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Which Shape Should I Be by Pamela Kennedy is a funny book teaching shapes with beautiful illustrations by Holiday Conger. It consisted of 22 pages or 11 2page spreads. Each page spread has a rhyme about the shape and then a picture to find the shape. The rhyme that my daughter is looking at in the picture is about a heart. It says “Mom and I cut cookies shaped like hearts to have with tea. Pretend to eat the cookies made the way ours would be” On the opposite page there is a girl with a cookie tray with three cookies. One cookie is a heart, the second isn’t a circle and the third cookie is a star. My two year old likes pointing to the different shapes in this board book.

I highly recommend this book for any young child learning shapes or needing a book to build their reading confidence and fluency.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BH/Lifeway Bloggers program. https://www.bhbloggers.com/ I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This is transcribed from a John Paul Jackson conference entitled Storms, Faith and the Miraculous. I have not been able to find the youtube video anymore so I post this to share because it changed how I think about circumstances.

He wants to prepare you to become what He created you to become. You are here for a purpose and He wants you to achieve that purpose.  The enemy is a faithful adversary who does not want you to achieve that purpose.  He wants to stop you from getting where God created you to go.  I love what it says in Acts 17:26-28 it says that He has taken from one blood every people and He determined the exact time they would live the exact time of their anointing and not only that the NIV says it this way and the exact place they should live.  That doesn’t mean like live in Alabama.  It means live exactly in the house number apartment number you’re living in.  And He determined that before you were born.  Why? so that you would grope for Him.  Most of us feel that way.  We’re groping for Him.  Where He at?  When’s He going to come and help us?  Even though he is not far from any of us. It goes on to say in verse 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being.  You were created for this hour. You were birthed for this moment in time you are living where you are living because God wants you to accomplish something by your mere presence.  By your mere presence.  What do I mean by that?  The Lord allowed me one time to have a vision of a young woman and about half of her day.  And she was moving from one apartment to another apartment and she was not happy.  She loved this apartment but they had raised her rent, her lease so high that she could no longer afford it.  Very upset she finally found another apartment over here some blocks away.  She’s walking into that apartment upset not knowing that the angels went to great lengths to get the other person out of that apartment and to cause the other company to raise the rent so that she would have to move because she was so comfortable there that she wouldn’t have ever moved.  Because why?  Because when she walked into that apartment I watched what happened to the powers of darkness.  I could see both worlds, the angelic realm, the physical realm, the demonic realm.  And when she walked into that apartment I heard the most terrifying shrieks I have ever heard in my life and I heard them screaming “Help us! Help us!  The Light is here!  The Light!”  Over and over hundreds of demonic voices screaming because the light had come into the room.  She did not know that she carried the light she was so aware of her own frustration about having to live here.  But the Lord wanted her there.  She doesn’t have the right food that she needs she doesn’t have sugar or something she ends up going to the store as she is going to the store she sees the store on the left hand side of the road.  She tries to move over but she can’t because there is a car right here so she has to go past  the store that is closest to her apartment goes, on down the street and before she can get over into the left lane to turn around and make a u-turn, she sees another store and she goes into that store and she doesn’t even know that the angels purposely put that car beside her so she couldn’t go into the previous store.  She is so aware of her own frustrations she doesn’t know the hand of God is guiding her. She gets into the store that she didn’t really want to go to the second store.  She gets into that store and when she gets in there she is walking up and down the isles and again the demons are shrieking demons of greed, demons of manipulation, demons of control etc, shrieking because light is walking up and down the isles.  She finally gets all the things that she needs in her shopping cart she makes her way to the checkout stand she starts to push her way into one line of the checkout stand and somebody some woman comes right in front of her and cuts her off jumps right in front.  She is so upset she changes and goes into the other checkout line.  Not knowing angels pushed that woman in front of her.  Why? Cause they didn’t want her in that checkout line, they wanted her in this checkout line.  Why?  As she’s checking out the cashier’s ringing up her groceries she is still frustrated “I can’t believe it, I can’t get over into the right lane to go to a store that is closer to me, I finally get here somebody cuts me off in front of the line.  This isn’t my day.”  Not knowing it really is her day.  As she’s checking out the cashier is looking at her and seeing something in her and saying to herself “I wish my life could be like hers not like mine.  What is it that she has?  I wish I had it. $39.95 please.”  She pays it.  She goes on out, not knowing that three more people will come across that cashier’s checkout and by the end of that day, she will be convicted and be in church tomorrow morning and give her life to the Lord.  She has no clue that she contributed to that happening.  She’s so caught up in her own emotional state, she fails to realize what the Holy Spirit has orchestrated throughout the day.  That happens to us all the time.  We live and move and have our being in this grand, great, only God of ours.  And He has arranged it so that we would be trained to know and get over the issue of the frustrating moments we go through and recognize this woman at the cash register is hungry for Jesus.  I get over my own issues and I look for what God is doing in the moment.  That’s what I have to do.  That’s what we have to do.  You want to have vision, look for what God’s doing in the moment it will open up eternity to you.

