Big Truths for Young Hearts

It isn’t easy to teach young children about the depth and scope of Christian faith.  Too often they fall in love with the stories and blindly play follow the leader with their parent’s faith.  They understand only enough to be dangerous, or easily fooled.  Then adulthood arrives and questions surface.  Finding understanding of their own can be very challenging.  I believe that’s why there is a notable lack of young adult’s from our congregations,leaving a gaping hole in our churches.  If true, biblical, understanding could be achieved and experienced first hand in childhood I think our churches would be fuller and more dynamic.  Our world could be better evangelized if we took the time to equip our children with knowledge when they are young.

Big Truths for Young Hearts doesn’t talk baby talk or diminish a child’s ability to understand weighty biblical concepts.  Yet, it isn’t too heavy for them to grasp.  I think what makes this book work so well is that it is written in brief chapters that respect the attention spans of children.  Each chapter also contains questions for review and discussion.

Concepts like the revelation of God, the Trinity, Creation, the ramifications of sin, the nature of Jesus, and the path to Salvation (etc.) might seem tricky to explain to a child.  Maybe that’s why we simplify for their young hearts and turn theology into entertainment.

Reading this book really showed me that God is exciting enough for kids to want to understand.  He doesn’t need my crazy or flashy attempts at making Him better understood.  God’s word was written with all age levels and people in mind and it draws men, women and children alike to the undeniable truth of God.   

Big Truths for Young Hearts is written for children 6-14.  We followed the recommended instructions and read a chapter each night before bed.  I was surprised when my 4-year-old joined in to answer review questions right along with the others.

The author of Big Truths for Young Hearts, Bruce A. Ware, has credentials that point to his education and biblical knowledge.  He is the professor of Christian theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  He’s authored other books as well.  However, most impressive of his credentials is what his children write in the foreword.  When children can acknowledge their parents as Godly leaders and Christian examples that shaped them into lifelong followers, I think that’s enough to impress me.

I appreciated the honesty of his daughters when they wrote:

” . . .we’re so glad that you’re learning truths about God! It doesn’t always seem fun to have to sit and listen to your parents. But this subject is actually more exciting than anything else you could think of. . .”

It’s not easy for them or for us.  Committing to scheduled family devotions can always create challenges when we have antsy little ones who might prefer to do something else.  However, the value is eternal with eternal rewards.

To parents they wrote:

” . . .it may sound cliché, but we followed our father’s teaching in part because he practiced what he preached. ”

My opinion:

1.Pick up a copy of Big Truths for Young Hearts.  You can buy a copy at www.crossway.org/blog.

2. Make a routine of reading a chapter each night with your children. 

3.  Did they listen to you as you read?  If so, you might think that the biggest challenge is over. Think again.

4. The hardest part: Follow the author’s awesome example and Live what you teach.  Apply what you’re teaching them to your own life.  Be the example for them to follow.

Happy Reading!

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of Crossway, December 2009 

Learn & Master Guitar

The Student Edition of Learn & Master Guitar includes 20 sessions of instruction. You will receive a sturdy box that closes magnetically and contains all that you need, except the guitar. Inside you will find a 107-page Lesson Book containing tablature and session assignments and a Teacher Guide including weekly practice logs and tips for evaluating skill. Also included are 10 Session DVDs, 10 Bonus Workshop DVDs for extended practice, 5 Jam Along CDs for even more practice, 2 Teacher Resource CDs, and a downloadable resource book with overviews, worksheets, and bonus songs. Again, you will need to purchase your own guitar for this course, but there are packages available at the company's website that include the above-mentioned items along with a Greg Bennett guitar at a pretty fair price. They even take monthly payments. 

The lessons will take about 35 minutes each day. You will begin by watching a 20-minute session and follow up with a 15-minute workshop. Of course, you need to practice daily to improve. The teacher materials are good for tracking practice and ensuring the accountability to stick with it. Workshop sessions include a little pep talk with the instructor, who does a pretty good job at tackling the feelings of a beginner and providing encouragement to keep practicing. 

