Book Review: Unveiling the Kings of Israel

Book Name: Unveiling the Kings of Israel
Author: David Downs
176 Pages
Hardcover
Publisher: Master Books
Recommended Ages:  10-15

Unveiling the Kings of Israel by David Down is a resource that takes you through the Old Testament and some of the New revealing the Bible's historical accuracy according to archaeological finds. Downs reveals that because of the inaccurate dating of traditional archeology sometimes people think that the events in the Bible are fictitious. Downs shows that once the dating has been revised according to the Bible all of the evidence is there to support it. With beautiful, colorful photographs gracing every page this book is an excellent supplement to go along with a home school study on Ancient Israel.

  I found the book interesting and informing. The writing style was easy to understand- the accounts of the biblical stories fresh. As I said above, the photographs were beautiful and made the whole experience more enjoyable. I love biblical archeology so I was glued to this book from beginning to end!

  I was, however, disappointed by the lack of evidence that was laid out. Don't get me wrong- there was some evidence there, but I was expecting there to be more. I realize that this is not an apologetics textbook but more of a historical culture book.  Therefore, this book was excellent for whetting the appetite for further research but definitely not stand alone in it's proof of Biblical records.
  Even though I would never give this book to an unbeliever in hopes of proving the Bible's historical accuracy, I look forward to using it in any future studies that I may do with my brothers and sisters.

Buy the book here: Unveiling the Kings of Israel

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from New Leaf Publishing.

Purpose

~Amy

My life in pins

I love, love, love, love, LOVE Pinterest.

Sometimes I wonder what I ever did before Pinterest. 

I am highly distractable, which makes Pinterest and I go together like two peas in a pod.

My friend, Kelsey, joined a blog hop about her life in pins- defining herself by her pin boards...  Looked like fun so I decided to try it ;-)

Here's the link to original "Life in Pins" post!

Now do you understand why I love it so much?

Have a fabulous day ;-)

Book Review: Sammy and His Shepherd

What a sweet little treat do I have for you! If you have younger brothers and sisters they will be so blessed to be read this darling little story...

Book Name: Sammy and His Shepherd
Author: Susan Hunt
50 Pages
Hardcover
Ages: 3-10

Sammy and His Shepherd is a charming child's tale about Sammy, a little sheep, who is under the care of the Shepherd as described in Psalm 23. In the beginning of the book, Sammy meets another sheep who is under the care of a different shepherd. Sammy understands more and more as he sees “My Friend” (that is what Sammy called her because she had no name) in her bare meadow and her thin body, how greatly his Shepherd cares for him and loves him. As time goes on, “My Friend” also gets to witness and understand the love of Sammy's shepherd.

Woven within this story is the revelation of Jesus Christ and how He is our Shepherd- and exactly what that means. I was so blessed by this story: the innocence, the childlike faith that Sammy had in his Shepherd, the love that is portrayed- I was even holding back tears during one of the chapters! The illustrations are gorgeous, simply stunning. I love the vibrancy of the colors and the whimsy in the art. The writing was nice and simple for little ears to understand making it an excellent read aloud. The discussion questions after each chapter contained a corresponding Bible verse with questions and a suggested “activity” for the child to live the lesson that he had just learned. I cannot wait to read this aloud to my brothers and sisters... I hope they love it as much as I did!

Buy the book here!

I received the PDF of this book, Sammy and His Shepherd, to review and I will be receiving the print book once my review has been approved.

yep... it's Valentine's Day

I hope you all are having a blessed day, a day to celebrate love.  Not just the joy of human love, candy, chocolate, roses, lacy hearts...  but the joy of heavenly love as well.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8


For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, so that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life.
John 3:16


I'm so glad that God created love... it is so beautiful, yet so complicated...

Love is such an important thing to the Lord that because of it, He sacrificed His son that we might have life.  That's something to celebrate!

On a parting note, here's a little something for you fellow singles out there:

Happy Valentine's Day, my friends ;-)

Source: someecards.com via Amy on Pinterest

Book Review: The Scroll

Here is my first book review from a book that I received for free from Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for a completely opinion-based review...

The Scroll

by Grant R. Jeffrey and Alton L. Gansky

Dr. David Chambers thought that he had resolved to be done with biblical archeology. He thought that he had put the past behind him- his own discovery of Herod's Tunnel, the books he had written upon the subject, his ex-fiancee- Amber Rodgers, even his faith. But little did he know that the phone call from Abram Ben-Judah would not only change his own future, but maybe even that of the whole world.

When Ben-Judah requested Dr. Chambers to come back to the Holy Land and work on a dig in search of the treasures listed in the Copper Scroll, Dr. Chambers did not want to refuse his old friend and mentor, so he agreed. But while he is there he is surrounded by mystery, murder, and top secrets that even he, as the head of the archaeologists, is kept in the dark about- and he won't find out until it is almost too late.

I found this book intriguing. I really enjoy reading about biblical archeology- and mysteries!- so it definitely kept my interest. I was disappointed, however, at the lack of eloquence in the writing itself. The descriptions seemed to need more to them and the dialogue was a bit cliché and sarcastic. Now, I understand that most of the characters were not Christians, but they seemed to always be acting annoyed and irritated with each other.

The scene where Chambers comes back to Christ left much to be desired. I was disappointed that there seemed to be no lead up- you don't really see much of his “in head” struggle to come back to God- it seems too sudden. I was disappointed that I did not leave the story with a lesson learned.

I commend the authors for having such a wonderful knowledge of history and archeology stored up in this book- I thoroughly enjoyed that. Although I imagine that some people a bit less “nerdy” than myself would quickly find that element boring. I also thought that it perhaps could have been more gracefully woven into the story...

I was so sad when I got to the end. It seemed so sudden and abrupt- I was enjoying the story and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next in detail- but as it was so quickly wrapped up I felt as though I had missed out.

I am not going to say that this was a terrible book- by no means. I thought that the story was interesting, the setting and historical significance fascinating, but that I think the authors could use some more eloquence and morals to be added to the story. If there was a sequel to this book I would read it.

If you love history or biblical archeology- you will probably like this book. But if you are looking for drama and a life-changing story- try Ishmael.

Let all that you do

Source: joyshope.com via Amy on Pinterest