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The Oprhan’s Wish: A BookLook Blogger Review

July 11, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

Melanie Dickerson has done it again! I completely adored this adaptation of Aladdin from page one. Dickerson’s fairy tale renderings to justice to our love for the classics while removing the mystical instead replacing it with characters who develop and grow in their faith. Aladdin, a young orphan, is rescued from a life of forced crime in the Holy Land and raised by a kind man of God who offers him a new opportunity. Once in Germany, Aladdin finds new purpose in life and discovers his many talents. As this favored young boy grows, so does his friendship with Lady Kirstyn. Intrigue, peril, and mystery flow throughout this tale and will leave you captivated from start to finish!

I love that Aladdin was the central figure for this tale. Lady Kirstyn is definitely important, but the shift to telling his story at the start is perfect for our times. We sadly live in a world where human trafficking is a common practice and children around the world are stuck in situations not of their choosing. This novel, although taking place in the 1400s, reminded me of the need to pray and support those who are rescuing these children.

One of the things I adore about this author’s writings is I never feel as if she is trying to teach me a biblical message, yet I’m always left with that. She is a masterful storyteller and if you have not yet read her other fairy tale adaptations you need to do so! They are excellent summer reading. Make sure you have plenty of blocked time to read. You won’t want to put it down!

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Gospel Reset: A New Book Review Crew at NLPG review

June 7, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

Have you noticed that our society has changed rapidly? It seems that almost daily something new an different is the trend and it is hard to keep up. One thing that never changes is the truth of God’s Word. Paul talks about reaching others for Christ by determining how to relate to those around him in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Romans 12:2 then guides us to remember to be conformed to God’s will rather than the world’s. The pairing of these two ideas is the theme behind Ken Ham‘s new book from New Leaf Publishing Group, Gospel Reset: Salvation Made Relevant.

Ham does an excellent job of outlining the reason for a change in how we take the gospel to our culture. In all honesty, reaching the lost has become a bit of a cross-cultural experience for those of us who grew up in solidly Christian homes. Where as the generation before me had a basic understanding of and respect for the Bible, my generation generally does not.

The most insightful moments of how the culture has changed were the percentage graphs broken up by age. One of the reasons this really hit me was that the small congregation my husband pastors is generally older and we are often trying to answer the question why there aren’t more young people in the church. These graphics give a clear, visual understanding as to the shift in culture based on generational breakdowns.

The conclusion is that we must reset our thinking and presentation of the gospel in order to meet the masses where they are, a place of very little knowledge or understanding of the God of the Bible. I think the greatest benefit of this book is opening the eyes of the generations who continue to lament the overall social change of the American landscape, but still assume the average person has a basic working knowledge of the Bible. This is simply not true. My one disappointment was that there was only one chapter dedicated to how to do this now. The information presented in this chapter was excellent and I agreed 100%, I would just like to have had more.

I personally think this is an excellent tool for anyone within an aging congregation. The first step to fixing any problem is fully understanding the problem. The significant problem now is not knowing how to effectively share the gospel to a generation who has no working knowledge of the Bible. We need to know the Word of God so we can share it with the world!

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the New Book Review Crew at NLPG in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

NIV Kids’ Visual Study Bible: A BookLook Blogger Review!

June 7, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

I love all the new resource Bibles now available for kids! I had a Precious Moments Bible when I was a kid and a Teen Adventure Bible when I was in middle school/high school. Do you remember those? One of my favorite parts of those Bibles was the “extra” features. There were little tidbits that let you dig deeper into various parts of Scripture. There were also beautiful pictures I very much enjoyed just looking at over and over again. The key with a resource Bible it to give kids the desire to dive in on their own. This is exactly what the NIV Kids’ Visual Study Bible does.

One look at the cover and my kids were ready to dive into the pages. They are very busy pages for sure. This is not a bad thing, but if your child is easily distracted or needs a simpler reading experience, keep this in mind. My girls really enjoyed finding out the history. I did note, however that in Sunday School they would often forget to listen to the teacher (Sometimes me, sometimes not) because they were reading all the extras. Again, it’s just good to know if this would best suit your home environment or church.

