Book Review: Peace on Earth: A Christmas Collection by Mary Engelbreit

 

 

Christmas.....  my most favorite time of the year!  I enjoyed being able to review this new book for children, Peace on Earth:  A Christmas Collection, by Mary Engelbreit.  It is now that we begin to make plans for the holidays, decorate our homes for Christmas, and gather with family and friends.  Reading this sweet collection of Christmas stories, poems, carols, and sayings helps keep my heart focused on the real meaning of Christmas..... Jesus! 

 

I love how Mary Engelbreit includes the real Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke.  She also included several of my favorite carols such as "Silent Night" and "The First Noel" as well as another favorite song, "The Friendly Beasts."  My children were mesmerized by each page and wanted to read the book again as soon as we finished it the first time!  As always, her illustrations cover each page and bring the songs and stories to life!  I think we have found a new book to add to our family holiday traditions!  This book would make a nice gift to share with someone this holiday season.

 

I am reviewing a copy of this book complimentary of BookSneeze.  All opinions expressed are my own.  I highly recommend this book for everyone both young and old!  We can all use a good reminder to keep Jesus as the "Reason for the Season," and this book will definitely help you do that!  :)

Book Review: Adventure Bible Storybook Deluxe Edition

What a fun way to get children interested in stories of the Bible!  I just received a copy of the Adventure Bible Storybook by Catherine DeVries.  My children were so excited as I opened the package and immediately wanted to sit down and hear the book!  I loved that it came with two CDs which contain the contents of the entire book so that they can listen to it whenever they want if someone is not available to read it when they want to hear it.  I have to say that when I asked them to stop for lunch, they didn't want to put the book down!

There are over 50 stories that are narrated with wonderful sound effects in the background.  The full-page illustrations are very captivating with beautiful colors and details. The first half of the book contains stories from the Old Testament, and the second half of the book has stories that can be found in the New Testament.  Underneath the title of each story, you can find a reference to exactly what book, chapter, and verses the stories are taken from in the Bible.  I like how each short story ends with an "Adventure Discovery", a true Biblical fact that would interest children, and a "Words to Treasure" section which contains a special verse to go along with the story.

I foresee us using this as our next bedtime devotional with the kids after we finish up the book we are currently using!  In the meantime, they will enjoy listening to the stories with the CDs.  The only negative thing that I can say about this book is that it is hard for younger children to follow along because the CD does not have a sound/chime to let the children know when it is time to turn the page.  If your child is not reading independently yet, then they will need assistance in knowing when it is time to go to the next page of the story.  Other than that, this storybook is wonderful!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookSneeze to read and review.  All opinions expressed are my own.  I would highly recommend this book for children and would also recommend using this for Children's Church or Sunday School classes for children up to age 12. 

Book Review: Women Living Well: Finding Your Joy in God, Your Man, Your Kids, and Your Home by Courtney Joseph

 

 

Wow!  This book has been placed in my life at just the perfect time.  I know....  It's a God-thing!  ;)   I stumbled upon Courtney's posts from the website www.womenlivingwell.org while playing on Pinterest after my knee surgery this past spring.  One thing led to another, and I found myself bookmarking her blog and reading it each week.  Her posts were so uplifting and really encouraged me to be a better wife and mom.  When I found out that she was publishing a book to come out on October 1, 2013, I couldn't wait to get a copy! 

 

Women Living Well is such an inspiration to women in different walks of life!  It is divided up into four main sections:  Your Walk With the King, Your Marriage, Your Parenting, and Your Homemaking.  I love how she reminds us that first and foremost, God should be our number one priority.  Courtney shows us ways that we can make time to talk with God amidst the daily "chores" of life.  We can pray for members of our family as we fold their clothes.  We can also pray over our home as we make the beds, clean the bathrooms, pick up the stray toys, etc.  Her ideas, which may seem so simple, are ones that we can really use daily in our homes, and I love that!

