The 10 Myths of Teen Dating Book Review

 

Truths your daughter needs to know to 

date smart, avoid disaster, and protect her future

SUMMARY:  Your daughter is ready to date.  You need help!

     There is no moment of greater panic in a parent's life than when his or her daughter begins to date.  But many parents feel ill equipped to guide their daughters through the minefield that is teen dating.   And by the same token, teenagers crave genuine information about dating and relationships.

     So how do you talk to your daughter about relationships and her future happiness?  Expert educator Daniel Anderson and his daughter Jacquelyn help you navigate the biggest dating myths, including: a boyfriend will make your daughter happy, she should trust her feelings, and sex will enhance her relationship.  Combining scientific research with poignant personal stories and practical application, this book will equip you to teach your daughter how to date smart for today . . . and tomorrow.

REVIEW:  While I was reading this book or anytime she would spot it laying on the kitchen counter, my teenage daughter would roll her eyes and just make a disgruntled noise.  Hannah was embarrassed because I received this book after she started dating her boyfriend.  Since I very rarely dated in high school, I want to help my beautiful daughter safely navigate her through the teenage dating years and beyond.  This book was very helpful in giving me insight to current teenage dating practices, thoughts and ideas.  The authors discuss ten common myths, such as "a boyfriend will make me happy," "love and sex are the same," "he will never hit me again," and "serial dating and living together will make my marriage better" and shows examples, along with data and research, on why these myths are false and tools to use to avoid falling in these traps.  At the end of each chapter, there are questions to reflect on and ones to discuss with your daughter.  These questions will give you a place to start discussions and help you when you talk to your daughter.  Some are difficult and may make you feel very uncomfortable but, unfortunately, are necessary in today's teen scene.  Even though some myths build on the previous one, they each provided information that is very helpful for both teenage boys and girls, along with adults finding themselves on the dating scene. 
     The authors are both teachers in the public schools in Oregon.  Daniel has been teaching for over twenty years and has learned from his students as well as helped them in difficult situations.  Jacquelyn is Daniel's daughter, also discusses her dating experiences as a teen, as well as those of friends and classmates she knew in school.
     This book has been very helpful and is a great tool to have during these crazy years.

This book was provided by Litfuse Publicity Group and David C. Cook

for review without compensation.

Daniel Anderson is a former college All-American basketball player and a father of two grown daughters and one son.  As a veteran high school teacher in the public school system, Daniel was troubled by how his students approached dating and relationships.  He and his daughter Jacquelyn Anderson, a twenty-something high school teacher, decided to address this need by equipping parents with The 10 Myths of Teen Dating, their first book together.  Daniel and Jacquelyn both make their home in Portland, Oregon. 

A Flight of Arrows Book Review

Pathfinders Series

Book Two

SUMMARY:  Hearts are divided.  Loyalties will be tested.  The fates of two families hang in the balance.
     Twenty years ago, during the devastating fall of Fort William Henry in 1757, a young Redcoat named Reginald Aubrey stole a newborn boy - the lighter-skinned of Oneida twins - and raised him as his own.
      No one connected to Reginald escaped unscathed from this crime.  Not his adopted daughter Anna.  Not Stone Thrower, the Native American father determined to get his son back.  Not Two Hawks, William's twin brother separated since birth, living in the shadow of his absence and hoping to build a future with Anna.  Nor Lydia, who longs for Reginald to be free from his self-imposed emotional prison and embrace God's forgiveness - and her love.
     Now William, whose identity has been shattered after discovering the truth of his birth, hides in the ranks of an increasingly aggressive British army.  The Redcoats prepare to attack frontier New York, and the Continentals, aided by Two Hawks and the Oneida warriors, rally to defend it.  As the Revolutionary War penetrates the Mohawk Valley, two families separated by culture but united by love and faith must find a way to reclaim the son marching toward them in the ranks of their enemies.

REVIEW:  Lori Benton does it again and knocks the ball out of the park with this novel.  Having read all her other novels except for Book One in this series, The Wood's Edge, she carries on her distinct style and, with it, her readers.  The research she puts into each one comes out as you read about the battles, locations, lifestyles of both Native Americans and colonialists and the mindset of times.  I felt like I was right there beside the characters and could feel the depth of hurt, love, anger and other emotions each one went through.  There were times I was so caught up in the story that I had a hard time adjusting when I had to set my book down.  This is a novel you will want to read.
     This is the second book in this series.  I did not have the opportunity to read the first one.  The author did a great job explaining the first novel as she went along so that I did not feel I missed anything.  Some time in the future, I hope to read the first just to fill in the gaps and have a complete understanding of the events.
    This is one author that you need to keep on your radar.

