Beyond Suffering Bible Review

I was so excited when this new Bible came in the mail last week.  The past year or so we have really struggled with Emma's medical conditions.  We have had many many set backs and ups and downs.  We are also currently facing two major surgeries in the next few months with our brave girl.  This all takes a toll on the caregivers as well as Emma.  One place I like to look for renewed strength is to my God in heaven.  This beautiful Bible is going to be my new bedside best friend as it guides me through rocky days ahead.

This Bible is not only beautiful, but it has many many great extras to help those who suffer or care for those who are medically sick or injured.  There are special reading plans, devotions, insights from Joni, profiles of real people to teach us, connection points to help you apply verses to your everyday life and so much more.  The word of our amazing God is brought to life with emphasis on how to help us on those dark days full of questions and doubt.  It is geared for those struggling with Why questions and how to pull themselves or their loved ones up out of the pit.

I can not wait to dive into these Bible More and more and learn and grow based on what is able to show me.  I pray that it helps me be a better mom to the one in my life that lives in pain and faces more and more medical days then most adults have in their lives.  She is my hero and I need to remember that our God is amazing and to share that with her in a way she can understand and gain power from.  I am thankful for the awesome team that brought this Bible to be for all of us who need some help.  

check out my review on Amazon here

God bless you all!!

Fuzzy and Small Girls Bible Review

Emma loves when I get to review books that are for either her or her brother.  I also love when I get to review a book and pass a quality book on to my kids.  This month I got a new girl themed Bible for Emma.  It came in the mail when she was home and she was thrilled when she saw it was girl themed and for her.  She carried it for two days before allowing me to really look at it for a review.

Emma really likes that is is small, which is key for her since she cant carry heavy things.  It is also a Big Girl Bible which makes her really happy to take it to church on Sunday.  She loved how soft the cover is, and really loved the bright colors.  The bright blue background with the lime green out lined to the hot pink word Love is really catching as you can see from the picture below.

She loves how soft the cover is and how shiny the silver is around the edging.  Ten year old girls like sparkles and bright colors.  This Bible has both just on the front.  She also loved the hot pink inside cover with the pretty quote from Ephesians on it.  I loved that it has a place to write her name, the date given, who gave it to her, and a note from that person.  That makes it a keepsake in my book and gives me a spot to remind her I love her daily when she sees.  There are a few colorful maps in the back for reference and a 365 reading plan to follow as well.  I really love that there is a dictionary/concordance she can learn to use as she learns to read and study the Bible more on her own.

This Bible is done in the New Living Translation, which I am not as familiar with yet.  However it seems pretty easy to follow along with.  Emma is not a great reader yet and struggles to read but she can follow along okay so far with some help by an adult.  I wish the font was bigger for a younger reader to read easier but then I guess it would not be slimline.  

All in all it is a great first big girl Bible.  I think my daughter will enjoy growing into in the next year or so.  She is just not quite ready for this much of a grown up Bible.  She will be soon though with her reading continuing to get better. I feel good about the quality of the product and feel it will uphold to a young girls carrying of it.  I am happy to see her growing and learning in her faith with such a fun and colorful tool to help her as she moves from a kids Bible to a more grown up Bible.

Here is my Amazon review and you can check out other's as well.

Thanks Tyndale House for my free copy in return for my honest review of the product.

Not what you plan

This week has been a mess.

A beautiful mess

  I had two work functions at the start of the week, they went fine.  And then I planned to sleep and rest a few days gearing up for summer about to start.  Well, then Taylor spiked a fever on Monday night that lasted till this afternoon.  So instead of naps after the kids left for school, I watched cartoons, went on long strolls and did knock knock jokes.  We spent most of the week in PJ's and yoga pants and you know what, I loved it all.  Emma also spent yesterday at home, well actually at VCH having her hearing aid tested and upgraded.  That is about a two hour adventure in craziness and to top that off she went to an hour of speech.  She is a rock star!  Lea her American Girl doll also attended and helped picked the new colors for her new hearing aid mold.  Look out world she will be sporting glittered pink, purple and white molds soon!