 

In the second section on marriage, I love how Courtney ends with a two-week marriage challenge on "Completing Him".  I plan to read this whole book over again and actually commit to doing the daily challenges, and I am excited to see what affects this will have on my man!  These challenges are as simple as praying for your husband to fixing his favorite meal.  Would anyone like to join me?  :)

 

The last half of the book is on motherhood and homemaking.  I so desire to make our home a "haven"!  One day at a time, I am trying to change our routines into ones that will provide rest and family time together, taking out the "clutter" that has found its way into our lives.

 

The ladies at our church are planning on starting a book study of Women Living Well in a couple of weeks.  Oh how I can't wait to dive into this wonderful treasure with other women!  I encourage you to do the same with a group of women in your area.  We can learn so much from others! 

 

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Courtney for my Kindle as well as a paperback copy from BookSneeze to read and review.  All opinions shared are my own.  I highly recommend this book to any woman, whether single or married.  You won't be sorry that you picked it up, and I guarantee that you will have a hard time putting it down!  :)   Enjoy your walk with the King!!!

Book Review: Homeschool Mom's Bible (NIV)

What an amazing inspiration for moms that are homeschooling their children! I have really enjoyed reading through the daily devotionals in this NIV Bible by Zondervan. Each devotional begins with a scripture, the devotion segment, and closes with a prayer relating to the topic of the day. So many of the devotions apply to any homeschooling parent and cover a wide variety of topics that they will face. As I already loved the NIV translation, these daily segments are a wonderful addition to this Bible. It is nice to have them all in the same book instead of having a separate devotional to keep up with. I also like that the bottom of each one tells you what page to turn to for the next day's devotion. These are all dated at the top, beginning with January 1st and ending with December 31st. I would highly recommend this Bible to any woman who is homeschooling her child/children. I received a complimentary copy of the NIV Homeschool Mom's Bible to read and review. All opinions expressed are my own. I plan to pass along the two copies that I received to two wonderful ladies who just started homeschooling their own children this year for the very first time. I hope that it gives them the daily encouragement that they need! :)

Book Review: Days Like These by Kristian & Rachel Anderson

This book was an eye-opener for what people with cancer have to go through while fighting the battle of this evil monster. In Days Like These, Kristian Anderson documents his journey of being terminally ill. His wife, Rachel, has also added parts to the book to go along with his blog posts. The reader will laugh and cry along with Kristian and his family as they share the struggles of what cancer does to an individual and family. Kristian described things that cancer patients have to go through that I never knew they had to endure. While these things were hard to read, I liked the way Kristian always kept God at the center of everything he did. He stayed true to his faith and let it shine through in his life. Many people have seen his You Tube video that went viral! It was made as a present for his wife's 35th birtday. The book contains several places where one can use a smartphone to scan links to watch video clips by Kristian. I would recommend this book to people who have loved ones fighting the battle of cancer. It will open your eyes and inspire you to see the good in times when it seems that just can't be possible. I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookSneeze to read and review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Book Review: KVJ Bride's Bible

I love size and look of this pocket KVJ Bride's Bible by Thomas Nelson!  It is the full, KJV of the Bible in an adorable, sleek, slimline style.  The cover is a simple white and silver lacey print with silver on the edges of the pages.  There is a white ribbon bookmark inside of the Bible that you can move around to mark your place. 

The words of Christ are in red, and there are summary headings for each story / new topic in the chapters.  The front of the Bible has special pages for the Bride to list members of the wedding party as well as pages for pictures and special moments.  The back of the Bible has a Concordance, followed by several pages of colored maps.

The only drawback to a Bible that is this small is the fact that the print is also tiny.  Don't get me wrong, you can still read it.  The print is just VERY small!  This Bible is the perfect size to carry in your purse, backpack, or car.  It would make a perfect and special gift for the new Bride-to-be.

I was given a copy of this Bible compliments of BookSneeze to read and review.  All opinions of this Bible are my own.  I plan to give this copy away to a special young lady that will soon be getting married at our church.  :)