Unglued devotional review

Unglued Devotional: 60 Days of Imperfect Progress Description:

This companion devotional to the bestselling book Unglued provides encouragement to help readers handle emotional struggles. Including a daily opening Scripture, Thought for the Day, devotion, and closing prayer, this book helps readers begin a 60-day journey in learning to positively process raw emotions, such as fear, anger, and regret.

My review:

I wish I had had this when I studied Unglued a couple of months back!  A wonderful companion to the book, and even great as a stand alone devotional.  We all have moment where we just want to scream at the top of our lungs, or think that unkind thought.  In this devotional not only do you see you are not alone, but you see how to give it to God.

The daily Scripture verse points us to God, the thought for the day (which appear to be taken directly from the book if my memory of the book serves me correctly) gives us a touch point for the day.  These thoughts include "When there's no way to feel better in the moment, you just have to place your feet on the only solid ground there is--God's truth," "Don't let your lips or typing fingertips be the first thing that walks into a conflict", and other awesome reminders.

While some of the stories in the devotional come from Lysa's book, Unglued, many are new, making this a great book to turn to.  But what I especially liked was a section in the Appendix that gives a short definition of the four different reaction types and a simple inventory to help you determine your reaction type.  That inventory is visual!  I loved it and wish it had been included in the original book or even the study guide.

So if you struggle with becoming Unglued, this devotional is right up your alley!

Iscariot review

Iscariot: A Novel of Judas Description:

Based on extensive research into the life and times of Judas Iscariot, this triumph of fiction storytelling by the author of Havah: The Story of Eve revisits one of biblical history’s most maligned figures and brings the world he inhabited vividly to life.

In Jesus, Judas believes he has found the One—the promised Messiah and future king of the Jews, destined to overthrow Roman rule. Galvanized, he joins the Nazarene’s followers, ready to enact the change he has waited for all his life. But soon Judas’s vision of a nation free from Rome is crushed by the inexplicable actions of the Nazarene himself, who will not bow to social or religious convention—who seems, in the end, to even turn against his own people. At last, Judas must confront the fact that the master he loves is not the liberator he hoped for, but a man bent on a drastically different agenda.

Iscariot is the story of Judas, from his tumultuous childhood to his emergence as the man known to the world as the betrayer of Jesus. But even more, it is a singular and surprising view into the life of Jesus that forces us to reexamine everything we thought we knew about the most famous—and infamous—religious icons in history.

My Review:

Judas has always been an enigma to me.  A man who walked with Jesus, witnessed miracles, was privy to his inner circle, private teachings and thoughts who for some reason set into motion the death of the man he called master.  I have read many theories but this one seems to ring truest to me.  Judas was a man looking for a warrior king, a messiah who would rescue them now.  Jesus confused him.

Tosca Lee manages to bring Judas to life, to give us a peek into what his thoughts might have been, why he acted as he did.  We begin to perhaps understand his actions, even to consider that had we been in his shoes we might have acted similarly.

What I also enjoyed is the view of Jesus.  We all seem to get this image of a man who had a glow behind his head and always seemed so peaceful and clean.  Here we see him presented as a man.  Gaunt, dirty, tired after 40 days in the desert.  We see why his family said,  “He is out of his mind,” (Mark 3:21) during his ministry and how they might have thought that.  We see his love for others and we see that perhaps the death sentence that loomed over his life may have weighed on him.

I also found it interested to read that perhaps the trial of Jesus may not have been as illegal and irregular as I had always been taught.  Quick research on my part has shown that there may be some truth to the scenario that Tosca Lee presents in this novel.

It is important to note that this is a work of fiction.  As such the author inevitably takes some liberties.  However I feel like Tosca Lee has made good effort to stay true to both Biblical and historical facts.  Iscariot  opens the door for further study, which is something I always enjoy.

God Gave Us Easter review

God Gave Us Easter Description:

"God loved us so much he wanted us to always be with him too. That’s why God knew he’d need to give us Easter.”  

As Little Cub celebrates Easter with Papa, Mama, and her brother and sister, she begins to ask her papa questions about this very special day of the year.  Papa lovingly explains God’s plans for his children, while taking Little Cub on a memorable walk through her stunning Arctic world, and he shares how Easter came about in clear, simple terms that even the littlest cubs can understand.




My Review:

In case you hadn't noticed, I really love this series.  Princess and I have read God Gave Us Christmas, God Gave us Love, and God Gave us You.  When I had a chance to review God Gave us Easter I was tickled.  Let me say, this book was a great addition to our library!

Easter can be a difficult celebration for little ones.  You want them to understand that it isn't about the bunny or the candy but about the sacrifice Jesus made that paved the way for our relationship with God.  This book does that wonderfully.  Little Cub and Papa Bear are talking about Easter and when Papa Bear tells Little Cub that Easter is better than Christmas Little Cub inquires why and the message begins.

I especially like that we are reminded that "Easter is part of a bigger story he (God) had in mind for a long, long time".   Papa goes on to explain the symbolism of the Easter egg and how it reminds us that even death couldn't trap Jesus.  There is no way to talk about Easter and not address death, but this book does so in such a way that it remains true to the meaning and yet isn't scary while not trivializing death.

