Book Review: Motivate Your Child

I had the opportunity to read and review Motivate Your Child by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller.  It came on the heels of hearing them speak at a homeschool convention as the founders of the National Center for Biblical Parenting.    This book meant to be a guide for parents who are looking to develop the moral and spiritual foundations of their children.  In effect, the book targets the heart of the parent in training them how to reach the heart of their child.  It will challenge, encourage, equip, and empower you as a parent to love your child and lead them toward a lifetime of better decision making.

The book is divided into two sections- the Moral Development and the Spiritual Development.  I must admit I do not fully understand or agree with the separation for a couple reasons.  First, the entire book points you back to scripture.  Whether it is the chapter on honor, work ethic, honesty, or compassion- everything points back to the scriptural foundation of the idea so there shouldn't be a need to separate moral from spiritual.  Secondly, there is nothing in life that is not in the 'spiritual' realm.  While the chapters on leading a child to Christ and the importance of family bible study time are helpful in the development of a child; separating that from the morals section seems unnatural.  For it is the spiritual foundation that leads to the refining of morality and character.

That being said, this is a wonderful book about reaching the heart of your child and helping them develop into the person God created them to be.  The chapters are filled with ideas on how to approach 'needs' a child may have and suggestions on how to train a child to change behavior.  Most importantly the book backs the desired outcomes with scripture and points to how to transition the development from one of behavior modification to a heart change.  

Here are some of my favorite tips from the book:

-I loved the explanation of the conscience and how to develop it as children travel through the three levels of thinking.  Our conscience is part of our internal GPS God has wired us with to travel through life.  Utilizing it to point it back towards answering the question 'what would God want me to do?' is the goal of internal motivation.

-The checklist on pages 43-45 were helpful in shining the light not only on areas that need work in my children's lives, but also their strengths as people.  It was encouraging to see both sides.

-I loved the idea of an action point:  making sure my intentions and follow through with consequences are clear, quick, and expected.

-The chapter on the integrity package is a MUST READ.  I am in love with the ideas of how to teach honor to my children.

-Keeping the goal in mind.  Parenting is long term.  While the days are long and arduous- we may not always see progress as quickly as we want too.  Fruit may take years to develop.  However, making decisions in the rough, sticky days with the filter of how they fit into the long term goal is crucial.

-This book would encourage the confident parent and equip the lost.  It truly is for every parent at every level in any stage of life.

This book is a must read/have for parents who desire to lead their children into faithful lives.  It teaches the parent to impact the heart of the child and build their character- not just mindless obedience who lose their faith when they leave the safety of the nest.  

*Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review

Book Review: God Made You Special

The Berenstain Bears series continued by Mike Berenstain has a new book entitled God Made You Special.  The story follows the Bear Family as they welcome the Bruin family over for a cook out.  An unexpected addition to the group is Tommy- Lizzy Bruin's cousin.  Tommy does not act like the bears expect him to.  While he is the same age and size of Brother Bear, he behaves more like the toddler bear sibling Honey.  Brother and Sister have learned that God loves them and others too.  God has made each person unique and special- and this is very evident in Tommy.  The Bear family, especially Brother and Sister, learn how to enjoy God's gift of making each person unique and special.

What I loved about this book was the way the children treated Tommy.  He was part of the party and games from the beginning.  While the kids had questions, it was never frustrating or angry, just curiosity.  The bear cubs are shown to love on each other, incorporate Tommy into everything they do, and genuinely appreciate Tommy's presence.  Their love and pure of heart joy for each other was so encouraging.  Even though we don't know "why" Tommy is the way he is, we don't need to!  It shows the reader how to simply love and accept how God has created all of us- without needing a label.  I feel this is a great book to introduce and begin conversations with my children on how to treat others who may seem different- but really are just extraordinary gifts.

The only downfall of the book is that the title is so widely known as a tagline from Veggie Tales, that it was hard to get in the mindset of Bear Country.  Even my daughter (age 8) read the title and asked, "wait isn't that from Veggie Tales?"

In the end, this book is a wonderful resource and a great addition to your home library.

*Thanks to book look bloggers for my free copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review

Book Review: Blessings for the Morning

I had the privilege of receiving a free copy of the book Blessings for the Morning by Susie Larson in exchange for an unbiased review from Bethany House Publishing.  I have never read any of her books before but I was encouraged by the idea of a quick read to start my morning off well as a busy homeschool mom.

This book is beautifully put together.  The pictures are breathtaking.  The layout is easy.  I love that there are no dates so one can peruse and read at their own pace.  The pages are thick and well structured.  It would make a lovely little coffee table book in that way.

There is an index in the front that allows you to see titles of the blessings and their corresponding page numbers.  While this can be helpful, it can be tempting to read the blessings that you feel you will get the most out of.  Rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you in what He wants you to read, it angles towards a self medicating, quick fix solution.

Sadly to say, content wise I was disappointed.  Each opened page has a verse on the left hand side and a prayer/blessing on the right hand side.  These blessings are very 'self' focused and lean on the side of 'self help' used primarily lift oneself up.  It praises the efforts of the self while rarely taking into account our absolute reliance on God.  The verses are often too short and do not take context into consideration.  In my opinion this book is filled with the empty superlatives that are too commonplace in the church today.

If someone is truly in thirst of encouragement, peace, joy, and faith then put aside the self-help and quick-fix crutches and dig deeper into God's Word.  Study the original source in its full context.  Allow the Holy Spirit to fill you instead.

While not a bad book, I feel the temptation of replacing books like this with true Bible study is part of the problem with the Church at large today.  We are afraid to be convicted and only want to feel good.  Read and gift with caution.  Use it as a springboard not as the source.

