Review of Safely Home by Randy Alcorn

Safely Home by Randy Alcorn is the story of 2 old friends. One was from China, the other from the US. They met at Harvard during college. They shared a dorm.  20 years passed. The American was now in line for the CEO of a large American corporation. His boss thought it would be a good idea for the American to go to China to live with his old friend from Harvard, in order to increase business in China. The boss thought they could sell more in China if they better understood the culture of the consumer.

The Chinese man had become a Christian during his stay in America. The American man was able to locate the Chinese man, and the Chinese family invited him to stay at their home for six weeks. From the moment the American arrives in the home of the Chinese, the book is a fast paced, roller coaster ride. The book is exciting, adventurous, and challenging in ways I never expected. I don't want to say too much about the story line, because I don't want to spoil any of the twists and turns.

I loved this book. I loved the rollicking, action-adventure, don't-want-to-put-it-down quality of the writing. I loved the view of the differences between the persecuted church and the American church. I loved the honor accorded to the Christians in the persecuted church by Mr. Alcorn. 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers, in exchange for an honest review.

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.

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.

Review of Secrets of the Vine For Women by Darlene Marie Wilkinson

I read this book with anticipation, since John chapter 15 is one of my favorite parts of scripture. The book was short--only 110 pages of actual text. And the way she presented the scripture did not have very much depth. 

Each chapter begins with a fictional account of a vineyard at harvest time. From there, Mrs. Wilkinson goes on to say a little about John chapter 15. Her first point is that there will be discipline if a believer’s life consistently bears no fruit. The second point is that there will be pruning if there is some fruit. Then she speaks of much fruit. In this section, she mentions that Jesus “asks us to become more and more dependent on Him, and the amazing result is an abundance of fruit.” P. 83.

The book was all right, but it was by no means outstanding. It did not challenge me in any way. I much prefer books like Radical by David Platt, personally. 
It would be a good book for a new Christian, and would perhaps be a good book for a women's Bible study, but it is not a good book for someone who desires any type of depth or challenge. 

I would like to thank WaterBrook Multnomah for sending me a free copy of this book. They required nothing from me other than an honest review.

What a great soup!

I am not one to post recipes on my blog very often. There are lots of other sites out there for that. But I have been eating soups pretty regularly for awhile now. I had some Lima beans in the fridge that I needed to eat up. The rest of my family are not really fans of Lima beans. So, I decided to see if there were any good Lima bean soup recipes online.

I tend to make my soups in the morning when I have more time and energy and the kids are happy to play with each other. Then I refrigerate them and eat them for lunch or supper. That's why I made this soup at nine in the morning. =D>


I found this recipe http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1948,152184-242205,00.html

I modified it this way.

I put 2 tablespoons of butter in a hot pan. Then added finely chopped onion (about 1/2 of a large onion.) When the onions were translucent, I threw in 1/3 cup of the cream of ... soup mix I use instead of cans of cream soup and then added 1 and 1/3 cups of water. I stirred it while it thickened, about 5 minutes.

Then I threw in all the Lima beans I had (about the amount that 2  14-ounce cans would produce.). I added curry powder to taste. I added pepper, but no salt since everything had already been salted. When I tasted it, I thought a little turmeric would add a nice color and flavor. I threw in a pinch of that. I heated it through, about 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

Then I used my immersion blender to mix everything well.

Then I tasted and almost swooned. That is probably one of the best soups I have ever eaten!! (If I do say so myself.)

Because my "friend" at Life in a Shoe just posted her desire for our best bean/lentil recipes with extra points to those whose recipes are vegetarian, I want to add a link to her site. Here you go.
http://inashoe.com/2011/05/linky-time-i-want-your-best-beanlentil-recipe/