Book Review: God's Promises Devotional Journal

One of my main reasons for requesting God's Promises Devotional Journal is because I have been struggling to find ways to journal during my quiet time. First of all, I love the design of this journal! The writing is in green ink, and the pages of a very relaxing leaf design.

The book is a 365 day devotional/journal, starting on January 1st. I am a bit torn about having the dates actually written in the devotional, but it does provide an accountability to do a devotional everyday. Each page includes the date, a scripture, a devotional passage, and a question and a response section. Examples of questions:
April 27 - "When were some times God's protection has delivered you from trouble?"
July 9 - "Can you recall some times in your life that God came through for you, even if you gave up hope in Him?"

Great questions to think about!

This book incorporates scripture of all the wonderful promises from God and devotionals written by many leading Christian authors. I really enjoy the diversity in writing styles and topics. I would highly recommend this journal as a gift for new believers or anyone who is struggling to make time for quiet times. This should not completely replace quiet times, but definitely a great supplement!

I received this book from booksneeze.com!

Book Review: The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari

The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari is about two friends that camp out in the woods. As the boys camp out in the dark, they hear various animals, which they imagine to be safari animals. As they try to rest, they hear a lost "leopard" crying. They decide to rescue the "leopard", even though they are afraid of the night. As they try to search for the "leopard", their flashlight burns out. The dragon accidentally blows fire, which he never knew he could! Using the light from the dragon's fire, they were able to rescue the "leopard" aka a kitten.

I was not very impressed with this book. The whole book was dialog between the two friends. The moral of the story of "do not be afraid" was not portrayed very well. I also did not like the title of the book... the grammar throughout the book seemed a little awkward. The language used by the two characters seem too old for preschoolers to really understand.

The illustrations were beautiful, but the story itself could have used some more work. The best part of the book was the camp fire story at the very end of the book.

I received this book from waterbrookmultnomah.com.

Book Review: Regret Free Parenting

It seems odd for a woman without kids, or any plans for kids yet, to request a parenting book... but after reading this book, I realized that more people should read parenting books before they even begin parenting!! That way, they are equipped and ready to approach this problem called parenting! Too many times, people become parents unequipped and then don't have the time to read parenting books when they really need it! That will not be me! 

I started the equipping process by reading Regret Free Parenting by Catherine Hickem. This book is witty and insightful. Unlike many other parenting books that focus on how to change behaviors of children, what teenagers might be thinking... this book turns the tables and focuses on the mother! What can a mother do to impact her children? This book focuses on the confidence mothers need, the impact of your attitude on your children, the importance of "intentional time" with your children, the importance of connecting to your children emotionally, and much more.

This book definitely got me thinking about my parents' parenting influenced the way I responded in different situation. This book addressed many of the issues I must resolve before becoming a parent myself. I encourage all moms and moms to be to read this book so that they may heal from childhood wounds before attempting parenting. 

I really enjoyed this book. It is a very quick read and I actually plan on reading this book again once I become a mom! This would be a great gift for expecting moms! I received this book from booksneeze.com!

God Loves Me More That That is a beautifully written and illustrated book that truly looks at all aspects of HOW much God truly loves us! Is is visually captivating. This book talks about how high, how deep, how wide, how much it weighs, how loud, how soft God's love is for us. This is a great way to teach young children descriptive words. 

This is a great book for beginner readers. I will definitely use this book as a gift for young children, and use it in my preschool class to teach little ones of HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US! 

I received this beautiful book from WaterBrook Press!  

I got this book so that I could use it for my preschool class. The winter curriculum covers polar bears and snow... and this book includes both! :o) 

This is a great book to read to little ones. It is about a little Polar bear who asks his mother questions about other bears. The mother takes the bear to a zoo where they learn about different bears around the world! I absolutely love the illustrations!! It is a beautiful book! 

The book really focuses on God as the creator, a very creative creator!! They discus the different types of bears, where they live, and what they eat. Like every child, the little bear responds with more questions of why... The book also discusses how we must take care of the gift God has given us, our Earth. 

I definitely would give this book as a gift to young children. It's also a very simple book to read, great for beginning readers! I will definitely read this book to my preschool class and my kids!

I received this book from Waterbooks Press!! 

Book Review: Stories about Jesus

I selected this book because I teach preschool for 3 year old kids. I was surprised when I received this book, and the WHOLE book was "hard covered"! This book is perfect for the 3 year olds. It will definitely stand the test of a classroom of 3 year olds! The pages are glossy so you won't have to worry about sticky fingers! Just simply wipe it off!

As for the stories, this book includes the story of Jesus' Birth, Jesus' baptism, healing the sick boy, bringing a girl back to life, walking on water, loving children, Zacchaeus, healing the blind man, calming the storm, story of the lost sheep, Peter and the fish/coin, the man healed of leprosy saying thanks, and the resurrection.

The actual stories are not very well written, but easy for 3 year old to understand. The font is large so beginner readers can read it easily. The stories include the reference of the passage where the stories are from the Bible. The illustrations are pretty. I will use this book to teach Sunday school and my preschool class, but I would definitely include other children's books to get a more in-depth explanation of the stories.

I received this book for free from BookSneeze.com!

Book Review: Couples Who Pray

I have to admit... the reason why I was drawn to this book is because of my current prayer life right now... The book mentioned that many couples only pray together during meals... well, that's pretty much the extent of my personal prayer life.

After reading this book, I realized the importance of prayer not just in my personal life, but in my marriage as well!! The book isn't a step-by-step guide on what to pray for during your 40 Day Prayer challenge, but more of an encouragement on why you want to do it!

The authors point out the significance of 40 days, referencing the story of Noah, Moses, David and Goliath, Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness, and the time Jesus spent with his disciples after the resurrection! All those major events took 40 days of prayer!

The authors also provide tips for your prayer challenge. Some easier than others! For example... praying in every day language is an easy tip to follow, but praying out loud with your spouse might be more difficult for others. There are only 10 tips, and hopefully couples will be able to use these tips to make their prayer life better!

Common prayer topics are addressed in the book, such as finances, tithing, and forgiveness. The book is a really easy read and the topics broken down to seem so simple! Application on the other hand can be a bit more tricky! They use examples of other couples who have seen the power of their power life! The stories are moving and encouraging. I highly recommend couples to read this book together, and do the prayer challenge together as well. This book includes a survey for both spouses to take (Appendix 1 and 2) and information about online resources as well to help support couples during the prayer challenge.    

We will be starting our 40 day prayer challenge today! We will see where God takes us through the power of prayer!

Note: I received this copy of the book from Booksneeze.com!