Bible workbooks

About the Bible workbooks:

Do you wish to better understand the fundamentals of the Bible in an organized, factual way? Or, are you looking for a systematic way to teach them to others?

Whether you’re an individual wanting to learn more, a homeschooling family, Christian school teacher, Sunday school teacher or youth leader, Catherine Walker’s Bible Workbooks Vol 1. (OT) and Vol 2. (NT) might be the resource you’re looking for to help grow in the basic truths of the Bible.

Read on to learn more and see if you might be interested in joining the blog tour!

Whether a student is beginning their faith journey and wants to better understand the Bible, or a teacher wants his students to have the basics down, the workbooks help readers work through the fundamental themes and teachings of the Old and New Testament. Each workbook includes detailed maps, helpful exercises, and questions for students to do on their own to serve as a foundation for classroom discussion, group discussion, or in-depth personal study. Highlights include an introduction and overview of the Bible as a whole, overviews of the main books in the Old and New Testaments including author background, literary themes, timing, key texts, and outlines, a chronological study of the Old Testament and a brief study of all the books in the New Testament, an overview of the period between Malachi and Matthew, known as the “400 Silent Years,” detailed walk through Paul’s Epistles, and a parallel study of Revelation.


My thoughts:
I have been so excited to use these workbooks.  Many times I have questions about the Bible.  I feel I know so many Bible stories but sometimes I have questions about how it all fits together.  I have thoroughly enjoyed going through the questions as I am reading the Bible.  The stories are familiar to me, but I am learning so much which I love.  I do a little bit each day so it is going to take me a while to get through both books through the Old and New Testaments.

If you are looking for studying the Bible in a new way, I'd recommend you give these a try.

Find out more here.

Here is a sample page I found online.

I received a copy of these workbooks from the publisher for my honest review.  Thank you.

Have a day of blessings! 
 Bethany

Book: Parents Rising

About the book:
Raising kids in today’s society can be daunting. Wrong is called right, smartphones replace human interaction, families are fractured, and children aren’t maturing as quickly as they used to. In our ever-changing culture, parenting can sometimes feel like a losing battle.

“We want our much-loved children to grow up into a life of godliness and morality,” says Arlene Pellicane, author of Parents Rising: 8 Strategies for Raising Kids Who Love God, Respect Authority, and Value What’s Right (Moody Publishers/April 2018). “But our children won’t drift into a life of godliness and morality by accident. Because of the morally bankrupt world we live in, it takes a great deal of intentional parenting to provide structure and spiritual handrails to guide our children towards lives submitted to God.”

Pellicane, an author, speaker, popular media personality, blogger, wife, and mother of three, believes there’s too much at stake in eternity to sit on the sidelines or get sidetracked on a smartphone when it comes to parenting.

“The greater culture hangs on what happens in the microcosm of our homes,” says Pellicane. “We need to not be afraid to step up and lead our children. Our decisions won’t always be popular with our kids. But I think someday, our kids will thank us for being parents.”

“Parents, we must rise!” says Pellicane. “There is no better time than now. With every birthday, we get another year to influence our children to love the Lord and shine. Let us not waste our moments.”

About the author:

Arlene Pellicane is a speaker, author, media personality, and blogger. She has written seveRaising kids in today’s society can be daunting. Wrong is called right, smartphones replace human interaction, families are fractured, and children aren’t maturing as quickly as they used to. In our ever-changing culture, parenting can sometimes feel like a losing battle.

“We want our much-loved children to grow up into a life of godliness and morality,” says Arlene Pellicane, author of Parents Rising: 8 Strategies for Raising Kids Who Love God, Respect Authority, and Value What’s Right (Moody Publishers/April 2018). “But our children won’t drift into a life of godliness and morality by accident. Because of the morally bankrupt world we live in, it takes a great deal of intentional parenting to provide structure and spiritual handrails to guide our children towards lives submitted to God.”

Pellicane, an author, speaker, popular media personality, blogger, wife, and mother of three, believes there’s too much at stake in eternity to sit on the sidelines or get sidetracked on a smartphone when it comes to parenting.

“The greater culture hangs on what happens in the microcosm of our homes,” says Pellicane. “We need to not be afraid to step up and lead our children. Our decisions won’t always be popular with our kids. But I think someday, our kids will thank us for being parents.”

