peril in the palace…

i was pleased to get this book and share it with my 5 yr old son who is just learning to read, so we read it together.  it was a good solid little story and the events, though somewhat tough at times for him to keep up with, didn’t move too quickly.  the story wasn’t that far of a reach that he didn’t enjoy it, which is really what i’m basing this entirely upon.

if my 5 yr old son, said that he would like to read more stories in the series, then that makes it worth at least 4 stars of 5, which is what i’ll give it.

by the way, tyndale gave me a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review, meaning i get to say what i want about it.

another review…

so i was given a copy of this book from Booksneeze for free, and in exchange i told them i would offer a review.  this is the review. 

this is a well written story that shows some of the adversity that albert pujols has had to go through in becoming one of Major League of Baseball’s premier players.  it does a decent job of communicating some of the faith journey that he’s had and some of the issues that he’s faced which have helped to shape who he is.

while i appreciate the impact on the game that he’s had (especially over the last few years as he’s kept up in his consistent play), i couldn’t quite get over the timing of this book’s release.  it “just happened” to come out right in the midst of his contract re-negotiations and i couldn’t help but wonder whether it was part of a larger marketing ploy to play into his contract talks.  whether it was or not, it’s a decently written biography.

nothing major was in here, meaning i wasn’t neccesarily surprised by anything, and that also means i didn’t really learn anything either.  to be honest, i was left feeling kinda “ho hum” after reading it.

Review: Coach on Success

so this time around, I’ve been reading a devotional book from Tyndale called “Life Promises for Success” by Jim Tressel.  Tressel is the acclaimed head coach of Ohio State University’s football team, and the winner of a couple of national championships, so I guess its okay for him to write about success.

i’ve purposely taken a few extra days weeks to go through this book because: A) i take a bit of a different approach with devotionals since they’re meant to be read daily in chunks rather than in a one or few short spurts as a whole, and B) i’m always skeptical of a book promising secrets to success – Christian or not.

i like this devotional.  i’m going to keep going through it.  it has great insights, and at times, i find it turns the definitions that i have of success on their ears and offers a newer perspective that seems – different, and – more right.  the book itself doesn’t shy away from success either, it actually encourages the enjoyment (but not the getting caught up in) of success, no matter what level it happens on.

Tyndale gave me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of it, meaning i get to say what i want about it.  and i like it.  i’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

Paws & Tales Blog Tour

welcome!  this is day one of the Paws & Tales: God Cares for You blog tour.  i’m glad to be part of this, and i hope that my (& my oldest son’s) review helps you here.

i was sent a free copy of this dvd from Tyndale in exchange of an honest review, meaning i get to say what i want about it.

now that that’s taken care of: Grayson (oldest son) really enjoyed the video.  he’s a fairly discerning 4 year old who definitely lets his opinion of what he likes and dislikes be known.  we watched the first episode on the dvd – “The Good Shepherd” (link goes to the trailer on Youtube) – and he thoroughly enjoyed it.  he wanted to watch it again, which i think says enough about it. 

when i asked him what he learned from it, he told me that “its really important to take good care of other people’s things, and that Jesus takes really good care of us”.  his favourite character was the shepherd dog, and he was able to sit through the whole thing, and then he asked if he could watch more!  i’d be glad to let him watch the whole series.

i personally thought the video was put together relatively well.  be warned though, the animation will take a little getting used to for the 80’s cartoon generation.  the wide-eyed look of the characters at first reminds me of a deer caught in the headlights.  the animation could definitely use some improvement (too bad we still have yet to say that a christian company has put out a product that blows away its competition) in my mind, but my son didn’t seem to mind.  the content was there, and if you can hold my 4 year old’s attention, then you’ve got mine.  the content and storyline were there, and i was impressed by the simplicity of the message.

for more info on the series check the Paws & Tales website, which has some great content on it, and you can always check out Tyndale too.

* i have a gift certificate for a free copy of this dvd to give away.  if you’d like it, i’ll send it to the first person to tweet me (@gpyouthguy) via twitter and say “I want the Paws & Tales DVD!!!”  I’ll respond to the winner and send you a free gift certificate.

praying together…

so its time i make a confession.  i don’t pray nearly enough.  as a matter of fact, i have to schedule times of prayer like my weekly Wednesday morning prayer time at the church in order for me to be more disciplined in praying.  the result is that i don’t pray as often as i should.  this means that i don’t pray nearly enough with my wife.

Couples Who Pray by Squire and DuArt challenged me.  i sort of knew that it would when i selected this book from BookSneeze.  it was a good challenge and reminder of a discipline that i’ve allowed myself to lose.  the content reminded me of not only the importance of building this discipline, but of what i as a husband can give to my wife simply by spending the time praying with her.  like most guys, every now and then i need a good reminder about my responsibilities as a husband, and this served as a good one.  i give it 4 out of 5 stars.

disclaimer: i was given this book for free from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review of, meaning i get to say what i want about it, good or bad.

a book about heaven…

heaven is for real is a book written by American Pastor Todd Burpo.  and let me tell you, after reading this book, you’ll want to know its reality the way that little Colton (the author’s son) knows.

this book really challenged the way that i view, think about, and process the place of heaven in my faith journey.  the simplicity with which heaven, its inhabitants, and its reality are described break through many of the barriers that i had in place prior to reading this book.  the author’s mingling of the story with the scriptures that describe heaven make for one of, if not the best, explanations of heaven that i have ever encountered.

this book is a must read.  i thoroughly enjoyed it, and i finished it in 3 evenings, which for those who know how slowly i read, is a feat.  i highly recommend this book.  it will take a place on my “top shelf”.

i was given a free copy of this book by Booksneeze in return for an honest review, meaning i can say what i want about it.  and i say it’s worth 5 stars, and every bit of your time to read.

kurt warner can play, but can he write?

so i was given the chance to read this book for free from Tyndale, in exchange for an honest review of the book.  and to be honest with you, if not for receiving this book for free, i probably wouldn’t have bought it.  i don’t normally read parenting books, and i picked this one up mainly because the choices were very limited at the time.

but “First Things First: The Rules to Being a Warner” did surprise me a few times as i made my way through it.  as a parent of 3 small kids, it was refreshing to hear that i’m not the only one who walks around my house wondering where the poop smell is coming from.  it was also good to hear the encouragements that you generally hear as a parent, but normally just sort of take as common sense.  i found myself thinking at times about how i could use an idea that had never occurred to me before, and at others thinking about how i’d already tried it and found it didn’t work.

i guess you could say that i was pretty sceptical about this book; i at first wondered what a very high paid football player could teach me about my family.  but the honesty and humility that both Kurt and Brenda (ya, we’re on a first name basis now) write with definitely saved the book for me.  4 out of 5 stars.