The one thing I do not prefer is that it seems to be only available in the NIV. I’m not anti different translations, and I do know this is one of the easier to read versions for younger kids, but we do all of our studying out of a different translation. It is nice to keep things consistent through AWANA and school as much as possible. NIV is not mine or my husband’s preferred version for a few reasons, but this is the only version option. I would like to see this and other Bibles provide at least a few translation options. I realize there is a cost factor to it, but I do think your audience is limited when you provide a beautiful resource Bible like this but only use one specific translation. The side elements should still relate and be the same as cultural and historical facts won’t change from one translation to the next.

Overall my kids loved this and I do recommend it as a great resource for studying more in depth about life and times of the Bible.

Deceivers: A New Book Review Crew at New Leaf Publishing Review

April 9, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

We live in a world of deception. The prince of this world thrives upon deception and our culture has done more than merely accept it, it is glorified and honored through media and pop culture. So how do we wade through the mire of lies and falsehood presented to us in a constant stream? Deceivers: Exposing Evil Seducers & Their Last Days Deception, a new title from New Leaf Publishing Group, is a collection edited by Terry James and written by a variety of authors. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of religious and social deceptions around us offering unique perspectives and approaches.

Sometimes we have a hard time discerning truth in our culture. A good lie sounds appealing, it is something we want to accept. It usually contains an element of truth, but is wrapped up in packing of falsehood. It is especially difficult if you do not have years of experience walking out your faith. In these pages you will identify the deceit presented as “religion” and be better equipped to recognize it.

Prepare yourself: A lot of incredibly trendy names from the 1990s through today and named as falsely teaching the gospel in the first chapter. While I am in no way opposed to this naming I felt the it was perhaps too focused on this. I was not surprised by who was listed or what was stated because I already had come to those conclusions myself. If someone is coming out of the emergent church movement or prosperity gospel movements this could be extremely helpful, but I would have appreciated a bit more Scripture to help back up the statements.

Subsequent chapters contain a bit more practical information although I am cautious to accept all that is written here as absolute fact, especially the chapter concerning prophecies. It is very important to study biblical prophecy of the end times and it is equally important to recognize we are living in the “last days”, but I believe the authors of prophecy, especially in the New Testament, firmly believed they too were seeing signs of the end times and that Christ’s return was imminent. I’m cautious anytime a current teacher assigns particular current events to specific prophecies in Scripture. They may be correct, but they may not.

The chapters I liked best were ch 4-6: Cultural Craftiness, Tracking Truth in Deceptive Times, and The Schoolroom Seducers. These particular chapters contained the most practical information as well as what I felt was the most biblical backing without adding personal opinion as fact to the mix.

One chapter left me feeling rather uncomfortable and a bit confused. It focused heavily on UFO sightings and reports of animal mutilation. The final conclusions in this chapter were that all of these events are actually satanic occurrences carried out by the ancient false gods of the Old Testament and many ancient cultures that require blood sacrifice. I believe the author of this chapter contends that this is part of the spiritual warfare occurring in a realm just beyond our own we cannot fully behold. I absolutely believe in spiritual warfare as the Bible teaches, but this particular chapter left me with little conclusion to the UFO sightings and supposed abductions.

Overall there is some good information in this book, but I was not as pleased with it as I usually am with titles from New Leaf Publishing. Too many chapters dealt with author opinions, but stated as fact without much for biblical backing. I would be cautious to recommend this particular book in its entirety even though some chapters were useful and of great benefit.

The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls Books1 & 2 from WorthyKids/Ideals: A TOS Crew Review

September 26, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

My eager reader Grace was very excited when she found out she would have two new books to read! Grace is eager about just about everything, but this was extra exciting because it was a sequel. She is a big fan of book series because it means she gets to read more adventures with the stories she loves. The first two books in the The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series from WorthyKids/Ideals completely captivated her!

