Comparison Girl

So a new book is hitting the shelves and it’s definitely one for self reflection and allowing God to grow us in the ways that may be uncomfortable and definitely humbling but absolutely necessary for our good and God’s glory.

Comparison Girl is a book for the girl who is looking to do something different so she gets different results in life.

It’s always easy to compare ourselves with others even if we don’t know them. It’s even worse when you compare yourself to perfection and Shannon shares her first hand experience on how the attempt at perfection (whether for yourself or for appearances) is just as big an issue as comparing yourself to the lady you follow on Instagram or the lady on Pinterest whose life you never really see but just the carefully curated highlight reel. 

This one that goes in the arsenal for when life gets to the point that I’m comparing or doing ministry for likes or I’m posting simply for likes rather than to simply share something good and beautiful and educating.

So here’s the fun part: a giveaway! 

Here’s the link:  

http://www.audrajennings.com/2020/05/how-do-you-measure-up-win-copy-of.html

Women compare constantly—on social media, in their neighborhood, at church, even in the school drop-off lane. They glance sideways and ask themselves, "How do I measure up?" All this assessment feels like a natural way of finding a place in the world. But it pulls them into feelings of inferiority or superiority, guiding them into a trap of antagonism by the enemy. Satan would like women to strive to measure up, constantly adding to a tally sheet that can't ever be balanced. The way of Jesus is completely upside down from that philosophy. Instead, he says the last shall be first--and the greatest are those who empty themselves, lay down their lives, and serve each other.   Through conversations Jesus had and parables he shared, Shannon Popkin has created a seven-week Bible study to address this tendency to compare and judge ourselves and others. Each chapter is divided into lessons, allowing women on a time budget to read a Bible passage, engage in a complete train of thought related to the topic, and then make the content personal--all in one sitting. And the informal teaching tone will make women feel like they're meeting with a trusted friend. Suited for both individual and group study, Comparison Girl will guide women to leave their measure-up ways behind, connect with those around them, and break free from the shackles of comparison!

God Made Boys and Girls

So here's another series of God Made books by New Growth Press.

This first book is about helping children understand gender from a godly perspective, which is hugely needed in today's society considering the constant discussion around gender and transgendered persons.

The story starts revolves around a little girl named Maya who prefers to play sports like football at recess. She's also really fast. So fast that when they line up for recess, her classmate (a boy) remarks that if she keeps playing with boys then she'll turn into a boy. This sparks a discussion about gender and how it does not change because of what we do or how we act. Gender is a gift from God and even if you like to do things that are considered "boy-ish" it doesn't change that gift. Gender is what you're born with and it doesn't change. It's ingrained so deep in us, it goes beyond what we can physically see down into our DNA and cells.

Again!  New Growth Press does it again with another good book with a much-needed lesson.

This is definitely worth reading, especially those who may have children or even teens who are struggling with gender identity and as a parent, you want to take a God-honoring approach to discuss it. This book does that and points them back to Jesus.

{I received this book from the publisher, New Growth Press, in exchange for my honest review.}

Good News for Little Hearts: Gus Loses His Grip

Our third book in the series! Such a good series so far. Each one is just as good as the last. 

Each book takes place in Mulberry Meadow and introduces another animal family. We've met Henry and Tori, now we meet Gus. 

Now Gus is a going through a sneaky phase. It starts with disobedience, eating candy in his room, which is a no-no. Then it delves into stealing candy at the market. All of this falls around Easter.

When Gus confesses to his dad he says he just had to have it (candy). So when he was offered a piece without any supervision he did what the kids next to him did, took more than he was told he could. Gus also confesses to eating candy in bed and hiding the wrappers knowing it was against the rules.

But the best part? His dad's response. His dad acknowledged what Gus did was wrong then self-reflected that even he as an adult needs to practice restraint and self-control. Then his dad tells him to return the candy, confess to the shopkeeper and apologize. 

Parents, a book that deals with disobedience, lying, and theft in a godly manner? Win!

Again add it to your home library for when the situation arises.

{I received this book from the publisher, New Growth Press, in exchange for my honest review.}

Good News for Little Hearts: Tori Comes Out of Her Shell

So we started this new series of books, we have 3 of 5 or 6 in the series.

While the first book dealt with loss and how to overcome grief. This book covers shyness and feeling lonely. And more specifically moving and being the new kid at school.

I so wish we had this book last year when we moved from Texas to North Dakota and our children were experiencing what Tori feels in this book. 

Tori's family moves to a larger log home and with that comes a new school, new friends and a new church. She also lands in Henry's class with Miss Minnick. She struggles with fitting in as well as being afraid of falling and being laughed at. Then comes Miss Minnick who helps Tori see Jesus as that invisible friend who's always with her. Then at church the message repeats. And at school the following week Tori meets Gertie Gecko who wants to have a shell like Tori so she wouldn't be exposed when she feels lonely. Tori is then able to pass along the message Miss Minnick gave her . Tori also invites Gertie to church. 

