Gracie's Garden

I’ve followed Lara Casey for years and was thrilled to see that she was coming out with a book for children! The illustrations in this book are so endearing and sweet - my 4 year old LOVED the little squirrels sassy face, and walked to book around the house to show everybody! He’s also requested this book to be read on repeat and can quote portions of it after only 2 days! I think that the story is so precious and intriguing for kids! We’ve not done much gardening personally and my son was so interested to learn about it from the Casey kiddos and that funny squirrel! We look forward to reading this book and sharing it with friends - a story of patience and miracles!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher B&H Kids, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

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Danielle DayComment
Big and Little Activity Devotional
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The Big and Little Activity Devotional is such a fun activity book to do WITH my kids while we’re quarantining! It couldn’t have come at a better time! I love that it opens longways, so we can both fill it in at the same time, and read the devotional portions together! I’ve done the activities with my 3 and 7 year olds, and they both think it’s fun! I also really enjoy the combination of activities in the book - word searches, sudokus, connect the dots, and more!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher B&H Kids, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
Little Words Matter Jumbo Coloring Book
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This cute little coloring book is the perfect addition to the preschool curriculum I’m already doing with our 3 year old! It really is jumbo - there are so many pages to color! They are also extremely simple with only 1-4 illustrations to color per page. I think that the simplicity increases the ability to use it at a learning tool! It’s a great option to supplement a homeschool curriculum - there are numbers, shapes, animals, Bible characters, letters, and more!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher B&H Kids, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
Handle with Care

I can’t recall ever reading a book about this topic before and while it’s a topic I’ve discussed in home group settings and with friends, I’ve never contemplated the depth of what Lore discusses in this beautiful book, Handle with Care. This book is so thought provoking and required me to take a few pauses to consider my history in regards to touch and how that’s shaped how I presently view touch, both in ways that are helpful and hurtful.

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Handle with Care unpacks Jesus’ ministry of touch and how He models for us what healthy touch should look like. Lore’s explanations and honesty ministered to me and created space for me to process thoughts on touch and how I can minister to those around me with touch. I look forward to recommending and sharing this book with friends! 

I received an advanced reader’s copy of the book from the publisher.

Danielle DayComment
The Promises of God Storybook Bible
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The Promises of God Storybook Bible: The Story of God’s Unstoppable Love is a sweet storybook for children - my boys (3 and 6 years old) were engaged in the few stories I read to them and the questions at the end of each section. I, however, was slightly put off by the description of the Trinity introduced in the very first story. Because the opening story leads to more questions than it answers and doesn’t address the topic of the Trinity very clearly, I wasn’t very confident in continuing to delve into the other stories. I really enjoy the cover illustration, but most of the illustrations within the book are flat and frankly, boring.

The thing that, in my opinion, redeems this storybook, is the questions at the end of each passage. They are engaging and help kiddos process well what they’ve just read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher B&H Kids, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
Why God?
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Dan Dewitt has written a charming story full of engaging illustrations. Why God? Big Answers About God and Why We Believe in Him beautifully addresses questions that my kids have actually asked before and answers them in an easy to understand way! This sweet book follows the day of brother and sister, Thomas and Hope, as they consider some big questions about the Lord and get some answers from their mom! The questions they ask include why do we believe in God, why bad things happen, how the world became broken, and how the world was created? This book also includes a Parent Connection page with Bible verses to further study as well as questions to ask and consider!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher B&H Kids, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
Here Now

To read this book coming out of the Lent season, where I gave up certain apps on my phone for a short time period, was a great encouragement to leave more space in my life by continuing my Lent commitment. Here Now by Kate Merrick was a quick read, full of funny and moving stories of how she came to a point in her life where she realized she wanted to move away from connectedness technology provides to be connected with those right in front of her. This book tells the story of Kate’s daughter battle with cancer and their journey to discover how to be present with her family and community, how to observe Sabbath, and find joy in life’s simplest things!

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This is a book I look forward to sharing with friends! I’ve always admired the Merrick family’s realness, and this book was full of that! I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via BookLook Bloggers program, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
Memory Making Mom

Memory Making Mom by Jessica Smart is such a wonderful compilation of ideas to create special memories together as a family. As a mom of a 3 and 6 year old, some of these are ideas I’m already familiar with, but there was also a handful of new ideas that I’m excited to incorporate into our family annual routines. Jessica’s book falls in the same category with Sacred Holidays by Becky Kiser as well as The Lifegiving Home by Sally Clarkson — all of these books read in conjunction could make a momma feel really overwhelmed, but full of wonderful encouragement to start and continue making family traditions!

