A Family Bible Story Book: Mighty Acts of God by Starr Meade

From Crossway:


Each story in Mighty Acts of God is retold in lively, modern-day language from a Reformed perspective, and is followed by an application section with several discussion-sparking questions and prayer points. By moving chronologically through both the Old and New Testaments, parents and children glimpse the person of God as one of consistency, vibrancy, passion, and love.



My Opinion:


This is a beautifully done hardcover Bible story book that each family will enjoy reading for daily devotions or just to let thier children learn more about the stories that are still pertinent to us today. While I'm not sure what historic Reformed Christianity is, and it's not something I want to delve into theologically, I will say I found nothing that would diminish what we believe.


Done in chronological order, we read about the Creation all the way to the book in Revelation all in an easy to read and understand way but also not dumbed down for the older children. This is unusual for some authors as not everyone can write a book and include a large age range from 4 to 10 years old. All three of my children ages 8, almost 4 and almost 6 have enjoyed looking at, reading or being read from this beautiful book.


The book is illustrated by Tim O'Connor and the pictures are just beautiful which adds to the overall effect of the hardcover book. It is definitely worth the price for this book which would will be used over and over to bring home Biblical truths to all the children in your family and it will enable them one day to learn more and be able to defend thier faith.


I was provided a copy of this book from Crossway in exchange for my honest review, no other compensation was given.

"The Big Picture Story Bible" by David Helm

From the Crossway site:


No child is too young to begin learning about the greatest love story of all—God’s love for his people, as portrayed in the Bible. David R. Helm and Gail Schoonmaker collaborate to create a beautifully illustrated book of Bible stories especially for children, written with simplicity. Rather than simply retelling the most familiar short scenes from the Bible, this book presents the “big picture”—the unified story running through the Old and New Testaments. This delightful book will help children learn the Bible’s whole story and begin to appreciate the fulfillment of God’s promise to his people.


The Big Picture Bible Story Book is perfect for parents to read to their children, and eventually, for children to read on their own. It is an excellent way to introduce them to a book that will guide them through all of life


My Opinion:


When this arrived in my mail box, my children and I were very excited! This is a huge hard cover Bible just for children with 456 pages and a 9 X 9 size, just right for little ones to enjoy looking at. Larger print will allow begining readers to more easily see and read the words and with larger type there aren't as many sentences per page so as not to overwhelm a child reading this. A good basic Bible story book for young children with short attention spans, each story can be read in 10 minutes or less of course follow your child's lead and come back to it later.


Large, vibrant colored illustrations done by Gail Schoonmaker are beautiful additions and hold children's attention from the minute they open The Big Picture Story Book. Even I enjoyed the illustrations - with simple detail for children but enough for an adult to enjoy while reading the story - it's a great balance.


Each story has a question weaved into the writing that can be asked nonchalantly and a pause after will allow children to give their thoughts. Such as in the account of Adam and Eve children will be asked what they might have done? and what did Adam and Eve do? This will increase their cognition of the Biblical accounts of those gone before us and well as help later when they need to recall these historical happenings. This Bible will have an honored place among the 'grown up' Bibles in your house for years to come and would make a great heirloom that your children's children can enjoy.


To purchase your own copy.


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**I was provided a copy of The Big Picture Story Bible through Crossway and Amy S. in exchange for my honest review - no other compensation was given.

What He Must Be..... by Voddie Baugham Jr.

Smell that? It's a breath of fresh air, godly fresh air. I just finished reading
What He Must Be if he wants to marry my daughter by Voddie Baucham, Jr.
This book is definitely what all Christian parents need to read if they want their daughter's to be married to godly men who will treasure them and do their Biblical duties and also what they need to train their sons to do as we prepare them for marriage. Truly this book is a breath of fresh air, in a culture full of feminism, gender neutrality and humanism.

At first I thought that the book review program at Crossway got things mixed up because at first glance I thought it was a book for me on what their daughter's need in a marriageable husband - I was wrong! This is a book that both mother's and father's can get a lot out of. While I already had thoughts of courtship for my children, my husband isn't convinced. I experienced severe personal heart ache in the leftovers of dating romances - which only time and God can heal and I don't want my son or my daughter's to enter their marriage with such heart ache.

Some will find this book archaic and backwards, especially in our culture who today says women can have a marriage, family and career - oftentimes finding that isn't the case. Men who become stay at home dads - when this becomes Biblical please give me the Scripture reference. Men who love their wives and wives who submit to their husbands. Men who WANT and welcome children, who are the sold provider for their families, men who are the protector, and the priest in the home. This is not a popular view and Mr. Baucham recognizes that but thankfully he doesn't back down from that either. He supports everything with Scripture. When he discusses Biblical submission this doesn't mean allowing a man to beat on his wife or the wife has to be at his beck and call - this detracts from his being a protector, provider and priest. Husband's have to submit to Christ and the wives are to show their husbands the same love and respect.

This is a refreshing wake up call to churches who are more and more finding themselves having to condone live in relationships before marriage, believers marrying non believers, young men and women swearing off marriage and children until they can afford it among other issues. This book will challenge your beliefs in marriage and raise the bar on what we expect of our sons and our future son in laws. As a mother this is what I want my children to look toward, in a world that my daughter's are already being pushed to make career choices (they are only 7 and 4 1/2), it's going to be hard to go against the grain and say, "no". I am not saying that Mr. Baucham has all the answers, but he brings a lot of good points that are Biblically based and sound in what we need to be on the look for.

So if you are a Christian parent and don't want to settle for a son in law just because he loves your daughter (is he a true Bible believing, God fearing Christian) or do you want someone who wants to emulate Christ and follow God's Word? If the answer is yes, read this book and if the answer is no, GET THIS BOOK because if you are willing to settle for less than what God wants for your son and for you daughter's then you will be sacrificing something that didn't need to be sacrificed.