Book Review: Say Goodbye to Survival Mode

Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: 9 Simple Strategies to Stress Less, Sleep More, and Restore Your Passion for Life by Crystal Paine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is authored by the author of the popular blog Moneysaving Mom. I've loosely followed her blog for a while, and I will say that a lot of the info I felt I had already read on the blog. However, I LOVE having a hard copy all in one place to work through.  i'm sure there is new information and it's expanded from what I remember reading on the blog. Its exactly what the title says, simple strategies.  It is doable and it will get your crazy house and life pulled back into a more doable, normal lifestyle. I love that she talks about doing what is right and enough for you, for example with housecleaning. I don't feel like i'm being pushed to turn into a crazy, OCD cleaning freak, but that she urges you to think about what is enough for you and your family. Throughout the chapter, she offers exercises and ideas to get your mind going, and at the end, always summarizes with a few thoughtful prompts or exercises to do.  While I don't feel like my life is out of control, I do struggle with motivation to get things done, and I think this book will be really helpful to read through a second time, and really think about and do the exercises.  As I said, I love that it's a hard copy all in one place and I don't have to go hunting for individual blog posts from series. I think this is a very helpful book for any homemaker at any stage of life, whether they are just starting out (how amazing to get on top of things from the beginning, before you get overwhelmed!), to working moms and stay at home moms of any number of kids (or  no kids!). I would definitely recommend it and plan to work through it again and apply principals to my own homemaking experience!
The author is a Christian and while she doesn't hide it, it is not overwhelming for those who are not of the same faith.  For me those parts add so much to the experience of the book, but one could easily skip over those sections if not interested.

I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

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Book Review: Love and Respect In the Family

Love & Respect in the Family: The Transforming Power of Love and Respect Between Parent and Child by Emerson Eggerichs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a spin off of the Love and Respect in marriage book. The premise as applied to the family is that kids need love and parents need respect.  The main points of the book make sense, though i don't really see myself sitting down and explaining the cycle to my kids as the book suggests.  For me, this book is better used as a reminder that i need to love my kids unconditionally and not react to their misbehavior in inappropriate ways.  It is an attitude check for me.  I think most kids know that parents expect respect and it seems unncecessary to have "the discussion" about it.  My favorite parts of the book were the chapters towards the end.  The author uses the acronym GUIDES to present the six ways of Godly parenting which i agree with.  If you want a book to tell you what to do in certain situations, this is not the book for you.  The book more presents general guidelines, even in the D section which is about discipline.  Chapter ten, about teamwork is a powerful chapter.  The author talks about the most important relationship in the family- the marriage!  He says that the relationship that most impacts the family is the parents relationship with each other.  He encourages parents to work as a team when parenting, and to put the marriage relationship first.  i agree that this is a vital point that so many parenting books don't even touch on.  The book also includes a chapter on "Parenting pink and blue" where the author discusses the differences when parenting boys and girls.  He suggests that boys need respect and girls need love reinforced in their interactions (just as men need respect and women need love with respect to the marriage relationship).  My husband and I found this book to be so true in our marriage, and it is interesting to see how it begins to play out at a young age as well. The part that was most convicting for me however, was in the section 3 about the family rewarded cycle.  The book discusses how parenting is more about our relationship with Christ, and having the right attitudes and responses because of our faithfulness to Christ and not necessarily because of how our children behave and respond to us.  It talks about how sometimes we get our self worth from how our kids behave (or misbehave!) when it should come from our worth as a child of God.  One particularly good quote was where the author states that our kids don't cause us to sin in our responses, rather they reveal the sin in us.  My takeaway from this book is most from those last few chapters- if I am having such a difficult time with remaining calm and loving, then my faith is not where it needs to be and I need to lean more on Christ and firm up my faith.  I would recommend this book to all Christian parents, and strongly encourage that you read through to the end, even if the first few chapters don't speak to you.  THe best in this book is at the end!

I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.


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Book Review: A Sound Like Fire

A Sound Like Fire by K. D. Veron
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this book, a novel about the great tribulation when God takes His church from this earth. the book follows Dax, a U.S. senator, who is living a worldly, luxurious life, devoted to his work and mistress and leaving his wife and 2 children to their own devices. At the beginning, we realize that Dax is imprisoned for religious dissidence and experiencing horrible conditions. the story is told in flashbacks as Dac shares his story with the other prisoners and other times that the story just jumps to a third person narrative about Dax's life. the writing is stilted and awkward and even being halfway through the book, I really don't care about any of the characters. Events such as the world uniting under one government are discussed as if sharing that the someone went out for groceries. Suddenly the government is openly against the Christian church and ignores any mention of any other religions.  The disappearance of the Christian church is barely reacted to except for Dax and his wife immediately believing in Christ though they had ignored his preacher brother for their entire lives. and they seem not to care enough to share the gospel with Dax's good friend and bodyguard, nor do they attend church or read the Bible until months later. The author's description of the believers being taken is interesting, and the premise is obviously excellent, however it seems very underdeveloped. charcters emotion and thoughts are ignored; no mention of his children is made after one dies during a drug deal and the other chooses the occult. Dax doesn't think at all of his wife when they are separated after being arrested. when they are executed with twenty pages left in the book, it is just matter of factly ststed that his wife's bloody head is placed for him to see while the executioner swings the axe for his own. this book has potential, but the author chose to treat it like a news story rather than getting the reader invested in the story and characters and living the amazing experience with them. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book.

I recieved a copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.


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Book Review: Emma of Aurora

Emma of Aurora by Jane Kirkpatrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a set of three books set in the late 1800's about Emma, who starts out as a young woman with eyes for an older man in her colony.  They live in a cooperative community run by Wilhelm Keil, who is a thorn in Emma's side (and mine!) for the entire series.  Keil chooses to send her new husband, who she's had very little time with due to Keil's missions for him, as one of the scouts who go to the west coast to look for land to move the colony as Keil feels it is getting too many outside influences. Emma is a bit spirited for the community and talks her way into being sent along as well.  The series follows Emma and the scouts on their journey and the development of the new colony.  More details would give away too many surprises (not always good ones!), but the series was good. The historical details of the book are so interesting, and at the end of the third book we find that Emma and the colony are true historical characters fleshed out by the author, and that one can still visit the historical colony of Aurora.  Emma changes throughout the series through the hardships and joys she suffers in her life.  They were somewhat frustrating to read, as through most of the books, Emma separates herself and tends to think the worst of people as she struggles with being part of the colony and being dependent on others due to her circumstances.  It takes until the third book for Emma to return to her faith and find the joy in her life and those around her.  That is definitely the redeeming book for Emma as she takes the colony's initial mission of making other's lives better than one's own to heart and lives it out.  The things that happen to Emma definitely merit the frustration she has, though i would have liked to see her grow more as a person in the first two books as well as the third.  Perhaps that's more my (as the reader) desire to help her avoid the struggles her decisions lead her to.  I would recommend these books, and encourage the reader to read all of them, and the third book is definitely where Emma shines and shows her Godly character growth.  It is interesting to see the goals and lives of those in the colony grow and change as well from the picture we get of them in the first book or so.  I'd love to add the historical Aurora Colony to the list of sites to see if we ever travel to the west coast!

I recieved a copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.


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