Book Review: It Couldn't Just Happen

It Couldn't Just Happen

Knowing the Truth About God's Awesome Creation

By

Lawrence O. Richards

I love a book that is going to challenge. I also love a book that is going to help parents with those hard questions that children ask when they come home from school after they just learned something new. This book does both of those. It's a challenge for my children and a help for me and my husband.

The first thing that stood out about this book was it's wonderful cover and it's great art and pictures through out the book. It really makes it a wonderful book for the home and for a gift.

I had a hard time getting this book away from The Inquisitor. It's her new obsession book and she doesn't want to put it down or give it to mom. But I had to be creative so I could get it read so I could get my review done!

One thing I loved about this book is that it's not your typical "take my word for it" type of book. That is normally what I find. This book encourages you to take time to look things up and to study different things on your own. It's had a section at the end of each chapter that is called "Just For Fun". This section has 5 questions, suggestions or experiments you can do. I am excited for our kids to start doing these.

I also love that the book is full of Bible verses and Science. Many times people think the two can't mix. I am sick of people separating the two. I am so happy to see someone finally mixing them and showing that science can show intelligent design. This book actually has me wanting to watch the movie "Expelled" again.

This is a great book that can bring up lots of great conversations. Even if you don't believe in ID or Creationism I still think it's a good book for you to read. I have done my fair share of study on Evolution, I would like to see some of you do some study on ID. And don't just take someone else's word for it. Pick up a few books, this one included, and start to study. :)

I receive this book from Thomas Nelson(booksneeze.com) for my honest review.

Is She Really Two???

This little girls melts my heart. I love how adventurous she is, but also love that she wants to be with me at the same time. We had a wonderful time at the zoo for her birthday. Here are a few pictures of her...more of our visit to the zoo later.

Hello Mr. Rhino

And she's off!

Her actual birthday at home! She loved her big bouncy ball!

The Diva is 2!

It's hard to believe that The Diva is two already. Seems like we just moved to Iowa and were getting ready to welcome her into our family. She is such a blessing. I feel sad for D's family since they don't get to see her much. I miss his family and keep trying to convince them we have room for them here.

The Diva really has no idea what is going on. We sang happy birthday to her and she had a huge smile on her face, but I still don't think she got it. Tomorrow we are going to really celebrate her birthday! And Sunday we will continue to celebrate her birthday with a trip to the zoo! I can't wait to capture it all with my camera and share it with you.

She is a blessing to our family. What a joy you are!

I would change that...

But I just don't feel like it. I noticed tonight that I wrote KING instead of KIND in the title of my last blog. Oh well...if it bothers you deal with it. :) I meant that in the kindest way possible! :)

I am loving today. It's been a great day. I thought I should blog about it since most of my blogs lately are book reviews or depressing blogs. Lots has gotten done in the house and the girls helped out tons today! It's was truly a wonderful day. Then we all went to the pool for swimming lessons and to hang out a bit. Yesterday the pool was full of people...today NO ONE was there. But it was a bit more relaxing with fewer people there. Tonight was our planned pizza and family movie night. The girls wanted to watch Battle for Terra which was a fun little movie for us to watch together. We love Godfather's cheap pizza night...makes a pretty easy night for me in the kitchen.

The sweetest thing today was D took The Baby with him while he picked up milk and juice at the store and got our pizza. When he got home he had roses for me! I love getting flowers and I love getting them for no reason! I love it when he makes me feel like a treasure!

Also today I have started reading my new book for my review blogging. I am excited about it. I have only read the first chapter and a half...but feel like God has so much to teach me from this book. It also helps that the author has a good sense of humor. While I am reading the book at times I hear D's voice in my head...which makes me think...Mom you may not want to read the book! Hahaha! Might be a bit sarcastic. Well you can always try it out.

So looking forward to this weekend. We are taking the girls to the Zoo for The Diva's birthday. I am so excited. It's hard to believe that she is going to be 2 on Friday. My girls are growing up too fast. Someone help me stop them! I need them to stay my little girls.