This message: tugs at the heart strings! Having a friend who just picks you up and holds you close is every child's wish even if they never say it and especially so for shy children.

OK, two books in and I'm starting to think this is just a must-have series.

Highly recommend for those with shy children.

Also, the pocket bible verses in the back (perforated so you have take them out) is AMAZING!

{I received this book from the publisher, New Growth Press, in exchange for my honest review.}

New Review: Life In Community

Community is a concept was hugely believed in and lived by in the early church. So much so, that it has survived through hundreds of years and is still written about to this day. I realize there is no shortage of writers that are writing on community or hospitality.
And therefore I find myself interested in reading this book to see what does Dustin Willis have to say on the topic that hasn't already been said or how does he present the material in a fresh way.

You can purchase the book on Amazon.

So after reading this book, which is split into three sections: forming community, the values for living in community, and next steps for a strong community. What I have found is that I do have a great appreciation for Dustin's message on returning to the idea of community as close to what it looked like in the Early Church as possible. I love the idea of holding each other accountable, of showing our true selves (the one our family sees), of forgiveness, and having real relationships. I think I expected more on the topic of hospitality. This book has exactly one chapter on hospitality, which is (in my opinion) a huge part of community, of being able to invite people into your life and to do life together.

I also appreciate the discussion questions at the end of each chapter as it encourages the reader to really engage with the book and self reflect on how we are apart of or encourage community around us. I personally noticed that I do not quite engage in the community around me like I want. And it gave me a nugget to chew on to engage in community and develop deeper relationships with those around me. My favorite quote from the book is "This was mot a Sunday activity that took place for an hour and ended with a prayer and a song. Community is more than a Sunday." I also enjoy the analogy of the after-church potluck meal to the need for everyone to bring their gifts to the body christ in community. No one is quite trying to make the same dish, just like each of our gifts our not quite the same or even used exactly the same. And we have to appreciate that both on an individual personal level and on a corporate level.

A great feature found in this book is the small group leader's guide. I really appreciate this because all too often, great books will have the study guide in a completely separate book that you have to buy and this one bundles it together for an easy way to do a book study and everyone is able to follow along.

All in all, I think this book is a solid read. It's great for those looking for the reasons why we should develop community and the values to base community on. It is also great for the book guide in the back, which breaks the book down into 6 weeks of reading that everyone in your newfound community can do together so everyone has the same understanding and appreciation for the community you are building. 

{As always I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.}

Friendship Promises

We all have friends, right? And what particularly makes us a good friend? What would we tell others if they asked us this question?

So this is a new gift book by (in) courage, it is composed of devotions, prayer prompts, and journal prompts on the topic of friendship combined with beautiful Scripture art and graphics. I can easily see this book going from gift to interactive treasure as the devotions, prayers, and journaling prompts (along with the space to journal) invites us to linger and digest these lessons & promises on friendship. Then, as we marvel at the Scripture art, perhaps they are left blank without color so that we, too, may participate in making this book beautiful. 

The friendship promised this book offers are:

I promise to be Authentic, Present, Encouraging, and Rooted in Christ. The entire book is organized by these friendship promises. The reflections are drawn from Never Unfriended by Lisa Jo Baker and Craving Connection (another book by (in)courage). I mention this so that you have an idea of the authors of the book since other than this mention, there is no attributed author.

So for the exterior, we're looking at linen over the board. In person, it is the perfect shade of a coral/salmon color. And is the same size as Open Door Living (another gift book). The cover lettering & design is embossed with gold foil. There's also a ribbon marker the same shade of coral/salmon as the book, which makes me happy. 

I really like this book. I think that in this world of people being so easy to write each other off (and being proud of that fact) we need more resources on friendship. The beauty in friendship and knowing just what godly friendship looks like.

Highly recommend. I say buy in pairs. One for yourself and one for your best gal pal (or more for your best gal group of friends).

{As always, I received this book from the publisher (B&H) in exchange for my HONEST opinion.}

The Better Mom Devotional

The is the devotional follow up to Ruth Schwenk's novel The Better Mom (my review on it here) named after her blog, The Better Mom. And I must say it is quickly becoming my favorite devotional! It literally speaks to my often overwhelmed, sometimes weary mom heart. That part of me that questions just how well am I doing at this job. 

And on top of that, it is insanely beautiful. It comes as a hardback which means...longer lasting quality. HUGE plus. And the pages are of great quality, they're heavy enough to be read and turned many times without worrying about them ripping so easily. 

Each day starts with a bible verse/passage and ends with a prayer prompt and questions for pondering that I use as daily journal prompts. There are exactly 100 devotions, so that's just over 3 months of devotions.

Below are a few shareable images: 

THIS is one of the main themes of this devotional.

This is an often prayer of mine, that we are acceptable representatives of Christ in all we do & say. That people want to join His family when they interact with mine and feel God's love in action.

