Book Review - Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo

Wow. This book is wonderful. Written by a young boy's father about a terrifying experience the family went through when the boy was nearly 4 years old. The boy almost died and had to undergo emergency surgery during which he ultimately got to see Heaven and Jesus.

The boy doesn't immediately tell his family about his experience, he is only four. But later, he starts sharing details, little by little about his experience and he starts telling his family things he could have no way of knowing unless he did indeed go to heaven. He tells his dad how he saw him praying in a room in the hospital - there would be no way he would know that because he was "asleep" on the operating table. Or when he tells his mom he met his other sister - a baby she miscarried when she was two months pregnant.

This is a great story and well written. It keeps you interested from page 1 through to the very end.

Book Review - The King's Christmas List

When I read the book's back cover I thought this would be a perfect book to teach kids the importance of Christmas. Here is what the back cover reads:

Emma couldn’t wait to go to the King’s birthday party, but what should she bring? Emma and her little dog

Shu-Shu were thrilled to be invited to the King’s birthday party. But what do you get a King for his birthday? 

Emma and Shu-Shu have no gift, but they bring the Christmas cake they made with Mom and put 

on their Sunday best as they dash to the King’s carriage. And of course, 

Emma couldn’t go anywhere without her beloved Cherry-Bear. 

On the way, they have encounters that lead them to bestow their cake, winter-cape, 

and even Cherry-Bear, on others. Now they’re chilly, rumpled, and empty-handed—

what will the King think? Emma frets, but when they finally meet the King at his palace, 

they discover they gave the King exactly what he wanted.

Children and parents will be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas, 

and that the greatest gifts we can offer to the Savior are gifts to the least of his 

brothers and sisters (based on Matthew 25:40). 

Families will be able to go online and be directed to notable charities to give their own gift to the King.

After reading the book to my kids, ages 9, 8 and 5, I felt like maybe the "lesson" or "moral" of the story was a bit over my 5 year old's head and my 8 year old only got it after I did some explaining. My 9 year old completely understood the message in the book and he is even talking about what we can do this Christmas to help those less fortunate. But, the book is written for children 4-8 and my 5 and 8 year old didn't completely get the message. Emma and her dog travel to a different world, or dimension which I found a little hard to explain to the younger kids. My 5 year old asked several questions during the reading that clearly told me she was confused, she was confused about why the dog said he couldn't talk but he is was talking and why they went to a different place that Emma didn't know. This was a great book for my 9 year old though.

I absolutely adored the illustrations in this book. There were times I caught myself not reading, but admiring the pictures instead. My 5 year old daughter thoroughly enjoyed the pictures and I felt like she "connected" with Emma (the main character of the book).

I will be honest, I found the last lines of the book and the last pages of the book a bit over the top pushing little kids into talking to their parents about joining World Vision and donating money to this cause. I am all for helping, but I find it offensive when an organization uses my innocent kids into pushing me into something.

Book Review - Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

I absolutely loved this book! I always enjoy reading Max Lucado books anyway, but this one hit home for me in a big way. I have been thinking a lot lately about what kind of legacy will I leave behind when I die? Will people remember me for anything that I did? At this point I haven't done a whole lot.

This book is a big reminder of what kinds of people God used in the Bible - they weren't the smartest or richest, but the "average Joe" just like me. Max Lucado forces you to look at situations and encourages you to do something. The end of the book has some discussion questions and some "Ideas for Action" that are little things to get you to ACT and make some changes, for instance Chapter 14s "Ideas for Action":
                     *Make a new rule for the next two months: No one sits alone. When you enter any room, resist the urge to sit where you always sit and with the people you always join. 

He encourages you to scan the room and look for someone sitting alone and choose to sit with them. This is really out of my comfort zone, but I will definitely be trying this out. I know I always appreciate it when someone sits by me and I am all alone.

This was a great read and easy to read. I plan to re-read it and then take my action steps!

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com, a book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”