Creating a Passionate Marriage for Life- the Mediterranean Way

This season of summer and pregnancy has been heavy on a parenting focus. My husband and I were able to take a little get away in early May to recharge as a couple before the busyness of summer and a new Little One joined our family. That was such a treat! We indulged in a classy hotel stay and had so much fun exploring a new to us town. We saw some amazing sights and enjoyed some delicious food. Even a short escape from reality is always such a refreshment for our relationship.  This time I enjoyed reading aloud to my husband as we drove from a great new marriage book The Mediterranean Love Plan: 7 secrets to lifelong passion in marriage.  

 Stephen Arterburn is an author I respect for the various titles he has released and was excited to see he was coming out with a book about marriage coauthored with his wife, Misty. The Arterburns have built a passionate and playful marriage over the years and share their "secrets" in this engaging book. They share in it's pages the secrets of attunement, playfulness, savoring food, enjoying beauty, creativity, health and longevity and how to blend the sacred and the sexual. Each chapter gives a picture of how the people of Mediterranean countries live out these areas and the satisfaction it brings to their relationships and lives. The authors then share very practical and applicable tips and strategies to enhance your marriage in the Every Day. 

 I was encouraged by this book to not only survive in marriage but continue to build a marriage that is both thriving and enjoyable. I feel there is a real need for resources to help Christian marriages in this department and the Arterburns have made a worthy contribution to this cause! 

 Thanks to Book Look Bloggers for providing me with this title to review.

A Faith that God Built: A great new children's book series

Wow, it has been so long since I have shared anything new with You All! Summer and a pregnancy that is so very close to coming to an end have really kept me preoccupied the last few months. We have enjoyed several fun adventures and a lot of baby sister prep this summer. But August has defintely brought the summer heat and with that, a reason to spend some time indoors with some fun, new picture books. One of the best in our pile has been The Frightening Philippi Jail by Gary Bower. 

 This is the first of his A Faith that God Built series that we've read and I was really impressed with it! Each book in the series features a foundational bible story and and introduces it in the build upon rhyming format of the house that Jack built. The Frighenting Philippi Jail is about the miraculous recscue of Paul and Silas from the the jail in Philippi. 

 The book starts out by introducing the very unpleasant conditions of the jail- complete with "bugs and rats and slugs" and intriguing illustrations to match. This defintely got my boys attention from the start!

The story proceeds to tell how Paul and Silas shouldn't have even been in this jail but we're nonetheless singing praises to God and witnessing to the other prisoners. Of how their shackles miraculously fell to the floor and this incident brought the jailer to Christ.

This book does a great job of bringing this important story from the Bible to kids in a captivating way. I am eager to add other titles from this series to our library! 

Thanks to Tyndale Publishers for providing me with this title to review.