My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife

When I saw this title, how could I not want to read this book.  I'd love to be the Proverbs 31 wife, to take care of my home, husband, child(ren), cook, clean, sew/knit, trade for goods, never go out at night...you know the perfect wife/mom who can do it all.  Who wouldn't want to be that?  Through reading Sara Horn's account of her one year experiment, I learned what the Proverbs 31 woman (Martha 31 as Sara Horn refers to her) really focuses on.

Sara Horn goes through her husband's deployment (2 times during the year), a new job in a new city, publishing a book for her Bible Ministry (and working on this book), an appearance on Focus on the Family, leaving her job and moving back home, and many other minor changes and challenges during this one year experiment.

Not only did I absolutely love this book, but I also would like to do my own experiment, though I would like to do it based on what Ms. Horn discovered at the end of her year rather than from our literal reading of Proverbs 31:10-31.  I would highly recommend this book to any woman who feels that what she does is never enough.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Defender of the Faith: The Mike Fisher Story

Mike Fisher, not a name I knew when I decided to request this book on NetGalley, but I was excited to read about a sports figure who was a Christian and proud of it.  Mike Fisher is an NHL player, he currently plays for the Nashville Predators...and that would explain why I didn't know who he was...I'm a Flyers fan.  Nonetheless, I really enjoyed reading this book.  Mike Fisher is a role model who happens to be a Hockey star, he's also married to Carrie Underwood.  While this biography does discuss Mike Fisher's success as a Forward, what it is really about is his faith and how Christ has had a hand in all his successes.  He discusses how he always puts Christ first and he credits all his success to Christ.

I have to say that I was really impressed with how much of a role faith plays in Mike Fisher's life and how open he is about his faith.  I usually don't see why sports figures are role models to kids, I see them mostly as overpaid and overindulged, not Mike Fisher.  

I loved this biography and would recommend this to anyone, even if it is about a Predator.  All joking aside, I really couldn't put this book down.  I would love to see more books about Christian pro-athletes, they are such a great example to our children of how we can reach our dreams because of our faith in Christ.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Imagination Station: Peril in the Palace

LOVED this book!!  I actually requested this book through Tyndale Publisher's blog review program because my son loves the Magic Tree House books and I thought it would be nice to have a similar experience, traveling through time, but with a Christian outlook.  I was right, this book was wonderful.  Well written, grabbed you from the beginning. We loved it so much, we plan on purchasing the rest of the series (this is book 3 of 6).

As I said, it is similar to Magic Tree House in that the main characters, cousins Patrick and Beth, go through time on quests to find out why the Imagination Station isn't working the way it should.  Their quest in Peril in the Palace is to find the golden tablet of Kublai Khan.  But while going on this quest, they find more clues as to who is sending them their quests and why the Imagination Station isn't working correctly.

I would recommend this book to anyone with a child who loves stories with adventure.  We will be reading the whole series from Book 1 until they don't publish anymore.  This book can be purchased at Amazon.com, Christianbook.com or BN.com.

Now for the legal stuff: Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Mystery of the Blue Ring

I received an electronic copy of this book from Open Road Media through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is geared toward children beginning to read chapter books, so around first or second grade.  This book was originally published in 1987, and has been re-released for e-readers.

It's a great book about a second-grade girl who receives a detective kit complete with disguises from her Grandmother and sets about to solve some mysteries.  I remember wanting to solve mysteries when I was a young girl too, though there wasn't really a mystery, just an over-active imagination on my part.  But Dawn has a mystery to solve, a ring is missing, and the class thinks she stole it!  Dawn puts her detective kit to use when she decides to investigate the whereabouts of this ring, and she gets some help from a boy from her class, Jason.

Patricia Reilly Giff draws you in and keeps you going throughout this book.  I would highly recommend this book to any child, boy or girl who likes adventure and mystery.  You can find this book at Amazon for Kindle  or at Barnes and Noble for Nook.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

It Couldn't Just Happen

I got this book from Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review.  I picked this book because I think that it's very important for my son to learn that the world didn't just happen, that God created Heaven and Earth, and us.  Lawrence O. Richards goes through all the things that kids would be interested, dinosaurs, the creation of the Earth, evolution, space, other planets, etc. and shows how God has created all things and uses Biblical support too.  He discusses Evolution (we come from plankton) vs. evolution (we change over time) as well which was one of the big reasons I wanted this book.  It bothers me that the Theory of Evolution is taught in public schools as fact now, not as a theory as it was when I was in school.

Mr. Richards also ends each chapter with a "Just for Fun" activity, which gives them ideas on how they can learn more through the Bible and research.

This book is well written and can be used either to read straight through or as a reference to look up individual topics (the book has a topical index in the back).

One thing that really impressed me is when he discussed the age of the Earth, Mr. Richards did not state that the Earth can't be billions of years ago, he said the Bible does not state when God created, just that He did.  He also only disputes the reliability of radiometric dating.  While I do believe that scientists can carbon date fossils to the billions of years ago, I respect that Mr. Richards had research that did support his argument.

Oftentimes Christian groups dispute things like when dinosaurs roamed by simply stating that it couldn't happen because God created the world in 7 days regardless of how long we conceive 7 days to be versus how long God would consider 7 days to be.

Mr. Richards' book is well-written and well researched.  It is supported both by scientific discoveries and the Bible, and it shows that even scientific discoveries support a Biblical world view.

I would recommend this to anyone who would like their children to know a Biblical view of our world.  Those who believe in Evolution as fact, not a theory and that the world was created by a coincidental merging of dust particles would probably find this book irritating.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Stealing Jake

This is my first review for NetGalley.  Though it's also for Tyndale and I have done reviews for them...but I digress.

Stealing Jake is a wonderfully written piece of Christian historical romance by Pam Hillman.  The story takes place in a rural town where Livy O'Brien has just relocated to from Chicago where her life was not that easy.  She is trying to start a new life and become a better person than she was.  She meets the town Deputy, Jake Russell, who has problems of his own and a past he wants to move on from as well.  The characters are well developed and this is not just written as a romance, there have been some robberies and some new street kids coming in from Chicago as well as the new orphanage in town.

I am not one for romance novels, as a rule I don't tend to like them.  But, as I said, this isn't just a romance.  Pam Hillman stayed true to the historical events of the Chicago area and developed characters, both main and secondary, that you truly cared about.

I highly recommend this novel.  You can find it on Amazon for Kindle.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Promises to Keep

This is the first novel I've read by Ann Tatlock, and I have to say I will be reading more of her books.  Taking place in the 1960's, we hear Roz's story, moving with her mother away from her alcoholic father to live in the same town as her grandfather.  She meets and befriends a young African-American girl who has her own family secrets.  Roz grows from the innocence of youth to realization that things are not always what we want them to be, and neither are people no matter how much we believe in them.

This novel is well written and keeps your interest.  It is a great coming of age book.  Even though at parts you can see what may happen next, you hope that what Roz sees will be reality.  I would highly recommend this to  any reader.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”