What Am I Reading? (Book Reviews)

This month I've had the opportunity to read and review some wonderful books, both fiction and non fiction alike.. There's almost always a huge stack of books beside my bed that I debate which one is next and then rotate on to the next one..     Here's the ones that happened to find their way into my hands this month :)

ICB, Princess Bible, Hardcover, PurpleInternational Children's Bible

First up, the Princess Edition  International Children's Bible from Thomas Nelson Publishing.  I was looking for a more "girlie" themed Bible for my youngest daughter as her brother had a new Bible on the way so the Princess Edition ICB looked like the perfect option.. This is a sturdy hardcover Bible with purple, pearl, glitter and holographic accents was perfect for my extremely girly girl.   This Bible is in a newer translation designed especially for children in mind, putting concepts into natural terms younger children can understand, with modern measurements and geographical locations being used as much as possible throughout.    The first few pages contain an index, explanation of the translation and an index of key verses for various topics such a Kindness, Patience and Respect.   Following the book of Revelations, there is a useful dictionary, an index that shows scriptures that relate to specific Biblical persons such as Jesus, Abraham, Peter and Moses. Another index shows suggested memory verses for young girls to take to heart and incorporate into their lives.    24 full color pages offer quick information such as the names of the 12 disciples, a list (including verses) of the miracles of Jesus, maps from Biblical times, time lines and prayer suggestions. Also included is a ribbon bookmark to make your current reading.

Over all, I found this to be a nice Bible for my 7 year old daughter.  The font size appears to be a 12 point font and is easy to read. The Bible itself is smaller in size and easy for smaller hands.  My only complaint is the textured glitter accent on the bottom quarter of the top cover can begin to become an irritation to small hands after a short bit of time.

The Prophetess (Daughters of the Promised Land Book #2): Deborah's Story 

by Jill Eileen Smith

Jill Eileen Smith is a Christian author I am very familiar with as I have read a number of her other

books, including the "Wives of King David" series. This particular book is the 2nd of Smith's "Daughters of the Promised Land" series and while I did not previously read the first book about Rahab, you can easily pick up any book in Smith's series in any order.

The Prophetess is the story of Deborah, the only female prophet in the Bible.   Very little is known about Deborah but as this is a work of fiction based on a Biblical figure, Smith takes liberties to weave an amazing story about this woman God used to help defeat the cruel and oppressive enemy of Israel, the Canaan General, Sisera.   The story also weaves historical facts into the fictional account of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite.

Smith always does such an amazing job pulling the reader into the story. This book was no exception. While Smith admits that very little is known about Deborah other than what is written in Judges 4 and 5, she presents a vivid picture of what might have been going on behind the scenes beyond Deborah and Barak's fight against Sisera.  I highly recommend this book, along with any of Smith's other writings. 

21 Seconds to Change Your World:  Finding God's Healing And Abundance Through Prayer

by Dr Mark Rutland with Forward by Mark Batterson

Many of us have recited both the Lord's Prayer as well as Psalms 23 many times in our lives, but how

often do we really think about the words we are saying?  Mark Rutland presents both of these familiar texts in depth as well as presenting amazing stories of people who's lives were changed as they applied both of these verses to their lives. 

At under 200 pages, this book is a very quick read but Rutland does an amazing job presenting information without bombarding the reader with too much technical details.  The book is divided into two parts  dedicated to David as the author of the 23rd Psalm and to Jesus as the author of the Lord's Prayer, as well as showing the parallels between the two.   Each line of their scriptures is then broken down and explained in layman's terms. Rutland then shows how now only are there parallels between David and Jesus, but also between the 23rd Psalm and the Lord's Prayer. 

I liked this book and I found  much of the information interesting.  My own complaint is that I am of the belief that Jesus meant exactly what he said, we should pray "like" the Lord's Prayer.  I think when we just recite his example, or the 23rd Psalm, it becomes routine and habit and the true meaning is left out.  Even if it's just 21 seconds, I feel those 21 seconds should be used to wholeheartedly speak with God in the way Christ suggested, not recite his example.  Other than that complaint, however, I do recommend this book. 

Raising Uncommon Kids:  12 Biblical Traits You Need to Raise Selfless Kids

By Sami Cone

As a mom raising children in today's society, I'm probably like every other parent in hoping that my children will not grow up to be like many of those you hear about in the news.  We want to teach our children to be strong in character and morals, to try to always do what is right, to follow Biblical principles and teaching and to apply all of these things to peer pressure situations they will find themselves in when not with us.    Because of this, I really wanted to read this book in the hopes of maybe finding some gems to help make the the spiritual vs secular fight a bit more fair. 

While I did enjoy reading this book, in all honesty, I found it to be more about common sense.  I already know that in order to raise children who display the traits I wish for them to have, I must first display these traits for them to observe and learn.   Children learn by example and it is our job as parents to present that example.. Cone does a great job going into detail about the 12 various traits we should display for our children (love, forgiveness, wisdom, humility, compassion, ect) and gives examples of how exactly we can show these traits to our kids.   Each of these traits have their own dedicated chapters so if one was to want to work on one particular trait at a time, it would be easily managed.

