Book #32: The Lemonade War

I saw this book on the suggested reading list at the public library. It was suggested for third graders, and we had never read anything by Jacqueline Davies, so we gave it a shot. It’s interesting, this book. It’s about a brother and sister who normally get along, but jealousy comes between them and the situation turns into a competition to see who can sell the most lemonade. The book is almost more of a business education book for kids than anything else. It does a pretty terrific job of teaching basic business skills like competition, profit margin, advertising, retail vs. wholesale, and location. And since my little coffee-business-owner is ALL ABOUT sharpening her business acumen, we enjoyed sharing the book together. However, I don’t think we’ll ever see this one on a list of classic children’s literature. There is a sequel called The Lemonade Crime, and we will probably read it when it comes out in May 2011. It looks like it will be a novel about our legal system, and it will probably teach a good lesson, too.

I guess my opinion on this one is that it wasn’t my favorite book that we have read, but it was worth the education on running a profitable business. I would give it three out of five stars.

Giveaway Winner

According to http://www.random.org/, the winner of the In His Image Devotional Bible is #2 Kelly Alligood. Thanks for your comments! More giveaways coming very soon – just in tme for Christmas!

In His Image Devotional Bible

Tyndale Publishers has a new devotional Bible out called In His Image. This caught my eye on their website because our pastor has been preaching a sermon series about the characteristics of God, and the devotions in this Bible go right along with his same message. All throughout the scriptures, this Bible has devotional passages pertaining to the different aspects of God’s character: mercy, holy, good, loving, just, righteous, etc. Traditionally a devotional Bible is not as theologically deep as a study Bible, and I would say that that holds true for this book. It is, however, a very good overview into God’s attributes.

The Bible is a New Living Translation Bible, which is very easy to read and understand. The Bible retails for $26.99 and would make a fabulous Christmas gift for someone wanting to delve deeper into who God is and who we should be.

Here is what Tyndale has to say about it: “The In His Image Devotional Bible will help you know God more deeply as you discover His attributes and character throughout Scripture. You will become more like Christ as you practice directed, prayerful reading of God’s Word. Experience greater peace facing life’s challenges as you learn to see God fully.

“The New Living Translation is an authoritative Bible translation, rendered faithfully into today’s English from the ancient texts by 90 leading Bible scholars. The NLT’s scholarship and clarity breathe life into even the most difficult-to-understand Bible passages—but even more powerful are stories of how people’s lives are changing as the words speak directly to their hearts. That’s why we call it “The Truth Made Clear.”

Tyndale Publishers has made one copy of this book available for me to give away. If you would like to receive a copy, simply leave a comment on the blog. Sorry, facebook or twitter comments will not be counted, nor will anonymous comments since I have no way of contacting you to let you know you have won. I will randomly select one winner, using http://www.random.org/. Be sure to check back to see if you have won. I have had winners that didn’t get their prize because they didn’t check back and I had no way to contact them. I want you to receive your prize if you win!!

Free Shutterfly! Oh, my!

I was so excited the other day when my friend Joy at Confessions from a Southern Socialite wrote a post about an offer from Shutterfly for FREE Christmas cards. I have bought my cards from Shutterfly for the last few years and been very happy with the quality and quick shipping, so FREE? Yes, thank you very much.

Many of you know that I once owned a stationery business, so I am very picky about my Christmas cards. I don’t want any old run-of-the-mill cards that are printed on cheap paper and look like I designed them myself. I want a good heavy-duty card stock that has good color saturation. I want a professional looking, cute, whimsical design that is done right! So I perused the Shutterfly website and found my favorites:

Family Wall Red (I love that you can use LOTS of pictures. Also love the monogram.)
Red Revamped (Love the simplicity an the 5X5 size.)
Initially Chic Green (Love the black and green. This one might just be our card this year.)
Retro Wheel Green (The wheels are so funky and fun!)
Fa La La (Again, fun and funky. And the bird! Oh, the bird!)
Top Ten Moments (This one could be really cool if done well.)

The promotion is open to any bloggers. All you have to do is go to their website and sign up. They will email you with directions. You write your blog post, and they send you a code for 50 free cards. Easy peasy lemon squeasy.

And the Winner is…

The comment selected by http://www.random.org/ is comment #4, Charles. Congratulations to Charles. I hope you enjoy your new devotional book! Contact me with your shipping info so I can send your book. Thanks for playing, friends!

"A Year With God" Giveaway

Thomas Nelson never ceases to inspire me with the books they send to me to review. A few weeks ago, they sent over a new devotional book called A Year With God by R. P. Nettelhorst. It’s been a while since I have read a devotional book. I usually choose a Bible study type book, or better yet, reading straight from the Bible. But I wanted to do the review and give you guys a chance to win a copy, so I gave it a shot.

There are several things that struck me as interesting about this book. First of all, the subtitle is “Make His Thoughts Your Thoughts”. Amen, and yes to that! How many of us go through our prayer time asking God to fix things on our list of broken items – broken homes, broken children, broken marriages, broken bodies, broken finances, broken churches, broken nations. Does He want us to ask about these things? Absolutely. In fact, He tells us to ask and applauds us for knowing that He is the One who cares enough to do it. But how often do we approach the God of the Universe and let Him know how we want things done instead of truly making His thoughts our own. True humility demands that WE conform to HIM instead of the other way around. It’s HIS plan that is in place and we are ancillary. How quickly we forget that and approach Him as if He is working for us. Shame on us, and may we have the grace and humility to change this wretched way of thinking.

