Book Review: To Heaven and Back

book by Mary C. Neal, MD

This was the first book that I have read about a personal account of dying and coming back to life.  I was not sure what to expect. The first chapter begins with a Bible verse quote that I believe to be taken out of Biblical context, but chose to focus the authors story rather than on her attempt to weave Bible verses throughout her story (as though the verses add credibility to her story).  The first several chapters were dry, including the minimal amount of background details necessary for the story.  Once the author reached the chapters involving the story of her death and resurrection and recovery the story became much more vivid and real.  The author included a number of chapters detailing tragic events for which she believes her time on Earth was not over (so she could support and prevent). I did find it amusing that the author believes herself to live an ordinary life. From my perspective the author and her family have an extraordinary life full of travel and adventure.  The book has caused me to reevaluate how I pursue (or don't) pursue God on a daily basis.  I appreciate the challenge that the author presented in writing down coincidences that occur in life to look for God's fingerprints. Overall an interesting account. I will be interested to read other similar accounts in the future.

Dr. Mary Neal on Fox News

Dr. Mary Neal's Website

Follow Dr. Mary Neal on Facebook

More Info

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Book Review: The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall

The first three chapters of this book felt cheesy and forced.  It was very difficult to read in light of this and took me many weeks to work up the motivation to finish the book.  Once I did pick the book up again, I was pleased to discover that the next chapters fell into rhythm and were more realistic.  The author chose the interesting topic of Amish versus Mennonite lifestyles.  I enjoyed reading about the romance of Aden and Annie as it developed. I appreciated that the book stayed pure and innocent in the blossoming relationship and did not seek to explore a physical relationship between the characters.  I also enjoyed reading about the various tensions that their relationship was causing on family members and their struggle to decide whether or not their love is worth pursuing in in light that their respective religious communities view them as unequally yoked, despite both having faith in God.  Although I enjoyed the middle of the book, I was greatly disappointed by the final chapter in which Aden and Annie were given permission to pursue their relationship. The author had spent the entire book mentioning all of the potential problems that the Amish and Mennonite communities would have with Aden and Annie's relationship, however, she chose to not discuss what actually happened, but simply gave an abbreviated recap that the communities would indeed have issues with the relationship, but they would resolve in time (a description that did not match the hype played up throughout the book).  Overall this is a clean book that would be appropriate for single teenagers to read.

Here is a link for an excerpt and videos.

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?work=206745

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Yearly Expense Sinking fund

I have recently opened an ING direct account (They are still doing a $50 bonus if you sign up). I have decided to use this account as a sinking fund for yearly expenses. This was after trying to track the fund on paper within other accounts. This did not go so well, especially when there were unexpected expenses...

How do you keep track of your yearly expenses?

Book Review: God Gave Us Love

This is an adorable book!  I had a great time reading it to my 15 month old daughter. She has already wanted to read it over and over. I appreciate the great lesson about God loving us and that is why we love others. The book also dabbled a little bit in the different types of love. My daughter may not understand now, but as she gets older and we continue to read this book, I'm sure it will create many conversations about love. The pictures are also well done and very cute. Although very cute, I would have liked the characters to be human. Putting that aside it is still a well done book. I will look forward to reading other books by this author,

Here is a link for more information about the book.

 “I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”

Book Review: How We Love Our Kids

By Milan and Kay Yerkovich


When I received this book, I was expecting it to be a remake of the 5 love languages type books.  I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong! This book was a quality breakdown of the many aspects of attachment theory.  I enjoyed reading about each of the styles, and how they are played out in both parents and children.  The book was balanced with research and personal examples. Many tools are provided in simple format which make immediate implementation of the ideas very easy. My favorite tool is the soul words. When I showed the soul words to my husband, he even immediately implemented their use in his classroom! This is a well written, valuable book, that is in alignment with many other books and research.


I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.


Excerpt

New Book Coming out by Crystal Paine

Crystal Paine of The Money Saving Mom is having a book released soon.  She always has valuable information on her blog, I'm sure the book will also be full of great information.  Her book may be viewed and/or preordered at the following link.

The Money Saving Mom's Budget

Book Review: Out of a Far Country by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan

Out of a Far Country by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan is a very powerful book describing the incredible transformation precipitated by God in their lives.  I appreciated the level of honesty and transparency in the writing. At times the descriptions of life as a drug addict/ dealer and homosexual did not leave much to the imagination, however,they were essential to conveying truth in the story.  I feel I have gained a greater understanding of the lifestyle and compassion for people that struggle with homosexuality.  This book is worth the read, in fact it is the best book that I have read in the past year.


An excerpt may be found here.
A video may be found here.


"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review" 

Book Review: Enemies of the Heart

By Andy Stanley

Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley is an informal text about four main emotions that may grip one's heart, robbing them of a full life. The book discusses where emotions come from, the four emotions (guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy), how to deal with each of the emotions, and how to go on with life.  The book is full of personal experiences shared by the author. The emotions are demonstrated clearly through the detail of real experiences rather than being at the philosophical level.  It may be difficult to relate at times, if your experience is different than that of the authors.  Overall the book provides a good frame work for addressing the heart issues: "confess, forgive, give, celebrate".

An excerpt may be found here.


“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”.

Taste of Home Recipe and Frito-Lay Giveaway!

OREO COOKIE ICE CREAM CAKE 25 Oreo cookies, mashed 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream 9 oz. container of Cool Whip 1/4 lb. jar soft butter 1 jar Smucker's fudge topping Mix mashed cookies with butter and press into 13x9 inch glass dish, reserving 1/2 cup. Spread ice cream on top of Oreo crust. Add fudge topping, spreading over ice cream. Spread Cool Whip on top and add the nuts on top. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs on top and freeze. Keeps up to 10 days. Now for even more fun! I will be giving away one variety pack of Lay's Regional Flavors potato chips! (Disclosure: Frito-Lay will be providing the chips. This blog post is my entry into their Taste of Home Contest) Mandatory Entry Requirement: -Post your favorite recipe to my blog. Additional Entry Opportunities: -Become a follower of my blog One entry will be picked at random.

Book Review- No More Dreaded Mondays

By Dan Miller
ISBN: 0307588777

I loved this book! What a fun, quick read!  I really enjoyed the practical advice for making one's current job into what you want it to be, or starting your own business.  I appreciated that alternatives other than more college and degrees were presented as career advancement avenues.

I did find it slightly confusing with all of the extra text boxes in the middle of the main text of the book.  The side stories and/or data were very interesting but they broke the flow of the book.

I will be interested to read another book by Dan Miller- 48 Days to the Work you Love.

Click here for video about the book! 

Click here to read an excerpt!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.