a slew of book reviews.

Bear with me while I review umpteen books which have been piling up on my nightstand. I've been distracted by these sweet guys lately... ;)

 oh, and this sweet guy.... :)

I LOVE being a part of Bethany House's Blogger Review program. These were all sent to me, free of charge, to read and review. If you're interested in the program, check it out here.

The Jesus Story by Dr. William H Marty

I cannot say ENOUGH about this book. I was raised in church, so the Jesus stories could sometimes seem mundane. Is that awful to say?? I had heard them so many times, that I wasn't really HEARING them. This book breathed new life into Jesus' story. I found myself learning new things in every chapter.
This is a retelling of the New Testament, "in plain English" (Marty, 2013). I highly recommend it to anyone - Christian or not. It can bring new life to Jesus' life for you, and will do an amazing job of introducing anyone to Jesus for the first time.

50 Things You Need to Know About Heaven by Dr. John Hart

Excellent book. I chose this book to review in light of a loss in my life. Even though I knew some of the 50 things, it was SO encouraging to "learn" them again. There are SO many facts about Heaven that I just did not know, or did not think about before. Dr. John Hart answers most any question one can have about Heaven, using sound doctrine and the Word of God. 

This is an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand book.

I recommend this book to anyone, but especially those who have experienced loss. It proved to be a great enouragement to me.

Tide and Temptest by Elizabeth Ludwig

I must admit, when I chose this book, I couldn't wait to receive it. I really enjoyed Ludwig's second book of this series, but this third book lost me. I could not get into it. I pushed myself to read more, but I felt lost in the story. I had a difficult time connecting with the characters. I thought the storyline took too long to become interesting. The first part of the book is shrouded in mystery, but it was too myseterious for me - I couldn't figure out who was who or what anyone was talking about! Perhaps I need to reread the second book? I'm not certain, but I cannot recommend this except for a reader wanting to continue/finish this series by Ludwig.

Minding Molly by Leslie Gould

I made myself finish this book. I wasn't enthralled with it. I was bored by the predictable story line. I also had trouble placing this story in any particular time in history. At first I thought it was in the past, but the characters had cell phones, so I assumed it was modern day. I know it is an Amish story, but it seemed out of place and unattached to any specific time period.

It was an entertaining read, but it was predictable. I couldn't connecct with Molly, I really didn't like her character. I did, however, find myself more interested in the less developed characters of the story. 

I can only recommend it as an easy read. It's not a book I would read again.

Miracle in a Dry Season by Sarah Loudin Thomas

As a WV girl, I highly recommend this book. Partly because it's set in WV (I mean, how often does that happen?!) But, this is such a sweet love story. I couldn't put it down. The characters are easy to love and are perfectly developed. I felt I knew what I wanted about the characters and didn't find myself wanting more information - I felt I knew them. I was sad when the book ended, because I enjoyed getting to know them through this book. The plot was not predictable and there was no mention of a dramatic fire or near-death experience from which the woman needed to be rescued, only to finally fall in love with her rescuer. I really enjoyed it.

The first novella by this author was wonderful, too! I received it free and was on edge waiting for this sequel!

I highly recommend this story to anyone. It was so entertaining and interesting.

Appalachian Serenade by Sarah Loudin Thomas

The novella and prequel to Miracle in a Dry Season. Absolutely adorable! It's been awhile since I've read Christian fiction and been so drawn in by the characters. Thomas writes this story so beautifully that you cannot help but be caught up in their love story. Set in WV, this is a story of two unlikely people finding love in a small, small town. There are no dramatics or unbelievable circumstances that bring them together, just two normal people living normal life.

I highly recommend this book.

(all photos of books were found on Amazon.com...my favorite site to shop! Visit the site by clicking here)

I Love You...but, I MUST do dishes

Life in this Harner house has been in a transition lately.
A certain two year old and his momma are having an extremely difficult time adjusting to a new little boy needing my time and affection.

I find myself saying these things OVER and OVER and OVER all day long:

"Yes, I will play that game AFTER I ......"
"Hold on, just a few minutes..."
"I said, 'Yes,' but first I have to...."
"I would LOVE to read that book, just let me finish..."

It's not that I ignore my children. It's just that requests for playtime occur every 10 seconds. Then I feel like a terrible mother for not dropping everything and playing each at each and every request. It's a vicious cycle.

I am not a major advocate for spending 24/7 playing and interacting with my children. I believe they need time to play alone. I also believe that I need time to cook, clean, and plan unless I want to raise my children in filthy chaos.

So, the other day, I admitted defeat to my mom and my husband. I said, "I'm can't do this." All the while, God was reminding me that He wouldn't have given me these boys if I COULDN'T do it.

Then I remembered this term: LOVE TANK.

You know what I'm getting at. Samuel's love tank must obviously be low....

find it on Amazon.com, here

I'm a HUGE believer in the LOVE LANGUAGES theory. I believe it with my whole heart. I'm astounded by it. I couldn't wait to have children to discover their love languages.

Little did I realize, those children could have love languages completely opposite of my own. And it appears that for this season, my toddler does.....

(I recommend brushing up on the Love Languages on their site, here. I even took a test for my child to get an idea of his love languages - the results were pretty much what I expected.)

I am very much a Words of Affirmation and Physical Touch...and Receiving Gifts type of gal...(but on the gifts, who isn't??? :) ).

My toddler is very much a Quality Time and Acts of Service type child. Both of which languages, I am not too adept at speaking. He also enjoys Words of Affirmation, which I can handle with ease - I mean, who couldn't with this face???

perhaps I'm biased, but I can't resist that ornery sparkle in his eyes...

