The world we live in believes that the more we have, the better off we are. We’re striving for bigger paychecks so we can have that fancy bass boat, the big house in the good part of town, designer shoes, and our sixteen year old daughter can dress live a diva. But all that it really does is bring more stress into our already stressed lives.

But—if you have made any of the following comments, you might want to consider reading this book:

. I’m tired of living with constant stress.
. I feel disconnected from my spouse and kids.
. I want to laugh again.
. I’m earning more, but I feel like I’m living less.
. I’m tired of rushing from one activity to another.
. I wish our family could sit around the dinner table talking and laughing.
. There are not enough hours in a day.
. There has to be a simpler way.

In LIVING WITH LESS SO YOUR FAMILY HAS MORE, the Savages help families:

. Identify a long-term vision for your family.
. Show the attitudes you need to adopt to make that a reality.
. Share action steps to make small and big changes.
. Determine if its feasible for one parent to stay home.
. How to live on one income.
and more.

If you want more time for your family and less stress, then LIVING ON LESS SO YOUR FAMILY HAS MORE is a book that you will want to read. I highly recommend it to families that are looking to cut back and live a quieter life, yet one where they can develop relationships with their family. Discussion questions are included, as well as notes. $12.99. 210 pages.

Title: PROJECT DAD

Author: Todd Cartmell

Publisher: Revell

April 2011

ISBN: 978-0-8007-1999-9

Genre: Inspirational/parenting

What does it take to build a great dad?

Men like to build things, usually, and Todd Carmell maintains that they can take this God-given talent to help them become great fathers.

Cartmell has a friendly and even humorous style of writing that will draw you into the book—taking you on an action-packed journey into becoming the dad God intended for you to be—and the dad your kids want you to be.

Some statistics, in case you’re wavering:

. Boys whose fathers offered praise and compliments performed better on tests of cognitive achievement.

. Harsh and inconsistent discipline by fathers has a negative effect on their son’s emotional behavior.

. High levels of father involvement mean fewer behavior problems.

In the pages of PROJECT DAD, you will learn how to:

. look at your children

. talk to your children

. connect with your children

. act toward your children

. lead your children

You already have the raw materials available. Now all you have to do is pick up this blueprint and start building.

PROJECT DAD is, as it says on the cover, the complete do-it-yourself guide for becoming a great father. This book is a necessity for all dads, whether your children are not-yet born, babies, or even teenagers. It might even be helpful for dad’s whose children are grown if they want to find ways to reach their sons.

I highly recommend PROJECT DAD for both your personal library, and the church library. This would also be a good gift for father’s day. $12.99. 225 pages.

Author: Melody Carlson

Publisher: WaterBrook Press

2009

ISBN: 978-1-4000-7491-4

Genre: Inspirational/parenting

Sometimes it seems like raising a teenager is like trying to chart a course underwater. And girls are ten times harder than boys (or so I’ve been told.) Whichever, you are in for one-word answers, defensive conversations, unpredictable outbursts, and sometimes it seems like you’ll never get anywhere.

Now, popular novelist Melody Carlson has written the book to help you get through the turbulent teen years so you can hopefully have a better relationship with your daughter. Ms. Carlson takes you beyond the outward behavior to focus on what your daughter is really thinking, what she really wants (but will never tell you) and you can be privy to her hopes, fears, doubts and dreams. Even if she doesn’t say a word.

Inside the cover of DEAR MOM is first of all a warning from “your teenage girl” telling you to just put the book down and walk away because you will not like what you are about to read. But if you insist on disregarding “her” advice, then you will face chapter such as:

1. Things I Don’t Like About Me
2. Things I Don’t Like about You (ouch!)
3. Relationships Confuse Me Sometimes
4. You Say You Listen, But Sometimes I Need to be Heard
5. Your Lectures Don’t Work
6. I’m Not as Confident as Maybe I Appear to be
7. I Need Rules but They Need to Make Sense
8. What I Need More Than Anything

And much more.

Written in a friendly conversational matter, it still helps to remember that this book is not actually written by your teenage daughter, but by an author who happens to be a mom. Because sometimes the things you read in the book hurts, even if you know they are true. Having teen sons and a teen daughter I’ve already traveled down a good portion of the rough road of parenting teens. I tried to parent them by remembering what I would have felt about an issue when I was a teen. And apparently, that is a good approach. I try to know my daughter’s friends, but I don’t insist on hanging out with them. I try to remember the giddy feeling when that hottie glanced my way in school, when I see my daughter almost melting under some guy’s attention. Even though she’s too young to date (by our rules) and she knows it.

DEAR MOM is a book to help you to hear your daughter’s heart without all the angst, arguments, or arm wrestling (from the back cover) and is a book that I highly recommend to all mothers of teenage girls. $13.99. 202 pages.

