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How could you not love a book that has as it's subtitle - "How to still be fabulous when you're broke"???? I love it, and it piqued my interest. Michelle McKinney Hammond has written, Divanomics. Hammond, a self-proclaimed DIVA (Divine Inspiration for Victorious Attitude), shares what she has learned about her own spending, wants, desires, and needs.




Michelle had it all - fame AND fortune - but what she shares is that it didn't last long for her and she was forced to change her lifestyle. I love it that she UNDERSTANDS - she's BEEN THERE - and she has learned how to look good on a tight budget. She starts right off by saying she is no Suze Orman, but she has learned a thing or two along the way. She gives you principles and ways to get your budget under control AND still have some of the "fun things" in life. It all starts with giving back, as she says, "...when you share what you have with others (with no ulterior motives), no matter how little it may appear to be, it will increase before your eyes."



I love it that she bases her whole premise on the fact that God comes first - it's Him we are trying to please - after that, we can make our purchasing decisions and decide what is necessary and what is not. She gives practical tips for shopping for things from food to houses and covers other issues like weeding through what you have and making some money off of that! It really is a worthwhile read - one that makes you think and maybe re-evaluate where you are with your finances.


**I was provided a copy of the book by the Tyndale Network for review purposes.

When I get a box of titles to review from DK - I am just over-the-top-excited!! (Yes, all copies were provided as review copies from DK.) So imagine all these goodies in one box!! These are great titles and I want to make sure you do not miss them!!

Nature Explorer - this is PACKED with wonderful ideas for nature: rocks, birds, insects, weather - you name it!! There are experiments and activities in here that will provide HOURS of fun and learning. (Ages 8-14)

I'm a Scientist - Kitchen - Another great experiment book all based on things you can do in the kitchen, to teach science - LOVE it!! Geared to ages 4-7 so our young set can experiment as well. Who wouldn't want to build with uncooked spaghetti noodles and giant marshmallows!?!?!?

Who's In Charge? - This is an interesting look at politics - from ancient Greece to modern governments - this book covers it all. It is full of great pictures that DK is known for, and fun factoids throughout the book. Geared to ages 7-12 but I know even older readers will enjoy this one!

The Little Brainwaves Investigate...ANIMALS - This is what I TRULY love about DK. Amazing up-close photography and tons of great asides that make learning fun! This one will NOT disappoint!! Geared to ages 5-10 - great information in here on a variety of animals - young and old alike!!

The Big Idea Science Book - I would say this is the GURU book of Science - to say it is comprehensive would be an understatement!! WOW - a HUGE book of science all linked to a website that has 200 specially created digital links that give readers hands-on, interactive learning. (Ages 8-17 - and older, I say!!)

Lastly, two books in the same One Million Things Series - Space and Human Body - both amazing visual guides that again, will NOT disappoint learners, young and old alike. The pictures, alone, are worth looking through the book, but the information given is presented in such a great format - kids will WANT to pick these up! (Ages 8-17)

Nomad Press has a wonderful educational resource department. Their books focus on different parts of history, science, math and link them all to hands-on projects - such a great idea and so fun for the classroom! I was sent a copy of Amazing Math Projects You Can Build Yourself by Laszlo C. Bardos to review on the blog. I was just so impressed - it is easy for the younger reader to explore on his/her own and yet has experiments and ideas that will intrigue even the older learner. This ought to tell you something - Math is NOT my thing - never has been and I daresay, never will!! BUT, after reading through this fun book - I am tempted to try some of these - just to broaden my horizons and delve into the math arena!! What a great resource and MANY more that are available on their website as well!

I was sent a copy of Fran Hawk's Ten Tips for Raising Readers and I was told by her publicist, "It is right up your alley." She was right and I totally agree! Any book that helps parents get their children hooked on reading is "right up my alley"! I love the simplicity of the book - short chapters, ten useful tips, LOTS of reading ideas for each age group. Hawk also has created appendices that are just FULL of reading lists and websites - another bonus to this wonderful resource. PERFECT - parents will love it and I plan to "sell it" often at our library!

