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.

FIRST tour: Bailey's Cave Adventures by Nina Meier

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Nina Meier

and the book:

Bailey’s Cave Adventures

Tate Publishing (August 5, 2008)

***Special thanks to Nina Meier for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

New author Nina Meier is an incredibly talented preschool Sunday school and VBS teacher, having 10 years’ experience in her own church doing just that. Ask anyone under the age of 5 about Miss Nina’s handmade green lizard bag that holds her lessons on love and respect for God’s creation, each other, and ourselves. With fresh, new ideas always at her fingertips, even at a moment’s notice, no child is ever bored in her class, and she is able to laugh and dance them through a Bible lesson effortlessly.

Nina has been enjoying a career in Medical Transcription for the past 15 years, having gone back to school when her 2 sons were both in college. Her husband is a talented wood craftsman and has, on many occasions, brought her VBS ideas to life. He also builds sets for church plays that are of professional quality.

Many of Nina’s lessons on missions come from firsthand experience on the field during short-term mission trips to West Virginia, the interior of Mexico, Moldova near Romania, the Gulf Coast, and an Indian reservation in Ontario, Canada.

With such multi-faceted talent, anything this new author puts her pen to is a guaranteed winner!


Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $11.99
Paperback: 68 pages
Publisher: Tate Publishing (August 5, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1604628766
ISBN-13: 978-1604628760

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Bailey’s Cave Adventures

Video/Puppet Show

Scene 1 – Day 1: Bailey comes flying and crashing into the room. When dust settles, you can see him more clearly.

Bailey: “Hi boys and girls, my name is Bailey, and I’m a brown bat. Bet you never saw a bat who was always flying into things! That’s because most bats have sonar. Let me explain what that word means. Bats can see with sound better than light. They send out a sound so high-pitched that human ears can’t hear it! The sound bounces off whatever is in front of them, and comes back to their ears. This happens really fast. That’s how they find food, and keep from flying into things.”

“Well, something went wrong when I was born, and my sonar has never worked! Anyway, it’s okay because my Mom and Dad gave me a seeing-eye dog, you know, the kind blind people use, and he helps me get around, and keeps me from falling, when he’s with me. Sometimes I try to go off on my own and, well, you can imagine. He’s my best friend! Would you like to meet my dog? (Yes!) OK. Here Radar, where are you boy?”

Out from under a curtain Bailey knocked down comes a large black Lab wearing a harness w/handle.

Radar: “I see you’re doing okay, no lumps or bumps? Well, climb on up and grab hold of my harness. I have a few things to tell these boys and girls here.”

Bailey climbs up on Radar’s head, to the harness, hangs onto the handle upside down with a sigh of relief, and falls asleep.

Radar turns to audience and says, “My job is to keep Bailey on the right path, and warn him of danger. Sometimes he listens, other times he goes off on his own without even seeing where he’s going. He has to learn to trust me completely. That’s like what the Holy Spirit does for you. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “ ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.’ ”

Bailey wakes up.

Bailey: “Radar, I almost forgot. While I was out flying”--Radar whispers to the audience, “And crashing”-- “I heard some kids talking about going spelunking, that’s cave exploring, and someone who does that is called a spelunker. Anyway, I was thinking I’d make a great spelunker, and I’ve never been very far into the cave, I could go all the way down to the dark zone! It would be a real adventure!” (Getting excited).

Radar: “Now hold on Bailey, that sounds pretty dangerous to me. I’d feel a lot better if you let me go with you.”

Bailey: “Sure, okay, that’d be fun, who’s going to carry the flashlight?” (Turns to audience). “Could you help us with flashlights boys and girls?” (Yes!) “Great, let’s get ready to go then!”

My Story Bible: 66 Favorite Stories by Jan Godfrey and Paola Bertolini Grudina

I've had the chance to review My Story Bible: 66 Favorite Stories by Jan Godfrey and Paola Bertolini Grudina. This story Bible is all about wanting to put God's Word in a child's heart. This book has 144 pages and measures 8 1/2 by 9 3/8 inches and is hard covered - making it highly durable for even the youngest child.

There are sixty six stories that begin at Creation and end in Revelation with their being no more tears as the Believers are taken to Heaven. The stories are in an easy to read and understand format so that it keeps the child's attention and are short in length, again to provide for short attention spans. Scripture references are given so that the parent can delve more deeply in life applications on the child's maturity level. Oftentimes, Bible stories are told, but not enough emphasis is put on how to apply those stories to our lives.

The beautiful illustrations adorn the pages, again keeping the child's attention. Done in a simplistic style that relates to the child it helps to tie the story together and bring about understanding. The page numbers are decorated with a cloud that really makes the page numbers pop if the child or parent are looking for a specific story. The titles of all the stories and their corresponding page numbers are listed in the back in the 'index of Bible Stories', making it easy to find all the stories in the Story Bible.

If you are a parent, Grandparent, Aunt, Uncle or just a friend or caretaker of children who wants to impart God's Word to children this is a great way to do that. From the hard cover protecting it and the pages from the hands of little children to the beautifully illustrated pages, the true stories are sure to bring an understanding and enjoyable moments. Written by Jan Godfrey, with a gift for storytelling, children will enjoy listening to their loved ones reading to them from this book. This book can be purchased from Tyndale and is geared for ages 3 to 6, and older siblings can read it to the younger ones.

the Creation story for children by Helen and David Haidle

There is a book written for children by Helen and David Haidle called the Creation story for children. This is a wonderful hardcover book that tells the story of Creation using Scripture from the King James Bible. The Scripture used comes from Genesis 1-2 and Psalms 139, focusing on God's creation.

On each page there is a Scripture given including reference verse along with writing that relates the Scripture back to the child's life in connection with the Creation story. This is a engaging way to really immerse a child in the true history of how the world was created, by our God. Mixed in with the story are questions that the child can be encouraged to answer so that it leads to better understanding of Scripture and what occurs in our lives. Children need more ideas to grab onto to retain new information and this book really offers a helping hand in the educational arena.

Beautifully illustrated, each page has it's own related picture that goes along with the Scripture and story told. This book does show Adam and Eve in the Garden alongside dinosaurs and woolly mammoths, and if you believe in the literal 6 day Creation this isn't a problem. My children enjoy learning that Adam and Eve walked among the dinosaurs as stated in Scripture. At the end of the book there is a section on God's "amazing creatures" like octopus, hummingbird, hedgehogs, velociraptors among others with information on the animals from a non-evolution viewpoint.

The very end of the book concludes with Psalm 139 telling children how they are made in a child friendly way and again beautifully illustrated. There are beautiful pictures of children enjoying life and some are shown in nature enjoying God's Creation. The most beautiful picture though is that of the baby in it's mother's womb for Psalm 139:13,15 - there is something that words cannot describe seeing an in utero baby - but it is done in a way a child will enjoy (no shock value, in other words).

With child friendly and engaging illustrations this will be a wonderful addition to any families personal library, it would also be a welcome addition to a church or school's library. This book would make a wonderful baby shower or new baby gift or even just for use in an educational way for schools, home school, or Sunday schools. This book will be treasured and enjoyed for many years to come. The Creation story for children is published by Master Books a division of New Leaf Publishing.