I really liked Cone's writing style - she doesn't beat around the bush and is pretty straight forward but she is also very engaging and entertaining.  While I didn't find any earth shattering revelations (maybe that just means I'm doing a better job that I originally thought at raising these kiddos), I did find it a great read and a great reminder as to what is important in raising kids of character. 

Mama Needs A Do Over (A Book Review)

There are three typical types of parenting books.

First, there are those books that are very dry and very technical written by someone with a PhD who usually tries to fit as many Latin derived 7 syllable words into their writing as possible.  These books are generally written for other people with PhDs and are not written for you to understand.

Second, there are those books that seem extremely condescending, as if written by the "perfect" parent who have a whole hoard of Stepford kids who would never think about getting dirty or trying to flush your cell phone down the toilet.    These books are great for other parents with Stepford children but not so great for the parent who's stressed out and at the end of their rope, because lets face it, if you're grabbing a parenting book, you're NOT that family.

Finally, there's the occasional book where the writer, typically a mother just like you, details some of the very same everyday struggled that you face - who knows how it feels to open your eyes in the morning and wish you didn't have to get up at all because you know it's not going to go write. You start reading this type of book and you think to yourself "this person gets it"..

Well, Mama Needs a Do-Over by Lisa Pennington is this third type of book.  She's not perfect, her kids are not perfect and she's willing to admit this to the reader. She does not pretend to have all the answers to how to make your kids perfect but instead taps into other resources from other authors to provide a collection of advice to help make your less than perfect life much more manageable.  Each chapter offers questions to answer in a journal to help focus in on goals and dreams for MOM rather than the lil heathens tearing up your living room, because while you cannot change other people, you can change your own behavior and thinking.  Using examples from her own life , Lisa does a great job of explaining how looking at an impossible problem differently can lend to a solution.

I found Lisa Pennington very relate-able and down to earth. She is not all "me me me" as some other parenting books I have read as of recently but instead sincerely wants to lend advice to help other frazzled moms. Her tone is friendly and upbeat as opposed to condescending and preachy; reading this book is more like having a conversation with a girlfriend about your kids over coffee rather than sitting in a lecture room with the head Soccer Mom telling you why her kids are perfect and yours are not.

I would highly recommend this book if you find that you have more stressful days then not..

What A Girl Needs From Her Mom By Cheri Fuller

As a mother of two daughters, one who is currently in her difficult teenage years, when I saw this book I knew it was something I wanted to read. Honestly, this book should be required reading for anyone who has daughters – they should put a copy of it in your gift bag at the hospital upon birth of said daughter (there’s a second book for mother’s of boys as well).

The Reasons I Have to Dye My Hair

Ashleigh

Alyssa

Let’s face it – when you bring home that little bundle of sweetness wrapped up in a pink blanket, you think it’s going to be easy.   Boys are the hard ones – those rambunctious tornados who can’t sit still for a moment.  The truth is, girls can be just as difficult as boys are but on a totally different level.  Boys are difficult because of their curiosity and adventurism; girls are difficult because of their need for social interaction and because of their emotions.

Cheri Fuller does a great job of providing insight into the mother/daughter relationship as well as walking the reader step by step through the many perils of raising a daughter. She also pinpoints the many ways we as mother's fail our daughters.  As she does so, she weaves in humor and stories of her own mistakes and situations in raising her own daughter as well as those of other families.  She points out how things are much different now then when many of us were young girls and what mothers really need to be aware of in this jungle of the technological age.

The book is divided up into 14 points of interest as to what we need to be for our daughters. Each of these points are covered in entirety in its own chapter, which makes a great place to go if you bought this book to pinpoint one particular are to work on..   Some of the topics that are covered are : Being a mom who is present and engaged, being a mom who encourages and builds confidence, being a mom who prays for her daughter, being a mom who is a good role model, being a mom who helps develops a daughter of character, and being a mom who listens with her heart.

The book is far from being a dry textbook and really connects with the readers heart.  Each chapter concludes with questions for journaling to dig deeper into your thoughts and to provide a moment of self reflection in your own mother/daughter relationship.

Me with both of my beautiful daughters

Over all, I found this to be a great book for any mother to read, regardless to the age of her daughter.  My oldest daughter and I have a pretty good relationship, however I found much information here that I can bring into our relationship to make it not a “pretty good” but a strong connection that will endure the years. It will also help me to avoid many of the same mistakes that I made in my relationship with my oldest daughter when it comes to my youngest daughter.


Read it early on when your daughters are young to avoid much of the emotional conflict that comes when they get old. Read it when your daughters are older in order to lesson that conflict and rebuild the mother/daughter relationship that has might have been damaged. 
I would give this book a 4.5 out of 5.