I was chosen to be part of the LitFuse Blog Tour for The Twilight Gospel by Dave Roberts. The book intrigued me from the moment I read about the tour and I am glad I was chosen. Roberts does a very good job of answering questions about Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series that parents may have if they have not read the books. AND, as a librarian, that has to be one of the most-asked questions of all time - "Should my teen be reading this book?" So, I could tell them that they needed to read it and see for themselves (which is often what I can be found saying) or I can refer them to this wonderful resource. Roberts is going to approach the book from a Christian viewpoint which I appreciate, but he does so with a very open minded approach. He does not just tell you what your teens may get from the books that might not be the best influence; he also tells you what the books have to offer that is positive in nature. I was impressed - it is a quick, easy read and gives you much to "mull over" - I love it as a way to talk to our teens about the books. Kregel also offers a fabulous discussion guide - I would definitely encourage you to check out these two resources if you have teens reading the Twilight series - they both will be great discussion starters! (I was provided a copy of this book for the blog tour by Kregel Publications.)

I was sent a copy of Peter Lundell's new book, Prayer Power, and asked to join the blog tour - I must say - IT IS A PRIVILEGE!! I was totally challenged by this book and am excited to share it with others. Lundell has set up his book so that you can read a portion everyday for a month - I like that - everyone has time for that! And it is packed with meat - I love some of the whole new twists Lundell puts on prayer. This book came at a good time for me - I want to grow my prayer life - and he has some great suggestions on how to do that. For me, it wasn't all information I had heard before - it was new, fresh, and full of practicality.

Here is what the publisher says:

Prayer. It's one of the most talked about subjects in religious circles. We have books, blogs and organizations focused on teaching Christ followers the correct way to communicate with God. In Prayer Power, author Peter Lundell shares his own personal struggle with communicating with God and provides insight from examples in Psalms and the gospels for Christians to examine to bulk up their prayer life. Lundell ends each chapter with growth gauges and suggested prayer activities to encourage and establish routine prayer time. You'll find his honest approach to prayer refreshing, his transparency encouraging and his instruction helpful and practical.

Interview Questions

1. Many Christians don't talk about hardships with prayer. Why do you open up about the struggles you have had drawing close to God in prayer?

My first draft of the book read like an instruction manual of all the things you ought to do to be spiritual like me. I realized that the more spiritual I tried to sound, the less honest I was being. I was hiding behind my words. No reader should have to put up with all that. And besides, it was boring.

So I determined to be totally honest. I rewrote the book and openly shared my doubts, struggles, and failures, because everybody goes through the same things. And if I’m not honest with readers, how can I expect readers to be honest with others or even themselves?

I take sort of an “I mess up and you mess up, but God loves us anyway, so let’s connect with him” approach. Readers often tell me how much they identify with that. And when they read about how God still worked amazing things in my life and in others’, it gives them hope.

I’ve discovered two things: First, honesty is liberating, and I don’t want to live any other way. Second, when we stick with prayer and don’t give up, answers and victories rise from our struggles. Answers and victory never rise from pretending.

I hope to connect with readers so that they’ll in turn connect with me and the victories I’ve experienced—so that they will experience their own victories.

2. What are some of the things God has taught you about prayer over the years - especially from the perspective of your leadership roles?

It’s good to listen before I talk. If I always dive into prayer and never spend time listening, I only dump my own “give-me list” on God. But his word says in 1 John 5:14–15 that when I seek and pray according to his will, my prayer will be answered. So the key is to first get in sync with God.

We’ve got to have a hunger, or thirst, for God. Without hunger, no program or technique or anything we learn will go anywhere. But with hunger for God, we could know almost nothing and still have a great prayer life. Hunger is singularly important—which is why it’s the first chapter.

When I pray with faith and don’t get what I ask for, God will soon show me why. There is always something to learn in unanswered prayer.