Book Review: Bella's Gift

I had the opportunity to read a wonderful book, really a biography of a family who has been an example and inspiration to our nation.  Rick Santorum has served his country in the political arena most notably with a 2012 presidential candidate run.  During this campaign, it was announced that his 7th child Bella was in the hospital and also was a survivor of Trisomy 18, a medically anecdote 'lethal' chromosome illness.  Bella, unexpected to survive birth, much less her first year, even less now 7 years later was the miracle surprise to the Santorum family.  In this book Rick and his wife Karen take turns sharing pieces of their story, from distinct perspectives but a unified commitment to putting God and family first in their lives.

This book is not about living with a child with special needs.  It is not about a family that attempted to run for presidential office.  It is about a family who has learned through various challenges and opportunities that life is precious, God given, and valued.  Every life is one that should be advocated, treasured, and honored.  It is a book filled with honesty, pain, love, joy, and passion.

I appreciated the different perspectives that Rick and Karen provided as they faced trials and celebrated victories through Bella.  It allowed for a deeper understanding of the situation and allowed for a 'realness' that is sometimes whitewashed over in biographical stories.  Their testimony and candor is admired.  It was easy to read, enjoy, cry along as the story of Bella and the Santorum family unfolded.  I loved the storytelling aspect of the layout- it wasn't a timeline, play by play of 'what happened' but an unfolding of a heart story that takes place in pieces over time that allows the reader to put them together to a beautiful puzzle.

I feel honored and blessed to have had the opportunity to read this book and would highly recommend to anyone looking for encouragement, a story of integrity and depth, or for unfiltered passion for one's beliefs.

*Thank you BookLook bloggers for the free copy of the book in exchange for my review.

Book Review: Adventure Bible Miracles of Jesus

We love the Adventure Bible in our house!  My daughter (8) uses it for our Bible Study time and we use the devotional during our Bible time in our homeschool.  With an easy reading level (I can read level 2) and beautiful illustrations, the Adventure Bible has brought the Miracles of Jesus to life for children.

Included in this ZonderKids book are the story of the following miracles of Jesus:  raising Jarius's daughter from the dead, healing the sick woman (It is the woman who bleeds, but that specific issue is not addressed), and feeding the 5,000.

My favorite part of this book are the amazing illustrations.  They are calm, yet colorful and more true to the context than some other children's Bible illustrations.  The writing was simple and clear, very easy for my 3rd grader to read and comprehend.  The only downside of the reader level is that some of the names are perhaps harder to pronounce and read independently (Galilee, Jarius).

The book tells the miracles in a wonderful way and clearly lay out the purpose and mission of Jesus.  It would be an excellent to any Sunday school room, library, or home book basket.

*I received a copy of this book in return for my unbiased review.

Book Review: The Berenstain Bears and the Biggest Brag

I have been really pleased and excited about the rejuvenated classic of "The Berenstain Bears" to branch beyond character traits of their illustrious past, but to include the Biblical principles and Christ-like traits where they were all originate from.  It has given great storytelling an even greater purpose.

One of the latest additions to the series is The Berenstain Bears and the Biggest Brag.  Brother and Sister are successful, talented, and and high achieving bear cubs.  However, they have let their strengths get to their head and it has now become a competition and story topping event that Ma and Pa are fed up with.  The arrogant bears finally reach a tipping point when trying to story top each other with coming up with the most interesting cloud formations when Grizzly Gramps sets them both straight with a verse and reminder that pride is not something we want in our lives.

Overall my family of three girls ages 2, 5, and 8 really enjoyed this book.  I love how the cubs' final argument was over something that was relatively benign but also simple that any child could connect to.  The story presents well the fact of how silly bragging can be to help discourage it.  Rather than being hurtful, bragging and pride was presented in a sweet way for children under the age of 10.  The illustrations are also fantastic and reminiscent of the classics.  There is also a great family discussion guide on the back cover.

My only criticism of the book is that I don't believe enough resolution really comes to brother and sister.  It would be nice to have a more well rounded ending where they cheer each other on and manage to rejoice in each other's successes.

This is a great little book to have in your library or to use in a Character trait study for kids ages 4-8 (It would be seen as too silly and not deep enough into the issue for the older kids)

*I received a copy of this book for free in return for my honest review.

Book Review: The Sweetest Story Bible

With three little girls underfoot sweet books that are pink are a huge hit.  My 8 year old daughter was the first to notice this little hardbook Bible on the counter and took it to read to her two year old sister.  The Sweetest Story Bible for Toddlers is a little collection of Bible stories to be read to little ones.  With beautiful and gentle illustrations, this little story Bible is as sweet as they come.

The stories included are:
Creation
Noah
Moses
Esther
Baby Jesus
Children and Jesus
Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection and Ascension

Our favorite aspects (me and my three girls) of the book are the sweet illustrations complete with occasional animals that are interacting with the characters in somewhat fairytale way.  They loved the Monkey in the Esther story pictures and the happy dog joining in while Jesus talked to the children.

I love that this book is toddler friendly with thick pages that seem to be easy to wipe off if needed.  My only wish is that a page had been dedicated to Adam and Eve making a 'bad choice' so that the stories of Jesus would have more impact.  I believe that even the little ones can understand consequences of bad choices- sin- and can understand what great love Jesus had for us to save us from our sins.  The way the story plays out is more that Jesus made a bunch of people angry so they killed him- which is only part of the story and in my opinion his sacrifice was overlooked even in a toddler version.

All in all this is a very sweet little bible book that would make a great little addition to a baby basket or toddler toy bin.  If you are looking for more accurate readings to do with your child, I would find another source.


*I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my review