Advent Book Review

Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas arrived on December 1st, which was perfect, since the readings begin on December 1st.

Advent begins on a different date each year, but this book's readings start on December 1st so you can easily pick it up and enjoy reading it each December as you prepare to celebrate Christmas.

The book has many contributing authors such as:

C.S. Lewis
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Henri Nouwen
Madeleine L'Engle
Martin Luther
Philip Yancey
T.S. Eliot

This book contains enjoyable readings, which encourage the reader to contemplate and help them ponder a little deeper, but they are light on scripture. They are not contradictory to scripture, but light on Scripture. This book is not for everyone since some do prefer Scripture to be the foundation and backbone of their advent readings.


Disclosure Statement:
I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Passport2Purity Get-Away

For my daughter's 12th birthday, I planned a little get-away for just the two of us. We didn't go too far away from home, but I planned things I knew she'd enjoy and make her feel special. While we were away, we went through five sessions of the Passport2Purity curriculum by Family Life. 

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We left on a Thursday afternoon, but she was all packed and prepared to leave by Wednesday afternoon. She was very excited. 

Before leaving town, we stopped by Starbucks for one of her favorite drinks, and enjoyed some laughs over a few mad libs. 

I knew I had to reserve a hotel with a pool because this girl loves to swim. Plus, she needed to practice all the new things she learned at her recent swim lessons. 

You know how Jesus said we can't live on bread alone? Well, I think this girl could and that's why I took her to Fazoli's for dinner because she loves pasta and bread. 

In between listening to the sessions on CD, we did an art project and we also did our nails. 

On our final morning we ate breakfast at the hotel, finished up our last session together, checked out of the hotel, did some shopping, enjoyed a lunch at a place of her choosing, and then headed back home. 

We were only gone for about 26 hours, but we learned so much, had a lot of fun, and made a lot of wonderful memories. We had some wonderful, tough conversations and she made it through all the sessions like a champ.

I highly recommend this product to all parents of adolescent children. It was a great guide to help me have some intentional conversations with my child now before it's too late.

Journeys of Faithfulness

Sarah Clarkson, daughter of Clay and Sally Clarkson, has written a book for young women called "Journeys of Faithfulness." It is a book of stories about the life and faith of five women in the Bible which include Mary, Martha, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Esther, and Ruth. Sarah takes the life of women in the Bible and then sets their story to life for her readers. I think of it has historical fiction and it is enjoyable to linger on familiar women in the Bible and see them brought to life in Sarah's writings. Can't you just see the sibling rivalry between Mary and Martha in this section?

Martha beat the batter as if it were Mary. She glared into her bowl and smacked it on the wooden table and growled under her breath. Left alone, again. Left to cook and tend, to fetch the water and greet the guests. Left by a sister who was forever happy these days, while Martha herself felt only harried...She maintained her household and fed multitudes, and they all, siblings and honored guests alike, pranced about enjoying her the fruits of her labor and never did anyone think what it cost Martha. No one ever saw. 

This section draws the reader into the castle where Esther is living and is receiving her daily beauty treatments:

Esther felt that her skin would soon dissolve in the daily salt scrubbings and perfumed soakings that set the cadence of her days. These treatments supposedly cleansed their victims of blemish and sloughing all roughness and stain away. What they really cleansed, thought Esther, was any sense of self. 

This book is written for young women (ages 12 and up), but on Apologia's site, they do mention how it would be a lovely book for mothers and daughters to read and discuss together. My oldest daughter will be 10 in just a few days so she is younger than the recommended age, so I read the book aloud to her. Then we discussed the reading, and at the end of the section there are scriptures to look up together, questions to answer, and a few pages reserved for journaling (which we both love).

This book reminded me of Francine River's novellas from her "Lineage of Grace" series. The writings are based on scripture, but both authors definitely use what they know from scripture, historical customs, and then use their imaginations to tell a little more about the women's story from their point-of-view. Sarah's writings made my daughter and I want to read the actual accounts from the Bible to learn more and go deeper for ourselves. In no way are her writings intended to take away, add to, or replace scripture.

My Daughter's Thoughts after reading part one (the first three chapters of the book):

Mary wasn't afraid to sit at the feet of Jesus. 

We discussed how Mary knew Jesus loved her and that drew her to sit at his feet.

As a home educating mother who has a daughter who loves to read and write, it gave me great joy to "introduce" my daughter to Sarah Clarkson, a young woman who grew up in a home similar to ours and is now a published author.

Pricing and Ordering Information:
This book is for sale at Apologia's website and is priced at $13.00.
Apologia has many resources available and I would highly recommend anything this company publishes.

