a Novel by Elizabeth Wiens

I am so excited to share this next book with you. Bringing them home is a novel about the Knight family's decision to homeschool their 4 children and highlights of that first years journey. This book is a novel with the Knight family as the main characters, but I have no doubt there are real families out there with similar experiences as this book describes.

Author Elizabeth Wiens is the very talented co-author of Destined for Eternity, served full time with Child Evangelism Fellowship for 16 years and now ministers with GoodSeed Canada. Mother of 4 girls and homeschooling veteran herself, this novel is a reflection of her own families homeschooling journey. She has done an absolute fantastic job in describing the feelings, uncertainties, strengths and passion of many homeschooling families today.

This book can serve many purposes. Most books out there about homeschooling are informational only and in short can be technical and boring. Since written in novel form, Bringing them home is not only informational, but also encouraging, engaging, personal and interesting to read. In fact, I had a hard time putting it down. What a great tool for first year homeschoolers, rewarding for veteran homeschoolers like myself, and thought provoking for those considering homeschooling or have friends or family who homeschool.

I have personally started a collection of books to give my children when they become adults and have children of their own. Bringing them home is a must have in this collection. I also plan to share this book with friends who homeschool and will most definitely recommend it to those contemplating homeschool or those who find themselves in the first year possibly uncertain of success. Look for the sequel, which will follow the Knight family through the teen years and courtship.

Elizabeth, I would really love to know the name of some of the curriculum resources the Knight family used for homeschooling.

I leave you with one of my many favorite passages of Bringing them Home.

"Why are you angry? I have entrusted these children into your care and ask that you raise them for Me, both for their sakes and for My glory. They are all that you have that is eternal, and I am not asking you to do the impossible. Remember, I will go with you.

Cassey sucked in her breath and looked around the room as if to expect to see someone standing beside her bed, but no one was there. With a shock she realized that the words she'd heard in her heart were true. To train her children for God's glory was the most awesome task God could ever give her. Was she willing to give it her best effort? Suddenly this whole dilemma was not just about the public school vs. the christian school or homeschooling, but about obedience to what God may be directing her to do. How could she best honor God and train up her children for Him, and was she willing to do it?"

God gave us so much by Lisa Bergren

Another heartwarming childrens book by author Lisa Bergren. This book combines 3 wonderful stories together in a hardback limited edition:
God gave us the world
God gave us love
God gave us heaven
Typical Bergren style with a family of 5 polar bears teaching little cub about God's creation and the love he has for her. Same beautiful and warm illustrations as past Bergren books about this polar bear family.

This book is a great tool with the younger group to explain God the creator, his love extended to us and through us to others, and our heavenly home. My 3 little boys loved little cub and her adventures; finding the stories humorous and heartwarming at the same time. Little cub has twin siblings; and since 2 of my boys are twins they really loved this scenario.

Since this is a limited edition it won't be available forever. You definitely want to add this one to your library.

This book was given to me by waterbrook multnomah publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Parables of Jesus

This 3 episodes DVD was meant to be "an allegorical presentation of the parables of Jesus in a clear, challenging and engaging way." In my opinion it fell short of reaching that objective. I found the stories presented a little loose in their translation. My 11, 7 and 4 year olds all watched with me and were unable to make the connection to the biblical parables each episode represented(even I had some trouble). I didn't really understand a few scenes, were unknown characters popped in for a second as if the audience knew who they were and what they were up too. I have not seen previous DVDs; so I am not sure if that would have helped or not. Also, there were several scenes were "bad" characters were sent to an island called Lost-a-soul-a (so if you steal something your a lost soul?). That's how I perceived the message anyways.

On a positive note the characters were very humorous and engaging. This wasn't a high quality cartoon but the graphics were well put together and the flow was good. The DVD was 45 minutes long; just long enough for a good break during a long day.

This DVD gets a 1 out of 5 from me.

This DVD was sent to me by Booksneeze in exchange for my honest review.

Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere

My first impression: First, I have to say this book was very different from what I usually read. The author definitely did her homework when it came to describing the life of a lioness. I found the book very motivating and challenging at the same time.

Summary: This book was, in a nutshell, a challenge to all christian women to rise up and change their world. The authors comparison of a women's christianity with that of a lioness was very fascinating. She did an excellent job with her analogy of a lionesses strength, passion and beauty and that of a woman of faith. The challenge to christian women was to use our God given abilities to change our world spiritually.

Quote from Book: " The wild, fierce beauty of creation is but a window that offers a glimpse of the God who created us. We need to throw open this window and allow God's untamed, limitless beauty to awaken a heavenly awe within us. As we open our eyes to the wonder of creation, it arouses a God-yearning. Our spirit will respond to what it sees."

What I liked: My favorite part of the book was about the protection of our children. As a parent I completely get the lioness' protection and guidance of their young. I understand how something so beautiful and graceful can become wild and aggressive when the safety of her cubs are threatened.

What I didn't like: Although I loved the authors passion for those enslaved in human trafficking, I felt she might have went a little overboard in mentioning it so many times in her book. I didn't feel it was in line with the concept of the book; though it would not bother me if it was mentioned(maybe just not so many times).

Rating: I would give this book a 2 out of 5 points.

Here is a link to download the first chapter: http://multnomahemails/wbmlt/pdf/SneakPeekLionessArising.pdf

*This book was given to me from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review

Voices of the Faithful by Beth Moore

How can a missionary from another world inspire me? How can a christian ministering to another people group actually have anything that can encourage me? After reading this book those questions will no longer be in your vocabulary. Beth Moore has done an excellent job in compiling inspiring stories of courage from Christians serving around the world.

This 365 daily devotional has one topic for each month packed with daily encouragement and inspiring stories from missionaries and Christians serving in countries all around the world.

Beth gives a short introduction at the beginning of each month; that really sets the tone for that months topic. Each day has a one page devotional including verse, true accounts from fellow believers around the world, and a short prayer. This book is very easy to use as a daily devotional, but you could also just read through it at your own leisure as well.

I really enjoyed these true to life accounts from other Christians, and was able to apply their life lessons easily to my own life experiences and challenges. Not only motivating and captivating; these stories were most definitely inspiring. Great book for young adult to adult age; male or female alike.

This book was sent to me by Booksneeze in exchange for my honest review.

Blind Hope by Kim Meeder and Laurie Sacher

This book is an actual reacccount of a young woman who rescued an unwanted dog, Mia. This dog had alot of medical problems; resulting in blindness. Through this dogs daily living and dealing with her disability, the woman was able to clearly see what she needed most. She discovered God's grace, acceptance and undconditional love through her relationship with her dog, Mia.
I rarely reads books like this one, but my 11 year daughter( a complete animal lover) convinced me to give it a try. In just a few short days I had completed it and was sharing its life lessons with my husband and best friend. I found this book an easy read, and an incredibly engaging account. I myself have experienced the emotional healing from a relationship with an animal. They seem to understand us, love us unconditionally, and live a day to day life forgiving our endless faults. Thats what this book was about, a woman rescued a dog and in the process the dog rescued her. Through the dogs example she learned daily life lessons that strengthened herself as a worthwhile human being and brought her closer to her Lord.
Here is one of my favorite passages:
"Mia taught me that blind hope doesn't grope around in the darkness trying to find the way. Blind hope doesn't depend on what it can feel. Blind hope depends on what it knows! Authentic hope depends on what is true. Hope that is real doesn't come from what we can see-it comes from our heart, from the inside out. It comes from Christ alone."
This book would be an inspiring read for any teenager or adult. If you are an animal lover you would definitely enjoy this book, and if you are not you would still be inspired by this dogs life.
I have nothing negative to say about this book, only that I wished it were a little longer. I plan on passing this book on to be enjoyed by my sister.

Click on the link below to read the first chapter:

http://multnomahemails.com/wbmlt/pdf/SneakPeek_BlindHope.pdf

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