I was excited to review this product, and I've used it right along with my daughter. I've always wanted to learn guitar, and my daughter shares my ambition. Honestly, she's doing better in the course right now and can already play a few chords clearly. We've enjoyed learning together. We laughed our heads off after our first session workshop when the instructor literally quoted all our whiny complaints about our aching fingers and slow learning. I think the course is perfectly suited to homeschooling, and I am benefiting from the learn-at-your-own-pace approach. It's okay to practice the same session again and again until you get it. Just keep practicing! 

I already owned a guitar, and my daughter had a child's practice guitar. Her guitar has proven to be a bit of a pain. The strings seem to loosen easily, and we have to retune it often. The sound quality just isn't that great. So I would encourage you to take the instrument purchase as seriously as the lessons. 

The only disadvantage I see with Learn & Master Guitar is that I don't have a real fear of letting down the instructor. Fear of disappointing a physical person can be a good motivation to practice. Using the Learn & Master Guitar method requires your dedication. If you don't want to learn, you simply won't. It's very important to set up a special practice time in your schedule and purpose not to miss it for anything. 

Learn & Master Guitar is a good product. It's a fun way to learn guitar, and I would recommend it to others. If I were purchasing Learn & Master Guitar personally, I would look into the package that includes the guitar. I think it's a well-priced deal. 

Go to www.learnandmaster.com to learn more.

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine, LLC, December 2009 

God's Mighty Hand: Providential Occurrences in World History

God's Mighty Hand: Providential Occurrences in World History is a compilation of meaningful stories that depict God's goodness, provision, and protection toward His people. The Mp3 CD contains 12 hours and 45 minutes of audio stories that beautifully remind listeners of God's faithfulness. Listeners will learn how God worked in the lives of historic people like St. Patrick, Charlemagne, Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill, Corrie ten Boon, and many more. 

Because it is an Mp3 CD, you cannot play God's Mighty Hand on a standard CD player. Instead, listen to it on your computer CD or DVD player. We played it on the DVD player without any problem. This audio recording can be used many ways. At my house the kids listened to a story each day and marked a summary of the information into our family timeline project book. You might choose to play one of the stories as a devotional or as a bedtime story. You could use it as a supplemental tool for teaching history or religion. 

God's Mighty Hand: Providential Occurrences in World History is a powerful CD that inspired my children and stirred my heart. The stories are filled with Christian encouragement and historically rich information. My family was blessed to listen to such faith-building stories. The real-life encounters with the miraculous amazed us. I'm still feeling stirred by the story of King Clovis and the prayers of his wife. Wow! You'll be in awe of what God can do when we call on Him. 

Early on I wished that the CD were formatted differently. I thought it would be good for the kids to listen to in the car, but my car CD player is not Mp3 compatible. After listening to the CD, I am glad that it wasn't as portable as I had initially hoped. It's good to be still and give it your full attention, chew on it, meditate on what God did and can do still in the lives of those who love and follow Him. I think the depth of the content would have been harder to grasp on a car ride. That's how my only negative turned out to be another positive. 

I highly recommend God's Mighty Hand: Providential Occurrences in World History to all Christian families. Priced as low as $25, it's a wonderful investment for your family. Every Christian homeschool should have a copy. 

You can purchase yours at www.jimhodgesaudiobooks.com

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine, LLC, December 2009 

Extraordinary

John Bevere has a wonderful talent for inspiring Christians to examine their faith.  His writing is always a challenging “I dare you to go deeper” approach that will set a spark in your spirit or wake you up to what you could have.

Extraordinary: The Life You’re Meant To Have is a well-written challenge to surrender the simple in search for the fantastic.  It’s an attempt to stir Christians to make use of the gifts and abilities God has placed in them.  It’s a call to be more than just the average joe.  Extraordinary sparks hope inside the reader and wakes up the dreams we have undermined with doubt and fear.

The first chapter perfectly expresses Bevere’s heart and purpose for writing.  This chapter ends with a prayer.  Each chapter is written with a very personable voice.  Chapters are concluded with questions for review and reflection. 

