Book Review: Before You Meet Prince Charming

Title: Before You Meet Prince Charming

Author: Sarah Mally

Rating; 5/5

Age Recommendation: 10+

Plot: Before You Meet Prince Charming is all about remaining pure, and how you can do that right now, wherever you are in your life. It discusses how to prepare for your future husband, the dangers of our society's dating system, and provides examples of ways to get to know a young man while still remaining pure. 

We felt that this book did just what it set out to do - which was to help young ladies understand just what purity is, and how to exercise it in the world that we live in. We found it very encouraging, helpful, and biblical. We liked that Sarah didn't give you a list of standards she had already set, but presented many different approaches and allowed you to set your own standards.

Quality: This book was very well-written and clear in its message. Something that was very appreciated was that it perfectly explained purity, while still being age-appropriate. It is a book that we would recommend to any girl or woman over 10 (not because of any mature content, but just because it would be more interesting for that age).

Elinor's Thoughts: I enjoyed this book greatly, as well as learned quite a bit! It helped me to find ways that I could be more deeply committing my life to Christ, and it opened up some conversations with my sister, mom, and dad that were very meaningful. It made me excited for finding the man that God has for me, but it also helped me to remember that God should be my focus, more than anything else. This is one of those books that one day (Lord willing) I will want to have my daughters read. 

Marianne's Thoughts: I loved reading this book with Elinor! It really helped me to better understand what it means to "prepare" yourself for your future husband, and how I can do that now. Something else that Sarah explained was what it really means to "wait upon the Lord". She shared that that didn't mean just sitting around staring at the TV and waiting for God to bring some perfect young man to your door, but that you should wait upon the Lord the way a waitress waits upon the customer... you should serve Him. It was an analogy that will stick with me for a while :). It was a great book that I would recommend over and over again!

Book, books, books!

    Hello! Today we'd like to show you some pictures of our books. These are the books that we haven't read yet, and they are in order (top to bottom) of how we plan to read them.
*The order of the books could be changed, this is simply how we plan to read them.

Elinor's Books:

Reached by Allie Condie

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Get Lost by Dannah Gresh

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Crater by Homer Hickham

Crescent by Homer Hickham

The Shunning by Beverly Lewis

The Confession by Beverly Lewis

The Reckoning by Beverly Lewis

Cinder's Midnight by Jeffrey Overstreet

The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Miss Fortune by Sara Mills

Watcher in the Woods by Robert Liparulo

Marianne's Books:

Just Jane by Nancy Moser

Maid to Match by Deeane Gist

The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen 

When Calls the Heart by Janette Oke

Found in Translation by Roger and Kristi Rae Bruner 

Beauty Secrets by Deborah and Rachel Newman

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The Soul of Prince Caspian by Gene Veith

Answers Book for Teens by Bodie Hodge, Tommy Mitchell and Ken Ham

Mary Magdalene by Diana Wallis Taylor

Fiction to Read Together:

Snow on the Tulips by Liz Tolsma

The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan

The Long Way Home by Andrew Klavan

The Truth of the Matter by Andrew Klavan

The Final Hour by Andrew Klavan

Veiled Rose by Anne Elizabeth Stengl

Moonblood by Anne Elizabeth Stengl

Kingdom's Hope by Chuck Black

Devotionals to Read Together:

Dating Mr. Darcy by Sarah Arthur

Live to Give by Austin Gutwein 

Escaping the Vampire by Kimberly Powers

Success for Teens

Girlfriend, You are a B.A.B.E by Andrea Stephens

Boyland by Andrea Stephens

Wild Grace by Max Lucado

Green's Not Your Best Color by Mieka Phillips

The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel

The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel

Destination Unknown by Gordon S. Jackson

Bible B.A.B.E.S by Andrea Stephens

True Images Devotional

Book Review: Found: God's Will

Title: Found: God's Will

Author: John Macarthur

Rating: 5/5
Age Recommendation: 12+

Plot: Found: God's Will is a book that explains how to really know what God wants for you. John Macarthur takes you through the 5 s's it takes to understand God's will for your life: Saved, Spirit-filled, Sanctified, Submissive, and Suffering. After you have done these five things, the final step may catch you by surprise!

I ADORED this book! My youth pastor recommended it about 2 months ago and I was very eager to read it! This book is very short: only 75 pages long! But it is also very profound! Every single chapter was PACKED with encouragement! It is definitely a must-read!

Quality: I had never read any of John Macarthur's books before this one. Let's just say, I am going to read as many as I can get my hands on! Macarthur did an amazing job with this book, it was very well put together and inspiring!

My Thoughts: If you haven't read this book you really should! It is a very encouraging book that I think would be very helpful to teens and adults! I loved this book and I will definitely read it over and over and over again!

Favorite Quote(s):

"The Spirit-Filled life yields every decision to the control of the Spirit."

"When Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, he had the same power as when he was standing next to Jesus Christ!"

"The more you study the word of God, the more it saturates your mind and life."

"Real greatness centers in being of service to others."

"We are to suffer, not because we have failed to be the right kind of person when we were younger, not because we are antagonistic, grumpy, grouchy, or out of whack somewhere, but we should suffer for doing what's right."

"If you are a Christian who is living a godly life in an ungodly world, you will suffer."

Book Review: City On Our Knees

   Hey, everyone! I missed ya'll so much! Elinor and I had great Summer and enjoyed some relaxing time home, and later a visit to our cousins' house! How has your Summer been? Anyway, I thought I'd start back with a book review!

Title: City On Our Knees

Author: TobyMac

Rating:5/5

Age Recommendation: 12+

Plot: In this book, Christian musician TobyMac shares the stories that have inspired him most over the years. The stories are all very, very different, but they all have one thing in common: They all encourage you to "step across the line", or, step out of your comfort-zone and do what you know is right. The message that this book is trying to send is that God made us all different for a reason. He gave us different strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes and he has a special purpose for each of us. We must however, be willing to do whatever God asks of us because He wants the absolute best for us.

Quality: I thought this book was very well written and interesting. I have never read another book like it, and I thought TobyMac did a great job! You could tell he had done research and poured a lot of time and energy into writing it.

My Thoughts: I just loved this book! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was a bit disappointed when I finished it! I would definitely recommend it to many, but probably mostly to a 12+ audience because there were a couple chapters that would be a bit difficult for younger children. These chapters included one that describes a man trying to end human trafficking. It describes him accidentally walking into a brothel, and what he saw there. I skimmed over that paragraph just to be safe, but what I read didn't get too descriptive. Another slightly bothersome chapter described an area in which murder was very common. It spoke of a prison that many of the killers were put into and how awful it was. The point of sharing the details of the prison was mainly to show how much we need Jesus, and it did just that. As I said before, I would highly recommend this book as it is has a very inspiring message that causes you to evaluate your own life in many areas.