Own Your Life {New Sally Clarkson book, coming SOON!}

As you may remember, I had the joy of finally meeting Sally Clarkson, in person, last month.  As someone whose books have challenged me, and encouraged me, I was super excited to find out that she had a new book coming out.  What she spoke to us about, that day in Oxford, was the essence of the content of the book.

I was invited to join the team, helping to launch Sally's book, so, TODAY, I can finally share with you a little about it.  How can I resist sharing what looks to be a wonderfully helpful book?

First off, watch what Sally says about, then I will tell you some more.




I SO love that teacup analogy.  It really helps to understand the principle which Sally seeks to expand in the book.

We have a life, which God has wonderfully gifted to us.  The circumstances which are part of that, no matter how easy or hard, are also given by God. They belong exclusively to us, and it is our duty, and should be our delight, to live it out as faithfully and fully as we have the capacity to do.

Not half heartedly.

Not begrudgingly.

Not resentfully.

Not cautiously.

But.....

Fully.

Joyfully.

Embracing.

Boldly.


There are so many situations we find ourselves in, which can make us, or break us.  It's entirely up to us how we approach it.  If we can always see God's hand in it all - as the Giver of every perfect and good gift, which everything that comes from Him IS - then we will live life in a transformed way.

I know that I can find myself wallowing and struggling through circumstances that come my way, as well as the everyday sort of issues that are part of life as a mother.  My attitude towards all these things is the key to enjoying life as fully as God intended me to.  How can I live a life that brings glory to God, if I only live it half-heartedly, and with the wrong attitudes? How can I bring glory to Him if I don't do EVERYTHING heartily, as to the Lord? *note to self - that includes toilet training, and all the other "not-so-fun" things*

This is a book about fighting mediocrity, pursuing purpose, resting in God's sovereignty, having a heart transformed by God, and above else, loving.

It's practical, it's meditative, it's heart-warming, and it's full of Sally's personal touch.

I KNOW that Sally's heart's desire would be to sit down with each lady who reads her books, and to help and encourage them.  She can't do that, so this book is an extension of her own heart, right into the hands and hearts of YOU, the reader.

If there is one book you want to get this year, to fill you with a renewed passion as a woman of God, THIS is it.  You see, it's not JUST all about you - it's about how you can shape the lives of those around you - the people whom God has given you to share the journey you are on.

Investing in it, will be investing for your family, too.

Sally quotes a Bible verse in the book, which really sets up the challenge that the book is all about.

"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him."

II Chronicles 16:9

This is a verse in the KJV which doesn't fully express, in our modern day English, what the verses MEANS.

"Perfect toward him"  means "fully given to him".

FULLY.

GIVEN.

That's what "Owning our Life" means - to give ourselves fully to Him, and fully live that life FOR Him.

I know I want a life fully given to God, and fully lived out for Him.  I know I want to use every means I can to live it that way, and Sally's new book looks like a perfect tool for such a job.

You can pre-order it,  from HERE for the US, and HERE for the UK.  It's a reduced price, right now, and if you head over to Sally's website, you can see some super multi-buy extras, too.

If you follow Sally's page on Facebook, and her blog, you will also see lots of sneaky peeks and insights from the book, as the publication date creeps closer! You won't be disappointed!

I'm not going to buy the book, though.

I will leave that wide open for one of my lovely people in my life, to get it for me for my Birthday! You know who you are!

Tapestry of Grace Tuesday {book review - God's Names}

I would love to share with you, every now and again, about the lovely books that we come across within our curriculum. They are simply too wonderful not to share! I will pick out different ones, and also explain which area they relate to in the curriculum, as there are several different categories and levels involved. However, you don't need to use Tapestry of Grace in order to use these books.  I CAN tell you, though, that it is jam full of lovely titles. If you want to see the full book list for yourself,  you can go to the Bookshelf Central site, and search according to year group, unit, learning level and topic. You won't find specific details about which weeks they are actually used, but you can certainly see which books are used in a general sense.

Today, I will begin with one that is suggested as a read-aloud, for the lower 3 levels. When this book arrived, and I had a flick through, I was instantly excited about what I saw.

It's called "God's Names", by Sally Michael. It is published by P&R Publishing and endorsed by Children Desiring God.  Recommendations come from John Piper, to Tim Challies.

This beautifully illustrated book begins by encouraging the child to think about the significance of name. Why and how it is given to a child, and the different types of names you can have. It then goes on to explain that God is given hundreds of special names in the scriptures, to reflect the many facets of His person. This book covers 24 of these, as well as a chapter about how the child can know God personally, in salvation.

It covers many aspects of who God is and what He does for His children. Each name weaves in a Bible story which applies the attribute involved in the name. Many Bible stories are used to illustrate these truths, in a way that a child can relate to them. The language is simple, yet engaging.

Each story concludes with a scripture passage you can read to emphasise the truth, and also questions to make the child think more deeply, and are perfect as a springboard to further discussion. Sally Michael, who wrote the book, has also given suggestions for activities to reinforce the truth in the heart and mind of the child.

Today, we read the introductory chapter, which covered the theme of names. The activity was for the child to write their name out, and what it means. They were also to ask if they were named for any special reason. It was a lovely opportunity to explain why we chose their names.

This book ticks all the boxes for me. Excellent content. Engaging for the child. Beautifully illustrated. Spiritual application. What more could you ask for in a book?

It potentially has many uses, really. It could be used every Lord's Day, as a read aloud and Bible study tool. It would see you through half of the year, used like that. It could be used as a Unit Study, where you could dig deeper into the Bible stories used for each name, and learn about various aspects of life surrounding the characters in the lessons. For example, one story relates to Gideon - you could learn about torches, light, how animals drink, pottery, and many other things. You could turn each name into an element of a lapbook. There are many free lapbook templates available online, and you could even try and choose shapes that somehow relate to the story. You could write a mini-book on the names of God, giving a brief description of each name, and maybe thinking of other Bible stories that could relate to the name you are writing about. The possibilities are endless!

Above all else, it's simply a lovely book to share with your children, and to encourage them in the ways of God, and learning from His Word. If you want a quality book to add to your shelves, get this one.

As it says on the back cover,

"God has left his names with his people so they can know him...and through these pages your children can know him too".


(Whenever I write a book review, I will add the name of the book to my Children's Books page on the blog. You will find the tab for that at the top of the blog. It will link back to the post where I reviewed the book. I hope these reviews will be useful, and I will try and cover a wide variety of subjects and book types - from reference to fiction - Bible-based and secular.)