Book Reviews

An Uncommon Grace

Goodreads.com: A moving and inspirational novel about the power of faith, family and above all, love, as a young Amish man must turn to his Englisch neighbor for help after a devastating tragedy.

My thoughts: This was a well-told story of love and faith. I enjoyed the shifts between characters and their voices. An interesting side note was that I was reading this story while on a trip to a community in Kansas which has a large Mennonite community. While not as strict as the Amish sect spoken of in this book, there are still big differences in their outlook as regards to education and the influence of the world. 

I thought this book did a really good job of showing the joy and peace that can come from living a much more simple life while not endorsing every thing the Amish faith stands for. 

One of my favorite parts of the book was when the grandmother in the story reminds a young Amish farmer that God's yoke is easy and His burden is light. If we are feeling burdened and weighted down, perhaps we've taken on something that isn't meant to be.

The love story running throughout the book was beautiful and felt natural. It was an easy and enjoyable read.

 The Power of a Positive Mom--Devotional and Journal

52 Monday Morning Motivations 

 

I'm not a huge fan of devotionals. Thought I'd just throw that out there right at the beginning. I find that many devotionals are a bit light. I prefer to do studies. Now, having said that, most of us moms don't have time to do in-depth studies all the time. And for those of us that are crazy busy, I like this devotional. 

As I flipped through it the first day after I received it, I noticed the last entry was from Revelation. "Hey, wait a minute", I thought, "I bet this devotional is chronologically working through the Bible". Sure enough this concept is explained in the introduction--Karol mentions how she wanted to show the "common thread of God's redeeming love and mercy". I'm so smart! 

Power of a Positive Mom is described as a devotional and journal. It's true that there are lines within the devotional where you can journal your thoughts, but if you're anything like me you'll need more space--plan on using a separate notebook.

I like the fact that you could just sit down on Monday (or Sunday or Thursday or whichever day) and read the scripture, accompanying devotional thoughts, journal a bit and then go on with your week. Or, you could come back to the same passage (and the extra Scripture) each day--meditate on it, pray the written prayers on your own, journal how the scripture is affecting your daily walk, memorize the featured Scripture (possibly the quotation as well) and really let it all sink in. 

I also like that the weeks are not tied to a calendar. Week One could be today or next month. I'm probably not the only person who gets sidetracked by life from time to time, and it can be discouraging to return to a devotional in April and find your bookmark still resting in January. You won't have that problem with this book.

You can totally customize this devotional to your style, time constraints and personal desires. 

Disclamers: I did not read every entry in this devotional and can not say whether I agree with every theological statement. 

I received free copies of both books listed in today's post for the purpose of reviewing. My opinions are--for better or worse--my own.

I am not an Amazon affiliate. 

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