The Lord Bless You: A 28-Day Journey to Experience God's Extravagant Blessings by Terry A Smith Book Review

 

In The Lord Bless You, Terry A Smith has written a brand new 28-day devotional style book to explore the path to blessings whether it be us receiving a blessing or being a blessing to someone else. He began the book by looking at how we say bless you when someone sneezes. It all started when Pope Gregory the Great chose to have people to say a prayer and include God bless you when you sneeze. At the time, they were dealing with the Bubonic Plague and this caused sneezing and would lead to a fatal sickness. He shared how the Bible contained the words related to blessings more than 500 times. In the book, he drove deep into the topic of blessing and it’s divided up into four sections: blessing, purpose, people, and gratitude. 

 

 

 

He began the book by looking at Adam and Eve and how they sneezed and entered into the fall and sinned against God. They chose to go their own way and received a curse instead of a blessing. The world was later redeemed when Jesus died on the cross for humanity. He explained how God blessed Adam and Eve and then they got sick. He explored Abraham and the covenant and God told him how he would be a great nation and how he will bless him and how he will bless those who choose to bless him. He will also curse those, who curse him. All the people will be blessed through him. We can reply in the fact that we can choose to move forward and remember that God will bless us. 

 

 

 

One of my favorite chapters discussed the power of thank you. We can choose gratitude. He shared the story of the ten lepers and how only one thanked Jesus for his healing and praised him. We can use this story to remind us to praise Jesus and to grateful for everything we have been blessed with. He revealed a personal story about how he struggled with depression and had unmet expectations. He shared how God spoke to him and taught him a lesson on believing that is cup is already overflowing and be thankful for everything he has been given. His wife even noticed a big difference in his attitude. He clarified how God loves a cheerful receiver and how we need to learn to express our gratitude.

 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome book of receiving God’s blessings and in turn becoming a blessing in someone else’s life. I enjoyed how inspirational this devotional was and how quick and easy it is to read a devotional a day. I also liked how each day enclosed a question at the end to assist readers into digging deeper into the message. I also liked how the book was smaller book and it made it easier to carry around. 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Bless-You-Experience-Extravagant/dp/0800762827/

The Gift of the Unexpected: Discovering Who You Were Meant to be When Life Goes Off Plan by Jillian Benfield Book Review

In The Gift of the Unexpected, Jillian Benfield explored how we can learn to be present in our current circumstances and how we can discover who we are at our core. She breaks the book down into three parts: seeing ourselves like God sees us, feeling our pain, and discovering who God wants us to become. In the book, she opened up about her life story and how she was once a journalist and a news anchor. Everything changed when she was 27 years old and pregnant with her second child. She recalls receiving a phone call from her husband, Andy. The doctor reached out to him to explain the prognosis. They discovered that their son, Anderson had Down syndrome. She also discussed how rocky it was when they discovered that their son had a hole in his heart that measured 4 millimeters. It ended up really being 9 millimeters and was twice the size and there was two holes once he successful received the surgery. She revealed all of the mix of the emotions and events they faced as a couple. She was very real in sharing her grief, how she believed no one would ever want a picture of their son, he might not ever fall in love or be married, or get a job, and all the other fears that may come. She described her shock and her own ignorance and how she thought at first it meant he would experience a lesser life. She explained to readers how our worth isn’t found in our jobs, accomplishments, or intellect. It can only be found in God’s love for us and we can’t do anything to add to it. 

 

 

 

 

In the book, she also explored how people are treated who have a disability. In ancient times, Aristotle strongly recommended that they kill babies who had disabilities and use a method called idiot cages to separate them from others. Hitler murdered 270,000 people who had disabilities. Another example shared was about Staten Island Willowbrook, a mental institution. They were unsanitary, lacked clothing, patients suffered abuse, and patient were subjected to studies. She explained how they are seen as a disadvantage in society. She shared that, “about 78 percent of eligible adults with intellectual disabilities weren’t employed.” A major factor is how in schools they tend to separate and segregate the classrooms and how this leads to a segregated world. 

 

 

 

I would recommend this wonderful encouraging book about learning how to navigate in raising a child who has a disability. This book was very eye opening about the challenges and the negative preceptive society has towards them. I loved how it looked at the history and how this has shaped the future. I also liked how real Jillian was in explaining what her and her husband felt and experienced when they discovered and how over time, they loved the unexpected. I loved how each chapter contained a special section entitled the gift. She also had helpful discussion questions in each chapter. 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Gift-Unexpected-Discovering-Were-Meant/dp/0764240498

 

Daily Devotions from Psalms: 365 Daily Inspirations by Joyce Meyer Book Review

Daily Devotions from Psalms is a brand-new devotional from Joyce Meyer. She explained how Psalms is the longest book of the Bible. It contains 150 chapters. It was written in the style of worship songs and poems. King David, Moses, Asaph, and the sons of Korah all wrote the book of Psalms. This book can assist us in learning more about who God is and how we can worship Him. Each day included a verse, a short story and teaching, and a brief prayer.