This one is such a HUGE truth that we have to remember daily as moms and wives. We are supposed to be a gift to each other AND an example to the WORLD of Christ's relationship with His bride, the church

The Life-Giving Home

Here we come to the first book in the Lifegiving trilogy yet I read it last. This one is a collaboration between Sally and her daughter Sarah, whereas the second was all Sally and the third book was a collaboration between Sally and her husband Clay. You can read about them here and here. This one is about creating a home that is a safe haven for the entire family. What I truly love is that Sally and Sarah think about the ENTIRE year, not just the holiday season which is usually what most books focus on. 

As you can see from the above table of contents there's a chapter for each month of the year (and it also tells you who wrote each chapter). I also like that Sally included Sarah in writing this book because you gain the perspectives of parent shaping the home and the child who benefits from this shaping. 

There's also a planner to go with this book that helps you implement some of the ideas and shape your home to be lifegiving for your family. 

I recommend this book for every family. I think as moms we have to be intentional in cultivating our home to be a safe haven. We have to be intentional in bringing a warmth to our homes all year round so that our families and even their friends WANT to be in our homes.

{FYI: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my HONEST opinion.}

Little Critter Little Blessings Collection

Ok, as a mom I absolutely LOVE when we can receive these collections to review. It is an awesome deal to be able to get four full stories in one hardback book. Even better is when the books are completely God-centered. And these books are!

So the four books included in this collection are:

• You Go First, 
• Being Thankful, 
• It's True!, and 
• We All Need Forgiveness. 

Each one has a clear moral and lesson for readers to learn. In We All Need Forgiveness, Little Critter learns that he needs to be forgiving, however, he learns this the hard way after he has been unforgiving and unkind to his friends when they needed forgiveness THEN he becomes the friend who needs forgiveness and they all do no immediately give it. It is then that he realizes (with his Mom's help pointing to the Bible) that in order to receive forgiveness, he must also give forgiveness. And they mention God by name, eek! Even better!

And that is an awesome message for a book to provide to children. Because children can be irrational and selfish and even mean at times. But they have to learn early that just as they want to be forgiven when they make mistakes, they have to forgive when others make mistakes. 

{FYI: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my HONEST opinion.}

Girl Talk

How often do mom's want to better connect with their daughters? Especially through the teen and preteen years and if they cannot connect personally, at least know that someone they trust can connect with them.

I'm that mom. I want to connect with 9 year old better than we already do. I want her to feel as though she can trust me with any and everything on her heart. 

But that's not always the case, so my prayer is that she will turn to God, turn to the Bible, and turn to a trusted adult, like a grandparent or aunt or uncle.

I like this book as it is first broken down weekly (undated) then broken down by day. Each week starts with a story and each day of the week relates to that story. The goal of this book is to help young girls see that other girls go through similar situations that they go through. It helps them to start journaling and relating Scripture to their lives. 

My recommendation: give this to your daughter, your niece, your cousin. She will glean from this. It will help her understand and possibly spark a few conversations about what she reads. It will help her see the beauty in the life around her.

Thus far I will say I love everything put out by the Faithgirlz brand. 

{FYI: I received this book from BookLook Blogger program in exchange for my HONEST opinion.}

Intentionally Focused week 5 sum up!

Week Five in the Intentionally Focused study is on friendship.

I think friends are so important because many times they provide fresh perspective. They hold our hands when we're hurting. They pray for us and laugh with us. They relate to us and love us unconditionally.

And thus its important that we take time to understand our individual roles in our friendships. It is so easy to say I want a good friend, a godly friend, an honest friend. However the question to pose to ourselves is: Are we the friend we want in others? We have to self access, are we a good friend? Are influential in a godly manner? Are we honest? Are we unconditional? Do we love in such a way that our friends would have no doubt in us? 

Let me put it this way, have you ever had a friend in which you only scratch the surface with? You know the one, you never get too deep or go too personal. That means that's an indication of your friendship with that person as you don't trust them to share with them. I have certain acquaintances in which I don't go very deep with, we talk but we never touch on heart to heart issues. Why does this happen? 

But then we all have that friend that no matter how frequent or infrequent you talk, we you do talk the floodgates open and you both share everything . There's a certain level of confidence in that friendship.

My point is not really for you to try to categorize your friendships BUT for you to see how do you measure up. What type of friend are you? Are you the friend YOU want to have in others?

I have been evaluating who I am as a friend. As I have noticed, I am a better friend to others than I am to my own husband at times and thus I am making a conscious effort to be the BEST friend I can be to my husband because he's the closest to me. 

Yes, I love my mom. Yes I love my friends. BUT they are NOT closer to me than my own husband. And thus he deserves the best of my friendship, the best of my time, the best of my love. It requires actual work to be a friend. It requires developing your listening skills as people want to be listened to.

Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

Granted most people associate this verse almost instantaneously with marriage. It can also apply to friendship as many are not married and need friends to be there for them. And even in friendship, God is to be apart of that friendship. 

So where do you see you can improve yourself as a friend?

~Kris