From the publisher:

When Scarlet Hiltibidal was a teenager, plastic butterfly clips were all the rage. She couldn’t understand why they didn’t look the same in her “frizzy, bulbous hair” as they did on the blonde whose mom was a professional hair stylist. Back then, she would have sanctioned the destruction of scores of actual butterflies just to own the label “pretty butterfly clips girl.” And so it goes for many girls like Scarlet who strive for self-worth yet struggle to find it.

He Numbered the Pores on My Face is for teens who long for beauty, love, and rest. Any labels you long for today might as well be “looks good in butterfly clips” if you are not rooted in who Jesus says you are, because any self­-centered identity is going to leave you in the same place: unfulfilled and unhappy. Girls will relate to Scarlet’s stories as she discusses hottie lists, eating disorders, and haphazard beauty in a way that is both humorous and thought provoking. Through it all, she describes how she found peace by learning to see life not through a mirror but through a Savior who shapes who we were, who we are, and who we will be.

My Review:

He Numbered the Pores on My Face by Scarlet Hiltibidal is a book about issues that teens face and shows them how God sees them. This book is very relatable. My teenage daughter enjoyed looking through this book. She laughed at many of the chapter titles. I like the scripture verses throughout the book and quotes written in cursive. Every page talks about how we see ourselves and how we see flaws but the Lord sees beauty and how He created us. When you look at the table of contents, the book looks short but each chapter has sub chapters full of stories that are relatable to everyone especially teens. This book talks about how God changes how we see ourselves to line up with how He sees us. He even changes our name to line up with what He is doing in us.
I recommend this book for teenagers and anyone that struggles with their identity in God or has lack of self esteem.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BH/Lifeway Bloggers program. https://www.bhbloggers.com/ I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Conquering Fear 52-Week Devotional: For Superhero Kids Ages 10-12 by Julia Ball is an amazing activity book. Although it is aimed for kids ages 10-12 I think kids as young as 7 or 8 could also enjoy this book. I think that the comic book feel and colors would attract any child of reading age. The book is divided into 52 weeks. Each week has six days of devotions. The activities range from reading, prayer prompts, coloring, word searches, other word puzzles, writing prompts, mazes, drawing activities, experiments and crafts. The pictures would intrigue any super hero fan. I love how all the scripture verses stand out in bubbles like a comic book. I received the e-book version for review which made it difficult for me to show my own kids. I want to buy paperback versions so my kids can actually do the written activities. Each week, on day one, there is a Read This! section which is a short devotional with a scripture verse and Fear Buster section. The Fear Buster is a short section that explains fears and how we can overpower them through scripture and knowing who God is. Day four is like day one. There is a Read This!” section and a scripture verse but instead of a Fear Buster there is a Prayer Prompt section which asks questions and leads the reader into prayer.  Days two, three, five and six there is a “Try This!” section which covers a variety of activities geared to make kids think and apply the scripture. I think that this activity book could be adjusted to use in a children’s ministry at a church using each six day section to cover one day a week like in Sunday School. This book explains how Jesus is a super hero and how we can be super heroes too through knowing what Jesus did, following Jesus, serving Jesus, praying, living like Jesus, loving others, sharing Jesus with others, helping others, growing in faith, worshiping, singing, asking questions about God, knowing God’s plan for our lives and future, and trusting God with our future. In the back of the book is an answer key for the puzzles. I like the full color pages and the pictures though out the book. I like how this book is full of scripture and encourages bible memorization. One page stood out to me. It is a page of scripture and the reader is given the task of doodling or drawing in the margins. I think more adults should encourage kids the many ways of engaging God’s word as this book does. I suggest this book to everyone who has kids or teaches the Bible to kids. Even teenagers might enjoy this book at a faster pace.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Hendrickson Review Program. http://www.hendrickson.com/content/hendrickson-review-program/  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Sixty years ago, Moody released a series called Everyman’s Bible Commentary series. This series has helped countless readers in their learning of understanding God and His Word. Written by a large variety of biblical scholars who were experts in their field. Now sixty years later, Moody has rereleased the series as “the Everyday Bible Commentary series” in hopes that todays generation can glean from the tried and tested biblical instruction that has helped countless people in their study. I was eager to review Psalms in the Moody review program. This commentary is split up into three groups Part 1 Psalms 1-50 : Songs of devotion, Part 2 Psalms 51-100: Songs of dedication, Part 3 Psalms 101-150 Psalms of discipleship. The author takes a few pages to write about each psalm explaining the history and comparing it to other psalms and other parts of the Bible. I enjoyed reading this commentary and I learned more than I expected. I am interested at looking into other books of this series. This commentary could easily be used as a devotional or study help while studying Psalms. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to dig deeper into Psalms and even look at the other books in this series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free in exchange for my honest review from the publisher through the Moody Blogger Review Program. http://www.mpnewsroom.com/content/blogger-review-program I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

