My Review of Regret Free Parenting by Catherine Hickem

Regret Free Parenting by Catherine Hickem was such an encouraging book. It is honestly one of the best parenting books I have read in a long time. I'm sure that I, like most moms, worry if the principles that I am teaching my children are taking root in their heart and not just their head. In this book, Hickem focuses on 7 principles that mothers should focus on as we parent our children (understanding your purpose, knowing and affirming your child, keeping vision, developing emotional intelligence, maintaining your parent position, addressing your fears, and being dependent on God.) The book focuses on an overall game plan and vision that mothers should maintain, looking past the every day moments and situations we deal with and keeping the long term goal of parenting in sight. I love that Hickem doesn't paint a picture of a "Leave It To Beaver" type of home, but she does illustrate that even in trying and difficult situations, we can be a successful parent. While not advocating that parents should be their children's "friend" instead of their parent, there is very much an emphasis on knowing and understanding your children and developing a strong relationship with them. Regret free does not mean mistake free, but even with our mistakes, we can raise our kids to be healthy adults with proper boundaries. All of the principles in this book were very attainable and doable. I left the book encoraged and with the determination to use these guidelines in my parenting. I plan to read this book again with my pen in hand. There were so many thoughts that were profound that I want to make sure I didn't miss anything. I will be suggesting this book to other moms (and dad's). I think it is a resource that every parent should own. I was given a copy of this book by BookSneeze but was not obligated to provide a positive review.

My Review of Beneath the Night Tree by Nicole Baart

Beneath the Night Tree is the story of Julia DeSmit, a single mother who lives with her 5 year old son, 10 year old brother and her grandmother. Their family is far from perfect, but they love each other and try to make the best of the life they have together. As Julia plans her wedding to her fiance, Michael, she is suddenly contacted by Parker, the father of her son who she has not heard from since she became pregnant. As Julia faces all the emotions that come with reconnecting to Parker, at the same time she recognizes that her son has a right to know his father. The characters in the story face a variety of situations that we deal with in real life every day. I appeciated the fact that the people in the story struggled with different emotions and decisions and didn't automatically say, feel or do the right thing just because this was a Christian novel. I felt that I could relate to the characters and how they felt.
I found this novel to be refreshing in that the characters don't all end up living happily ever after and all of the problems that the chacters face don't simply disappear when two people fall in love. There is not a simple or obvious answer in which everyone in the story walks away with all their dreams coming true. The story was true to life in the sense that we live with our choices and life doesn't always unfold the way that we plan. Sometimes we make decisions that are not easy and then we rely on God to help us walk through the consequences of those choices. Nicole Baart has a beautiful writing style that holds your interest and attenton from the first page. She eloquently illustrates that life is often complicated, but that we can choose to allow God to be involved in our lives and He can turn our "messes" into something wonderful. Simply put, we can trust God with our good and our bad.
I received a copy of this book for review from Tyndale Publishers and was not obligated to give a positive opinion. This book is the third book in a series and I look forward to reading the first two as well.

My Review of The Ultimate DVD Read and Share Bible

I was excited to receive a copy of The Ultimate DVD Read and Share Bible from Book Sneeze to review since I have small children. My five year old watched the DVDs as soon as the package came in the mail and loved them. She wanted to watch them over and over since then. I found the book and DVD combo to be very useful for our evening Bible story time. We read the story and then watched the DVD chapter afterwards. My husband and I both felt like it was a great way to reinforce the concepts of each story and that the lessons were retained better. The stories in the book are short enough to hold the child's attention, yet still get across the point of the story. The pictures are bright and colorful in the book and even my two year old stayed interested in the stories. The DVD simply tells each story with a narrator and a few lines from the characters in the story. As a teacher of small children in church, I think that this book and DVD set could also be used in Sunday School or Bible classes at church as an additional resource. I also liked the feature at the beginning of the book where the Contents tell where each story can be found in the Bible. My family really likes The Ultimate DVD Read and Share Bible and I have a feeling that it will be watched many times in our home. I will definitely be suggesting this book to other parents.