101 Color & Sing Bible Stories: Review

Grace-Filled Writer

Grace is my youngest and as the youngest she often gets hand-me-downs for just about everything, especially toys and books. She has a few things that are her own, but just by the course of life almost all her books were once her sisters. She was over-the-moon excited to have a new Bible story book all her own! Grace has grown up knowing all about God and the Bible and enjoys reading the same stories over and over.

101 Color & Sing Bible Stories by Stephen Elkins is a great addition to our library! We have well over 10 Bible story books and that doesn’t even include individual storybooks with Biblical themes. I wondered if this would capture Grace’s interest, but I should have known she would love it!This is much, much more than your average Bible for kids!

 

For each story there is a child-friendly reading which has the Scripture reference clearly shown, a song to help retain what they learned, and a coloring page which matches the illustration provided. This is one of the most interactive Bible books I’ve seen for kids, and I’ve seen a lot. While the content may be predictable as it is laid out in chronological order this makes it all the more loved by kids. My daughter already knew what the next story would be because she knows the basic order of creation.

Her favorite part so far has been the CDs. She loves listening to the music during her rest time and alternates between the two CDs. Some songs were new, but most were the traditional Sunday School songs my husband and I grew up with. She loved this as well because she immediately was singing along with them all!




This is a great Bible Story book for toddlers and preschoolers whether you have many on hand or this is your first one. The teaching is solidly biblical, yet not too deep for them to understand and the music and coloring pages are the icing on the cake! 

Disclaimer: I received 101 Color & Sing Bible Stories from Tyndale Publishers as part of  the Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and did not receive any other compensation. 

Illustrated Family Bible Stories: Review

Grace-Filled Writer
I get to review the best of the best resources as part of the Moms of Master Books review team! The resources from this company are eye-pleasing and engaging for my daughters as well as myself, but most importantly they are solidly grounded in biblical truth. We got so excited when our newest Master Book publication arrives in the mail!
This month we got to review a new family Bible from Master Books, a division of New Leaf Publishing Group, Illustrated Family Bible Stories! Being in a pastor’s family we have an abundant supply of Bibles from traditional translations to picture Bibles we have it all! One thing we have been lacking is a family Bible which is a bit more grown up for my girls as they are moving beyond the more simplistic Bibles. This is a really cool Bible, according to my oldest daughter who is eight. She cannot get enough learning to satisfy her so this particular book is very interesting. The magnificent illustrations captured her interest and the fact that each retelling has additional historical, cultural, geographical, and scientific information.
From the time my oldest daughter an infant we have had a regular evening Bible time. We started reading toddler Bibles and singing songs and have gradually moved forward to more complex and deep readings. I really like this for transitioning to an older model for my girls. My youngest is 4 and a half so while she very much enjoys the younger versions, she is old enough not to be bored with more complex versions of the stories she’s learned since infancy. 
My husband and I take turns reading our various Bibles in the evenings and this one has become a quick favorite! Do you want to know what one of their favorite parts is? The built in purple bookmark. I didn’t think much of it, but all three insist we make sure to put it in the right place. I evidently forgot this the other night and didn’t put it on the right story and boy were they indignant! I’ve been very impressed with how detailed these retellings of familiar things are. The beautiful illustrations captivate my daughters, but the story keeps them in tune with God’s truth. Last night the girls sat at our feet while my husband read from the book and they didn’t even ask to see the picture when he forgot to show them!
This has long been one of my favorite times of the day and not just because bedtime is around the corner. My girls tend to ask pretty deep questions at this time of the day. Lots of those, “Why did God…” moments come up and this particular story Bible encourages that sort of thing. We have always encouraged our girls to ask questions and they never hesitate. It is pretty cool that this Bible has answered some of their questions before they even asked, like how they made bricks for the Tower of Babel. 
We absolutely love this new addition to our library. I’d like to purchase three more copies of this so I can save it for my daughters when they are grown and have their own children. 
Take a look at this video to see more of what this Bible has to offer!
Now take a minute to see what my Moms of Master Books mommy friends are saying about it by clicking the link below!
Disclaimer: I received Illustrated Family Bible Stories from New Leaf Publishing in exchange for an honest review.  I was not required to give a positive review. I was not compensated in any other way. 