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I love the examples that Jessica uses from her own family to explain the benefits of having family traditions, and I also really appreciate that her book covers so many topics from celebrating holidays to working together to Sabbath-ing to eating together to serving together and so much more! I look forward to pulling this out in the future as a reference when we are in search of new traditions! I enjoy having a few books handy for these topics, so I’m not tempted to pull up Pinterest and get lost in the search!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via BookLook Bloggers program, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
Friendship Promises

What an endearing gift this book would make! Friendship Promises by (in)courage is a sweet book, with a beautiful cover and pages! Each page is so creatively and simply designed, with a straightforward message! It can be used as a devotional, with scattered journaling prompts throughout the book, but also could just be a perfect addition to your night stand/coffee table to pick up and read snippets out of for friendship encouragement! There are inspirational quotes, Bible, verses on the importance and beauty of friendship, prayers, and journaling prompts and empty lines for filling in thoughts throughout!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from B&H Books, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
What Am I Feeling?
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What Am I Feeling? by Dr. Josh and Christi Straub is such a wonderful resource for kids of all ages! My 6 and 2 year old boys both enjoyed listening to this book and were so excited to see the pull-out chart at the end of the book! I love the simplicity of the illustrations and the bright and cohesive color scheme of the book! I appreciate the range of emotions discussed in the book, and that there are extras we can discuss as a family in the included chart. The repeated lines, “a feeling is just a feeling. It’s not in charge of you. If you feel afraid, take a deep breath, name your feeling, and ask God to help you with it,” will be some I hope to use with my boys to remind them that they don’t need to feel controlled by their emotions - that’s helpful to remember even as an adult!

I’m sure this is a book we will keep reading for years to come! My 6 year old stated, “I think this is going to be my new favorite book,” after we’d read it a few times! The costumes that the characters are wearing and the familiar classroom setting both contributed to him enjoying this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from B&H Kids Publishing, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
A Standard of Grace: A Guided Journal

This beautiful Standard of Grace journal definitely matches the exquisite design of Emily Ley’s other books! The style of the journal is bright, clean and organized - the pages are almost feel too beautiful to mark up with my own handwriting! While I appreciate that the journal is designed to be one prompt/section per week of the year (52 total) - they could also easily be done in 52 days. The prompts are thought-provoking and offer a lot of variance! I love the intro pages to each week - with a verse to consider and a short intro to the focus of the week. The only thing I wish was different, was the sheer amount of photos of Emily and her family (as adorable as I think the whole Ley crew is) - for me personally it’s just a distraction as I work through the prompts!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
Easter is Coming
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The perfect book to read leading up to Easter! Both my 6 and 2 year old were a captive audience while I read it, and even chimed in with “Easter is coming!” at the end of the pages! I enjoyed the bright and engaging illustrations, and the complete telling of the gospel story! The beautiful, padded cover is quality that will keep this book looking fresh even after lots of reads! Excited to continue sharing this book with my kiddos the next few weeks and beyond!

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
Made For This: 40 Days to Living Your Purpose

I took this book really slow - Made For This: 40 Days to Living Your Purpose really required me to intentionally pursue prayer and seeking the Lord’s heart and plan for my life! I haven’t read her other books (but I’ve had them on my list for quite some time), so I was pleasantly surprised when she mentioned in the intro that this is a compilation of ideas in those books, morphed into a study!

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The portions on dreaming and considering what’s held us back from dreaming and being given permission to dream were profound for me. But also having room to process my story, the gifts the Lord has given me, and what my passions may be were huge deals.

I hope to be able to go continue going through this book time and again, as life stages progress, and I find myself questioning what’s next! I hope to use the tools I’ve learned in this book to consider what the Lord’s purpose and plan is for me! Thank you Jennie for writing this study and sharing it with us! I received a complimentary copy of this book from W Publishing Group, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday

This book hit me on so many levels! Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday is full of relevant truths for every mom! I’ve followed Valerie Woerner for quite some time and so appreciate her heart for moms. This book is a beautiful compilation of encouragement to make some difficult changes in the way I mother to glorify the Lord and to the benefit of my whole family. The goal:

“Although you still can’t predict what your kids will do, your heart is no longer set to the temperature of your circumstances. It’s set to God’s truth: that he is with you always, that he loves you, that his plan is better than anything you could come up with on your own. These truths trump anything the world will throw your way today, and as a result, you’re calm and at peace.”