Author: Rachel Balducci

Publisher: Revell

March 2010

ISBN: 978-0-8007-3372-8

Genre: Inspirational/parenting

Rachel Balducci knows about raising boys. She has five of them. So she doesn’t have to look very far to find material for her book. I was impressed after reading just the first couple pages how she nailed boyhood on the head. I have two boys, and I could relate to most all the stories she shares.

Such as, the love language of boys is food. Very true. Boys have to eat, and heaven help us if there is no snack food in the house. I counteract this need for junk food by keeping celery and peanut butter on hand. As well as unpeeled carrots. They think that it’s cool to peel them. (Please don’t tell them this stuff is healthy!)

Then there is the phone issue. Am I the only one in the family who can  hear the phone? My husband can be sitting right beside it and no answer it. My sons will let it ring. Unless they are expecting a call—from their boss, girlfriend, etc, and then they will kill anyone in their path. I had to laugh when I read Ms. Balducci’s story of her boys and their phone phobia.

Then there’s the rubber snake attack, how boys make plans, and dangerous living, among other tales.

HOW DO YOU TCK IN A SUPERHERO? is stock-full of laugh-out loud moments that mothers of boys will definitely relate to. Mother’s of girls might want to read it just out of curiosity. If you are a parent, grandparent, or just live next door to a parent of boys (and wondering about all the tunnels in the backyard) then you might want to pick up a copy of HOW DO YOU TUCK IN A SUPERHERO? While you won’t be guaranteed a new kid, you will have a new appreciation of the blessings God has given you. $12.99. 203 pages.

Moms are super busy these days, whether they have one child or twelve, and if you have to balance a career with children and a home, then you need help! You need real solutions right now. Ms. Ireland understands. She is the parent of three children, a wife, and the CEO of an international business, so she draws on personal experience, research, and conversations with other moms across the nation to offer hope and powerful, practical answers.

Ms. Ireland’s advice doesn’t center around beauty tips or how to dress. Rather, she discusses important things such as finances, budgets, raising children, managing a household or career or both, and finding time to take care of themselves.

Ms. Ireland shares stories of her own life and wisdom to bring across the important message “You can do it all, just not all at once.”

I enjoyed reading through REAL SOLUTIONS FOR BUSY MOMS, especially the question and answer sections included in each chapter. Plus at the end of each chapter, Ms. Ireland includes a checklist for you to follow to see how well you are doing and where you need to give extra attention.

I am a homeschooling mom of five, and I found most of the advice kind of common sense, but everyone can gleam a bit of wisdom—and reminders of common sense that might be evading them. REAL SOLUTIONS FOR BUSY MOMS is filled with wisdom, and some of the advice might be exactly what you need to solve a problem that you are struggling with right now. $23.99 hardcover. 221 pages.

Talking to your kids is important. Talking to God about them is critical. Sometimes kids are causes of great concern. But even when they aren’t there are still all matters of things that need God’s hand…choosing a vocation, accepting the gift of salvation, their friends, and grades…every step in your child’s life matters to you—and to God. PRAY BIG FOR YOUR CHILD shows you examples, and promises from the Bible that are just waiting to be fulfilled on the behalf of your child. Using the Bible as a guide, PRAY BIG FOR YOUR CHILD will teach you how to confidently and powerfully apply scripture as a prayer basis for your child.

This book teaches you how to pray “Big, Audacious Prayers” for any stage or circumstance in your child’s life. There is a book that I would dearly love to get my hands on; it is one titled Praying through Scriptures. PRAY BIG FOR YOUR CHILD reminded me of that premise, as it used specific scriptures to jumpstart your prayers for your child. I feel that I picked this book up on a timely day as I woke up with my husband and family heavy on my heart, and I was praying for them off and on all day, then as I started reading this book and praying the verses mentioned in the book, I wondered, why can’t I pray big for my husband as well as my children? So down on my knees I went, re-praying all the verses for my husband – in addition to my children.

PRAY BIG FOR YOUR CHILD is a fantastic book that will take you beyond the “dear God, please be with my child” prayers to the prayers that are boldly taking you to the throne where you can ‘audaciously” request what is really on your heart—and use the Bible to back it up. PRAY BIG FOR YOUR CHILD includes a powerful thirty-one day prayer guide and twelve around the clock reminders to help you pray throughout the day.

This book is going on my keeper shelf. An invaluable tool for all parents, whether your child is toddling around, learning to walk and talk, or if your child is married with kids of his own, or if your child is on the brink of highschool graduation, facing…things yet unknown. Available from www.amazon.com or your favorite family bookstore. $12.99. 186 pages.

There’s a big difference between the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom. This book is written from the perspective of the mother of the groom, trying to do what she can to develop a good relationship with her new daughter-in-law.