I always feel a little bad when I read books by John Bevere.  Somebody worked a lot of hours to create the pages and bind them into this wonderful looking book and there I sit with my pen in hand marking it up from front to back.  With notes and underlined sections all over the place, John Bevere books always end up looking more like a spirit-led journal once I’m through with them.  The truth is I learn a ton with every sentence.

Extraordinary begins with the definition of the title word.  To be ”beyond what is unusual, exceptional, exceeding the common measure.”  If we can learn to live this book and the scriptural foundation it’s built on, we could take our world by storm.  We could overwhelm them with the talents of God manifested in his children.

Personally, I received the majority of the message God had for me through this book on the second chapter.  I re-read it over and over again.  Boy do I struggle with concept of how deep God’s love is for me.  The fact that God loves and values me whether I am viewed as extraordinary to the world or not just amazes me.  It makes me want to do big things, not to gain His love, but to demonstrate the courage His love gives me.   

I will be recommending this book to friends.  I’ve already mentioned it to my Pastor’s wife who is now dying to read it.  She’ll have to get her own copy though.  Mine is too marked up with eye-opening notes.

You can order your  copy of Extraordinary here.

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of Random House, October 2009 

A Family Guide to the Bible

A Family Guide to the Bible by Christin Ditchfield is a historic look at the making of the Bible as well as a brief book by book overview of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  Readers will learn about the authority and message of the Bible as well as how to study it and where to find important verses.

I think this book is more for older middle school children to enjoy with their families.  It can work with younger children if you pre-read each chapter and paraphrase to their understanding.

We were just learning about  the Guttenberg press when my review copy arrived.  It was great to be able to read to my daughter the impact the press had on the accessibility of the Bible. 

In homeschooling my children often have scriptures assigned for copywork.  This book provides wonderful lists of good scriptures for Christians to hide in their hearts.  I love the section on Verses to Help You Celebrate Holidays.  We are working on Thanksgiving scriptures right now.

There are also maps in the back of the book which are helpful.

With some preparation and a bit of reading ahead, this book would be a wonderful resource for teaching the purpose and history of the Bible to kids.  

You can find this book at www.crossway.org/blog

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of Crossway, October 2009 

If God is Good

Summary:  

Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us. delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all. Alcorn, Randy

In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God–Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? And then, how can there be a God if suffering and evil exist?

These are ancient questions, but also modern ones as well. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.

In this captivating new book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.

Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world–now and forever. And he equips you to share your faith more clearly and genuinely in this world of pain and fear.

As he did in his best-selling book, Heaven

Author Bio:

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspectives Ministries and a bestselling author. His novels includeDeadline, Dominion, Edge of Eternity, Lord Foulgrin’s Letters, The Ishbane Conspiracy, and the Gold Medallion winner, Safely Home. He has written eighteen nonfiction books as well, including Heaven, The Treasure Principle, The Purity Principle, and The Grace and Truth Paradox. Randy and his wife, Nanci, live in Oregon and have two married daughters and four grandsons.

My Review:

Randy Alcorn takes a different approach to suffering in his book If God Is Good Faith In The Midst of Suffering and Evil.  Where many books on this topic tend to center around feeling, emotions and reaction Randy’s Book deals with logic.  He provides detailed scriptural evidence and analytical thought to the problems that plague all of humanity. 

Sin is a real problem and to understand it is to understand pain on a much deeper level.  Randy writes about the root of sin from it’s very first occurance and provides a roadmap through scripture of sin’s effects and how to overcome them.  This book also tackles our confusion about God’s character that causes even christians to waver in their faith.  Problems and trials are hard to line up with the idea of a good God, but when you come to the last page of If God is Good you will understand God in a new way.  You’ll be ready to trust Him with your problems when they come.

One of my favorite spots in this book included Ch. 11 A Study: Bart Ehrman, a “Christian” who Lost His Faith.  This chapter was a rich and thought-provoking warning of the dangers in questioning God’s wisdom and goodness.  I was challenged by it.

I also love what Randy writes on Pg.488:

“Suffering is limited.  It could be far worse.

Suffering is temperal. It could last far longer.

Suffering, as we’ve seen, produces some desirable good.  It can make us better people, and it can reveal God’s character in ways that bring him glory and bring us good.”

Wow!