Strange Fire: Book Sneeze Review

Grace-Filled Writer

John MacArthur’s book, Strange Fire, explores a scriptural understanding of the Holy Spirit. From the beginning of the church in Acts there has been confusion, misconceptions, and outright lies taught concerning who the Holy Spirit is and how He operates in our lives. John MacArthur uses Scripture to correct common false teachings and misunderstandings within the church about the Holy Spirit. He also helps those with no real understanding of this part of the Trinity learn the basics.

This book was difficult for me to enjoy. One of the stated main purposes is to directly confront specific denominations whom teach false doctrine about the Holy Spirit. Because of this the tone of the book is rather intense. My personality shies away from confrontation and while the teaching in this book was solid, I can not count this as a book I will return to often because of this.

As always John MacArthur provides solid, biblical teaching and this is a book my husband, a pastor, will very much appreciate. We have personally encountered individuals within the church with strong misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit either because they had not been taught or they had been taught falsely. This is invaluable for the pastor who wants to lead his people to a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit.

I also would encourage anyone who has not learned much about the Holy Spirit throughout their study of Scripture to pick up this book. The clear teaching is a great place to start for a complete and solid teaching regarding what many see as a mysterious part of our faith.

Disclosure:  I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook.com® <http://BookLook.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Week in Review: April 7-11

Grace-Filled Writer
This week and next our friend Diego will be hanging out with us! The girls have enjoyed having him with us and he very quickly fell into our school day routine. I didn’t know what to expect having someone new join us and I was so proud of how both the girls and Diego worked well throughout the week during our school time. 
Preschool: Patiently Awaiting the Next HOD Guide!
This week Grace finished lesson 100 in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons! I’m so proud of my girl, and it pleases my greatly to be able to say I’ve successfully taught all three of my girls to read. This one area is what scared me most about homeschooling, but I’ve been teaching reading now since 2009. We will be moving on to the Abeka K5 and 1st readers to reinforce and continue her phonics instruction, adding in All About Spelling in the fall. 
She has been spending some time with Reading Kingdom as well. It is not my favorite way to learn reading, but if you are looking for a computer-based reading instruction option this is one to check into. It is used by many schools, reading specialists, and homeschools. They also provide a 30 day trial so you can see if it is something you like. You can read my full review here. 

I had other things planned to do with Grace this week, but she came down with a cold, as did 3 more of us! So we mostly focused on reading and cuddling!

Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory: Unit 22

Beth thoroughly enjoyed having a classmate this week. They did mostly different work, but at the same time. We studied about Benjamin Franklin inventing the wood stove and a sweet little family he helped. Our Bible verse was about being a cheerful giver and she discussed this very deeply with me. As the year has progressed she understands more and more about the verses we read, one of the main reasons I love Heart of Dakota.

I decided to go ahead and do the review workbook for first grade from Math Mammoth before we move on to 2nd grade math. She has filled in the gaps from where Rod and Staff left off, but doing this workbook is giving me greater peace of mind. She loves math and number so very much that she doesn’t mind at all that it seems easy!

Beth enjoyed her journal this week which was a dot-to-dot of a bear and cub. Then she wrote about hibernating bears. This is one of the many books I bought for $1 during the Scholastic Dollar Days sales. I use a lot of these books for fun and this is definitely one of my favorites!

Preparing Hearts for His Glory: Unit 14

Rose is continuing on at full-speed and is thoroughly enjoying history! This week she did some of the reading on her own this week since I had an extra student. She didn’t mind a bit although I missed the days she read! She read about China and Greece as well as the Silk Road. We started Hero Tales  this week which Rose adored. We also started Triumph for Flavius which Rose also enjoyed. I’d read some comments earlier in the week that this was not a favorite book for some, so I am pleased she is enjoying it so much.