In Parents Rising, Pellicane guides readers through eight cultural trends parents faceoliuytrewqn books:  31 Days to Becoming a Happy Wife, 31 Days to a Happy Husband, 31 Days to a Becoming a Happy Mom, Growing Up Social (with Gary Chapman), 31 Days to a Younger You, Calm, Cool, and Connected, and her latest, Parents Rising (Moody). Arlene has appeared in major media outlets including the Today Show, Focus on the Family, Fox & Friends, Family Life Today, The 700 Club, The Better Show, The Hour of Power, Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah, and Home Made Simple on TLC, been interviewed on numerous radio programs, and written for several national magazines. She and her husband have three children.

My thoughts:

Wow what a book!  Parents need to read this message AND apply it.  There are tons of parenting books out there but this one is worth your time.

Each chapter of the book is about a different strategy.  The 8 strategies are not hard to implement, and they are all very practical.  As I read I thought that they all seem to be parenting strategies that were once popular and  you saw used by many parents.  Now they are rare it seems.

I like that the author shares some facts but doesn't overshare facts and statistics like I've found in some books. One thing that made me sad (and I read aloud to my family) is how much reading books aloud  to children has decreased since the introduction of screens.  We read a lot of books at our house so this made me sad to read these statistics.

I recommend this book to all parents.  I have a teenager and a toddler, and the information in this book is helpful to me as a parent of both of these ages.

I read another book (Calm, Cool and Connected) I enjoyed by this author and reviewed it here.

I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Moody Publishers.  Thank you.

Have a day of blessings!
Bethany

Book: Unwrapping the Names of Jesus

About the book:

In Unwrapping the Names of Jesus, Asheritah guides readers through the four weeks of Advent, with a devotional reflection for each day focused on a different name of Jesus, family activities, challenges, discussion questions, and additional Scripture to go deeper. Each week also includes an outline for a family or group celebration of Advent for that week, including lighting the Advent candle(s), discussion questions, reading Scripture, and singing a carol together. This devotional can be used by readers in their own personal worship times or as a tool to engage in family worship during the busy holiday season.

About Asheritah Ciuciu

Asheritah is a writer, speaker, and founder of One Thing Alone Ministries–an online community of women who find joy in Jesus through creative spiritual disciplines. She's also the author of Full: Food, Jesus, and the Battle for Satisfaction (Moody, January 2017). Asheritah, who grew up in Romania, her husband, and two young daughters live in Ohio.

My thoughts:
This is a great little book to center your mind and heart on Jesus.  I have read it over the past month and enjoyed these thoughtful devotions on the names of Jesus.  As you read you will be reminded of who Christ is and why He came to earth. 

The book is centered around the four weeks of Advent....Hope, Preparation, Joy, and Love.  I did not grow up with Advent and found it helpful that there is an explanation about Advent at the beginning of the book.  What I liked was that after each devotional reading it has some challenges and questions for you to do with your family.

If you are looking for a way to put more Christ in your Christmas this year, please consider checking out this little book.  Advent begins December 2 so pick up a copy today.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review. Thank you.

Have a day of blessings!  
Bethany

Book: Pierced & Embraced

About the book:

Throughout the Gospel accounts, Jesus engaged women differently than He did men. Sometimes the difference is subtle. Sometimes it is stark. Always it is profound.

Sometimes the love He offers them is gentle. Sometimes it is fierce. Always it is powerful.

Sometimes that love feels like a warm embrace. Sometimes it’s more like a piercing jab. Always, it changes everything.

Women today long to experience the same sort of life-changing love that Jesus lavished on His followers 2000 years ago. We still want to be completely seen and known and valued and set free—as painful as that process might sometimes be.

Pierced and Embraced digs deeply into seven encounters that Jesus had with a wide variety of women in the Gospels to show how His love can be equally transformative in our lives today. It mixes attentive Scriptural engagement with personal narrative and relevant application, making the content fresh, accessible, engaging, and practical.

You will:

• Understand the unique and powerful and complex ways in which Jesus loves the women of the gospels.
• Recognize your own longings for love and the (often inadequate) ways we seek to satisfy them.
• Discover how to live in the fullness of Jesus’ love for you.

