Son of the Underground

Son of the Underground by Isaac Liu is about the son of the famous Heavenly Man, Brother Yun, who has a story of his own to tell. Isaac's father was in prison for preaching God's Word when Isaac was born. In fact his birth was just the first of many miracles in this young man's life. Growing up in Communist China, he faced persecution and disgust from his peers and people from his village because of his father's record as an "enemy of the people" for being a firm follower of Jesus Christ. Yun missed much of his son's life, on the run and in prison, but his influence was felt in his son when Isaac began teaching people about God's Word at a very young age. He has seen the staunch faith of his grandmother, Nai Nai, who raised him when he was very young, and his mother who never gave up on or turned on her husband or God. In this book, Isaac tells the story of his youth in China, flight to Burma and then on to Germany to escape persecution for his faith and his father's "crimes." The book is fascinating in its tale of life in Communist China as a Christian, and each of us should be very grateful for the freedoms we have. It's also the very personal story of one man's search for a faith and calling of his own, separate from the father who has shadowed much of his life. The book is compelling and inspiring, but the narrative jumps around chronologically at times. jumping from age ten to eleven and down to eight or nine within a few pages. Isaac's writing style is also a bit stiff (which probably comes from his not being as familiar with English), so the deeply emotional parts don't have the impact they should. It's a good read for anyone wanting to know more about the Heavenly Man and his family, or looking for the story of one man's faith in impossible circumstances.

Thank you to Kregel Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book for review! 

Praying with the Grain

Praying with the Grain by Pablo Martinez is a book to revolutionize your prayer life by helping you analyze your personal style and then encouraging you to pray, without guilt or procrastination. Martinez writes like a professorial uncle, very intelligent yet sympathetic and without judgment. The book opens with a comparison of personalities: introvert vs extrovert and then expands into four categories: thinking/feeling and sensation/intuitive. He breaks down how each psychological function impacts our prayer life, and I was stunned at how accurate his insights were. His breakdown of how a thinking person prays made me wonder if he had been secretly watching me pray, he had every aspect correct, down to the tiniest detail. Once Martinez is done helping readers figure out what category they fall into, he gets into the nitty-gritty of prayer: difficulties in prayer, types of prayer, and the importance of prayer. I was fascinated by Martinez' insights and inspired to change the way I've been praying to better fit my personality (and to please God). The book is truly intelligent and an enjoyable read, and has truly changed my life.

Thank you to Kregel Publications for providing me with a copy of this book for review!

Andi's Indian Summer

Today is another entry in Mia & Mommy's Book Blog! We are reviewing the sequel to last week's book Andi's Pony Trouble.

Andi's Indian Summer by Susan K. Marlow is the second book in the Circle C Beginnings series about six-year-old Andi's life on a ranch in 1874 California. In this book, Andi and Riley, her eight-year-old friend, take a ride on their horses across the fields and hills to a creek. When some local Indians make an appearance, Andi is terrified because of the dime novel Riley was reading to her about Indian captives. First Mia's review: I liked the book because they had an adventure. My favorite part was when I was reading it, I felt like I was in the book! Andi is a smart but silly little girl who gets scared easily, but she's also brave. It makes her very realistic. Girls will love to read this book because it has horses! I learned that Indians aren't bad like the dime novel made them seem. Here's my review: This was a good book to read with my eight-year-old daughter. We took turns reading the book to each other because the vocabulary was easy for her to read and understand. Andi is very much like a normal six-year-old little girl, and that makes the story really come to life. Marlow includes an important lesson for readers about getting to know people to actually know who they are, rather than relying on stereotypes or rumors. At the beginning of the book is a short vocabulary list giving definitions of possible new words for readers, and at the end is a short note from the author asking readers to consider some of the questions from the book. These two items make the book a useful tool for teaching better comprehension in younger readers. This series has earned a permanent place in my daughter's heart, and for that I have to give it five stars.

Thank you to Kregel Publications for providing me with a copy of this book for review!

Andi's Pony Trouble

Welcome to another day of Mia & Mommy's Book Blog!