Math is easier on some days than it is others. Whether it is a rough day or not, Life of Fred always leaves us with giggles! I’m so grateful for this unique way of looking at numbers and giving my girls a new perspective on how much fun math can really be.

I’ve also found out Rose really likes to diagram sentences. This may sound surprising, but she does! She’s learned now to diagram the subject, predicate, adjective, articles, and conjunctions. I certainly didn’t learn all this in 3rd grade and I’m excited to help her discover it all!

Diego

Diego missed a lot of school for the first six months because of his chemo treatments and we’ve continued his studies at our house during the break. One area he is really focusing on is handwriting. I was so proud of how hard he worked this week to be consistent with his letter sizes.

We’re also working on some math work. We’re doing the same 1st grade review workbook as Beth and this has been a great place for him to begin. Diego enjoyed the different ways of practicing his math facts. The review was very good.

This fun vocabulary worksheet was another way for him to practice his handwriting and reading. This is from another Scholastic Book from the dollar sale. I love having these resources!

It was different having another student for the week but didn’t disrupt our routine nearly as much as I expected it to. In some ways I think the girls worked more diligently since they had a guest for the week! So another week has past and we are looking forward to celebrating Easter!

Week in Review: March 10 – April 4

Grace-Filled Writer

It has been a few weeks since I posted a week in review. Things are going along quite well around here, but I found myself suddenly camera-less! I mentioned before that the battery casing was having issues so a conveniently placed bit of tape was doing the job. About 3 weeks ago that bit of tape had to be increased to a large amount of tape and within a couple of days even that wasn’t cutting it! My mother-in-law brought me a camera she wasn’t using anymore and I’m back in business!

I could have written a review without pictures, but I prefer to read those with pictures so I just waited. Looking back I wish I had gone ahead and written them, but I just couldn’t get the inspiration. This last week was our spring break, so I’ll start with that update!

They had a wonderful time visiting their cousins and making lots and lots of memories! Fascinating update, right? Tee hee…
The weeks prior to this were filled with academics and fun, so they were ready for the break! I’m not going to detail each unit this time, just show a few highlights with the random few pictures I was able to take with my other old camera with no flash. Boy, am I glad to have my lens back!
Grace is very close to finishing up our reading lessons. Four more and we’ll be done! Look forward to seeing an excited, “I’m finished!” photo in next week’s review. 
This picture just cracks me up! A few days before the previous picture (Yes, this is her favorite shirt!) Rose wanted to help her read the story. All was well until Grace mispronounced a word and Rose corrected her. Oh my…obviously the lesson fell apart rather quickly at this point and I stepped in to finish!
Over the last few weeks we have settled into a slightly different routine unintentionally. My girls have started doing more of the same content area at the same time. For instance, they end up all completing literature/reading at the same time. I rather enjoyed this. It was cozy having all of us in the same room reading. 

Rose is reading the original Treasure Island partly due to her love of Robert Louis Stevenson (Thank you Heart of Dakota poetry!) and partly to her love of the abridged version. I never imagined my eight-year-old would pick up this classic on her own!

Math Rider continues to be a favorite, especially as we cover gaps during our transition to Math Mammoth. I’m so happy with this curriculum and with the change overall. I feel more settled and confident with math than I have since beginning homeschooling.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you…my funny Beth is measuring Elsa and Olaf for her measurement unit…all while singing Do You Want to Build a Snowman? 

Do you see Beth’s mouth? All About Spelling really focuses on phonics in reverse which is why I love it so much. Beth frequently sounds out her spelling as she ponders the rules she has learned. She has just begun to apply the rules she is learning to her everyday writing which is relieving. I know it takes time for this to happen, but finally seeing it happen is very relieving. 