The other interesting thing I noticed about A Year With God  is that every daily devotional comes from a passage of scripture in the Old Testament. That might not seem noteworthy to you at first glance, but if you really stop to look through devotional books tat you own, I bet you will find that most of the scripture passages used are from the New Testament. And not without reason. After all, Jesus is the central character in the New Testament, and it is right and fitting that so much attention be given to Him. But God is also God in the Old Testament. The coming of Christ in the New Testament, while fulfilling the Old Testament, does not negate the writings and wisdom of the Old Testament. This book, to me, was a refreshing look at the Old Testament, which is just as important and just as much God’s Holy Word as the New Testament.

So there you have it. If you would like to have a brand-spanking-new copy of this book for yourself, just leave a comment. One blessed winner will be chosen at random. I’ll announce the winner on Monday.

The Stack On My Desk

This is the stack of books on my desk waiting to be read and reviewed. Yikes! I might need two weeks off on a desert island to get it all done. Actually, that sounds rather nice. There are a lot of good authors in that stack 🙂

Book Review: Jesus Calling For Kids

I was delighted when Thomas Nelson Publishers sent me a copy of their newest devotional book for kiddos called Jesus Calling For Kids. Mary Anneliese recently finished reading the devotional book she got last year for Christmas, and I was looking for a new one. Perfect timing!

Here’s the review from the Thomas Nelson website: “After many years of writing in her prayer journal, missionary Sarah Young decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down what she believed He was saying to her through Scripture. Others were blessed as she shared her writings, until people all over the world were using her devotionals. They are written from Jesus’ point of view, thus the title Jesus Calling. It is Sarah’s fervent prayer that our Savior may bless readers, and now young readers, with His presence and His peace in ever deeper measure.

Based on her original Jesus Calling, this version has been adapted in a language and fashion that kids and tweens can relate to their everyday lives.”

Not only are the devotionals easily understandable for children, the thing I really love about this book is that it is written as if Jesus is speaking directly to the reader. What a fantastic way for children to learn to hear from Him as they are reading. It trains them to understand that God does, in fact, speak to them through His word. What an incredible concept!

I am a big, big fan of Jesus Calling For Kids! If you would like to have a copy for yourself, leave a comment. One commenter will be blessed with a copy of the book to keep for yourself or give as a gift. Happy reading!

Book #31 Anne Bradstreet by DB Kellogg

My latest read was a new book supplied to me by Thomas Nelson Publishers. It is part of their Christian Encounters series, which profile famous Christians. On their website they say about this series: “Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church. Some are familiar faces. Others are unexpected guests. But all, through their relationships, struggles, prayers, and desires, uniquely illuminate our shared experience.”
I started the series with the story of Anne Bradstreet, the first American female poet ever to have her work published. Anne was a Puritan from England, who moved with her family to America to lay the foundation for the United States. Both her father and her husband were governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and Anne was well respected by her peers. She was deeply devoted to her husband and her eight children. Anne had quite a life caring for them, but she also had her own interests, like writing poetry.
Again, from Thomas Nelson: “Anne Bradstreet is recognized as one of the most important figures in the history of American literature, yet the majority of her poetry remained private until after her death. As a Puritan wife and mother, Anne knew that sharing her views and opinions with others was considered a sin, but she clearly valued knowledge and intellect, and was a free thinker. Bradstreet’s work serves as a document of the struggles and hardships of colonial life and is a testament to the plight of the women of the age. Her poetry, filled with the love she had for God, her husband, and her eight children, showcased her intense devotion to being a good wife, mother, and Christian.”
This book, to me, was not a really easy read. It took some concentration. As one who is not that great with remembering history, the book required me to really think about my historical knowledge. However, I chose this book particularly because Mary Anneliese and I are studying this period in our history lesson, and I needed some further background than what we had been reading. The historical accuracy of the book was perfect for what I needed. It provided many of the historically accurate details for which I was looking.
I look forward to reading more books from this series. Would you like to have my copy of Anne Bradstreet? Leave a comment and I’ll choose one lucky person to have it!

Book #30 Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates

Another of the aspects I love about a classical education is how all subjects fit together (most of the time). When we are studying a particular event in history, we can read literature that goes along with it, do art projects reflecting the theme, write about it, etc. So I got excited when we started reading Dutch history because I knew we would enjoy reading Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge. Believe it or not, it is one piece of children’s classic literature that I have never read. It’s a really sweet and triumphant story that both Mary Anneliese and I enjoyed reading aloud. It is the story of the poor Brinker family living in Holland. The father, Raff Brinker, is injured while working on a dike and is left with a brain injury causing him to be almost non-responsive for ten years. The children, Hans and Gretel, do their best to help their mother provide for the family. The children have some very sweet children who not only give them work so that they can support their family, but they also invite them to participate in a skating event at which they can each win a pair of skates. As usual, I won’t give away the ending, but let’s just say that my sweet little girl who loves a happy ending was VERY pleased with how everything came together at the end of this book. She said, “Mom, I like this book as much as Hugo Cabret.” That’s high praise, my friends! Hugo was her all-time favorite!