Homeschool Mom's Bible NIV

As a homeschool mom's I've always had to carefully plan my days so that I can include time to read my bible and time to study it. And God-forbid I come across a day where I'm completely off schedule (this happens A LOT) and I have to remember to squeeze in time to read and study. Many times I find myself praying through out the day. Many a days that's the only way I can get through the day with the small prayers carrying me through the day.

So as a book reviewer, I saw the opportunity to review The Homeschool Mom's Bible NIV and I jumped for joy! Why? Because not only is it a bible geared specifically towards Homeschool Mommies, it has a year worth of devotionals included in the bible among the scripture. So not only can I get a daily devotional in, that devotional is set among the Word so I almost immediately read the Word around the devotional and reflect on what I read.

The bible is of a nice size, its small enough to throw inside a bag when running out the house yet big enough to not cause you to have to squint. I love the bible however I did take off the jacket, I'm not a big fan of jackets cause they move around a lot unless I tape them down.

I recommend this to the mom on the go or the mom who wants to combine her daily devotional with her bible so that she never forgets one or the other. (Like I have done on occasion.)

{FYI: I received this bible from the publisher, Zondervan, in exchange for my HONEST review.}

ALL IN (Book Review)

Every so often comes forth a book that makes you reevaluate your entire life and what you are doing with your life. This is the third book that I have had the pleasure of reading by Mark Batterson. ALL IN by Mark Batterson is about just that. Going ALL IN with God. It's more than just going to church, a complete surrender. 

This book has literally prompted me to do go a little further in my relationship with God. I realize that I've never completely surrendered to Christ. I've surrendered only so much. But for the most part, I think I've got it now. It's the little decisions of being ALL IN of being faithful to God.

Today I realized what one of the major idols are in my life. So I've dethroned it. I refuse to allow it to change my attitude, take my joy, or being before God in my life. 

As you can see, the book has had quite the impact on my life. I recommend this book to any person looking to know how to feel completely fulfilled and how to realize the joy that God can provide.

This book will be released September 24, 2013 by Zondervan! Be on the lookout!

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

This Life

So in this life I have made quite a few mistakes and one of them has been to not always be the person God has called me to be. One thing I can say is that I didn't always know who I was in Christ. I had a general knowledge of Christ but never to the point of realizing what he really has done for me.

One thing I have ventured to do is to recommit my writing to Christ. At a time my writing was completely for him and it still is however I want him to completely take over my writing. I want HIM to choose my topics and inspire my writing. I want HIM to pick what I read and what Scripture is used in my writing. 

The book I've been reading lately is All In by Mark Batterson (Due out in store September 24, 2013). This book issues the command to be ALL IN for Christ and to go ALL OUT for Him as well. So I decided to start back writing, starting with blogging daily, then moving on to a new book (the topic has yet to be revealed to me, when it does I'll share).

I pray that all of you enjoy the writing that is to come forth and that all of you please leave your comments and suggestions.

Love and grace to you all
Kris

The Bible Savvy Series : A Review

This is a four book series that is pretty awesome. The series is made up of Epic (book 1), Foundation (book 2), Context (book 3), and Walk (book 4). It is probably best to read these books in correct order as each book builds upon the previous one. For example what is learned in Epic will be touch upon in Foundation, however if you don't read Epic first you may feel a bit off.

 I guess because I spend quite a bit of time in my bible and I already own 2 study bibles, I didn't quite get much out of  the Foundation and Context books. I must say that Epic is my favorite of the four. And Walk is usual at any stage in life.

From my reading of the series, I can safely say that I believe this series was written with the intention to break down the bible for people who want to read it but find it a daunting task as there are many different types of writings, set in many different time periods, by many different authors. 

If a person is new to reading the bible or is new to actually studying the bible I would definitely recommend this as a companion set to their study time as it would help them to understand what they are reading as well as how to interpret the different types of writing (such as poetry).

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

Bickering in Marriage

Something I need to address, as I am sure that if I go through it so do others....bickering and arguing in marriage. This is something that must come to a HALT. It is ugly and foul. It does not glorify God...and everything we do needs to glorify God.

I realize this in my own marriage, that things arise, small things, things that should not even give pause for bickering...does indeed cause much bickering. It's almost as if there is an angry undercurrent steady at work and it has to be stopped. 

I pray for my marriage and also for the marriages of others who may also be battling with bickering and arguing. It starts within, we must realize when we allow ourselves to get worked up. We must ask ourselves is it worth our joy? It is worth grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:25-32). NOTHING is worth grieving the Holy Spirit. Nothing is worth putting space between God's Spirit and ours. I ask that you join in me in prayer, in keeping our marriages, our spouses uplifted in prayer.

