Harms Family News

I was recently given the chance to review a free copy of This Little Prayer of Mine by Anthony DeStefano and illustrated by Mark Elliott. The book, which was endorsed by the National Day of Prayer, was sent to me to review by WaterBrook Press. You can get your own copy here . The book is basically a child's prayer. It begins: I know you're up in heaven, God, and can hear my voice from there. I'm just a little child. Will you answer my short prayer?" I felt the book did a good job of addressing the various things that small children would and should pray for, like fears, making right decisions, feeling alone, being naughty, and being sad. It also takes time to thank God for blessings, seasons, friends, and other things. The book reminds children to ask God to help them do right things, love and help others, and be unselfish. All in all I thought it was a sweet book, but my kids didn't really seem to be attached to it. They haven't asked to read it again, but ...

Ok, so I have only had one person say they were interested in the book review/study, but to give you a heads up, I am going to try to have my first post ready on Wednesday, and then do a post every Wednesday until I finish the book. Please note, if you are curious about this book, it is biblical, which means it does discuss the form of discipline mentioned in Proverbs 22:15. That said, it is full of grace and mercy as well, something that, to me, has been missing in many parenting books I have read with a biblical stand. If you are not sure what book I am referring to, please see this post . The book is only available through Ironwood Camp, and I am not being compensated in any way for this. I just want the accountability to get it finished and also the discipline of writing down my thoughts, which helps solidify them in my mind.

I had the opportunity to review an adorable children's picture book called "God Gave Us You!" by Lisa Tawn Bergren and illustrated by Laura J. Bryant. Little polar bear asks the question every parent expects but dreads "Mommy, where did I come from?" In this sweet story full of a parent's love for her child, Mommy Polar Bear answers the question in a very age appropriate way. I felt the authors of this book understood the preschool set. There were a lot of "why?" questions that are common for little kids to ask. For instance, Mommy Polar Bear says, "I felt something different one day. You wanted out!" "I did!" Little Cub asked. "How did you know?" "God gives mama bears special signals. We raced to the hospital." I thought that was a very truthful, but very age appropriate answer. Actually, I was wishing I had had this book on my shelf when Miss N, my five-year-old, was asking some very similar questions that...

Recently Ligonier Publishing gave me the opportunity to review another book. This time I chose Sammy and His Shepherd by Susan Hunt . I was thrilled with this book. Sammy and His Shepherd uses the 23rd psalm to draw a redemption parallel. The story follows Sammy, a sheep with a loving shepherd, as he meets and befriends Precious, a sheep in the neighboring field whose shepherd is less than loving. Each chapter takes a phrase from Psalm 23 and expounds on it. For instance, chapter 1 is “The Lord Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want.” In the course of the story, Sammy meets a sick, skinny sheep through the fence. The sheep does not have a name, and she does not have a shepherd who takes care of her. Eventually, the sheep’s shepherd indicates he thinks she is worthless, and Sammy’s shepherd offers to buy her. He buys her for much more than she is worth. The mean shepherd laughs at the loving shepherd, but the loving shepherd does not care, because he loves the sheep even though, as she is, sh...