S Club Mama

For months I have been chewing away at the books for this review. The InScribed Collection are Bible studies that help to draw us closer to the Lord through prayer, self-controlled choices, understanding the Lord (or being OK not understanding everything), and the discipline of Bible study. I started with "Leaving Ordinary" by Donna Gaines about "encounter[ing] God through extraordinary prayer." I honestly read this so long ago I don't remember much other than it didn't leave that big of an impact on me. Gaines used the tabernacle to parallel prayer in our lives. There were some interesting points but it just did not speak to me much. Heather Zempel's "Amazed and Confused" was next in line. During this study Zempel brought us through hard places, when we don't understand what God is doing or saying. The thing that really struck me from this study was coming to understand that nowhere in the Bible does it say that God is nice. God is ...

My boys and I have slowly (very slowly) been making our way through Luke in the Bible. Honestly, it's taken us months due to my inconsistency. Well, that happens but we had a breathe of fresh air when we received the Adventure Bible for Early Readers (NIrV) to continue our journey through Scriptures. image via BookLook I'll be honest that I'm not a huge fan of the wording. I think kids are able to pick up on more of other Bible translations than we think, but I do like that it's kind of a stepping stone into "real" Scripture (not saying this is "fake" but I just don't know how better to explain) between a children's Bible and an adult Bible. It's just not my cup of tea but I think my kids listen to it a little more in this translation. The Bible itself has some neat features like the Live It! sections that are like very small devotionals to go with parts of Scripture. The Words to Treasure snippets make for good memory verses. I r...

Veggie Tales has been around for some time; I remember watching Madame Blueberry in junior high. It wasn't until I started to watch the shows with my kids that I learned how valuable the lessons they taught are. Which is why I'm so thankful they started to make Veggie Tales books. We own a Veggie Tale Bible and Saint Nicholas books but have read numerous more. " Pirates, Mess Detectives, and a Superhero " by Karen Roth stay true to the Veggie Tale premise of using time-honored Biblical virtues in their lessons. This is a 3-in-1 book (I love the frugality of that) that centers around Larry the Cucumber and his other produce pals. image via BookLook Bloggers In "Pirate in Training," Junior Asparagus aspires to be one of the "Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" because he doesn't want to go to school anymore. The pirates give him lessons in being a pirate that show him how they use math and reading (things you learn at school) to get by in...

Last year was Moose's first year of full-time school. I feel I had a leg up on the letting him go part because he'd been to 1.5 years of preschool plus 3 days a week summertime preschool. Well, I was wrong. Full day is a whole other ball game! Plus I had him in full-time AND Squirt in part-time - whew was my mama heart full of stress for awhile. I didn't know what Moose was eating, who he was (or wasn't) playing with, who his paras were, how he acted, how other kids acted. Nothing. It was really hard for me. Until I prayed. Of course, prayer makes everything come into perspective. God was with my Moose (his Moose) - always. Erin MacPherson's book "The Christian Mama's Guide to the Grade School Years" is a wonderful book to read (along with being a prayer warrior for your kids) to get moms comfortable with the idea of their children being in school. This book is not just for public/private school goers either! I would say it is more geared toward...

I love my kids. I love God. How do I glorify God in my mothering? I become a passionate mom. Susan Merrill uses the book of Nehemiah to describe how to become a passionate mom in her book The Passionate Mom: Dare to Parent in Today's World . If you're unfamiliar with the book of Nehemiah, let me give you the jist of it. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king of Babylon. Friends of his came and told him how back home in Jerusalem (where Nehemiah had never lived, being born during the exile, but where he considered - like most Jews of the day - to be his home) the wall that protected the city and the Temple (which had been rebuilt by Ezra) was not rebuilt. Nehemiah saw this as a huge problem because it protected God's temple, where the Jewish nation worshiped God and really how they had a relationship with Him. Nehemiah took time to ponder his next step before he brought this problem before the king. The king (through God's mercy and grace) granted Nehemiah the materials ...

I'm intrigued by apologetics (which is fancy talk for defending your position - usually in regards to faith, as in this case). Last year, Big A & I facilitated an apologetics study for church called The Truth Project (super good!). As Christians, we should be able to defend our faith. Childlike faith does not mean blind faith; Jesus said if we ask, we will receive. That is in regards to wisdom and knowledge, too. I think it's good to ask questions and keep seeking truth. As I learned from our class, the truth will always lead you back to God. "God's Not Dead" by Rice Brooks was right up that alley of truth-seeking/faith defending, so I broke it open and absorbed. image via Book Sneeze I did not like it to begin with. I was thinking from the introduction that there would be more scientific, fact-like evidence. The first few chapters seemed more like "he said, he said" conversations with atheist point of views contradicted by Christian point o...

I have struggled my entire life with my emotions - I cry over the littlest things (earning me the most awful nickname of "cry baby" growing up - yeah that still stings a little), I yell over the littlest things. I can go from calm to off the wall in no time whatsoever. This has created problems in every facet of my life. Arguments with my parents and sisters got way out of hand (like the time my older sister punched me a few days prior to my wedding). Parenting and marriage have been fun with these emotional outbursts...ask my dear husband and children. Thank God (literally, thank Him) that I have God because He has instilled it in me to be unhappy with these outbursts. He has created in me a desire to be emotionally stable - not unfeeling but not linked by DNA to TNT. So for the past 6 years, I have been trying - and failing - and trying - and failing - and trying - and failing (you get it) to be patient, kind, calm. I struggle with comparing myself to more patient fri...

