An Amish Christmas

An Amish Christmas by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller, and Barbara Cameron. When I initially signed up to read this book I really wasn't expecting much from it. Honestly I figured how interesting could a book about Amish people be? I'm happy to report that I was hugely wrong! I loved every inch of this book! I was captivated right from the beginning and just couldn't put it down until it was finished. The book is basically three stories following different people on the same Amish colony. It gives us a bit of a glimpse into their lives, traditions and why they do things they way they do it. The first section follows a young Amish woman who was hurt by a boy she cared for, but never let go of the hurt. When he is suddenly thrust back into her life she has to try and find a way to forgive him. The second book is about a widowed mother who's first love left with out really saying why and years after her husband passed away, he suddenly returns. She is forced to find forgiveness for him and possibly allow him back in her life. the third story is about a young Amish couple who a year previously lost their baby through a miscarriage. We follow them and their healing from that. God works in their lives to bring them to a place of comfort and peace.
The only complaint that I have about this book is that it wasn't longer! At the end of each story I was left wondering what ever happened to all of them and wanting there to be another book. It is well written and with fingers crossed I"m hoping for a sequel!

The Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh

I absolutely loved this book! about a time when many family's were split up because of the war (story was set in 1943) and a young boy finds himself with out either of his parents. He's sent to live with a Grandpa he's never met, who's not the friendliest guy! God uses this little boy in an amazing way. This story tells of how God can use those bad situations that happen in our lives and use them for good! The story is very sad and you'll need a box of tissues beside you to read it, but well worth the read! I started this book and couldn't put it down, the story is so captivating. It is very well written especially considering that its Dan Walsh's first novel!! Its a great Christmas book and would be a wonderful gift for the book readers on your list! I have nothing bad to say about this book, I loved every bit of it! Thanks for a great read!!


Available now at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

The Christmas Dog, by Melody Carlson

This book was such a great Christmas book! The story is about and older lady who's pretty lonely. She also is unsure about a new neighbor, who shows up one day in the house behind her. She has a couple of surprises with some guests showing up. The christmas dog not only finds a warm home, but also helps to change hearts! This book is a good reminder on how we need to be treating our neighbors and what the Christmas season is all about. I started this book and then just couldn't put it down! I really did enjoy reading it! Its a little short, but not in a bad way. I was able to get through the book in a couple of days (which is nice when you have two busy kids running around lol), but it was still a really good read! I'd encourage everyone to pick up a copy of this book!!!



Available now at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

New Books!!!!

Here's some excerpts for three new books I will be blogging about in the near future! I have read the excerpts already and I am hooked! I can't wait to starting reading these books!! Enjoy!!

The Christmas Dog By Melody Carlson

http://www.revellbooks.com/Media/MediaManager/Excerpt_9780800718817.pdf

Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh

http://www.revellbooks.com/Media/MediaManager/Excerpt_9780800719395.pdf

Finding Christmas by James Calvin Schaap

http://www.revellbooks.com/Media/MediaManager/Excerpt_9780800719395.pdf

The Tallest of Smalls

The tallest of smalls is max lucado's newest childrens book, based off of his new book for adults, Fearless. This book teaches a great lesson on how its fine to look different and be different than everyone else, that God created us that way! I love how its written almost all in rhyme! Makes it totally cute to read to a child! My kids love this book, I think I've read it to them at least 20 times since it came last week lol. The only thing that was negative about it was that its very similar to other children's books Max Lucado has written, such as You Are Special etc, Basically they're all teaching pretty much the same lesson and I was hoping for something a little different. But like I said I love the format of this story, how it rhymes and I love the illustrations! I really enjoyed this book, definately recommend it to anyone with young kids!

Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World

I just recieved the Book, " Living with confidence in a chaotic world" by Dr. David Jeremiah last week in the mail. Although I did not read his book that this is the sequel to (What in the world is going on) I decided to tackle it anyway. I did enjoy the message of this book, It didn't teach anything new, but reminded us what we need to remember about surviving in times like this. Keeping Christ in the centre of our lives. He is coming for his bride, we are not alone! I didn't find it the easiest book to follow and thought there was a lot in there that didn't need to be included, but over all it was a pretty good read! Would I have bought the book? probably not, but borrow it from the library or a friend, absolutely! A great reminder for Christians living in this time!

A million miles in a thousand years.

Donald miller captured my attention very quickly in his book A million miles in a thousand years. I particularily liked his idea on what his conversation with God would be about when God asks him what he did with his life lol. I love the style of his writing, it makes it so easy to follow and feels like you're sitting there listening to him talk to you about his life. Another part of the book I loved was when he was asked if his script would include illistrations, and then the next few pages he has pictures of a rather humourous story. He tells you the stories of his life in a funny way, that also challenges you! Honestly I don't imagine there's too many people who wouldn't enjoy this book. I would definately recommend it to anyone looking for a good read! I would love to write more on his book, but I don't want to keep giving away all the good stories lol, so you'll have to read it for yourself. But trust me you won't be disapointed! Well worth the investment!

