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Bible Review: CSB Defend Your Faith
The Defend Your Faith Bible equips middle graders for apologetics with arguments for the reasonableness and accuracy of the scriptures. CSB Defend Your Faith Bible: the Apologetics Bible for Kids. B&H Kids, 2019, 1350 pages. (Text size: 8.5 point) Recommended for: ages 8-14 The HCSB Apologetics Study Bible for Students (now available in the CSB update, of course) won high praise from us several years ago. With tons of notes, quotes, Bible evidences, and answers for skeptics, it gave a young Christian everything needed to defend biblical truth intellectually. Defend Your Faith targets a slightly younger audience with the same goal. Literal- and science-minded middle-schoolers will love diving into the…
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Will God Still Find Me? by Vikki Walton
Simple But Powerful Will God Still Find Me? By Vikki Walton is a delightful picture book based on Romans 8:39 “neither height nor 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.” The book has simple rhymes backed up […]
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Bible Review: CSB Study Bible for Girls (and Boys)
Though more of a devotional Bible than a study Bible, this edition offers thought-provoking questions and application features. CSB Study Bible for Girls. Baker, 2018, 1360 pages. (Text size unavailable) Recommended for: ages 9-12 Last year was the “year of the CSB,” or Christian Standard Bible, an update of the Holman Christian Standard Bible which first appeared in 2007. All the HCSB is phased out, all the editions are being republished in the updated translation, but this may be entirely new—at least, I don’t recall seeing it in the HCSB. I appreciate the subdued cover design—no abundance of flowers or butterflies—but be warned, there’s an awful lot of pink in…
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A Boy Called Po: A Special Child’s Wandering Thoughts
A Boy Called Po: A Special Child’s Wandering Thoughts Autism is a delicate topic to discuss. A Boy Called Po is a film that talks about the challenges a widower faced while grieving the loss of his wife and being a committed father to a child with Autism. David intentionally hid Beth’s passing from Po thinking that he might not understand. Little did he know that Po worries about the sadness he sees in him. We get to see David in us when we think it is better to wallow in our own pain than hurt our loved ones. Five months passed and Po was still asking where his Mom…
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Bible Reviews: NIV God’s Treasure, Polar Adventure, and Incredible Creatures
Three recent editions of the NIV from Zondervan target adventurous kids and fantasy lovers. NIV God’s Treasure Holy Bible. Zonderkidz, 2018, 1216 pages (font size unavailable; I’m guessing 9) Recommended for: ages 7-11 The Treasure Hunt theme predominates in the book introductions, where “X Marks the Spot” tells what the book is about, “Pearls of Wisdom” cites the major Bible or themes, and “Treasure Verses” may be checked off as the reader finds them. There are no in-text features, just text in two-column format with contrasting-color chapter numbers and section headings. The Treasure Verses are highlighted, making them easy to locate and memorize. A Treasure Verse index and standard maps…
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Rachel’s Pudding Pantry by Caroline Roberts
A Warm Welcome Rachel’s Pudding Pantry by Caroline Roberts is a deliciously wonderful feel-good contemporary offering. It will warm your heart and soul. The novel is a real assault on all your senses, with much of the action around puddings. The reader can almost ‘taste’, ‘smell’ and ‘see’ the delicacies. My taste buds were awakened […]
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Why Your Church Nursery Needs a Library
A work in progress.The Lord has been challenging my reading skills and assumptions lately, both humbling and teaching me in the process. I had offered to teach a Sunday School class of two-year-olds, and keeping their interest isn’t easy. I had also been asked to read to the littles in our homeschool group once a week just before lunch time, and it was a disaster. I was reading delightful books, sitting in front of my audience and holding up the book, traditional librarian style, and losing half my audience. My 2yo son was the most active, wandering and disrupting my efforts with noisy vehicles. (After all, he had me and…
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Defining True Success
Defining True Success There are world standards that cause people to be pressured and even embark in worthless pursuits. In fact, keeping up with society’s expectations have become like a day-by-day task for most people. We face it the moment we open our eyes in the morning until we slumber at night. It’s an unending cycle of doing things that others would approve. Focusing on what could make others’ perception of us better. We become more conscious of whether to do or not to do certain things in the hopes of being accepted by other people. Failure to keep up with those expectations, more often than not, lead to anxiety,…
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The Least of These: The Life Story of Missionary Graham Staines
The Least of These: The Life Story of Missionary Graham Staines This film presented events in the life of Graham Staines, an Australian medical missionary who brought his family to a remote village in India. His intention was to serve the lepers and to build a home for them. In the late 1990s, there are governmental laws against Christians who use inducements to make new converts. Indian journalist Manav moved to the town to uncover speculations about Graham. In exchange, his editor promised to pay for his wife’s hospital bills after the birth of their daughter. Manav’s motive was to expose and pin Graham for doing something illegal. To his amazement, what he…
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*He is Risen: Rocks Tell the Story of Easter by Patti Rokus
A beautiful, artistic representation of the story of Easter using rocks set against a black backdrop. Starred review for He is Risen. *He is Risen: Rocks Tell the Story of Easter by Patti Rokus. Zondervan, 2019. 32 pages. Reading Level: Picture books, ages 4-8 Recommended For: All ages as a read aloud Most children are fascinated by rocks. Rock painting, rock collecting, rock “pictures”–it’s hard to go for a walk with a child in a rocky place without suddenly noticing all the rocks! Patti Rokus exhibits a similarly enchanted view of rocks in He is Risen, using rocks to capture scenes from Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Each spread is…
