Book: Things I Wish I'd Known....

About the book:

In Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Became Parents, Chapman and Warden share wisdom gained from raising their own children and from the many families they’ve counseled through the years. They explore numerous topics like how children change your life, how to accept your child’s uniqueness, potty training (yes!), why kids need boundaries (starting as infants), the importance of modeling, why social skills are as important as academic skills, and why emotional health is critical. While much of the book focuses on parenting, Chapman and Warden also spend a chapter focused on marriage, encouraging couples not to put their marriage on auto-pilot when the kids come.

About the authors:

Dr. Gary Chapman is an author, speaker, and counselor who has a passion for people and helping them form lasting relationships. He is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The 5 Love Languages® and the director of Marriage and Family Life Consultants, Inc. Gary travels the world presenting seminars and his radio programs air on more than 400 stations. He and his wife have two children and several grandchildren. Dr. Shannon Warden is an assistant teaching professor at Wake Forest University where she teaches in the graduate counseling program. She is also the director of counseling and director of women’s ministries at Triad Baptist Church in Kernersville, NC. As a professional counselor, Shannon has counseled children, families, young adults, women, and couples since 1998 and has served as an assistant to Dr. Gary Chapman since 2003. She and her husband have three children.

My thoughts:

This is an easy to read book that would make a nice gift for a couple expecting a child.  The authors give good, practical advice on various topics such as the costs associated with raising a child, educational decisions parents need to consider, and how the husband/wife relationship will change once a child is born.  There were several things they shared that I agreed it would have been nice to know before we had children!

One chapter I particularly enjoyed was about how all children are different.  I have seen this with our two boys, and it was nice to read and be reminded how ALL children truly are unique and different. What works for one may not be the best approach for another. One may learn something faster than another.  That's all okay and important for parents to realize before they start comparing their baby to other babies.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it to couples expecting a child.

I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher for my review.  Thank you.

Have a day of blessings!
  Bethany

Audio book: A Marriage Carol

I received the audio version from christianaudio.com of a book called A Marriage Carol by Chris Fabry and Gary Chapman.  It is a wonderful story, and I'm very excited to share it with you.

On Christmas Eve Jake and Marlee Ebenezer are driving in a snow storm to sign divorce papers after 20 years of marriage. On the drive they have an accident due to the terrible storm.  Marlee goes looking for her husband and ends up at the home of an elderly man named Jay.  Marlee experiences

the ghosts of Marriage Past, Marriage Present, and Marriage Future (like from Dickens' A Christmas Carol).  She learns some valuable lessons from the older gentleman, his wife, and the snow. 

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book and highly recommend it to you.  It will really make you think about the choices you make in marriage as well as in life in general.  As I was listening I thought how valuable it would be if couples considering divorce would have an opportunity like Marlee had to remember and see the impact their choice will have.  I think it is a good book for anyone because of the insight it provides on life, how our choices matter and the importance of remembering the past.   

This audio version is read by one of the authors, Chris Fabry.  He did a great job narrating the story.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this audiobook free from the christianaudio Reviewers Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Have a day of blessings!

2010 Book #21: Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman

At our library book sale, I found the audio version of Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Dr. Ross Campbell. Being a fan of his book The Five Love Languages, this is one I've wanted to read. Since I like audio books now I was glad to find it and get it for a quarter. It was new, still in the package too.


I listened to this book last week and really enjoyed it just as I expected. I liked listening from the approach of a parent. We all have different ways to give and receive love. This is true of us as parents and also of our children. When we learn each other's language, we will be able to give love in a way that they understand and will meet their need for love. The five love languages are:

• Words of affirmation
• Quality time
• Receiving gifts
• Acts of service
• Physical touch

If you are a parent I recommend this book to you.



Have a day of blessings!

Giveaway + As long as it is called Today: Christian wives/husbands (October)

Welcome to "As long as it is called Today" as we encourage one another. I hope you will join me each week on Tuesdays as we encourage each other in our daily lives as Christians, spouses, parents, and home keepers.

Here is the link to last week's question about being a Christian.