Voices of the Faithful, book 2

Is a devotional book (for every day of the year) that gives a scripture verse and then a story from a missionary. I love going through this book and hearing what God is doing through missionaries. The commitment and faith of these people is astounding! This book really reminds us that we need to remember to pray for those who have been sent out to spread the Gospel in other parts of the world. It is also a good reminder for us to remember that God is good! Trusting in him and having faith in him is all that we really need. One story that really stuck out to me was about a young man who was in the military (can't remember what country he was from?). He very badly wanted to attend a conference, but his superiors refused him the time off. So in desperation to learn more about Christ he burnt his own foot so that he could take a medical leave and attend the conference. While at first I was quick to think that it was wrong to do that, the person telling the story then directs you to a different way of thinking about it. That this young man was just that hungry for Jesus that he was willing to do what ever he could to hear more about him, even if it cost him a lot of pain! Imagine how much our world would chance if every Christian out there was this hungry for Jesus? I love this book, its very insperational! definitly recommend it to anyone!

Fearless by Max Lucado

I am a huge fan of Max Lucado, so when the chance came up to review a book of his I jumped at the opportunity. He is a Man of God who has been blessed with wisdom and insight into the word. I eagerly looked forward to reading another book of his. When the book first arrived, I was excited to see it, but I was also thinking "I don't have an issue with fear". So while I expected a good read, I really didn't expect it to be of any benefit to me. Surprisingly to me I was wrong lol. I found that I do live in fear in certain areas of my life. He covers a large variety of ways that we accept fear into our lives and live with it. Thinking that this is a normal part of life and you just deal. But God never intended for us to live a life of fear, Max looks at this and shows us the lies we believe. I'd read and quoted the verse, "my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your thoughts" hundreds of times. But never really realized what it all ment. Those times when I feel that I've disapointed God and live in fear of being a disapointment. God says "my thoughts are not your thoughts". I don't want to give away all the book because I think it is of great benefit to everyone who reads it. Even those who feel it isn't an issue in their life. Walking without fear would be awesome and Max Lucado gives us the tools to realize the fear in our lives and points us in the right direction to leave that fear behind. A great great great read! Highly recommended!

The [expanded] Bible, new testament

I was really excited for this one!! I'd been waiting not so patiently all week for it to arrive! I am a big believer in not only reading your Bible but to also study it, research the verses, etc. This book makes it easier by looking at the different translations and adding it to the text. I did find it a little hard to read at first, but once you get the flow of it, it gets quite easy to follow. Although I don't recommend trying to read it aloud lol, I tried that and it gets really choppy with all the breaks in it lol. I read one of the books of the Bible in for this review and I really really enjoyed it. Just by adding those different translations or expressions in with the text it makes you stop and think with each verse. Which I find also causes things to jump out at you that you wouldn't have thought of before! I would definately recommend this Bible as an addition to your regular devotions/study time! I probably wouldn't choose it as the Bible I take to church and try to follow along with, as I can picture myself getting so lost and far behind lol. But for preparing a Bible study or doing your own devotions it is deffinately an asset!! I don't think anyone would be sorry that they gave it a try, the very least that can happen is it causes you to look at the scriptures differently as you read it!

Love and respect Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

Dr. Eggerichs book Love and Respect has got to be one of the best and most obvious books I've ever read. Although I have had these arguments he talks about in his book a million times I never would have thought about the love and respect aspect of it. Of course there's always underlying issues in arguments between couples but I've never really understood what they were. So many times through out this book I could place myself in those stories. I honestly never really knew that men interpreted a woman as disrespecting him during arguments. He uses a firm base of scripture (that really should have been obvious as God put it right there in Ephesians lol) This is an awesome read for anyone who is struggling in their marriage or just wants more out of their marriage. It really does give a greater understanding to what couples are really fighting about. Not only that, he also talks about how we can meet each others needs for love and respect. Not that this book will solve your problems overnight, but its a really really really good start.

Read and Share toddler Bible

This Bible covers a lot of the well known stories from the Bible from creation to Jesus' life. The stories are told in a way to keep smaller kids attention and give them the just of the story and the truth they can learn from it. My toddler adores her new Bible. I like that they also put where to find this story in the Bible. It also comes with a great dvd for the kids! I did really enjoy this Bible and am happy with it. Although I was slightly disappointed at how short the stories were. It was great for my 3 year old, but a little too young for my 5 year old (which was expected!) I do recommend this Bible, its not my favorite story Bible for children, but it does tell the stories well.

I believe bunny by Tish Rabe

I read this book to my children and absolutely loved it! The book starts out with a verse of scripture (great way to start a book!), "I can do all things through Christ who strenthens me", and then follows through with a great story that illistraits Gods faithfulness. It teaches the simple yet important lesson on having faith when you pray and you'll always get an answer. My kids adore this book and we've read it at least a dozen times and we've only had it 3 days lol. A great book for those with younger kids, I look forward to reading more from the I believe bunny series! Definately worth the investment!