When I volunteered at the Women of Faith conference in Kansas City, I was very blessed to hear some wonderful speakers. As a blogger, I have been blessed to review some of those speakers' books. Fully Alive by Ken Davis is just one of those speakers and books I've been blessed with. Ken spoke extensively about living fully alive when he spoke to us at WOF, so really I had heard probably 40-50% of this book already. That wasn't a let down at all. It served as a refresher course of what God has really been teaching me my whole life. It's really simple, when you're a Christian, to say that you'll die for Christ. As a believer, we know what is going to happen when we die (or at least where we're going if not specifics of what it will look like & such - although we've had glimpses). But what about LIVING for Christ?? Living FULLY for Christ? That's not so easy. We can almost get into a comfortable little coma as Christians. That coma is not ...

I grew up in virtually the same home my whole life. We moved in when I was younger than 5 and my parents are still there. I cannot imagine being a migrant worker. I grew up with 2 sisters. I cannot imagine being one of seven children. I grew up knowing that my parents loved me, even when I didn't think their discipline was fair (it probably was at times and wasn't at times, same as most parents). I cannot imagine being abused, especially sexually abused. Cruel Harvest by Fran Elizabeth Grubb is a memoir about those unimaginable things. The first two of those things are not necessarily bad things, although not being allowed to go to school as a migrant worker would have been very hard on me (as it was on the author). In Cruel Harvest, Grubb describes her life of fear. Her father was a cruel, cruel man who reigned over his family with an iron fist of abuse, a brick of sexual abuse, and the fear those things brought out. They traveled from farm to farm as migrant workers...

Is anyone else excited for the Olympics? Who else is psyched to watch the decathlon?! Yeah, maybe you're more interested in other track and field events, but I will tell you that after reading Redemption by Bryan Clay, this event (rather, events) is on my to-watch list (right after marathon). I love the Olympics. The excitement. The talent and gifts. Just the beauty of the best of the best competing for their countries. I only recently began to be interested in the track and field events at all, and I honestly had no clue what the decathlon was other than a bunch of events. I learned what those events are in this book: Day 1 100-meter dash long jump shot put high jump 400 meters Day 2 110-meter hurdles discus throw pole vault javelin throw 1500 meters Holy cow! I think a marathon is intimidating but this event is two days of events that a decathlete needs to be awesome at. But what surprised me most about Bryan Clay's autobiography was that he is not necess...

I had previously heard of Jews for Jesus, but that's all. I assumed their mission was bringing the people of Israel to fulfillment by knowing God's Son, Jesus, and the sacrifice He made on the cross at Calvary. So I decided to review "Called to Controversy" by Ruth Rosen. Ruth is the daughter of Moishe Rosen, founder of the Jews for Jesus movement. This book is Moishe's biography, but Ruth herself says it's hard to speak of Moishe without Jews for Jesus and vice versa. I thought this book had some wonderful content. It was amazing to read about Moishe's wife, Ceil's conversion to Christianity and subsequently, Moishe's. So sad was the division as they were cast out of their families because of their faith in the Truth. Jewish converts are often cast out of their families - maybe not in today's universalist society, but definitely back in the 50s and 60s. I loved reading about Moishe's street preaching ministry. I've never seen a str...

Have you ever wanted to be a deep person? I have. Ever since I started really living for the Lord in college, I've wanted to be deep. I've wanted to be educated about the Lord, welcoming to His people, in sync with the Lord. I've wanted a mentor - a deep person to teach me to be a deep person. When I had the opportunity to pick a book to review, I was drawn to Going Deep by Gordon MacDonald. I can't say I chose the book by its cover but I definitely made a good choice choosing by its title. This book was just what I was looking for to challenge me. Mr. MacDonald writes about a fictional church in New England. In the period of two years, you learn about Pastor MacDonald (GMAC) and his "great idea." This great idea turns into a group called Cultivating Deep People which is lead by him and his wife, Gail. They choose (not taking volunteers to the dismay of a few congregants) participants who they felt had what it took to be a leader in the church. Not in the ...

Back in August, I had the opportunity to attend the Women of Faith conference (read more about my experience here ). Patsy Clairmont has been a speaker for this women's conference for many years and she was a keynote speaker for this event, too. Much of Patsy's talks for this event stemmed from her new book, "Stained Glass Hearts," in which she she writes about "seeing life from a broken perspective." I'll admit, I was prepared for a more lighthearted, witty commentary from this woman whose petite stature doesn't compare to her large sense of humor. However, once I got into the book it was definitely a good experience. Throughout the book, there were references to stained glass alongside the insights from Patsy's walking with God. Following each chapter was The Art Gallery where Patsy shared some inspiring quotes, songs, pictures, museums, etc that fit into each chapter. This book was not what I was looking for. I wanted a deeper book an...

