Some of the Best Things in Life are Mistakes: January 2016

Book Review: I Will Follow Jesus Bible Storybook

Title: I Will Follow Jesus Bible Storybook

Subtitle: Imagining God's Story Through Motion and Play

Author: Judah and Chelsea Smith

Illustrator: Alexandra Ball

Genre: Juvenile Religious Studies/ Bible Stories

Another Bible storybook? Do I really need another? Isn't this going to be the same as all of the others? That is what I was thinking when I received this book to review.

Here are the features of this book:

*There are gorgeous illustrations to accompany the Bible stories from both the Old and New Testament.

*There is a sturdy hardcover with a presentation page for personalization and gift giving

*Ribbon bookmark attached to the book

What makes this storybook different?
After every few stories there are pages called "I Will Follow Jesus." These pages are devotionals written by the authors to encourage your child to apply the Bible stories that they just heard. These pages also include a prayer to help your child get started in a conversation with God.

This is not just a Bible storybook- it is a starting point for your child to build a relationship with Jesus! I recommend this book for preschool and early elementary aged children.

You can purchase the I Will Follow Jesus Bible Storybook at

Amazon for $12.39

or at

ChristianBook.com for $12.49

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the Book Look Blogger Program in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Play-Along Bible

Title: The Play-Along Bible

Subtitle: Imagining God's Story Through Motion and Play

Author: Bob Hartman

Illustrator: Susie Poole

Genre: Juvenile Religious Studies/ Bibles

My almost four year old daughter Ella loved the Play-Along Bible!

Before we even had a chance to read it to her, my daughter loved looking at it on her own during her "nap" time in her bed. The colorful and kid-friendly illustrations invited her into the book. There were 50 carefully chosen stories from the Old and New Testament that each had a beautiful drawing to accompany it.

At bedtime, my husband always reads to my daughter. She has several different Bibles and devotionals that we have used. What was different about this book was the multi-sensory approach. Each story had motions that the parent models as they are reading to encourage the child to participate with during the story.

For example, while reading the story of Noah, in parentheses the book guides the parent by telling them when to encourage the child to make animal noises, slap their hands on their legs to make the sound of the rain coming down, pretend they are hammering like Noah building the ark and more!

I highly recommend this book for toddlers and preschoolers. If you have children this age or know someone who does. Purchase them this book! It is a great way to enhance their understanding of God's Word at a young age!

You can purchase The Play Along Bible at

Amazon for $12.99

and at

ChristianBook.com for $10.99

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the Tyndale House Publishing Company in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Big Dreams Big Prayers Bible for Kids - NIV

Title: Big Dreams, Big Prayers Bible for Kids

Version: NIV Hardcover

Publisher: Zondervan

Genre: Bible

The Big Dreams, Big Prayers Bible for Kids is finally a Bible that is specifically designed for use by children in the 10-12 year old age group. This edition of the Bible is a hardcover New International Version of the Holy Bible.

As a fifth grade teacher in a Christian School, I have the privilege of teaching Bible class to 10 and 11 year old boys and girls. It is often difficult for children that age to fully understand what they are reading in the Bible and connect with God's Word.

This hardcover complete text NIV edition of the Bible contains several features that make it appealing to this pre-teen age group:

*Each book of the Bible contains an introduction that explains details about that book of the Bible that are helping in understanding the verse to come. For example, Who wrote this book? Why was this book written? When was this written? Where was this written? and more

*There is a reading plan to assist children in reading through the Bible.

*There are devotional pages for a more in depth study of several passages in each book of the Bible.

*There are highlighted passages to help children understand prayer.

*There are prayer journaling pages with a space to record prayer requests and answers to prayer.

I recommend this Bible for anyone looking for a Bible fora child that is too old for a children's picture Bible and too young for a teen or adult Bible. It is the perfect Bible for children 10-14 years old.

You can purchase The Big Dreams, Big Prayers Bible for Kids at Amazon for $23.02.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the Book Look Blogger Program in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Love Without Limits

Title: Love Without Limbs

Subtitle: A Remarkable Story of True Love Conquering All

Author: Nick Vujicic with Kanae Vujicic

Genre: Religious/Inspirational

This is the third Nick Vujicic book that I have read for review. I continue to be inspired!

If you aren't familiar with Nick's story, Nick was born without any limbs. He has no arms and no legs. One would think that he has a miserable and stagnant life. How could he possibly thrive like that? The answer is through the power of Jesus Christ!

Nick a Born Again Christian that shares his faith around the world. Nick encourages all those around him to love the life that God has given them. We were all created with a purpose. He understands the trials that we all face and he reminds us to look to the Lord as our strength.

In this book, "Love Without Limits," Nick shares how he met and married his wife Kanae. They share how they overcame the skepticism of those around them that doubted that their relationaship could be successful.

Nick and Kanae also share the benefits of a Christian courtship and what it is like to date "God's way" and set your marriage up for success. They are candid in sharing about the challenges they face with the unique nature of their relationship. They share the struggles that they faced initially with Nick traveling the world as an evangelist while Kanae was hope with their newborn son Kiyoshi.

I recommend this book to young adults contemplating dating relationships or marriage. Nick and Kanae's story is encouraging and inspirational!

