Be the People by Carol M. Swain

Upon seeing the title of this book and glimpsing over the description, I was anxiously awaiting to learn how We the People could Be the People. Proudly, I must say this book is a must have for all believers in the faith and those who may be questioning it. Swain has done a remarkable job exploring how the shifts in America has affected where we are today. She also goes into where it could lead if We the People don't reclaim our country.

Written by an African American woman herself who has lived from poverty up, she has experienced many different settings in her life from divorced woman to not having a formal education. Swain now has five graduate degrees, children of her own, and has taken a stand to reclaim America.

As a parent, I was naturally drawn to this book as I want to know what I can do in regards to raising my children. Swain discusses many important matters such as abortion, same-sex marriage and even discusses traditional values. I love how she incorporates scripture to back up her stance against matters such a previously listed. I was shocked by how many women actually have abortions and was even more shocked at the health concerns related to even having one abortion. I love how she describes children as blessings from God and points that out with scripture. She explains so much about our country's condition so well.

One quote that stuck with me that I loved was when Swain said, "the first casualty of same-sex marriages is the definition of marriage itself." Wow! She talks about what is at stake with gay marriages. I like her quote from C.S. Lewis about biblical marriage and about the changes gay marriages have had on America. I didn't know about the affiliation Girl's Scouts had with Planned Parenthood.

With the alarming statistics and the mention of many unnoticed facts, this book is a great eye opener both politically and spiritually. Parents should own a copy of this book! Voters should read this book! I plan to purchase this book to be given away as gifts. I highly recommend it!

*I reviewed this book for free as part of Thomas Nelson's book reviewer program.

A Conversation with God for Women by Marcia Ford

With the first glance of this title, I was excited to read and review this book as I know there are many questions about faith we'd like to ask God. The book is broken up into seven main categories with anywhere from six to eleven questions under each category with a total of fifty-five questions that the author says are most common for women to ask God. Then as the question is asked, there are conversations as if written from God and Jesus themselves using Biblical knowledge to get to the root of an answer. For example, you'll find questions like:

1. Why do we have to face temptation?
2. Why don't You prevent disasters from happening?
3. Why was a virgin birth necessary?
4. Is there a  purpose to life?
5. What about women in ministry?

While the idea behind the book sounds interesting and while I was excited to learn about what kinds of questions and answers would be given, I felt like the questions were very faith-directed and could easily be found by looking them up in the Bible. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was hoping for more questions related to women being afraid to ask others yet were wanting answers from God on a vareity of subjects.

However, this book isn't at a total loss. It's great for those that do have faith questions or maybe they aren't sure how to find answers in the Bible. Some of the questions and answers are interesting like "how can we have deeper friendships?" It's probably not something I would have gone out and purchased nowing what was inside. But for someone who needs some guidance and who is fearful of the Bible (i.e. how to use it, where to find answers), this would make an excellent choice.

Another Dawn by Kathryn Cushman

The dynamics of family changes as a person gets older. A person begins to establish their own views on different areas of life, sometimes making conversations difficult with other family members. For Grace Graham, she lives in Ventura, CA, living a very organic, green lifestyle. Her family, still in Tennessee, lives differently with very southern routes.

However, the main reason for Grace to live far away is because she always runs away. She blames her father for killing her mother with his smoking problem. Ever since her mother's death, anger has built between her and her father. But now Grace's sister, Jana, has called and asked Grace and her son, Dylan to return to their roots to help care for their father after surgery. Jana has been carrying the workload of holding the family together and caring mostly for their difficult father.

Things go from bad to worse when Dylan, who hasn't received his vaccinations picks up measles and ends up contaminating Jana's baby and a whole string of others. Grace's small childhood town in Tennessee is angry with Grace and her premature decision to not vaccinate. Most of all, Jana is angry with Grace because of her baby was to young to be vaccinated and now her baby daughter faces something very serious.

Throughout this story, the reader's emotions go from one character to another. A person can relate to this kind of family drama and how one's decisions can be arguable to another in a family. I love the way the author writes pulling at the heart of the reader. I've read another book before by this author. I would have to say she is one of the better Christian writers in the industry. I look forward to more books by her.

If God, Why Evil by Norman L. Geisler

In the midst of the earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, this book couldn't have come at a more perfect time. As I was locating family members over there, I found myself questioning, why does God allow suffering? Geisler explains the concepts of evil and suffering in his newest book, If God, Why Evil?

While this isn't a quick read, it's very thorough. It took me over the course of a few days to read through it as there is a lot of information in it and not something I could read in one sitting. However, the details in this book will surprise you. Backed by Lee Strobel, the author of The Case for Christ, Norman L. Geisler is an expert author and philosopher able to capture the essence of so many questions that people have in their minds. "If God knew in advance that all  this evil would happen, why did He create the world? Wouldn't nothing be better than something evil? Why didn't he create a better world? Why doesn't God stop all the evil and suffering?(p. 35,56)"

For me personally, I've suffered from various tragedies and have come across many evils in my lifetime. So I've asked these questions, not necessarily doubting God but being confused on this subject. I've also heard friends ask these questions, including non-believers. After reading this, I feel like I can now answer those questions more confidently. This is a book that is a must-have in all libraries.

