Book Review - A Christmas Collection

A Collection of book reviews from Kelly

Publisher's Info about "Treasured"
In Treasured, Leigh McLeroy considers tangible reminders of God’s active presence and guides readers in discovering evidence in their own lives of his attentive love.

“The idea for the book came from a cigar box filled with odds and ends of my grandfather’s life that arrived a few months after his death. Sifting through the objects in the box, I experienced him in a fresh new way. This made me wonder what treasures might be tucked away in Scripture that could frame God for me in an equally intimate, tangible way. This process also helped me uncover my own “treasures” of my walk with the Lord: objects that remind me of my history with him and his faithfulness to me,” says McLeroy.

Drawn from the pages of Scripture, the author considers twelve such treasures and personalizes their meaning for readers, such as a green olive branch that offers proof of God’s “new every morning” mercy and a scarlet cord that demonstrates his willingness to adopt “strays” of every sort.

Weaving these treasures together with scenes from her personal history, Leigh McLeroy invites readers to discover God’s heart for them and embrace their unique role in his redemptive story. Treasured offers readers a guided experience of God’s love and character and invites them to consider their own treasures that point to their part in God’s ongoing story.

Kelly's Review
I did not get a chance to read this book.

Publisher's Info About "God Gave Us Love"
In God Gave Us Love, Little Cub and Grampa Bear’s fishing adventure is interrupted by mischievous otters, and the young polar bear begins to ask questions like why must we love others . . . even the seemingly unlovable? Why is it easier to love those we like? Where does love come from? And why does God love her so much?

Grampa Bear patiently addresses each one of Little Cub’s curiosities by explaining the different kinds of love we can share: the love between friends, the love between families, the love between moms and dads, and the love for God.

He also assured Little Cub that because of the love God has given her through his Son, there’s nothing she can do to make God love her any more or any less. Through Grampa Bear’s encouraging Little Cub to love others with a “God-sized love,” children will be inspired to love others and to be patient, gentle and kind, so that in every way, they too can demonstrate God’s love.

Kelly's Review
I have read some of the God Gave Us books before and this one was a great book too. It talks about the different kinds of love in a way that kids can relate to. It also told about the difference between liking and loving. The most important love of all is the love that God has for us. Through his love he shows us how to love others. I enjoyed reading it and my kids liked it too. I know it will be read over and over again.

Publisher's Info About "God Gave Us Christmas"
In God Gave Us Christmas, as Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate the most special day of the year, the curious young polar bear has something on her mind: “Who invented Christmas?” she asks. “Is God more important than Santa?”

Her questions reflect the confusion of so many children during the holiday season. And this heartwarming story takes them on a wonderful journey of discovery—right to the heart of Christmas.
Through Mama’s gentle guidance, Little Cub learns that God loves her and everyone— polar bear, moose, or human—so much that he gave us Jesus, the very best gift of all.

Kelly's Review
This book was another great one. It tells how God gave Christmas to us and it is not just about Santa Claus. Christmas is a special gift from God for all of us. He sent his son to earth because he loves us so much. The story shows that God is all powerful and everything about Christmas points us to God’s gift of his son for us. I enjoyed reading this book too. I recommend it to anyone wanting to get the focus off of the cultural things of Christmas and back on Jesus.

As always, you can find out more about the books at Random House or Amazon.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Keyna

Well, the day has finally arrived. I'm making the last few preparations to head out to Kenya. I'm looking forward to the adventure and praying that God does something good. I'm not looking forward to the long fights.
The absolute worst part about the trip though is leaving my family. I'm a homebody and I love just being with my family. It's hard to imagine even missing a moment of their lives.
Yet, I feel God is leading in this. I pray that he watches over the trip and those that I leave behind.
Except for a book review posted for Kelly (written today but dated for next week), this blog is going silent for awhile. Of course, it's been pretty silent as of late as I've been preparing for the trip. I'll talk to everyone later.

From My Phone

I know it's something we take for granted anymore, buy I find it amazing that I can be writing this post from my phone. When I click publish, it will post this to my blog on Google which in turn will sync it to my official blog page. As a tech person, I am constantly amazed at the multitude of technologies that are being created. It also saddens me. Knowledge is increasing, but wisdom seems to be on the decline. While knowledge is great, the wise application of it is much greater. Don't really have any reason for that random correlation other than it was on my mind.

Book Review - White Picket Fences

Here's a quick book review by Kelly.