I can handle the Acts of Service...we religiously look for toys that need "rescuing." (thanks to Team UmiZoomi) I just need to find ideas and more specific ways to fill this ornery little Love Tank. So, I searched Pinterest (what other reliable soure would I use??) I found this great chart:

Found on The Catholic Connection, here

Now, I just need to find a way to find more time to spend with him while caring for an infant and trying to upkeep the house. I can feel another blog post coming from this...."How I Found Time for Quality Time"

...God gave me these boys...He knows I can handle it all....with my hand fiercely grasping His and pleading for wisdom ;)

What We're Reading

What We're Reading Wednesday

Today I'm sharing two of our favorite Bible-based books.

9 Fruits Alive

 A kid's book about the Fruits of the Spirit (find it here).  My mom found this gem. We adore it. The pictures are bright and adorable. The rhyming is cute. The lessons are great for small children.

Samuel has loved this book for over a year. It's great for littles and I have a feeling it will be adored as he grows into PreK and K.

Bedtime Blessings for Boys

find it on Amazon.com, here

We just started using this book because Samuel had finally tired of his "Dear God" book (mentioned here in a previous blog post). This book is just above Samuel's current level of understanding. So, the hubs and I just paraphrase the devotional part and stick with the book for the questions, verse, application, and prayer.

I thought it was too much for him until the day after our first devotional time with it. On this day, Samuel was naming people he loves. I asked, "Do you love doughnuts?" (doughnuts are the key to his heart, by the way) He replied, "Mommy, I love PEOPLE..."
Our devotional time the night before was about loving PEOPLE even when they aren't very nice. ::shock:: So, it's not too much for him. Evidently, it's just right.
And evidently, God still keeps His promise that His Word won't return void. :) As if I should ever doubt. ;)

What We're Reading

It's Wednesday...that means it's "What We're Reading Wednesday"!!

My life is filled with trucks, cars, heroes, races, wrestling, potty humor, etc...

Our choice of bedtime books is slowly becoming more "boyish" than before. I can't complain, especially when an ornery little boy's eyes light up at bedtime when reading these two books.

I Love You, Stinky Face

you can find it here on Amazon

This is such a sweet book!! It's become one of my favorites. Mostly because it's about a mom and a little boy sharing a sweet moment before bedtime. It's a story about a mommy loving her baby boy no matter what! :) I highly recommend it!

Red Truck

you can find it here on Amazon

A short book with great rhymes and rhythm. The words run through my head all day - it's catchy!

My littlest man loves this book, too. Check out the bright colors:

Happy Wednesday!

Cultivating a Toddler's Heart for Christ...Continued

As Samuel and I were snuggling in my bed (while he stalled, not wanting to go to his bed), he held up three chubby fingers and said, "I like that picture of the cross. Three of them. One is Jesus, and these two are the bad guys."

My heart flipped over with love for this child, praise to God that Samuel is making sense of our lessons, and shock that he remembered that lesson from WEEKS ago! We read the Easter story a few weeks ago after Samuel requested the "cross and Jesus" story in our Rhyme Bible Storybook.

we love this for our devotions!

It was that evening that I fumbled around trying to explain Christ's death and resurrection and the plan of salvation to my 2.5 year old! I thought for sure that he learned nothing from that bumpy, all-over-the-place explanation. Evidently, I was wrong. Evidently, God still uses our bumpy explanations of His Word to accomplish HIS Will.

So, tonight, since I learned that he understands that Jesus was on the cross between two "bad guys," I took it one step further. I explained that, "this bad guy said, 'Jesus, I'm sorry for all the bad things I've done,' and Jesus said, 'I forgive you. You can now go to Heaven with me."...... (that's bumpy! ha!)

I'm sharing this to encourage you to not give up sharing Christ with your toddler. As I mentioned in the first post about reaching your toddler for Christ, God promised that His Word would never return void - it will always accomplish what He plans for it (Is 55:11) - like His plans for us to train up our children in the His ways (Prov 22:6). His Word won't return void...even when spoken to 2-year old ears. :)

So even if your Gospel presentation includes bad guys, chubby fingers, and heroes, take heart - SOMETHING will get through to their young hearts and minds. God's got this. :)


"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." (Gal 6:9)

Mommy Monday: Worshipping as a Stay at Home Mom

Amidst potty training, gummies, bottles, pacis, ninja turtles, nap time, bath time, daily chores, and finding time for the hubby, how is a stay at home mom supposed to find time to worship God every day?

By doing all of those things. Every day. The best she can.

Abodah.

Abodah is a Hebrew word meaning "service, work, worship". Did you catch that? Worship isn't separate from work.

One of my brothers (I have 3 older brothers...I know, bless my heart... :) ), introduced me to this word through his sermon yesterday morning. He said that our work and our worship can be the same thing, as long as we are doing our work for the glory of God. As he was preaching, 1 Cor 10:31 popped into my head (after having to recite it twice a week in chapel in high school...I'm thankful for that now! :).
"Whether you eat or drink, or WHATEVER you do, do it to the glory of God"

Wash bottles to the glory of God.
Play Ninja Turtles to the glory of God.
Pick up toys 20x a day to the glory of God.
Make dinner to the glory of God.

As a stay at home mom and wife, I am called to serve God by serving my family. On days when I feel all I do is wipe noses, burp babies, and manage to get dinner on the table before bedtime, I am relieved to know that if I've kept the right attitude about it all, I can say that I have worshipped and served God all day.

So, take heart, mommas (and daddies)...on the days when you feel you've accomplished nothing, you've accomplished a lot more than you think. ;)

Your greatest contirbution to the kingdom of God 

may not be something you do,

but someone you raise. - Andy Stanley

beyond blessed to serve God by serving these three handsome men!