It's a blog king of night!

So I was just talking to D today about how I am feeling pretty good about how I look. Which seemed funny to me since I have been dealing with a bit of depression here and there. I wasn't quiet brave enough to get into my swimming suit...but I did today.

So then I was at the swimming pool most of the day today with the girls. D went with us for a bit this afternoon because he was having a hard time sleeping. Then tonight for swimming lessons I went by myself. It was funny because on my way out this lady stopped me. She had a little flyer in her hand. I thought this nice little old lady had something she wanted to sell me. I wasn't really in the mood for talking since I was trying to get the girls out of the pool and get everyone home. But I stopped to give her a little chat. Oh little did I know what she had to hand me. It was a weight loss thing. Well it's really more than that. A lot about getting your energy back and losing the weight. Wow...really? I didn't think I looked that desperate or bad. Well it's a good thing tonight is my 2nd day in my couch to 5k program. That will make me feel better. I am sure the lady had the best intentions.

My goal is not to lose weight. Although that would be awesome. Losing weight would be a bonus of doing this. My goal is to run a 5k. If I have the goal to lose weight 2 things could happen. 1. I will give up because I won't lose the weight fast enough. 2. I will start unhealthy habits in order to lose the weight. Running a 5k...well I have my cousin to keep me in check because we have a 5k to run together next year!

Well it's a random blog...but sometimes funny things happen to me and I just feel like I have to sit down and blog about it. And now that most of my kids have settled down and D is alert and helping with the baby I can do on my run!

Camp!

Today is an exciting day for me. The Inquisitor is going to Bible camp for the first time. I was her age when I first went to camp and I went every summer till I went to college. It was a place of refuge for me. A place where I always felt so close to God. I made friends and every year I was so excited to see them again and make new friends at the same time. My last year going to camp was so sad for me. I knew that I wouldn't be coming back for a long time and I would miss it desperately. I always learned so much about God and my faith at camp.

So my prayer for her is that she will have a great experience. That she will learn so much about God. That she will draw closer to God and understand the importance of her relationship with Him. These are things we teach her at home...but being reminded of them at camp is a great thing. I hope she makes friends that she will talk about for years. That she will enjoy the outdoors and the games that they play. I hope she loves the crafts and stories that are told. Also I hope that her first counselor is one that encourages her in her faith.

I don't know who is more excited right now. At times I think it's me! I wish she was going to the camp I grew up at...but she has to wait till next year. Probably a good thing since the camp I went to is 8 hours away and the camp she is going to is only 3!

Well this excited mama is going to get somethings done and then take my excited little girl to camp!

Book Review: Love and War Devotional For Couples

Love and War Devotional for Couples

The Eight-Week Adventure That Will Help You Find the Marriage You Always Dreamed Of.

"We probably ought to just start here: marriage is fabulously hard." Wouldn't it be great if everyone realized that when they first got married? The reality is that most people enter into a marriage thinking that it's going to be all love and roses. No one really wants it to be work. No one wants it to be hard. So when arguments arise too often people throw around the D word. Too often couples actually do get divorced.

John and Stasi Eldredge are wonderful authors and have written popular titles such as Wild at Heart and Captivating. Stasi happens to be one of my favorite authors, her book captivating was WONDRFUL!

John and Stasi have written an eight-week devotional that goes along with their book Love and War. I would say though that this devotional can be done with out having the book. But would be best if done along with reading the book. This devotional has marriage strengthening insights, encouraging scriptures and exercises that are sure to stimulate conversation and inspire a more intimate relationship.

They do a wonderful job of tackling the tough issues and reminding us that we cannot look to each other for love and fulfillment...we must look to the Lord for these things. This devotional is great for the busiest couples. No one is too busy to sit down with their spouse for a small devotional that may end us helping your marriage. Highly recommend this book.

I received a copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah in return for my review.