You are special

When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner is a beautiful reminder to all God's creatures how special and unique, wonderfully made, and loved you are.  God knew everything about each of us before we were ever dreamed of--what we would look like, your name, your talents and passions, and so much more.  He delights in you!

The writing is rhyming, making the text fun to read aloud and whimsical.  The text is a super reminder to each of us that we are made in the image of God and encourages us to use the gifts and talents God gave us and to live by the words, "Love One Another". The illustrations are bright and colorful but honestly not my favorite.  Catrow is a very talented artist but the illustration style just didn't appeal to me as much as I would have expected, almost messy and splotchy could describe a few of them.

Another thing that sort of stumped me and kept me from fully appreciating the text is that it refers to God dreaming a couple of times. Maybe He does but I felt that in some ways, it diminished the sovereignty of God.  Overall, it isn't something that would prevent me from recommending the story and reading it to my children but it would be a conversation I would want to have with them.  There were a couple of words that you might have to explain to the age child this book is recommended for, 3-8, such as refined, composed, revue, and themes.  As an educator, again this doesn't overly concern me, just know that at least the first time through, you may need to have a vocab lesson.

I did receive this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and am in no way obligated to write a positive one.

Billy Graham devotional for children

I think few would argue that Billy Graham is one of the most Godly men of our age.  How blessed many have been by his preaching, his writings, and his Godly wisdom.  How thankful I am that, now in his later years, he hasn't ceased writing and sharing and has released this new volume of devotional readings for children.

One for each day of the year, each devotion has a one verse scripture reference and a brief story or situation helping the young reader apply the Biblical truth to their own life and understand the relevance.  Your child will be comforted by Graham's words, assuring him/her that God loves him and is watching over him/her, God is a forgiving and patient God, God prepared a way for us to be with Him for eternity, and many, many more Truths.  The world is certainly doing Satan's job for him today, filling our youth with lies so it is all the more necessary to equip them with the Truth so they can put on the armor of God every day and fight the good fight.  Personally, I can think of none other that I would rather have come alongside me as a parent to saturate my child with Biblical Truth than Billy Graham.  Each devotion corresponds with the adult version devotional by the same title which will encourage you and your child to talk about how God is using the book to deepen your understanding of Him.

Along with a daily devotion, Graham includes two suggested Bible reading plans.  One is 30 days with Jesus that walks the reader through Jesus' life and his works here on earth while the other is a 90 day plan of scriptures that encourages your child to read the major happenings of the Bible from Creation to Revelation.  Nicely bound in hardback, this devotional is bound to be a family favorite. Thank you Mr. Graham for being such an incredible servant throughout your life.

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and am in no way obligated to write a positive one.

I had forgotton how much I love mysteries

When an old school buddy who Drew hasn't seen for years arrives with a story of a murdered vicar, he and his wife, Madeline, don't hesitate to lend a hand to try to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings.  What Drew has trouble overcoming is his suspicion of his friend's relatively new bride whose husband is concerned won't stick around if the truth isn't revealed.  In order to find answers, Drew is forced to see the events from a clear lens to stop the murderer.

This volume appears to be volume 5 of the Drew Farthering Mysteries by Julianna Deerling.  How that thrilled me to know that there are more similar mysteries waiting for me.  While it is volume 5, I didn't realize that at all until looking back over the book for the review. In other words, this volume easily stands alone and doesn't leave the reader trying to fill in gaping holes in the story.  The characters are well developed and believable, making the reader almost feel as if they too are walking through the English areas in the 1930's.  I love how Deering has given readers what I would consider a very "clean" mystery without all the gruesome details and good clean cut characters.  Twenty years ago, a mystery would have been a top choice for my reading selection but it has been awhile since I have found an author I was willing to commit the time to but I think I have one now.

If you are accustomed to mysteries you can figure out long before the story ends, this one might just surprise you.  There are a number of twists in the storyline that kept me guessing and I'm usually pretty intuitive.  Off now to find more Drew Farthering mysteries and, this time, I think I will begin with volume 1, Rules of Murder.

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and was in no way obligated to write a positive one.

Every Bible story points to Jesus

From what I have gathered, this volume is a special gift edition of a timeless Bible story book for children published over ten years ago.  I must admit that children's Bible story books are volumes I look for as baby gifts so was anxious to look this one over to see if it might be the Bible storybook for 2017 babies I purchase for.

I love how this book starts off, not with "in the beginning" but rather with how God uses the Bible to show us how much He loved us, not as a book of rules or heroes, but as a Book in which every story and person included points to THE hero, or Savior.  All the major well-known stories are included from Adam and Eve through Paul's journeys and John's "Revelation" but while the scripture is included so you can easily locate the story in your Bible to read to your child, the verse within this book makes the story very real and personal to those who read and hear.  There is enough background to each story as well to help fill in the gaps, connecting one story to another in some ways.  The volume ends with the Gospel, telling children that the stories they have heard is their story too.

I think readers will find the book a fun one to read and one that children will be requesting.  The illustrations by Jago are simple and brightly colored.  What may surprise is the placement of some of the text on the page.  You may find a story written from top to the bottom of the page or you may find it turned sideways.  The end even has the text written diagonally.  The only caution I might give is that the volume is fairly heavy, one that I don't know little hands can manage.  If dropped, the corners are pointed and somewhat sharp should they find a little foot.

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and am in no way obligated to write a positive one.  Two thumbs up to Zonderkidz for this beautiful gift volume of The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones.

So very timely

Today, I gave up social media for awhile.  Why?  I had to search for something good, kind, and lovely.  The world seems so full of hate and hopelessness and I have had enough.   I may not be able to change the world on social media but I certainly have the power to take measures to keep it from changing me.

Enough of that soapbox but I hope you see the connection.  One of my New Year's "resolutions" was to give effort toward two meaningful friendships this year.   My children are grown.  I am married to my best friend and am with him almost 24/7 since we work in the same building.  But I find myself lacking true female companionship so this new book by Shaunti Feldhahn caught my eye immediately.  It may not have been the purpose for which she wrote The Kindness Challenge  but it has been a number of years since I felt I had the time to cultivate relationships with other women so thought it the perfect place to begin.  The one thing that struck me right off was Feldhahn's showing me how kindness didn't just matter and make a difference to those I wanted to improve a relationship with but it also change me.

Feldhahn's down to earth way to saying thing and her writing style make this an easy read in a day but the challenges and ideas will remain with you much, much longer.  She is quick to point out how I may be messing up my relationships with others and gives easy to put into practice ideas/strategies for improving your relationship with your spouse and others.  Her ideas are more than just being nice, it is about being kind.  I recently saw a commercial or quote about nice being just a simple, perhaps one-time thing you do.  Kindness is more about who you are as a person.  Feldhahn brings that straight home.

It seems as if, with my husband, I have been on track with the first of Feldhahn's three step process but can always use a reminder to "never say anything negative to or about another person....ever".  That is a practice I have tried to incorporate into my entire marriage.  I never wanted anyone else to think anything other than that my husband was "perfect"--at least not from my mouth.  Her second suggestion--find something you can genuinely praise and appreciate in that person and make certain they are aware of it.  Third--do an act of kindness for the person.  While these all seem like simple steps, Feldhahn suggests we're not quite as good at being kind in this way as we may think we are and provides simple strategies that you can incorporate into your day and relationships.  If taken to heart, this book WILL change your relationships...guaranteed.  

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and was in no way obligated to write a positive one. Two thumbs up to Shaunti Feldhahn for her new release, The Kindness Challenge: Thirty Days to Improve Any Relationship.