When Work & Family Collide

When Work & Family Collide by John Maxwell deals with a conflict most families can relate to, the use of time. In particular time spent at work versus time spent at home. When did life get so busy? I can find endless things to fill my time with. Work in particular is a tricky one, a very demanding one. One that supports your family, so in theory you do it for your family but it can also hurt your family. Balance is key for work and family. Andy Stanley walks you through finding balance. He does a great job in helping you see the priorities before you and the choices there are to be made. You do have the power to make a change; He shares how God wants you to make a change if work is cheating you of family life and God will and is able to help you. This book is filled with Biblical insight, real life experiences and sound advice. It is such a relevant topic in our fast paced, more is more culture. If you feel that work dominates your life and decisions, if you feel that you are unable to make changes in regards to this, if you see trouble in your family life you will want to check this book out. Maybe it isn't work that but a hobby or a friend or something else, this book touches on that and the principals learned can be applied to any number or time stealing areas of your life. This book doesn't pretend that the changes will be easy but it does help you see very practical steps you can take to start redirect your time to your family. I received a copy of this book from WaterBrook and Multnomah publishing for the purpose of this review.

Groundhog Day and a fast forward to April Fools

Well, I've got a girl power Groundhogs Day read for you all here today. It's the story of Punxsutawney Phyllis by Susanna Leonard Hill and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler. Phyllis is a young groundhog with a gift. She's also part of the famous family lineage of Punxsutawney Phil. The gift that she has is the family's weather predicting skill. Only problem is that this job has always been done by a boy family member not a girl. Phyllis does not let anyone hold her back though. She's determined to prove that she's got what it takes to be the next Punsutawney Phil Phyllis that is. It's a really well written story with lots of heart. The illustrations are bold, colorful and wonderfully detailed.

When I discovered Punxsutawney Phyllis at our library I also noticed April Fool, Phyllis also by Susanna Leonard Hill and Illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler and decided to get them both even though April Fools is a ways a way. I'm so glad that I did. My two loved both these books and getting to know little, determined Phyllis. In this book once again Phyllis is putting her weather predicting skill to good use but her family thinks she's trying to pull an April Fools joke on them. It's one of the best and quite honestly only April Fools day reads I've read. The family of groundhogs have fun pulling pranks on one another throughout the day leading to their annual Spring treasure hunt. The pranks are quite clever and gave my two some fun insight into this odd little Holiday! I'm not much of a prankster so April Fools is usually a passing day but I think Phyllis and her brothers just may inspire me this year to have a little more fun!

101 Bible Adventures

101 Bible Adventures: The Ultimate Quest for Truth by Carolyn Larsen and illustrated by Rick Incrocci is a great first devotional book for children ages 7-12 or family devotion. It's a compilation of 101 of the most action packed and adventurous Bible passages each with a brief history, key verse to note and a summarization. Each passage is short making it easy to read through one daily. I like that it includes the actual scriptural verses rather than a retelling of a Bible Passage. For the most part the summarizations are packed with great insight and questions, but I do wish they were in general a little longer and more in depth. Each passage also has a cartoon illustration with caption adding a little humor throughout. I plan to read through this as our next family devotional and hope in a few years that they will revisit this on their own, so I think we’ll get lots of great use out of this book.

I received a copy of this book from Tyndale for the purpose of this review.

What a Son Needs from His Dad

Well, I'm not a Dad but I am a Mom to a son and I just couldn't resist checking out What a Son Needs from His Dad by Michael A. O'Donnell. While it is geared specifically to the Father/Son relationship there are many great insights and advice for parents of boys and girls throughout this read as well. Much of it is about being a great parent. It's a quick and easy read but that doesn't mean it isn't packed with information. I'd say it's geared more towards the older pre-teen/teen years but there is lots of things for even the youngest years like the chapter titled 'Effective Fathering' and a chapter on helping our son to discern good and meaningful friendships. There's scripture throughout this read, anchoring points back to Biblical teaching. It's a very thoughtful and thorough study. I will be sure to reference this book in throughout the years to come.

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House for the purpose of this review.

cold and flu season

Well, we've been hit pretty hard so far with this cold and flu season. It seems we're no sooner recovering than another cold hits. There's nothing I like more when I'm sick than to curl up with a good book! One of my favorite sick day reads is A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin Stead. Nothing can make one feel better than good friends, and this charming picture book captures just that sentiment. Amos McGee is an ever-faithful friend until one day he gets sick, but his friends now rush to his side to help him get well soon! I love the woodblock print illustrations washed in touches of soft colors with a bit of quirkiness. Hope you are all feeling well!

Another book to warm you this winter

Another wonderful winter read sure to warm your heart is The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen and illustrated by Elaine Greenstein. It's a story of kindness, friendship and generosity but most of all taking the time to notice those around us and in our lives. Sarah, is an elderly woman who's own children have grown. The children of the neighborhood still gather each morning outside Sarah's home to catch the school bus. She loves watching the children and remembering her own children's school days. As the weather turns cold she notices a boy that does not have mittens. She decides to do something about it and so begins a fun tradition for the children. She places the mittens she knits on a tree by the bus stop and the children delight in finding new mittens each morning on that tree. But Sarah's kind deed also doesn't go unnoticed and she receives a wonderful surprise of her own one morning.

Winter is the Warmest Season

Well the winter temperatures have finally reached us. Trying to keep warm brought to mind the book Winter is the Warmest Season by Lauren Stringer. Bright and playful illustrations follow along as a young boy shares all the things that make winter the warmest and coziest of seasons for him. It's a great outlook for appreciating the cold winter months by focusing on all those wonderfully warming things like puffy coats, toasty fires, hot cocoa, friends and family. Curl up with this read and be warmed!