If you are facing a time of suffering, pain or trial I recommend checking out Randy Alcorn’s If God Is Good.

You can go here to purhase this book online. 

West Oversea

As teachers, we often need to learn about subjects of little to no interest to us. That's exactly how I felt about Vikings when I placed them on our list of things to study this year. After reading West Oversea, I find the subject fascinating me. West Oversea is an adventure novel set during the time of Leif Ericson. The story is told in first person by Father Ailil, the priest to Erling Skjalgsson. Erling is a good man who seeks to see the spread of Christianity in Norway. He is an honorable leader, a friend to slaves, and a willing adventurer. When Father Ailil suggests going to Greenland for the purpose of finding his long lost sister, Erling is kind enough to agree. The trip is complicated by demonic forces that grab hold of all they can get, beginning with Father Ailil. 

West Oversea provides an educational and entertaining view of Viking life. It's also a great morality tale that addresses temptations and the effects of sin in the spirit realm. Some parts of the book were high action. Others were quiet and thought provoking. The list of characters was extensive and a bit intimidating. Nevertheless, I was completely locked into the story before I even finished the first chapter. I was locked into the story. I truly didn't expect to get hooked! 

I believe West Oversea is most appropriate for upper middle or high school ages. There are instances of foul language in the book, and Father Ailil has a struggle with lust that is alluded to but not graphically explored. Parents may want to read the book prior to giving it to their child. Reading it ahead would also allow you to discuss truth, temptation, greed, and many other interesting topics. It's important to remember that West Oversea is a depiction of Christianity forming in Norway. These characters are not well-versed Christians, and they are portrayed as men who seek God while struggling with releasing their pagan ways. If you prefer to avoid flawed characters, then you will want to stay clear of this book. 

I enjoyed West Oversea very much. I felt so caught up in the story that I could almost feel the fierce cold of the Icelandic snow. I would recommend this book to others. The price is typical for books of this length. For $12.95 you can join me and become hooked on the fascinating life of Vikings. 

You can order your copy at www.sendmethatbook.com.

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine, LLC, October 2009 

Stray Affections

 

About the Author: 

Charlene Ann Baumbich is a popular author and speaker and an award-winning journalist. In addition to her Dearest Dorothy series of novels, she has written seven nonfiction books of humor and inspiration. A bungee-jumping, once motorcycle-owning grandma and unabashed dog lover, Charlene lives with her husband and rescued dog Kornflake in Glen Ellyn , Illinois . She loves telling stories, laughing whenever possible, and considers herself a Wild Child of God.

My Thoughts:

It’s truly hard to decide what I like most about Stray Affections by Charlene Ann Baumbich.  Her writing style is so easy and well paced that it requires no effort to get caught up into her wonderful story.

Stray Affections is the first story in the new Snowglobe Connections series by Charlene Ann Baumbich.

The story centers on Cassandra Higgins who  is doing life, but not really living it.  She sacrificed her dreams a long time ago.  She felt that she didn’t deserve them anymore.

   She’s given up on her plan and has resigned herself to a life of pleasing others- or trying to.  Some people are impossible to please, like her mother. 

Cassandra’s life begins to take a wild and crazy turn when she purchases a snow globe at a  collector’s convention.  The figures inside the snow globe remind her of herself and the dogs she loved as a child.  With a rotten childhood marked by her father’s alcoholism and eventual suicide and her mother’s unapproachable hardness, these animals had been her saving grace.   Them and Grandpa Wonky.  Somehow holding that snow globe felt magical and made her remember feelings and dreams that had been buried for years.

When the figures disappear from the snow globe Cassandra is mesmerized by the mystery of it.

Her questions and obsessions about the snow globe, combined with her erratic behavior, begin to stir the people around her to change.

Stray Affections is a beautiful story of new beginnings and second chances.

I also love the aspect of this story that reflects the different perspectives of the characters and how they perceive each other.  I loved reading about Cassandra’s mom “Bad Betty” who didn’t mean to be bad, but simply loved in a fearful way that her daughter read as judgement.

I think it’s always good to be reminded about assumptions.  I really struggle with them in my own life.  Stray Affections is careful to show all the angles of a character making them full and solid enough to be believable . . .even familiar.