You many notice we have a formal school-room but we’re rather all over the place with our learning. Sometimes I leave with one or another for one-on-one work so we don’t disturb the others working independently, but they often wander in to find us. Sometimes my daughters ask to move about the house, which I’m fine with. They often switch chairs in the schoolroom and are happy at the kitchen table, the couch, and the floor. I love it. I absolutely love the flexibility and freedom they have and that I can provide it!

You’ll see a guest in our homeschool over the next few weeks as well! Do you remember Diego? He remains cancer-free (Yay!!!!!) and is able to attend school regularly now. He has a year-round schedule so he’s going to be hanging out with us during his spring break which lasts a total of three weeks. Be on the look out for this little cutie pie!

So there you have it…almost a month in review! 

Questions God Asks: Book Review

Grace-Filled Writer
I have come to really love reading the gospels. My favorite parts are when Jesus is asked a question. More often than not He responds with a question rather than directly answering. Why did He do that? Further exploration of Scripture reveals God has been asking men and women questions from the beginning of creation. Israel Wayne delves into these questions in his book Questions God Asks from New Leaf Press. 
As with all books from New Leaf Publishing Group I eagerly jumped right into reading. I genuinely enjoy learning and growing in my faith through solid biblical teaching. While there is no substitute for the Word of God I feel so blessed to live in a time when there is no shortage of clear evangelical instruction from those who believe Scripture is the literal and inerrant Word of God. I am, however, cautious to research both the author and publishing company before I read because I know there are those who do not take God’s Word as it should be. 
Israel Wayne fervently and consistently defends the Christian faith and a biblical worldview. His straight-forward writing style invites everyone, no matter where they are in their walk, to consider the questions God poses to specific individuals, then walking the reader through Scripture to see why the answers are so important. He also explores why God would ask questions in the first place. 
One aspect of this book which I feel lends itself to being a tool for evangelism is the brevity of each chapter. Words are not wasted and the simple clarity of each section makes this an ideal read for those seeking to understand who God is according to the Scriptures. As I continued reading individuals came to mind in nearly every chapter with whom I wanted to share the book. 
Although every chapter is excellent, my favorite was the first, a question posed to Job. Where Were You? was a chapter with which I related closely. Several years ago we felt the pain and loss of our first child to miscarriage. It was an incredibly difficult time and as my husband and I found comfort in the Book of Job. Job 38:4 in particular was a verse which God brought to me during this time. “Where were you when I lid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.” At first read this may seem a rather harsh statement for our loving God to make to a man who has lost nearly everything of value in his life, yet this question led Job, and me thousands of years later, to feel deeper peace and comfort. 
I loved Wayne’s chapter on this verse as he related a conversation he had with an unbelieving seatmate on a flight. He showed how this same question God posed to Job could also be used to defend the Christian faith. What a blessing to see God teaching us apologetics through His own questions to humanity! 
I also really liked chapter seventeen, Do You Have a Right to be Angry?, a question God posed to Jonah as he whined and complained at the grace and deliverance given to Nineveh. This chapter deals with the sovereignty of God, something we all struggle with from time to time. Whether we are angry at what we perceive to be God’s response to a situation or about life circumstances it is a questions we should allow God to ask us the same and listen to His promptings. I often need reminded of the sovereignty of God as I view the world around me. 
I highly recommend this book and feel better equipped to share my faith after reading it. For more on what is included in the book take a look at the preview below!
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For more reviews click the link below!
Disclaimer: I received Questions God Asks from New Leaf Publishing in exchange for an honest review.  I was not required to give a positive review. I was not compensated in any other way. 

Awesome Science DVD’s: Review

Grace-Filled Writer

I was soooooo very excited for the opportunity to review some of the Awesome Science videos! I’ve been eyeing these for a while, but my girls were not quite old enough to really understand them yet. My oldest, now 8, has really loved learning more of science and how it relates to the Bible, like how mountain ranges formed during the global flood and what started the ice age. We’ve also been learning about ancient cultures and religions and we have talked more about why some people do not believe God created the earth. We have always been very open in our explanations and I can do this more confidently with resources from Master Books.

