The Husband Project and Giveaway!

I have completed reading The Husband Project: 21 Days of Loving Your Man--on Purpose and with a Plan by Kathi Lipp.  It is a fantastic book!  It challenges wives to take time each day to show love toward their husband such as wearing something nice for him, cooking his favorite meal, or watching a movie he enjoys.  Going through this project has reminded me how to show my husband love and that it's important to take time for him.

 

I have had the privilege of helping Kathi with her blog for an online book club.  Right now she is giving away 5 copies of her book and DVD.  If you have not read this book or participated in the book club, here is your chance to win a free copy!  To win: visit her blog, do the last project (watch a guy movie with your husband) and leave a comment about which movie or kind of movie you will watch.  To enter the drawing, go to the book club website here. You can also purchase the book from Amazon or from the club's website.

May your marriage be blessed through The Husband Project!

Harper Collins Treasury of Picture Book Classics

Sometimes classic books are the best, especially regarding children's books. Harper Collins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child's First Collection, is a wonderful collection of children's stories.  There are 12 books that come in this collection: 

1. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown;
2. Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina;
3. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson;
4. Crictor by Tomi Ungerer;
5. A Baby Sister for Frances by Russell Hoban;
6. Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus;
7. William's Doll by Charlotte Zolotow;
8. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff;
9. George Shrinks by William Joyce;
10. Baby Says by John Steptoe;
11. From Head to Toe by Eric Carle; and
12. Pete's a Pizza by William Steig.

I own the individual copy of three of these books and am happy to have them also in this collection.  My 2 year old loves the stories in this book and I think he will continue to like them as he gets a little older.  

Another nice thing about this book is after each story there is a page with background information about the author and story.  Included is also some tips on how to enjoy the story more including questions you can ask your child.

I really like this book and if you are limited on space in your home or on a tight budget but looking to own some good classic children's books, then consider buying this one.

The only downside is this book is heavy so it may be a little too heavy for a young child to hold on their own.  However, these stories are meant to be read-aloud so most likely the adult would be holding most of the weight of the book.

Disciple Like Jesus for Parents

Disciple Like Jesus for Parents by Alan Melton and Paul Dean, is a fantastic book.  If you are a Christian and want to raise your children to love the Lord, this book has some wonderful advice to help you disciple (teach and train) your children like Jesus.  I recommend it to all Christian parents.

As a relatively new mom, I learned so much from this book.  The advice comes from the Bible and scripture is quoted throughout the book.  The authors point to how Jesus taught his disciples and give you a biblical blueprint to follow in raising your children.  

I learned practical ways to apply the advice, such as how important it is that I'm with my children more than I am away from them.  Jesus was always with his disciples. Mark 3:14 (NIV): He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.  Jesus did not send his disciples away to the temples, for example, to train them.  He taught them, Jesus was with them, and they learned from him. Once they were ready, he sent them out on their own. God gave children parents to love them and teach them. We are to build a community with our children and this book gives lots of examples on how to do that.

If you are serious about your faith and want to pass along your love for the Lord onto to your children, read this book. It will probably encourage you in your own walk of faith as well.

So You're Thinking about Homeschooling

My child is almost 2 and I know some of you may be thinking, why are you reading a book about homeschooling?  Well, I think education is very important.  Considering that I would like to have more than one child, private school may be out of the question.  Not that I have a problem with public schools, I have some wonderful friends who are awesome teachers, but there are some not so great school districts.  I am also a huge planner, I like to plan way ahead and research so I can feel confident about the decisions I make when they come up.  I have also met some wonderful people while living in Germany who homeschool.  Since I didn't know much about it I thought I would see if the library had any books on the topic and I picked up this one.

So You're Thinking about Homeschooling, by Lisa Whelchel, is a fantastic educational book about homeschooling. Whelchel's writing style is light and cheerful.  She takes you through the door of fifteen families and lets "them" explain to you how they homeschool and why.  You read about the mother of several children, the homeschooling dad, the grandparents who homeschool, a mom who takes her child with her to work and homeschools, and many other situations.  You also learn about the different homeschooling methods: The Charlotte Mason Method; The Classical Approach; Computer-Based Curriculum; The Principle Approach; using Traditional Textbooks; using Unit Studies; Unschooling; Video Schooling; and more.

Lisa Whelchel bluntly states that she is not trying to convince you to homeschool.  Nor does she believe that homeschooling is for everyone.  However, she is pro-homeschooling and I believe the purpose of her book is to teach you more about homeschooling to see if it something that would work for you and your family. 