You can read more reviews on this book by visiting the Schoolhouse Review Crew's website. 

*Disclaimer: This book was received free of charge for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.*

Money Saving Secrets of the Amish by Lorilee Craker

Lorilee Craker's "Money Saving Secrets of the Amish" is a fun and enjoyable read. Craker writes in a very conversational style which I actually enjoy. In this book you will not only learn secrets from the Amish, but Craker also shares how her own family have put some money saving secrets in action and reaped the benefits. Our nation could learn a lot from the quiet and humble Amish society. The main lesson is to not spend money unless you have the money to spend. One of my favorite quotes from the book came from an Amish boat cover maker named Andy, " Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without." Honestly, everything in this book is common sense, but these secrets have been lost in our materialistic society. Thanks to Craker, the secrets are now out and we should be wise, listen up and get busy simplifying! Would you like to learn how to stretch your money, live more simply, save, and share with others? If so, I recommend this book. It is a quick read and is available in paperback or Kindle form. I actually read this book on my laptop using a free download called Kindle for the PC.

Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge From BookSneeze for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.

Before Five In A Row

Before Five in a Row is a resource recommended for children 2-4 years-old. This book provides activities for parents to do with their young children that are not only educational, but fun and guaranteed to help you make a lot of memories together. The book's introduction states how "the time between ages two and four should be a time of sharing, hugging, reading, singing, dancing, puzzles, blocks, outdoor excursions, swinging high, playing in the sand box and enjoying fascinating introductions to the wonderful world of life." I couldn't agree more! This is also the philosophy for early childhood education I hold as well. If you'd love to cuddle up with your child and a book, and use that book as a springboard for all sorts of fun activities, then you need to learn more about Before Five in A Row.

My youngest child is six, but I used her during the review process of this book. I read to her the titles she could choose from, and then we went to the library. We checked out "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" and "Blueberries for Sal." We spent one week on each book. We read each book a few times and each day we did some of the sample activities given in the book. The types of activities included for "Blueberries for Sal" include Bible, math, history, classification, two stories in one, science, art, and music. Look at how this mother enjoyed "Blueberries for Sal" with her two young children over at Delightful Learning. Go ahead and look. Doesn't it bring a smile to your face? Doesn't it make you want to spend more time having fun and learning with your young children? If so, then Before Five In A Row is for you and your family!

Click here for some sample lessons for Before Five In A Row. Simply click on the tabs and sample lessons will pull up for you to look at. Perhaps you have children older than 2-4 years old. There are Five in A Row resources for children 4-8, Beyond Five In A Row for children ages 8-12, and Above and Beyond Five In A Row for 12 and up.

Ordering Information:

Five in a Row products can be bought exclusively at Rainbow Resources.

Price: $35.00

To order your copy, click HERE.

There are two parts to Before Five In A Row. Part one is the activities to go along with the 24 children's books. The children's books can either be purchased separately or checked out from the library like our family did. Part two is the "Parent's Treasury of Creative Ideas for Learning Readiness." This section truly is a "treasure" as stated to help parents come up with age-appropriate activities such as reading readiness, coordination, large and small motor skills, art, and more.

To read more TOS Crew reviews, please click over to the blog.

*I received this book free of charge for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

Apologia - Book Review

This time of year finds many home educating families gearing up for a new school year. Supplies, curriculum, and organizational tools are being purchased. Schedules, routines, lesson plans and copies are being made. All these things are being done in order to ensure a good year is had by all. But what kind of preparations are being made to ensure your focus is on Christ and His will for your children? I recently received a copy of How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids by Rachael Carman, who is a veteran homeschool mom to seven children. This book has blessed, encouraged, and challenged me to keep my focus on Christ, His Word, and His plans for our family. This book will help you make the most important preparations for a new school year - it will help prepare your heart.

There are five chapters in this book. Each letter in the word "heart" is an acronym for lessons the author wants to share with her readers.

H - Have a Heart for the Things of God

In this chapter, the author shares how she learned "another co-op or a different curriculum wasn't the answer - He (Christ) was" (51). She asks the tough question: "Do you want to have a heart for your children? Then first have a heart for God. And don't be afraid to show it" (56).

E - Enrich Your Marriage

God wants to "show Himself to the world through our marriage relationship" (64). In this chapter, Carman will teach you the importance of investing in your marriage so your children and the world see the hope of Christ lived out in your relationship (71). I know how important this is. I grew up in a home where I never saw my parents show affection towards one another (and the divorced when I was in college). My children like to see my husband and I lovin' on one another. My oldest son likes to act like it grosses him out when we're caught kissing, but the girls both giggle and smile. Children need to see how much their parents love each other, and they also need to see the love of Christ modeled in their parent's marriage.