This is a wonderful book.  I loved the story and (I hope I’m not too honest here) I loved the length of the chapters.  She packs a ton of plot into each little chapter.  If you have four little ones running around like I do then I’m sure you’ll appreciate the ease of her story too. 

At the back of the book you’ll find recipes and a readers guide that just enhance this book with a bit more fun.

Check out this excellent video promo for Stray Affections with Charlene Ann Baumbich introducing her book:  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=101927788491

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWwya52SkjU

You can find Stray Affections here  for $13.99.

You can also have some fun by visiting www.charleneannbaumbich.com

In honor of this story and the author’s love of dogs I simply had to post a picture of my own mutt treassure along with this review.  Izzy was 4 when I got her 7 years ago. 

 

She’s getting gray and she can hardly hear.  She’s gotten lazy in her old age, but there is still one thing she does wonderfully . . .she loves me.  If you don’t have a dog, now is an excellent time to visit the pound.  These dogs are the most in need of love and the best at giving it.

 Happy Reading!

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of WaterBrook, September 2009 

The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper

Summary:

The future is clearly mapped out for New York socialite Eugenia “Gennie” Cooper, but she secretly longs to slip into the boots of her favorite dime-novel heroine and experience just one adventure before settling down. When the opportunity arises, Gennie jumps at the chance to experience the Wild West, but her plans go awry when she is drawn into the lives of silver baron Daniel Beck and his daughter and finds herself caring for them more than is prudent–especially as she’s supposed to go back to New York and marry another man.

As Gennie adapts to the rough-and-tumble world of 1880s Colorado , she must decide whether her future lies with the enigmatic Daniel Beck or back home with the life planned for her since birth. The question is whether Daniel’s past–and disgruntled miners bent on revenge–will take that choice away from her.

About The Author:

Kathleen Y’Barbo is the best-selling, award-winning author of more than thirty novels, novellas, and young adult books, with more than a half-million in print. A graduate of Texas A&M University , she is currently a publicist with Books & Such literary agency.

Interested?  Go here to order The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper. 

Kathleen Y’Barbo is a great author that I recognize and admire.  For that reason,  I’ll be reading this book in my near future despite the fact that I’m not a big wild west fan.  When I complete it I’ll be sure to post again and let you know what I think. 

Truth is, there are lots of styles and genres available at Random House to suite a wide variety of readers.  Find a book you can’t put down at Random House.

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of Random House, August 2009 

Rose House

A vivid story of a private grief, a secret painting, and one woman’s search for hope.

Still mourning the loss of her family in a tragic accident, Lillian Diamon finds herself drawn back to the Rose House, a quiet cottage where four years earlier she had poured out her anguish among its fragrant blossoms.

She returns to the rolling hills and lush vineyards of the Sonoma Valley in search of something she can’t quite name. But then Lillian stumbles onto an unexpected discovery: displayed in the La Rosaleda Gallery is a painting that captures every detail of her most private moment of misery, from the sorrow etched across her face to the sandals on her feet.

What kind of artist would dare to intrude on such a personal scene, and how did he happen to witness Lillian’s pain? As the mystery surrounding the portrait becomes entangled with the accident that claimed the lives of her husband and children, Lillian is forced to rethink her assumptions about what really happened that day.

A captivating novel rich with detail, Rose House explores how the brushstrokes of pain can illuminate the true beauty of life.

About the author:

Tina Ann Forkner is the author of Ruby Among Us. Originally from Oklahoma , she now lives with her husband and three children in Wyoming , where she serves on the Laramie County Library Foundation’s board of directors.

My (brief) thoughts:

Personally, I’m approaching a move very soon.  Boxes are everywhere and the contents of my house are become less and less.  Even still, this book has remained beside my bed.  Rose House has a beautifully written plot.  It’s a powerful story that I couldn’t wait to read and hate to put down each night.  You’ll love this book!

Go here to order Rose House.  Check out more great books at Random House.