My thoughts:
I received this book in the mail to review as a surprise, it was not one I requested.  I did enjoy it and feel like I learned a lot from the book.  As you can see in the book description, in this book each chapter focuses on the encounter Jesus had with a different woman of the Bible.  The author relates these encounters to our present lives and how Jesus comes to meet our needs too.  It opened my eyes to the ways Jesus interacted with the women, these are stories I have been familiar with my whole life but this book offered a new approach to them.  One thing I particularly liked was that the author added her own stories to connect with the Bible stories.

You can read more about this book here.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for my review. Thank you.

Have a day of blessings!
Bethany

Special offer for "No More Perfect Kids"

Guess what??? It's time! I've been telling you about the No More Perfect Kids book and encouraging you to wait to get it until Bonus Week and it's finally here!

Hearts at Home, Celebrate Kids, Inc, and Moody Publishers have put together an incredible package of parenting tools for anyone who buys the book during Bonus Week!

Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the bestselling book The Five Love Languages, says, "Few things in life are more satisfying than succeeding as a parent. No More Perfect Kids will help you do just that!"

If you pick up the No More Perfect Kids book (e-book or hard copy from any brick and mortar store or online retailer) anytime between March 13 - 23, 2014, you will be eligible to receive over $100 in free resources! Here's how it works: 1) Buy the No More Perfect Kids book between March 13 and March 23 2) Scan or take a picture of the receipt 3) email a copy of your receipt to freebies@nmpk-extras.com 4)Within 24 hours your will receipt a reply with a link and password to unlock you free resources! So what is included in the bonus offers? It's over $100 of incredible parenting resources! Here's what you'll get: 4 Printables:

• You're Special Poster
• I Corinthians 13 for Parents Poster
• Compliments and Corrections Booklet by Dr. Kathy Koch
• Conversation Starters for Parents and Grandparents Booklet by Dr. Kathy Koch

4 Hearts at Home Audio Workshops:

• When You Feel Like Screaming--Sue Heimer,
• Getting Inside the Head of Your Kid--Shaunti Feldhahn
• Raising Grateful Kids--Marianne Miller
• Real Ways to Connect with Your Kids--Kathi Lipp

3 E-Books:

• A Perfect Pet for Peyton by Gary Chapman,
• How Am I Smart? by Kathy Koch
• The 10 Commandments of Parenting by Dr. Ed Young

You'll also want to check out www.NoMorePerfect.com where you'll find free videos to accompany the No More Perfect Kids book and other great resources! What a wonderful opportunity this is to get some great parenting resources at an incredible price! Tell your friends, your moms group, and any other parent who would benefit from this wonderful opportunity!


Have a day of blessings!

Review: No More Perfect Kids

I was excited to be part of the launch team for a new book called No More Perfect Kids.  I've posted some excerpts from the book here on the blog and wanted to share my own review of the book with you today. 

I have loved and appreciated every book I have ever read by Jill Savage, and this one is another to add to that list. The basic idea of this book is to show parents that children are each unique beings with special talents. As parents we need to accept that reality and accept our children as they are, not as we dream them to be. If we do this, we are allowing our children to grow and develop the God given talents and gifts they have. Our children are not perfect and we should not expect them to be.  They are going to make mistakes and do things differently than we may desire.  This book helps you see your children as unique individuals created with a purpose by God. 

This books is a great encouragement with ideas for ways to improve as parents.  If you begin reading and see ways to improve, the book encourages you to do just that. Don't dwell on the mistakes of the past or feel guilty because of how you have handled certain situations.  I found many ideas to try in my own parenting...ways to rephrase questions, discussions to have as a family, and several others.

Another thing I want to mention is I feel this book is appropriate for both Dads and Moms. Personally I'd like to read it again with my husband and see what we get out of it together.  I believe teachers could also benefit from this book in how they deal with their students. There are also discussion questions at the end which would be ideal for a small group.

There is a special going on through the 23rd when you buy the book. I will post more about that tomorrow.  If you pick up the No More Perfect Kids book (e-book or hard copy from any brick and mortar store or online retailer) anytime between March 13 - 23, 2014, you will be eligible to receive over $100 in free resources! I hope you will take advantage of this offer and check out this wonderful resource.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book for my honest review.

