Thursday, June 16, 2011

Review of A Well Planned Day Planner



I LOVE my copy of The Well Planned Day Planner. You have a choice of either a pdf file or a beautifully spiral bound notebook. I chose the pdf file, so that I can print only the pages I need.

The colors are beautifully calming. If your homeschool is anything like mine, anything that would add an element of calm is welcome. Upon browsing the planner, several wonderful things showed up. First, there are quotes by some "Old Dead Guys" I love: Spurgeon and Billy Sunday, among others. Second, there is a weekly catechism. This looks like a nice addition to our Bible time. Additionally, up to four children can be planned on a single page.

There is a "Monthly List of Books to Enjoy," which I plan to use in the past tense--for books that have been read by my children or to my children. There is also a wonderful monthly field trip list page. The monthly bills and expenses can be posted right there with the other information to keep me on track. There is even a weekly menu planner, along with a weekly priorities list and a weekly school chart. And at the front of the planner, there is a Keepsake Page. It allows you to jot the ages of each child this school year, attach a photo and answer some questions about things that were family favorites this year (favorite read aloud book, favorite game to play, favorite movie watched.) Wonderful!  All of this is personalizable for my tastes.

In addition to all of this, there are short articles scattered throughout. Each is like a magazine article to encourage moms in their homeschooling adventure.

I am thrilled with my copy of The Well Planned Day Planner.

FTC disclaimer: I received a copy of The Well Planned Day in exchange for an honest review. I received no other compensation for this review.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Review of We Shall See God by Randy Alcorn

When I first heard about We Shall See God by Randy Alcorn I was very excited. I have treasured the things that the Lord has taught me through Spurgeon and this book was written by Mr. Alcorn using sermons by Spurgeon.

Well, the book is simply fantastic! I loved it. It is set up like a devotional with 50 days of devotional thoughts on heaven. First, Mr. Alcorn quotes a passage from one of Spurgeon's sermons, including the scripture and then Mr. Alcorn himself comments on the quote.

The Spurgeon quotes were not stilted as they sometimes are and Mr. Alcorn's thoughts flowed very well with what Spurgeon had said. I have read many devotional books. Always in the past I would read them quickly from start to finish in order more like one would read a regular book. With this book, I read it as a devotional. I would read one or two of the devotional days (not necessarily in order, but according to which title sounded interesting) then I would ponder those thoughts all day long.

Anything by Spurgeon has always been fodder for deep pondering for me and fodder for moving further in my Christian life. And this book is no different. The only difference (if it can be counted as one) is that this time I have also got the words of Mr. Alcorn to ponder.

I have never read any other books by Mr. Alcorn, but this book is enough to interest me in some of his other works. I would be interested in reading Heaven by Randy Alcorn now that I have read this book.

Tyndale Publishing sent this book to me in exchange for an honest review. I am so grateful. I have enjoyed every moment with this book. Thank you, Tyndale Publishing.