by Kimberly | Apr 19, 2017 | Books
People who name the titles of books need to have a marketing degree. There would be several ways you could market this book by Wendy Alsup, but I don’t think any would be as catchy without being condescending as this one.
Is the Bible Good for Women? Well, we would say of course it is. The author uses her upbringing and her theological worldview to answer so many questions that women especially have about the Bible. She wants to help her readers develop a Jesus (gospel) view of Scripture.
In her book she covers everything from Creation, submission, the Fall, how Jesus models “women’s issues” and how Paul advised the new church to work in regards to women, and everything in between. She engages hew audience, which could both be women who grew up in the church and are solid conservative women, or these women who are reading her book could be feminist believers (or unbelievers).
She overs her topics well, and always points to Jesus. So, whether you agree with her completely or not, it is up to you. But, I do think this book would be a good start in the topic of women and the church.
Thanks to Blogging for Books for the book. All opinions are my own. amazon
by Kimberly | Apr 11, 2017 | Books
One of the best things we can teach our children is to be children of faith. That may seem like a strange thing to say, because faith is a gift, but we can train them in that way.
Faith, saving faith, is indeed a gift from God. But, throughout Scripture we are encouraged to be faith-filled, faithful, and men and women of faith.
In her book, Unsinkable Faith, Tracie Miles encourages us as women to develop a game plan to be women of faith. For me, most of it has to do with a combination of mind and heart – especially when things aren’t going exactly the way that I would like. When we combine how we feel and how we think – it will change the way we live.
Romans 12:1-2 is a popular verse to use about how we live our lives for God. And not for this world. And really it starts with two things: worshiping God (knowing that we aren’t everything in this life) and training our minds by reading the Word of God.
Belief is an active process. We need to read what the Bible says about us, God himself, and the world around us. Actively believe it – repeating it to ourselves, memorizing it, embarking on a journey to apply it, and then acting upon it.
When this world doesn’t go exactly like we want it to, when our instagram pages don’t look as perfect as others, then we tend to start going down in our belief of the Word. Did God really say something and is that really true?
This book is a good read to encourage you to build your faith on something solid – the only unchanging thing in this world – God.
by Kimberly | Mar 29, 2017 | Books
Mondays are typically the day of the week that gets a bad rap. I mean, just because its the start of the week and most people are coming off a fabulous weekend.
This past Monday our apartment complex booted us out of our parking lot for the day. So, instead of sitting inside all day, we ventured to Senioa, a little town south of Atlanta. We stopped by the Varsity on our way down there, eating chicken nuggets with paper hats on, and talking with the car hops.
Then we drove about 35 minutes and had the greatest afternoon. We played with puzzles at the local library, we chased the ducks on the boys scooters, we threw pinecones in the lake, we played King of the Mountain. It was finished off by some Baskin Robbins and dancing in our local store after eating Hulk ice cream!
This past month has been difficult for our preschoolers because we have moved yet again and they don’t always handle the unknown well. I mean, they are 3 and 4. Adults don’t often handle change well, much less kids. We’ve tried to keep much of their lives the same, but still, we have had some difficulties.
I was first introduced to David Thomas and Sissy Goff on Surviving Sarah. They are so practical in their counsel to parents. I love them. They have been super helpful in what I’ve heard. I got their new book (along with Melissa Travathan) from Bethany House to review. It is ideally for older children, but I found some of the topics still helpful for parenting my boys.
There are no SET guidelines for parenting – man, I wish there were. But, as the perfect Creator God has designed every child perfect and unique – every one will develop differently. My boys are no exception.
Are My Kids on Track is a tool to help parents know how their children are doing in the areas of social, emotional, and spiritual growth. Maybe you are wondering why your child is behaving a certain way in school, or why they don’t want to sit down and listen to family devotions.
Some parents would chalk this up to sin and discipline them. Maybe in some cases it is. But, the authors get to the why your kids might be acting in the ways they are.
