Monday, January 30, 2012

The World of Science and Animals

It was a great blessing to receive these two books. The two books are from My Father's World Christian curriculum. You can actually purchase your copy of these books at a better price through My Father's World rather than Amazon.com. They are listed for 4th-8th graders, but I think any school aged child would enjoy these books.



The 1st book The World of Animals has lots of good information from little protists up to huge mammals. My kids enjoyed the bug section most because they're not as scary when you are learning about them in a book. It's amazing how much God has created. We can't forget about those little organisms.



The 2nd book World of Science is full of fascinating scientific facts. My son is learning about atoms and the Table of Elements and all that good stuff in his virtual science class. I was grateful to have a biblical sound science book to turn to for us to learn more in.  These books are really awesome!





I received both of these books from NLP for my honest review.

A is For Adam


A is For Adam is another great educational tool from Ken and Mally Ham. Being a homeschooling mom I love anything that will help my children learn and understand the Word of God. This wonderful flip chart style book is so helpful!
This book has great illustrations and goes from A to Z with biblical truths. There are a few different sections for each letter of the alphabet. First you will read what the letter stands for in this particular book. Then there's the Starting Point section. This section tells you a little about a specific biblical occurrence. Then there is the Bible Bits section. There are a handful of little points that you would have the children repeat after you. The Let's Talk section is next with a few questions to get your kids thinking and participating. There are some extra activities and another quick review. I will be using this book with our kids at our bible study group as well. There are even printable color pages to go along with the studies. I really, really love this book!
You can take a peek inside this book at Amazon.com. It's a really great price there too!

I received this book from MasterBooks, a division of NLP for my honest review.

Fun Bible Adventures

101 Bible Adventures: The Ultimate Quest For Truth is a great book for my son! This book offers kids an adventure-filled time of studying and learning about God's word. This isn't about just reading the scriptures. There's interaction and they are learning great life lessons such as forgiveness, love, good character building, and discovering God's plan for their lives.

Each story features:
  • A brief overview so kids can get a bird's-eye view of the Bible story
  • A key verse that sums up the story's meaning
  • An application section that challenges kids to make their faith active
These stories are from the New Living Translation, which makes it easier for the kids to grasp and understand. My son liked that each section was just two pages. He can easily read it without my help or getting too tired. My 8 yr. old said he thinks this book is cool. It's a great addition to my kids' library.

I received this book from Tyndale Publishers for my honest review.

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Sound of Red Returning-A Review

 ~WHAT THEY SAY~
About the book:

After losing everyone she loves, concert pianist Liesl Bower has nowhere to go but to escape into her music. Searching for the peace she usually finds in her concertos and sonatas, Liesl can’t shake the feeling that she is being haunted by her past . . . and by someone following her. When she spots a familiar and eerie face in the audience of a concert she’s giving for the president in Washington, DC, the scariest day of her life comes back to her with a flash. It has been fifteen years since Liesl watched her beloved Harvard music mentor assaulted on a dark night in Moscow and just as long since the CIA disclosed to her that he’d been spying for Russia. She had seen that man--that eerie face--the night Professor Devoe was attacked. And now he’s back--and coming for her.



On the run and struggling to rely on the protection of CIA agent Ava Mullins and handsome newspaper reporter Cade O’Brien, Liesl learns she is the prey of an underground cell of Russian KGB agents determined to restore their country to its former Soviet might. But what she doesn’t know is that she is in possession of something--a piece of sheet music--that Russian intelligence is now frantic to find. Inside that music is a secret code, the hidden transcriptions of her deceased mentor, that clearly identify a Russian mole operating inside Israel’s Department of Defense, a mole with enough power and access to execute a daring assassination that no one would see coming.

Caught in a deadly conflict between American and Russian undercover agents, this innocent young pianist is just trying to survive her own personal trauma. Through it all, Liesl must learn that no matter how dark her world grows or how fiercely her enemies pursue her, God is still in control--if only she can yield herself to His grace. Read an excerpt here: http://www.sueduffybooks.com/#!vstc1=books

 ~MY TAKE ON IT~

The Sound of Red Returning by Sue Duffy was captivating!

I'm not big into political things so I really didn't think I would enjoy this book. I read it in one day! You CAN mix politics and religion and it makes a great read!

Liesl, an amazing young pianist and Max, a very good violinist, and good friend of Liesl's. They accompany their Harvard music professor, Dr. Devoe, to Russia. Max gets into some legal trouble for being unruly in public and the professor comes to their rescue. He takes them to a dinner with him and they hear some things they shouldn't have.

Liesl and Max go their separate ways over the years. Liesl witnesses the murder of her professor and flees the scene. Unknowingly she has some very important information many are looking for. She doesn't think anything of it for some time. She had put the past behind her. The professor's wife passes away and the Russians are tracking her once again. The adventure begins! Some parts of the story totally surprised me. One of the "bad" guys wasn't who I thought it would be.

