How To Be God's Little Princess by Sheila Walsh

I reviewed the book “How to Be God’s Little Princess” by Sheila Walsh which I received free from Thomas Nelson through the www.booksneeze.com program in exchange for my honest review. I chose this particular book because I thought that it would be great for my growing girls who are already huge fans of Sheila Walsh’s character Gigi: God’s Little Princess DVD’s and dolls. In this book she dedicates twelve chapters to explaining royal tips on manners, etiquette, and true beauty that all of God’s little princesses need to learn. She also includes fun quizzes that give insight into your personal taste, style, and choices along with space to write down notes. The whole book is pink from front to back and there are cute simple illustrations included in the text. I would say that this book is geared toward the 10-12+ age range but my daughter who is 8 still enjoys looking at the pictures and she can already read most of the simpler segments. While this book has a lot of great insight and advice from a biblical perspective some of the information and style guides are geared towards styles and trends that are current and may change in the next few years.  Overall this is a really great book and guide for young girls to follow so they learn how to act appropriately in all types of social situations.

"The Story of The Bible" by Larry Stone

I have been thoroughly enjoying the book “The Story of The Bible” by Larry Stone which I received free from Thomas Nelson through the www.booksneeze.com program in exchange for my honest review. I have never been so impressed with the quality and design of a book before I read “The Story of The Bible”. The layout, photographs, time lines and 23 life sized pull out pages are exquisite. It has the design and look of a coffee table show piece but the practicality of a go to study guide. The text is informative but deeply interesting and reads almost like a novel, not like a typical history book. There is a wealth of obscure information about how the cannon of the Bible came to be what we have today. Much of the information you will never hear from the pulpit or small groups. I was amazed by all of the detailed information on translating Hebrew and the given examples. This book is a must have for anyone desiring a deeper understanding of the Bibles origin or building a Bible based personal library. This book would also be a great resource as a weekly small group study book.

Regret Free Parenting by Catherine Hickem, LCSW

The past few days I have been reading the book “Regret Free Parenting” by Catherine Hickem which was provided to me free from Thomas Nelson through the www.Booksneeze.com program in exchange for my honest review. I carried this book around with me over the weekend and I have to say that the title alone brought up a lot of interest from those around me. Some people laughed it off like regret free parenting is impossible or that “it’s a nice thought” etc. But I have to say that I really enjoyed this book and I completely understood Catherine Hickem’s parenting perspective. I do believe that regret free parenting is possible. She gives a lot of insight from her many years of parenting experience and provides personal stories that are relateable. She stresses the idea of being an intentional parent and goes into detail about what that entails. It was a beautifully written and very well organized book. Her insight, experience, and mature faith give her great credibility as a Christian parenting leader. I have never read a parenting book quite like this one and I really appreciated the detail to handling every situation from a Biblical perspective and nurturing your child’s personal spirituality.

Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life by Gail Blanke

A few days ago I checked out from the library the book "Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life" by Gail Blanke. I had read a review on this book on one of my favorite blogs http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/ and decided to check it out myself. I read through it very quickly...like one evening and part of the next morning. I did enjoy parts of it but it was not what I was expecting at all. I had thought that it would be all about organizational tips, how to clear clutter, making quick decisions on what to keep or throw out etc. But there ended up being a lot of focus on clearing out mind and thought clutter as well which really wasn't up my alley. I did enjoy the chapters that took place going from room to room and how she justified her "getting rid of" choices. She also had a lot of advice and resources on where and how to get rid of certain items. Her requirements for the 50 things are that they have to be 50 different items. So if you clear out 25 old books and 5 pairs of shoes you have 2 on your list as "books" and "shoes", not 30 items. She also allowed "mind clutter" to be added as items which I thought was awkward. I understand how keeping "things" can be linked to emotional feelings but it seems like she went a little over the top on this issue. But I did appreciate her advice that we need to get rid of the things in our home that make us feel weighted down, drab, overwhelmed, bring back bad memories etc.
I have been trying to go through our home room by room just clearing out unnecessary stuff. I have been doing it for many different reasons. The main reason was that I have just been feeling like a slave to "stuff". As a stay at home mom sometimes it feels like my day is just filled with constantly moving stuff from one place to another. One of my goals is to drastically eliminate a lot of our unnecessary "stuff" so that it will be easier for me to efficiently manage our home. I place pretty high expectations on myself as far as what constitutes clean and it can be a little overwhelming at times.
I have also recently made the decision to eliminate a lot of my own clothes. I never really had a lot of clothes by the average american woman's standard but I definitely did by a third world viewpoint. I didn't like how I thought too much about what to wear or this or that so I decided to purge my closet. I have decided to simplify to a very modest wardrobe. I have one pair of dark jeans, two jeans skirts, 3 longer flowing skirts and two dresses. Then I have a handful of decent shirts that can be worn with any of my skirts, about 5 nice sweaters for winter and a few jackets and cardigans. I also kept some comfy clothes like my favorite t shirts and sleep pants. It all takes up a small corner in our walk in closet. It's not bare bones but it's not excessive either. I like not having as many choices and it makes getting dressed much less of an activity. I can still shop but I make myself get rid of something old to replace the new. I just feel better about my choice to not make clothing such a big deal. Keeping things simple and modest makes shopping much more easy and do able for me.
"For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" - 1 Samuel 16:7

