Have a Happy Family by Friday

I read Dr. Kevin Leman's book "Have a new Kid by Friday" and found it had some pretty good insights, so while I'm not normally into these kinds of book (Self-help-ish) I was fairly certain I was going to enjoy and benefit from this one anyway!
I love that the book starts off by pointing out the importance of each family member and their role in the family. Its sometimes disappointing to read these types of books and have them almost brush aside the importance of everyone but the "head" of the household.
I felt that Dr. Leman gave many practical tools to every member within a household, that allowed them to be heard and to hear from others.
I love that Dr. Leman also included his own personal experiences and insights into what helps to communicate to family members, and how to maintain a good attitude and behaviors no matter the situation.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who would have issues with their families, or anyone who's in a family at all

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group". 

A light in the wilderness

This was, by far, one of my favorite books I have read. It was such an insightful look into what life must have been like for the women of this time, especially women of such diverse cultural backgrounds.
My heart broke for Letitia and the struggles she faced constantly because of the color of her skin, but her inner strength and faith in the Lord was admirable and wonderful to read about! This story had me on edge so many times as all three women in this story faced such difficult obstacles. Letitia facing racism and injustice at the hands of others, Nancy facing her greatest fear/pain, and Betsy trying to pass on the knowledge of her ancestors before it was too late. Each had their own individual struggle that was so different, but each also found a so much in common between them that strong friendships were formed.
This is one of the books that will be retaining its place on my bookshelves for a long time to come! I imagine in the next while, it will get re-read many times!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group". 

What Your heart Needs for the hard days

First off, I have to say I loved the book from first glance, Its adorable! So immediately I was already hoping I would love what was written inside too! (I did!!) I've been really into reading through the Psalms lately, so I was pretty excited to see that there was a devotional book based on them!
I really loved this book, the devotions are short and sweet, but still full of truths! They're long enough to enjoy for a few quiet moments during the day, but are packed with such insights and truths that I really found myself challenged! I love the "What my heart is saying to You/hearing from You parts of the book, found at the end of each devotional. I found they helped me really apply what I was reading in each devotional!
This will be a book that I will be recommending to many of my church friends!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group". 

The River

I love Beverly Lewis' Amish books, I'm such a fan of them and I love the simplistic and kind way that Lewis writes her characters in. They're easy to get to know, and to understand. While there is some suspense and secrets in their lives, you still are able to get to know the heart of the character while reading!
In her book "the River" we meet Tilly and Ruth, who had left the Amish community for a life among the English. They're modern life is interrupted when they receive a call from one of their brothers inviting them to come to a birthday party for their father. With reservations about being back in the Amish community, the ladies head home again when they hear about the condition of their father's health. Tilly carries a guilt with her that makes being home again very difficult, and again is faced with her past regrets and pain. While Ruth faces memories of her past heartaches, and has a situation that could easily break her heart again.
Both characters were written so well, that I felt like I knew them. It was easy to get into this book and I found it a huge struggle to put down!
I would give this book my highest recommendation, as I would for any book by Beverly Lewis!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group"

Colliding with Destiny

I had the chance not too long ago to review another of Sarah Jakes books and enjoyed it immensely, I found her writing to be quite  honest and thought provoking! So When I saw this in my review group I was pretty excited to give it a read!
I love that she gave us a deper look into the story of Ruth, I usually feel like the story of Ruth gets such a quick pass over, that people just look at it as a story of a woman's obedience in order to land a husband. I'm so glad that Sarah Jakes took it to such a deeper level. That her obedience was first and formost to God, and that she set forth a legacy for other heroes of the faith as well!
I also appreciate how Jakes takes every aspect of the story she's written about and spells it out in such a way to make those lessons applicable easily to our own lives.
I really enjoyed this book, I found it was so in depth and intuitive! I highly recommend this book!!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group"

Tried & True

I did enjoy this book, it was very cleverly written, and I generally do enjoy reading books by Mary Connealy. I do have to say however while I appreciated the strong female characters, I was really frustrated with the men in the story and their view of women as weak.  That however would literally be the only complaint I have about this book. I enjoyed the rest of the story immensely, and always do look forward to reading books by Connealy!
In this series, we meet the Wilde family, three girls who are all pretending to be men in order to claim ownership of their ranches in a shorter time frame.  The story focuses a lot more around Kylie Wilde, and the claim she has on her own little piece of land.  Having gained (quite by accident) a prime piece of land that is valuable to some local ranchers, Kylie finds herself at the center of a fight to run her off her land. When the land agent Aaron learns of her true identity, he becomes torn between trying to protect her while remaining honest and loyal to his job.
All in all, I would recommend the book, the complaints I had about it were pretty minor compared to the rest of the story!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group"