An Amazingly Thorough, yet Whimsical Theology Course wrapped up in a Children's Book

Consistency is not my strongest suit but I have more than learned the value of good habits and routines. One practice that has started to "stick" fairly well in my boys and my daily rhythm is "Morning Time"-this happens after breakfast and chores and before I do any individual school subjects with the boys separately. We all gather at the dining room table and enjoy a "broad feast"-not of food, but ideas. We start with a quick prayer, go over our AWANA verses and read a section of the bible for our Bible Road Trip. We focus on learning a new song from Songs for Saplings each week, they offer some great catechisms set to catchy tunes. We also cover some fun, out of the ordinary ways to learn math, church history, and the boys love our time for nursery rhymes and a silly poem. The point of Morning Time is not academic but to connect as a family and focus on things that are good, true and beautiful. 

A book that I had on my wishlist for some time and was so excited to incorporate into our Feast was The Ology: Ancient Truths Ever New by Marty Machowski. This book is incredible, really. When I think of the good, true and beautiful, I picture this book. Machowski offers a dense and rich spread of theological truth written towards kids, but just as nourishing for adults and wraps it up in a gorgeous, heirloom quality format of a book. One of the tag lines from the publishers is "A beginner s book of systematic theology in the form of a beautifully illustrated storybook." I think this is really the perfect way to sum up what this book is. It truly is a very comprehensively laid out theology course in the form of an engaging children's story. 

It begins by introducing us to our main characters- Carla and Timothy who are exploring their church building when they discover not only a secret underground stairway but also a mysterious package that beckons them to "Open and Read". Within is a letter explaining that they have in their hands a last of it's kind historic children's book that teaches the Theology, the study of God. And so begins our journey with Carla and Timothy thru The Ology. 

The book is very systematic about it's teaching approach and I think that's perfect to make sure even the youngest child can begin but also make sure the more advanced student has a through and solid foundation. It starts with The Ology of God, which covers the attributes of who God is. Then, we move to The Ology of People where we're reminded of our creation and first parents. Next, we have to face the hard facts in The Ology of Sin which does a great job of clearly explaining to children what sin and it's consequences are, both at the first instance in the Garden and in their lives now. The Ology of the Promise and the Law explains God's "rescue plan" and how the law was first introduced and what it's purpose is.

 The hope comes with The Ology of Christ when children are told of Jesus' divine and human aspects and what all he did for us. Things go a little deeper still when we get to The Ology of the Holy Spirit and learn of the introduction of the Holy Spirit to the first believers and how it is with us now. The Ology of Adoption into God's Family gives us many reminders of our truest identity. The Ology of Change I think is where things start transitioning to being a great challenge and lesson to older children, past the basics of what God has done for us and focused in on how we can live for him. This section deals with how we can grow and have victory in Christ and I'm thinking my oldest who just turned 6 would really get a lot out of these lessons at his stage in understanding the faith. The Ology of the Church does a wonderful job of explaining what the purpose of the Church is and why we need to be a part of it. A much helpful to teaching parents section on The Ology of the End Times gives some great insight into the tricky subject of "things to come". And the whole book is tied up nicely with the last chapter The Ology of God's Word where we are reminded of the importance and power of this book we're studying so in depth. 

Each "lesson" is short and concise with coordinating scripture and a whimsical illustration to engage kids. There is so much packed into this volume that I don't foresee us getting through it any time too soon and I am totally ok with that. Like any delightful thing you want to draw it out, soak it up and savor it. That's most importantly, how we should feel about God's word and I think Marty Machowski has doing a wonderful job of invoking a similar feeling about the complementary study of Theology with this outstanding title. As only the best kid's books can do, I feel like this is a gift not only for them, but for me as the lucky parent who gets to read it to them. This book will be treasured by my family for many years of growth and spiritual formation to come and recommended to all my  dearest Mama friends. 

Thanks so much to New Growth Press for providing me with this title to enjoy with my children and wholeheartedly recommend to my readers.

Introducing my boys to Civil Rights Heroes- Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks

It's Black History Month and, to be honest, that usually doesn't mean a whole lot around our house. We are not African American and do not live in an area with many African American people, really at all. So I guess that has made me a bit lax about teaching my kids much about racial issues and tensions- from either side;but I have to admit with the tensions and divide in our country currently,it is hard to escape the fact that it is obviously still an issue to many. While I personally don't agree that it as alive and well of a "disease" now, I am very aware that it was a real civil rights issue not that long ago. It is part of the history of our country and I want to give my kids the full scope of our nation's story. So I was very excited to get the chance to review two new, outstanding board books from WorthyKids/Ideals! 

