The Book That Made America: How the Bible Formed our Nation, Jerry Newcombe

I did not know that in 1983 President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation stating "....in recognition of the contribution of the Bible on our Repulic and our people do hearby proclaim 1983 the Year of the Bible in the United States. I encourage all citizens, each in his or her own way, to re-examine and rediscover its priceless and timeless message."

This interesting and highly christian statement was somehow shuffled away in the teaching of Ronald Reagan that I received in school. Somehow this information is still lost in the public school rooms - forgotten by those old enough to remember it.

I learned so much while reading this book. What a treasure of information! I closed this book more committed to my home school effort with my children. I was also more confident in the curriculum we had chosen to use: McGuffey Primers and the New England Primer (used for recitation and memorization), Rays Arithmetic, and the 1823 Websters that uses ample scripture in word definition. Through this book it is clearly evident the impact public education has in reinforcing a persons world view (whether biblical or not) and their later life decisions. At one time a biblical worldview was central to education.

This book is rich with information on our christian roots and heritage. I believe it would benefit everyone to read it. America sadly enough has a rising generation that is blind to the deep, rich christian heritage that shaped this nation.

This book will help parents to teach their children the christian roots of American History so they are better equipped in life.

I dare say this is a gem - a christian home schooler's dream history resource; and a public school parent's resource to developing a healthy biblical worldview.

Check out the other great publications of Nordskog Publishing at the following website www.nordskogpublishing.com

Thank you Nordskog Publishing for this review copy.

Love Food and Live Well, Chantell Hobbs

This was an easy and enjoyable read. Although I don't struggle with a weight problem I do struggle with maintaining a healthy lifestyle balanced with good eating and exercise. I appreciate that this book is not about a new "diet" or setting a weight loss goal but rather about a life change and thought change. It is more an inspirational or encouraging book about the challenge of living a balanced life. I really enjoyed the author's candidness about her own struggle with self-esteem and weight and how the two went hand in hand. My favorite part was the exercise routines. I have implemented one and thus far am enjoying it.
Thanks B&B Media for this review copy.

In Constant Prayer, Robert Benson & Phyllis Tickle

If you are Catholic you might love this book – if not you might find it difficult to read. I was interested in reviewing this book as I am always interested in growing spiritually. In fact I believe in both the discipline of prayer and bible study. I was hoping to find within the cover of this book new ideas on how to organize and creatively set aside time for prayer. However, what I discovered was far from this. I found an attitude almost akin to the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. Prayer was approached as a must do every three hours with the aim to attain power or favors from the Lord God. This was more about the keeping of a ritual for the benefit of one’s self than the keeping of a relationship for the betterment of one’s spiritual life and the physical as well. I approach my prayer time as an avenue to visit with my Father – not for what my Father can do according to my request (not to manipulate His will) but to hear His divine voice whisper across time and age to speak to my heart. I also found it a little offensive to be advised in the “ancient practice of the office” (i.e. prayer time) by a person who felt that he must swear that certain events transpired because of the “keeping of the office”. If I recall correctly one of the ten commandments states Thou Shall not SWEAR and if you hold this to mean profanity it again states in the new Testament that one should not swear by the earth or stars – that one’s yes or no should be sufficient. This is a difficult book to tread through and complicates the beautiful time of prayer. Christ spent time with His Father to be renewed, led, comforted, etc. I spend time with my Father to better know him and to hear His leading in my life. I approach prayer like I do my relationship with others – I must purposefully set aside time to invest in that relationship by calling, writing, visiting or any other means to spend time with that person. Just as I set aside time each night to pray over each of my children and then to spend a few moments visiting with each one. I would not recommend this book.
Thank you Thomas Nelson for this review copy.

With My Rifle by My Side, Kimberly Jo Simac

This is an excellent children's book. The easy verse and beautiful pictures make it very enjoyable to children in elementary and pre-elementary ages. I like the fact that while telling a story it teaches children about bearing arms. The lesson is that it is a right granted in the constitution, but is a right with responsibility. I think the over all message teaches children that the right to bear arms is special: to protect our homes and land, to hunt - and that this right came at a price. I really appreciate the thoughtfulness of the author to add many useful tools for parents in the back of the book. These include a page on gun safety tips, names of gun organizations and programs and a copy of the second amendment. As a home school mom I found this to be extremely useful as an additional resource for use in history and government. Although it is written for younger children, it may be used for high school or junior high in the help of understanding this amendment. The simple way it is presented makes it extremely nice.
Special thanks to Nordskog Publishing for this review copy. I further recommend their other books in print as they are a publishing striving to provide books and resources to promote a biblical worldview. Home school families would greatly enrich their libraries by adding these books to their shelves.

