Burge02

Confession Time: The first time I picked up this book, I only read two chapters and put it down thinking that I must have gotten some things wrong in my parenting.  What I perceived was that we (my husband and I) had missed the mark in incorporating the Gospel into our discipline routine. I will also admit that I actually expected a different message, one about imparting grace to our kids in our everyday lived, but rather this was a book focusing on bringing attention to the Gospel during our every conversation, especially discipline. After attending a conference in March and listening to one of the authors (Jessica), I decided she was so honest in admitting failure in her own presentation and implementation of the material to her kids; I picked it up again. Jessica said that the book was not written to be used as a manual with scripts to be read, but rather a Biblical basis for holding high the Gospel during our interactions with our children. Several close friends, including my ...

*Food for thought for all parents,  encouragement for homeschool moms* This book creates the case that ALL Christian parents are called to homeschool their children and that parents are fully equipped to do the job. First, it must be determined if education is a function of the state, the church or the family. After all, education cannot be "neutral" according to John Milton, a puritan poet. Second, we must apply the discipleship process in our homes. Sproul, Jr. uses  Deuteronomy 6 to show that God has called parents to be teachers of their children. Education IS the function of the family and it takes place in the form of discipleship. The goal of which it to create children and grandchildren who are Christlike. On the other hand, p ublic education is an arm of the government who is an enemy of the gospel (we hear it more now than ever) and have banned even a mention of Christ's name. Their goal is to raise responsible adults who, bottom line: do well, earn mo...

To read the first chapters Nicole is a gifted author, Christian counselor and youth leader who shares her struggles with control, insecurity, comparison, fear and anger (along with unforgiveness). In her experience, she has found that these "issues" seem to be common among most women and this book/study was written to help the reader live in victory vs defeat. The book includes 14 chapters that can be read by itself or can be used along with the 6-session DVD. As mentioned before the topics range from dealing with fear and anger to giving up control. Each chapter concludes with a prayer and heart probing questions with space to journal as well as a link to bonus YouTube videos. In the first chapter- Cheap Plastic Souls, the following questions really struck home, "If the grocery store cashier or your kid's teacher or the last waiter who served you described you with complete honesty, would loving be there first word he or she would use? Or would you be kn...

Ellie Kay is a good author with some practical advise. The premise behind the book is that you or you and your sig other sit down once a week for a timed financial overhaul session. She provides all the information, quizzes and online worksheets necessary for each workout. There are 13 topics/workouts that you can pick from and then you can choose the order and even skip some if they don't apply. I think the topics she covers have the potential to really transform an individual or a family's financial outlook. I mean who doesn't need some tweaking of the budget every now and again. I really appreciated her specific guidelines for the workout, including stating something positive to yourself or your partner to begin and end the session. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

The DVD has two 25 minute episodes that are opened by a short introduction by Chick Swindoll. This particular DVD is the 8th in a series. The main characters C.J. and Staci, best friends and school-aged bears who are learning what it means to live like a Christian. The first episode: The Hullabaloo at Hunker Hill was mostly about a bully named Hugh who gets blamed for a pretty serious accident involving Staci and a soapbox derby car. Ultimately, it is a story of forgiveness and is based on Matthew 18:21-22. The second episode: The Great Go-Kart Race was all about working together. C.J. has organized a club made up of his friends, but everyone has their own idea of how the club's go-cart should look. They end up splitting up and coming up with some pretty sorry racers that each have their issues. In the end, they decide that working together is the best way and is based on Matthew 6:14. Our family is not familiar with this series, but it looked good. So, I watched this DVD wit...

Back in 2005, I was working as a physical therapist in Carol Stream, IL and I treated a patient whose name I associated with some Christian literature, I thought some children's bibles. His name was Ken Taylor and I remember my boss telling me that he was a very important patient. Until reading this book, I had no idea the impact Mr Taylor has had on the 21st century. You see, he started as director of Moody Press and helped get it up and running. During his time there, he felt there ought to be a Christian organization for booksellers to network, he called it the Christian Booksellers Association which has been hugely successful. Mr Taylor admitted that he had difficulty reading and understanding the KJV and began the incredible task of translating the bible into a thought-for-thought paraphrase; he called it The Living Bible which has sold over 40 million copies. He started with the Epistles and called them the Living Letters, which was personally endorsed by Billy Graham. ...

                                        Check out the video and personal challenge by Coach Dungy This is the second book that I have come across by Tony Dungy  and Nathan Whitaker. And for those of you who don't know, he coached the SuperBowl XLI winning Indianapolis Colts, who beat my beloved Bears in 2007:( Previously, my husband and I had listened to Quiet Strength on Audio CD, so I was familiar with Coach Dungy's background and his relationship with Tyndale . The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge is a daily devotional follow-up to his book Uncommon ; their goal is to have individuals take the 365 day challenge to spend time with God everyday for an entire year. Which is a wonderful challenge! They have established a website and registration to "take the challenge" and receive encouraging words from Coach Dungy. The book targets 7 categories, my personal favori...