Andrew Smith's Blog

My name is Andrew. Come and have a look inside my life and watch me share what is on my heart.

Max Lucado’s Pocket Prayers Feature Story







I chose to gift Max Lucado’s Pocket Prayers for Friends to my amazing cousin, Heather for her upcoming birthday. Heather and I grew up together as children and she lived next door to me and we went to church together. We would constantly hang out and play games, listen to music, jump on the trampoline, play in our tree houses, sing, and have adventures. When she got married, we have spent less time together and life has gotten busy for the both of us. This book will greatly benefit her because she has stopped attending church when she got married. I believe her love of God is still there somewhere but she has just forgotten. One of my favorite days was day 11. This day discussed verse Psalm 55:14 and it stated, “We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in the throng”. This day’s prayer was about worshiping God in church and desperately longing to learn more about Him and His ways. It also talked about having great Christian’s friends and this is something I’m praying and hoping for her and her husband. 



“I received a review copy of Pocket Prayers Series from Litfuse for this review.”



About the book:

Bestselling author Max Lucado has teamed up with six authors to write the Pocket Prayers series for those in need of peace, renewal, rest, faith, hope, joy, direction, serenity, and courage.


Short, simple prayers are very effective, which is why each book in the series contains forty guided prayers and complementary scriptures for any situation, including for:


—Moms (written with daughter Andrea Lucado)

—Grads (written with daughter Andrea Lucado)

—Dads (written with Mark Mynheir)

—Military Life (written with Mark Mynheir)

—Teachers (written with blogger Jennifer Hale)

—Friends (written with Betsy St. Amant)

Key dates to keep in mind (these little books would make great gifts):
  • Mother's Day---May 8
  • Memorial Day---May 30
  • Father's Day---June 19
  • Teachers---first week of May is National Teacher Appreciation Week, first Tuesday May 3 is NTA day
  • Graduation---month of May
  • Friends---June 8 is Best Friend Day - International Day of Friendship is July 30



Read what others are saying:


Strong and Kind: And Other Important Character Traits Your Child Needs to Succeed by Korie Robertson Book Review


Korie Robertson is the wife of Willie Robertson and they both star on the hit TV show Duck Dynasty. In Strong and Kind, Korie Robertson has written a brand new book about instilling positive characters traits into your children’s lives. She shared the powerful truth found in scriptures such as in Proverbs 3:1-2. This verse talks about the importance of keeping God’s teachings in our hearts and in our children’s hearts. God promises to give us long life and peace and prosperity if we follow his commands. Korie suggests parents choose two key critical character traits that they want their children to follow in their lives. Some of these traits include, “honest, loving, kind, loyal, persistent, encouraging, trustworthy”, and much more. Each chapter also includes some thoughts from Willie Robertson. 



One of my favorite chapters was entitled, “Self-Controlled”. This chapter discussed how vital it is to manage your self-control and how we can also be an example of this trait in front of our children. Korie shared how putting into place boundaries and greatly benefit our children. She explored how Adam and Eve struggled with God’s boundaries and not eating the forbidding fruit. They didn’t display self-control against temptation and ate the food and they sinned. This is why as parents we must teach our children self-control against all the temptations they may encounter. I have personally seen the benefits of setting boundaries in place and displaying self-control.



I would recommend this awesome book to every single parent and future parent. I have always enjoyed watching Duck Dynasty and I strongly believe Willie and Korie live what they preach. I liked how Korie covered many different character traits throughout the book and she devoted a chapter to each trait. I liked how she gave parents the freedom to discuss the different traits they want to pass down to their kids. I’m not a parent yet or even married but I choose to read and review this book in order to already begin to prepare for having children. After reading this book, I would choose strong and self-control as the traits I would want my children to live by. Obviously these two traits could change because this is a book I will eventually reread with my future wife, whoever she is. If you’re seeking an excellent book on parenting, then read this book!



"I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program."




If you would like to purchase a copy of Strong and Kind, check it out on Amazon.com:

 


Pocket Prayers by Max Lucado along with various authors Book Review






About the book:

Bestselling author Max Lucado has teamed up with six authors to write the Pocket Prayers series for those in need of peace, renewal, rest, faith, hope, joy, direction, serenity, and courage.


Short, simple prayers are very effective, which is why each book in the series contains forty guided prayers and complementary scriptures for any situation, including for:


—Moms (written with daughter Andrea Lucado)

—Grads (written with daughter Andrea Lucado)

—Dads (written with Mark Mynheir)

—Military Life (written with Mark Mynheir)

—Teachers (written with blogger Jennifer Hale)

—Friends (written with Betsy St. Amant)

Key dates to keep in mind (these little books would make great gifts):
  • Mother's Day---May 8
  • Memorial Day---May 30
  • Father's Day---June 19
  • Teachers---first week of May is National Teacher Appreciation Week, first Tuesday May 3 is NTA day
  • Graduation---month of May
  • Friends---June 8 is Best Friend Day - International Day of Friendship is July 30



My Review: 


I would recommend Pocket Prayers to fathers, mothers, students who are graduating high school or college, teachers, friends, and active service men and women. I liked how Max Lucado was transparent in sharing that he struggled with praying and staying awake while he prayed sometimes. He shared how Jesus prayed before his meals and he would pray for anyone and he would pray anywhere at any time. I liked how each day included a scripture verse and a short prayer to pray. One of my favorite days was found in day 3 in the dads pocket prayers. This scripture was Matthew 14:29-30 and this discussed how there was a terrible storm and Jesus told Peter to walk on the water. He took his eyes off of Jesus and he began to sink. He cried out to God to save him. Max Lacado shared a prayer about how God is in control even in the mists of our storms and hurricanes we experience in life. Max prays that God will be with his family through the storms and bless us and give us His peace. I love how the different books contained powerful prayers that can immensely help us to draw closer to God. These books also increased my prayer life and I feel more at peace and hopeful about my future and my kids generations future. I would also like for Max Lucado to write a pocket prayer book for husbands and one for wives. I would love to be able to prayer for my spouse. I also believe one for singles would greatly benefit a large number of people too. If you’re looking for a wonderful gift for someone, then check out these books!


“I received a review copy of Pocket Prayers Series from Litfuse for this review.”



Read what others are saying:





About the author: 




More than 120 million readers have found inspiration and encouragement in the writings of Max Lucado. He lives with his wife, Denalyn, and their mischievous mutt, Andy, in San Antonio, Texas, where he serves the people of Oak Hills Church.