Review: It’s All About Him

Title: It’s All About Him

Author: Denise Jackson

Summary: From Christian Book Distributors

Take an inspiring behind-the-scenes glimpse at one of country music’s most famous couples. Learn about Alan and Denise’s struggles and success, their love story and the near-failure of their marriage—and how rediscovering their faith dramatically shaped their lives. Includes an exclusive CD featuring their wedding song and Alan’s new composition about their shared journey. 256 pages, hardcover from Nelson.

Positive Elements: Mrs. Jackson takes readers inside an honest and poignant journey of the struggles she faces in a celebrity marriage. The Him in the title refers to God and not her famous husband. If you think that you will be getting an inside scoop on Alan Jackson’s personal life you will be dissapointed. Though raised in a Christian home, Denise’s child-like understanding of God failed to comfort her during several major life crisis, including the separation from her husband. When every attempt to console herself during crisis failed, Denise decided to renew her relationship with God. She surrounded herself with Christian women, participated in Bible studies and sought counsel from godly men and women. Matthew 7:7 says, ” Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” I find that in my own walk with God that when you desire Him and His will doors are opened. I was pleased to see that Mrs. Jackson focused on her self and her own spiritual growth instead of opting to fix her husband’s flaws. She makes comments that she is no scholar of the Bible yet Scripture is referenced throughout the book in an encouraging manner. To me this reinforces the idea that God and His word are open and available to all of us and are applicable to our everyday walk with its struggles and triumphs.

Sexual Content: None

Violent Content: None

Profanity: None

Drug Content: None

Conclusion: Finally a celebrity couple who really gets who God is and what he can do. It seems everywhere these days celebrities are endorsing this faith or that, dabbling in mysticism or some other New Age religion on the path to happiness. The Jacksons have discovered what so many in their industry have not found: that pure happiness and contentmen comes from our Lord. Denise makes it clear how easy it was for her to be enticed by wordly things when she lost sight of God. I admire her honesty in the book. Admitting personal failures is always taking a risk with your readers . I applaud this couple at their desire to restore their marriage and for doing the hard work to keep their family together. Mrs. Jackson does unecessarily include many references to her material possessions and extravagant wealth. I suppose she does this to provide the readers with a complete picture of the lack of fullfillment she felt despite “having it all.”

A Sling and a Stone

Faith in God. Do you have it? To say you have faith in God when things are going well is easy to do. To have faith in God in the little things we ask is simple. To have faith in God when the world is not as it should be, is tough. To have faith in God when you’ve asked (or prayed to him about) the big questions is difficult. I feel that recently God has been bringing the idea of faith to the forefront in my mind. Do I really have the kind of faith that it takes to believe in Him to take care of ALL things? In the last few months, He has placed in my life several people who have had to show extreme faith in God in the big things in life (finances, jobs, family situations, housing). These belivers have shown the faith in God that it takes. Not faith that God will exactly do what they wanted, but faith that His will would be done. After each event has occured, I feel like God is saying to me “See, I told you I can do it. Just have faith in me” . I praise God for these people and the lessons they have taught me. God says to walk by faith and not by sight. Do you have the faith that it takes to stand against a giant with a sling and a stone?

Watch God Tube Video

Summer Fun

The season of summer is upon us. Our kids are looking for fun things to do. I have come up with a list of fun things that you can do with your children at home. My background is in early childhood, so the activities tend to lean towards younger children. Happy Summer!

1. Go on a nature walk. This is a great time to talk about God’s creation. Collect things along you walk. When you get home, sort the items you collected. After you sort them, ask your child if they know another way they could sort them.

2. Write or type Bible verses on a sheet of paper. Cut the Bible verse apart. See if your child can put the Bible verse back together again.

3. Tell the story of Noah and the ark. Make a list of animals. Go outside and lay in the grass. Look up at the clouds and see if you can see any of the animals on your list.

4. FiIll a large tub or pool with water. Bring out household items such as pots, cups, bowls, etc. Have your child fill up the items and discover which item holds more water. This also works great with sand.

