The Strategically Small Church, Brandon O'Brian

This is a book that should be placed in every Pastor's hand...it would even be beneficial for other church leaders such as deacons to read. An excellent resource and encouragement to the Pastor that has felt the pressure of the "Numbers Game". This book exposes with grace and understanding the lie that has been fed to so many church leaders. This lie is that success is numerical growth in the church. This has so saturated the religious world that authentic worship and discipleship has been left to the side. In fact many churches are being run dry financially by trying to achieve greatness in number instead of embracing their own identity in Christ. I think this book does a fantastic job of teaching that each church has areas that God has gifted them in and that they should pursue excellence in those areas to best achieve the kingdom work in their area. After reading this book I began to closely look at our own church and the unique gift of fellowship that our church has - our members genuinely care about others, they have a servant heart and a desire to see children and families experience the Divine presence of the tender Savior. This book would be an encouragement for any Pastor feeling this pressure or on that is on the edge of being "burned out".
Thank you Bethany House for this review copy I truly enjoyed the biblical truths presented within its covers.

God Chicks and the Men They love, Holly & Phillip Wagner

I loved Holly's book Warrior Chicks and found this one to be equally good. The style of writing is relaxed making this an easy and enjoyable read. The candid sense of humor and personality that both Holly and Phillip show in this book make it seem personable. This is a book that gives a glimpse into a man's world and advice based on scripture as to how to meet the needs of our men. A team effort of this couple pays off - in the fact that as a woman you are getting biblical advice from another women with the added benefit of the thoughts of her man. A great book for married women to read - sometimes we forget to embrace the uniqueness of our husbands and instead of being a support or encourager of their dreams and desires we are the ones that tear them down without realizing what we have done. IF you are looking for a relaxed, easy reading book filled with down-to-earth humor and absolute candidness this is the book for you.
Thank you Regal Publishing for this review copy.

Bringing out the Best in Your Husband, H. Norman Wright

This is the counterpart of Bringing Out The Best in Your Wife. Women, while your husband reads the other book, you should read this one. It is an opportunity to share ideas and discuss the suggestions as you both study the material together. As was the case in the other book Wright exposes the dangers of bad communication and the biblical fix to these. Wright is a marraige and family therapist, his years of experience and his close walk with the Lord is evidence in his writing. Every book written by this author that I have read has been excellent. He is an author worth adding to your library - as he has books addressing many relational and family issues.
Thank you Gospel Light for this Review copy.

Bringing the Best Out the Best in Your Wife, H. Norman Wright

A wonderful resource! H. Norman Wright does an excellent job, as always, in discussing relationships. I have yet to find a book by this author that I have not found insightful and useful. Wright addresses the differences of men and women, exposing the lies that the Enemy tries to bring into relationships in order to short circuit communications. While giving advice on how to better relate to your spouse Wright shows the biblical foundations for each piece of advice. The book is easy to read and understand. All the information is easily put to practice in relationships. I would say that this would be a good book to read while your wife reads Bringing out the Best in Your Husband.
Thank you Gospel Light for this review copy.

Praying Through Your Pregnancy, Jennifer Polimino

This is a unique and personal weekly devotional and prayer guide for expectant mothers. It would be a great shower gift for the expectant mom you know. Each week opens with the journal of Jennifer and then a short devotional and suggested prayer. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this at the beginning of each week of my pregnancy. This is my fifth pregnancy, I wish I had had this book in the first. I recommend this for personal youth or as a gift.
Thank you Gospel Light for this review copy.

The Big Book of Bible Skills

Gospel Light's Big Book of Bible Skills is an excellent resource for church and home school. I am incorporating it into our bible class for the kids. My 7 year old and 9 year old both enjoy the the worksheets and the interactive games. The reproducible cards of the names of the books of the bible are a wonderful extra. We used this to help my son learn the Books for Awana. We played different games using the cards until he could name all the books in order. The games at the front of the bible are fun even for the youngest children. Children absorb bible skills and facts without realizing they are even studying. The added benefit is that the knowledge sticks with them because it was enjoyable to learn and was not learned for the mere benefit of passing a test. I highly recommend this resource for home school families as well as church. It would also be excellent for personal family fun time with the kids.
Thank you Gospel Light for providing this review copy.

GET MARKED -BE A PART OF A NEW MOVEMENT

Get Marked! Be a part of a new movement, a revolution. The new MEND MARK bracelet is designed to look like the nail holes of Jesus. A constant physical and visual reminder of the great sacrifice that was given for each of us. This bracelet is also an excellent witnessing tool! Because of the uniqueness of the design it causes people to ask questions and gives the wearer an opportunity to share the great love of Jesus Christ. I was so excited to receive an email from B&B Communications that shared about this movement. This is a way for believers to share the gospel and to be reminded constantly who they belong to. Christ bore each of our sins on the cross, sometimes we forget the magnitude of such an act. Not only this but Jesus walked in humility and love and acted with compassion and concern for a lost and dying world. Often reaching out to the insignificant, the outcast, the forgotten, the "unsavable", and always the unworthy. I was one of those that Jesus thought of on the Cross as he looked out through time and eternity - and you were too. What an excellent way to show your love of Christ than to bear a mark of His.

A portion of the cost of the bracelets goes to support Living Water International which builds wells.

