Thursday, September 5, 2013

Fashioned to Reign | Book Review

It's Time for a Revolution

In the Garden, woman was taken out of man to stand by his side and co-reign with him. But Satan's schemes have robbed women of their rightful identity, disempowering and defacing them. The world aches for God's original partnership to be brought into balance once more--and it can be.

Join Kris Vallotton for an extraordinary journey of eye-opening insight, including

• God's true plan and purpose for women

• Jesus' radical teachings and care for women

• men's important role in restoring women

• the true meaning of difficult Bible passages about women

• examples of women in leadership as God intended

God fashioned women to reign alongside men. Jesus set women free to be beautiful and powerful. It's time for us, as daughters and sons of the King, to rule together in glory again. Will you join the revolution?

"We have failed to realize that Jesus founded the women's liberation movement more than two thousand years ago. Isn't it high time His Church led the revolution?"--Kris Vallotton


I recently read Fashioned to Reign.  The above information is from the publisher and not my words.  The reason for including this information is I really couldn’t find words to express a summary of this book.  I was extremely disappointed with Fashioned to Reign since I found no true, collective, meaning in what Kris Vallotton has written or how it explained how to fulfill my divine destiny. 

I really wanted to love this book and was extremely excited when I requested it.  I wanted to be empowered and to find out what I could do to fulfill my “divine destiny,” but when reading this I got nothing out of this book that resembled anything like the two things I wanted.  Instead, what I got was a book that talked about Adam and Eve chapter after chapter. 

I am also trying to figure out how Kris’s experience with baggage handling and searching in a small time airport relates to anything this book promised.  There are many more circumstances throughout the book, like this one, that I was questioning it’s relevance and why he would include this part of the book.  I was actually confused and lost most of the time. 

I am not saying that this isn’t a good book.  What I am saying is that it’s not a book for myself and I encourage any woman that thinks she might get something out of this book to read it. Not all women are the same and there might be one that this book can change her life.  So, please check it out and see if it is something for you. 

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.  All opinions stated are my own.*

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Live Free | Book Review

Our lives can be hectic sometimes and filled full of “what if.”  We can spend a lot of time worrying about “what if this happens” or “if only I did that instead,” that we can lose track of how to live our life filled with God’s glory.  In Live Free, Kendra Smiley, shows us how we can let go of all the worrying, even during the hardest times of our lives, to live a life of peace and joy. 

Throughout the book Kendra shows us that, while there might be circumstances that are out of our control, our reaction to those circumstances is completely our decision.  Using stories from people who have graciously told some of their most despairing times, Kendra shows us how we can chose to be content, hopeful, generous, and how we can chose these feelings daily. 

In the chapter entitled Choose to Pray, we meet a family whose baby is extremely sick with an inoperable brain tumor that was thought to be cancerous.  Now the family could have let what the doctors say be the final word, but instead they prayed and prayed and let God have the final say.  They chose prayer and God healed their daughter, while showing them how they could help others by praying for them.  They chose Prayer. 

In another chapter titled Choose to Respond, you see the portrait of another family dealing with a tragedy concerning their son.  Their adored son was in an accident and suffered a sever head wound which left him in a coma.  When he woke up nothing was ever the same again since their son had to start over.  He had to learn all of his motor skills over again.  Now, this family could have given up with times got hard, but they didn’t.  The responded in the way that God would have wanted and now they have their son back home with them, although not completely the same, and chose to live without the “if only.”

This book is FILLED with amazing stories that will have you rethinking all the times you felt down, or the times you thought about what would have happened IF.  It’s truly an inspirational book and has changed my way of thinking about the circumstances of my life.  You can be free from all the worrying and second guessing…YOU just have to chose to want it.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.  All opinions and thoughts are my own.*

Little Visits at Bedtime | Book Review

Little Visits at Bedtime by Dr. Mary Manz Simon is a devotional made for bedtime reading with your preschooler.  There are times, ok…a lot of times…that bedtime can be a rough time of day.  Little ones are so wound up that its hard for them to switch into the calm frame of mind, but with the help of a good devotional, this time of day doesn’t have to be difficult. 

Each devotional is broken up into 5 different parts.  The first part is the devotional itself.  Each one tells a quick story that will keep your childs attention and won’t overdo their attention span.  The next part is called “Let’s Remember.”  This is a bible verse that you can read to your child or use as a memory verse.  When you are finished reading the devotional you will get to the Let’s Talk part.  This part offers a small conversation time with your children before they go to bed.  It has a few questions about the devotional.  The next two parts are more for the parents.  They are called the Parent Connection and Bringing it Home.  These are the places where you are shown how you can expand on the devotional if you would like.  Plus, how to talk to your kids and reinforce what was being taught. 

There are a few things I liked about this book.  You can pick up and start right where you left off since the devotions are not dated.  If you miss a day there is no reason to despair.  The other thing is that you can use your child's name instead of the names in the book so you can personalize the devotions which will help your child learn more and keep their interest more if they think its about them. 

The one thing I didn’t like is that while this is geared more towards a preschool child, the Let’s talk section is more advanced than I would have liked.  The questions are a little too much for a preschooler and I would say they are on the level of a child in grade school, but overall the book is a cute addition to any family’s library.


*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.  All opinions are my own. *