You can get this book by visiting the following sites:
www.NordskogPublishing.com
www.SendMeThatBook.com

Real Life Discipleship, Jim Putman

SCMD - Share, Connect, Minister, Disciple. Such a simple strategy and yet so many fail to do it. I really enjoyed this book and the simple plan for discipleship laid out in its pages. I admire the work that Pastor Jim Putman put into this. After reviewing this book I am interested in purchasing the training manual and taking our youth group through it. We all need to be discipled and it is a sad fact brought out in this book and evident in our churches that many people are left undescipled. We are comfortable sharing the gospel but when it comes to training a young christian or helping them as they grow we are often sadly equiped and unsure of ourselves. This book serves to encourage those who are saved to grow to a point of being able to disciple others so that those they disciple can in turn disciple. We are in troublesome times, our battle is for eternity. It would be absurd to recruit a man to the military, hand him a gun and set him out on the battle field. Yet this is what is happening when a new christian is not discipled - we have set them up for death or capture by the enemy. Let us take more seriously this thing we call christianity - making it our lifestyle not simply a religion or denomination. This book will encourage you and equip you for the task of discipling.
Thank you NavPress for this review copy.

Then Sings My Soul, Robert J. Morgan

This special edition book of hymns and the stories of their creation is a treasure to have. If you have a music lover in your life this would be an excellent gift. the cover with its graceful hills is astounding. The heavy pages with torn edges add an element of richness to the book.

The songs are organized by holidays: Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Patriotic ending with a section called Other Favorites. This makes finding your favorite songs easier. There is a copy of each song on one page and on the facing page is an appropriate scripture and the story of the birth of the song. These stories are deeply moving and will forever change the meaning of the songs. One can not help but be changed when you are shown the heart of the author of each song. Some songs born out of praise others out of adoration only after suffering. Each song was written with the knowledge of the majesty of or Lord.

Robert J. Morgan has done an excellent job of bringing to life the richness of these hymns - bringing new meaning to them. Each story could be read as part of a daily devotion or as a group devotion. Excellent as a resource or for personal reading. No matter how one chooses to use this book it will be an inspiration.

Thank you Thomas Nelson for this review copy

God Loves Me More Than That, Dandi Daley Mackall

I loved this book - and so did my kids!

"How much does God have for me? More than the letters between A and Z"

An answer and question book about God's love in simple rhymes explores the depth, width and even the weight of God's love. Children are shown in practical and delightful ways how great God's love is for them. Each question is answered in rhyme that is easy to memorize and the beautiful illustrations bring life to each verse. My children loved the simple fun verse and enjoyed repeating it - and the end of each verse "God loves me more than that" (or some similar ending) was shouted by them. We took time to talk about each verse and picture. By the end of this book they had a new understanding of the vastness of God's love for them.

Thank you to Waterbrook Press for this review copy

Before God, Mike Sarkissian

This is the heart felt work of a seminary student and pastor. I am thankful for his candid testimony in the preface to this book about how one seminary course changed his prayer life dramatically. The book is a result from a class assignment on prayer.

Coming from a doctorate level seminary student of theology I feared that it might be written above the common person's theological understanding. However, I was delighted to find that this book is very easy to read and understand, even for a new christian. The author has done an excellent job of presenting scriptural fact about the importance of prayer in the believer's life. At no point does the author seem to veer off on his own understanding but rather supports all statements with more than one scripture reference. He has done a remarkable job in breaking down the Lord's Prayer so as to make it more understandable for everyone.

I am very impressed by this author and hope to see future works by him.

Thank you to the author for this review copy.

Engaging Thoughts, Hubert Darnell Glover, Ph.D.

This is a wonderful book of inspirational poetry and scripture. I received it during a very difficult time in my christian walk (a difficult pregnancy that eventually ended in us losing our son) and found it to be comforting to read on the trips to the doctor. I am impressed with Dr. Glover's candidness about his journey as expressed in these poems. It is like reading a modern-day book of Psalms. Thank you Dr. Glover for sharing what God has impressed on your heart.

Special thanks to the author for this review copy.

Agents in Action

I love this! I had no problem getting my kids ready for this study. In fact as soon as they read the title and saw the front cover they were ready to ditch their other study to begin this one - but I made them complete the other first (and they enjoyed it). This is such a creative and interactive study about serving your family and others and about getting along. I don't know any kid that isn't interested in being a secret agent on a mission for God. The lessons have an option for older children and younger children this makes it extremely adaptable for all situations. I can teach my younger 2 the bible lesson while the older work on a different subject in school then I teach the older 2 the lesson for older children. It is nice that each lesson has snack suggestions and games or activities that are age appropriate. There are also activity pages or coloring sheets for each lesson. I give these pages as work for my children after they complete school as a way to reinforce the lesson later in the day. The children are really enjoying the studies. I have also enjoyed studying the lessons myself. Excellent for Sunday school, children's church or for bible study at home. We use these 13 week studies as our bible lessons for home school. These are good enough to use over later in the school year.

