Sequin Sparkle and Change Bible: Pink

As soon as I saw the cover of this Bible, I knew that I needed to get this Bible for my daughter. She loves the sequins that change, so I knew she'd love this Bible cover! My only complaint is that I really do wish it was in softcover instead of hardcover, but that may not be something that could even have been done.

The Bible opens with several pages of a Bible Time Line. It also has a presentation page and a family history page. My daughter loved being able to write that page in by herself.

The version this Bible is in is the International Children's Bible. It's an easier-to-read version for children.

I really like the Key Verse Highlights in the beginning of the Bible. It's a topical index for many of the things taht children have questions about or would like to find verses on. As you are reading through this Bible, you will see these particular verses highlighted so that kids can easily find it, read it , and learn it. It also gives a good explanation to kids on why we study the Bible.

Tucked inside the pages are common questions that kids have, like "How do I know Jesus loves me?" or "How do I pray?" or "How do I forgive?" Also included in those pages are Bible verses to know and a page so your child can write down their favorite verses.

The end of the Bible is complete with a very nice dictionary that is easy for kids to use. Then, there's a "Where do I find it" page. That page has some of the well-known people or stories in the Bible so children can quickly find the book of the Bible these stories or people are found.

Another favorite page of mine is the one called "What God Promises About." We have to know God's promises for us and realize that not all promises are for us. This does a great job at showing kids what God promies about salvation, my prayers, obeying, wisdom and so much more. It's followed by several pages that kids can use as a memory verse challenge. They are memory verses for my life, which is a lot of verses that kids can pray and memorize.

The very last pages are full of the Names of God, who the disciples are, the miracles of Jesus, and who some of the kids are who are named in the Bible! How sweet is that page?!

There is also a small maps section, as well.

All in all, my daughter is very pleased with this Bible. As a mom, I really appreciate the layout of this Bible and the intentional pages placed into it. It refers children back to the Bible constantly, and I appreciate that!

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

Once We Were Strangers by Shawn Smucker

I don't know that I have the right words to sum up how much I enjoyed this book. I loved the transparency that Shawn had when he talked about how he didn't know if he could write this book because he didn't know if he could be a good friend to Mohammad, who is a Syrian Refugee.

Mohammad's story is amazing in itself. The determination he had and the love and desire to protect his family is one that every single parent can relate to. I was humbled by how grateful he was for a little house and a job. For him, he wasn't doing all of this for himself. He was doing it so his kids could have a better life.

To try to sum up this book is hard because it's written just like you're sitting across the table from them and joining them in their conversations. It's a story being lived. It's sacrifices made. It's a friendship formed. It's not a "how-to" book or a "you should" book. It's a book that shows how friendships are important, even those that include refugees.

Thank you Shawn and Mohammad for writing your story and for sharing your friendship with the world. I've thought so much on many of the things that you've said and have even found myself quoting part of your words to friends! Thank you for making people more aware of the life of a refugee. I can see Mohammad's smile shining through the pages of the book!

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

Who I Am with You by Robin Lee Hatcher

I have been looking forward to this book for the past couple of months. The cover intrigued me first since it's so beautiful. But then reading the synopsis for the book made it a definite "must-read" for me. I loved the idea of a modern story crossing with a little bit of history from her grandfather's Bible.

Robin Lee Hatcher is an author that I like because of her clean romance stories. This book does focus on some hard issues that both Jessica and Ridley have had to deal with. They have isolated themselves some and are walking through their different types of grief. And then you get to see Jessica discovering her grandfather's Bible. What a beautiful story is told through his life.

I love how the stories are entertwined and it never got confusing going back and forth. In fact, the story felt richer because of the 1930s woven in.

This book is very much in the style of a lot of her other books. I am looking forward to reading her next books!

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

Zoe's Hiding Place by David Powlison

This is a book that I recently read to my kids....from 3-10. They have had some anxiety over the death of their friend and I felt they could really relate to this book because of their anxious hearts.

The illustrations are beautiful and the colors are vibrant. That kept the attention of my 3 year old. My 8 and 10 year old liked the simple message reminding them that God is always near. I wouldn't say the book is theologically deep and I'm not so sure it was even meant to be. But the message is clear....when I'm afraid, God is there.

For my older kids, it allowed us to talk about verses that can remind us about God's nearness and not having to be afraid. It led to a lot of conversation, which I think is great if any book can do that. If you want something to bridge several ages, this is a good book for that. It can be adapted to fit the age that you're reading to, for sure. You'll probably want to extend it to the harder questions of "Why doesn't God leave us?, etc." for your older kids. At least, we did and then backed it up with Scripture.

All in all, I think the book served the purpose in which it was written for.

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

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.