book review

When Sundays Aren’t An Option {Review}

June 28, 2017 By mollieh02 2 Comments

This year has been about redefining life for me. So I would like to talk about redefining how we teach our children about Jesus. I am a single mom with two wild and crazy little boys. Let me tell you, co-parenting is hard! Especially when you share time with your littles and can’t do all the things you would like to do with and for them. For me, one of the biggest problems is that they go to their dad’s on weekends, so they don’t go to church. They are rarely with me on a weekend and he does not take them.

What do you do when taking your kids to church on Sundays isn’t an option?

There are resources available for you if you just look for them. There are books and children’s devotionals, even tv shows that teach the lessons from the Bible, and don’t forget the most valuable resource of all, The Bible itself! I will leave you to sort through those. But there is one that I just have to mention. I love this family devotional written by my friend Susan Chamberlain Shipe!

In 52 Commands of Jesus for Children Susan not only provides 52 scripture based devotionals, she also sprinkles in tips for helping to drive the points home. While gently lending a reminder to parents that we too are still ever learning these lessons alongside our children. I’ve never seen a devotional of this magnitude that truly teaches both parent and child. This truly is a devotional for the whole family! While there are 52 lessons contained within these pages, I believe the true lesson for parents is to walk in grace while teaching our children. We after all have been at it a lot longer than they have and we still haven’t perfected our walk with Jesus.

You can pick up your copy here!!! I promise you won’t be sorry you did!

Did I mention the coloring pages? There is one that goes along with each weekly lesson and you can print however many you want off from here! Your kids will love them! Mine did. Mommy may have even colored a page!

But what else is there? This past school year I accepted an invitation from a dear friend to go to a weekly women’s Bible study group at her mother’s church. They had childcare in the form of an AWANA program. AWANA is a nonprofit program that teaches children to know, love and serve Christ.

My kids absolutely loved it! They had such fun every Wednesday night! They would fight over who got to recite their weekly verses for me to show me that they had memorized them first! The best part, they weren’t just learning them and forgetting them. One night I was telling my oldest about a song that refers to John 3:16. I started the verse and he jumped right in and finished it! Nothing will make a momma’s heart smile more than knowing here babies and learning about Jesus every week from a great team. But sadly, when the school year came to an end, so did the AWANA program. What now?

Now comes what I affectionately like to call the Tour De VBS! We have a ton of local churches that provide free week long Vacation Bible School programs for children, and they are spread out throughout the summer months. They are usually around two hours a night for a week and they are theme based Bible programs. My kids are currently in their third week of VBS, this week at our own church which excited this mom! It gives them a chance to learn about Jesus and have some interaction with other kids their ages. It is hard to go from being in school with classmates everyday to being home with mom everyday.

There is always of course, that they learn by example. When they ask me if I went to church on Sunday I had better be able to truthfully tell them that I did. They see me reading my Bible throughout the week and it is always on the table by my computer. It may not be perfect and it is definitely non-traditional, but that is what we do to combat the problem of not being able to go to church on Sundays. Sometimes you just have to think outside the box.

Do you have any other non-traditional tips for me? I am always looking for ways to improve and win at this mom thing!

Godspeed,

Mollie <3

Wise Guys {Review & Giveaway}

May 30, 2016 By mollieh02 Leave a Comment

About the book:

For guys, more than ever, it’s a confusing world. Your GPS doesn’t offer any maps showing how to get to the point of wisdom – and who likes asking for directions anyway?

But there are ways to get that guidance you need. The answers may be all around you, in the form of guys you already know. Wise guys. More experienced guys. Better-traveled guys. Could there be ways to tap into their invaluable knowledge without enduring dull lectures or taking pages of notes?

Kent Evans has surrounded himself with these guys. They have shown him all the back roads on the way to wisdom. With a great deal of humor and an endless supply of stories, he wants to show you how to gather life-enriching truth from the guys in your own circle.

About the author:

Kent Evans is the board chairman and co-founder of Manhood Journey, a ministry that helps fathers and mentors build the next generation of godly men. Kent has personally experienced how the guidance of godly men can change the course of a life. Today he is blessed with a solid 20-year marriage, four wonderful sons and a fulfilling life – largely because of what he’s learned from other men. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky. You can connect with him on twitter.

My thoughts:

Let me just say, I know this isn’t meant to be used as a parenting book, but it’s what I intend to use it for. As a single mom to two rambunctious little boys, there are just some things I can’t teach them. You can argue the point with me if you want, but boys and girls are created differently. Our minds function differently than theirs. If they didn’t there would not be separate books written for mothers of boys and mothers of girls.

Wise Guys is a great and easy read. I may have woken up somewhere around 11:45 one night still holding the book with the lights still on. I promise it’s a book you literally won’t want to put down when you start reading it! I am a sucker for a heart warming story and this book is full of them.

I love the advice Kent gives on finding mentors. Kent lays out an easy to follow plan that is beneficial in finding out what your specific wants for a mentor are and identifying the people who hold those traits. Then he spends the rest of the book proving how his plan has worked in his own life. My hope is that I can use the skills taught in this book to help steer my little guys toward mentors for their lives as they grow up.