Yes - exactly! This gets to the heart of what I want me days with my kids to look like! I want my heart to be attuned to the Lord and for that to set the tone for how I care for my family. I love how each chapter is full of stories (that are so relatable), wisdom, and encouragement - and the end of each chapter includes actionable steps, a verse, and a prayer! I noted some bullet points from each chapter into my VMP prayer journal from the prayer sections, as reminders of how I want to be continually praying for heart change.

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This book covers so many topics: marriage, parenting, friendship, comfort, control, self-care, finding joy in the mundane, mom guilt, quiet times (or not so quiet times), embracing the changing seasons of motherhood, and so so much more. Valeries addresses how my heart and mind so frequently tend to operate and then reminds me how the Lord has much bigger plans and joy in store for me than I’m allowing!

I’m so excited for this book to be released and to share it with fellow mamas!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle


Danielle DayComment
Praying God's Will for Your Life
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This book is such a sweet encouragement, full of advice on how to draw near to the Lord in prayer and how to distinguish His will for my life. I really appreciated the prayer prompts and “Tools of Truth” portions at the end of the chapter, which highlight ways to bring the chapter full circle. I also loved the beautiful yet simplistic journal pages at the end of the book - there is plenty of room to journal through all the chapters of the book!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from W Publishing Group, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
Suffering Is Never For Nothing

This short, sweet and profound book was the perfect weekend read! Suffering Is Never For Nothing by Elisabeth Elliot could not have arrived at a more ideal time, as our family faces a situation that will surely seem like suffering. Elliot so beautifully put words to the future joy I have to look forward to and the practical ways I can pull myself (and my family) through suffering and trials we may face as Christians.

“The greatest gifs of my life have also entailed the greatest suffering,” is what Elliot says in the very first chapter of the book, and as we are foster parents facing the move of our sweet gift of a baby - I feel like this statement just resounds so deeply with me. I hope to carry many of the author’s encouragements and future kingdom mindsets with me as I face the next few weeks and even the remainder of life.

I am so grateful for this book and the words of Elisabeth Elliot! I look forward to sharing this book with friends and hope they will find the same encouragement.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crossway, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

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Danielle DayComment
Illuminated Bible

The beautiful Illuminated Bible happened to be on my husband’s Christmas list, and I’m so glad it was, because now I get to reap the benefit of getting to read and use it for my studies! The cover and each page is so artfully created - I love the illustrations and journaling pieces already in the Bible, and all the space left for us to add our own notes and journaling! The gold on each page is metallic and actually stands out on the page, plus there is a little of the gold print even on the pages without journaling illustrations, because the references at the top of the page, as well as the chapter numbers, and page numbers are in the same gold. Dana Tanamachi did a gorgeous job with all the illustrations, but I particularly love the full-page ones! My only concern is that I’m not sure the pages are thick enough for me to actually journal in without bleeding through, although since the Bible is already quite large I imagine thicker pages just couldn’t be a reality for this edition.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crossway, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I’m reading!

Danielle

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Danielle DayComment
Remember God
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What a pleasant surprise this book was! It was such an easy read, and so perfect for my last few days, as I’ve been stuck at home with sick kiddos and reading during little pockets of time! Remember God by Annie Downs reads like you’re sitting down just chatting with Annie - it’s extremely relate-able and filled with meaningful nuggets of truth. I really appreciate how real Annie is in telling her journey of being reminded of the Lord’s goodness and trustworthyness! I also loved a few ideas I gleaned from this book, that I hope the try out for myself, like her Lent journaling and her jar of special memories!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from B&H Publishers, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I'm reading about!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment
The Better Mom Devotional

The Better Mom Devotional by Ruth Schwenk is a beautiful and inspiring devotional for all moms! The topics range so much, from children to husbands to friendship to the Lord and how we can draw closer to him through motherhood, it would see to me most moms could find comfort and encouragement in the pages of this devotional. I love that each day starts with a verse and includes a little devotion that could be read within just a matter of minutes, and each day concludes with a prayer and some questions that help apply the day’s reading to the reader’s life!

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This is a book that would make a beautiful Christmas gift for the moms in your life this season!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Zondervan Publishers, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I'm reading about!

Danielle

Danielle Day Comment
You Are

You Are by Emily Assell is just precious, and I’m so excited to include it in my foster daughter’s Christmas stocking this year! It’s the perfect gift book for a baby or toddler, and a book my 5 year old would be so excited to read to himself, because a majority of the words are sight/simple words, with a few bigger words mixed in! The illustrations are so simple, beautiful, and full of neutral colors with some pops of color - totally my style!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale Publishers, but I wasn't required to write a positive review.

Thanks for reading about what I'm reading about!

Danielle

Danielle DayComment