Andi's Pony Trouble by Susan K. Marlow is the first book in the Circle C Beginnings series and is aimed at early chapter book readers. Andi is sure that because she is almost six that she is ready for a horse of her own. She's sick of riding "pokey hand-me-down pony" Coco who doesn't go any faster than a trot. When Andi's mom points out that Andi doesn't take very good care of Coco, forgetting to brush and feed him, meaning she's not quite ready yet for the responsibility of caring for a horse. Andi's brothers and sisters all tease her about her desire, leaving her feeling frustrated and left out. Cook's helper, Riley, is Andi's closest friend, even if at eight years old he is often "too big for his britches." Riley has a horse of his own named Midnight that Andi loves to ride whenever she can. SPOILERS! First Mia's review: The story was about a girl named Andi who had a pony named Coco, but really wanted a horse. Her pony was lost, but then she found her pony. On the morning of her birthday, her brother woke her up and brought her out to the barn where she found a baby horse that was her birthday present. My favorite part of the story was when she said that she loved Coco. At the beginning, she was treating her pony like it was a bag of garbage, and I did not like that. She didn't care about him at all. Then I got really mad at her for leaving Coco behind. I felt happy at the end for her pony and for Andi, and the baby horse. I learned that it's important to appreciate what you have. Now my review. Mia and I enjoyed reading this book together. We took turn reading the chapters to each other, it was written so that she could easily read the words, and there is a vocabulary list to teach readers any new words. Mia is right, at first Andi is very selfish and focused only on what she doesn't have, instead of focusing on Coco as a blessing. Mia was almost moved to tears twice at Andi's treatment of Coco. Andi learns a valuable lesson in the story, and so will young readers: that in times of trouble you can turn to God about anything, and He will listen. Andi discovers that you don't have to save prayers for at bedtime or in church. When she prays about Coco's disappearance, God hears and answers her prayer, giving her and readers new understanding about God and His love. Mia is already excited about starting the second book in the series, Andi's Indian Summer.

Thank you to Kregel Publications for providing me with a copy of this book for review!

Scars & Stilettos

I am praising God again today! This week has been terrible for my joints. Rainy, chilly weather just makes me ache so badly, and I've been having a lot of trouble with my left knee lately. It's been popping out of socket on occasion as well as causing sharp pains making it difficult to walk. I've been taking it easy all week, trying to rest it so that I could chaperone Mia's field trip to the Children's Museum today. She's been so excited about it, and I can't do a lot of the things other moms can because of my illness, so I really wanted to do this for her. But at 10 pm last night, my knee was hurting so much that I couldn't even walk to the bathroom without hopping and limping. So I posted on Facebook asking for prayers specifically for my left knee. I also emailed my dad and talked to Doogie and Jesse, asking them all to pray that my knee be healed so I could do this one thing for my little girl.

At first I did what I usually do, I started to worry about what would happen if it wasn't better. But then I remembered to thank God as if He had already answered my prayer. I sent up a prayer thanking the Lord for my healing and for being able to be there for Mia.

When I woke up this morning, my knee didn't twinge like it often does. Sometimes it takes an hour before the pain really sets in, but today it didn't. I was able to go up and down the many, many stairs twice, plus walk all over with Mia and her good friend Elyse without any major pain. It didn't kick in until on the bus on the way home, but by then I was so grateful that I don't even mind. It hurts again now, but God answered my prayers, and I am so happy. Mia had a wonderful time because I was there for her. It was a good day.

Scars & Stilettos by Harmony Dust will probably grab readers with its subtitle: The Transformation of an Exotic Dancer. Harmony was raised with virtually no parental involvement in Venice Beach California. Her mother was a hippie who regularly moved boyfriends in and out of the house and sold crystals on the boardwalk. Her father is a Chicago businessman who was to wrapped up in marrying and divorcing to have time for his little girl. Left to her own devices, she was forced to raise herself and try to protect herself from the adults who abused and molested her, leaving Harmony with a skewed view of sexuality and love. She soon attaches herself to Derrick, a childhood friend, who is at first a boyfriend but then takes advantage of her financially and sexually while running around with other women. Despite all of this drama, Harmony still put herself through college to get a degree in developmental psychology and was working at a daycare center. When she wasn't making enough money to support both Derrick and herself (and his baby's mama), she took a job as a stripper, just for a few months until she could get out of debt. A few months turned into several years until she started going to church and fell in love with God. Her story of escaping a life of degradation and shame is without artifice or pretense. Harmony tells readers how she disconnected her brain from her body in order to strip in front of strangers for money and then how God restored her pride and sense of self. This brave young woman wasn't content to just get herself out of the industry; she's also formed a group called Treasures, Inc to help other women still stripping by showing them that they are loved. This is a courageous story told with a great deal of heart.

