Heaven is for Real for kids

This is a guest review by Makenzie, Vicki's awesome 10 year old daughter, and I'm here to do a report on Heaven Is For Real For Kids.  In this book a boy named Colten Burpo gets very sick and has to go to the hospital.  He closes his eyes and suddenly he's in Heaven! While Colton is in Heaven the book describes all the things Colton got to see, including Heaven's Gate, lots of Bible heroes, and even Jesus and his horse!  Throughout the whole story their are bible verses that match the text on the page.  The words are very understandable and there are beautiful illustrations.  If your kid wanted to read the original but hasn't quite mastered reading just yet, then this is the book for them!
                          Makenzie:)

Smack Dab in the Middle of God's Love

                                                 
So this time I thought I would get a children's book, thinking maybe I would post the review quicker. However, one has to have the time to sit down at the computer long enough to write the review in order to get it done!  So here goes...Abby Grace is sleeping...She is beautiful, by the way. 
This is the first children's book authored by Brennan Manning, the author of many other great books, including Abba's Child, The Wisdom of Tenderness, and my favorite, The Ragamuffin Gospel.  And in this book, as in his other books, his emphasis and strength is in sharing how big, how great, and how deep the Father's love is for His children.  There are many illustrations he uses to help a child understand how the Father shows His love through His creation, good friends, and "the gift of someone who really loves you", because "every good thing comes from smack-dab in the middle of Abba's heart".  Even though we may struggle with understanding that He could love "even me", as one of the little girls in the story, the main character, Willie Juan, shares, "we are all smack-dab in the middle of Abba's love...a love big enough to hold us all."
And now, Makenzie and Caleb are home from school and STARVING for a snack, so I'm off again!

Max on Life

Like so many others, I have always enjoyed the writings of Max Lucado.  He has a way of making deep spiritual truths relevant and easy to understand.  He speaks and he writes with the heart of a pastor, even with the heart of Jesus, with an obvious desire to see people know and understand all the wonders of God's glory and love.  He uses storytelling and short chapters to make his points, which makes his books easy, even fun, to read.  True to form, Max on Life is a collection of stories, in the form of readers' questions, covering 172 topics from "Who is God?" to "Why me?" to "Is this wrong?"  Many are age-old questions, but many are questions that the church often avoids talking about because the questions are awkward or uncomfortable. This book is written for those who are hungering for answers to life's difficult questions and those who are trying to figure out how to apply God's Word in their everyday lives.  My only criticism is the title and cover...I love Max Lucado and would pick this book because of him, but there are many who would really benefit from reading it, but will never pick it up because they don't know who Max is.  I would hope that they may release a new edition someday with a different title and cover to broaden the appeal to those unfamiliar with his work. 

Radical Together

This is a sequel of sorts to David Platt's first book "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream".  Whereas "Radical" was addressed to individuals in their personal walks of faith, "Radical Together" is addressed to the local church.  I wish that I could say that the book's contents were not all that radical...I saw nothing in it that was outside of Biblical teaching.  However, the subtitle, "Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God" is exactly what the church needs most, but to find it is all too rare.  There are six chapters, each based on a guiding principle for the church to live radically. "1) One of the worst enemies of Christians can be good things in the church. 2) The gospel that saves us from work saves us to work. 3) The Word does the work. 4) Building the right church depends on using all the wrong people. 5) We are living--and longing--for the end of the world.  6) We are selfless followers of a self-centered God." 

If these principles sound like something that you would like to read more about, then you would really enjoy this book.  Even greater, the book would be great for small group study, with a discussion guide at the end with questions and brainstorming ideas to unleash your own local body for the purpose of God! 

Women of Faith

I just won two tickets to the Women of Faith conference this fall!!!  Who wants to go?
More information to follow...

Declaration of Independence: A Spiritual Document?

Well, it's been a while since I have posted anything...What a crazy past couple of months!  Maybe it's about to get crazier with Abby Grace joining us soon, but hopefully the craziness will center around home, sweet home.  It was a great privilege and honor for Makenzie and I to be involved in "Annie Get Your Gun", and so wonderful to get to know some great new people!  While my heart is sad that it is over, my body is glad for the rest.
So rest is what we are doing this holiday weekend.  Well, I am resting while JJ has been hard at work painting the nursery.  And in an effort to communicate the importance of this day to my children, I came across something worth sharing with others.  Although I did try to share it with my children too, but I'm pretty sure they weren't listening...Oh, well...
From what I remember about President ("Silent Cal") Calvin Coolidge from high school history class (Thanks, Mr. Worley!), he was not known for his elaborate speeches.  However, in this speech made to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, he said some words that we would do well to remember today:
              "We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things.  These did not create our Declaration.  Our Declaration created them.  The things of the Spirit come first.  Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren scepter in our grasp.  If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it.  We must not sink into a pagan materialism.  We must cultivate the reverance which they had for the things that are holy.  We must follow the spiritual and moral leadership which they showed.  We must keep replenished, that they may glow with a more compelling flame, the altar fires before which they worshiped."


Now that gives greater meaning to our inalienable rights of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness"!
Happy Independence Day!!!

Daddy Dates

JJ couldn't take it anymore...I was getting all these free books, and he was jealous!  So he finally started his own blog, and will soon be reviewing books too.  So he is "guest reviewer" on my blog today, as he gets his blog up and going.  I got the book "Daddy Dates" by Greg Wright for him, and here's what he thought:

What an incredible book for fathers, not only of daughters but also of sons. This book challenges us as parents to spend time getting to know our kids. Not just hanging out, but really getting to know them--their likes and dislikes, their wants and desires, their fears and dreams. Time is too precious and is fleeting away fast.
Greg Wright does a wonderful job of breaking down the chapters into bite size pieces so that those who aren’t avid readers or those who are simply too busy to read much at one time can chew and digest his thoughts. I enjoyed that he shares his personal struggles and how he had to humbly admit to not having all the skills to communicate properly with his daughters, although his profession is as a communicator. We can all learn a lot from this admission. No matter how much schooling or job skills we have, raising a family is very different. Each child is a little bit different. Each situation has its nuances. I had to admit it got to me a bit emotionally, because I saw my own kids growing up as I read it.

From the encouragement to not allow your daughters to date outside of groups in high school to treating them like royalty when you spend concentrated time with them, I found this book very helpful for me being all there for my daughter, who is nine going on seventeen. Every father should read this book to realize what special person they have in their home. As a parent, God has blessed us with an opportunity to mold the life of a child of God into His image. May we treasure the time we have been given and not waste it.