You could win this book!

I love books by Dr. Kevin Leman.  Here is another one I'm excited to read.  It's Your Kid Not a Gerbil by Dr. Kevin Leman talks about how busy our kids are.  Here is a description from the website: Do you sometimes feel like a gerbil running on a wheel inside a cage as you scurry from place to place, chauffeuring your children from one endless activity to another? What if, for one moment, you could just step off of the wheel . . . and relax? How would you feel then? And what if that single moment could stretch into an hour, or even a whole day? In his new book, It’s Your Kid, Not a Gerbil, Kevin Leman will provide practical solutions and helpful insight to get off the activity wheel so that you can put your time and energies where they really count: in establishing strong character and a love for home and family that will serve your kids well for a lifetime.

Visit this link for a chance to win your own copy.

Happy Reading!

The Hour that Matters Most – The surprising power of the family meal By Les & Leslie Parrott with Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna

Giveaway time!  Ends September 6, 2011 at 9pm

The book, The Hour that Matters Most, starts out talking about what makes a healthy home.  On page 5 it states, “Every family expert will tell you that a healthy home is the result of a proactive parent.”  Wow, this really struck me.  There are days when I am so busy trying to keep the house clean that I forget about keeping the house happy and healthy.  The authors talk about ways to keep the house healthy.  They also mentioned the numerous studies backing up why families need to eat meals together.

The sad truth is that a lot of families are so busy with activities in life that they don’t make time to eat supper together.  This book offers a lot of insight into how to bring the family back together.  It’s going to be strange at first but will get better with time.  There are tips on how to get the good conversations started.  As well as how to get your kids to open up without prying and prodding.

For those you don’t normally cook there is a chapter on how to get started cooking in general.  There are easy recipes at the end of each chapter, several of them I am going to try at our table.  Speaking of the table there is even a lesson on manners and the most effective way to get your kids to model the good ones.

This book as opened my eyes as to why we need to make sure we are eating together as a family as often as possible.  Even if Scott is getting home late from work and I am going to eat with him I am still going to make sure I sit at the table while the girls eat.  I am looking forward to the conversations we are going to have, as the girls get older.

Here's your chance to win your very own copy of The Hour that Matters Most.

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 Happy Reading!





I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Radical – Taking back your faith from the American Dream by David Platt

I kept hearing about this book, Radical - by David Platt, from several friends of mine who attend Hidden Valley Community Church with me.  The story that struck me the most came from Patrick, our new Worship Leader and Director.  Patrick, his wife Megan and their 2 girls came to us, in Wisconsin, from the rather large and warm state of Texas. 

Here’s the story - When Patrick was looking for a job they confined the search to the Texas area. After reading the book Radical they decided to expand the job search and go where they felt God was calling them to.  The decision to read this book and a lot of prayer lead them to Wisconsin.  I thought that if one book can have such an impact on one family, leading them to relocate to a place where they do not know a single person.  What kind of impact will it have on my life?

So I asked my mom for her copy and was excited when she dropped it off.  The book talks about how we have adapted the Biblical church to fit our own American culture.  David Platt calls you to be Radical and do the things it takes to truly be a disciple of Jesus.  Give to the poor, live with less (lots less), trust God and spread the Gospel across the world.

Reading this book has prompted me to take a leap of faith and embark on a project to help those with less than I have.  I have been convicted to get over my nerves and spread the gospel.  I have to, no need to reach out to those around me.

Radical is another book that I am recommending to everyone I know.  I’m putting it on my husband’s reading pile tonight.  =)

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Happy Reading!

Enemies of the Heart – Breaking Free from the Four Emotions That Control You by Andy Stanley

 The book Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley was a very good book.  He talks about the emotions that control you being; Guilt: I Owe You, Anger: You Owe Me, Greed: I Owe Me, and Jealousy: God Owes Me.  I found the chapters very easy to read and filled with humor.  Andy told stories from his own life as well as hypothetical ones.   There are so many highlights from the book that it was hard to choose the ones I found carried the biggest impact.  Here are just 3 of them.

Page 23: What’s in your heart comes out at home, where you’ve turned off the “safety” and let down your defenses.  That’s when the heart exposes itself in the most negative ways to the people you love the most.

Page 31: After all, if we knew how to monitor our hearts, if we knew how to deal with the trouble at its source, then perhaps we would see a marked improvement in our behavior.

Andy goes on to talk about how “unpleasant realities become lodged in our hearts.”

Page 71: Greed isn’t a financial issue; it’s a heart issue. Financial gain doesn’t make greedy people less greedy.  Financial gain or lose doesn’t change anything, because greed emanates from the heart.

I could go on and on quoting lines and paragraphs from the book.  But I know I can’t.  I loved this book and will be soon passing it on to others.

At the end of the book is a 6-week study guide intended for small group discussion.  I’ve always liked books with a study guide that cause you to dig a little deeper into ones self.  However, I don’t like the way this study guide is set up.  It groups the weekly questions by topic causing you to have to read certain chapters first before answering all the questions.  For example: Week 1 covers the first 5 chapters, but Week 2 covers chapters 6, 11 and 12, Week 3 covers chapters 7,13 and 14 and so on and so on.

I happily give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”.