The Wackiest Wildest Weirdest animals in the world, by Jack Hanna

I recieved this fun book today in the mail! my kids have loved it! they've already spent a couple of hours looking at the pictures (they're too young to read) and watching the dvd. This book is full of interest facts about animals that are common to animals that you've never heard of! There's lots to learn in this book, not only for the child who reads it but for the adult who reads it with their child. Is a great addition to the library of any child!

God's Little Princess Devotional Bible - Sheila Walsh

This Bible is absolutely perfect for the little princess in anyones life!! My daughters both love the gigi gods little princess movies so this was sure to be a big hit! It is a story bible so easily understood by my children (ages 3 & 5) and also has other great lessons, such as beauty tips. and a great section on acting out stories with your children! I highly recommend this book to any parent with small children (well girls, I'm sure boys won't be as thrilled with this book lol). Through out this Bible it really gets the story through that we are indeed all God's princesses (and princes too I guess lol)!

book review for Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions

This books covers many of the religions of the world from muslim to protestant religions and more. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I am quite interested in other religions and trying to understand their beliefs. The author seemed to do quite well at putting this all together and getting the proper information out about the different religions, with out showing bias towards any of them. He was strat to the facts about each religion. I would have loved to have heard more about each of these religions, but I"m sure that would take each one having different books written for each to do that! This proved to be a great overview of each religion and would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning more about religions around the world!

book review for In the Footsteps of Paul

This book follows Paul through passages with pictures of what they believe are the areas that the Bible says certian events happened. The pictures are of great quality and very nice to look at. The only thing I had issue with is that pretty much every picture had, this might be where it happened or its possible that this happened here, etc.. Just seemed odd that a book stating that its taking you where paul went wouldn't have more certainty to where these events happened. That said I did enjoy the pictures as well as my children also enjoyed looking at the pictures. Not sure I'd pay much for it, but it was a good book over all!

Skeeter and the Mystery of the Lost Mosquito Treasure (DVD)

I have two small children (3 and 5 years old) So decided to give this video a shot to see what it was like. My children loved it! Its one of their new favorite movies! It teaches a valuable lesson on how God makes us all different and that doesn't mean that one person is better than another. God gives each of us our own gifts that are equally important. God uses the mosquito "Skeeter" To help find a valuable treasure that his "perfect" brother was looking for and needed help finding. Though skeeter isn't gifted with a good sense of direction and easily gets lost, and gets the team lost. God did bless him with an amazing sense of smell which he used to lead them to the lost treasure! I Recommend this book to anyone who has small children, its entertaining, teaches a great lesson on God doesn't make junk, and is one you can feel safe letting your children watch!

This is your brain on joy!

This is your brain on joy, By Dr. Earl Henslin, is the recent book I"ve read and am reviewing! This is a well written book and offers a lot of insite into the human brain. Henslin uses sience along side the Bible. To show that both can work together. Its amazing the results he discovers in the course this book and also gives the reader a lot to think about and a lot to research on your own. Mental health has such a stigma in today's societies and especially in the church. Some people believe that there really isn't such a thing as depression or any other mental health issue. and if some one is having trouble with it (in a christian perspectiv) all they need to do is pray about it. Its amazing with the technology they've found that they can prove that there is physical problem with the brain in a lot of these cases! I love the point he makes that we live in a fallen world and as a result of that we are not always healthy sickness happens. Why we would expect that our brains would be the exception to that is weird. He makes the point that our brains are not all created equal, not all have a "normal" brain. But yet the medicine we have behind mental health assumes that we all have a normal/healthy brain and they just need to find the right combination of medicine to fix it. This is a must read for anyone suffering from depression or any mental health issue. It will open your eyes up to other possiblities for why it happens as we as possibly help you find the help you need!

first review is out! or these tough times, by Max Lucado

This book is about God being there in the good and bad things. Lucado is quick to point out that God is not like us, our goals are not necessarily His goals! If our God is for us, then nothing, absolutely nothing, can harm us. We may face many trials, but our God is bigger than all that and is here for us! We need not worry about anything, as He knows how to take care of us. Bad things may come into our lives, disease, death, loss of homes, etc. But God will use what Satan intends for evil for good. He can use that to better us and pull us out of whatever hole we get into! No matter what we may face, we are not facing it alone!
I highly recommend this book. Not only does Lucado teach on God's being there in times of trouble. He also uses a lot of scripture to back it up. He has a clear grasp of how God is in every situation and can use any situation for good. For anyone looking to answer the questions of why does God let bad things happen? or why didn't He stop this from happening to me? This is a definite must read. Who knows you may find the answer you're looking for in this book. Max Lucado is one of my favorite Christian writers, who is gifted with a clear view of God, His mercy, grace and love. Whether you're in tough times or not, this is one of those books that everyone should read!