Monday, May 09, 2016

A Golden Story!

I have had this book on my shelf for a long time and finally finished the book.  Don’t let the title, Bug Swamps Gold, fool you, this is a wonderful book retelling the story of a young girl growing up during the depression years in the 1930s and 1940s.  The story takes place in South Carolina and contains so many stories, funny, tragic and everything inbetween in the life of Billie Wilson.

She writes about her time in Bug Swamps.  It was a difficult time which was made bearable by a family which was based on love.  If you enjoy reading about the depression era through the eyes of a young girl as she is growing up, surrounded by extreme conditions in life, yet, comes out the victor . . . all because of a family’s love, then this is a great book to read. 

I received this book from booklookbloggers.com in exchange for this review.

Let God Qualify You!!

I have always enjoyed / benefited reading Steven Furtick’s books.  I know he is a polarizing figure among church leaders.  I have listened to his sermons and really cannot find where he is putting down God, or playing off of people.  Yes, he is a little outrageous, but, I believe he has a message we need to hear.  In his newest book, (Un)Qualified: How God Uses Broken People to Do Big Things, Furtick hopes to help the reader come to the belief they are qualified to do the work God has called them to do.

The book title came from an interview with John MacArthur.  During that interview, MacArthur used the word "unqualified" to describe Furtick.  As a result of that statement, Furtick used the words from McArthur to write this book and sermon series associated with it. 

Furtick explains how we view ourselves greatly determines whether we see ourselves as unqualified or as qualified.  Often times we look at our negatives and hold onto those as opposed to seeing the good within us.  The call in the book, which is just over 200 pages, is to reclaim our identity in the sight of God. 

He starts the book with a section entitled “The Third Word.”  This is because we often fill in the blank of the statement “I am ____” with a negative word or phrase.  Once again, the hope is that we will see ourselves in a new light and see ourselves in a positive light.  The goal is to let God fill in the 3rd word, which will be encouraging.

I received this book from bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for an open and honest review.

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Interactive and Fun Pre-K Bible!

My First Hands-On Bible is a wonderful Bible for young children and their parents.  This Bible is a fun, engaging and interactive Bible for parents to use with their young children.  The Bible is designed for children between ages 3-6.  There are other Hands On Bibles for older children as well.  Understand that this is NOT the entire Bible.  It is selected stories, 85 of them, from the Bible.  They are considered lessons. 

Each lesson focuses on a specific point of a Bible story.  What is really great is the fact that it’s not just a story and move on.  Along with the stories are activities, illustrations, prayers and a Jesus Connection.  There are stories, but the Hands-On Bible also uses scripture to reinforce the story.  This is what makes the Bible hands on.  It is a great way to engage children to be excited about learning from the Bible and be able to apply the stories into their lives.  It is also a great way for parents or grandparents to connect with their children / grandchildren.

The scripture passages are from the New Living Translation.  Not my preferred choice, but that is not the point of this Bible.  Overall, I would highly recommend this Bible for young parents.  It would be a great gift.

I received this from Tyndale blog network in exchange for an honest review.







God's Story and Yours!

I appreciated reading Michael Horton’s new book, Core Christianity: Finding Yourself In God's Story.  The purpose of the book is the fact that many times we really do not know the reason for the faith we have.  Horton is hoping we can better understand our story in the midst of God’s Story.  Until we do, Horton believes, we will be stymied in our spiritual growth and we will never have the intimate relationship with God we were called to have.

According to Horton, the book has 4 main themes - -
1.  Doctrine leads to biblical drama.
2.  The drama yields specific doctrine
3.  The doctrine leads to praise or doxology
4.  Finally, doxology leads to good works or discipleship.


He weaves these themes throughout the 10 chapters ~

Getting Started: God’s Story and Ours, or Why Doctrine Matters
1. Jesus is God
2. God is Three Persons
3. God is Great and Good
4. God Speaks
5. God Made the World but We’ve Made a Mess of It
6. God Made a Promise
7. Joy to the World!
8. Jesus is Lord
9. What Are We Waiting For?
10. In the Meantime: Callings
Afterword: Tying It All Together


Horton continues to speak more about God and His nature, as opposed to humanity and our role.  He wants the reader to have a better understanding of who God is, then after determining who God is, we are to find ourselves in this drama, which ultimately leads to praise and discipleship.

Overall, this is a very good book.  It is short, less than 200 pages, and is easily read.  If you are wanting a very basic view of God, and willing to read into where you fit into the story, this would be a great book to read.

I received this book from booklookbloggers.com in exchange for an honest review.

Fun Kids Devotional

God Gave Us the Bible: 45 Favorite Stories for Little Ones is a very well done, hardcover introductory Bible for parents to read with thei...