Thursday, March 31, 2016

He Wanted The Moon by Mimi Baird

"He Wanted The Moon" by Mimi Baird is a the story of the author's father who as a doctor suffering from maniac depression (modernly known as bi-polar) tried to figure out its cause before he got institutionalized in the 40's.   This book was so powerful the first half was Dr. Perry Baird's own writing from right before he was sent to a mental hospital to his last writing in 1944 and the second half is written by his daughter from her viewpoint of when he left to as an adult finding out more about her father.  His writings about his treatment in the mental hospital is so sad especially when he mentioned the ages of some of the others in there (i.e. young children).  The way we have as a society we have treated people that are different than us but not dangerous is so sad.  Then his daughter writing about how she had no idea what really happened to her father until she got older is so sad but I am glad she shared with us his quest to cure himself and others.  It was very interesting to find out what this man discovered years before another doctor discovered about maniac depression but was not taken seriously since he suffered from it also.  What a reminder to listen to the people that are suffering from the disease themselves as they may have figured out something that someone who doesn't have it might not know.  This was a very powerful book and I highly recommend it. 


I was given this book from Blogging for books for my honest review and was not required to give a positive review.

Delighting in God by A.W. Tozer compiled by James. L. Snyder


"Delighting in God" by A.W. Tozer is a compilation of Tozer writings compiled together by James L. Snyder.  This book is what James L. Snyder thought should be as the follow up to Tozer's last book The Knowledge of the Holy since Tozer has been dead for over 50 years.  Normally I really enjoy Tozer writings but this compiled bits was hard for me to follow as I would read one chapter and then the next just did not seem to flow together so it did not seem to be concise book.  Also one chapter really left a bad taste in my mouth and since I have no way of knowing if that chapter was part of a bigger section I had a hard time with it.  The section that left a bad taste in my mouth was when he pretty much said classical music is beneath him to listen to as now that he is closer to God it’s better to only listen to Hymns.  Now don't get me wrong I love a good hymn and I don't like a lot of modern Christian music as it is fluff or not biblical. But it was almost like he was putting hymns on a pedestal that should not be there.  It was a weird chapter I really wish Tozer was alive to explain that chapter better as James L. Snyder cannot answer exactly what Tozer was thinking when he wrote that.  It was not the best writings of Tozer's I would rather stick to the books that he wrote when he was alive and not this one.


I was given this book Bethany House Publishers for my honest review and was not required to give a positive review.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Unstuffed by Ruth Soukup


"Unstuffed" by Ruth Soukup is a book not just about decluttering the home but also your mind and soul.  I was very impressed by this book on how it was not your normal just declutter you home but all parts of your life.  This book was very well written with parts of her story on decluttering and hows of decluttering.  But one thing that it had that most don't add when talking about decluttering is the why should we declutter our life. This is one book that as of right now I only have a kindle version but one day I would like to buy the non-digital version for me to make my own notes in margin.  I was very blessed to be able to review this book and I highly recommend it.

I was given this book from NetGalley for my honest review and was not required to give a positive review.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

One Dress One year by Bethany Winz


"One Dress, One Year" by Bethany Winz is about how one young woman decided to wear one dress for a year to bring awareness to human trafficking.  This was an interesting book on how the author decided to bring awareness and even raise money to end human trafficking.  The book itself was not bad but I just don't understand the whole premise of it.  Even at 16 (the age the author was when she did this) there are actual things you can do to bring awareness or even help the victims of human trafficking.  I just did not understand how wearing one dress with different accessories every day brought more awareness especially since this type of thing has been done for other issues.  Maybe I am not understanding it but it just seems to me that more could have been done than just wear the same dress.  Other than my not getting it, it was an interesting book.  So I do recommend it as an interesting read.

I was given this book from Baker Books for my honest review and was not required to give a positive review.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Having A Martha Home the Mary Way by Sarah Mae


"Having A Martha Home the Mary Way" by Sarah Mae is not only about cleaning house but getting closer to God.  This book is a wonderful not only about make our home clean in our own way for our family but also to have a closer relationship with Christ.  I have struggled with making sure I do both focus on Christ and taking care of my home this book helps teach how to have a balance in life.  Each day starts with a section introducing the topic for the day then a daily devotion, and finally a checklist on what you are going to clean that day.  What is very nice is the devotion is not a quick little verse she has it where you dive into the scripture and gives you a lot of space to write what you have learned.  Also the check list section for cleaning was very doable and a list that was too much at least for me.  I highly recommend this book if you are having hard time balancing cleaning and devotion time.