The Story of Rosa Parks is an engaging, little board book that introduces young children to "the Mother of the civil rights". This book does a wonderful job of summarizing who Rosa was as an individual- where she grew up, who she married- and what actions and ideals we remember her for- quiet conviction and courage. I just love the soft and almost dream-like illustrations and thought the text was straightforward and approachable for kids.

The next book, The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. is very similar in style as these two books are part of a series and I am glad to own them both! My boys had a little bit of an earlier introduction to MLK as my husband got the day off for MLK day and we took a family fun day to the coast. While we driving, we had a fun moment of "homeschool on the go" when we explained to the boys why it was a holiday and who we were remembering. I was surprised with how interested my 6 year old was-he and his Daddy even did some more online investigating on MLK while I ran into a coffee shop. It was a neat chance to see how "real life learning" really does happen! :)

This board book starts with asking children if they know why we celebrate MLK day and then follows up by explaining who he was and what we remember him for doing. I appreciated the book's approach to present MLK as a child who wanted to things just like any other kid would- eat at restaurants with his family, drink from any water fountain he came across, and go to a good school- but that he couldn't. I think these were valid civil rights areas for kids to understand why MLK stood and fought for what he did. 

I truly do feel that both these historic figures are heroes for my children to look up to and am thankful for a resource to introduce them to these names at a young age. Both Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. fought injustice and took a stance for their ideals and convictions, but they did it in a peaceful, civilized way. I think that's a lesson that many in our country need to take note of right now-I hope to instill that idea in my kids from an early age.

Thanks to Worthy Publishing for providing me with these books to review and share with my readers!

The Fun Way to School: Thinking Tree's Fun-Schooling Journals

The Holidays have came and gone and it's now time to find a new rhythm and inspiration for the cold and sometimes dreary Winter months ahead. A couple motivating factors are lingering from the Christmas celebrating- A new electric pressure cooker (Christmas gift from the husband!) to inspire flavorful, yet much quicker dishes in the kitchen and a much deal of a boost, the news that our sweet baby #4 is on the way in early August! What a precious gift this revelation was to receive this Christmas; all of my boys are very excited for a new member of the family and the countdown to baby will definitely help pass the Winter months with anticipation. Though it also means that Mama's energy levels have plummeted pretty impressively during the tricky first trimester and things around our house have had to be slightly adjusted for the time being. The chores mostly get done, though not quite so efficiently. Meals are getting on the table one way or another, a big thanks to my generous husband who has been known to be bringing home a lot more take out after work. School is an important and fun part of our day that I really don't want to completely drop the ball on this front. I wanted lie to you, our full line up of school doesn't happen every day- I will add though that my "ideal" school schedule I set up in the fall is pretty ambitious so it takes a really good day to get to all of it! I am very ok with currently cutting back to the necessities and a few fun extras to keep school a joy and not a burden. We still fit in Morning time on the days that I'm feeling energetic and on the not quite days we aim for reading, handwriting, math and some supplemental fun activity. One of our favorite Fun Schooling resources has been the Thinking Tree Fun-Schooling Journals. There is such an impressive range of options offered- for all different ages, boys or girls, season specific and more. We own the Ages 3 to 7 Fun-Schooling Journal - Do-It-Yourself Homeschooling for Beginners: Homeschool Prep-Book For New Readers and Non-Readers!  and the Ages 6-9 Fun-Schooling Journal - Do-It-Yourself Homeschooling 1st - 3rd Grade: Learning Activities For New & Struggling Readers. 

My boys love having their own special books and I really like how open ended they are. Unlike usual school work books that are looking for specific answers, these books really are more like a personal learning journal that kids can really make their own. There are prompts and activities on each page such as a page for nature study documenting, plenty of coloring opportunities, pages for recording books read and copy work, and much more!

 Since my little boy using the Ages 3-7 book is on the younger side of the age range there is a decent amount of writing space that he will dictate for me or he'll grow into later, but there is still plenty of coloring and drawing activities to keep him busy!

We have slowly been working our way thru the Beautiful Feet books Early American History Primary Study and came up to an activity where we were to write out The Principle of Individuality and stamp the boys finger prints around the copy work. I felt this would be the perfect type of activity to archive in our school journals. My littler boy went crazy with finger print art all over the poem I wrote out for him. The artwork on the page we chose includes numerous cats hidden through out and he just loves cats, so I had him search for and circle all the cats he could find. 

My oldest kept things a bit tidier with a neat circle of finger prints surrounding the poem and then he played "look and find" with the music notes in the surrounding picture. 