Thank you to Kregel Publications for providing me with a copy of this book for review!

Life on the Line

What are you giving up for Lent? I know it's a little early to ask, especially since most of us are still struggling to keep our New Year's resolutions. It's also a question that more generally applies to Catholics than Protestants, but the practice has been spreading into the evangelical culture and is becoming more popular.

If you aren't familiar with the practice, it's common to fast or give up something entirely for the Lenten season of Ash Wednesday through Easter. This year it falls from Feb. 17 to Apr. 4. It's usually around 40 days, this year 46. People often give up chocolate, caffeine, swearing, or even television. The focus is supposed to be on anything that may detract from your relationship with God, although it's now more about anything unhealthy.

Several years ago, I gave up watching soap operas for Lent. I discovered that I was watching them every day and going online to several blogs and forum sites when they weren't on TV. I admitted it as an addiction and gave them up. It's only been recently that I started watching again, but not every day, and I often turn them off if I feel that they are distracting me from something important. If I ever feel that it's a problem, I'll drop them in a heartbeat again.

This year I'm doing something different. I'm not giving up something that I think is unhealthy or separating me from God, but back in September of last year, God gave me this idea, and I'm going to run with it.

Last year I read 430 books; the year before that 444. I do a LOT of reading. Plus I read through the Bible every year, 3 chapters and a Psalm/Proverb a night. This year for Lent, I'm giving up all books except for the Bible. It's been killing me to turn down all of the blog tours that I've been receiving invitations for but fall during that time period. I did sign up for a few at the beginning of the time, but I will read them before Ash Wednesday and just post the tours on time. I can't do that for all of the other books I'd love to read and review.

However, giving up all those books doesn't mean I will be doing any less reading during Lent! I will be reading the Bible just as assiduously as I do other books, so I am hoping to make it through the Bible several times during those 40 days. I'd like to read different versions than I've previously read in hopes of deepening my understanding of the Good Book. I've already picked up The Message, and I'll read through Jesse's King James Version and maybe his New American Standard if I can.

I wonder what it will be like reading the Bible 6-8 hours a day. What will happen to my faith? I intend to continue blogging hopefully daily during Lent in order to share what I'm learning and where the journey is taking me.

I am giving myself one out: I can't just stop reading Mia her nightly bedtime story, so we'll keep working our way through Beverly Cleary and James Howe. I'm very torn about my weekly subscriptions to Entertainment Weekly and TIME. What do you think? Would I be breaking my vow by reading them? Please email or post your opinions in the comments!

Life on the Line by Al Gibson is the astounding story of Des and Ros Sinclair miraculous ministry around the world. When Des was just eleven years old, his father through him out of his New Zealand home to live in the garbage dumps of the city with the rest of the outcasts. God spoke to the young boy and gave his a message of hope that he would became a minister of the Word. Des, in the first of many miracles God provided, found a Bible in the dump, taught himself to read it, and then preached to his fellow outcasts. This was just the beginning for Des who would be ordained at the young age of 18, face several near-death experiences, and witness shocking healings in Africa, the Philippines, and South America. His marriage to Ros has only strengthened his ministry as the two work together to bring God's Word to all who are in need. The Sinclair's story is stunning, almost unbelievable, and there will be many who don't believe their stories of the dead coming back to life, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. If the reader listens carefully to their words however, they are careful to always give all praise and glory to God and keep the focus off of themselves. Des' words about God's leading rings true and is always in line with Scripture. The story falters in places, not due to the Sinclairs, but because of Gibson's writing. On occasion when he tries to recreate conversations, he makes them too perfect. Gang members don't use the Queen's English, and it makes their testimony seem stilted and scripted. Gibson also uses Des' near-death experience and vision of Heaven as a frame for the rest of their story which doesn't always work, because it isn't told chronologically. Des and Ros' story is so powerful that it shines through the sometimes dull prose and gives hope that God is still actively working in the world for those who seek Him.

Thank you to Kregel Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

I took today's pic on Saturday at the cheer competition. I was hoping to get a nice picture of my son and me. Instead, he gave me this!