by Kimberly | Nov 4, 2016 | Books, Kids r Readers 2
I love NCIS. Longmire. CSI. Law & Order (back in the day). Blue Bloods. Leverage. I love crime shows that usually get solved in a short amount of time. They take finding clues and knowing how to interpret those clues.
In some ways, the Gospel is the same. Faith is given to us. It is a gift from the Spirit. But, we can also investigate and prove true the claims of Christ. We can know that Jesus really existed, died, and rose again. And we can teach our kids something similar.
We still need to pray that they would indeed be given grace and faith to understand and love and surrender to Jesus and the Gospel. But, giving them tools to understand the gospel and know it is super helpful.
Cold Case Christianity is a new book that will be helpful in teaching your kids, I’d say especially boys before they reach the teenage years. It has help from a real detective and a real believer, with good diagrams and helpful questions for them to ask questions about Jesus for themselves.
This will encourage them in their walks with Jesus.
Thank you Litfuse for sending me the book. All opinions are my own.
by Kimberly | Oct 13, 2016 | Books, creatives, mothering
One of my favorite questions to ask moms is : what do you like to do, you know, besides being a mom?
That question can be controversial, but I really don’t mean for it to be. What I want to know is what is inside this woman, other than being a mom.
We all know that with being a mom comes a ton of love, responsibility, and fun…but not lots of time for ourselves, or our former selves. Motherhood has to be selfless – which is really hard, I’m learning. And I’m not great at that – but God is teaching me in his generosity that that is what I need.
One of the ways God wired me is in creativity. Actually, that is one of the reasons my husband said he married me – is because I’m fun – I love to be creative and think outside the box. I also love to do that in my motherhood journey. I love to try new recipes – all the time. I go all the time, taking my littles with me to new parks, or library story times, or just to a new aisle in Target. I love reading books with them and letting my boys be in the kitchen with me – or in the yard with me learning about new bugs (oooh, gross), or new flowers that seemed to have popped up over night. It is never ending. I don’t like boredom, whether in life or in motherhood.
And I love to be creative in my personal life too. I have loved photography since high school. Loved to cook since college. Loved to letter and write for what seems like forever. These are things that still excite me. So, they are also things that fuel me. How do these things help or help me engage in motherhood? Well, I love to take photographs of our every day – or of our special days. I love to cook for my family and for other families. I love to letter to help me meditate on the Word (to help my heart) or to give to others, or to help with our family finances.
Life Creative is a book written by two women who seek to encourage moms to not only be creative, engaging with their creative side (and we all have one because we are made in the image of a creative God) but to also encourage moms to encourage their kids to be creative. We may not be talking about painting and cooking. Creativity can take on many different forms and be used in many outlets.
Whether you are struggling to find your creative outlet, think your kids are getting bored, or are maybe struggling to decide how to use your creative gifts right now (especially in the throws of motherhood), this is a great book to encourage thinking and discussion. I would read it, discuss some of it over coffee or tea or wine with a fellow mom, and also, discuss some of your thoughts with your husband – who I hope will encourage you to use your creative gifts.
Litfuse, the group that gave me this book to review, is also hosting a giveaway for you and a Facebook party!
by Kimberly | Oct 6, 2016 | Books, parenting
As my kids get older, I think I start to notice all of my expectations of parenting get washed away. When I was growing up, we lived in a neighborhood with mostly family, went to a small church where we really only interacted with 1-2 families, and I went to a Christian school and really don’t remember doing things as families with anyone. Of course we had friends, but it wasn’t essential in our upbringing to surround ourselves with community and family.
When I get to college that all changed for me. I surrounded myself with families and loved them and learned so much, but it wasn’t until 20 years later that I had a family of my own.
I now want to do a couple of things in family/parenting life:
- Make sure my mister and I are always on the same page especially in our calendar and parenting. This is so crucial to success.
- Surround ourselves with those who are ahead of us, but also with us in our stage of parenting – and who share similar grace and parenting styles. Community is so important.
- Pour grace into my husband and my children. I think the main way I do this right now is through asking forgiveness each time I do something wrong (which is often).
In Total Family Makeover, Melissa Spoelstra, tackles some important topics on how you can work toward a more discipleship centered home – because isn’t this our most important task as parents – to raise those who will Lord-willing seek after God because of HIs grace?
If you normally don’t read book introductions, read this one. She hit the nail on the head. Sundays are usually the day I feel the worst as a parent. My kids disobey walking into church, or don’t obey me in childcare, or always need discipline. While seemingly most around me have perfect children and I feel are always looking at my with disdain or disapproval. I know this isn’t the case, but I always feel like a failure. She tackles this and is so encouraging.
The areas of discipleship she highlights in this practical book: praying together, Bible time, mentoring, church community, serving, rest, giving, and evangelism. All of these are personally important, and definitely are important for your family.
My one suggestion = read this book. Maybe read it with your husband, or just give him your takeaways. Pray together and see which area you can tackle first. Its like if your house is a mess and you try to clean the whole things at once, you’ll get discouraged. I would start with one thing and then go on to the next. You’ll see God reward your obedience in these areas with success and grace. He wants our families to be more Christ-like! He is for you in this endeavor!
This post is sponsored by Litfuse who gave me the book. All opinions are my own. And you can win a great prize pack for a fun family night (think free pizza and books and games!) Enter here
by Kimberly | Oct 3, 2016 | Books
I will never know God as fully as I can.
I definitely won’t know him perfectly this side of heaven, because of sin. Even in Heaven, God is eternal and so big – that every day in heaven (which will never end) will bring me new wonder of God – so I will always be in new wonder of him. I can’t wait.
This year, as I’ve been reading through the Bible (I’m in Joshua), I’m writing down in the margins of my ESV journaling Bible all the ways that I see God as He has revealed Himself to me. It is beautiful to see and know that God is the same God today as He was in the days of Moses, Joseph, and Job.
Sheryl Giesbrecht has written a really good study on the names of God. She takes God’s character and let’s us know how we can experience it in our lives. I found it helpful as I’ve been walking through the Bible to find out what the meaning of some of these names are. And they are short – so you could do a month study on the names of God, and add this to a little journal, a quiet time, and knowing God more in his perfection.
I hope you pick this book up and find out more of God’s beauty.
Thanks Litfuse for this book and all opinions are my own.
by Kimberly | Oct 3, 2016 | Bible, Books
I’m one of those people who find it hard to stick to one thing.
Maybe blame it on a lack of patience, or always wanting to see results, etc. I really find it hard to believe I’ve been blogging for 11 years almost – that I’ve stuck to something that long.
For me, I like to jump around in my Bible study I don’t mean that I just pick out a verse and think about that. No, I like to do different things any given year. Maybe I’ll read through the Psalms while doing a Bible study. Right now I’m going page by page through the Bible to find out what God says about Himself.
Jesus and the Beanstalk would be helpful for folks like me, who may want to change up their quiet times or Bible study time near the end of the year. Lori Roeleveld has written a humorous but good study through the book of Second Peter. This will give you a lighthearted look at life while walking you the little book of 2 Peter.
She helps you look at the characteristics that you need as you walk the life of faith in Christ to battle any (and many) of the giants that you will inevitably face in this life.
Thank you to Litfuse for this book. All opinions are my own.