*** This book was sent to me to be reviewed for free from Bethany House Publishers.

What's He Really Thinking? by Paula Rinehart

After having read many books on the subject of men for the betterment of understanding them, I found this one to be one of the better ones. While most of this centers around marriage relationships, she does include some about any male relationship: fathers, brothers, friends, etc. My first thought though about getting a book about a man written by a woman was somewhat doubtful. However, as someone who's worked in the field of counseling many relationships, she gives really great advice.

At the start of her book, she describes different types of men such as the fighter, the adventurer, the builder, etc. What I wished more of was that she went in to more detail about it other than the descriptions she gave. However, I liked the way she mentions how we should question, "how is this guy meant to bless and bring life? (p. 14). Each personality has his good and bad points. But once a person figures out which one the man in your life qualifies as, the woman can then proceed to understand him more.

I liked the section about men's drive to do work and his reasons for wanting to be respected. I think that a lot of times, women have a hard time understanding her husband's focus of work. Rinehart spends a great deal of time discussing how God puts this desire in men to do well. I appreciated her thoughts on the subject and it definitely was an eye-opener.

In addition, I enjoyed her views on conflict with men and why men hurt. Men very much want to be respected and when they feel threatened, they feel hurt and conflict can begin. At the end of the book, the author includes a section on understanding men which I think can be very helpful. She lists questions that the woman can ask the man to develop a closer relationship. After that, there are discussion questions for each chapter making it an ideal book to use in a group. I would also like to add that I liked that this wasn't a book to bash men in any nature. Instead, the author writes from a woman's perspective to look at ourselves and how we are responding to men versus pointing our fingers at them for everything we don't understand. She puts great emphasis on God creating men and women to be different for a reason. I appreciated her opening the book with the story of God creating Adam and Eve. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

*** I reviewed this book for free from Thomas Nelson's book reviewer program called Book Sneeze. Thanks Thomas Nelson!

Using Real Food

In attempt to eat healthier, I plan to include various recipes and links to healthy websites from time to time! Ever since our third child started suffering from severe food allergies, we took a good look at our lifestyle of eating and have taken baby steps to better health. We are slowly using less processed food and we're using more the real stuff. We try to buy organic as much as we can. Thinking that we've always been healthy eaters, we're learning more and more about what we're putting in to our bodies. So here's the first recipe that I'd like to share. I have yet to try it but it looks amazing!

Spicy Three-Bean Soup with Tortilla Strips
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
a handful of dry chile peppers
4 c. vegetable broth (or bone broth)
4 c. cooked beans (I used pinto, kidney, and black beans)
1 1/2 c. tomatoes, pureed (canned is fine)
3 T. chile powder
2 t. Mexican oregano
1 t. coriander
1/2 t. cumin
1 bunch of spinach, chopped

8 tortillas, sliced
2 avocados, diced
2 limes, quartered
shredded or crumbled cheese of choice, or plain yogurt, to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375.
Brush a baking pan with olive oil.
Arrange the tortillas on the pan in a single layer and sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy.

Heat 2 T. olive oil in a soup pot.
Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.
Add the peppers and cook for another 5 minutes while stirring.
Add the broth, beans, tomatoes, and spices.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
Season to taste with unrefined salt.
Turn off the heat and remove the peppers.
For a mild flavor, discard the peppers and blend about a third of the soup,
then return the soup to the pot and reheat.
For a spicy flavor, blend the peppers with about a third of the soup,
then return to the pot, combine, and reheat.
Add the spinach and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the greens have lost much of their volume.
Finish off with a squeeze of lime and serve with another lime wedge.
Serve topped with the crispy tortilla strips, chunks of avocado, and cheese or yogurt.

The Faith of Ronald Reagan by Mary Beth Brown

In this biography of Reagan, Mary Beth Brown captures the beliefs held by one of America's most beloved presidents, Ronald Wilson Reagan. Brown did an exquisite job presenting Reagan's thoughts and beliefs from throughout his life beginning with his parent's roots. The reader gets an insider's view as to how Reagan was raised and the influence of Reagan's mother, Nelle. Nelle was an optimitic, devoted mother who spent many hours instilling faith qualities in her son, Reagan. Not only will the reader enjoy bits from Reagan's childhood, but they will also read about his near-death experiences, beginning with the day he was almost assasinated during his presidency.

On this day, Reagan experienced God's hand watching over him as he was so close to death when Hinkley shot him as he passed from a hotel to the car. It's amazing to read this story and hear the details. Reagan very easily could have been killed but through circumstances planned by God, he was kept alive and without being alive, Reagan wouldn't have done the great things that he did.

Moreover, this book is full of wonderful stories and is written beautifully. I feel that I have learned so much more about this man who's influenced America. And I learned a lot about his faith in an up-close and personal manner. This would make a great gift for those who admire this man and it's also a testament of faith for those who are new to Christianity as it shows God's greatness in one man.

***This book was given to me for free from Thomas Nelson's book reviewer program!