I will tell you, after reading So You're Thinking About Homeschooling, I am truly thinking about homeschooling.  I have done additional research besides reading this book and there are so many positives to homeschooling.  If you are thinking about homeschooling or are interested in learning more, this would be a good book for you to read.

Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood

Are you tired of yelling at your kids?  If so, read this book.  Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood, by Jim Fay and Charles Fay, Ph.D. is a wonderful parenting book.  This book is geared for parents of children from birth to age 6.  They have other books if your child is older and you want to try the love and logic approach.  However, if you start young, you will save yourself a lot of grief later on. 

I love how the love and logic approach works.  No more yelling, no more repeating yourself.  One of the first steps to this approach is making deposits in your child's life by giving them lots of choices.  This way they gain healthy control over their lives and learn to think for themselves.  The choices you give them do not hurt anyone else, are choices you approve of, and can be fun.  Such as, "would you like to go to the park or stay home and play."  "Would you like milk or water to drink for lunch?"

When it's time for you to make a decision, such as asking your child to clean up their room.  You give your child one chance, if they choose not to obey, then there is an age-appropriate consequence.  Such as, "feel free to pick up the toys you want to keep."   Then the toys that your child doesn't pick up, you pick up and say, "how sad, how would you like pay for your toys?"  If they need help deciding offer some suggestions.  Then they earn back their toys by helping you with chores.  Obviously, this example is for older toddler/preschooler, but you can start teaching your child how to pick up their toys early on by helping them and gradually letting them do it by themselves. Then once you are consistent with the consequences you will naturally eliminate many of the problems you are having.  What kid wants their toys taken away?  If they don't care or don't want to earn them back then get rid of them.  Also by only asking once and giving them one chance you are preparing them for the real world.  Most of life you only get one chance.  If you take your eyes off the road for a few seconds to look at your phone and a tire in the road comes flying at you, you may have lost your chance to safely get out of the way.  The police officer who pulls you over for speeding usually will not give you a warning but will write you a ticket, and so on.

To use the loving approach, first show your child empathy by stating something like "how sad" or "bummer" then state the the consequence.

If your child whines or yells at you.  Simply teach them that you do not listen to whining or yelling and will listen to them when their voice is as calm as yours.  Then ignore their behavior until they use a calm voice like yours.

You do not have to yell or raise your voice to get your child's attention.  Using a soft voice works wonders. Not losing your temper makes parenting a lot easier.  And you know what?  Your child will listen.  I have been using the methods in this book for a about a month and it is amazing how well it is working on my 22 month old.  If you want to learn more, read this book.  It is probably one of my favorite parenting books. Simple to use, loving, it builds responsibility in your child, and it works!

The Glass Castle

I joined my first book club and our first book was The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.  This incredible memoir walks you through Walls' life as a child growing up in poverty, moving from place to place, and having dysfunctional parents.  Although she grew up wearing torn clothing, was not able to bathe often, dug through the trash for food, had an alcoholic father and an artistic free-spirited mother, she ended up thriving.  Her parents would not accept food stamps or help from anyone.  So the children, Jeannette and her three siblings were left fending for themselves.  

Walls is a wonderful and gifted writer.  She changed how I view people on food stamps.  It made me feel that food stamps should be more for the children than the parents.  It was heartbreaking to read about these children being hungry and Jeannette hiding out in the restroom during lunch and afterward digging through the trash and eating other kid's leftovers because there was no food at home.

Even though her parents seemed to neglect their children, they did have a great sense of adventure.  The beginning of the book life seemed so adventurous and it made me reflect on my own childhood as being a bit boring.  I never moved to another city until I went to college.  Her dad had big dreams but sadly was never able to fulfill them.  Even though he had a serious drinking problem, he believed in his children, took their fears seriously and when they were young would fight for them.  Her mom was unconventional and loved to live life on the edge.  It was clear she wanted to be independent and took pride in being different and taught her children that you don't have to be like everybody else.  In fact, you should not be like everybody else. 

The Glass Castle is an interesting and entertaining read.  It made me think a lot and reflect on my own life.  The only thing I did not like was the profanity.  Although her father's profanity was part of who he was, I would not recommend this book to young readers or people who are offended by profanity. 

Perfect Parenting

Being a "perfect" parent and always knowing how to handle difficult situations with your child(ren) is impossible.  However, with the help of Elizabeth Pantley's Perfect Parenting: The Dictionary of 1,000 Parenting Tips, you will become better prepared.  

