936 Pennies Discovering the Joy of Intentional Parenting by Eryn Lynum

I love books on intentional parenting, so when I read the cover of this book, I had to see what it was about. Reading that we just had 936 weeks between our child's brith and age 18 almost sent me into a panic attack! It seems like such a small amount of time! Putting that into words made me see just how much time I waste. I'll be honest, though, I couldn't bring myself to take a penny out of a jar each week. I can't imagine my heart when I get down to the last week and I don't want to count down. So I opted to not join in that part because I know myself!

But this book should definitely be read by parents of all ages. It would have been such an encouragement to me in those lonely years of toddlerhood.

I really appreciate Eryn's transparency in this book. The stories are thought-provoking and honest. I have found myself thinking even more intentionally about parenting as I have gone throughout my days.  This is a book that has challenged me to think about the time I've wasted and how to better use my time.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

Listen Up by Marty Machowski

In a busy life, families are sometimes pressed to find good, meaningful, devotions that push kids toward the Gospel and heart change, instead of just behavior modification. I have never heard of Marty Macholwski, but was excited to check out his new 10-minute family devotional book based on the parables.

We all love good stories and the parables that Jesus used are ones that we often remember. So what a great idea to use those to help teach the Gospel to our children!

There are 13 weeks in this study book. There is a tiny section for the adults to read, called 'The Get Ready and Get Set" section. Then, within each week, there are 5 days or lessons. The parables vary in length so some days can be shorter and some longer, but none of this will take longer than 10 minutes.

Following the parable, there is a Think about it section, as well as a talk about it section. There are some pointed questions that you can ask your children, but these questions are also good for us to ask ourselves. The answer is in italics, but there is also some guidance for parents to help lead their children to answers.

Then it ends with a pray about it section. For those that want to go deeper, there is a going deeper section, as well.

This is a family devotional that we will be using over and over throughout the years.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

The Daily Question for Your Child

With the busyness of life, it's so easy to forget to write down your favorite memories and stories of your children. That's where this book comes in. Our family has had a lot of fun asking these questions and recording the answers down in this 3-year book. So we bought one for each child so that they can each have a keepsake of some of their answers. They may not enjoy looking back on these, but it has been a some intentional conversation starters between us and our children.

The front cover can hold your favorite photo of your child. It slips in and out, so it's easy to update if you desire.

Some examples of the questions are: "If you coould start today over, would you?" "What is your favorite song?" "What do you miss" or "What is something that confuses you?"

I look forward to seeing how their personality and answers change over a 3-year period. While sad that they are growing up, at least I will have some meaningful conversations and time well spent with them, as well as a record of their responses!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

God Made Me and You: Celebrating God's Design for Ethnic Diversity by Shai Linne

I am always on the lookout for children's books, especially ones that talk about diversity. My children range from 3-10 and they honestly don't talk about the differences in skin color or the different cultures. It may be that we've talked about it so much from their little years on up and even have a teen girl from a different culture living with us. Nevertheless, I still want to remind them constantly that God made everyone for the job He created them to do. This book fits the message I want my kids to know.

For starters, I tend to look at the Editorial reviews of a book, especially a Christian book. When I see some of the names that I highly respect, I know it's a book I need to read. It's not always one I may agree with, but it's one I need to read. In this book, it was both....a book I needed to read and agreed with.

The illustrations are cute and fun. The story is biblical. Shai reminds the children that God created a diverse group of people for unity. In a culture where disunity is taught and encouraged, she reminds them that's not God's plan.

I love how she talks about how sin causes division. My kids have asked that question a lot lately, when trying to understand why people hurt others because they're different. What a beautiful answer on these pages. She even reminds the children of Jesus's words in Revelation about the bride and how we will all worship together as one. What a beautiful picture to leave in their young minds...and in my mind!

In researching who Shai is, I saw that she has a companion CD, too. I haven't checked it out yet, but it's on my list to find.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

A Fever, a Flight, and a Fight for the World by J. A. Myhre

I have absolutely loved this series. It's captivated the mind of my 10-year-old son and has been a story that my 8-year-old daughter refers to quite a bit. We love the setting and how J. A. Myhre is able to write a lot from her experience as a doctor in Africa. I think her knowledge of Africa helps to make this book come alive.

This is a fictional series, but she writes in facts beautifully. Her description of places is easy for the mind to imagine. We have even stopped reading it out loud to even look at the scenery of different places in Africa.

The story focuses on good vs. evil, something that my son has loved. He has a hard time ending the story because he wants to know what happens next! Many great conversations have flowed out of not only this book, but the entire series. It's a series that promotes conversation with parents. I highly recommend this book as a read-aloud with your kids. If you don't read it aloud, then definitely follow up with them on things they loved or saw throughout the story. You definitely need to read it with your kids or you'll miss out on some good memories and conversation!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan

I love reading historical fiction that leaves me feeling like I learned something that I didn't know. A few months ago, I had read a non-fiction book on the life of Joy and Jack Lewis. Because I had read that, I felt like I might not learn as much from this book. However, the cover was beautiful and it drew me in. So after picking it up and putting it down several times in a store, I decided I'd finally just read it and give it a try. The history that flows into this story is beautiful. Patti Callahan did an excellent job weaving the facts into this novel. It has become a book that I've recommended to people when they need another book to read.

Of course, this is a love story between Joy and Jack. You do have to remember that this is a fiction novel. It's not nonfiction, so you will have to weed out the facts from the creative license that Callahan takes as an author. However, it quickly becomes a story that you can't put down.

While the novel is mostly a love story, there's a little something for everyone in this book. For those C.S. Lewis and Tolkien fans, you will love the conversation thrown in that these two have together. It's fun to see some of the history of C.S. Lewis thrown into the storyline.  There are also a few sensitive issues that are talked about in the story, so some readers may need to be aware of that.

I've never read anything by Patti Calahan before, but I've already been trying to find some of her other books now!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

Everything She Didn't Say by Jane Kirkpatrick

I have been a huge Jane Kirkpatrick fan since I discovered her. I was so excited to see that her new book had finally been published. It was a book that I devoured. I couldn't stop reading this story that reads more like a memoir. I can't imagine how hard this book had to have been to write and how much time she spent pouring over historical information to help form the framework of her story.

Carrie Strahorn marries a man who is a writer. He, Robert, has the task of writing for the railroad to help encourage people to go to the West and settle there. It'd be a hard life, but he firmly believes it would be rewarding as they begin settling towns in this area. Robert thinks that he might should journey alone and then just pop in to see his wife. Carrie disagrees. She thinks that he needs her and she could be a benefit to him. Not realizing all that she was signing up for, Robert gets permission to bring his wife along. After all, she's okay traveling until they start a family.

It's on this journey that secrets come out that begin to change some of their hopes and dreams. What was only going to be short adventure is now the foundation for a memoir that she one day hopes to publish.

This book has a little of everything....adventure, love, death, pain, hurt, excitement.....Jane Kirkpatrick makes you experience one emotion after another as you turn the pages.

If you haven't had a chance to read Jane Kirkpatrick before, I highly recommend you getting all of her books! Don't miss any!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.