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of Random House, August 2009 

The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love

Once a month, the six women of the Sweetgum Knit Lit Society gather to discuss books and share their knitting projects. Inspired by her recently-wedded bliss, group leader Eugenie chooses “Great Love Stories in Literature” as the theme for the year’s reading list–a risky selection for a group whose members span the spectrum of age and relationship status.

As the Knit Lit ladies read and discus classic romances like Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, and Pride and Prejudice, each member is confronted with her own perception about love. Camille’s unexpected reunion with an old crush forces her to confront conflicting desires. Newly widowed Esther finds her role in Sweetgum changing and is surprised by two unlikely friends. Hannah isn’t sure she’s ready for the trials of first love. Newcomer Maria finds her life turned upside-down by increasing family obligations and a handsome, arrogant lawyer, and Eugenie and Merry are both asked to make sacrifices for their husbands that challenge their principles.

Even in a sleepy, southern town like Sweetgum , Tennessee , love isn’t easy. The Knit Lit ladies learn they can find strength and guidance in the novels they read, the love of their family, their community–and especially in each other.

About the author:

RITA Award-winning Beth Patillo combines her love of knitting and books in her engaging Sweetgum series. Pattillo served churches in Missouri and Tennessee before founding Faith Leader, a spiritual leadership development program.

My (brief) thoughts:

I’m not finished reading about the ladies of Sweetgum, but I’m sure enjoying an escape into their world.  With every page turned I feel like a privileged inside member of the Knit Lit Society.  These ladies are as smart, funny, witty, strong and entertaining as any friend I’d hope to have.  The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love is a great southern read.

Go here to order this book.  Random House has a lot of great selections, stop by and see for yourself.

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of Random House, August 2009 

The Friends We Keep

Summary:

During a particularly painful time in her life, Sarah Zacharias Davis learned how delightful–and wounding–women can be in friendship. She saw how some friendships end badly, others die slow deaths, and how a chance acquaintance can become that enduring friend you need.

The Friends We Keep is Sarah’s thoughtful account of her own story and the stories of other women about navigating friendship. Her revealing discoveries tackle the questions every woman asks:

• Why do we long so for women friends?
• Do we need friends like we need air or food or water?
• What causes cattiness, competition, and co-dependency in too many friendships?
• Why do some friendships last forever and others only a season?
• How do I foster friendship?
• When is it time to let a friend go, and how do I do so?

With heartfelt, intelligent writing, Sarah explores these questions and more with personal stories, cultural references and history, faith, and grace. In the process, she delivers wisdom for navigating the challenges, mysteries, and delights of friendship: why we need friendships with other women, what it means to be safe in relationship, and how to embrace what a friend has to offer, whether meager or generous.

My Thoughts:

In her book, The Friends We Keep, Sarah Zacharias Davis expresses the complex nature of female friendships.  This book is an inside look at the varying degrees of friendship and how they all blend together to shape us into the women we’ve become.

Sarah Zacharias Davis references books, plays and movies that capture the depths of friendship.  Using many great examples, she writes about the ups and downs that all relationships face.  She confront the necessity of betrayal and the conflicts that pull a friendship together and make it stronger than it was.

Again, using wonderful parallels from literature, Sarah lays out the different faces and dimensions of friendship.  She addresses the importance of trust in a relationship and the value of respecting the secrets of friendship. 

Sarah gives wonderful wisdom on how to be a true friend, not by control and domination, but by quiet questioning and gently holding up a mirror of self examination.

She tackles the sticky subject of forgiveness and I love what she says:

“We forgive because, if all relationships bear a betrayal of some kind, then eventually we, too, will be in need of forgiveness.”

Sarah covers the stages and phases of friendship that travel the length of our lives through awkward self-discover to the forming of who we are and what we will become.  It’s the truly special friendship that ride the waves with us.

Readers will learn about soul friendships defined as ” . . .full disclosure, confession, sharing deep wounds and slow healing . . .”

This section is, to me, the most poignant and beautiful description of love.

The Friends We Keep discusses all forms of friendship from seasonal friendship, soul friendship, unplanned friendship and distanced friendship.  Friendship is lined up against fictional references, movie references and biblical imagery.

The Friends We Keep is beautifully written.  Even the cover is beautiful.

