Book Review: Next Generation Leader

book by: Andy Stanley

I loved this book.  Andy Stanley had a great coaching writers voice.  The book was a fast easy read with many practical applications.  He weaved personal experiences in modestly.  I really enjoyed to questions for self evaluation at the end of each section (Courage, Competence, Clarity, Coachability, and Character).  One of the most useful applications for me was defining my current job situation and then laying out the qualities of my dream job.  I feel inspired to step up and display more courage in my work because of this book.  I highly recommend it!

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

Life organization

Through the years I have tried many planners and calendars in an attempt to organize my life.  Nothing in the are world has ever worked for me on a long term basis.  This past August I received an IPad for my birthday.  This has revolutionized my life.  I have never been more organized.
I use a calendar for dates, to-do list for all tasks including a break down of goals and the tasks involved, Evernote for collecting information, numbers for budgeting, tracking gifts and cards, employment requirements, etc.  this is only the beginning.

What tools do you use for life organization?

Great article about birth center outcomes

Outcomes in birth centers

I am so pleased to see the completion and publication of a study on birth center outcomes.  The results are wonderful and supportive of the choice for low risk women to birth at freestanding birth centers.  I have been blessed to have given birth to both of my wonderful daughters in the presence of certified nurse midwives at a freestanding birth center.  I am so thankful that more and more people are finding value in the midwifery model of care.  I pray that the government and society as a whole will begin to realize the cost containment involved in low intervention wellness based pregnancy and childbearing care.

Book Review: God Gave Us Easter

By Lisa Tawn Bergren

After having read two other books in this series, I had high expectations for this book. I read it with my two year old daughter, who immediately asked to read it again upon completion.  The story was different than I imagined, but it was still good.  The pictures are, as always, very cute.  The text was easy to read. I appreciate the authors willingness to delve into deeper topics in a way that youg children can understand.  I highly recommend this book.

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

Book review: Cleaning House by Kay Wills Wyma

I recommend this book for any parent.  The authors intended audience is that of parents that desire to reeducate their children to get rid of youth entitlement in their homes.  I feel that this book is also appropriate or even better suited for new parents.  I have a 2 year old and a newborn so I read the book as if the author was an older mentor advising on how to establish work ethic and prevent youth entitlement from the start. I enjoyed the authors honesty and transparency about what worked with her children and what didn't.  I also appreciated the authors discussion of what she learned versus what her children learned in the process.

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

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Book review: God Gave Us Christmas

This is an adorable book.  My husband, 2 year old daughter, and I have been reading it each day as a part of Advent activities.  My daughter loves it, and asks to hear the story repeatedly.  The pictures are cute.  The story has a great message about why we celebrate Christmas. I wish the author had used the term "gift" instead of "present" in regards to Jesus, since "present" Implies a requirement vs. a gift being from the heart.  Though this is a minor detail, not really a true problem.  I do have a little trouble reading the black text on some of the pages.  At the end of the book, white text was used on a colorful background and was much easier to read. Overall, this is a great story to share with young children.

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

Book Review: The Nutcracker

I requested this book so that I could read it to my daughter.  Since she is only two it was a slower process.  I was unexpectedly intrigued by the story, so I ended up reading ahead on my own.  I had seen the Nutcracker ballet, but the book provided many more details than the ballet.  I am excited to watch the ballet again after having read the true story.  The illustrations by Maurice Sendak  are absolutely beautiful. I look forward to reading this book over and over to my children through the coming years.  I highly recommend this book as a keepsake.


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

Book Review for A Season for Tending by Cindy Woodsmall

When I acquired this book, I was a little worried that it would be another typical "Christian romance" book.  I was pleasantly surprised that the book had more of a focus on other life aspects including business and family tragedy.  The book did contain the typical winding love stories, but seemed almost more of side stories to the other story lines.  It was interesting to learn, if their is any truth to the story, that some Amish people explore life outside of the Amish beliefs.  It was a nice touch that the author included some recipes and a glossary of terms. Overall this is a good book.

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

Book Review: Coming Apart by Charles Murray

Coming Apart by Charles Murray is an interesting collection of statistical data about Caucasian people in America from 1960 through 2010.  The author covered many topics from religion, to jobs, and income.   He also created two fictional towns based on statistics to demonstrate the changes in lower and middle class white families in America during the designated time frame.  I found the statistics and information to be quite informative.  With 2/3rds of the book being a collection of data, the authors intent in writing the book was unclear.  The third section of the book did examine the authors purpose by explains all of the reasons that the data supports his view that America should return to the same values of the founding fathers with a limited government.  One especially interesting section discussed the values of the founding fathers, revealing that the founding fathers were not as dedicated to God, as the modern Christian "right" believes.  The book overall is a nice collection of information and support for why America is declining, but lacks real and applicable solutions.

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

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.

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