The illustrations are just as beautiful in this book as they are in the other books in the series.  Laura Bryant does gorgeous work.  This is a book that you will want to add to your Christian preschool library!


Download a free coloring page to go with this book here.

View a sample of the book here.

Purchase a copy of this book for your very own here.

Let. It. Go. review

Let. It. Go.: How to Stop Running the Show and Start Walking in Faith Description:

 Many women are wired to control. You're the ones who make sure the house is clean, the meals are prepared, the beds are made, the children are dressed, and everyone gets to work, school, and other activities on time. But trying to control everything can be exhausting, and it can also cause friction with your friends and family. 

This humorous, yet thought-provoking book guides you as you discover for yourself the freedom and reward of living a life 'out of control,' in which you allow God to be seated in the rightful place in your life. Armed with relevant biblical and current examples (both to emulate and to avoid), doable ideas, new thought patterns, and practical tools to implement, Let. It. Go. will gently lead you out of the land of over-control and into a place of quiet trust.

My Review:

I have to admit, before I started reading this book I really thought, "I don't have an issue with control".  For those of you who know me...stop laughing!  Yes, I am one of those who is "wired to control" and I honestly don't even realize when I am doing it most of the time.  I bet you don't either.

In the book Karen identifies four disguised control types in addition to the loud, boisterous, and dominating type.  They are:  the soft-spoken saint who says yes to every request whether it inconveniences her or not (YES!  that really is a form of control!), the enabler who either runs interference or does damage control when loved one's actions affect others, the victim or martyr who controls through a well-timed pout or the occasional sigh, and the people pleaser who's actions gain unspoken favors allowing her to get her way when she wishes.  The common theme is that we all have a false notion that control works.  And we do, don't we?  Otherwise we wouldn't be doing it.

The book is broken up into three sections.  The first helps us to see our own controlling side and to perhaps understand the "why" behind it a little better.  Karen gently, and sometimes humorously, walks us to the truth that it really doesn't work, and that is is actually quite harmful to both ourselves and those we are trying to control.

The second section focuses on control issues in our families.  With a chapter on managing our husbands, our children, our home and our schedules she covers it all.  I love that Karen is honest and doesn't present herself as the gal who has all the answers and has done it right for FOREVER.  She is down home, sitting at the sticky kitchen table over a cup of coffee, girlfriend chatting honest with us.  She shares her failures and her successes and reminds us above all that we are on a mission for God

The final section is an awesome look at what it means to lose control and keep the faith.  Karen uses Biblical examples of what it looks like to let God lead the way and yet still not sit on our hands saying, "huh uh...not my decision, I don't want to be in control".  Drawing from the stories of Queen Esther, David, Paul and others we see how letting go can line up with letting God.

I have to say this was a truly eye opening book that has helped me to make some changes in my life.  

I enjoyed it so much that I am actually reading it again as part of Melissa Taylor's Online Bible Studies starting this Sunday.  For more information on the study, or to sign up yourself, please visit www.MelissaTaylor.org 

Princess Addison Gets Angry review

Princess Addison Gets Angry (Princess Heart) description:

Princess Addison is used to getting whatever she wants. But when it starts raining and she can't go outside with her dogs, she gets very angry. Princess Addison becomes Princess Angry and must learn how to deal with her emotions.

My Review:

Princess Addison gets Angry is a part of  the Princess Heart series, which addresses emotions such as anger, happiness, sadness and being scared.  It was written for young children, preschool or younger.  As such the sentences are short and the story is simple.

I understand that in order to address anger, the princess must have something to be angry about, but this particular princess just strikes me as being spoiled.  The story opens with the fact that she has a butler.  I suppose all 'princesses' do, but explain to a 4 year old princess of your own what a butler is and then why she doesn't have one and you will see how this could become an issue.

Then Addison becomes angry over not being able to go outside with her dogs due to rain.  There are a HUGE amount of things that a preschool child might become angry about: a friend takes a toy, someone takes your turn in line, having to clean up before you are done playing.  Not many preschoolers I know are going to get angry about not being able to go outside when it rains.  This may just be me though.

Mom does give some good, universal advice though.  It's okay to get angry, but never hit people or break things.  You can take a deep breath, go for a walk (but it's raining so I'm not sure how this would work within the story??), read a book, and/or tell someone about it.  Being angry doesn't last forever.

The illustrations are adorable, reminiscent of Mary Engelbreit.  The story has a good moral and some practical advice.  It is going to take some work on the parents part to help your preschooler to draw similarities between Princess Addison's situation and their own angry situations though.

Spirit Well review

The Spirit Well (Bright Empires) Description:

The search for the map—and the secret behind its cryptic code—intensifies in a quest across time, space, and multiple realities.

But what if the true treasure isn’t the map at all . . . what if the map marks something far greater?  Something one world cannot contain? Those who desire to unlock that mystery are in a race to possess the secret—for good or evil.

Kit Livingstone is mastering the ability to travel across realities using ley lines and has forged a link from the Bone House, a sacred lodge made of animal bones, to the fabled Spirit Well, a place of profound power.