This book was provided by Waterbrook Multnomah and Blogging for Books 

for review without compensation.

 Lori Benton was raised east of the Appalachian Mountains, where she was surrounded by three hundred years of American history.  Now her novels transport readers to the eighteenth century, where she brings to life the Colonial and early Federal periods of our nation's history.  She is the multiple award-winning author of numerous books including Burning Sky, The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn, and The Wood's Edge (Book one in the Pathfinders series).  Lori makes her home in Oregon.

A Chameleon, A Boy and A Quest Book Review

SUMMARY:  The Adventure of a Lifetime
     Journey through Africa with ten-year-old Mu and discover how one simple encounter can change everything.  J.A. Myhre's new adventure fiction series for kids and young adults blends magical realism, page-turning action, and subtle gospel themes.
     Orphaned ten-year-old Mu's drudgery-filled life changes forever when he meets a talking chameleon and the pair embark on an adventurous quest in the ever-changing landscape of Africa.

REVIEW:  This was an intriguing story of a boy trying to find out where he belongs.  Mu's companion is a chameleon who directs him where he needs to go, helps him communicate with other animals for help and food, and gives him advice about life.  The journey he takes is dangerous, fraught with men who want to kidnap him, animals that could kill or maim him, and paths across the savanna and up high mountain passes.  Along the way, Mu learns more about his birth parents, the uncle he lived with and what he is made of.  He makes some very difficult choices, the consequences of one he will have to live with for the rest of his life.
     This novel was written for families and young adults.  There were a couple of places I wouldn't want my younger child to read because it was difficult for me.  But, all in all, it was a great story of God's faithfulness and leading us along life's highways.  Check it out and see what you think.

This book was provided by Litfuse Publicity Group and New Growth Press 

for review without compensation.

J.A. Myhre, MD, serves as a doctor with Serge in East Africa where she has worked for over two decades.  She is passionate about health care for the poor, training local doctors and nurses, promoting childhood nutrition and development, and being the hands of Jesus in the hardest places.  She is married to her best friend and colleague Scott, and together they have raised four children for whom these stories were written as Christmas presents.

Israel's Mission DVD and Discovery Guide Review

Becoming a Kingdom of Priests

in a Prodigal World

SUMMARY:  WHAT'S YOUR MISSION?  God gave an assignment to His people thousands of years ago:  Bring "lost sheep" back into the love and safety of His kingdom.  It's still our task today.  In this 13th volume of That the World May Know, you'll glimpse the urgency and rewards of welcoming the strangers and prodigals the Lord longs to embrace.  Discover the mission that can give your life - and the lives of those around you - greater meaning that you ever imagined.

Five Episodes filmed on location in the Middle East

1. Abraham and Sarah and Three Strangers (Negev, Israel)
2. Israel at Sinai: The First Great Commission (Timnah, Israel)
3. Jesus Renews His Mission:  Seeking the Lost (Qatzrin, Israel)
4. The Lost Son:  In a Far Country (Jerash, Jordan)
5. The Seeking Father:  The Lost Son Returns (Qatzrin, Israel)

      This Discovery Guide will take you on an interactive journey.  Each session . . . 

• Focuses on passages of Scripture explored in the film.
• Includes sidebars, maps, photos and other study tools.
• Features questions that facilitate discussion and inspire personal reflection.

That the World May Know
     Join renowned teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan as he guides you through the land of the Bible.  In each lesson, Vander Laan illuminates the historical, geographical and cultural context of the sacred Scriptures.  Filmed on location in the Middle East and elsewhere, the That the World May Know film series will transform your understanding of God and challenge you to be a true follower of Jesus.

REVIEW:  Having seen some of Ray Vander Laan's  That the World May Know videos in the past, I was excited to see this opportunity come across my desk.  The author and teacher of this video series gives you details based on cultural views, historical context and geography that has gotten lost in our modern day Western culture to help you understand what the biblical writers meant in a deeper, most eye-opening way.  In this series, Mr. Vander Laan focuses on our mission - bringing others back into the family fold - and how this assignment was given to the Israelites in the desert and again to the followers of Jesus.  The details given about how the patriarchal society the Hebrews were familiar with is a representation of the family of God.  The parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son are seen in a different light when you look at the context of the patriarchal family - the beth ab - and shows us just how God keeps pursuing us, even when we don't want to be found.  The Discovery Guide gives you more details and focuses on other stories in the bible in greater detail that also support this idea of redemption.  Maps, side bar notes and "Did You Know" sections help bring the reader to a deeper understanding of the passages covered.
     This is a wonderful series and lives up to the memory of the ones I've seen previously.  This series is great for a small group, Sunday school class, Bible Study group or even an individual who wants to dig deeper into the bible.  You will not be disappointed.