Thank you Regal for this review copy.

Focus on the Family Womens Series Group Starter Kit

If you are looking to start a Women's Ministry or just looking for new material this is the kit you need. The price of this kit is a bargain compared to many bible study kits on the market - I think it is an excellent price considering the added resource material included with the bible studies. The resources are invaluable to a ministry. The first resource book included is "Women's Ministry Guide" in this book you are given tips and tools for starting a women's ministry or for adding to an already existing one. I really enjoyed this book and found it useful from a Pastor's wife's perspective as it gives creative ideas for reaching out to women. The other resource book is "Crafts and Activities for Women's Group" this is filled with all kinds of activities sorted by season. These would be great for ice-breakers or to use at the conclusion of a meeting. The crafts are all easy to moderately easy and can be completed in a short amount of time. They would also be good for older children. I am going to use this with our two oldest kids for art projects. There are four bible studies included each designed to last 4 weeks. I am working on these for myself but have recommended that we work through them in our Women's bible study starting in January. The fact that they are only four weeks long makes them great - most people can commit to four weeks at a time. I have read through all the studies and found them all to be excellent. I really love the format and very much enjoyed the study Healing the Heart because it deals with recognizing the effects of sin (both our own and others) on our lives and the importance of forgiveness. Each chapter or weeks lesson has four sections so a section could be worked each day making it last 4 days and giving 3 days to apply the challenge of the week. I worked all four sections in one day - as it did not take that long (about 45 minutes plus prayer time). The scripture used is excellent and the questions make one stop and consider the subject. All studies include Scripture for memorization and prayer prompts. I found it very useful and informative.

Thank you Regal for this review copy.

Mubu & Mu-Mu, Peter Alexander

This book is a delightful find and a treasure! It is based on the true life experience of Lek Chailert of Thailand who has a rescue habitat for animals. My older children liked this book more than my 2 and 3 year olds mainly because of the length. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and make the story come to life. Anna (my nine year old) really enjoyed the story of Mubu taking in the gibbon and helping to heal it. I think she was sad when Mu-Mu the gibbon had to go back into the wild but was satisfied when the two reunited later on. What I found absolutely wonderful was the follow-up to the story. There is information on gibbons: where they live, the different types of gibbons, what they eat and their families. Following this is an account of Lek Chailert's (Mubu) life and interesting things about her. To close out the book there is a letter to children from Lek Chailert inviting them to email their animal stories to her and telling them that she grew up loving animals.

I did not put this book back on our general bookshelf, but rather put it with our animal books under science. I think that it will be an excellent book for homeschool when we are studying different animals and the people who work to save certian species.

I am looking forward to the other books that are going to be published in this series as are my kids.

You can order a copy of this book from www.kennebec7.com or www.trafford.com or by email at orders@trafford.com.

Thank you Trafford Publishing and Peter Alexander for this free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Adventures of Blue Ocean Bob (Vol.1), Brooks Olbry

This book is meant to inspire children to believe in themselves and their dreams. Children are invited to travel with Bob as he searches for his purpose in life by asking several different sea creatures before coming to an old turtle. Although my 9 year old did not care for the book the other three younger children did enjoy it when she read it to them. I like the simple rhyming language and colorful illustrations. I do not think this is a christian book as the theme is to follow what makes you happiest in life. After reading this I took time to stress that what makes us happiest in life ought to go hand and hand with Christ's will for our lives, for in this is true contentment. The principles set forth are based on the success philosophies of certain men - such principles are not necessarily wrong if they are balanced with biblical teaching.

Over all this is an enjoyable read. My younger children really liked it and especially enjoyed the illustrations of all the likable sea creatures.

Thank you Brooks Olbrey for this copy of your book for review.

Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science, Susan Hughes

I received this book for review from the author and Kids Can Press. My oldest daughter (age 9) would not put it down! She was intrigued by the stories and how each mystery was solved. After reading this book she was more interested in doing her history lessons in home school - I think in hopes of studying about one of these. The one that most caught her attention was about Anastasia. Three times she came to me to discuss what she was reading and to make sure that she had identified the correct girl in the photo as Anastasia. She wanted to know all about her and the circumstances surrounding her.

I really enjoyed this book. The illustrations and layout keep the readers attention and the historical and scientific facts are great. The author did an excellent job. If you are looking for a book to pique your child's interest in history this is it. I am in full support of books that will cause my children to be excited about learning a subject. As a home school mom I find it easier to teach something the kids enjoy than to try to force something that is dry and boring.