He also had fun filling out one of the Thinking Time pages that asked him to complete lines of patterns- a great exercise in logic skills.

These books have been a life saver for this currently low energy Mama, providing me with a pretty much self directed learning resource that I can easily get away offering to my boys as "pure fun". I think it will also be a neat way to store,"notebooking" style, different school activities that don't naturally fit into another school book. I am excited for the many other options of Fun Schooling journals we will have to look forward to in the years to come!

Thank you to Thinking Tree Publishing LLC for providing these books for me review and share with my readers.

  

Our First Big Boy Bible

My oldest boy just turned 6-he's growing up in a hurry and taking us to all new stages in life as a family. He's enjoying venturing out of home and doing his own individual activities more and more, the biggest right now is Awana. He just loves getting picked up by his best buddy and his dad each Sunday night and going for a fun night of bible stories, verses and games. Now that he's old enough to really understand and memorize bible verses they encourage him to bring his own bible to look verses up in. Well, so far his bible collection has been made up of The Jesus Storybook Bible and a couple, colorful Gideon's New Testaments. I knew his birthday coming up meant I needed to get him his own unabridged "big boy" bible. But boy, what a wide market it is for kid's bibles- so many options! 

The winner for us was the NKJV: Airship Genesis Kids Study Bible edited by Dr. David Jeremiah. My husband grew up on the KJV of the bible and I used the NIV, I felt the NKJV was a good starting place for a young child just learning how to read. David Jeremiah is the founder and leader of Turning Point ministry and I respect and enjoy his work and teaching there.

I really appreciated the intro letter Dr. Jeremiah included welcoming kids on this "bible adventure" and encouraging them to take ownership of their very own bible- circle verses, write notes, it's yours! Then we are introduced to the crew of the Airship Genesis and given an overview of our mission- explore the bible from start to finish! There is a "mission overview" for each book of the bible and tons of extra fun facts and notes. As well as a concordance and nicely done illustrations of major bible characters.

I was excited to see there's even a whole complementary website for this bible with audio lessons and bible adventures. That will be a fun bonus for my son to work his way through.

I think this will be a great first bible for my curious and growing little boy!

Thanks to Book Look Bloggers for providing this copy to review.

All the Pretty Things: An Absorbing Memoir

I am a fan of a good true story. I don't expect it to be fairy tale happily ever after perfect, it can be rough around the edges- I especially love to see God shift the plot and redemption wash over the messy parts. Edie Wadsworth's All The Pretty Things is just that kind of story. I devoured this book in just a few, late nights. lifeingrace was one of the first blogs I ever read and was instantly impressed with Edie's "picture perfect" life and home (the internet lends such a rosy shade of lens to us all ;). I never knew the hard won life story behind Edie's beautiful and encouraging webpage. 

Edie has quite the narrative voice that draws you in and paints a picture of a childhood that, while very different from the one I experienced, makes you believe in and empathize with the good and the hard parts. She may not grow up in the ideal living situation with the most stable of families, but she does know love and God's providential hand gets her through. It's clear Edie had a special tie to her father and she does a marvelous job showing a realistic profile of the man who both loved her like no other and scarred her deeply with his own scars. A wide cast of characters make up Edie's colorful extended family and they all play a part in the story line of who she was and who she has become. Her upbringing causes Edie to grow up in a hurry and pursue perfection in everything that was so imperfect and incomplete in her childhood. She finds hope and direction in the Lord at a young age and her life really is turned around by clinging to that. Edie does very well at bettering herself by jumping headfirst into medical school and becoming a doctor. Along the way, she has got married young and has a couple kids and thinks she has outrun her "demons". Only after she has everything that should complete her does she realize that the work of her own hands won't bring peace-she has an affair, her marriage dissolves and she finally is brought face to face with all the wounds from her past. What is surely a very broken place proves to be fertile ground for redemption and God to step in and take over. Edie is able to make amends with her challenging childhood and remarries and becomes the face of lifeingrace that I was first introduced to. 

Never judge a book by it's cover rings true here-there is far more to Edie Wadsworth's story than meets the eye.I can imagine some parts of this story were very hard for her to bare to public scrutiny, but she does it with class and grace and we are all thankful she was willing to share this story of God's faithfulness in bringing pretty things out of sometimes ugly places.

Thanks to Tyndale Publishers for providing with a copy of this book to review.