Two Children, siblings Mary and Peter discover scrolls in a pot in their uncle’s house. The ones with a red wax seal transports them to ancient biblical times. The first book takes the children to Creation week and the second to the time of Noah as he is building the ark. The children have to decipher what the ancient scrolls have written on them because they are in a language they cannot understand. Once they discover the words the seal turns from wax into metal and are then transported back to their own time.

These very short adventure books are excellent choices for kids just beginning to read chapter books. The stories are engaging and adventurous, but with words which aren’t too difficult for young readers. The short length is also great because they will not feel overwhelmed by them. Each chapter is only a few pages long with nice, larger sized lettering. Each entire book is only about 100 pages total and there are still pictures which was a big deal to my girls when they were just starting chapter books.

There are quite a few chapter book series out there for young readers, but only a few emulate the values we desire our children to emulate such as integrity, honesty, and respect. Even fewer deal with the Bible at all and especially in a way which is presented as truth. I consider these to fit into the genre of historical fiction because the biblical side is presented in a factual way.

Since we started our full-schedule of school I assigned each of these books over the course of one week. She was assigned a chapter a day…but often read ahead. This is such a great indication of just how good the books are. My girls always read without complaint, even when they don’t always love the book. I can tell whenever they love the book because they come to me after their assigned reading time and say, “I’m sorry Mommy…I read ahead.” I think it’s so funny that Grace apologized every time because I never mind!

Here is what Grace (7) has to say about the books:

I really like them! I want to know if they are going to make any more because I like that its about them going back in time and how they try to figure out the mystery words. I also like that they get to meet people from the Bible. I also like that it’s hard to figure out the words. I like that in the second book they had to guess the sentences because time was running out. I also like that it’s really adventurous.

Now that you know what Grace thinks, don’t forget to see what my Crewmates have to say!

Imagine. . .The Great Flood by Matt Koceich from Barbour Publishing: A TOS Crew Review

September 18, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

We love good books! We especially love good books that reflect our biblical worldview. Imagine. . .The Great Flood by Matt Koceich from Barbour Publishing is a book which combines both good writing and a biblical worldview with which we can align ourselves. Beth is in 5th grade and I thought this would be a fun change of pace from her normal reading assignments. While Beth is reading several grade-levels above what would be expected, volunteer reading isn’t something she chooses to do for fun like her sisters. Imagine begins in the present day where the reader meets 10-year-old Corey Max who is in a bit of a dilemma. His family is moving half-way across the country from Texas to Florida, and Corey is none too happy about it. When trying to retrieve his dog, Molly, before a storm hits, he trips and falls hitting his head on something hard. As he tries to reach his dog, he is suddenly transported to another time and definitely another place! As the story progresses Corey meets Noah’s family and sees some of the challenges he faced as he built the ark. One interesting aspect was the inclusion of giants! The Bible clearly speaks about giants in the early days of the earth so the inclusion is logical, but many children’s resources rarely touch on this. Beth was surprised and asked me if there really were giants. It was a great springboard to look it up in Scripture!

This story will capture your imagination from the start. It’s hard to really pinpoint a genre: historical, biblical, science-fiction (travel), early adolescent literature…there are many categories within which it could fit well! I enjoyed that Corey’s parents were set up in a positive light. They put life events into a biblical perspective and encouraged their son to do the same. I often feel as if my husband and I are the only ones who do the same with our own children an when we get many a raised eyebrow among our peers when we speak about the Lord guiding and directing us to do things. Having a delightful fiction book that echoes our same family values is a great thing.
I also love that biblical events are portrayed as history. So much of the world, even professing Christians, seem to view Scripture as merely allegorical rather than as actual history. It is so important for our children to understand and know the Bible is true and factual. This novel presents biblical events as they may have really happened and in a way that will reach today’s kids. My favorite analogy is when Corey first sees one of Noah’s sons and describes him mentally as looking like Obi-Wan Kenobi. That made me smile as I’m sure it did Beth since they are familiar with the Star Wars story.