The two newest titles in the Awesome Science series are Explore Rocky Mountain National Park and Explore Glacier National Park. All of the DVDs in this series aim to show how observational science and historical biblical accounts can coexist. It is important to know that no matter what evolutionary science may claim, the Bible does not contradict science. Quite the contrary, if one starts with a biblical worldview scientific evidence in fact supports the historical accounts.

So much information available regarding the geological formation of the earth either completely ignores Scripture or goes even further to say anyone who believes the biblical account of Creation is ignorant at best. I love having solid information at my fingertips to share with my girls.

Noah Justice is the articulate and energetic hosts for each episode. Most videos for kids have adults presenting information, which is fine, but Noah’s excitement is contagious and we love it! I very much appreciate the respectful way which he presents both sides of the debate, showing how much of the evolutionary belief is found to be lacking. Consistent references to Scripture and empirical scientific evidence help us to further understand explanations which make more sense than those who seek to find a way for creation apart for God.

Rose is eight and loves this series. She’s already asked to get more of the videos soon! Beth is six and while she enjoyed them, she does better if we just watch a short section. Grace is four and honestly lasted about as long as the opening music! These are excellent videos, but very much geared towards older elementary children. They very much enjoyed the bloopers of Noah, especially falling down the sand dunes! They love to laugh and really enjoyed this part.

My favorite part was that the gospel was clearly presented at the end of each video. You see, all this information is good and important, but if we are still without a relationship with Jesus, none of it really matters anyway. That is the beauty of these videos. They are not intended to be a source of ammunition we intend to volley at the opposite side. They instead seek to points us to the Creator of the universe, arming us with truth to stand against the falsehoods thrown at us daily.


Check out what my fellow Moms of Master Books had to say about these videos! 

Disclaimer: I received the Explore Rocky Mountain National Park and Explore Glacier National Park DVDs as part of the Moms of Master Books Team. I was not required to give a positive review. I was not compensated in any other way. 

Week in Review: March 3-7

Grace-Filled Writer

So this week had some challenges…with my camera that is! You can probably tell I’m not trying to win any photo awards with this blog. I use a little $100 point-and-shoot, day-after-Thanksgiving sale camera to document our life. It serves my purposes just fine, until it breaks…which it did. Well, not completely, but the battery casing won’t stay closed. So now it is taped shut, but it took a couple of days for me to get around to that, so the majority of my pictures are from only one day. At least it was a really good day!

Preparing: Unit 10 (2nd half)

I’m super excited bout how well our week went with this guide. Rose has been begging me to do more work each day (yay for our beginning-of-the year bumps being worked out!). So I told her we’d try the last 2 days at full-speed this week to see what happened. My girl was such a champ and finished her work in record time. When I asked her what the difference was she said, “Well, I just decided I should work diligently because it is the right thing to do.” I’ll take it!

I really love using the ancient maps from Map Trek. I purchased them last spring during a sale and have found them to be quite useful, especially since the used copy of one of our history books is missing some of the maps. In Preparing we look at where specific locations on historical maps and then locate those same places on a modern  day globe.

This week part of Rose’s assignment included reading  particular verse and discussing it with  grown up. She chatted with her Grammy who lives in Florida which was really nice.

Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory: Unit 18


Beth is my little mathematician and she is very much enjoying Math Mammoth. We’re filling in some gaps from the old 1st grade curriculum before we plunge ahead into 2nd which should be fairly soon. I really like the self-directed option with this math. While Rose prefers staying close, Bet likes to figure things out on her own. She comes and asks for help when needed, but she does well moving through the work on her own at the moment.

We studied Jesus Bids Us Shine this week for poetry and Beth chose to illustrate the poem. We were blessed to see a chalk pastel presentation over the weekend which inspired all of my girls to be artistic this week! Beth created a lighthouse scene using our own chalk pastels. She spent a really long time working on this piece and was very particular about her shading and blending.