Perfect Parenting consists of three books divided into three parts.  The book lists common problems and situations that may occur while raising children.  The situations are alphabetized for easy reference.  Pantley takes a situation such as CHORES, how to get them done, and gives an example situation, followed by Think About It, giving you, the parent, encouragement to act, ending with several solutions to try.  If you don't like one or two solutions, try another.  Her actions are short and brief which makes her books easy to refer to when a problem arises.  There is so much great information in this book.  If you are a parent, buy it.

A Guy's Guide to Life: How to Become a Man in 224 Pages or Less

A Guy's Guide to Life is an outstanding book.  The intended audience are middle and high school guys and I personally would consider it required reading for any guy in that age group.  It addresses so many of the challenging questions that teenagers ponder such as peer pressure, dating, how to dress, and sex.  My husband who is in his 30s enjoyed the book too and found many of the ideas informative even at his age.  Jason Boyett's writing comes across as very personal and real.  He encourages guys to think and act in a responsible way.  He does a great job at addressing many of the modern myths of masculinity.

Reading this book is like having an older brother who hands you a road map to adolescence success.  Although it is primarily written for guys, girls may enjoy having an insight to the minds of their male peers.  Some guys might find the chapters on relationships especially helpful as they talk them through many of the interactions they may find mysterious or challenging.  If you have a teenage son, buy them this book.  This book would be helpful to Christians and non-Christians.

Booksneeze provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.  This book is excellent and I highly recommend it.

The 7 O'Clock Bedtime

The 7 O'Clock Bedtime: Early to bed, early to rise, makes a child healthy, playful, and wise by Inda Schaenen is a good book.  While it was not exactly all that I was hoping it would be it did have several good points on helping your children go to bed earlier.  It was also packed with a lot of research on the benefits of an early bedtime for children.  In order to achieve the 7 o'clock bedtime, your family will have to alter their lifestyle completely to work around your child's bedtime.  I agree that most Americans are not getting enough sleep, especially children.  However, depending on the ages of your children getting them all to sleep by 7 o'clock is not always feasible.

I liked her concept of an earlier bedtime a lot.  One thing I thought was somewhat disturbing was she only bathes her kids once a week to help get them in bed earlier except if she thinks they are really dirty.  I know there are a lot of cultures who do not bath very often but once a week doesn't sound that great.  I think I would rather start the nighttime routine earlier or aim to have my child in bed by 7:30 so he's clean.  Or if giving your children a bath at night is too hard to work it, why not bathe them in the morning?

Also, I was hoping for a few more tips on getting a young child to sleep earlier.  I have a one year old and the earliest we have been able to get him to sleep is 7:30pm.  She used the Ferber method with her children while my family uses the attached parenting method.  Is there really no other way to get your child to sleep earlier than letting them cry it out?  Especially babies.  There are lots of ways to help your child go to sleep without leaving your young baby to cry themselves to sleep.

Overall I think this is a good read and I agree with her philosophy overall that our kids need more sleep.  I guess it's like anything, if you want to achieve something you have to sacrifice something else and not plan anything too late in the day or evening.  Not to mention there are some families that are unable to get their children to bed by 7pm because of the parents' work schedule.  If you look at the bottom line, children need more sleep, then I think however you achieve the maximum amount of sleep for your child is great.

Winner of Will the World End in 2012?

Congratulations to Michelle in the USA!  She is the winner of the book Will the World End in 2012?  Thanks everyone who participated.  Feel free to enter in the next contest.

Book Giveaway - Will the World End in 2012?

For the next 7 days, I will be conducting a Book Giveaway contest on a book I recently reviewed: Will the World End in 2012? by Raymond C. Hundley, Ph.D.  

If you would like to win this copy for your own, here are the simple rules:

1) Comment here that you want to be entered.

2) Leave a valid email address in your comment (I need a way to contact you! No email address, no entry.  Unless I already have your email address, just say so.) 

3) For an extra entry, follow my blog. If you already follow my blog, just mention that in your comment. 

4) For an additional extra entry, follow my expat blog here. If you already follow my expat blog, just mention that in your comment. 

5) Not limited to US residents. Anyone can enter.

6) If you blog about the giveaway on your blog, you get 5 extra entries! Include your blog address, so I can see it. Thanks! 

All entries must be submitted by May 25, midnight, cst. I will contact the winner by email. If I don't get a response within 3 days, another winner will be chosen. The winner will be announced on this site, when determined. All winners are picked by Random.org List Randomizer. Happy Reading!