Beth read this story without complaint, which at the moment is a really big deal! She is incredibly bright, but has been complaining recently when it comes to schoolwork. She never once sighed or grumbled over reading and in fact accidentally read more than I had assigned her daily several times! This tells me just how much she enjoyed the book.When I asked her what she thought about it she said she liked it and that it had someone going back in time and being involved in the story instead of just telling about it like a Bible story. I do highly recommend this title and can’t wait to read the next in the series! Take a look at what my Crewmates had to say!

Love Letters from God – Bible Stories for a Girl’s Heart: A BookLook Blogger Review

July 31, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

Our family tries to have family devotions as many nights as possible during the week. Usually we skip Sunday and Wednesday nights because we are already at church, but we do our best to include this as a family tradition the rest of the time. Since Rose (who is almost 12) was just an infant we started doing this by reading children’s devotional books. We have read many, many books and were excited to have the chance to go through Love Letters from God: Bible Stories for a Girl’s Heart.

All of the girls have really enjoyed it, but Beth (10) and Grace (7) have enjoyed it the most. It is written to elementary aged girls and gives them the perspective of what God would want them to know from many of the wonderful historical accounts of women presented in the Scriptures. The retelling of the stories is accurate. Although some details may be skipped over, it is not inaccurate. I appreciate that the reference to the original account in Scripture is given.

After each story there is a sweet letter as if written by God to the little girl reading. Grace in particular likes this part. She always wants to be the one to read it aloud. It is sweet and reflects exactly the promises we hold dear in God’s Word.

The only small issue I had with this was the extra verse given. I love it when more Scripture is included, but sometimes the verses were reworded so much from the original verse the meaning felt different from what was intended originally. I do understand younger children may have a hard time understanding everything in the Bible, but I think we ought to give children the opportunity to grow and learn. They often surprise us in what they can comprehend and eve if they do not, there is nothing wrong with still taking the time to teach and explain. Eventually they will!

Overall I thought this was a very sweet book. I would recommend it to families with elementary aged daughters. We have been reading the extra verse straight from the Bible instead of reading the abridged version from the book. This has worked nicely and takes care of the only issue I have. I hope you will take some time to check it out for a little girl you know!

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book as a part of BookLook bloggers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

The Adventures of Rush Revere Series: A TOS Crew Review

June 19, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

Adventures of Rush Revere Our homeschool learning centers around and thrives upon living history books. Living history simply means the books we read are written in a story-like way that is much more engaging than a typical history textbook filled with facts and dates. Living history books focus on the people who lived and their stories more than the events of the times. As a result our girls absolutely love history. They enjoy going to historical sites and museums and will all tell you that history is one of their favorite things to study in their schooling. We are always on the lookout for new history titles which will engage their minds. The Adventures of Rush Revere Book Series from Adventures of Rush Revere #1 New York Times Bestselling Book Series by Rush and Kathryn Adams Limbaugh was recommended to us by another homeschooling family a while ago and we were very excited to have a chance to review the entire series!!!

It isn’t often the girls get to read their own copy of the books we review and they were ecstatic to do so! Our summer learning still happens, but it is quite a bit more relaxed than the rest of the school year. Everyday the girls have a math assignment and a required 2 chapters of reading. This was assigned for their summer reading time and they were really excited! The writing style of these books is very personable and perfect for today’s generation of kids. They are sprinkled with humor and because the characters time-travel lots of references to modern technology and current trends.

I would say this series is written in a way that a typical 4th grade reader would enjoy them although they engaged all of my girls (and me) while reading! Even if your kids are not old enough to enjoy reading them on their own this series would make a great read-aloud series for your family. I appreciate that the authors spent time researching and really working to understand the time periods represented in the books.

There are many wonderful illustrations scattered throughout the book. Some are cartoon-ish renderings of the characters, some are photographs, some are copies of historical documents, and some are paintings. The pages are beautifully created with a vintage feel and glossy finish. They are sturdy and will hold up well to many readings year after year. Here is what my girls had to say…

Rose likes that the characters can time travel back in history. It was easy for her to read and they were good stories.