This DVD and Discovery Guide was provided by Litfuse Publicity Group and Zondervan 

for review without compensation.

Ray Vander Laan is the founder of That the World May Know Ministries and creator of the That the World May Know video series with Focus on the Family.  An ordained minister, he holds the chair of biblical cultural studies as a religion instructor at Holland Christian Schools in Holland, Michigan.  He and his wife, Esther, have four children and 16 grandchildren.  ThatTheWorldMayKnow.com

Steven and Amanda Sorenson are founders of Sorenson Communications and have cowritten many small group curriculum guidebooks, including the entire That the World May Know film series.

Before Amen Book Review

 The Power of a Simple Prayer

SUMMARY:  We all pray . . . some.

     We pray to stay sober centered, or solvent.  When the lump is deemed malignant.  When the money runs out before the month does. When the marriage is falling apart.  We pray.  

     But wouldn't we like to pray . . .

More?

Better?

Stronger?

With more fire, faith, and fervency?

     Yet we have kids to feed, bills to pay, deadlines to meet.  The calendar pounces on our good intentions like a tiger on a rabbit.  And what about our checkered history with prayer? Uncertain words.  Unmet expectations.  Unanswered requests.

     We aren't the first to struggle with prayer.  The first followers of Jesus needed prayer guidance too.  In fact, prayer is the only tutorial they ever requested.

     Jesus gave them a prayer.  Not a lecture on prayer.  Not the doctrine of prayer.  He gave them a quotable, repeatable, portable prayer.  Couldn't we use the same?

     Join Max Lucado on a journey to the very heart of biblical prayer and the power unleashed with six simple lines:

         Father,

                   you are good.

                                     I need help.

                                                     They need help.

                                                                          Thank you.

                                                                                         In Jesus' name, amen.

REVIEW:  Max Lucado takes the Lord's Prayer, explains it in an easy to understand format and gives examples of ways to use the different parts.  As always, he explains things in ways everyone can understand it but doesn't dumb it down.  He uses personal examples along with illustrations from the bible to make this personal prayer relevant for today's Christian.  This is a superb book that can help Christians, whether they've been walking with the Lord a long time or if they are brand new.  

This Advance Reader's Copy was provided by Litfuse Publicity Group and Thomas Nelson Publishers for review without compensation.

More than 120 million readers have found inspiration and encouragement in the writings of Max Lucado.  He serves the people of Oak Hills Church in San Antonia, Texas where he lives with his wife, Denalyn, and a sweet but misbehaving mutt, Andy.

The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn Book Review

SUMMARY:  Frontier dangers cannot compare to the risks one woman takes by falling in love.
     In an act of brave defiance, Tamsen Littlejohn escapes the life of her harsh stepfather has forced upon her.  Forsaking security and an arranged marriage, she enlists frontiersman Jesse Bird to guide her to the Watagua settlement in western North Carolina.  But shedding her old life doesn't come without cost.  As the two cross a vast mountain wilderness, Tamsen faces hardships that test the limits of her faith and endurance.
     Convinced that Tamsen has been kidnapped, wealthy suitor Ambrose Kincaid follows after her, in company with her equally determined stepfather.  With trouble headed their way, Tamsen and Jesse find themselves thrust into the conflict of a divided community of Overmountain settlers.  The State of Franklin has been declared, but many remain loyal to North Carolina.  With chaos on the horizon, Tamsen struggles to adapt to a life for which she was never prepared.  But could these challenges, this relationship, be what her soul has longed for, what God has been leading her toward?  As her pursuers draw ever nearer, will her faith see her through the greatest danger of all - loving a man who has risked everything for her?

REVIEW:  Lori Benton goes into great detail about the conflicts of this time period: the treatment of slaves, how American's were affected after the Revolutionary War, the creation of a new state, The State of Franklin., and the interactions of American citizens with Native Americans.  Even though at times I wish Jesse and Tamsen would have confessed their interest and, later love, to each other and would have gotten married sooner than they did, I was pleased to see how the author let the characters learn more about themselves and each other before committing themselves to each other.  I hated putting the book down to do chores, run errands and feed my family because it was so good.  I really enjoyed this book and really look forward to more novels from this author.

This book was provided by Blogging for Books (Waterbrook Multnomah) for review without compensation.

