Reading, Writing & Pondering

  Every day is full of emotional highs and lows. Do you know how to manage your emotions? Joyce Meyer has a new 90-day devotional book, Managing Your Emotions , that could help you do just that. At the start of Managing Your Emotions , Meyer has an introduction explaining why she wrote the book, her struggle with emotions in the past, and how the book could be helpful to you. Then there are 90 days worth of readings. Each day starts with a Bible verse, then has a short reading related to emotions, and ends with a prayer.  Managing Your Emotions is easy to read and understand. I always appreciate Meyer's down-to-earth approach in her books. They are easy to read and easy to relate to. She doesn't come off as someone who is "above you." Rather she is a human pastor struggling right alongside you. This book is a good size to stick in your purse, briefcase or book bag since it measures roughly 5 by 7 inches in size. I have to add that I like that cover with the mix of su...

  Do you struggle with big feelings? Feelings you aren't sure what to do with? I Cry In Corners by Chari Orozco might be just the book that you need to help you manage those emotions. I Cry In Corners will turn the reader towards Jesus. Each chapter focues on an emotion with a look towards Jesus to handle that emotion. Orozco deals with overwhelm, loneliness, fear, insecurity, anxiety, disappointment and more. Throughout the book, she shares stories from her own life that relate to each emotion. Some of her stories deal with big hard things like being unable to get pregnant while others deal with smaller issues. We all have big and small issues of our own that bring out our emotions. She also shares from the Bible and how she believe Jesus deals with those emotions. The author is down-to-earth and the writing is easy to understand and relate to. For those who want help in dealing with emotions, or someone who they can relate to, they may want to read I Cry in Corners . I received...

  It is easy to feel alone sometimes--no matter what our age. We talk about God with our children, but it takes time to get to know Him. Is God Awake? by Sheila Walsh is a good book to read with young children to help calm their fears and turn them towards knowing God. Is God Still Awake? is a fairly large book at roughly 8 1/2 by 10 inches and 32 pages long. It is written for children ages four to eight, which sounds about right in reading it. It is a great book for early elementary children. The illustrations are bright and vibrant and they draw you in. The words often rhyme and are likely to be comforting at times of fear and feeling alone. There is a bit of humor at one point with the dog and the cake her mom made, which I thought made it fun.   Sheila Walsh also points children to the Bible for proof of God's character and the faith of parents or other loved ones. The language in Is God Still Awake? seems to be age appropriate. I think it is a great book for those wh...

  Love You S'More by Melinda Lee Rathjen is a cute book to start out the Summer reading season with a young child or group of children.  Love You S'More is a 20-page board book measuring 7 inches square. It is a great size for young children to hold on their own. From the back of the book, "Enjoy  three of life's greatest pleasure--love, puns and s'mores with this silly story about two raccoons competing to see who loves the other s'more." That sums up the book well. It is a cute book. It would be great fun to read with a bunch of young children at a family reunion type gathering while making s'mores. It would also be fun to read parent to child. . .and in many other circumstances. It is just a cute book with fun lyrics that go so well with summer s'mores. Love You S'More also has cute illustrations of the raccoons with their faces covered in s'mores. I love the whole package. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinion...

  When I was an older teenage girl, there were times I worried about things. Sissy Goff's new book, Brave: A Teen Girl's Guide to Beating Worry and Anxiety , is a good book for teenage girl's today who face that same struggle. I wish I had had this book growing up. Brave starts out with a not to the parent who bought the book. i will be honest, I thought this was kind of a strange way to start the book as I was buying my own books as a teenager and no parent would have bought it for me. However, there is some good advice for parents in this chapter as well as a reference to book for parents by the same author for those who may be interested. Then she has an introduction for the teenage reader. The next chapter is Goff's rules for reading the book, which are really just some good advice to remember that it is your own book and you can answer and do what you need to do to process the answers on your own.  Brave is then divided in to three sections: Understanding is the f...

There is not doubt about it, there is a lot of scary stuff going on in our modern world. It is enough to worry adults, let alone kids.  Sissy Goff offers advice to young girls on how to overcome their worry and anxiety and focus on how brave they are instead in her new book, Braver Stronger Smarter: A Girl's Guide to Overcoming Worry and Anxiety . Braver Stronger Smarter was written for elementary aged girls but it can be used by girls of any age to learn practical ways to deal with worry, anxiety, and other overwhelming emotions. Actually, the book also offers girls who don't deal with those issues now a way to handle those emotions if they do come up for them. The book is divided in to three sections: Understanding, Help and Hope. Each section contains three chapters with some good advice and learning tools for girls in each section. Parents and caregivers are also encouraged to read the companion book, Raising Worry-Free Girls , as they work with a young girl. Braver St...

Scarlett's Spectacles by Janet Surette is a such a sweet children's book. Scarlett often wakes up grouchy and grumbly--until her mom points out that she has a choice on how to look at her day. Can she focus on what she is thankful for instead of everything she doesn't like? Scarlett's Spectacles could be a book we all could use--not just the children ages four to eight that the book is written for. My whole family enjoyed this story. The verses rhyme and tell Scarlett's story of changing her outlook. We loved the whole idea of putting away our grumbly glasses and putting on our glad glasses instead. I think we will be talking about this book for awhile--and reminding each other which pair of glasses we look better in. Not only is the story fun and easy to apply to our lives, but the illustrations are so cute in this book. They are bright, cheery and fun. The book is also a large board book with sturdy pages for young hands to turn. Between the fun-to-read ...

Feelings can be a struggle at any age. But learning how to handle our feelings at an early age would be a great help. What Am I Feeling? by Dr. Josh and Christi Straub is a vibrantly illustrated children's book aimed at children ages four to eight to help them learn to understand their feelings--and the feelings of others around them. Today is show-and-tell day for Sam. His tummy feels "flippy." His friends at school have some other feelings about the day. In What Am I Feeling? the children see how feelings are shown and learn how to handle their own and to help those around them. What Am I Feeling? also has a pull out Feelings chart attached to the back cover to show the faces of what different feelings would look like. Children can then figure out what their own feeling is and what those around them  may be feeling. I wish we had had What am I Feeling? when my son was little. It is great book now to use with young children. It might be good to work into a Sun...