Publisher's Info
Amanda Janvier’s idyllic home seems the perfect place for her niece Tally to stay while her vagabond brother is in Europe, but the white picket fence life Amanda wants to provide is a mere illusion. Amanda’s husband Neil refuses to admit their teenage son Chase, is haunted by the horrific fire he survived when he was four, and their marriage is crumbling while each looks the other way.

Tally and Chase bond as they interview two Holocaust survivors for a sociology project, and become startlingly aware that the whole family is grappling with hidden secrets, with the echoes of the past, and with the realization that ignoring tragic situations won’t make them go away.

Readers of emotional dramas that are willing to explore the lies that families tell each other for protection and comfort will love White Picket Fences. The novel is ideal for those who appreciate exploring questions like: what type of honesty do children need from their parents, or how can one move beyond a past that isn’t acknowledged or understood? Is there hope and forgiveness for the tragedies of our past and a way to abundant grace?

Author Bio
Susan Meissner cannot remember a time when she wasn’t driven to put her thoughts down on paper. Her novel The Shape of Mercy was a Publishers Weekly pick for best religious fiction of 2008 and a Christian Book Award finalist. Susan and her husband live in Southern California, where he is a pastor and a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves. They are the parents of four grown children.

Kelly's Thoughts
I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were realistic and fun. The use of historical events to tell the story was good too. It was interesting to learn about some of the things that happened during the holocaust. The underlying theme of having hidden secrets was good. It reminds you that no matter what you try to hide it is always best to have it come into the light. Having honesty within a family is crucial for its survival. Keeping secrets will keep a family from being healthy and loving each other fully. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian fiction.

Check the book out at Random House.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Ministry

I have the honor of meeting every other week with three students from
my youth ministry that feel God may be calling them into full time
ministry. Before each time, we all listen to a podcast and then come
together to discuss it. It's a great resource and I'll give the
website a plug at the end. Even though we've only met a couple times
so far, I'm really enjoying it. Talking about the call of God and the
ministry is stirring something in me. It's taking me back to the days
when I felt God calling me. It's fanning into a flame again a passion
to love and serve others. The whole point of these meetings is to
really help them understand what the ministry entails and to help them
prayerfully make their calling sure. Yet, as we talk, I find myself
realizing that I really enjoy what I do. Beyond the struggles,
problems, and heartaches I face in the ministry, there is something
incredible about serving God in this calling.

www.explorethecall.com

Up Early

This is just a little post to let everyone know that I am sitting in the coffee shop at 6 in the morning. I've been up since 4:45. I thought with age came a love for mornings. Let me just unequivocally express that I do not like mornings. Mornings are for sleeping. I'm sure if I were to research the etymology of the word morning I would find a clear association with the word mourning. They are homonyms and it just makes sense. When you wake up early, you mourn the loss of sleep that you are experiencing. Hence, you are mourning. Over a few centuries the word changes to describe that time early before the sun rises.

To make it even better, there is a pastor I know meeting with a group of men here this morning. They are having a men's Bible study or accountability meeting. Now in addition to being tired, I have a beautiful sense of guilt that they are being very spiritual while I'm griping.

We Press On

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” (2 Corinthians 4:7–12 NIV)

This just felt like a good passage to post and reflect on. No commentary from me whatsoever.

A Sloppy Wet Kiss

I was sitting here preparing worship for youth service tonight and one of the songs that I chose to use was "How He Loves" by The Glorious Unseen. Since we don't have live music, I will often choose a song that we don't display the words for at the end for everyone just to worship. I like this song, but I've heard it put down in the past because of one phrase. The line is, "Then Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss." I admit that I've often scratched my head at this line. It's doesn't seem to be poetic or even beautiful imagery of the Savior's love for us.

Yet, my children have taught me what I believe is the meaning. I love it when my children kiss me. They are completely and unashamed in their love. So much so that they don't realize that it's polite to close their mouths. They don't realize that I shouldn't have to go dry my face off after their kisses. They just love, and for them that love takes the form of a sloppy wet kiss. It's about the purest form of love we experience outside of our relationship with God. Often we don't realize how much God loves us. He's not ashamed of us. He's passionate about us. He wants to grab us in His arms and smother us in kisses and his love.

As we grow older, we seem to leave unashamed pure love behind. We don't like it when grandma's smoother us with kisses. We struggle to release ourselves from the bear hugs of aunts and uncles. We move toward a proper love. A refined love. However, when I look at what Christ did on the cross, I don't see "proper" or "refined" love. I see the raw passionate love of a Creator for his creation. I see love that was willing to pay the ultimate price.

Maybe what I'm writing today is only resonating in my heart and if that's true that's fine. But reflect on the thought that God is unashamedly and passionately in love with you.