This is a prayer I was emailed (I am on a mailing list for the Unveiled Wife) :

Dear Lord,

I am so sorry for bickering with my husband again. Lately it seems as if any little thing sets us off and we argue about it. Most of the time it is nothing even worthy of fighting about. I am so sorry. I pray that we would be more mature and be more quick to show grace to each other. I pray that our hearts would be softened and that we would understand each situation that presents itself as a threat to our happiness. I pray for our faith to increase as well as our love for one another. Lord, the bickering needs to stop! Please intercede and show us how to apologize and reconcile in Jesus name AMEN!

NIV Leadership Bible

This Bible also includes:

• The complete text of the best-selling modern-English translation, the New International Version (NIV) Bible.
• Book Introductions that underscore key leadership concepts in every book of the Bible.
• Home Pages and Daily Studies offer 52 weeks of studies on topics important to every leader.
• Study Windows reinforce the understanding of Biblical leadership throughout the text.
• Character Profiles show how the personal attributes and decisions of biblical characters affected their relationships with others.
• Topical Index highlights Bible passages most relevant to specific concerns.
• Bibliography

(^^^^This is the description the publisher gives of the book.)

This Bible is absolutely AWESOME. First the image you see ^^^ is the sleeve that the bible comes packaged in. The Bible itself is Italian leather duo tone, a light caramel and a dark caramel.

Because of the type of Bible that it is, there is no footnotes (as one would see in a study bible) but there are leadership notes, 52 weeks worth of leadership notes. This bible is meant to be read of course like any other bible but also in roughly 52 weeks. Each week consists of 5 days, and each day has its set passage however the way it is set up you may have day week 4 day 1 in Genesis and day 2 could be somewhere in the New Testament. 

My favorite thing about this Bible is the print, I wear glasses and I love that the print is large enough for me to see without my glasses but not so large that it can be defined as a "large print" book. I love that the paper is of good quality. When compared to my NIV Study Bible, the paper in the NIV Leadership Bible is thicker than the paper in the NIV Study Bible.

All in all, the NIV Leadership Bible has become my everyday Bible and my NIV Study Bible I use when I am studying the Word or want a particular passage broken down for better understanding.

I would recommend this bible to any leader or anyone in leadership training. Sometimes you don't always want the footnotes. Sometimes you just want to read and spend time focusing on the Word itself and this is a great Bible to do so with.

[FYI: I received this Bible from the publisher (through the BookSneeze program), for the purpose of my HONEST review.]

BIG NEWS

So I have huge news. I just got a position at Best Buy as a Microsoft Specialist. I'm uber excited about this position. This is huge for our family because this is a position I want, that I hope to retain for a while. The awesome thing about this position is that I will be trained in store and out of store by a corporate trainer. I will also become certified in pretty much everything Microsoft, which I think will help in some capacity in the long run.

And YES, we will still be homeschooling. Our children will just alternate between mommy and daddy this school year. My only concern is seeing how they will react to me working because before, they were not okay with me working.

I will still be posting and reviewing books. As a matter of a fact...I just got an awesome leadership bible (NIV) in the mail to review. Be on the lookout!

So quick word:

In this generation we seem to be so ill prepared for life. Many of us don't take our jobs seriously as parents. Many of us don't know how to. And many a times, that's not your fault. You won't know a thing unless you are taught.

I read a blog today by a sister in Christ and she addressed something, the beginning of a series, that's very important. The Titus 2 woman. Many of us know the Proverbs 31 woman, she's what so many of us aspire to be, she's perfection. Yet not so many of us are acquainted with the Titus 2 woman, who goes back and helps the next woman "get it together." 

Titus 2:3-5

New International Version (NIV)

³ Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

The Titus 2 woman is aware that her godly advice and guidance is needed and she seeks to give it generously. Mrs. Rich, addresses the fact that so many of us are misguided, as we don't quite have the best counsel. We don't anyone who has an active relationship with the Lord advising us, pushing us to get closer in our walk with the Lord. As women, it is important that whether you are married or not, that you receive this level of guidance. As a wife, it is imperative that you receive this guidance. I wouldn't say over emphasize this because then you become too focused on just this one area of life. But place just enough emphasis so that the the necessary learning takes place.

This is important to me because I didn't get this prior to getting married. I kind of learned as I went along, taking time to study the bible and connect with a couple different wives on Twitter (Mrs. Rich, being one of them) who are excellent examples and give great advice. But more than that they reverence God with their lives and in everything they do. 

I will leave this warning though: Don't take advice from just anyone. Look at their life. Look at the fruit they are producing. I.e. a single person cannot give me marital advice. There is a reason they are still single. Another example taking finance advice from a person in debt or bankrupt. The point is not to judge them but to see for yourself if they take the advice they dish out. To see if the knowledge they have works for them because if it don't, if is not of God, you need to move on to godly counsel.

Check out Mrs. Rich's blog for this new series as well as her other posts. She lives what she blogs.