Truth Stained Lies by Terri Blackstock

Nothing is quite as it seems in Terri Blackstock’s Truth Stained Lies. Cathy Cramer makes a living pointing out her opinion on high profile crimes, often revealing information that makes the defendant look all the more guilty. But when things take a turn and her brother ends up on the other side of the law, everything changes. Now, she is working quickly to find the truth while another life hangs in the balance.

While it took a while to get into the book and become interested in the characters, once I understood where things were going, I was hooked. Blackstock works hard to weave together several different situations to make for a web that readers will enjoy unraveling. I love the idea of sister working together despite their different lives and responsibilities to help their brother.

There are just enough characters to keep track of and of course, become attached to. Smaller situations are going on in addition to the criminal case that each person is involved in. I will be the first to say that I would love to continue the story of the sisters, Cathy, Juliet and Holly, as well as their private detective friend Michael.

The themes of the book include the struggle with trusting in God when the surrounding circumstances continue to decline, something that most people can relate to. This is not a story of a family with perfect faith. Instead, it is a story of trusting and believing despite all of the challenges.

This is a book for anyone looking for an easy read that is engaging with just the right level of complexity. Blackstock has written several other books and I plan to check out at least one or two and give you my take on those as well.

Thomas Nelson Publishing provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Sky Beneath My Feet by Lisa Samson

Everyone faces those moments when the world feels like it has been turned upside down. For Beth, things really take a turn towards interesting when her husband, Rick decides to take up residence in the shed located in the backyard. While some start to look at him as a saint, she must face the challenges that come with continuing to raise two boys and struggling to make sure that somewhere along the way, she didn’t lose herself and her identity.  

If nothing else, the idea of a woman struggling with her husband moving out to the shed intrigued me. But after reading the book, I must admit that it was so much more than I expected. I could not help but laugh out loud at some of Beth’s internal dialogue and even though my husband isn’t the Men’s Pastor at church and we don’t have teenagers, I could sympathize with her struggles. She is a likeable and relatable character that keeps the story moving at the perfect pace.

The book was in no way predictable and doesn’t end up in a cliché. When I turned the last page, I was left feeling more inspired than anything else. Stuff happens and each person needs to decide how he or she will deal with it. This is definitely one that I would recommend to anyone looking for an easy, yet interesting read.

Booksneeze presented me with a complementary copy of this book for my review.

The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood by William J. Bennett

Is it possible to put together a collection of stories, poems, speeches and experiences that all provide insight into what it means to be a man? William Bennett has gathered information from a variety of different sources to shed some light of a topic that seems to be losing ground in today’s current social climate.

The book is divided up into readings that focus on the different aspects of man and how he interacts with the world around him. It starts out with an emphasis on man and war and moves on to topics like work, play, society, and women and children. Some of the names mentioned will probably surprise you by Bennett stresses the fact in the introduction that the men represented in no way represent the perfect man and fall short in some areas however they do strive towards the goal of manhood in some way, shape or form.

For me, the book took on a personal meaning as to me, I have two great examples of what it means to be a man in my own family, my husband and my dad. Both received copies of this book for Christmas with a special note from me inside. In addition to these two men, every day I see my seven year-old son get one step closer to his own manhood. My goal in purchasing the book for our family was to create time for my son and husband to read this together and talk about what it means to them.

I loved The Book of Man and the collection of items found inside. Don’t become overwhelmed with the sheer size of the volume. This is not something that you want to sit down and read cover to cover. Look at this book as a resource that you can come back to again and again to gain encouragement and hope that the definition of what it means to be a man is not dwindling, as society may like us to believe. Instead, the traditions and character that has been laid out in the past is continuing to thrive, one man at a time.

While this book was provided to me by Thomas Nelson Publishing, I ended up going out and purchasing a few copies for our family as well as others. It was the perfect Christmas gift!

Here's more information about the book for those interested in taking a closer look:

New York Times best-selling author William J. Bennett uses stories, essays, historical vignettes, and contemporary profiles to explore and explain what it means to be a man. Fashioning men has never been easy, but today it seems particularly tough. Boys need heroes to embody the everlasting qualities of manhood: honor, duty, valor, and integrity. Without such role models, boys will naturally choose perpetual childhood over the rigors of becoming a man—as many women, teachers, coaches, employers, and adults in authority can quickly attest. Have we forgotten how to raise men, how to lead our boys into manhood? In The Book of Man, Bennett charts a clearer course, offering a positive, encouraging, uplifting, realizable idea of manhood, redolent of history and human nature, and practical for contemporary life. Like his classic, The Book of Virtues, Bennett uses profiles, stories, letters, poems, and myths to bring his subject to life, defining what a man should be, how he should live, and to what he should aspire in several key areas of life.

Bold as Love: What Can Happen When We See People the Way God Does by Bob Roberts, Jr.

I can’t lie. I’m kind of a skeptic at heart. When I see a book that talks about bringing people from different beliefs together, I automatically make some assumptions. However, I was surprised to find that Bob Roberts Jr.’s book, Bold as Love  was anything but a map with multiple routes all leading to heaven. Instead, the book presented a sincere account of one man’s attempt to make changes in his community and throughout the world.

I was impressed with the honesty that the author offered as he described the way that he viewed some of the other members of various religions around him before he started to make changes. He openly admits some of the struggles that his church faced as well as some of the fears that come with stepping out of one’s comfort zone and looking to take a new and different path.

The perspective presented was one that I believe a lot of Christians should consider and take to heart. It cannot hurt to love those around us as God does. It cannot hurt to look at people through God’s eyes as opposed to our own. Despite how uncomfortable it might seem at first, there are rewards to be reaped as the action begins to take off.

The book itself is an easy read; filled with simple prose and sprinkled with stories about the author’s life experiences that show just how far he was willing to go to stand behind what he was trying to achieve. In the end, he didn’t just transform his community or even his fellow church members. He changed himself.

If you are looking for a challenge and want to make a positive impact on your community, strengthen your own beliefs, and take God’s love of others to the next level, this text provides you with a starting point.

This book was given to me by Handlebar Marketing in exchange for my honest review.

The MoneySmart Family System by Steve and Annette Economides

Every parent wonders how to impart financial information to his or her child but how do you make sure that the kids get the message? Steve and Annette Economides have used their own experiences to create a helpful guide for parent with children of all ages. Even if you have not started talking to your kids about money, the Economides realize that it is never too late to get started. They put everything together in one book entitled The MoneySmart Family System: Teaching Financial Independence to Children of All Ages.

Every chapter talks about a different financial principle in every paragraph including how to save, how to teach your kids about giving and how to deal with your kids asking for things every time you go to the store. In each chapter, after providing some statistics, experiences and personal stories, the Economides break down ways to apply the information based on different age groups. The book is not just about learn the principles; it is about how to practically apply them to your life.

My son is seven and my daughter is five and we are currently trying out new methods for chores and allowance. This book was a huge help. There were suggestions about how to talk to our kids about certain things and how to encourage them to save and know where every penny is going. While we are not yet ready for the chapters on transportation or marriage, I can see this book being a resource that we look to time and time again as the kids get older and we move into new stages of life.

Steve and Annette Economides are New York Time Bestselling authors and are fondly referred to as America’s Cheapest Family. (Of course, you knew this book was right up my alley!!) I would recommend this to parents with children of all ages. If you want new and fresh ideas for how to approach finances with your children, this book is for you.

I received a copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for my honest review.