Thursday, December 13, 2012

Tyndale Rewards

Just a quick reminder that Tyndale House Publishers is still accepting new signups for their Rewards program! Earn easy points by reviewing Tyndale media, taking surveys, and sharing the site with friends. Points can easily be redeemed for any of a variety of titles, or Bibles. This would be a great way to earn new titles that you might be interested in! To sign up, click HERE

Friday, December 7, 2012

Live Second

"Live Second" by Doug Bender is a 365-day devotional intended to challenge the reader to live a life that puts God first. The book is broken up into 12 sessions, covering topics such as: leading, growing, and commitment, among others. Each day offers a one page reading and devotional, so there is really no reason that anyone couldn't fit this book into their daily routine - before bed, at breakfast, or on their lunch. The daily reading offers a personal story, or a short message to read. In some cases, there are scan codes that can be scanned with a smartphone, that link to video messages in place of an actual written message. 

Each week, the Day #1 devotional offers a "What It Says" and "What It Means" section, that essentially offers up discussion questions that can be answered independently or in a small group setting.  It also offers a "Practice It" section that helps you put into practice some of the information gained from that day's message. Every day's devotional offers a "Live It" and "Tell It" sections that asks you how you will live more Second that day, and how you will share what you have learned. These challenge the reader to implement the knowledge gained, and share it with others on a daily basis. Each day starts with a verse or verses from Scripture, and the message and personal questions that follow are all related to that verse. Days #2 through #7 also offer a "Talk With God" section that offers a suggested prayer for the day, tied into the overall message of the day. 


What I really appreciated about this book is that the daily readings are short, and easy to fit into the day. Even though they are relatively short, there is really a lot of information in each day's message. Between the Bible verses, message, and reflections, as well as the prayer, you really do feel like you are learning how to live second, and put Christ first in daily life. I also like that each day offers a reminder of how the reader can share that day's message with others. 

I thought this book was a really different kind of devotional, and I really liked it! I would highly recommend this book to anyone - it is the perfect book for fitting into a daily routine, and I love the message of living a life of being second. I would rate this book a 5/5. 

FTC DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from BookSneeze.com, through their books for bloggers program in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review. 


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Would You Read Me To Sleep?

"Would You... Read Me To Sleep" by George Edenfield is a cute story of a little girl and her father and their special time together each day when the father reads to her. The story follows Leia as a young girl, and the "great treasure" that her father tells her about, and the stories he reads to her from the "big storybook". Leia's father tells her about the "Great Treasure of Golden Destiny" and the "Seven Golden Keys" that she would have to discover in order to unlock the treasure. Throughout their storytime, Leia's father tells her the great stories of the Bible. As Leia gets older, the story continues, following her as she tells the same stories to her own children.

The story comes full circle as Leia's father is dying, and she reads to him from the "big storybook". While this story is a touching one, I didn't feel is was appropriate for young children. I would definitely recommend this one for ages 7 and up, as the story is longer than most for younger children, and the vocabulary choices make it harder for young children to fully understand the meaning of the story itself. The illustrations in this book are beautiful, and resemble paintings that take up large portions of the pages.

I thought this book was well-written, and touching as the story comes full circle as Leia reads to her father. The ending is a little sad, as Leia's father is clearly dying, and that might be a hard concept for younger children, as well. The binding of this book is hardback, which makes it great for gifting. The book itself is around 15 pages of actual text, and 15 pages of illustrations.

FTC DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from BookCrash.com's Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review.