The Family Project : How God's Design Reveals His Best For You

"The Family Project : How God's Design Reveals His Best For You" is written by Glenn Stanton and Leon Wirth, and published by Tyndale House. This book delves into the many issues that our society faces with regard to maintaining the traditional family structure. This book is over 300 pages long, with twelve chapters, each with a different piece of the family structure puzzle.

Stanton and Wirth extract the various pieces of the family and attempt to, one by one, show how each is part of God's design, and how it is beneficial to the family. The references used in this book are not strictly Biblical - there are also social science references that also affirm these theories.

This book tackles such topics as motherhood, fatherhood, non-marital sex, and marriage. There are many other topics, but these were the ones that really stood out to me. I thought that Wirth and Stanton made a lot of well connected points, using both Biblical basis and sociological evidence.

The one complaint I have about this book is that some of the material they present is dry, and hard to read through. It's relatively easy to read the Biblical references, and to focus through that connection, but at some points the sociological references and attachments seem to lose their intensity, and I felt like I couldn't really remember what I was reading because it was just dry material.

Overall I would give this book a 3.5/5. It makes some good points and observations, and I liked the Biblical connection to God's natural design for humankind. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a structured explanation of the argument for marriage and having both a mother and a father in the life of a child. Good points about those topics in this book.

FTC DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from tyndaleblognetwork.com in exchange for an honest review.

Bible Stories for His Beautiful Princess

"Bible Stories for His Beautiful Princess" is a collection of Bible stories for girls written by Sheri Rose Shepherd and illustrated by Shelley Dieterichs. This collection of Bible stories features the most well-known Biblical stories, such as Creation, David and Goliath, Jonah, Daniel and the Lions, and the Good Samaritan. Each story is told simply, with a young audience in mind. Each story is short and easy for young children who are learning to read in one sitting. The illustrations are beautiful - vivid and colorful.

I liked that these stories were written a way that even an early reader could tackle the stories on their own. This would be a great before bed book because the stories are short, and if the little one begs for another story, it wouldn't delay bedtime by much. Every so often, a page appears with a "Princess Prayer" that offers up a prayer for the young girl to pray, as well as a "Princess Jewel", which is a main idea or lesson that the stories reinforce.

Overall I'd give this book a 5/5. I thought it was well written, concise for young children to understand easily, and the illustrations were perfect. Great book for ages 3+.

FTC DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from Tyndale House Blog Network in exchange for an honest review.

The One Year Devotions for Women

Ann Spangler's devotional "The One Year Devotions for Women" is a book of devotions that are designed specifically for the female spectrum. With a subtitle of "Becoming a Woman at Peace", the devotions revolve around the central theme of peaceful living, finding peace, and living a faith-filled life. This devotion would make a wonderful gift for the special woman in your life - mother, daughter, sister, aunt, grandmother, or pastor. Most women are in a state of constantly moving, whether it is in their career, with their husbands or children, or in other endeavors, so this devotional helps focus in on wonderful short messages to keep God in your daily life.

The devotions are short, and can easily be read in under ten minutes. The messages are made for daily reading, for an entire year, and offer a verse from the Bible, a short message about the verse, and a prayer that you can pray at the end of the reading. The length of the devotion is completely manageable, as each one is only one page. This can easily be read with your morning coffee, on your lunch break, or before bed.

I think that this devotional is wonderful. I really think that the topic of peace in a devotional designed for women is a perfect match. This devotional forced me to take five minutes out of my day and allowed me to meditate on something more important than the dirty dishes, cranky children, or bills that came in the mail. It's a great way to really refocus your day and refresh your spirit. I would recommend this to any of the women in my life.

FTC DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for an honest review.