The Snowflake by Jamie Carie

The Snowflake is Jamie Carie's debut novella. Set in 1897, Ellen Pierce is forced by her brother to leave their home in California and set out to make their fortune panning gold in Alaska. Trouble strikes early on and they must continue their journey by foot to reach Dawson City. Only the strongest will survive. Upon arriving in Dawson City, Ellen realizes that survival will be more difficult - and more expensive - than she originally thought. With few options, she must learn to trust God for her every need.

Carie does an excellent job of weaving in Christian themes and using the story to point readers to Christ. This is such a sweet story. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of Jamie Carie's books.

4 stars (out of 5)

I received a free copy of this book from B&H Books in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Hello, I Love You by Ted Kluck

Hello, I Love You is an extremely honest recounting of Ted and Kristen Kluck's two adoptions. They originally decide to adopt internationally because they felt called to it. So they raised money, went to Ukraine three times, and finally brought home their little boy. Years later, they decided they wanted to grow their family again - only to engage a long battle with infertility. They finally determined that they would adopt from Ukraine again.

Kluck describes in detail the process for both of their adoptions. His emotions spill out on the pages of the book. Bitterness, anger, fear, joy, sorrow, excitement, uncertainty. He also describes how the process of adopting, working through infertility, and adopting again changed his relationship with the Lord. He's also open with how the entire process affected his relationship with his wife - and how ultimately it brought them closer together.

There were times that I felt like he was just a big complainer, but he addresses the conviction that he felt about complaining/whining, his repentance, and how he and his wife worked through this difficult time together.

I enjoyed this book. The honesty was at times shocking, but helpful for understanding the entire process and how it affected Kluck, his family, his relationship with his church, his friendships, and his relationship with the Lord. Plus, hearing from an adoptive father provides a unique perspective, as most of the stories/blogs about adoption I've read are from the mother's perspective.

4 stars (out of 5)

I received a free copy of this book from Moody Publishers in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

In Outlive Your Life, Max Lucado addresses a topic that many Christians are discussing ... using the one life you have to really make a difference for God. I've heard many messages preached on this topic over the past few years and read several books as well - a couple this year, even! So ... I wondered if Lucado would have anything new to say on the subject.

I was immediately impressed with the book. Lucado uses the book of Acts to illustrate how the Church should address poverty, homelessness, persecution, "the least of these." He gives great pictures of Christians who did the RIGHT thing and the WRONG thing and talks about how having the right attitude is ultimately the key to it all. Scripture is woven throughout and points are drawn from Scripture - rather than using random verses to back up Lucado's thoughts. I appreciated that he laid out the gospel in chapter four as a way to make sure that readers were clear on the main thing - the reason that the rest of this even matters.

I also liked that each chapter ended with a passage of Scripture and a prayer that often voiced my exact thoughts. A discussion guide and ideas for action for each chapter are provided at the end of the book, which would make it an easy book to discuss in a small group or book club.

This is a pretty easy read and could probably be finished in a few hours.

4 stars (out of 5)

I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my fair and honest review.

The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews

This is a precious book taken from the story of The Butterfly Effect, also by Andy Andrews. The story teaches kids that everyone has the power to change the world ... whether we think we do or not. Everything we do or say matters! Andrews traces the path of influence of a man named Norman Borlaug who learns how to make special seeds that allow crops to grow all over the world, providing food for 2 million people who are hungry. Is it really Borlaug that fed all those people ... or the people who influenced HIS life? I also loved the illustrations by Philip Hurst. They were absolutely beautiful!

I would highly recommend this book!

5 stars (out of 5)

I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program in exchange for my fair and honest review.

The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews

What a sweet little book! The book is presented like a gift book - with beautiful pictures and only a few words on each page. However, it has much more substance than gift books typically do. Taking two stories of seemingly insignificant people who had great impact on the world, Andrews proposes that we ALL have huge impact on the world for generations to come. After reading the story of one single man who held his ground during the Civil War therefore changing the outcome of the battle and therefore the war and a wonderful story about George Washing Carver, I'm inclined to agree. More than just a feel-good moment, though, the book challenges you to believe that GOD can use you for great things. Highly recommend!

5 stars (out of 5)

I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Blog Mooch: Main Stream

This blog post by my friend Rebecca Figert brought to mind some of the thoughts I had when reading The Butterfly Effect and The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews. Since, reviews for both of these will be posted tomorrow, I had to share.

Reaching women from every walk of life, Main Stream is a spiritually nutrient, current, and active blog site that equips women for their daily interactions with people, the Internet, and God. Check it out!

The Heavens Proclaim His Glory, Compiled by Lisa Stilwell

The Heavens Proclaim His Glory uniquely combines science and creation. Every page beautifully displays amazing pictures from NASA's Hubble Telescope. Scripture and selections from Christian authors (including Francis Chan, Anne Graham Lotz, John MacArthur, Max Lucado, Patsy Clairmont, Franklin Graham and more) bring constant attention to God's role as Creator of the entire, intricately-designed universe. Science would have been a lot more fun with pictures like these to illustrate the concepts of "space." My only complaint is that the book was a little long (176 pages) for a gift book.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it as a teaching tool or just for your own enjoyment. It would also be a great book to guide personal prayer and worship time as the Scriptures included are some of my favorites (if you can have "favorite" Scriptures)!

4 stars (out of 5)

I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze Blogger Review program in exchange for my fair and honest review.