Today I picked Emma up a little early and headed home.  A storm had passed through town earlier and I already knew we had no power at home.  However, I was surprised to find we had power but had lost half a tree while I was gone.  This afternoon became operation cut the tree up.  My dad came to help Daniel.  We spent a little time cutting and dragging it to the curb.  It became a great afternoon in the yard as a family working together.  Now, I could have lived without the downpour that occurred in the middle of cutting it down, but the rainbow Emma spotted was worth the soggy sports bra and shirt.  We had a dog come hang out that was not ours but we found it's owner about the time we dragged the last limb off.  He had gotten out of a fence up the road.  Emma did get her India Spice Cookies cooked in the middle of all this craziness and they are ready for food day tomorrow at school.  She had to choose India:)  Cardamom cookies are actually pretty good FYI:)

My women's group is studying a great book right now called Wonderlife by Mike Foster.  It is so good!  One of the key points I have taken away so far, is being happy in the season you are in.  Life is full of seasons, some good and some not.  Life for our family has been hard lately, but we have each other and the wonderful memories we strive to make each day.  Things do not have to be perfect for you to be okay with life.  You have to find peace in what is here and now.  God has a plan, I just need to trust and love!  Today did not go as planned, but tonight my house is still standing, my kids are happy and healthy in their beds, and my husband is relaxing while watching TV before bed.  God is Good !!

He Called Me Daughter

Run not walk and get this book!  Especially if you are a lover of Christian Fiction.  I have never read a book by Tessa Afshar before I received a copy of this book by Tyndale house to review.  It looked interesting so I choose it for my next book to review.  Honestly, it might have been because my small group/Bible Study had just done a study on the unnamed women of the Bible, and I became interested in the women who had the bleeding disease.  I remember wondering when we were studying her, what was her life like, what were her dreams and fears?  What drove her to have the courage to touch Jesus without Him seeing her?

Tessa takes what little we know about her for real, and creates a heartbreaking but beautiful story of hardships and healing.  Even though the book is a work of fiction, I truly felt like I walked the streets with Elianna.  I felt her pain when her dad turns from her, I wanted to yell at her when she loses the man she loves, and I rejoiced out loud when she found healing in Jesus.  

Read the book, engross yourself in the story and be reminded that Jesus forgives and heals us from the inside to the outside.  Elianna had a hard life, but when she learns the true meaning of being a Daughter of God, her life is never the same.

Read mine and many other's reviews on Amazon here

Thank you to Tyndale for my complimentary copy of Land of Silence, which I received in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review

This is a book that has arrived at my door during a crazy time in my families life.  It is a book I need to dive into and camp out with for the full 31 one days that it is written to cover, and I plan to do that as soon as my daughter's medical life is not so crazy.  I have spent some time reading and exploring the amazingly written book by Sarah Mae.  It is a must read for any Christan Wife or Mother.

I constantly struggle with balancing my time of being in the moment with my kids and cleaning the house.  This book is about finding your balance with God and business of cleaning.  I think it will also help you focus on the more important aspects of life, God, your family, and cleaning.  I love that the author realized that women need help finding the peace in being a homemaking.  We need to learn how to take care of our spiritual life and our home too.

I love how the book is laid out to have a "Mary Challenge" that focusing you on God, and then you get to the "Martha Challenge" that focuses on a part of your house.  You start with what is most important, which is God, and then you look towards your home.  I have read through a lot of the book, but have not had a ton of time to follow the plan, due to my current out of control life.  But I plan on starting this in April when I can focus better.

I am looking forward to following this awesomely laid out plan for all of us frazzled mom's.  I highly think all mom's should check out this book and dive deeper into our Lord and our cleaning:)  And like it says in the preface:  "I want you to love who you are and yet be able to let Jesus into the hard places. I want you to sit with Him and let Him heal you, so you can be whole."- Sarah Mae

I long for that and it touched deep in my soul. We all need healing!

If you dont trust my aw ha moment quote check out my review and many more on Amazon!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.https://www.amazon.com/review/RY860A1US30Q3/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv