Book Review: 100 Prayers God Loves to Hear

100 Prayers God Loves to Hear by Stephen Elkins is a great resource to have around for kids to browse through, learn scripture, and keep nearby for daily devotions and nighttime prayers. This book comes with two CD’s containing 100 songs of prayer and praise that connect with each of the 100 prayers inside the book. This is a good book for youngsters ages 2-6.

The messages in the book are presented in a clear way with great illustrations, quotes from historic people, and simple poems. Each page includes a short explanation about the topic of prayer, a short saying or poem, an example of a prayer, a cute illustration, and a prayer reminder. You are also told which song will accompany that reading.

The only downside to this book is the cd’s that come with it. I love that the book is laid out clearly enough to know which song to use for each topic of prayer, but the music is sung at such a high pitch. After playing through the cd, I turned the music off because it was a bit overstimulating and annoying. I wish the same songs were sung a bit lower in pitch and slower in speed. Learning the lyrics to the songs might be difficult for some because of these factors.

We are definitely keeping and using the book! I might even add it to our homeschool devotion curriculum! Perhaps I’ll play the cd’s when my kids are playing in another room without me!

Thomas Nelson provided the book for free as compensation for an unbiased and honest review.

Book Review: Wild At Heart by John Eldredge

John Eldredge’s book, Wild At Heart, Discovering the secret of a man’s soul is a collection of answers for the questions I’ve always had about my husband! Eldredge quickly welcomed readers from all perspectives into his heart. Wild At Heart explains why my husband yearns to be challenged with climbing huge rocks and surviving nights in the woods with nothing but the essentials in his backpack. Through his discussions about wounds, our wild creator, the battles men face, the beauty all men want to rescue, and strategies for surviving the adventure, I am more aware of how complex and important treasuring my husband’s heart is.

My favorite passage of Wild At Heart is when Eldredge exquisitely described the role of women in men’s lives. The term given to Eve was “ezer kengdo” which has been translated to “help mate”, more specifically “life saver”(p 53). From a woman’s perspective, it is so satisfying knowing that my role has been so beautifully defined to more than a helper- but to that of a lifesaver. My heart soars knowing God designed my husband to really need me- and that I need him.

Eldredge, thank you for captivating my attention in a wonderfully, unstoppable conversation about my man. My recommendation is that everyone -men and women, married and single- should read this book. The impact Wild At Heart has made in my own life is immediately tremendous. My perspective on my husband has been altered and my friends have also began reading, or re-reading, their own copies of Wild At Heart.

(Thomas Nelson Publishing provided me a complimentary copy of Wild At Heart in return for an honest review.)

The Broken Cracker

Our smallest was crying in her car seat. Hearing that my offer of a cheese cracker seemed to settle her fears of starvation, I dug to the bottom of our snack sack and found the last package of peanut butter and cheese crackers, ripped open the wrapper, and tried to dislocated my shoulder by reaching directly behind my seat to complete the offer. The screamer refused my suggested peace offering muttering the words “it’s broken” between her manufactured sniffles. I knew trying to explain the fact that the cracker still maintained most of its value despite the flaw wasn’t going to be eagerly accepted. So as to not wake the snoozing sister, I quickly handed her the next cracker in the package after a complete inspection making sure it was perfect, complete, and whole. Enjoying the moment of silence, I muttered to myself, “just because it isn’t perfect doesn’t mean it has lost its value”.

Jesus thinks the same about us. Paul wrote a letter to the Ephesian church and reminded them that they were “dead in their transgressions and sins” – their imperfections. Our sin keeps us from being perfect. But, if you keep reading, you see that Paul brings a message of hope to a bunch of imperfect people. He says that “because of his great love for us (yep, the ones with the corners broken off- that’s us) and his deep mercy, [God] made us alive in Christ even when we were already dead in our sins.” Knowing his readers need repetition, Paul reiterates the phrase, “for it is by his grace you have been saved” a number of times. We need to hear that too.

Sometimes we just need to be reminded that our imperfections don’t cause us to loose our value in God’s eyes. He sees beyond the broken corner and still deems us the perfect choice for his purposes.

Dust Bunnies

If you sweep my floor more than once with any attention to detail, you will notice that my larger than life dust bunnies accumulate in the same spaces continually. I know the secret spots they use to hide from my broom waiting to introduce themselves to any visitors that stop in for a minute. A quick sweep will get the most noticeable fur and the random clumps of play dough under the table. But a much deeper cleaning reveals these dust bunnies…no, more like dust monsters. Four years of sweeping the same house has offered me the chance to notice how they seem to tuck away under end tables and behind doorways repeatedly.

Once, a few weeks ago, I shared my observations about these dust monsters. He looked up from his iphone and said, “Thanks for telling me. Now I know where to look when I sweep next”. Back to the iphone he went.

His remarks got me thinking. Now, each time I defend my home against the attack of the dust demons, I think about how we tend to have things tucked away in our hearts and minds that require frequent removal too. In Hebrews, the writer says we should have a “sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed pure as snow”. (10:22) Similar to the corner behind my couch, sometimes we have sins that are easily hidden unless deep cleaning comes our way. During prayer, a quick rundown of our struggles gets rid of the careless remarks we made to the husband or the moments of irritation we had with the kids.

Ideally, frequent maintenance of our dust bunny collection, both in our homes and our hearts, is the best. However, sometimes we need more. Sometimes, we need to drag out the 12-vortex-power-with-no-loss-of-suction vacuum cleaner to find the bigger, meaner, dust monsters that a simple sweep won’t collect. For me, that overwhelming feeling I get is the signal for me to hang up the broom and take advantage of the afternoon nap hours in a more “eternal way”. When the dust bunnies in my heart grow to monstrous size, all has to stop in order for my defense to be accurate and complete. Usually, it requires some alone time with God and confession to a trusted friend.

My husband now knows where to look to find the toughest dust monsters in our house. To me, that’s powerful knowledge. It’s also powerful knowledge to know where the dust collects in our hearts and minds. Right now, my dust monsters hide behind the large couch called “pride” and inside the closet door called “too busy.” A rotten attitude and impatience with everyone are signs that my corners need a thorough cleaning. Sometimes our dust monsters get so big and serious, we need to allow time for deep cleaning

Where do the dust bunnies collect in your home? Where do they try to linger in your heart? What signs that reveal it’s time for a deep cleaning in your heart?

A Promise of a Return

**This is an article from last spring. Forgot to post it.

Last fall, my husband brought home a sack full of bulbs to add to the tagless bunch someone else left on my front porch. Knowing that my gardening skills are definitely below par, I obediently hid my little onion looking treasures barely beneath the surface of the soil on either side of my porch- just as my instincts told me. I wasn’t sure how deep or far apart to dive my stout bulbs, so I guessed and hoped. (Don’t forget, I’m just following the guts of a gardening failure since my unidentifiable bulbs arrived without so much as a picture!)

During the last few weeks of a wet and mushy winter, I could tell spring was coming and my anticipation of my science experiment working began to build. I was forced to endure a bit longer to greet my little unknowns and learn if I had hidden this summer’s onion crop or a lovely bunch of colorful flowers of some sort. My daily check-in turned into a weekly glance and my excitement turned into boredom. I began to question my belief that such a ruddy looking thing could turn into something so brilliant.

Then one day, I saw it. I located the tiniest little bud of my still unidentifiable plant life breaking through the surface of the soil and pushing past the mulch. It was actually working! I couldn’t believe it.

Each spring reveals the hidden growth that occurred during the cold of winter. The warm and hydrating days allow concealed strengths to become apparent. I love anticipating the promise of a return of spring and little bulbs each year. I get excited when I see my annuals doubling in size while they dormantly slept veiled by winter. They sprout up stronger and broader each time they are allowed to rest and renew.

Just like my unidentifiable bulbs, we too can trust that God will reveal himself in us in due time. We can cling to the promise that he will protect and allow growth to occur during times of hiding or hardships. We can believe that a renewal is coming because we know what lies beneath the surface of our hearts. And since we are familiar with the good gardener, we can anticipate growth and beauty in ways we can’t imagine.

Renewal can be seen so clearly all across the Bible. In the Old Testament, David prayed for a heart renewal when he said, “Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10) and then thanked God when he wrote, “You send forth your Spirit…and renew the face of the earth.” (Ps.104:30) Isaiah recognized God’s make-over abilities when he wrote, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength” (Is.40:31) And finally, my favorite renewing promise, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away...Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev.21:3-5)

So can that ruddy looking thing turn into something so brilliant and beautiful in us as well as my front flowerbed? Yes, with faith and in time, our “good gardener” is trustworthy and able. He has promised to renew us make all things new! Keep waiting. Keep resting and growing in your winter season. Keep clinging to the promise of renewal and replenishment. Soon, the time is coming when God will pull your buds through too and he will make all things new!

Rest is good.
Replenishment is good.
Renewal is good.
And a promise of a return is more than good.

God hugged me today.

His watched stopped and he gave me his time today.

God is willing.

His arms and feet dug a trench today.

God is strong.

His servant with the knowledge to fix my problem came over today.

God is knowledgeable.

His tools were made available today.

God has the resources.

His supplier delivered what we needed today.

God is the provider.

His giver made it possible today.

God is generous.

Knowledge from a 3 year old

Last night at dinner, both girls (3ys & 18 mo) were talking to one another from across the table very loudly. After a few minutes of this craziness, this conversation occurred:
G- "Girls, this house will be quiet. Talk quietly."
E-"Daddy, this is Emma's house!"
G-"This is your house? Do you pay rent here?"
E-"Daddy, Jesus gave me this house."
G- (to me) "I just got schooled by a 3 year old"