3. What do you mean by "praying boldly" and how can Christians learn to do that?

Praying boldly is the opposite of excessively polite prayer and of—I’ll just say it—wimpy prayer. Praying boldly is praying without intimidation, not caring what other people think, expressing ourselves to God without concern for being appropriate or religiously correct but rather with a passion from our guts that pours out, unashamedly. Bold prayer is not arrogant. It’s humble and faithful, because of its self-abandoned focus on God and expectation of what God will do.

People often assume they must be polite or solemn before God. Nowhere does the Bible teach this. Two thirds of the Psalms are complaints, and they are not polite. Most prayers in both Old and New Testaments are bold, expectant, and to the point. When Jesus teaches on prayer in Luke 11:5–10, he talks about an obnoxious guy who bangs on his friend’s door at midnight. Then he says we should bug him the same way by continually asking, seeking, and knocking. I often wonder if God gets tired of diplomatic prayers. Why else would he actually tell us to be bold and persistent—and use examples that, if we were on the receiving end, most of us would say are obnoxious.

There’s no real method to doing this. It’s a mindset that chooses to free itself from previous assumptions and uses the Bible as a model of how to pray.

4. How can we practice the presence of God and include him in everyday tasks?

Practicing the presence of God primarily has to do with developing an attitude, a continual awareness that God is always with us, and that in turn, we always incline our attention toward him.

The first thing most of us need to do is to slow down or cut unnecessary activities from our calendar. Busyness is an enemy to practicing the presence of God. Jesus repeatedly blew off other people’s agendas for him and continually focused on his purpose for being here. Pastors who do the same are always happier, closer to God, and more effective. And when we practice the presence of God, we increase our ability to be intimate with him when times do get busy.

Here are some practices that may help develop that attitude: My last thought before I sleep and my first thought when I wake up is centered on God. When I get mad or stressed, I try to see things from God’s perspective. When I am waiting for someone, I use that time to pray. I do menial tasks with an awareness and love of God. I often have a praise song on my mind as I go through the day.

5. You're a proponent for creating a place of prayer and establishing a time of prayer. Why are these important elements for prayer?

These two disciplines are the most important external helps for maintaining a strong prayer life. Without them, our good intentions eventually drown under the assaults of busyness and distractions.

A place of prayer helps us concentrate in the face of distractions. That place could be the church sanctuary, an empty room in the house, a spot in the back yard, or even a rug laid out on the floor, on which the only thing we do is pray. The physical surroundings of a location devoted to prayer tell our brains, “Focus on God.” And if we ever feel bored or in a rut of over-familiarity with a place, a change of location can be stimulating.

Establishing a set prayer time engrains a habit of prayer into our minds, such that if we miss it, we feel anxious because something is missing or wrong—and it is! A set prayer time is not to force ourselves to pray as much as to create a boundary of protection from busyness. That boundary of time is like a protective fence around a garden, where we give ourselves freedom from intrusions to spend unhindered time with God. Preferably we’ll do this as early as possible in the morning, so we can lay the whole day before the Lord. And unlike a prayer place, I have never found benefit in changing my prayer time, so I highly recommend keeping it sacred, especially if we’re travelling or really busy. Whether short or long, this protective fence of a set time must be intentional, because no one else can do it for us.

6. What advice would you give to people who struggle with God when they pray?

True men and women of prayer will sometimes struggle in prayer, as did many figures in the Bible, like Jacob’s symbolic wrestling with the angel and Jesus’ wrestling over his fate in Gethsemane.

Like anyone else, I struggle with unanswered prayer or major decisions to do something by faith, when tragedy strikes, problems of injustice, and healings that take a lot longer than I’d like. The key is to keep struggling—don’t give up and too quickly assume something is God’s will before you know for sure. The angel commended Jacob for not giving up until he got a blessing. God the Father actually sent an angel to help Jesus wrestle in Gethsemane. Sometimes wrestling in prayer is God’s will for us.