Definitely a good practical read for parents!
by Kimberly | Mar 13, 2017 | Books
I need to learn some things about reading. You think I’ve been reading for decades, I’d have it down, but my reading brain needs to be retrained.
For about 10 years now, post seminary, I’ve been reading mostly for review purposes, so it is hard for me to read for fun. I’ve read books that I love and adore, but most of those aren’t the ones I’m reviewing (there are exceptions of course). And when I read for review, it is hard for me to read for enjoyment.
And it is hard for me to read fiction, because it is hard for me to think that this will affect my heart and life.
Insert: why I don’t read much fiction anymore. I don’t know why it is so difficult.
Carolyn Miller, in her new book The Elusive Miss Ellison, has so many important things about life.
“But although she prayed and tried to believe things would somehow work out for good, the mortification continued to ebb and flow, the questions whirled, and heaviness of heart made sleep impossible.” – Carolyn Miller
Pride, love, family troubles, societal obstacles – you’ll find them all in this book.
Thanks Litfuse for this book. All opinions are my own.
by Kimberly | Mar 13, 2017 | Books, parenting
I’ve never counted them, but I would assume the parenting section at your local bookstore is probably one of the largest sections on the floor. You can easily find a parenting book to help you through and part of the parenting journey. From attempting to conceive, finding out your pregnant, how to birth the baby, how to swaddle your baby, how to get your baby to nap, get on a schedule, eat solid food, potty train, learn their ABCs. All of these books can be helpful to some degree.
When reading parenting books, I often say read whatever you can get your hands on, write down some notes that seem likely to work in your given situation, with your kids, or ones that you would like to try, talk it over with your husband or the people who help you parent, maybe run it by a group of other moms that you meet with or hang out with, and then try it. If it doesn’t work, move on. Don’t get so flustered. Not everything you read in every parenting book is going to be the right thing for your particular child or family.
Parenting with Grace and Truth, a new book by Dan Seaborn (I always think of West Wing when I hear the word Seaborn), is filled with practical help. To me, though, I felt it leaned more toward behavior and actions, rather than to the heart of your children, growing them with hearts that were pleasing to God. I know that there needs to be right actions. And at any stage of parenting you are working to get your kids to act right (we are working on manners right now, as well as many other things.
“Forgiveness was at the heart of Jesus, and as such, it is the foundation of the entire Gospel. God sacrificed His only Son for the forgiveness of our sins – past, present, and future.” – Dan Seaborn
He helps families work through many different things likes crises or trying to become a healthy blended family. He wants to help you discover what your kids talents and abilities are – it is helpful to know what drives them and what makes them tick and what they are good at. I did appreciate the questions that he gave his readers to think through at the end of each chapter. When reading any book, if you are given questions, at least take the time to think through them – it will help as you digest the book and try to implement what you are reading.
If you would liked to find some great tips in this book, just leave me a comment. I’ll be choosing a winner soon – and thanks to SideDoor Communications, you can get a copy of it!
Thanks to SideDoor Communications for the book. All thoughts are my own.
by Kimberly | Mar 11, 2017 | Books
I have learned one thing in the last few years: there is no such thing as balance in life. If you are doing one thing – then you aren’t doing another thing. And so many of us women try to spin about 1000 plates.
Whether we are mommying and working, or mommying many, or doing a ministry at our church or teaching bible studies in our home, or being involved in creative communities, balance is hard to get right.
When I was younger I wasn’t very good at the balance beam in elementary school PE, but now that I’m older I have gotten better at the tree pose in my yoga practice.
Lisa Pennington gets the life of balance. In her book, Tightropes and Teeter-totters, she doesn’t appear to have it altogether, but instead, through humor and great tips, she helps us all maybe not fall completely off.
She hits on marriage, parenting, having a peaceful and clean home, all done with humor, personal illustrations, and biblical truth. Its a quick read and one you can for sure pull some tips from.
Thanks to Litfuse for this book. All opinions are my own.