I've been putting off this post. Not because I don't WANT to share everything about Women of Faith with you all, but because I don't know how to put it into words. I love conferences, let me just say that. I love women's conferences! I love being around crowds of people - and even more so when they are all worshiping God with me. So,  needless to say, this was a great weekend for me! I had never heard of 90% of the Women of Faith team - excluding Amy Grant and Lisa Whelchel (which I didn't know was her name). However, was I in for a treat! Speakers Andy Andrews, Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, Lisa Whelchel; entertainers Sandi Patty, Katherine Everrett, Mandisa, and Amy Grant all had wonderful truths planted in to my heart over the weekend. I wanted to share some of those tidbits of truth with you (sorry this may be a long post and these are not necessarily direct quotes). Patsy Clairmont - That mystery (the mysteriousness of God) is so nice when we run in to...

I agreed to read The Quotable Rogue: The Ideals of Sarah Palin in Her Own Words (edited and with a foreword by Matt Lewis) awhile back and it's taken me a few weeks to get to this book because of other items I'm reading. However, this book was a simple read. It's basically a book of Sarah Palin quotes that is edited into different categories: on abortion, on the economy, on family, etc. I can't say I learned anything new about Sarah Palin. I've been a fan of hers from the start. I think she has some wonderful ideals and a good heart. I don't necessarily want her to be president, but I guess we'll see if she even throws a nomination out there. The book itself, like I said, didn't really throw new information my way. However, I believe that someone who only watches mainstream media or Saturday Night Live to get their information about Palin would learn something. As we come upon an election year, I think that if Palin throws her name into the nominatio...

<p><p><br><br><br>In <br></p></p> In about 2 weeks, I am going to be attending my first Women of Faith Conference in Omaha, NE with my very best friend, LJ. I am so excited, not only to be spending time with her, but also learning more about God. I don't know what all to expect from this event other than learning and having fun. The line-up for this event is AMAZING...or so I've heard! I don't know most of the people speaking or entertaining, to be honest. I am looking forward to Amy Grant and Blaire from "The Facts of Life" (I'm sure she has a real name but I can...

Max Lucado is one of the leading biblical authorities. He is a best-selling author of numerous books, my favorite being his Wemmick books . However, these books may have to make room for "Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions." In "Max on Life ," Max answers questions from people who have written to him over the years. The questions have a broad range from "My pastor offers to visit the sick and anoint them with oil. Sounds like voodoo to me. What do you think?" (Max offers the Scripture from James 5:13-16) to "Our church is having trouble getting along. Sides are being drawn, and tempers are flaring. What can we do?" (the Corinthians had this problem, too). Max offers up biblical answers based first upon the Bible, then upon his life experiences. My only discrepancy with Max was that in a few places he said that God cannot change. I do believe that God doesn't change but there is a difference between doesn...

"We Be Big: The Mostly True Story of How Two Kids from Calhoun County, Alabama, Became Rick and Bubba" is about morning radio talk hosts. These two guys crossed paths in their teen years and again at college. It wasn't until after college when they both began working at different radio stations that their life paths really started to correlate. Through job losses and gains, they ended up working together during the morning talk radio time. Here is a blip about the book: The story of two unlikely radio hosts and what happened when they followed their faith and instincts. Rick & Bubba are the most unlikely broadcast stars imaginable, yet hundreds of thousands of loyal listeners start their day with them every morning. Beyond that, they break the biggest no-no rule for secular radio as they openly share their faith in Christ and their common-sense way of looking at the world. Now, in We Be Big: The Mostly True Story of How We Became Rick & Bubba, readers lea...

 I think about my prayer life often. Am I praying enough? Am I praying the right way? Is God listening? So much prayer (of my own and in general) seems to be out of want. "Lord bless Person A," "Lord, grant me patience," "Lord, please help me with XYZ," etc. If prayer is also a form a worship, shouldn't there be praise in there, too? Not saying that there isn't, but how much is enough? I've read a few other books on prayer; nothing spectacular. In one book, they suggested to pray for specific things on specific days: presidents and world leaders on Monday, schools and churches on Tuesday, or something to that extent. I like the idea of this but I often forget today's date. I also like to write my prayers in a journal, but too often I just don't feel like writing them down. So I pray to God out loud or in my head. Sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening, sometimes whenever I can fit them in. I often talk out loud to the Lo...

 " Voices of the Faithful - Book 2 : Inspiring Stories of Courage from Christians Serving Around the World" by Beth Moore and Kim P. Davis is a good devotional - not great, but good. VOF hopes to inspire the reader with tales of miracles and encouragement from the forefronts of the mission fields. I'm not saying there aren't good stories of God's faithfulness and mercy in these pages; there are. It just was not as inspiring as the book " Jesus Freaks " was for me. I'm not sure if it's the writing styles that have made the difference, but I do know that God's glory and power are found in both books. He is still the main character and the driving plot line. I believe in the miracles that are spoken in these words in VOF. God still performs miracles today - maybe not the parting of any seas but heart changes (and if you ask me, I think it'd be much harder to soften a heart than to part water). These are stories to encourage believers, no...