This may be my favorite picture from the week. So relaxed and focused! Ralph S. Mouse was a huge victory for Beth. She has now fully moved into chapter books. At the end of the week she started reading a young reader’s version of Anne of Green Gables, one of my all-time favorite novels!



Preschool: Patiently Awaiting the Next HOD Guide!

So sweet little Grace got the short end of the deal concerning the photos. It’s actually funny because she’s typically my little model. She loves getting her picture taken! I took more than this, but because of my battery casing issue they didn’t save. Grace finally adjusted to the “new” way the words are written in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. She is gradually becoming more fluid as she reads. She’s enjoying it so much that on Friday she asked to do a second lesson so she could see what happened next in the story!

There is a little snippet of our week. What did your week look like? 

Inscribed Bible Study Collection: Review from Book Look

Grace-Filled Writer
I really have enjoyed reviewing books through Booksneeze over the last few months. They’ve recently changed their name and look of the blog. BookLook is the newly updated review group and I’m really excited to still be part of it. 
I was recently given the wonderful opportunity to review the first four titles in a new series of Bible studies called inScribed. The series is written by different women of all different backgrounds and walks of life. This particular fact intrigued me initially because so many Bible study series are by the same author. While this is nice because you know what to expect I liked the idea of hearing from different ladies. It has the feel of going to a ladies retreat and listening to different speakers all from the comfort of your own home. Knowing the publisher is Thomas Nelson gave me the assurance these books, although by different authors, would align with my theological convictions. I like knowing publishing companies before I start reading because it gives me a good idea of the perspective from which the author is coming.
Each title focuses on a different portion of Scripture. The variety represented is wonderful! 
In Amazed and Confused we dig deeper into the Minor Prophets. Studying the Minor Prophets is no easy task, but Hether Zempel does so with grace and humor right from the start. I appreciate her conversational writing style and obvious love for God’s Word. Each chapter actually makes me want to open up to the Minor Prophets, which is something most other studies on this subject lack. While these books of Scripture are important, they are often difficult to understand and therefore apply. Zempel takes the difficulty out of the picture leaving no excuse for neglecting these short books of the Old Testament.

Dive Deeper focuses on the rich letter of Ephesians by Paul. Ephesians is one of my most favorite books and Jennifer Jernigan has done an excellent job on this study. I very much like the study charts included for the reader to complete. It gives wonderful visual insight into the truths written so long ago. She clearly shows how the ancient words of Paul, inspired by God are as relevant to us today as they were when they were first penned. 
Living So That looks at the Scriptures which teach why; the “so that” verses. I honestly never thought of the words “so that” as being very important as I read them. Wendy Blight has changed my perspective completely through this study of God’s Word by focusing on Scriptures which contain these very important little words which give instruction and purpose to our Christian walk. I love the idea of studying the “so that” verses and can’t wait to dig more deeply into this study. 
Leaving the Ordinary invites us to encounter God through prayer and a better understanding of the tabernacle. While the tabernacle can also be a more difficult study Donna Gaines does an excellent job of taking the mysterious and helping readers understand how it can apply to us in our culture and lives so far removed from those ancient tents. 
Although each authoress has her own unique style of writing, it’s as if you are in conversation with each over a cup of coffee. The easy writing style invites the reader to dig more deeply into Scripture without feeling like you are attending a formal class. I really like how each study is arranged according to the style of the author. The questions and even the pages for response are each formatted differently. This personal touch just adds to the feeling of individual teachers with the same passion for the Word of God. 
In addition to the solid biblical content contained within these pages, the simple beauty of the covers beg you to open the cover. Even my young girls have repeatedly asked what these “pretty books” on my shelf are. Even the feel of the cover and pages is comforting and inviting. 
This series has just recently been published and I am excited about new titles which will soon be printed. This is a wonderful collection to my personal study collection and I look forward to studying this with friends soon. This series lends itself well to one-on-one discipleship as well as group study. Such deep content will be sure to leave you hungry for more of the Word. 

Disclosure:  I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook.com® <http://BookLook.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.