What do you cling to when it all goes wrong? Why She Reads Truth

I am SO glad we were able to make the Advent season rich and full of soul preparation and a reminder of the full gospel story- beginning of the world to Nativity scene and all the hard waiting in between-because we definitely needed the hope of what Christmas was really and truly about come Christmas morning. I have some precious memories of this Advent season with my boys that I will be so thankful to look back on for years to come: Making candles with friends, lighting our special candles for devotional times at night and our extra special night of the Shepherd's Meal and journey to follow "the Star." We baked cookies, and cuddled up on the couch with piles of Christmas picture books and followed God's Big Story from creation to Jesus with our Jesse Tree readings. We thoroughly relished the countdown to Christmas and it really felt like one for the books-until those last few days leading right up to the Big Day and suddenly Mama is covered in a mutant looking case of Poison Oak and the Biggest Boy is coughing up a storm and all the sudden has his last set of molars popping through his gums and where did all the peaceful Magic go?! We soldiered thru, sure that all would be made well by Christmas, only to have Christmas Eve roll around and we're all about to pack in the car and head to the traditional Christmas Eve service, but wait, the baby is burning up and not ready to go anywhere. So Mama stays home and rocks a sick toddler to sleep and everybody else comes home from festivities with family only to have the Middle Boy sobbing from sickness and hot to the touch. It was a not so silent or calm night with little boys tossing and turning and no sleep to go around until well past 4 am. At this point, Christmas morning church service is out the window as well and maybe we can get thru some gifts before collapsing back into bed for a bit? Let's just say it was so not my picture perfect, ideal Christmas morning and not too long ago that would have left me so depressed, marring the whole Christmas season in my mind. After putting so much intentional time and effort into making the season the best it could be- focused on what was true and gleaning all we could from this joyous time of the year, to have that one special day out of the year go so horribly out of plan would have definitely got to me. But this year, because I did focus in on what was true about Christmas, it was ok, I knew I was ok. All the circumstances could go crazily wrong and Christmas was still Christ's birthday and that was worth celebrating and making the most of in whatever fashion we could and we did! It was a good day- a messy, tired, no-photo-proof-it-even-happened kinda day- but we were surrounded by family and blessed to give gifts and eat amazing food and most of all, remember we had Emmanuel-God with us.

As much as I should have known all this truth all along, I can't say I have been the best about actually living it out as reality in my life- really truly living like I believe and know God has it all in control, no matter what happens around me. I have tried over the last few years to really soak my life in scriptures so it does become so much more of my natural response and I have to say one resource I have found amazing helpful in bible study is She Reads Truth. This company and community has been such a blessing to me and several of my close friends; they offer beautifully designed bible study books filled with rich truths that always lead you straight back to scripture. I have done several of their studies, including their Advent study last year with a group of friends, and always feel enriched because of them. I was so excited to hear that they had a book coming out, named after the company and the real life stories of the two cofounders, Rachael Meyers and Amanda Bible Williams. She Reads Truth: Holding Tight to Permanent in a World That's Passing Away is truly a breath of fresh air in women's christian living books; I have read so many books in this category they really start to feel like repeats but not this book. 

Rachael and Amanda alternately write the chapters, weaving together a narrative of their own personal journeys with the Lord and how She Reads Truth came to be. But rather than take us through their actual business success story they focus on the more relevant topic of how their lives brought them to truly be a She who Reads Truth. Amanda shares her painful walk through losing her father to cancer and how she learned that "The promises themselves were true, and we held on tight. But there immutability was inseparable from the Promise Maker."  She read truth to find Jesus, the Perfect and the Permanent. Rachael vulnerably tells of having to say goodbye much, much to early to her precious baby.  How she asks her Father to take this cup from her, but that isn't his answer. "The cup didn't pass from us. The only way out was onward, drinking deeply. Honoring our daughter and her Maker with our grief for a life lost. Not my will, but Yours be done.They were the safest, most dangerous words we had ever spoken."  Rachael found comfort in reading scripture to know that Christ himself had asked the Father for relief from suffering but chose to trust God's ultimate plan.

I may not be able to relate to every situation and feeling that Amanda and Rachael share, but they bare their hearts in such a way that I can glean much wisdom from their experiences. I could find ties to my own struggles with anxiety and striving after being a "good girl" out of my own strength. This book was so beneficial to me- edifying and challenging, encouraging and always pointing back to Christ. There is so much I loved enough to highlight and too many quotes I could share.  These women said just what I (and I think it's safe to say every She) needs to hear- The Permanent is there for you. Whatever this temporary life has looked like, and whatever signs are waiting on the road on the road ahead, God and His Truth will always be true. You cannot change the Truth. You cannot earn it or lose it or escape it. But you can hold on to it, knowing that it holds you."