Have a day of blessings!

Cassie & Caleb Discovering God's Wonderful Design

About the book:
May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace." Psalm 144:12

Boys and girls, from 5 to 8 years of age, will love the fun world of Cassie and Caleb, two energetic and inquisitive children discovering the beauty of God's wonderful design. Through twenty beautifully illustrated short stories, followed by an interactive time between parent and child, your children will learn:

• The creational principle that "God created man in his own image . . . male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27) is extraordinary!
• That Jesus is in all of Scripture. The Bible is not a collection of disconnected stories; it is the one big story of the Triune God redeeming His people.
• God's Word is our authority and His Glory is our purpose.
• That when we belong to Jesus we belong to His covenant family, the Church.
• A Biblical framework for living and thinking.

The authors do not underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit in the heart and mind of a child. This book intentionally uses the rich language of faith, and then builds meaning around the words and concepts as the stories proceed, providing children the words of life.

My thoughts:
This book caught my eye because of the title (since I have a son named Caleb) and because I thought the cover was cute. This book is enjoyable to read and is appropriate for a family with children in the 5-8 range.  There are 2 page devotional thoughts followed by a page with a few questions and a verse. 

Cassie and Caleb are inquisitive and seem to want to know more about God.  They ask good questions that will make your own children think and ponder Biblical truths.  I like the example of this family applying God's Word to all aspects of their life, not just something they talk about or read at church.  As a parent this book gave me ideas of things from the Bible we can have discussions about with our son. 

I thought the illustrations were very well done as well.  They were colorful and added to the text of the book.

This book is available from Moody Publishers and will release May 1, 2013. 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ebook version for my review.

Have a day of blessings!

2010 Book #25: Growing Grateful Kids

I finished a book I've been reading on and off for a while called Growing Grateful Kids by Susie Larson.

This is a book that gives ideas of ways for parents to teach their children to appreciate what they have even in the midst of our materialistic world. One of the important things I saw over and over is that "We can't impart something we do not possess." So if we want our children to be grateful, we have to be in check on our own attitudes and behaviors. The author shares stories from her sons' younger days to give examples of teaching gratefulness.

Each chapter begins with a verse and quotation. Then at the end of the chapters the author has a personal application, personal application and a prayer.

This is an enjoyable book to read and I found it helpful as a parent.

I received this book for being part of the Hearts at Home blogger program

Have a day of blessings!

2010 Book #10: "Into the Mud" by Christine Jeske

I am so glad I had the opportunity to read Christine Jeske's book Into the Mud. This is a collection of stories written by the author about real people, real lives of South Africa.

From the publisher:
Each of its interwoven stories and related discussion questions addresses a broader issue of missions and development, including: evangelism, literacy and education, microfinance, health services, urbanization and refugee assistance, and more. Reflection questions at the end of each chapter help readers to apply lessons from the chapters to their own ministry contexts.

My thoughts:
This was an amazing book. I loved the author's writing style, and the stories she told touched my heart. It was so easy to understand, and she did an excellent job telling stories about the people of South Africa. Reading this book has shown me a culture I've never experienced myself and given me ways to pray for the people there as well as those serving there to spread the Good News. I really appreciated the way the author told a story and then was able to make an application for the reader's every day life. Also, I liked the study questions at the end of each chapter which would make it good for group study. You can find out more about the book at the Into the Mud site. (I think the cover is great too!!)

Have a day of blessings!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Moody Publishers as part of their Blogger Review 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.”

2010 Book #3: Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

I have finished Choosing Gratitude Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. What a wonderful book to read at the beginning of a new year!

In this book Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes of the transforming power of gratitude in our lives. Because of the grace we've been given, gratitude should be evident in us. The purpose of this book is to show how we can have a lifestyle of gratitude and how this will change our lives as we become grateful people. She writes about reasons we need to be grateful and how we can show our gratitude. At the end she also includes a 30 day devotional guide to put into practice the things she talks about in the book.

This book was a pleasure to read and I highly recommend it to you. I really gained a lot by reading it and want to share it with others. I also look forward to reading other books by this author.

Thank you to Moody Publishers for providing this book for review.

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!