Book Review~Soaring Above the Circumstances

I recently had the pleasure of reading Soaring Above the Circumstances (ISBN 978-1941972748), written by Dean Kilmer and published by Start2Finish Books. This book was written to inspire those who live with chronic illness, to inspire them to soar above their circumstances. It is a Christian book,  full of scripture and stories of God's work in people's lives.

Soaring Above the Circumstances is broken up into three parts, each with several chapters:
*Learning to Soar Above Your Circumstances
*True Stories of Soaring Above Suffering
*Biblical Power to Soar Above Your Struggles
 In the first section, the author writes about those who have inspired him, and his own personal struggle with diabetes. The second section is full of stories of people who have suffered yet persevered with a positive attitude. The last section explains stories in the Bible to help when you are struggling.

I have been dealing with chronic illness for several years, and found this book very encouraging. Since the author has chronic illness himself, he knows firsthand what it is like to struggle with it day after day. I especially appreciated all of the Bible verses, and plan to go through the book and make a list of the verses included for myself to study and have on hand when I am having a rough time. 

You can purchase your own copy of Soaring Above the Circumstances at Amazon.

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free from BookCrash in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Book Review~Seeking Christmas

Seeking Christmas: Finding the True Meaning Through Family Traditions is a 41 page softcover written by Renee Robinson and illustrated by Veronica Hallum.  I was immediately intrigued when I read the description of this book:

Is the message of Christmas lost in the commercialization and hectic pace? Can we celebrate with intentional purpose? Using devotions and activities, Seeking Christmas gives your family an experience to pass down for generations to come.

Making sure my kids, and now grandson, understands the true meaning of Christmas has always been important to me.  Just last year we began celebrating advent, and it has become a tradition the entire family looks forward to. 

In Seeking Christmas, there are seven lessons/devotions.  Your family can do them in the seven days leading up to Christmas, or the seven Sundays before Christmas, or any schedule that works for you.  Along with the Seeking Christmas book, you can also download the free journal and ornaments that go along with the lessons.  The link will be at the end of this review. 

Each lesson has five sections:
*Remember-a treasured holiday memory
*Read-a part of the Christmas story
*Reflect-on the meaning of the scripture
*Rejoice-with family over all God has done
*Research-the legendary roots of a classic holiday tradition. 

The lessons in Seeking Christmas can be adapted for your family to your children's age ranges.  Within the lessons are also suggestions for building your own traditions, recipes, and song lyrics. 

Our family is using the lessons in the seven days before Christmas, beginning today.  I did read the book first, and have already made one new tradition.  We have been singing a song together on Sunday nights after Advent.  Dad and the older kids balked at the idea at first, but now everyone is enjoying it!

I'm looking forward to going through all the lessons, and using the ornaments and journal.  The journal will be a wonderful keepsake for years to come. 

Visit the author's website www.renee-robinson.com for more information on the book, as well as the free downloads mentioned above.  Also, 10% of the author's royalties from the sale of this book will go toward organizations helping to change orphan's lives.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's CFR Title 16, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Book Review~All-In 2 Night

As my oldest two children begin their adult lives, I look back and wish I had more time with them as young, impressionable children.  There are so many amazing resources out there for parents.  I've just reviewed one of those resources, All-In 2 Night by Lynne Burgess.  This book follows All-In Night, which introduced the concept of the All In Night. 

All-In 2 Night is full of lots of information to help you connect with your children and as a family.  The book explains how an All-In Night works: You pick a night of the week everyone will be home, and keep it age appropriate and short (10-20 minutes).  All-In 2 Night then gives you 40 weeks (enough for a school year) of topics and ideas to use for your All-In Nights. Along with a different topic for each week, there is a Purpose for the week/topic, a bible verse, ideas and activities, Life Lesson, and a peek into the next week.

The topics cover many different issues: Courage, Prayer, Drugs, and Healthy Work Ethic to name just a few.  You might be thinking these topics wouldn't work for your younger children.  That's what is great about how All-In Nights work-you can modify to fit the different ages in your household. 

I think All-In 2 Night is a wonderful tool for Christian parents-I wish I had it many years ago when my youngest were little.  The book is full of wisdom for connecting to your kids while imparting important life lessons, and I look forward to making All-In Night a regular part of our lives.  So far everyone has enjoyed the All-In Nights we have had.  Compared to other family devotional-type activities we have done in the past, the older kids appreciated the short time commitment.  So even if everyone is really busy, you can carve out ten minutes together once a week. And if you have more time, make a fun evening of it!  The author even gives dessert suggestions for your night together. 

