Book Reviews

Here are a few great books I’ve read lately, that I wanted to share.



Raising your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
This book is AMAZING! I so wish I had read this 3 years ago or more! This has to be, hands down, the best parenting book I have ever read (next to the Bible of course!). I know nothing about the author’s faith, even after reading the book, so I encourage you to read it prayerfully and let God speak to you about what He wants you to get out of it.
Our daughter is definitely “spirited”, and honestly some days that can be quite challenging for us. This book reminds us to use POSITIVE terms when referring to our children, rather than the negative ones that tend to fall off our lips. “Perceptive”, rather than “distracted” for example. “Persistant”, rather than “stubborn”. This book also gives so many great suggestions on how to handle those trying moments, and more importantly, how to actually prevent many of them! She’s real in letting us know we can’t do away with the hard times, but we can prevent many of them and keep the ones that we do have much shorter. She also addresses how to handle it when we as parents have some of these same qualities, as well as covering introvert/extrovert and how to to make those traits work for our children.
God gave our children each and every trait that they have, and He will use them for HIS good, in HIS timing. That is something that I don’t always remember from day to day.
If you have a child that is intense, full of energy, perceptive, persistent, and/or sensitive….then PLEASE read this book! If you even plan to have more kids, then read this book! Better to be prepared ahead of time! :)




The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible by Paul S. Taylor
My daughter is just one of many children that is fascinated with dinosaurs. As a Christian family, this has been difficult to know exactly what to tell her about them. Did they exist? How long ago? What about what “that book”, or “that museum” said about it?
I stumbled across this book in the library one day, and brought it home for myself and Rob to read. I love it! This one is written from a Christian point of view and I think does a great job of explaining how dinosaurs fit in to Creation, what happened to them, and how accurate the scientists reports of them are. It discusses for example, how they often find one bone and have to create a drawing of an entire dinosaur based off that one bone, so often the majority of the information is imagination and speculation.
If you have a little one that likes dinosaurs, or if you are a big kids that likes them, I highly encourage you to read this! As always, I always encourage you to read any book prayerfully, and determine what is right for you and your family. I’m not stating that this book is the final answer on any of this, but it will definitely help me be able to answer my daughter’s questions in a way that lines up with our Christian faith. For that, it’s worth it!




Master your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels
I’ve read my share of “diet” books. I’ve read several books specifically on the subject of PCOS, hormones, and insulin resistance because those pertain to me. This one is the best one I’ve read yet! If you have hormone issues, diabetes / insulin resistance, PCOS, or just want to be as healthy as you can – read this book!
I’m a fan of Jillian from The Biggest Loser anyway, so when my mom brought this to me, I was eager to see what she had to say “off the show”.
I love that it’s not a “fad” diet (can’t stand those!). It’s real information, about real food. What chemicals and toxins are hurting your body, your blood sugar, and your hormones. What foods HELP your body restore proper balance. How to make changes in your body and environment to help your hormones. Simple meal plans with real foods. Why “going organic” is so important.
Toxins are bad. Artificial coloring/sweeteners are bad. Trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) are evil. Carbs are good (the right ones). Fat is good (the right kind). There isn’t a single thing that is a real food that she says not to eat. In fact, she says, “If it had a mother, or grows in the ground – eat it”.
For me, I’d love to lose the weight and get back to my goal weight that I haven’t seen in years. But even more importantly, I need to balance my hormones (I’m in menopause), avoid diabetes (in my family), be healthy, and live long enough to set this example for my children.