Wrestling in prayer is actually a good thing. It draws us closer to God. And it changes us in the process. And that’s what most of us hope for!

GRAND PRIZE BUNDLE INCLUDES:

(leave a comment for an opportunity to win this great package)

Prayer Power by Peter Lundell

When God Turned off the Lights by Cecil Murphey (Cec is one of Peter's mentors)

Committed but Flawed by Cecil Murphey

Last year, Caldecott-Medal winner David Small was here for seven questions over breakfast, and he mentioned Stitches as one of his forthcoming titles, sharing this sketch here at that time (June ‘08):

In today’s post are some panels from the completed book, his new graphic novel memoir for adults, to be released in early September from W.W. Norton & Company. The publisher likes to call it a “silent movie masquerading as a book” — and a tale of redemption, which it most certainly is. And one wrapped around my favorite theme, as I’ve said so often at the blog that you’re probably tired of reading it: The power of art to transform and heal.

But there are also some truly terrifying moments in this book of survival, including the ones pictured just below. The young David is six and has gone with his brother and mother to pick up their father at the hospital where he works. David’s wandered to the fourth floor and meets “the little man in the jar,” who later haunts his dreams:

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This summer is starting out with a blog tour for Brent and Deanna Higgins' book, I Would Die for You. What a powerful book - I read it in just a few hours, and I am recommending it to young and old alike. BJ's life is recorded in this book through his own words, others' words about him, and even through blog comments. This story is amazing and will challenge all who read it. This is what has been said about this book:

(Tulsa, OK) - "It's an honor just to be nominated": familiar words for Emmy and Grammy nominees. Still, Brent and Deanna Higgins never believed the phrase would pertain to their family. Outreach magazine has recently honored the Higgins' book, I Would Die for You, with a nomination as Outreach Resource of the Year.

That nomination, however, came with a great cost. I Would Die for You chronicles the life and death of their young son, BJ Higgins; along with his faith; his passion for missions and his love for God. Compelling excerpts from personal notes, blog entries school assignments and journals reveal his clear calling and enthusiasm for sharing the gospel of Christ. BJ's challenging words and example combine to inspire readers of all ages.

After returning from his second short-term international mission trip at the age of 15, BJ became seriously ill. Six days before his sixteenth birthday, he died. His story lives on throughout the pages of his parents' book.

In spite of the inevitable grief , Brent and Deanna share their son's message of selfless sacrifice through both I Would Die for You and Awe Star Ministries, the nonprofit ministry that coordinated his mission trips. Their prayer? That countless others will embrace BJ's vision and give their all for the cause of Christ.


What Teenagers are Saying:

BJ was just a year younger than me, and in his short life he had such a full life and could die with no regrets. He had a sense of urgency in telling the story of the gospel and its transforming power to others. He didn't worry about what they thought or if he would be rejected.
--T. Buse

I was so pleased when Sign Babies sent me some of their newest additions. I already am SOLD on signing to babies - we used it with our boys and Chloe and found it valuable everytime. BUT I insist on ASL signs and that is what Baby Signs specializes in!

More Please! First Words Board Book by Nancy Cadjan is a very fun tool. It has adorable illustrations and then gives you signs to string together on a two-page-spread so that you can sign a phrase or sentence with your little one. AND if that's not enough, they also have suggestions on each page for other signs you could do that would go along with the ones on the pages. VERY nice - this will be popular at our library.

The other book they sent me to look at was Baby Signing 1 2 3 by Nancy Cadjan. This is an excellent resource for parents. It is user-friendly and illustrated. It is truly a comprehensive guide - what are the most important signs to teach your baby? What can you expect at each stage of your child's development? It even includes a sign language dictionary. Parents will find this invaluable - what a great tool! Wish I'd had this 14 years ago!

To learn more about Nancy Cadjan and the system she used to work with her children on sign language go to Sign Babies.