I love a story where God is just working in the background/behind the scenes and the main character finally realizes it at the end of their ordeal and totally gives their life to God. It's always nice when they find their true love when they have been through so much that they think they will never love again. I can't wait to read the next installment of this story!


About the author:

Sue Duffy is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in Moody Magazine, The Presbyterian Journal, Sunday Digest, and The Christian Reader. She is the author of Mortal Wounds (Barbour, 2001) and Fatal Loyalty (Kregel, 2010). Sue has also contributed to Stories for a Woman’s Heart (Multnomah). She and her husband, Mike, have three grown children.





~YOU CAN WIN~
Win a Kindle Fire from @SueDuffy2 and @KregelBooks in the "Red Returning" Giveaway! Sue Duffy and her publisher, Kregel Publications, are celebrating the release of The Sound of Red Returning by giving away a Kindle Fire prize package worth over $200 to one lucky winner!!!! (1/23-2/11)

Enter the Sue Duffy’s Giveaway today and you could win:

* A brand new Kindle Fire with Wi-Fi
* The Sound of Red Returning (Book One in the Red Returning series) by Sue Duffy

To enter click one of the icons below. But, hurry! The giveway ends on 2/11. Sue will be announcing the winner of the “Red Returning” Giveaway on February 13th on the Litfuse website!

Enter via E-mail Enter via FacebookEnter via Twitter
Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. 


I received this book from Kregel Publications for my honest opinion. 

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Love Him On Purpose

Today I pulled out a new book to read, "The Husband Project-21 Days of Loving Your Man On Purpose & with a Plan." So to start off I am supposed to have a girlfriend or 2 sign up for this project with me. ALRIGHT!!! I have a friend on board and we are committed.I thank God that my Military MOPS group introduced this book to us. I'm even more excited to meet the author Kathi Lipp in a couple of months!

I really do try to do nice things for my husband. Kids can sometimes get in the way of certain things though. No, not just THAT! This is the reason I had to sit down and really think about what I could do for my honey and when I could do something for him. With all the kids' and our family's extracurricular activities it seemed like there was never time for anything! I made it a priority to find time. I moved my other half up on my priority list.
 
My kids are cereal people the mornings my husband works. I would usually cook a nice breakfast on the weekends, but I was starting to get lazy in that area. I would find myself staying in bed until everyone was already up and had eaten something. Then I would emerge from the room. I was being so lazy! I prayed Jesus would help me fall asleep earlier so I could wake up earlier and make some sort of effort for my family. My energy did start coming back. I had to make the effort though. I woke up and started making breakfast again. I know are day is so much happier and fun when my husband has a nice hearty breakfast of sausage and eggs.

My husband is amazing! If I'm falling behind on laundry he'll pick up the slack. He cleans the bathrooms and the kitchen. He helps me take care of the house after working his full time job with the National Guard. He does get into his zone when he cleans so we all know to stay out of his way. He's on a mission and we can't disturb it. I have been known to take that personally and just get rude. I was just taking it all in wrong. Because after he's done he comes out of that zone and he's back to fun-loving guy. So of course, I sit there thinking to myself I should have finished all of this and he wouldn't be "in his zone" and everything would just be peachy. I have no excuse to not have it done....well, besides the homeschooling, babysitting, and little siblings arguing. I have realized I can get things done if I manage my time better. My husband LOVES coming home to a clean house. And he should be able to do that. He understands why it doesn't get done, like days when we are not home, he doesn't give me a hard time about it either. Now, when my oldest is working on an assignment I can go clean my whole kitchen in 10 min or less. I make sure the girls are doing something to keep them happy and occupied, and I will clean up the living room real quick. Thank you Jesus for the kids' playroom! I clean the kids' bathroom up in less than 10 minutes as well. In an hour I can have the house sparkling clean. I just need to make the decision I'm going to do it and it will get done. My husband comes home and gets to relax in a clean house. Makes for a great start to the evening. I still leave our bathroom for him because he makes a huge mess in there from cutting his own hair and all that. I'm not ready to take that on yet. He likes to do it so I let him have that.

There is just so much we can be doing. Even the littlest gesture of kindness that can do so much for our marriage. I hope this book can help you look at things a little differently like it has me. 

This book is full of awesome ideas and projects to help you love your man on purpose. We don't have to let every day problems that arise hinder our wifely duties. Our husbands need to know they mean the world to us and we couldn't possibly live without them. The back of the book is filled with some MAN recipes that your honey is sure to love.  You can find this book on Amazon.com for a great price. Take a look inside the book while you're there. This is a must for your library.

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GIVEAWAY TIME
1 reader will receive a free copy of "The Husband Project"
Thank you to Kathi Lipp for the opportunity to review this book and offer a giveaway.