Just a warning, Lynne Burgess is from Australia, so some words may be a little different from what you are used to-like 'Mum'.  I highly recommend this book, and if you start your own All-In Night, I'd love to hear how it goes!

For more information, go to www.allinnight.com.



I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's CFR Title 16, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Children's Book Review~The Christian Alphabet Book

The Christian Alphabet Book: Teaching  Children about Jesus, Prayer and the Bible (ISBN 9780985792800) is a wonderful book by artist Tracy Sands.  From the back cover: "The Christian Alphabet Book by Tracy Sands is a unique, visual, and enjoyable way to learn the basics of Christianity. “Love”, the dove from above, guides you from A to Z with special Biblical lessons of love for all ages." 

This beautiful hardcover book with glossy pages won the Christian Small Publishers Book of the Year.  I could definitely understand why upon reviewing The Christian Alphabet Book.  Each letter is beautifully illustrated with multiple drawings within each letter.  For each letter, there is a scripture associated with the letter, an activity, a lesson, and a prayer.  At the back of the book is a section with explanations of the symbols of each letter. There are close to 100 Christian symbols throughout the book!

Our entire family was impressed with The Christian Alphabet Book-in fact, I think the adults liked it the most!  This would make a wonderful gift for a child or family in your life.  It is available for purchase at Amazon.  I highly suggest you go to the website, www.thechristianalphabet.com for more information.  There are also accompanying songs for download, and beautiful personalized artwork for purchase using this alphabet.  Like The Christian Alphabet on Facebook to receive free shipping on your first store order!



Disclosure of Material: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review~Life's a Pain

I have chronic pain due to spine problems and arthritis.  Over the years, I have struggled with accepting this and have wondered why God didn't take the pain away.  Life's A Pain: Journeying By Faith When Every Step Hurts immediately appealed to me.  What's really fascinating is that it is written by a pastor, Todd Rettberg, who has dealt with chronic pain himself for most of his life.  He knows what it is like to deal with daily pain while being a husband, father, and pastor.

The author uses stories from his own life and others, as well as Scripture, to help us understand that God is there for us every step of the way.  Also, that God made it clear in the Scriptures that we will have pain. Instead of thinking of it as a punishment from God, think about it this way: "He thought so much of me that He believed my pain could be used for His glory."

I think people who don't understand chronic pain think it doesn't affect the rest of your life, but oh it does.  The pain in my spine effects the rest of my body, my energy level, my mood, and my attitude.  It effects how I interact with my family and friends.

When you faithfully call out to God for help in the midst of your suffering, and nothing changes (or it gets worse), you may wonder why this Heavenly Father who loves you so much is letting you suffer.  That's hard to wrap your mind around, and is probably the cause of many people losing faith in God.

I really liked this quote from the book, "In our culture people are surprised when suffering appears.  But are we surprised when God blesses us?  If not, why are we surprised when the opposite occurs?  As Job put it, 'Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?' Job 2:10"

It is up to the individual what they will do with their pain-I choose to use it for God's glory.  I've done the pity party thing and it is no fun for me or those around me. Life's a Pain: Journeying By Faith When Every Step Hurts has been a blessing and help to me, and I highly suggest it to those with chronic pain and those who are close to someone with chronic pain.  This is a book I have underlined and highlighted, and plan to keep out for future reference and encouragement.

Life's a Pain (ISBN 9781936746248) is available for purchase here.

Disclosure of Material: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review~I Am That I Am

I Am That I Am by Judy Azar LeBlanc
ISBN: 9781936746101
Published by Crosslink Publishing

I Am That I Am: Tracing the Footprints of God is a valuable resource to have in your home library.  It is 492 pages of bible verses, biblical facts, and commentary by biblical scholars. Included are all eight covenants of God, summaries of over forty-five of Jesus' parables, descriptions of over fifty divine miracles, and traces over fifty divine names and titles reflecting God.  There are commentaries throughout I Am That I Am by over seventy-five renowned bible scholars, as well as helpful maps and tables. 

The bulk of the book is broken down into four main parts:
*God's Covenants with Humanity
*The Parabolic Ministry of Christ
*The Miraculous Healing Ministry of the Great I Am That I Am through Jesus
*Names and Titles of the Great I Am That I Am

I Am That I Am : Tracing the Footprints of God is a very full, large book, and I must admit that I was intimidated at first.  But now I can say I am so glad that I read it!  It was inspirational to read all of the parables one after the other.  The in-depth insights by scholars were helpful.  I Am That I Am is definitely a book I personally recommend reading!

Purchase I Am That I Am on Amazon.

Disclosure of Material: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”