I was given this book from Tyndale Publisher for my honest review and was not required to give a positive review.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

The Last Days According To Jesus by R.C. Sproul


"The Last Days According To Jesus" by R.C. Sproul is about when Jesus said he was going to return.  Ok, I am going to be blunt I usually enjoy Sproul's book a lot but not this one.  Usually in his books we get his point.  However in this one I kept reading Russell says this or Gentry says this.  If I wanted to know what those men said then just give me a flyer with the titles of books or writings those men have wrote.  Yes there was some that was more from Sproul's point of view but mostly it was this man says this on this subject.  This book was big disappointment for me I will still recommend but be warned its not on the same level as other Sproul books.

I was given this book from BakerBooks for my honest review and was not required to give a positive review.

Thin Ice by Irene Hannon


"Thin Ice" by Irene Hannon is the second book in the Men of Valor series.  This is about former ice skater Christy Reed discovering that her sister may not have died in a house fire but may have been kidnapped so she takes her evidence to a new FBI agent Lance McGregor a former Delta Force operator.  As Lance starts to dig into the mystery the more questions come up and he starts to like Christy more than just a victim. Yes it is a romance mystery novel but just like all of this author's novels I have read the romance is just a side the mystery is the main focus.  I really enjoyed this mystery after we are introduced to the bad guy, I kept trying to figure out how he was connected to Christy which my guess turned out wrong.  I really enjoyed learning more about all the different characters especially one in particular but I am not going to say who that was as that would give away part of the mystery.  As usually with this author's works I started the book and then could not put it down.  It is paced at just the right rate to give a good knowledge of the characters and story but not give you too much so that you figure it out right away.   I know I have been blessed to be able to review as many of this author's book as I have and I am so glad I decided to check out her writings.  I highly recommend this book.

I was given this book from Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group for my honest review and was not required to give a positive review.

Monday, March 7, 2016

In A Different Key, The Story of Autism by John Donvan & Caren Zucker


"In A Different Key - The Story of Autism" by John Donvan & Caren Zucker is not just about the current knowledge of Autism but it takes us back all the way to the early 1900's.  I picked up this book as my family does have children and adults that are on the spectrum of Autism most are considered high functioning so this book really intrigued me.  However I was a little nervous that it would read like a textbook but it did not.  This book is so well written on the history of Autism and does not leave out parts of history even the ugly parts.  What do I mean the ugly parts I mean the years where we blamed the mothers for it, the institutionalized portion, and many other sad ugly things done to people with autism.  A lot of people forget that Autism is not a newer disease it has been around a long time and we really don't know how long.  This book does bring up that people that were categorized as "idiots" in the 1840's would have likely be diagnosed with Autism today which is something a lot of people don't realize.  I also really enjoyed that when the authors brought up a young man with Autism who was put in a State hospital for the insane at the age of 5 in 1919 they did not just leave his story there.  As time progressed in Autism history they did tell us what happened that man.   We read about the desperate measures parents took whether they were good or bad to do what they thought was best for their children.   I also really enjoyed learning the history on some of big names in science and psychiatry that helped us learn more about Autism.  I learned so much from this book that I just cannot type it all down without all the details they give.  If you have any interest in learning about Autism this book is a wonderful read even with it long length, its a must read in my opinion.  I highly recommend it and I will be keeping this one in my library to reference when I need to.

I was given this book from Blogging for Books for my honest review and was not required to give a positive review.

Love Casts Out Fear by Brother Nathan


"Love Casts Out Fear" by Brother Nathan is a memoir about growing up as a Christian in Egypt and forgiving the men who murdered his father and then bringing the gospel to his homeland.  Brother Nathan has such a wonderful way with words.  I have been very blessed by his story of how wanted revenge for his father's killers to faith in Jesus to following the Lord's call for his family in Egypt.  He talks about some of the discrimination he has seen and has had happen to him at the hands of Muslim believers.  I was really impressed on how he followed the Lord's leading even when others were telling not to and how God used him when he obeyed the Lord.  It was a very interesting memoir and I was really impressed and encouraged by this book and I plan on keeping to read again to remind myself of forgiveness when I need the reminder.  A very powerful book and I highly recommend it.

I was given this book from BakerBooks a division of Baker Publishing Group for my honest review and was not required to give a positive review.

Thoughts on my hubby

27 years ago was the summer before my senior year in high school and I went for a walk that would change my life forever.  I just wanted to ...