Book Review--No Girls Allowed

I recently received the book No Girls Allowed: Devotions for Boys from Tyndale for review. I think the book would be very appealing for young boys. I believe it is aimed at boys over the age of 6, but I think it's even appropriate for younger boys. My son is 4 and he can relate to the characters such as Batman and Spiderman and the choices they make. I think the authors have done a great job of understanding the characters young boys like to read about. Most people wouldn't think to ask "What would spiderman do" and then compare that to "What would Jesus do?" What a way to grab boys' attention! The devotional also has occassional games, word puzzles, and word searches for older boys. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has boys ages 5-8 years old!

Book Review and GIVEAWAY--Hands on Bible

I was so excited to receive my copy of the "Hands-On Bible" from Tyndale for review. The desciption alone had me anxious, but I was pleased to find out that it did, in fact, live up to it in real life! This is a great bible for kids of nearly any age. I believe Tyndale recommends it for children over the age of 5 (I could be wrong there), but I'm going to use if for all of my children (ages 5, 4, and 2). I love that it includes 52 activities--one for each week. This will be an excellent tool for me as I homeschool my kiddos. There is so much to do and read in this bible, it will take us many years to do it all! What a great bible for kids!

If you'd like to receive a free copy of this bible, simply follow my blog and leave a comment on this post. I'll choose a winner in a week and send your certificate for your free Hands-On Bible.

Book Review: An Army of Ordinary People

I have so rarely come across a book that I don't like. I recently did, however, when I received "An Army of Ordinary People" (by Felicity Dale) from Tyndale Books. I was so excited about reading the book as it was supposed to be about people "being the church" wherever you are. What a great, although not new, idea! I really enjoy and am encouraged by stories about people simply being Christ-like in their lives, even when no one is watching.

I did not find these uplifting stories in "An Army of Ordinary People." Instead, I found a lot of information that is simply wrong. I think scripture was twisted and misused throughout the book. The book was a collection of stories about people "being the church." In addition to all of the stories starting to sound alike, they seemed to be presenting the idea that the church itself is not important. Dale often pointed out that if two or more are gathered in Jesus' name, they are in fact a church. After 4 or 5 chapters, I felt like the book was written in order to show people why they should leave the church. While Dale said the church itself is okay, it was obviously not what she thought was best.

To say the least, I was disappointed in this book. I would not recommend it. On to the next book on my list...

I think I'm going to read some C.S. Lewis--can't go wrong there!

Book Review: Facing Your Giants

I recently read Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado and realized how I've missed Lucado. I used to read every Max Lucado book I could get my hands on, but had eventually quit because his books tend to all sound alike after a while. Having been a while since I've read anything by him, this book was a breath of fresh air. Oh how I've missed his ability to tell a story like few can! I was hooked from the very first chapter.

Lucado tackles the many different "giants" we face in life: disappointment, hatred, loneliness, bitterness, and grief just to name a few. He uses the life of David as a backdrop to the book. The low points in David's life are experienced by so many of us today. In fact, for each episode of David's life, Lucado uses a modern-day example of people who have experienced the same thing. The lesson to be learned is that no matter what, God can bring us through the "slumps" of our lives. As Lucado puts it, "Giants. We must face them. Yet we need not face them alone."

The chapter that spoke the most to me was about forgiveness. This theme actually ran throughout many of the chapters, but Lucado sums up the whole point of forgiveness when he writes, "Forgiveness is choosing to see your offender with different eyes." We are to see both situations and people through the eyes of God. Not an easy task!

Facing Your Giants was both an encouragement to me and a lesson on how to rely on God no matter what the circumstances. I highly recommend it!

Book Review: The Language of Love and Respect

I started my 2010 “30 Book” Challenge by reading The Language of Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs. Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't like to harm the books I read in any way. I don't open them fully, I remove jackets so they don't get bent, I don't write in them, etc. The exception to that rule is if I am reading a book that I know I will need to keep on my shelf to revisit over and over. This was one of those books. I got about 20 pages into it and realized I was going to have to grab a pen and start over, making notes along the way.
As the subtitle of the book ("Cracking the Communication Code with Your Mate") suggests, the whole book is about communication. Eggerichs points out that men and women are, by their very nature, as different as pink and blue. Women see through pink glasses and hear through pink hearing aids while men see and hear in blue. Therein lies the problem. He goes on, however, to show how couples can work around those differences, since trying to change them will only leave couples frustrated and in what he calls "The Crazy Cycle."
Behind all of the advice on how to deal with day to day conversations, how to make your spouse feel loved/respected, and how to better understand how your spouse feels, Eggerichs' main point is that the solution lies in your relationship with God.
For a marriage to thrive, a wife should respect her husband as herself, and a husband should love his wife as Christ loved the church. (Ephesians 5:33) The key is that this love and respect must be unconditional. As Eggerichs writes, "Yes, the two of you are very different, and I am telling you to love and respect unconditionally anyway." He later points out that this unconditional love and respect can only be offered to a spouse "by being faithful--to God, to His Word, and to your spouse."
I highly recommend this book or any other books/DVD's by Eggerichs. He has a great insight into men and women and into marriage itself. You can check out the products he has available here. Has anyone else read any of his books or been to one of his seminars?

Book Review: The Well-Behaved Child

I recently read a really good book on discipline and thought I would share. It was "The Well-Behaved Child" by John Rosemond. I liked finding a book that was not only practical, but also a throw-back to the discipline used in the olden days. The one thing that I think I liked the most about this book is that the author doesn't claim that once you read this book your child will never misbehave again. In fact, early in the book, he writes, "No matter how good a parent you are, your child is still capable, on any given day, of doing something despicable, disgusting, and depraved." He goes on later to write, "The hope is that your child will be persuaded never to behave in said fashion again--that he will learn the lesson." Finally, a book about disciplining children that doesn't claim to be the end of all problems! I really liked the practical advice found in this book. Also, Rosemond's humor and sarcasm made the book a pleasure to read.

Anyone else have any discipline books they really like?