Thank you for this review copy.

Crafts and Activities for Women's Ministry, Focus on the Family

This is a wonderfully fun book!!! The crafts are simple to make and require little material. I think that most of them are adaptable for a young ladies ministries (teens or pre-teens, maybe even the tweens). I know they are going to provide hours of fun time for my oldest daughter and I! She is already looking through it and dog-earing some of the pages. One of our first projects is going to be the bath soap gift and the herbal bath bag gift...she also want to make bath salts. What woman doesn't want a part of making something self-indulgent and smell-good?? I can't wait to start using these in January with our women's ministry meetings. I know our ladies will greatly enjoy working on the different food item mixes here and the cutsey little bags and gift jars that they go in. All this makes me feel like a kid again. Activities like this allow women to spend time in sweet fellowship, allowing life-long friendships to begin.

Thank you Regal for this review copy.

The Big Book of Service Projects

I LOVE IT!! As a home school mom wanting to give my children practical ways to apply their faith and a christian mom wanting to give my children an outlet to serve the church and community for Christ this has been great. My kids are so excited to begin the little projects. This innovative book is set up in such a way that each service activity can be completed within 30 to 45 minutes - so it is perfect for a Sunday School class setting. I am going to implement it with our Sunday School class once a month - calling it our Service Sunday. Children need to learn to serve as Christ did with a glad heart, enjoying the work of the Lord. The book gives advice and an outline on how to start a "service club" which I thought was a neat idea for a church that does not have a ministry like this currently. The bible instructs us to raise our children in the knowledge of the Lord - what better way than to teach them to serve others. I also liked the fact that the book has options for adapting the projects for older or younger children. This is important to me since my children are 2 and 3 and 7 and 9. Obviously my younger two can not always complete the same assignments as the older two, but this book allows both sets to work on the same project ideas, but slightly different projects.

Get this book and jump into some quality family fun time serving the Lord!

Thank you Regal Publishing for this review copy.

What the Bible Is All About visual edition, Henrietta Mears

WOW! This is my third What the Bible is All About and this is wonderful. The book is compact enough to carry with me in my bible bag so that it is handy for use in my Sunday School class and Youth girls class (I also carry What the Bible is All About young explorers edition for my Sunday School class). When we recieved this in the mail my two sons (age 3 and 7) sat down on the couch and began looking at it. As with all the books in this edition it is extremely thourough in the breakdown of each book. I really enjoyed the fact that it also includes a reading plan for reading the bible through in one or two years. A description of the purpose and historical setting of each book is given. Then the book is grouped into like themed chapters and are explained. My boys loved the color pictures while I enjoyed the very detailed and descriptive maps. I found it to be a useful resource, but also an excellent supplement to bible study. I am working through Psalms with my children and found the information in this book to be very helpful. I think it would be excellent for the home school parent who is teaching bible as part of the curriculum. This book is a place that children can go to search out biblical facts and to strengthen their knowledge of the scriptures and purpose behind each book. Knowing the history and circumstances surrounding a book of scripture often brings clearer meaning to that scripture making it easier to apply it to ones life. You do not have to be a theological seminary student to understand, enjoy and benefit from this book - it is written at a very basic level and meant to be used by everyday people like me who long to have a deeper meaning of the Holy Word.

Thank you Regal Publishing for this review copy.

God Gave Us So Much, Lisa Tawn Bergren

I fell in love with Lisa Tawn Bergren's children's books when I purchased "God Gave Us You" before the birth of my second child. The lovable polar bear family was easy for my 2 year old daughter to understand. The captivating sweet story made her feel more secure in her position in the family with a new baby on the way. This treasury of 3 stories is equally enchanting!! This would make an excellent and economical Christmas gift as you are getting three delightful books for the price of two - one is a brand-new edition to the "God Gave Us" series. The books included are God Gave Us the World, God Gave Us Love, and God Gave Us Heaven. This was our bedtime story book for the past three nights and all four of my children (ages 2 through 7) eagerly anticipated the next story of Little Cub and her close, caring family. The stories are told in conversation style between Little Cub and a member of her family. Little Cub asks the questions most kids wonder but few put into words. She is answered with love by a family member according to biblical principles. This book certainly is a treasure to get and will be cherished long after kids outgrow picture books. It is one of the children's books that I will be keeping for my grandchildren for sure.

An excellent value and full of moral and biblical principles this is a wonderful to express the truth of God to a child. All children easily relate to Little Cub and her family.

Thank you WaterBrook Press for sending this review copy through the Blogging for Books program. My family enjoyed it very much.