A - Accept Your Kids

This is my favorite chapter in the whole book. I could share quote after quote I have underlined in this chapter with you. I have a son that many people simply don't "get." I think he's pretty amazing, but sometimes even I struggle to truly understand him. He could talk about the animal kingdom, football, and Star Wars all day long, without much pause to take a breath. Sometimes I think if he could just be like other kids, his life would be easier. In reality, I am not loving him and accepting him fully as the young man God has created him to be. On page 105, the author writes, "When we attempt to rewire our children, we are actually rejecting them, even if we do not verbalize it. They can sense it. They feel it." Carmen also shares: "It is essential that we study our children and ask God to show us who these kids are for His glorious purpose. We need to learn their strengths and weaknesses so that we can equip them to be on guard, stand firm, and not grow weary in doing good" (105). I thought I was doing a pretty good job accepting my kids until I read this chapter. I'm thankful for how the Lord spoke to my heart.

R - Release Them to God

I think releasing our children (even to God) is a tough area for most parents. Carmen describes releasing our children to God is a lot like a "huge blank check on which you sign your name and wait for God to fill in the rest. It's total surrender...It's a holy 'whatever.' A 'whatever' of epic proportions with life-changing power" (128).

T - Teach Them the Truth

Teaching our children Truth is quite possibly the #1 reason Christians choose to home educate. This topic is vitally important due to our society saying there is no absolute truth. Carmen shares: "There are two important indications of the value we place on God's Word: the personal time we spend in it and the time we spend reading it with our children" (165). It's not enough to say you're a Christian homeschool family, and attend Sunday school and church. Carmen shares how it is vitally important we live out loud what we are reading out loud (168). We must be intentional and teach our children Truth. This quote from the book stepped on my toes: "We live truth as we teach our kids math by exhibiting patience, perseverance, gentleness, and hope" (171). This school year when one of my children is struggling with a lesson, this is not an opportunity for me to get frustrated at them and lose patience (or my temper), but rather, an opportunity to live out Scripture before them!

I was actually a little sad to see this book end. I felt like an encouraging friend had packed up and moved away. However, I can pick this book up from my bookshelf anytime I need to be encouraged and reminded of the lessons learned. I highly recommend this book. You will want to purchase a copy for yourself and one for a friend. If you are like me, your copy will have lots of underlining and notes written in it, which makes it hard to share my copy with others.

Ordering Information:

Price: 13.00

You can order by clicking HERE.

To read more TOS Crew member reviews, click over to the blog and see what other crew members have to say about this book.

*I received this book at no cost for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

Love & Respect ~ Book Review

I first heard about Dr. Eggerichs when I heard him on Focus on the Family's radio broadcast several years ago (at least 8 years ago). My husband and I rarely purchase the listening CDs from these broadcasts, but we did purchase this one. We have loaned it to countless couples over the years, and when I had the opportunity to read Love and Respect, I jumped at the chance.

Dr. Eggerichs describes how women desire to be loved above all else, and men desire to be respected above all else. The entire book is based upon Ephesians 5:33, which says, "However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." The concepts in this book have helped my husband and I in our own marriage, and it has given us tools to use as we counsel other married couples.

The book is broken up into three parts.

Part 1: The Crazy Cycle - Without love she reacts without respect and without respect he reacts without love.

Part 2: The Energizing Cycle - How to spell love to your wife and of course how to spell love to your husband.

Part 3: The Rewarded Cycle

There are 5 appendixes in the back that will give you practical tools to help you put all the information you've learned into action. For example, you will learn what to say, do, or think to practice love and respect in your marriage and how to meet your spouse's needs.

If you have a strong marriage - I recommend this book. If you have a struggling marriage - I recommend this book. If you know anyone who has a strong or struggling marriage - I recommend you get this book for them as well.

*I received this book free for review purposes only by Book Sneeze and I have shared my honest opinion.*

Busy Mom's Bible

I just received a free copy of Zondervan's Bible for busy moms. There are a few things that I believe makes it a nice Bible for busy Moms.

1. It is not huge and will not add a lot of bulk or weight to an already crowded and heavy diaper bag.

2. It is really cute and colorful (mine is PINK!)

3. It is the entire Bible (New and Old Testament).

4. It has a nice concordance.

5. It includes 52 (easy to find) "Thought Starters" to help you on those days you only have a moment to grab a bite of God's Word.