5. Go on a neighborhood scavenger hunt. Make a list of things to look for in your neighborhood ( the neighborhood entrance sign, Mr. X’s mailbox). Check off each item as you find it.

6. Make a simple lunch and go out and have a picnic. If it is raining, spread a blanket on the kitchen floor and have an indoor picnic. My daughter loves it when we have indoor picnics!

7. Get a list of people at your church that are in need of encouragement. Sit down with your child and have them draw a picture or write a letter to that person. Mail them. Children’s art work and writings are special!

8. Tell your child your favorite Bible story. Have them make clay characters and retell the story. The following is a clay recipe from Highlights High Five magazine for children:

Pour 2 cups of baking soda, 1 cup of corn starch and 1 1/4 cups of water into a pot. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring until it looks like mashed potatoes. Let the clay cool. Divide into 4 pieces. Add food coloring and knead until smooth. Have your child create their characters. Place them to dry in the sun.

9. Print out Bible coloring pages from the internet. Allow your child to choose what pictures they like. Use 2 pieces of construction paper to create a front and back cover. Gather the pages together and punch with a 3 ring hold punch. Tie together with yarn. Your child will have great fun coloring a book that they created.

Hope you enjoy these activities!

Novel Review: The Next Thing on My List

Title: The Next Thing on My List

Author: Jill Smolinski

Summary ( From Publisher’s Weekly):
Smolinski follows up her debut, Flip-Flopped, with an airy, hit and mostly miss novel about one rudderless woman’s accidental journey of self-discovery. After a Weight Watchers meeting, narrator June Parker offers a ride home to newly svelte Marissa Jones, and the two hit it off until Marissa dies in a nasty one-car accident. When June runs into Marissa’s hot brother at the cemetery six months after the crash, she makes a rash promise to carry out the dead girl’s list of 20 things to do before she turned 25 (even though June is 34). The challenges that follow—running a 5K, kissing a stranger, “dare to go braless”—serve less to improve June’s life than to highlight how unfortunate it is that she’s taken up a stranger’s goals instead of her own. Smolinski’s Los Angeles is a well-executed set—June tilts at windmills as a writer for a ride-sharing nonprofit—but the most human characters in it are June’s tyrannical and calculating boss and her secretly sensitive, underused brother. Though completing the list is a transformative experience for June, the leadup fizzles. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Postive Elements: Ms. Smolinski pens a story that all of us can relate to. We have all at some point wanted to accomplish something important. The characters are ordinary people who live their lives just like the reader(s) that the author is targeting. I enjoyed the flow of this story and thought that it “read” very quickly. I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next.

Sexual Content: There is a teen pregnancy in the story.

June has to complete a task on the list that involves “kissing a total stranger.” There are also several sexual references made to her not having had sex for a long time due not having a boyfriend. Finally, she openly lusts after a man to whom she is attracted.

Violent Content: None

Profanity: I recall a few instances of profanity in this story. They easily could have been left out.

Drug Content: None

Conclusion: This novel is a great summer read. I enjoyed the theme of the story, as well as the characters. I only wish the ending was a little different. This story got me thinking about things. Should I have a list of things that I want to accomplish before I meet God? I decided the answer was no. I was just going to do better about living my life day to day. Taking care of and loving things that are important — family.

God is Awesome!

Our church held our annual Vacation Bible School this week. The theme reinforced throughout the week was “God is Awesome.” What powerful words are contained in that three word sentence. Is it even possible for us to understand and fathom the awesomeness of our Creator? I had a glimpse of the awesome work of God this week.

My family faced a battle this week. Without going in to a lot of details, part of our fight occurred in the public forum. It was truly and Joshua vs Jericho battle. We, along with many friends and family prayed that God would be glorified and His good and perfect will be done in this situation. God intervened for us and gave us success in our battle. The fight continues though, and even if the end does not result in a positive outcome for us, I will continue praise and thank God for the amazing way He has shown himself to me this week. God is Awesome!!

If God is for us, who can be against us? Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death or life, neither angels or demons, neither heights or depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31b, 35, 37-39