Reading, Writing & Pondering

The NIV Life Journey Bible exceeded my expectations when I received a hard copy to review. It is a beautiful Bible with dark print. I especially liked that it was easy for me to read although the print is not too big. I have been making changes towards growing in emotional wholeness over the past few years. The sub-title on the bright eye-catching cover of this Bible "Find the answers for your Whole Life" caught my eye. This Bible offers helps in addition to the Bible text to help you stay on track for emotional and relational health. There are "Insights" on various pages from the doctors that share glimpses into Scripture to show how it can bring emotional growth and development.  There are profiles of Bible characters like David, Esther and Paul which illustrate life lessons from their lives that support emotional and spiritual health. Themes of emotional health and wellness are also highlighted in the Book instructions before each book. Various essays are a...

As you can see, the cover page of the latest book from Jennifer Rothschild proclaims in bold letters God Is Just Not Fair, while the smaller subtitle states, "Finding Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense." That bold title grabbed me! For me, this book seemed timely. I'm not sure I was feeling God wasn't fair when I picked up this book to read, but I have been struggling to make sense of life lately. I found this book to be engaging from the beginning. This is the first book I've read by Jennifer Rothschild. I liked her style. . .she seems conversational and down to earth. I also found I laughed a few times and I shed a few tears. . .she knew how to reach me where I am. She should understand those who are hurting as she has been through a thing or two in her life. At the age of 15, Rothschild lost her sight to a devastating disease. She has also face Depression five years ago, which caused her to wrestle with God. In God Is Just Not Fair, Rothschild asks s...

The Power of Hope by Dutch Sheets is a small book that is full of help to renewing your hope if you are in a place of needing hope. This is my first book by Dutch Sheets and I did find it encouraging. I have been going through several challenging life situations lately and my hopes were indeed dwindling. I found this book to be a good source of encouragement and inspiration that is solidly based on Scripture. Sheets shares encouraging stories of real life people in both today's world and Biblical times. I liked that each chapter was fairly short because I needed to reflect on his words after each chapter. I liked that this book offers journal pages in the back of the book. Each chapter then offers specific advice on what to reflect on from that chapter in the journal, how to apply truths from the chapter, and a prayer to pray. I especially liked that the prayer was all ready for me to pray because there were days I just wasn't sure how to pray. Also, there were a list o...

i The Extravagant Fool by Kevin Adams is the story of an underdog who overcomes many obstacles to honor God. It's a book full of essays in which Adams shares his story of losing his business, investments, rental houses and just about everything he owned in a short period of time. During that time, however, he gained a trust in God and dependence on Him that most of the world today would consider quite "foolish." This book was encouraging in that in the end, the family overcame a lot of challenges and difficulties through their dependence on God as provider.The entire book is a memoir of his experience. I truly found the faith and trust of Adams to be inspirational. . and I felt my own faith grow as I rely on God during some personal challenges. In that way, it sounds like the author's goal was met as he said in the end of the book, "My only hope for this book is that it be compelling real-life evidence that God can be trusted with everything." I am gla...

Hope. I don't know about you, but some days I struggle to keep my hopes up. Pastor Ray Johnston's book, Hope Quotient, is full of information on how to raise your Hope levels, or Hope Quotient, as Johnston calls it. When you purchase this book, it contains a special code so that you can take an on-line test to find out your Hope Quotient. According to Johnston, there are 7 factors that affect your Hope Quotient. The test takes about ten minutes to take. Results are then available instantly and also e-mailed to you. When I took the test, I tried to answer the test as accurately as I could to get honest results. I felt they were, indeed, accurate. I do have some areas I need to work on, which was no surprise to me and why I chose this book to review. The results are both totaled for the entire test and for each of the seven areas so you can see which areas you need to work on. I can see where this is helpful in improving your life. I took extensive notes as I read this book ...

  https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/1611/26335/9h/dramsey.download.akamai.com/23572/daveramsey.com/media/common_images/plugs/xternal/smsk.lt.mhuyser I was thrilled when I was notified that I was on the Launch Team for the new book from Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze called Smart Money, Smart Kids. Their new book is out today, April 22. Visit the website to found out more:https://www.smartmoneysmartkids.com/?ictid=smsk.rc.hp My husband and I graduated from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University about 4 years ago. We continue to apply the Ramsey Principles as we see to "change our family tree" and live debt free. We aren't where we want to be yet but we are continuing to move in the right direction.One of the ways I was excited about being on this launch team, is that I can have a resource to teach our 12-year old son how to be a better money manager than we were before he leaves home. Smart Money, Smart Kids offers a dialogue throughout the book with voices fro...

 This past year we moved to a new house in a new town for my husband's job. I had lived in the same house for 12 years. . .so leaving wasn't easy for me. We purchased a house in a different flavor than our first one. . .so when I saw this book was available for review, I knew it was just what I needed to inspire me. Going from a 1920s two-story house to a 1970s ranch was an adjustment in tastes that I felt needed to become evident in my decorating style. I'm so glad I read The Nesting Place because Myquillin Smith inspired me in several ways. Myquillin Smith is a blogger and self-taught decorator. Her book, The Nesting Place, is full of inspiration on how to make your house the home that you want and need for you and your family. . .regardless of your budget, your living arrangements (even if you are renting!), or most anything else that you think might stand in the way of making your place beautiful for your family. Smith helps you see that "creating a beautiful ...