My husband is a Pastor. So, I do have the privilege of investing into the lives of many women in our church family. I often ask them if they are spending time in God's Word, and frequently I hear something like, "Well, I don't have time to read my Bible and pray." I always encourage them to grab just a few verses and to meditate on a single verse throughout the day. This Bible could be a fine tool for busy Mom's. The "Thought Starters" dispersed throughout this Bible are easy to find because they are on brightly colored pages. A Mom can sit down to nurse or feed her baby a bottle, sit the Bible next to her and easily read from the "1 Minute" and "5 Minutes" section.

For more information on this Bible, click here to watch a video.

For more detailed information and ordering information, click here.

Fearless by Max Lucado

Max Lucado's new release "Fearless" challenges us from the very front cover in the subtitle - "imagine your life without fear." Can you? Can you imagine your life without fear? Max Lucado will show you in God's Word how living a fearless life is not something to merely imagine, but rather something to experience.

"Fearless" is full of scripture to remind us of Jesus' frequent command to fear not, take courage, and to not worry. I thoroughly enjoy Lucado's ability to take truth from scripture and challenge me and show me how to APPLY it to my life TODAY!

Would you like to stop imagining how it would feel to live a fearless life? Dig into God's Word, read "Fearless and start experiencing the freedom that comes with living fearlessly! Fear cripples us from living the life God desires. Faith transforms us into courageous warriors for His glory! We live in a world filled with fears of sickness, disease, financial crises, terrorism, and the list could go on! Lucado's book is an instrument God can use to turn people's hearts away from fear and to Him.

Trust God and fear less!

Book Review ~ Radical Womanhood

Radical Womanhood...Feminine Faith in a Feminist World by Carolyn McCulley takes an honest look at the history of the feminist movement and how society has changed as a result.

McCulley walks you through the history of feminism and reveals how our Creator, His Word, and His design for families is defied by many of the movement's leaders.

"The history of the feminist ideology is manifestly anti-mother, anti-child, and anti-Jesus" (142). Does this sound harsh and maybe a little unbelievable? Radical Womanhood reveals the often hidden truths of the feminist movement.

McCulley makes it clear that there is a difference between restoring God given rights to women and setting women above both men and God (32). As a former feminist, McCulley is able to write this book from an informed perspective. Her writing is also grounded in sound historical research and Biblical study.

I hope you will take the time to read this book, so you can evaluate whether the feminist beliefs you may have are shaped by society or God's Word.

Review ~ Dramatic Audio Bible

The WORD of PROMISE, next generation, NEW TESTAMENT is a dramatic audio Bible with an all-star cast. It contains 3 MP3 CDs with over 23 hours of listening!

My children, ages 7, 6, and 4 enjoyed listening to this during quiet times around the house. I also enjoyed listening to this, even if it is marketed for a younger generation. Recently my husband was teaching a weekly Bible study on the book of James. It was nice to play the book of James and listen to it during that time.

At Christmas, we listened to the various gospel accounts of Christ's birth. At Easter, we listened to the passages of His resurrection!

The booklet insert inside the case says, "MP3 Discs can be played on: almost all computers with a CD and/or DVD drive, many home DVD players, portable MP3 players, CD players labeled 'MP3 compatible.' They will not play on standard CD players." I had to play mine in my DVD player, because the CD player we have in our family room is a bit ancient. It worked quite well for our family! It is easy to select what book and chapter you'd like to listen to.

Honestly, this was my first experience with any type of audio Bible. Our entire family has enjoyed it very much!

Click here to read more details about the all-star cast on the Thomas Nelson website, and purchase a copy for yourself or your family today!

Book Review

I was given the opportunity to receive a free copy of  The Moon Shines Down by the late Margaret Wise Brown from Thomas Nelson Publishers.  I chose to receive and review this book because I have three children who love books! 

This book was in hiding for more than 50 years, and was only recently discovered. When it was found, it was much too short for immediate publication. So, Laura Minchew (a children's book publisher and fan of Brown's) wrote additional verses to complete the book.

Some of the verses flowed more freely than others. Which made me wonder which ones were written by Brown, and which ones were written by Minchew? Overall the book has a lovely theme. Children all over the world fall asleep each night with the same moon shining down upon them.

With seven countries and the ocean mentioned, parents can take the opportunity to discuss various topics such as geography, language, culture, etc... 

Linda Bleck is an amazingly talented illustrator. In fact, the illustrations were our family's favorite part of this book. Before reading the book, we took the time to look over each page, admire the illustrations, and search for the koala (often hidden) on the page.

Even though I do not believe this book is Brown's best work, we did enjoy reading it together, and will again I am certain. 

Do you think this is a book your family would enjoy reading together? Click here if you'd like to purchase this book today.