Beth likes that the books are funny and that the horse, Liberty, can talk. She also likes that Liberty clogs because she does that as well! She likes that some of the historical expectations which we have but aren’t always right were corrected, like the colors of the Pilgrims clothes.

Grace, my outdoor reader, likes that the pictures are in color because a lot chapter books don’t have pictures or they aren’t in color. She really likes the horse and that she read the book about George Washington. He is one of her favorite people to learn about from history. While I am not personally fan of the style of radio one of the authors is known for, I was incredibly pleased with just how well written and accurate these books are. I am an advocate for accuracy in history. Although presenting all the facts of the events must be tempered with discernment for the age of the audience, I do not want to teach my girls falsehoods or glossy versions of history. These titles are truthful and presents the facts that are appropriate for all ages. I highly recommend them to supplement your American history curriculum and encourage you to take a look at the website. There are many wonderfully fun and engaging things to see and do there! Take a look at why my Crewmates had to say!

Bonhoeffer Student Edition: A NetGalley Review

May 26, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

There were many martyrs of the Holocaust, but few have had the theological significance as Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His life sets an example for old and young of how to live out ones convictions even in the most difficult of circumstances.

I will have my oldest daughter read this year as we study other literature written about the Holocaust. I think it is highly valuable to learn about many different perspectives when studying history, especially very difficult periods such as the Holocaust.

The book itself is geared towards the middle school reader. The historical information is provided in a clear and interesting way. Even if the reader has not been made familiar with the intricacies surrounding World War 2 prior to reading this, they will have no trouble understanding all that happened leading up to and during the war. It is especially insightful to understand how the everyday citizen felt about what Germany’s leaders were doing.

Individuals are famous for their brief moment in history, but we cannot understand the individuals completely without first knowing what led them to those moments. This biography is an excellently written description of Bonhoeffer’s early life and how he became who he was. The clear writing will engage readers fully and hopefully help them think critically about not only World War 2, but also be more aware of all that is going on around them politically and socially.

Now I do want to make it clear that I do not agree with all of Bonhoeffer’s theological beliefs. That being said, I believe studying his life and his thoughts on Scripture are still very valuable. If you also have the opportunity to read the original book by Eric Metaxes written for adults I strongly encourage that. It is excellent and will fill in any of the gaps you may feel was missing in this title.

Disclaimer: I received this title from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any other way. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

A Secret Courage: A NetGalley Review

May 26, 2017 Grace-Filled Writer

One of my favorite periods of history to read about is World War 2. My own grandfather served in the war and I’m sure this is what fuels my interest in this period. A Secret Courage is the first fiction title I’ve read from Tricia Goyer. I was very excited to give this novel a try and I was not at all disappointed!

A Secret Courage is set in war-time England and centers around the covert operations of the war. Wars are fought and lost upon the backs of the dedicated men and women willing to risk their lives to uncover the secrets of the enemy. It is hard, often overlooked work because of the need for secrecy. I loved learning about how covert photos were taken and analyzed in secrecy. It was a fascinating side of the war I was unfamiliar with prior to this book While the history fascinates me, I do not enjoy reading fiction books which end up feeling like a history text. The author skillfully weaves in the historical information with accuracy and grace so that I was engaged through every page.

I also liked the slightly different take on the love-story. As with most historical, romances I had a pretty good idea from the beginning which characters were going to get together, but rather than the usual cat-and-mouse game authors tend to give their readers, these two quickly came together. Now every good love-story needs some challenges to overcome, and they are definitely present, but I won’t tell you about those and spoil the book for you!

I was also surprised by the ending. Again, I do not want to spoil it, but it was anything other than a neatly wrapped-up story. What I can assure you of is you will not be disappointed. It was one of the best historical fiction books of the World War 2 era I have read in a long time.

Disclaimer: I received this title from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any other way. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.