Quick Tips for Busy Families by Jay Payleitner

Parenting advice from one family to another.  Sometimes it's nice to get ideas from other families about what child-rearing strategies have worked for them and then decide which might also work for you.  That's what this book is....quick tips-ranging from games to chore responsibilities to spiritual guidance.  I think the idea behind the book was good, but the organization left a little to be desired.

The title even indicates that this book is for BUSY families.  If you're busy, you want to find the information relevant to you quickly.  The main drawback to this book is that there are ideas for all age-ranges of children that are scattered in no particular order.  My youngest is 10 years old, so there are many "tips" that no longer apply to my family.  It would have saved time to be able to go to a section specifically for my age-range of interest.  Instead I had to skim and browse to find what was relevant to me.  There is a topical index at the back of the book, but not for age.

As with any parenting advice books, there will be strategies you agree with and ones you don't.  For example, I don't think that if your child starts to pout in the grocery store that you should leave a cart full of groceries and walk out.  I think it's rude to give all that extra work of re-stocking your items to the store employees.  But there are other tips that I did like.  Turning work into a competition.  Using a Job Jar as punishment for bad attitudes and including "grace" as an option.  Teaching good stewardship on field trips by giving your child a certain amount of money and telling them they can keep what they don't spend.  There were definitely some good ideas on these pages, but nothing that struck me as really new and exciting.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.

Under the Cover of Light by Carole Engle Avriett

     Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a prisoner of war?  In this memoir, USAF Col Thomas "Jerry" Curtis shares the story of his 7 1/2 year imprisonment in North Vietnam.  Despite the horrific circumstances, Jerry recalls those moments that kept the prisoner's spirits alive - lights in the darkness.  Whether you read this story to gain understanding or to be inspired, you won't be disappointed!

     This book is very well-written with just enough detail to put things into context, but not so much that would confuse the average reader.  We are able to get a glimpse into a situation that many of us will never face.  I have gained a deeper appreciation for these brave men and what they endured for their country.  Some of the lessons the prisoners learned can be applied to our lives today.  For example - appreciating our freedom and not taking things, like access to God's Word, for granted.  Also the practice of being intentionally thankful.  If they can find things to be thankful for as POWs, what excuse do we have not to?

    While Jerry was asking the Lord, "Why me?" at one point during his imprisonment, he was given the opportunity to minister to a fellow inmate.  This experience "led Jerry to understand that wrapped up in any explanation as to why believers might experience horrific circumstances in their lives was opportunity - opportunity to fulfill a God-glorifying task...The tragedy either brought others across a believer's path who needed to receive God's light from the believer or who needed to see God's light through the believer...Jerry realized he had been a conduit for God's glory to an unknown and unseen prisoner, and an eternal truth surfaced in his mind: the deeper the darkness, the more brilliant the light."

     In an age when we tend to idolize celebrities and sports figures, we need books like this that tell stories of true heroes.  By hearing of their courage and perspective during captivity, we can be challenged to look for the light in our own dark circumstances.  I highly recommend this memoir.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Review of Invitation: Harbingers Cycle One

I was initially drawn to the uniqueness of the way that this book was written.  There are 4 different authors - friends who decided to try something new and write a book in the style of a TV series.  This first cycle contains four "episodes", each written by a different author and from a different character's point of view.  While there is an overarching storyline, each story revolves around its own mystery to solve.

Something intrigues me about characters with powers and how they might use them to help others.  The main characters in this story use their gifts to solve mysteries.  A harbinger is a person or thing that signals the approach of another.  Each episode in this book presents a mystery that foreshadows a supernatural darkness descending on the Earth.

So how did this new writing style work out?  In my opinion, it left a lot to be desired.  While the characters are likeable and the storyline holds some intrigue, there simply weren't enough pages to sufficiently develop each episode and bring it to completion.  With each of the stories I felt like it began well, caught my interest, and then came to a rushed conclusion.  The mysteries were never completely solved.

Another problem with writing in this style is the length of time between books in the series being written and published.  Would you watch a  TV series with only 4 episodes per season?  The storyline has come to a pause when its barely just begun.

If you like short stories and the supernatural, you may enjoy Invitation and the Harbingers series.  However, I think I will stick to full-length novels.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.