Today's question: Have you read any books, seen any movies, or attended any conferences that have been helpful to your marriage? Tell us about them.

My answer: I've read many. One that I read recently is The Marriage You've Always Wanted by Gary Chapman. You can read my review of it here. I enjoyed this book and want to give you a chance to learn from it too.

I am giving away a copy of both the book The Marriage You've Always Wanted AND the study guide. If you'd like to be entered, leave a comment at this post answering today's question.

*This giveaway is open to US residents only. One winner will be drawn at random next Monday, October 19 and winner announced next week on "As long as it is called Today."

Have a day of blessings!

Book #38: The Marriage You've Always Wanted by Gary Chapman

You may be familiar with Gary Chapman as he wrote the popular book The Five Love Languages. I have read another one of his books called The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted as well as The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted Bible Study.

I enjoyed reading these together and appreciated how they complimented each other. I didn’t find the study guide to be just a repeat of the book, which is often the case I’ve found with books/study guides. They went together but with new information and stories. One thing I really liked about the Bible study was looking up the answers to the questions in the Bible. Some of the verses are included in the text but some you have to look up yourself. It seems many times in other Bible studies a Bible reference is made and then the answer is given. The reader has to think and come up with his own answers in this study, which I liked. I found the questions to be appropriate and thought provoking.

Topics covered include forgiveness, positive response to anger, sexual fulfillment, money, listening, agreeing, and prayer.

I enjoy Chapman’s writing style because it is easy to read and has stories from real couples related to each topic. It is easy to relate to him and understand the points he makes for marriage.

I highly recommend this book and study guide for you. It would be great to do as a husband and wife or with a small group.

Have a day of blessings!

2009 Book #28: Love Is A Verb by Gary Chapman

Gary Chapman has a new book called Love Is a Verb. As with all the books I’ve read by Chapman, including The Five Love Languages, this is an enjoyable book and well-worth your time.


Love Is a Verb is a compilation of stories told by various men and women about situations in their lives that taught them a lesson about love. The forty stories are about marriage relationships as well as relationships with family members, neighbors, parents and children. After each story the Gary Chapman writes a short overview of the love lesson taught by the story.


The stories are well written and enjoyable to read. The book is one that you can pick up and read one story or several at a time. When my husband asked about the book I told him it reminded me of the “Chicken Soup” books. I would recommend this for your personal library as well as a nice gift book to give others.

2009 Books #18 and #19

I have two books I've finished this week and thought I'd post the reviews together since they really go together anyway. A long while back I won the first book Love As a Way of Life by Gary Chapman from Mocha with Linda. Then more recently the devotional for the book was one of the books in another giveaway I won at the same site! Thank you, Linda!

Gary Chapman is the author of the popular The Five Love Languages. Love As a Way of Life is another excellent book that I enjoyed reading. He writes about seven keys that are the secrets to love. These seven include kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, and honesty. A chapter is given to each of these keys as well as applying these keys to your marriage, parenting, and workplace.

This book holds a wealth of practicality. Love is an area in which everyone has room for improvement. The author weaves wonderful examples into the chapters to apply the keys to real life. Some of the things seemed so obvious when I read them because I could really relate to the author's words. It made me think about how I treat the people in my life. Do I show love through my lifestyle to my family members as well as strangers? What areas do I need to improve?

One thing the author talked about in the chapter on courtesy was the value of every life. He writes, "But everyone we meet has an unquantifiable value that we will see if we only take the time to watch and listen." This is a great thing to remember as we go about our daily lives. If you remembered this and lived by this, how would your life be different?


The second book is the devotional book for Love As a Way of Life. It is a book of 90 devotionals, each a page and a half in length including a verse and prayer or action step. The chapters of the book follow the seven keys to love.

I enjoyed reading this book as a companion to Love As a Way of Life. It would be great to read regularly to keep the keys of love alive and fresh in your brain. Each day is a new story or application of someone making love a way of life.

I would recommend both of these books to you. They'd make a nice gift as well.

Thanks for visiting. Have a good weekend!
~~~~~~
"Be made new in the attitude of your minds." Ephesians 4:23