From the Back Cover

I enjoyed this book. I greatly encourage anyone to read this book who wants to understand more of how the Holy Spirit is moving today.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House/Chosen Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Description

I decided to review Becoming a Next Level Prophet by Jennifer LeClaire because the subject really interests me. I also wanted to give the author a second chance because I read another book by Jennifer LeClaire and I really did not like it. This book is the opposite. She has so many good points and explains the ups and downs of being a prophet. I wish I had this book when I was discovering my spiritual giftings and learning about how the body of Christ operates. This book will certainly help anyone mature in their prophetic anointing. Jennifer LeClaire explains in detail several key aspects of a prophets life such as obedience, willingness, humility, selflessness, prayer, warfare, holiness, faithfulness and accountability.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about their prophetic gifting and how the body of Christ operates. This is a valuable resource that I wish I had years ago.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

From the Back Cover

From Back Cover:

Many of us have our “go to” verses. The ones we memorize, post on social media, and hang on our walls. But sometimes we need a fresh word or promise for the season we find ourselves in–something that ignites our faith in the face of fear, doubt, loneliness, insecurity, or overwhelming circumstances.

In this powerful, accessible new book, author and speaker Laurie Short mines the Scriptures, revealing insights and promises from 40 verses we often overlook. Digging in to these “in between” verses, she unearths fresh wisdom, guidance, and encouragement that will help you seek and experience God in new, dynamic ways.

From trusting God’s timing, to not worrying about the future, to holding on to faith when things look dark, the hidden insights found in these verses will help you navigate the challenges that cross your path, breathe new life into your weary soul, and ignite your faith once again.

My Review:

40 verses to Ignite Your Faith is not your typical devotional. The author takes verses that are often overlooked and shows the reader that there is meat in all of God’s word not just in the well known go to verses. Most devotionals are focused on well known sections of the Bible that everyone can relate to but 40 verses to Ignite Your Faith shows 40 verses that are just a easy to relate to. Each devotional is about three pages long and covers a variety of topics like The Subtle Insertion of Doubt, Moving Ahead of God’s Timing, Hearing God’s Voice, The Decisions before the Decision, The Story Within the Story, The Writing om Our Hearts, Running Away from God, When Circumstances Bring Doubt and The God Who Weeps. Each devotional consists of a story and has a memorable quote from the devotion like “If we never give God the things we have, we will never know what God could have done with them”. At the end of each devotional there are a set of three reflection questions.

I loved 40 verses to Ignite Your Faith by Laurie Poloch Short. I loved how it brought to light how much is right in front of us that we overlook. My favorite and most inspiring quote from this book is “Be careful when you think ‘Someone should do something’ It may end up being you” I highly recommend this book to all readers.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

From the inside dust cover:

The power of Providence:

My hope for this book is that in reading it, you will learn to discover the power of Providence in the midst of your personal pain, fear, gain, loss, and even love. What’s more, I want you to discover the very personal nature of God as He maneuvers humanity along multiple pathways, intersecting each of us in His intended aim.

My review:

Tony Evans book Pathways: From Providence to Purpose is about how personal struggles and experiences through life get us to the destiny that God has planned for us. The book captivated me on the first page and I could not put the book down from that point on. Tony Evans uses stories that we all know and can relate to and weaves in many stores that I didn’t know but I found myself explaining these stories to others. One of my favorite quotes is found on page 69 ” Because once you understand the providence of God, you’ll know that God is in the details all the more.” This book is full of stories of people’s lives and how their destiny effected everyone around them.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves history and learning through other people’s lives.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BH/Lifeway Bloggers program. https://www.bhbloggers.com/ I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”