The Creation

"The Creation" by Janice D. Green is a kid-friendly retelling of God's formation of our universe. This book is wonderful for young children, as it uses vivid illustrations to accompany the easy to read story of the Creation. I have a young child, and thought this book was perfect - simplistic in its message, language that a young child can easily understand (after all, the story starts to lose its meaning if you have to stop every few sentences and respond to, "Mommy, what does that mean?"). I thought that the story itself was true to the Bible, and was something the whole family could enjoy reading together. Each page of the story also offers up question prompts for parents to ask the children, which I thought was a great addition. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has a special young child in their life, and would like for them to learn more about how our world was created.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from BookCrash.com in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review. The opinions herein are solely my own.

Simply Grilling

“Simply Grilling” by Jennifer Chandler is an entire cookbook devoted to meals made on the grill. Chandler pulled together over one hundred of these recipes, complete with photographs of each. The recipes in this cookbook have a wide variety of flavor profiles, so there is definitely something for everyone. From appetizers, entered, side dishes, salads, sandwiches, and even desserts, there are plenty of delicious recipes to choose from. Chandler gives us recipes for the classic grilling foods, such as filet mignon, pork chops, and chicken but also includes many not so common recipes, like nachos, black bean salsa, and bananas foster - all cooked on the grill. I would recommend this cookbook to anyone looking to spend more time outdoors while making a delicious meal, or while entertaining this summer.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free through Booksneeze.com in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

Spirit Wars

"Spirit Wars" by Kris Vallotton is a very interesting book. The story centers around Vallotton's real life experiences with the battle he faced with the demonic forces of the spiritual realm. Vallotton became so fearful and experiences anxiety due to the torture he endured at the hands of the dark forces of the spiritual world. The story of his deliverance from his torturers is absolutely amazing, and offers us a rare glimpse inside his personal victory. Vallotton also gives us advice, based on his personal struggles, on winning our own spiritual battles, and how to be prepared for them. I thought this book offered up a lot of useful information and advice from someone who has experienced this spiritual battle, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the spiritual battles raging in our lives.

FTC DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was not under any obligation to write a positive review. The opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

Kingdom Man

"Kingdom Man" by Tony Evans is a book written for men that attempts to help Christian men reclaim their role as leaders in our society, family, and businesses. This book uses both Biblical events, Scriptural references, as well as personal stories to enliven the role of the Christian man. What I liked about this book was that Tony Evans creates a sense of excitement about being a man. In a time when it is so easy to get sidetracked from our true goals in life, Tony brings the focus back to what is important. He discusses topics like making wise decisions, taking the lead, family life, making a difference, and personal life. I would highly recommend this book for any man - or as a special gift to the man in your life. Wonderfully written, completely focused, and geared toward the male gender. Great read.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review of this book. All opinions are entirely my own.

1000 Days

"1000 Days" by Jonathan Falwell is a book all about the 3 years of ministry prior to Jesus' death. The book is very interesting, and I really enjoyed Falwell's comprehensive story of the ministry of Jesus while he was on Earth. Overall, the book was well-written, and easy to follow. The only thing that I had a little trouble with was that there were a few parts of the book that didn't seem to really flow with the actual theme of Jesus' ministry - like a few extra points were thrown in, even though they were a little off topic. I would give this book a 3/5, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to explore the work that Jesus did in his ministry while on Earth. This book is interesting, and I haven't ever come across anything like it so far, so it is definitely worth a read.

FTC DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review.

King of Glory

"King of Glory" by P.D. Bramsen, and illustrated by Arminda San Martin is an easy to read retelling of some of the most important Biblical stories. Each story is one page long, with the following page having a beautiful illustration of that story. This book includes the story of Adam and Eve, The Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, The Ten Commandments, and Jesus' birth and missionary work. This book would be ideal for older children, from ages 7 and up. The stories are easy to read, with simple language, perfect for this age group, who can start to understand the stories of the Bible, but aren't quite able to understand a more advanced Bible yet. I thought this was the perfect book, and the illustrations are beautiful, vivid, and relevant to the message. I would highly recommend this book to any parent or grandparent who has a child between the ages of 7 and 12. Wonderfully written!

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher through BookCrash.com's blogging program in exchange for an honest review of this book. I was not obligated to write a positive review.

God Gave Us Love

"God Gave Us Love" by Lisa Tawn Bergren is an adorable story written for children all about love. The basic moral of the book, told through a Grampa polar bear and his adorable grandson polar bear, is that God gave us love, in many forms. The book talks about loving siblings, God's love for his children, love between a mommy and a daddy, and loving people we may not really like. This book is perfect for young children, between ages 1 and 5. The words are simple and easy for young children to understand easily, and the illustrations are adorable. We will definitely be adding this book to the rotation for my three year old. Adorable.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Water Brook Publishers as a part of their Blogging for Books program, in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review.

Great Day Every Day - Max Lucado

"Great Day Every Day" is an awesome book by Max Lucado that deals with finding God's grace even in disappointment and despair. Lucado addresses such issues as grief, purpose, anxiety, catastrophe, and fear within this book, combining personal stories with Biblical resources to help us find a way to rejoice in the midst of our pain/anxiety/hurt/etc. What I really liked about this book was that it offered stories from the Bible to supplement the text, showing us that even when we are hurting, God's grace is still there. I liked this book, and think it is the perfect book to help find a little inspiration for a hard day - and really who doesn't have those days once in awhile? The chapters are relatively short, and each is centered on dealing with a certain type of struggle, so if you are having an anxious day, you can skip right to the chapter titled, "Peace for Anxious Days", or if you have having a fearful day, "Faith for Fear-Filled Days" might be a good read for you. Great book - I loved it!

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review - this review is my own opinion.