As a young mom, there was never a doubt - will I stay home with my kids or will I continue to work? We always knew I would stay home as long and as much as I could. And that is exactly what I have done - now, have I always been able to just be a Mom?? Nope, I've had to divide my time between being a mom and working from home. SO, I sure wish I would have had this book YEARS ago!!

Mary M. Byers’ new book, Making Work at Home Work, would have been my "bible" during those early years of staying at home AND trying to make an at-home job work together! I needed this kind of advice back then, but am even benefiting from it now!

In Making Work at Home Work, Byers offers work-at-home moms practical advice about combining the role of being a mom and a successful business woman. She covers things like:

Deciding why you are working at home - how much of your time do you really NEED to give to your job?

Making time to relax.

Setting boundaries in order to protect your family and yourself.

How do develop a plan for childcare.

Organizing your business.

How do deal with all the stuff life throws at you and still have an organized business and life.

Here is one of my favorite things that Byers' has done with this book. All throughout the book are interviews with real work-at-home moms who share their stories - what has worked for them and what hasn't. You can read their stories and be challenged and encouraged. Byers offers great insight for work-at-home moms who want to juggle it all and juggle it well!

Don't leave yet - you need to know that the author, Mary M. Byers, is currently hosting a contest on her blog. The winner will receive a copy of the book AND a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com! Visit the book’s blog tour headquarters for more information.

I was given the opportunity to review a book by Kimberly Cheryl called Shattered Reality. I always enjoy new authors and the topic of the book was one that made me think "I should read that" as well. Cheryl has written a book that explores the whole topic of children being sexually abused. She has approached this topic with an honest, open spirit as she has been through the experience within her own family. I have to tell you - I was caught up in the book right at page one. This is just something I have not read a lot about, and it was a book that had a lotof good information. Her transparency is so valuable as a parent - and to parents who have gone through this - I am sure it is even more helpful. There is a wonderful resource in the back of the book for more information on sexual abuse - websites, books, etc. She also has a website to promote her book as well as give more information HERE. The whole book is just a very valuable resource and tool - it opened my eyes and gave me a lot to think about as a parent.

School Library Journal has used words such as “inspired” and “powerful” to describe this book; Publishers Weekly called it “provocative,” adding that it “makes the invaluable point that history does not have to be remote or abstract, but a personal and ongoing engagement”; and both Kirkus Reviews and September’s Notes from the Horn Book have called it a “sumptuous” volume. What I’m talking about is Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out (published by Candlewick in September 2008), in which over one hundred contemporary writers and artists use everything from stories to poems to essays to personal accounts to presidential letters to speeches to comics to historical records and more to show us, as Gregory Maguire puts it in the opening entry, that “{t}here are as many views, looking in and out of the White House windows, as there are eyes to look.” At almost 250 pages, it was conceived and co-created by the National Children’s Book and Literary Alliance, a not-for-profit literary organization founded in 1997 and composed of award-winning children’s authors and illustrators, and evidently was eight years in the making.

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I finally got my library copy of Naomi Shihab Nye’s newest book, Honeybee: Poems & Short Prose (Greenwillow; February 2008), and it was really worth the wait. (Eisha’s Poetry Friday post on Nye two weeks ago held me in good stead, though.) I’m still reading, but I wanted to share some poems and prose from it, and when I asked Naomi if I could do so—share some poems in their entirety—she gave me the go-ahead. Yes, this moment of beauty is brought to you by Naomi Shihab Nye, and I extend ridiculously huge warmly warm thanks to her.

Honeybee, thus far, has been a rewarding read, and I suspect that reading it again later is only going to unveil even more layers, more threads, more insights. In the introduction, she explains her fascination with bees in college and discusses the “bee woes” of today — “many reports said {in 2007} at least one third of the honeybees in the United States had mysteriously vanished.” She collected theories, she tells us, and became “obsessed…This is what happens in life. Something takes over your mind for a while and you see other things through a new filter, in a changed light. I call my friends ‘honeybee’ now, which I don’t recall doing before. If I see a lone bee hovering in a flower, I wish it well.” (more…)