His friend Mina is undercover in a Spanish monastery high in the Pyrenees, learning all she can from a monk named Brother Lazarus. Still determined to find Kit, she is beginning to experience a greater destiny than she can fathom.

Cassandra Clarke is overseeing an archaeological dig in Arizona when a chance encounter transports her to 1950s Damascus. There, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to the Seekers—the last living remnants of the Zetetic Society who need her help to track down the missing Cosimo Livingstone and his grandson Kit.

But there are darker forces at work in the universe whose agents always seem to be one step ahead of the rest—and they’re all desperate to gain the ultimate prize in this treasure hunt where the stakes increase at every turn. At the heart of the mystery lies the Spirit Well.

My Review:

The series began with The Skin Map, which if you recall I wasn't overly impressed with.  For some reason I kept with the series and read the second installment, The Bone House, where there characters were becoming more real and the story line was starting to come together.  That brings us here, to the third of what will be five books in the series.

In this edition we learn how the skin map became, well...a skin map.  A gruesome concept but one that seems less so when we get the whole story.  We again have some interesting time travel and are introduced to a new character and a new organization on the hunt for the map.

I honestly don't yet understand Cassandra's part in the story line.  What I can say is that with the introduction of Cassandra we finally begin to see some of what makes this book worthy of a Christian publisher.  While God may have been absent from the previous books, He definitely has a presence in this one.  

Kit manages to find his way back to more modern times and we get a glimpse of the complexity of  ley travel when we discover that Mina's rescue of Kit in the previous book hasn't yet happened for Mina on her current time line!  All in all I have to say that the series keeps improving and I look forward to the next installment!

Bible Stories that End with a Hug review

Bible Stories that End with a Hug! Description:


Little children love getting—and giving—hugs! Hugs generate warmth, affection, and a feeling of acceptance. Show your little ones just how much you treasure them while teaching them about the Bible and God’s unconditional love for his creation. Bible Stories that End with a Hug! features 75 easy-to-understand Bible stories with charming illustrations, lessons on how to apply the stories to your child’s daily life, memory verses from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, and a special “Hug Time” during which you can share a great big hug with your child.

For children ages 2 and up


My Review:

First I really want to say thank you to Tyndale for allowing me to review this book and participate in their blog tour.  I have LOVED Stephen Elkins books (see my review of his Hide and Seek devotional here) and was tickled pink to know this one was coming in the mail.  I just knew that Princess and I would love it.
The bad.  This arrived Christmas Eve and my regular postal delivery woman was on vacation.  I really wish I knew who had delivered my mail because had this been a gift I would have been very disappointed.  Where I live we don't get mail delivered to our door, or even to a mailbox by the driveway.  I get mail at boxes like the one below that are stationed throughout my subdivision.

image source

Usually when a package arrives that doesn't fit my totally awesome mail lady just drives to my house (which she has to pass anyway to get to the next community mailbox) and drops it off at my door.  Whoever delivered my mail this time decided to fold the package in half and force it into the box.  This was an intentional act of destruction because this is a HARDBACK book.  It took some effort to fold it.  So now this really beautiful book has a crease down the back cover.  Hopefully that doesn't happen to you.

On to the book.  It was written for young children, and as such my precocious Princess found some of the stories a bit simple.  Not a huge deal since this is more of a devotional type book rather than a story book.  For example, here is the entry for Luke 2:41-52 entitled Growing by Knowing:

When Jesus was a boy, what was He like?  Did He like to sing or draw or read?  Did He play with friends or chase butterflies?  We don't know for sure.  But we do know Jesus loved to go to church (called the Temple) to talk about God, His Heavenly Father.

What does the Bible tell us about Jesus as a boy?

When Jesus was 12, His family took Him to the Temple.  For three days Jesus listened to the teachers there and asked questions.  He was growing by knowing.  This pleased God! ...

And that is the end of the story.  The book goes on to discuss how we can start growing by knowing and then give a suggestion to "Give the one who is growing by knowing God a great big hug!"

A perfect place to start for a very young child, but for us this is more of a recap or a story introduction.  Now just because I say she found them simple don't think she didn't love them.  They are just short enough to fit in before bed but as you can see from the excerpt above there is lots of room to take it deeper.  You can discuss with your little one all of those questions.  Each entry gives the Bible verses it is from so you can also read the original text and compare.  Simon Taylor-Kielty does a beautiful job illustrating the book.  

The illustrations appear to be oil pastels and are soft.  All of the characters are portrayed child-like.  For me this is a drawback.  While visually appealing to my daughter it gives the wrong impression at times.  (Mom, why was Esther married before she grew up?)

What I really like it the give a hug element to each devotion. While it can be used to reinforce what you just read to your child, and that it is a quality they possess ( you can hug your child every time), we chose to use it as an opportunity to encourages princess to be observant of those around her, to look for the qualities discussed in others.  I LOVE that.  You can never start too young teaching them to look for the good in others and to focus on someone other than themselves.

All in all, a great addition to Princess's bookshelf, and I bet it would be in yours also.  

Find it on Amazon at the link below