Lori Benton, author of the acclaimed Burning Sky, was raised east of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by early American and family history going back three hundred years.  Her novels transport readers to the eighteenth century, where she brings to life the Colonial and early Federal periods of American history.  When she isn't writing, Lori enjoys exploring beautiful Oregon with her husband.

Burning Sky Book Review

SUMMARY:  I remember the borders of our land, though I have been gone from them nearly half the moons of my life.  But who there will remember me?  What I have seen, what I have done, it has changed me.
     Abducted by Mohawk Indians at fourteen and renamed Burning Sky, Willa Obenchain is driven to return to her family's New York frontier homestead after many years building a life with the People.  At the boundary of her father's property, Willa discovers a wounded Scotsman lying in her path and she feels obliged to nurse his injuries.  The two quickly find much has changed during her twelve-year absence - her childhood home is in disrepair, her missing parents are rumored to be Tories, and the young Richard Waring she once admired is now grown into a man twisted by the horrors or war and claiming ownership of the Obenchain land.
     When her Mohawk brother arrives and questions her place in the white world, the cultural divide blurs Willa's vision.  Can she follow Tames-His-Horse back to the People now that she is no longer Burning Sky?  And what about Neil MacGregor, the kind and loyal botanist who does not fit into her plan for a solitary life, yet is now helping her revive her farm?  In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, strong feelings against "savages" abound in the nearby village of Shiloh, leaving Willa's safety unsure.
     Willa is a woman caught between two worlds.  As tensions rise, challenging her shielded heart, the woman called Burning Sky must find a new courage - the courage to again risk embracing the blessings the Almighty wants to bestow.  Is she brave enough to love again?

REVIEW:  This book is impressive and extraordinary.  The author does a wonderful job describing the difficulties Willa faced in returning to her former home after living with the Mohawk tribe.  The struggles are not only with trying to recover her parents' land and reputation but with herself.  When Tames-A-Horse brings Willa two children who are half-Mohawk/half-white to care for, Willa is forced to deal with the memory of the death of her own children.  She also struggles with loving again.  Her Mohawk husband had died but her heart had gone to her Mohawk brother many years ago but was forbidden.  Neil MacGregor shows Willa that she can love again, not just him but the people around her too.  Forgiveness and acceptance also abounds throughout this book.
     This is Lori Benton's first book and I think she did an excellent job.  She set the bar pretty high but I look forward to reading any future novels from her.

This book was provided by Waterbrook Multnomah for review without compensation.

Lori Benton spent her late teens and early twenties pursuing a career as a wildlife artist, attending the Maryland College of Art & Design before she began painting professionally.  When not writing or researching, Lori can be found exploring the mountains of southern Oregon with her husband, Brian.  Burning Sky is her first novel.

Chasing Francis Book Review

A Pilgrim's Tale

SUMMARY:  What happens when the pastor of a megachurch loses his faith?

     Pastor Chase Falson has lost his faith in God, the Bible, evangelical Christianity, and his super-sized megachurch.  When he falls apart, the church elders tell him to go away: as far away as possible.

     Join Chase on his life-changing journey to Italy where, which a curious group of Franciscan friars, he struggles to resolve his crisis of faith by retracing the footsteps of Francis of Assisi, a saint whose simple way to loving Jesus changed the history of the world.

     Read this riveting story and then begin your own life-changing journey through the pilgrim's guide included in this powerful novel.

REVIEW:  The author says "Chasing Francis (was) written in a genre called wisdom literature, which is a delicate balance of fiction and nonfiction, pilgrimage and teaching."  The story is about Chase but it speaks to anyone who may be looking for more in Chrisitanity.  In this story, Chase has become disillusioned with Christianity.  His uncle Kenny has Chase join him in Italy, research the life of Francis of Assisi and together they go where Francis walked and ministered.  Since Francis encountered many of the things we as modern Christians experience, Chase was able to figure out what he believed and how to help others experience God in a different way.

,     This is a thought provoking book.  For me, it is one I would need to read numerous times to fully understand what God may be speaking to me and to fully understand what we as Christians are called to do.  This is a great book that I highly recommend.  For those wanting to go into more depth either by themselves or with a group, there is an excellent reader's guide at the end of the book.

This book was provided by Booksneeze/Zondervan for review without compensation.

Ian Morgan Cron is a bestselling author, Episcopal priest, speaker, retreat leader, counselor, and songwriter.  Ian and his wife have three children and divide their time between homes in Franklin, Tennessee and Dorset, Vermont.  For more information, visit Ian's website at www.iancron.com.