"She is Me.

She is You. 

She wants faith, hope and love. 

She wants help and healing.

She wants to hear and be heard, to see and be seen.

She wants things set right."

So, She Reads Truth.

In light of how much I love and want to recommend this book, I wanted to let you all know that shereadstruth.com is offering a free one week bible study (starting today) made of selections from this amazing book. Go check it out!

Thanks to B&H Publishing for providing a copy of this book to review. 

Advent is a time to Prepare Him Room

Summer and Fall just flew by and I had no idea how we could possibly be at Thanksgiving and now well on our way to Christmas, but you know what? Once I had a clear picture in my mind of what I wanted our Christmas season to look like and somewhat of a game plan to make it happen, it really seemed as if the days magically slowed. I feel like we have already fit it some really fun holiday activities, without being stressed about it, and we're only half way there! We made our homey and wonderful rolled beeswax candles to light up our Advent nights and the boys have really enjoyed getting to enjoy their handiwork while listening to our Advent devotional readings.

This year, we are reading thru Prepare Him Room: Celebrating the Birth of Jesus Family Devotional by Marty Machoswki. This slim but potent book has been a wonderful additional to our family time in the evenings this holiday season. It is broken up into the 4 weeks of Advent- there are three readings per week, which is actually a nice feature that allows grace for hectic days and I think makes it more approachable for busy families. The book starts with an intro and "how to use" page that goes over what exactly Advent is and how the book is set up to assist your family in making the most of this special time. Following this, is a tutorial on how to make your own Advent wreath. 

I appreciate that the devotions themselves aren't just simple readings, but very integrated lesson plans, really. Each one starts with a list of supplies needed to do the hands on activity so you can come prepared. You start off the devotional with some sort of short "warm up" to grab your kids' attention and act as an example later in the reading. Some examples are making chocolate pudding and looking at your little ones ultrasound photos. Then we dive into scripture reading and a "picture it" reading that leads us to dig a little deeper into the biblical text and helps kids to really picture what was happening. I have been really impressed with this part of the devotionals-they aren't just cliche thoughts on Christmas being Jesus birthday. Marty did a great job of providing some interesting and impressive facts from history and theology. I have been learning right alongside my boys and that is always a great sign of a true "family study book"! It has also provided some better answers to my little ones questions that have been organically coming up with Christmas approaching. I was pleasantly surprised to have our reading today dovetail so neatly with a question my oldest was struggling thru- how old is Jesus? 

Of course, we do make a big deal about Christmas being Jesus' Birthday and that he cane to earth as a baby, just like we all did. That coupled with the fact that my son just had a birthday last week and is very aware of ages right now, lead to "How old is Jesus?" I told him that Jesus doesn't have an age because he has been around forever, the same as God. He had a very hard time buying this answer since we have been talking so much about this season all being about Jesus' birthday-he must have an age?! The devotional today started with the Scripture John 1:1-5,14 where John writes that Jesus was the Word and He was in the beginning with God. I appreciated how Marty explains that the gospels of Matthew and Luke begin with a very literal account of Jesus's coming to earth, but John shows a different side of the story-as Jesus being the eternal Word of God. Marty explains, "When we think of Jesus, the Son of God, we think of his birth in a stable. But that is not really his beginning. Before Jesus was born, the eternal Son of God, whom John called the Word of God, lived with his Father in heaven. Then, when the time was just right, God sent his Son into the world as a baby...Jesus was Immanuel-God with us." I thought this teaching was so clarifying and a needed theological perspective to share with our kids.

(Littlest Boy helping with one of the lessons)

Next, we're given a few, simple follow up questions to help make sure kids comprehended the lesson and prayer prompt to use. To wrap up each devotional, a song is recommended to sing. I think it's so neat that there is a complementary cd to go along with this book, found here. This album is produced by Sovereign Grace Music and is just beautiful- my favorite Christmas cd of the year! Each devotional suggests one or two corresponding songs and provides the lyrics for them so you can sing along. 

A fun bonus to this already awesome book? There is a sweet, little Christmas story thrown in at the end of each week for some read aloud enjoyment! The story is called "Bartimaeus" and is about an orphan boy named Christopher who unexpectedly finds himself at the Bartimaeus House orphanage right at Christmas time and the new friends and adventures he encounters there. It has been a delightful little tale that seems a perfect fit for my little boys.

All in all, I have found Prepare Him Room to be a blessing to help my family savor a very sweet season, indeed. I would like to thank New Growth Press for the opportunity to read this wonderful book my boys and share my experience with you all.