Will the World End in 2012? by Raymond Hundley

Will the World End in 2012? by Raymond Hundley, Ph.D. is an insightful book.  Dr. Hundley debunks the top ten 2012 doomsday predictions ending with what really matters, a relationship with Christ.  He goes into just enough details to give you some knowledge on the topics and why they are believable to some and why they are not to others.  Not having much background knowledge of most of these topics it gave me a good insight without going into too many details.

Overall I liked the book.  After reading the first few chapters I started feeling paranoid that the world would soon be ending.  As a Christian, however, I know that we do not know when the world will end.  It could be December 21, 2012, or it may be tomorrow.  The fact is, even if the world does end in 2012 there is no guarantee that I or you will live that long.  Nonetheless, Dr. Hundley’s book made me reflect on my own life. One thing we all need to remember is that we will all die someday.

I like how Dr. Hundley ended the book with what really matters, our relationship with God.  He neglected to mention Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, and many other verses that talk about baptism, but the main idea of needing a relationship with Christ was there.  In the end our relationship with Christ is what will matter as we stand before the Lord on Judgment Day.

If you are interested in why people think the world is ending in 2012, then I recommend you read this.  Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

Rocking the Roles

We bought the book Rocking the Roles by Robert Lewis and William Hendricks at a Weekend to Remember marriage conference. It was one of the marriage books recommended. 

Unlike many marital role books, Lewis and Hendricks differentiate the difference between traditional marriage and Biblical marriage and examine how men and women are naturally different. Anyone who has been in a relationship with someone of the opposite sex knows men and women are different. Yet many in our modern society lean toward everything being equal and leave no room for males and females to be different. Rocking the Roles explores the Biblical core roles of husbands and wives. For example the husband’s core role is to be a Servant Leader and a wife’s core role is to be a Helper Lover. 

The authors break down how to fulfill marital roles the godly way not the traditional way that many are raised to believe. They explain how to be a Servant Leader and what it means to be a Helper Lover. The best thing about learning your role is that the “core” roles do not limit choices. Rather they help prioritize your time, energy, and commitments. If you are looking to strengthen your marriage, I recommend this book.

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness

In Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, he helps readers learn how to get out of debt and reach full financial freedom.  A friend in college gave me this book because it changed his life.  After reading it I have loaned it out to several people and have even bought it for a gift.

Ramsey's financial advice really changed mine and my husband's view of money.  After college we had a lot of debt and decided to followed Ramsey's 7 simple baby steps, as he calls them, and have paid most of our debt off. We pay cash for everything except purchases online, which goes against Ramey's philosophy but we pay the balance in full before it's due.  We even sold one of our cars so we could pay off our debt faster.  Many of our friends and family thought we were crazy when we only had one car.  Small "sacrifices" now can change your financial future in ways you cannot even imagine.  Since following Ramsey's baby steps we have had more financial freedom than we ever thought possible.  When you live within your means you are able to give and enjoy life so much more than living pay check to pay check. 

Although I didn't agree with everything in the book, for instance we paid off our highest interest loans first and are paying more extra on our mortgage than my student loan because my student loan has such a small interest, I did find the book very helpful.  A few things that I found encouraging were all the testimonies in his book.  Money is a sensitive topic for many people that it was refreshing to read stories of how people went from being in a lot of debt to having more than they ever thought possible.   This is one of my favorite financial books.  Ramsey's steps to financial freedom are simple enough that anyone can do them.  This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn how to get on the road to financial freedom.

Dave Ramsey's Seven Baby Steps:
1. Save $1,000 to start your emergency fund;
2. Pay off all debt using the debt snowball (everything but your mortgage);
3. Save 3-6 months of expenses in savings;
4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement;
5. Start saving for your children's college fund;
6. Pay off home early; and
7. Build wealth and give.

What Every Child Needs

What Every Child Needs by Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall was given to me at one of my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meetings.  This book is mainly written to new mothers, although fathers could learn from it too.  

This book reads like a parenting manual.  It emphasizes the nine basic needs each child has for love and how to give and show these kinds of love to your child.  The nine basic needs mentioned in the book are: Security, Belonging, Guidance, Play, Affirmation, Discipline, Respect, Independence, and Hope.  As a new mom, I am constantly searching for direction.  This book helped break down motherhood and gave a lot of examples of how I can be a great mom just by being myself.  Not only does the book give examples of how to love your child it also gives ideas if you are having difficulty showing your child love. I now have more confidence and know-how on showing and giving my child the love he needs.  I highly recommend this book.

My Musings

Welcome!  I hope you find my blog useful as you are considering reading certain books. I will mainly be reviewing books published by Thomas Nelson but will accept other books to review as well. Please leave a comment if you have read the book or if you have any questions about it.  Happy reading!