Visit this site at www.mendmark.com

Fun For the Whole Family Hour

This is an excellent program for the entire family. I was very impressed by the entire program. The price makes this very economical to put on even for the small church. If your church used Groups High Seas Expidition this ties in well, as it uses much of the same music and decorations. I agreed to review this thinking that it was for individual family use, however I was delighted to find out it was a family based worship experience for the church. I did review this with my children as part of homeschool and they enjoyed the video clips and map. They all thought it was exciting and fun. We are planning an event in November at our church and are expecting a good group. I am very glad to see programs that are like a mini-VBS for families. Many churches have programs for children, youth, young adults, senior adults, women, men, mothers, ect. However, there are few programs for the entire family. I think this is an excellent opportunity for a church to present something for the entire family - this is the best worship experience: Searching God's word as a family and as a family growing closer to God.
Thank you B&B Publishing for the opportunity to review such an wonderful church resource. I am anxious to see what Group does in the months to come to promote family worship experiences.

Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament, Nancy Guthrie

I recieved this book from Tyndale in exchange for my unbiased review of the product. I am always in search of new devotional books. Many are weak in the application of the scripture but strong in a "feel-good" message. This one however, is very rich in scriptural application. Nancy Guthrie takes the reader through the old testament showing Jesus from the beginning of the bible. I have really enjoyed each devotional and have added this to my morning reading routine with my daily God Sightings bible, and the Daily Discipler. These devotionals are short and easy to read, showing scripture from each book of the old testament, each devotional is ended with an applicable prayer. I recommend this One Year devotional for anyone wanting a scripturally rich devotional that will inspire, encourage, and uplift you.

City on our Knees, TobyMac

City on our Knees, Toby Mac
This book is titled after the hit song by Toby Mac. He has compiled within these pages numerous stories of people who chose to follow God into the unknown and see great things done by a mighty God. Like the song this book is meant to inspire each of us to great things for the Lord. Toby Mac encourages people to step out of their comfort zone into the unknown, to cross lines of division - to walk by faith and see miracles. This was an easy to read book. The stories contained within it will cause you to laugh and shout and cry for joy. Touching and true they inspire each of us to great feats.
Thank you Bethany for this review copy.

Praying the Scriptures for Your Children, Jodie Berdt

Praying the Scriptures for your Children, Jodie Berdt
Jodie Berdt has done an excellent job of showing through scripture the importance of praying for your children. By using scripture and story the author gives readers encouragement to pray powerfully and specifically for your children. She shows the power of praying God’s Holy Word and the blessing of doing so. The book addresses five major areas of development and concern of parents for their children: Faith, Character, safety, relationships and future. I don’t know any parent that has not spent some time in prayer or worried over these areas for their children - after all we all want the very best for our children – so why not release the power of God into their lives at a very young age. I really enjoyed the personal stories that opened each of the sections. I found these stories inspiring and sometimes convicting. I recommend this book for any parent wanting to have scripture on hand to pray for their child. Thank you Zondervan for this review copy.

The Baby Bible Christmas Storybook

The Baby Bible Christmas Storybook
This is an absolutely delightful little book! Parents of toddlers would benefit from it. My two and three year olds love this little book. They carry it around reciting the simple story and the simple little actions. The fact that this is a board book make it extremely durable in little hands. This would be a great stocking stuffer or Christmas gift for the small child in your life. It is an excellent interactive and fun way to introduce toddlers to the true meaning of Christmas – the birth of Jesus Christ.
Thank you B&B Communications for supplying this review copy.

ICB Holy Bible - "Big Red" Bible

ICB Holy Bible
I agreed to review this bible for Thomas Nelson (www.booksneeze.com) in exchange for an unbiased review. I am a mother of 4 children. When this bible arrived all four of my children wanted it for themselves. The bright cover and wonderful pictures made it especially appealing to my younger two children, who have enjoyed flipping the pages and looking at all the wonderful artwork. My older two also enjoyed the artwork and colorful maps. They also found that the translation was very easy to read and understand. Some additional features that make this bible very usable for young children is the dictionary/index that defines difficult words; footnotes that explain names, customs and phrases; and the colorful maps in the back of the bible. All these features and the easy to read translation make studying the bible easy and enjoyable for elementary aged students. I recommend this bible for families with small children. Thank you Thomas Nelson for the review copy.

Little Town of Bethlehem, dvd

Produced by EGM and directed by Jim Hanon this documentary of present day Bethlehem was extremely informative. The thrust of the film is conflict resolution without violence in an area that is peppered daily with violence and poverty. In the midst of this chaotic world there are people trying to make a difference. The story follows three men from three very different backgrounds: Sami Awad, a Palestinian; Yonatan Shapira, an Isreali; Ahmad Al'Azzah, a Palestinian Muslim refugee. All three are looking for peace in the place they call home. I must say that I did not realize how terrible the conditions truly still are. Some of the places shown where absolutely destitute and depressing. It really made me think of how blessed America really is and how much we take for granted. I think this would be an excellent home school resource and personal resource. It is a great way to introduce older children to the reality of other countries and the reality of the damage and destruction caused by war. To hear the true stories of these men as they tell about their families and their present struggles in this volatile society is to be convicted about the complacency that most christian live in. These are a people that have suffered and live in fear and uncertainty. These are a people surrounded by hate, distrust, and evil. They are calling for nonviolence and unity at the cost of their very lives.
View the film trailor at http://littletownofbethlehem.org/
Thank you B&B Communications for the review copy.