The author starts the book describing how she herself became a mother-in-law and the relationship she had with her own mother-in-law.
She then goes on to establish five different steps that she found helpful to develop a relationship with her daughter-in-law. The steps that she’s developed are "Hold Your Tongue," "Embrace Her!" "Keep Out," "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," and "Be a Role Model." She then ends by encouraging her readers. She knows that building a relationship takes time so encourages her readers not to get discouraged.

She ends each chapter the same way: "The Experts Weigh in," "Why You Might Be Behaving This Way," "Why Change," "Seven Simple Suggestions for Success," and "One Final Tip." She uses these to tie up what she’s said and gives the reader suggestions how to implement the suggestions that she’s made. She ends the book in a unique way, she asks specific types of readers to write in so that she can gather information for her next book.

If you have sons, and they’re near marrying age, I would suggest that you read this book to help you build a better relationship with the love of your son’s life! If you have daughters, what she says is useful but needs to be applied in a different way.

Ken and Steve Ham are siblings raised by a educator/missionary father in Queensland, Australia, a far from Christian environment. However, their parents were so on fire for the Lord, that Ken and Steve couldn’t help but soak up some of their teaching, even though they are first to admit that their parents were far from perfect.

Now, both Ken and Steve are parents of grown children, and grandparents to a whole new generation of Hams. And they feel they’ve learned something about raising children that love the Lord. Now the United States is extremely hostile toward Christian values, and parents are searching for answers and strategies to be more effective. Young people are leaving the church in droves, and parents want their children to have a strong biblical faith and understanding.

Inside the pages of RAISING GODLY CHILDREN IN AN UNGODLY WORLD, Ken and Steve Ham will address questions as:

1. Why is the family disintegrating?
2. What is a godly legacy and why is it vital to our families and our society?
3. How do we know God’s word is an all-sufficient parenting guide?
4. How do you create a family environment for spiritual growth?
5. Are Christian children meant to be salt and light in the public schools?
6. How are we to implement godly discipline and teach our children discernment

And many more questions will be answered.

Punctuated with pictures of the Ham family from infanthood to adulthood, this book is a pleasure to read. Plus, each chapter contains sections entitled: Key thoughts from this chapter, Building blocks, and Questions to consider, making this book ideal to study as a group or individual. Plus, to make this book a keepsake, there is a space in the back for your faith family tree and faith memories. This book in a “intensely personal and practical guide” for parents.  $12.99. 236 pages.

Dr. Rick Horne is somewhat an expert in dealing with teens, as the father of six children, and a guidance counselor of a school. So one would be able to assume he knows what he talking about.

The facts that Dr. Horne presents in this book are undisputed. Such as:

Angry, unmotivated, and disinterested teens….are confused., insecure, and blind to everything except what they want right now.

Angry, unmotivated, and disinterested teens….are made in the image of God.

There are three parts in the book.

Part 1 – What you must understand to connect with your teen.

Part 2 – What you must do to help your teen.

Part 3 – How to make the changes stick.

GET OUTTA MY FACE is kind of a timely book for me right now as I have three children in the teen years right now. Of course, one has already survived the worst of it, he is almost twenty. Still this book is a God-send when I consider that sometimes he does act like an angry, unmotivated teen and this offers practical Biblical counsel in reaching them (while, hopefully, diffusing the anger.)  I haven’t had a chance to put the principles into play yet, so whether it will work with my teens yet remains to be seen. Still, I feel confident that Dr. Horne knows his stuff.

If you work with teens in any capacity, such as youth leader, teacher, parent… you will want to read GET OUTTA MY FACE.  This book will help you reach their hearts. 176 pages.

Ann Kroeker is a speaker and author of Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families (August 2009, David C. Cook) and The Contemplative Mom (2000, Shaw Books), Ann Kroeker’s articles have appeared in a variety of publications including The Indianapolis Star newspaper, and magazines such as Decision, The Student, Christian Home and School, and Indianapolis Woman. She contributed to several books including the award-winning Experiencing the Passion of Jesus, by Lee Strobel and Garry Poole. Married for 18 years and mother of four children, Ann is committed to encouraging and inspiring families as they face the demands of daily living.

About the Book

Frenzied families find themselves fragmented in this high-speed, fast-paced, goal-oriented society. Even while racing to second jobs, appointments, lessons, practices, games and clubs, we crave an antidote. How do we counteract the effects of our over-committed culture? Replenish our depleted selves? Restore our rushed relationships?

Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families explores the jarring effects of our high-speed, high-pressured, highly-scheduled lives and offers refreshing alternatives. Author Ann Kroeker relates her own story of how embracing a slower everyday pace has resulted in a richer, fuller, and more meaningful life.

Practical ideas and insight will spark creativity and personal reflection. Plus, ponder real-life stories from parents who put the brakes on the high-speed lifestyle and reaped the rewards of richer relationships. Not So Fast offers hope that families struggling with hurried hearts and frantic souls can discover the rejuvenating power of an unrushed life.