Save the Date by Jenny B. Jones

Since the weather has been at record breaking lows this week it was the perfect time to dive into a book.  I read "Save the Date" by Jenny B. Jones which was provided to me free by Thomas Nelson through the www.booksneeze.com program in exchange for my honest review.  This book has a modern day setting that takes high society and merges it with the hard working middle class and the needy.  Lucy is a hard working young single woman who dedicates her whole being into running her home for needy girls who have aged out of the foster care system.  Alex is a wealthy self centered retired football player who has his eyes on running for Congress and he will do whatever it takes to get there.  Drama ensues when they realize they both need each other to get what they want and they strike up a very unconventional deal.  Their worlds collide and they both learn about themselves as they spend more time in each other's social class. It is a fast paced romantic novel that is an easy read.  It took me a few chapters to get into the story but once I did I flew right through it.  It wasn't a bad read but it definitely wasn't one of those books that consumes you and sticks with you.  It was light and easy like a good beach book.  I did notice several typos throughout the book.  And this might sound strange but the one thing that bothered my eye when I was reading (because I am a speed reader) was that there were no double spaces after a period before the next sentence.  So the sentences basically looked like they all ran together and it was hard to keep a reading pace. Overall, it was a heartfelt story and a decent read. I have a few friends that I think will enjoy reading it as well.

Adventures In BoogaBooga Land

The DVD Adventures in Boogabooga Land follows the adventures of Marty the monkey and Gerard the giraffe in three episodes that present the parables of Jesus (The workers in the vineyard Matt.20, The Wise and foolish builders Matt. 7, The lamp under the bowl Matt. 5). The voices, songs, and animation are of low-average quality. At times the voices of the characters are hard to understand and the enunciations of the words are not clear or distinct. While the stories are meant to depict a parable from the book of Matthew they are loose representations and Jesus or God were never mentioned. It did not feel like the stories really focused on Biblical character building like other movies from Thomas Nelson typically do. While the stories are clean and family friendly they are not of the style or quality that my children typically like. I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Postcrossing

I absolutely love letter writing. I like thinking of someone and hand writing them a letter, filling out an envelope, stamping it, and putting it in the mailbox. I equally love receiving  letters. I am saddened that the art of letter writing is fading away in lieu of instant forms of communication. But I was tickled pink when I found http://www.postcrossing.com . Here you can send and receive handwritten postcards from all over the world. Today I sent a letter to a girl in China who expressed her interest in receiving foreign money. I enclosed an Alaska state quarter along with a District of Columbia quarter. I can't wait for her to be able to add these to her collection. I also can't wait to receive my next postcard from another kind stranger. Who's day could you brighten by sending them a letter?

Wild at Heart

In this 2010 revised and expanded edition of “Wild at Heart – Discovering the Secrets to a Man’s Soul”, John Eldredge delves into the inner recesses of a man’s soul and reveals what makes men tick and thrive. He examines how modern society expects men to forsake their natural instincts in order to appear to be “a nice guy” and how this causes men to lose their desire for adventure and life. Eldredge goes step by step revealing how God designed men with a sense of purpose, adventure and strength. He talks about how to regain the God given character traits that society has stifled but that men and women naturally thrive on. Every woman wants a strong man who is passionate about God and living life to its fullest. This book is a must read for Christian men who are feeling the pangs of the rat race and the boring nice guy façade. Women can also benefit from this great read in order to understand better who God created their husband to be and to encourage those character traits. John Eldregdge is a clever writer who incorporates witty stories into his illustrations. This is an easy and enjoyable read that contains a wealth of important concepts. To comply with the new regulations of the Federal Trade Commission I must say that I received this book complimentary from Thomas Nelson through the www.booksneeze.com program. The above opinions are all mine.