Intertwined Lives in Need of Giving and Receiving Grace

The Harvest of Grace, An Ada’s House Novel by Cindy Woodsmall

Do you remember the song that starts out, “Grace, grace, God’s  grace.  Grace that will pardon and cleanse within..”.  This book reminds me of that song.  The main characters in this book are all in need of grace or need to extend grace to others (just like real life).  The drama unfolds as the people in the story deal with finding the grace they need to live their lives.

The is the third book in the Ada’s House set of novels.  I have not read the first two, but I will.  The Harvest of Grace is engaging; the story and characters grab ahold and you want to know that everything will work out for them, even if it’s not as they planned.

I usually shy away from Amish themed books because of the time warp sense that I get from reading them, but I didn’t have that problem with this story.  The only issue I had was keeping the characters straight at the beginning.   There are several characters that all interact and not having read The Hope of Refuge and The Bridge of Peace, the first two novels in the set, in which most of the characters are introduced, I got a little confused.  But there is a handy-dandy list of main characters at the back, which was very helpful!  The back story of each character is given so you won’t be at a loss reading the current novel.  All in all, a great story and I would definitely recommend picking up a copy.

This book was provided free of charge by Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.

Beauty Can Be Created From Brokenness

              

Stained Glass Hearts by Patsy Clairmont

“Seeing life from a broken perspective”, is the tagline and Patsy Clairmont has definitely had her times of brokenness in her life.  I am sure we all have jagged pieces of our lives that at time we do not know how anything of value can be made of them.  It is really not by our own strength that we can fix the broken places in our lives.  When we allow God to take control and fix our brokenness, He can transform the broken pieces into a beautiful work of art.

That is basically the premise of this book.  I felt a little like I was reading a personal journal as I made my way through this book.  Patsy Clairmont has a way of writing that can tickle you one minute and cause introspection the next.  This book is well worth the read, especially for those who are having a hard time with the broken pieces in their lives.

There are quotes, Scripture references, poems, etc., throughout each chapter.  The end of each chapter has a section called The Art Gallery, which has music, museum pieces, Scriptures, and such for you to look up and enjoy at your leisure.  My favorite quote from the book is, “When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it.  If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.” –Author Unknown .  How true that is with literal gardens and the gardens of our hearts.  The good things we do are easily rid of while the things we hate doing stay stuck.

This book was provided free of charge by BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for your dedication Mr. Awana

Mr. Awana : Sixty-Plus Years of Changing the World for Christ by Art Rorheim

Awana is a program that children the world over have enjoyed, learning the love and salvation of our God.  My own son loved his Puggles experience.  I am, however, not very knowledgeable about Awana, but being in children’s ministry I thought reading Art Rorheim’s story might be helpful or encouraging.

If I have learned anything from this book, it is that when you love God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and when you give yourself over completely to God’s use, He is going to use you in a powerful way.  This book is Art’s life, which is entwined with the life of the Awana program.   There are amusing recollections as well as painful events that helped shape his life.

This book is great for those who have experience with Awana, and even for those of us who don’t really have too much background knowledge of the program.  The stories about Art and the people  in his life are engaging and make this a very easy and interesting book to read.  This is, however, not really a linear account of his life and the history of Awana.  This reminds me more of sitting with your Grandpa listening to him recount episodes in his life; sometimes when he was an adult and then the next time those from childhood, it jumps back and forth.  It is worth the time to listen and learn.

This book was provided free of charge by BookCrash in exchange for an honest review.

A Great Bible for Little Guys and Gals

    

My First Hands-On Bible NLT

My children and I have enjoyed using this Preschool Bible so much that I forgot I was supposed to be writing a review of it!  I have been using this Bible with two boys and a girl, 4, 3, and 2 years old.  Sometimes we use it when we are first getting up and others when we are doing school.  This Bible definitely works better during our school time because of all the quick activities that are involved.  They are all simple things that my children are more than capable of doing.  The activities are dispersed throughout each Bible story.  Sometimes we do them at the point in the story where it is called for and other times we do them at the end as a kind of review.

There are questions at the end of each story and more involved activities if you choose to do them.  The illustrations are cartoons but they not so cartoonish that they no longer resemble real people.  All passages are from the New Living Translation of the Bible.  I like that because it is not just a writer’s idea of what a passage says but the actual translation itself.

This is a wonderful first Bible for any child.  I defiantly recommend buying it for your child.

This book was provided Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

You Can't Keep Jesus In A Box

Untamed by Lisa Harper

This is the first book I have read by Lisa Harper.  This is a refreshingly unorthodox Bible study.  Lisa takes Jesus out of the tight, comfy little box that so many of us have put him in by looking at several passages of Scripture in a new way.

The book is super simple to read and understand.  This study would be very good to do with young believers or those whose only understanding of Jesus is very limited; a meek and mild God kind of view.  The author’s take on Biblical events can be pretty funny but is also accompanied by the actual verses of Scripture she is paraphrasing.  I learned several new things from the historical facts are sprinkled throughout each chapter.

 This is a very good book to read whether you are doing a formal Bible study group, with a few friends, or by yourself.   I definitely recommend picking this one up.

This book was provided by Waterbrook Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Read this book soon!

   The Blessing   by John Trent, PH.D. and Gary Smalley

What a wonderful book!  This is an updated version on a book first released in the mid-80’s.  I have no idea how I have missed this book all these years.  I guess I have finally grown up enough for this kind of book to appeal to me.

This is not a book about being a blessing.  This book is all about how to give a blessing to your child, or to anyone else within your sphere of influence.  As in Old Testament patriarchs blessing their children; we are called to do the same.

The authors explain why the blessing is so important and what people, real life examples, who grow up with or without the blessing, turn out like.  Like me, I am sure you will recognize many of the characteristics of those who grow up without the blessing in friends, family, and within yourself. 

There are five elements that make up the blessing, a formula of sorts, to guide you in giving the blessing to your loved ones.  There are questions and suggestions in asides throughout the book to help you think about what you have read and apply it.  There is also a website, www.theblessing.com that has extra info and short videos that go along with the book.  Also through the website, the authors are trying to gather a million people to join the Blessing Challenge.  Go to their site to check it out.

I have learned a lot from this book and will be reading it over again soon and will be passing along ideas to those I minister to.  If we all took the time to really give a real blessing to our family members we could change the world!

Also check out www.strongfamilies.com

This book was provided by BookSneeze from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Home Educating Family Publishing

Home Educating Family Publishing

Enter to win a 1 year subscription to Home Educating Family Magazine plus three other great prizes!
*"A Journey Home" from Franklin Springs Media
* "Beside Still Waters" by Tricia Goyer
* Well Planned Day Planner, 2011-2012
Contest ends June 30, 2011 so hurry!
Visit http://www.wellplannedday.com/contest01.php today.