The Giveaway:

I am thrilled to be able to give away a copy of Wise Guys to one of my readers. The giveaway will run until Sunday, June 5th, 2016 at midnight. To enter follow the directions in the Rafflecopter app below. The winner will be displayed in the Rafflecopter as well as emailed. Must have a valid email address to win. You can preorder a copy of Wise Guys here. The official release date is June 1, 2016!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

Note: I was given a free copy of Wise Guys in exchange for this review. All thoughts are my own. {Full Disclosure Policy}

Godspeed,

Mollie <3

Bearing Witness {Review and Giveaway}

May 25, 2016 By mollieh02 Leave a Comment

About the book:

What does it cost to follow Jesus?

For these men and women, the answer was: everything.

They were ready to give witness to Christ in the face of intense persecution, even if it cost them their lives. From the stoning of Stephen in first-century Jerusalem to Nigerian Christians persecuted by Boko Haram today, these stories from around the world and through the ages will inspire greater faithfulness to the way of Jesus, reminding us what costly discipleship looks like in any age.

My thoughts:

I am grateful that as of yet I haven’t found myself in a situation that forced me to choose between my faith and my life. I honestly don’t know which side would win out. I would love to say I would stand firm on my faith in Jesus, but I guess you never really know until you find yourself there in that moment. The men and women who’s stories are shared in the pages of Bearing Witness did just that. They chose a side. They stood firm on their faith. They said I don’t care what you do to me. You won’t get me to say my Jesus isn’t real. In the Book of Acts Peter said, “We must obey God rather than men!” Jesus said, “If you deny me before men I will deny you before the Father.” From ancient Jerusalem to modern Nigeria they stood and in full obedience to God they laid down their lives for believing in the one true God.

These are stories that will inspire you to a greater faith. They will leave you angry on behalf of those who were persecuted and grateful for them in the same breath. They will make you question the strength of your own faith and set you on fire for the God who inspired those before us to gladly walk into death in order to spend an eternity by His side.

The Giveaway:

I am pleased to be able to offer one of my readers a chance to win a copy of Bearing Witness! To enter follow the directions in the Rafflecopter app. below. The giveaway will close at 12:00 AM on 06/01/2016. The winner will be displayed in the Rafflecopter as well as emailed. Must provide a valid email address to win. In case you don’t win you can pick up a copy of Bearing Witness here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: I was given a free copy of Bearing Witness by Plough Publishing House in exchange for my review. All thoughts and words are my own. {Full Disclosure Policy}

Godspeed,

Mollie <3

8 Simple Tools For Raising Great Kids {Review}

April 17, 2016 By mollieh02 Leave a Comment

Communication is not an area I am strong in, and that definitely didn’t change when I had kids. I may have actually gotten worse at it once my little ones came along. I jumped at the chance to read and review for you 8 Simple Tools For Raising Great Kids!

About the book:

Whether you find parenting intuitive or impossible, we could all use a hand here and there. Let child psychologist and father Todd Cartmell walk you through the nuts and bolts of healthy, effective parenting.

Using examples from his home and 20 years of professional practice, Todd gives eight essential and practical tools to help you:

Maintain a healthy relationship with your child
Develop a nurturing home culture
Correct behavior in lasting ways

Designed for busy parents, 8 Simple Tools breaks each tool into five short chapters that include a summary tip and application questions. Use even half of the tools in your parenting, and your family dynamics will thrive. Your relationship with your child will be built on love and trust, providing you with fertile ground for planting God’s wisdom in their heart, and ultimately, seeing them flourish.

About the author:

Dr. Todd Cartmell is a clinical child psychologist and author of several parenting books, including Flexible Kids and Keep the Siblings, Lose the Rivalry. He is the creator of The Flexible Thinking Game and conducts parenting workshops around the country. Todd and his wife, Lora, live in the Chicago area and have two sons.

My thoughts:

I found many gems within the pages of this book. You will find the pages of my copy are bathed in highlighter yellow. This is an easy read and I highly recommend it for anyone who has kids. I’m guilty of damaging my relationship with my children. This book gives me hope that the damage can be repaired. I have hope that it won’t always be like it is right now with them. Our children are little mirrors that reflect back to us who we are, how we respond to situations, and how we communicate. If you want to see a change in your children it has to start with you. I love this line from the forward by Jill Savage, “If you’ve never thought of yourself as a leader, think again. Parenting is really about leadership.” It takes effort to be a leader- to raise the next generation. This book has the tools to equip parent leaders in leading their children in better communication and beyond.

I can’t wait to see how the tools I learned while reading 8 Simple Tools For Raising Great Kids impacts the relationships I have with my children. I have already found myself utilizing the pause tip from the first section.

Use the code GREATKIDS16 at www.moodypublishers.com and you will get 50% off when you purchase 8 Simple Tools For Raising Great Kids! (Code expires May 15, 2016)

Godspeed,

Mollie <3