 

 

One of my favorite days discussed having peace while we are sleeping and that God will watch over us. Joyce explained how a countless number of us have trouble sleeping at night. We stay up late thinking about and worrying about all kinds of things. We believe the key to solving them is ponder over what could happen next. Instead, we could learn to pray and give thanks to God in all things and for all things. Joyce shared how when we think about the goodness of God this in turn will assist us in falling asleep. She encouraged readers to search our hearts and ask God to reveal to us if we have done anything, that we might need to seek His forgiveness. It’s extremely important to sleep with a clear conscience. We must learn to receive His forgiveness completely and sleep with ease. 

 

 

I would recommend this life changing devotional to anyone who is seeking a new devotional for the new year. Joyce Meyer has an awesome teaching method to explain the material in a language that everyday readers can understand more clearly. I loved how she described how praise confuses the enemy. One of the scriptures even stated how infants and children can praise God and it will create a stronghold and silence our enemy. This was a huge encouragement to us that praising God can stop and limit the enemies’ attacks on our lives. We can instead focus more on praising about God’s goodness and everything He has done of us and all that He will do in the future. 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Hachette Book Group/Faithwords for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Psalms-365-Inspirations/dp/1546016163/  

Something One Small Thing Can Make a Difference Written by Natalee Creech and Illustrated by Pablo Pino Book Review

Something One Small Thing Can Make a Difference is a children book based on the passage in Matthews 25. Jesus tells the story about how when we give to others who are hungry, thirsty, lacking clothes, caring for someone who is sick, and visiting someone in prison we are more like Him. This children book discussed a kindness radar and how it starts with us. It explained how we don’t have to be grown up to make a difference. We can be young or old age doesn’t matter. The book showed people helping their neighbors and provided suggestions on showing others kindness. We can help elders get their mail, water their plants, and carrying items inside for them. We can assist pets in finding a loving home. We can brainstorm up and inventions to help others. We can show kindness in numerous ways. 

 

 

I would recommend this heartwarming children’s book to anyone aged 3-9. I loved all of the beautiful illustrations and how engaging and fun they hid all sorts of kindness in the book. Children will love picking out what they see on each page. One of my favorites was the invention called the wagging trail and it enclosed tons of dogs and cats wagging in a vehicle looking happy. I also liked how they had cute animals all throughout the book and kids will love what they can discover. This book has a great message of Matthews 25 and will teach children kindness and how we can spread the love of Christ to others. Hopefully children will take these ideas and even brainstorm some up of their own to be a blessing to others. 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Hachette Book Group/Faithwords/Worthy Kids for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Something-Small-Thing-Make-Difference/dp/1546002871

Somebunny Loves You! Written by Melinda Lee Rathjen Book Review

Somebunny Loves You is a cute bunny book in a colorful spring setting. It describes how a love of a parent bunny has towards their child. A bunny watches over you while you play hide and seek. Parents are there to teach us to say our prayers and count our sheep. They convey to us God’s joy in our daily tasks and playtime. We are loved even when we are making silly faces and our fur isn’t perfectly pressed and fixed. It enclosed an amazing message about love and how we are truly loved for who we are. 

 

 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome bunny book to children aged 1-6. It would make an excellent book for easter and would be nicely placed in an easter basket. It contained a sweet message about the love of a parent and a child. The book had spectacular scenic nature scenes and all of the green, pink, blue, purple, red, and yellow to remind of us spring time and a new creation. I liked how it was written a mystery to figure out who loves some bunny and the big reveal at the end of who that special person is. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Hachette Book Group/Faithwords/Worthy Kids for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Somebunny-Loves-You-Melinda-Rathjen/dp/1546003622/

My First Veggie Bible Stories Book Review

My First Veggie Bible Stories is a new adventure featuring the Veggie Tales covering the events from the Old and New Testaments. It starts with Noah’s ark and how he was told by God that there would be a massive flood coming soon to Earth. He was told to build a large ark to take shelter from the raging seas and seek protection. After the flood, God provided a rainbow in the sky as a promise of how much God does love us. 

 

 

Another story was about Peter walking on water. There was a big storm on the ocean and Jesus disciples were very worried about sinking. Jesus walked on water and Peter asked Jesus to let him walk on water and he did. Peter started to doubt and got scared and he began to sink and Jesus reminded him of having faith and believing in Him. 

 

 

 

I would recommend this wonderful book to children aged 1-7. You could even start it at the baby age if you wanted to. The book would be an excellent devotional style and it’s a great idea for children to learn about God and His people before bed. The book is very colorful and the creatures and characters are all very high-quality designs. It will be very engaging to children and they will enjoy reading about the Bible. It’s a breathtaking book on ascertaining the message of the Bible and the principles of God. Children can learn about faith, love, helping others, miracles, protection, and letting God fight our battles. 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Hachette Book Group/Faithwords/Worthy Kids for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/First-Veggie-Bible-Stories-VeggieTales/dp/1546003959/