You can read my review of Nick's book "Stand Strong" here. You can purchase Stand Strong on Amazon for $10.98.

You can read my review of Nick's book "Limitless" here. You can purchase Limitless on Amazon for $13.59.

You can read more about Nick and his ministry on his website: http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Company in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: NIV, God's Justice Bible- Hardcover Edition

Title: NIV, God's Justice Bible, Hardcover

Subtitle: The Flourishing of Creation & the Destruction of Evil

Contributor: Tim Stafford

Genre: Bibles

The NIV God's Justice Bible contains the full text of the Holy Bible in the New International English Language Version. This edition of the Bible is hardcover with a paper book jacket.

You may be thinking that you already own enough Bibles in your house. You may be asking,

"How is this Bible different than other Bibles that you may already own?"

*This edition connects the theme of God's justice throughout the entire Bible.

*Each book of the Bible contains an introduction that is written by one of 56 Biblical scholars, writers and activists from around the world that are passionate about justice.

*There are Questions for Reflection at the end of every Book of the Bible.

*There is a relevant prayer at the end of every book of the Bible.

*There are study notes in this Bible about the problems of injustice in our world: governmental oppression, human trafficking, slavery, financial inequality and others.

I recommend this Bible for anyone that cares deeply about the injustices in the world. The study notes and the commentaries in this Bible will address God's plan to restore His creation. You will be able to not only learn about the scriptures but be able to look at them from a new perspective.

This Bible is beautifully designed with images of colorful trees on the cover that also carry throughout all of the pages in the Bible. I do think that if you plan to use the Bible frequently that the paper book jacket will probably not be able to hold up long term. That would be alright since the hardcover Bible itself also has the same design on the front.

You can purchase The God's Justice Bible at

Christian Book Distributors for $29.99

or on

Amazon for $39.99

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the Book Look Blogger Program in exchange for an honest review.

A New Partnership!

I am excited to announce my new partnership with Christian Children's Book Review.

I have been asked to join the Christian Children's Book Review Group as a Book Reviewer. I am excited about this new opportunity.

The Christian Children's Book Review is group of Christian moms that love children, books and Jesus Christ. The blog is a ministry that was started to be a comprehensive list of books reviews of Christian children's books. The website is an amazing resource.

Books can be an expensive purchase. Doing research before you buy one is great way to make sure that you are getting the book that is best for your child. Please take the time to check out this site. I will be sharing when my latest reviews are posted.

You can see all of the reviews (both adult and children's) that I have written on my blog here.

Book Review: One More Step

Title: One More Step

Subtitle: Finding Strength When You Feel Like Giving Up

Author: Rachel Wojo

Genre: Christian Living/ Women's Interest

Author, Rachel Wojo experienced her share of difficulty. She found herself a divorced, single mom of severely disabled child. Writing from first hand experience, Rachel shares how to replace your feelings of despair with scripture.

Rachel reminds us that God would rather hear about our bad day rather than not hear from us at all. One of the themes throughout her books is that "Prayer trumps panic every time."

I found it helpful that the book was divided into separate sections:

A quote before each chapter

The body of each chapter

Pillars of Truth to Lean On (These are Bible verses that Rachel used to make it "one more step.")

Stepping Stones (This is a section that helps you get started journaling.)

Discussion Questions to Facillitate a 4 Week Small Group Study

Thoughts to Keep You Going for each Chapter

Hymns to Accompany each Chapter

By breaking the book into these separate sections, it made the book easier to navigate. I also found that when I wanted to look back and find something encouraging, it was easy to find what I was looking for in the book.

I highly recommend this book to all women, especially moms. The author is able to relate to moms with a variety of concerns in their lives. If you know a mom with a disabled child, then this book would be a tremendous encouragement for them. Rachel's daughter suffers from a debilitating condition and she candidly shares her struggles.

You can purchase Rachel's book at Christianbook.com for $8.49 or at Amazon for $8.81.

There is also a bonus on Rachel's webpage. You can download a FREE Stepping Stones Companion Journal to use while you read the book.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Company in exchange for an honest review.

book review: prayerpoints

Title: PrayerPoints

Subtitle: Praying God's Promises at Your Point of Need

Author: Ken Petersen

Genre: Devotional; Prayer

The cover of the beautiful imitation leather bound book is inscribed with

"The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth."

Psalm 145:18

This book is written to be a support when someone is going through a trial or has a specific need. The book is organized alphabetically by topic. There are 170 topics such as:

Anger

Cancer

Chronic Pain

Fatigue

Heartbreak

Lonliness

Sleeplessness

Unemployment

and many more!

Each entry includes three scriptures with God's promises for you. There is also a prayer written to help guide you through praying to God about his promises. There is a handy index organized by topic to help you locate the entries that you are looking for when you have a specific need or hurt.

The book is pocket sized which makes it easy to carry in a purse or pocket. It is the perfect size to keep in your desk at work or in your bedside nightstand.

I think that this book would make a great gift for a graduating senior heading off to college! That first year of college is difficult and this handy book will help them find the support that they need through God's word and through prayer with Him.

You can purchase Prayer Points for $10.99 at Christian Book Distributers or for $13.99 at Amazon

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the Tyndale House Publishing Company in exchange for an honest review.