This book would make a wonderful gift for a friend.  It contains a detailed discussion guide at the back of the book that  leads readers to dig even deeper into the ideas and nature of friendship.

 Author Bio:

Sarah Zacharias Davisis a senior advancement officer at Pepperdine University , having joined the university after working as vice president of marketing and development for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and in strategic marketing for CNN. The daughter of best-selling writer Ravi Zacharias, Davis is the author of the critically-acclaimed Confessions from an Honest Wife andTransparent: Getting Honest About Who We are and Who We Want to Be. She graduated from Covenant College with a degree in education and lives in Los Angeles , California .

Want to know more?

You can read an excerpt of  The Friends We Keep here.

You can find The Friends We Keep at Christianbook.com for only $9.99.  Go here to order.

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of WaterBrook, August 2009 

The Friends We Keep

Summary:

During a particularly painful time in her life, Sarah Zacharias Davis learned how delightful–and wounding–women can be in friendship. She saw how some friendships end badly, others die slow deaths, and how a chance acquaintance can become that enduring friend you need.

The Friends We Keep is Sarah’s thoughtful account of her own story and the stories of other women about navigating friendship. Her revealing discoveries tackle the questions every woman asks:

• Why do we long so for women friends?
• Do we need friends like we need air or food or water?
• What causes cattiness, competition, and co-dependency in too many friendships?
• Why do some friendships last forever and others only a season?
• How do I foster friendship?
• When is it time to let a friend go, and how do I do so?

With heartfelt, intelligent writing, Sarah explores these questions and more with personal stories, cultural references and history, faith, and grace. In the process, she delivers wisdom for navigating the challenges, mysteries, and delights of friendship: why we need friendships with other women, what it means to be safe in relationship, and how to embrace what a friend has to offer, whether meager or generous.

My Thoughts:

In her book, The Friends We Keep, Sarah Zacharias Davis expresses the complex nature of female friendships.  This book is an inside look at the varying degrees of friendship and how they all blend together to shape us into the women we’ve become.

Sarah Zacharias Davis references books, plays and movies that capture the depths of friendship.  Using many great examples, she writes about the ups and downs that all relationships face.  She confront the necessity of betrayal and the conflicts that pull a friendship together and make it stronger than it was.

Again, using wonderful parallels from literature, Sarah lays out the different faces and dimensions of friendship.  She addresses the importance of trust in a relationship and the value of respecting the secrets of friendship. 

Sarah gives wonderful wisdom on how to be a true friend, not by control and domination, but by quiet questioning and gently holding up a mirror of self examination.

She tackles the sticky subject of forgiveness and I love what she says:

“We forgive because, if all relationships bear a betrayal of some kind, then eventually we, too, will be in need of forgiveness.”

Sarah covers the stages and phases of friendship that travel the length of our lives through awkward self-discover to the forming of who we are and what we will become.  It’s the truly special friendship that ride the waves with us.

Readers will learn about soul friendships defined as ” . . .full disclosure, confession, sharing deep wounds and slow healing . . .”

This section is, to me, the most poignant and beautiful description of love.

The Friends We Keep discusses all forms of friendship from seasonal friendship, soul friendship, unplanned friendship and distanced friendship.  Friendship is lined up against fictional references, movie references and biblical imagery.

The Friends We Keep is beautifully written.  Even the cover is beautiful.

This book would make a wonderful gift for a friend.  It contains a detailed discussion guide at the back of the book that  leads readers to dig even deeper into the ideas and nature of friendship.

 Author Bio:

Sarah Zacharias Davisis a senior advancement officer at Pepperdine University , having joined the university after working as vice president of marketing and development for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and in strategic marketing for CNN. The daughter of best-selling writer Ravi Zacharias, Davis is the author of the critically-acclaimed Confessions from an Honest Wife andTransparent: Getting Honest About Who We are and Who We Want to Be. She graduated from Covenant College with a degree in education and lives in Los Angeles , California .

Want to know more?

You can read an excerpt of  The Friends We Keep here.

You can find The Friends We Keep at Christianbook.com for only $9.99.  Go here to order.

* I was given this product free to review on behalf of WaterBrook, August 2009