June 22nd, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

… a book review so long overdue it was almost extinct! :)

My daughter has recently started requesting that we learn about dinosaurs. Usually I let her pick a topic on our way to the library and we dig up some goodies from the children’s section. “Dinosaurs,” however, is not my topic of choice when it comes to pulling random books off of the public library shelves!

I was so glad to have the opportunity to review Ken and Mally Ham’s D is for Dinosaur – and I’m thrilled that it will be living on our bookshelf! This book is a little bit hard to review because it is so many things wrapped up into one volume: the back cover describes it as “The three-in-one multipurpose family book; an entertaining ABC rhyme book, a coloring book, and a Sunday school, home school, Christian school, and home devotional teaching book.”

That is a lot of stuff, is it not? This hardback book is a whopping 123 pages long! The first half of the book is in color and goes through each letter of the alphabet with four line rhymes that deal with the days of creation, Eden and the fall, dinosaurs, and other creation topics.

I will say right off the bat: this book was not what I was expecting. The illustrations are rough (you know I love me some good illustrations), which was disappointing to me. I also have found myself a bit confused as to what age group this book was intended for – the ABC rhyming thing led me to believe it would be for younger kids, but much of the content seems geared toward middle to upper elementary schoolers who would probably find the ABC rhyming section to be very babyish by the time they could appreciate the subject matter.

For example – I thought that AG would enjoy going through the ABC rhyming with me and that she might learn about dinosaurs along the way. However, topics are included in the rhymes that are far beyond her awareness and comprehension – I’m simply not ready to explain what the big bang theory is to my 3 year old! I will obviously address this down the road, but right now that’s not even close to her radar screen!

Now, that being said, I think this is a wonderful resource to put into parents’ and teachers’ hands. The second half of the book has the same illustrations but in black and white (the coloring book aspect), and includes a surprising amount of information on each page for parents and teachers to use when teaching about the topic that is covered on that particular page. Discussion topics and suggestions of hands-on activities abound!

This book is extremely Biblically based. The parent and teacher pages have excellent mini-Bible studies that, in conjunction with some basic science, do a great job of summarizing the principles of Biblical interpretation and scientific evidence that support a literal interpretation of Scripture. Biblical understanding, science, critical thinking, and communication skills come together in some excellent discussion topics. This is one I particularly liked from page 80:

“Ask the students to answer the following question in writing: ‘What came first, the chicken or the egg?’ Then ask them to write down the reason for their answer.
The answer, of course, is that the chicken came first because God made the birds on day five, and then He told them to be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1:22). Again, emphasize that the only way to know what came first is if someone were there to see the first chicken, or the first egg. Ask the question, ‘Who has always been there?’ The answer, of course, is God. ‘Where do we go to find information concerning the creation of the world?’ The Bible – God’s Word. Through all of this you are training them to use the Bible as a foundation for their thinking – all their thinking must start with God’s Word.”

Did that just sell you on this book, or what? I can overlook some pretty awful illustrations to have content like that – I am excited to incorporate this book into our Biblical studies and science lessons in coming years. If you haven’t had much teaching yourself in the area of creation science, this is a great book to “wet your whistle” and make you want to learn more, as well. Kan Ham also points you to appropriate resources from the Institute of Creation research for further study in the parent section.

D is for Dinosaur is written by Ken and Mally Ham, and is published by Master Books.

**For more information or to purchase a copy, click on the book cover image to be taken to the publisher’s website. I am an affiliate and will receive a small percentage of the sale of this or other products. I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my review from New Leaf Publishing Group. The opinions expressed in this review are my unbiased thoughts as in keeping with my disclosure policy.

June 21st, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

I’ve had a few books giving me the eyeball… I’m a little behind on reviews!

My kids have had a fabulous time with Jungle Jack Hanna’s The Wackiest, Wildest, Weirdest Animals in the World!

First off, Jack Hanna writing a Christian book? Who knew? Now, I will say that this Thomas Nelson book doesn’t scream “Christian book,” but there are a few mentions here and there about God’s creation, and finding a book about animals that isn’t evolutionary is pretty amazing.

This book is a large, colorful, hardcover book featuring 30 different bizarre animals! Each page has fabulous, big photographs with sidebars of information about what makes that particular animal “Wacky,” “wild,” or “weird.” Each animal also has an information box containing what the animal eats, where they live, and how big they get. Every few pages Jack Hanna also includes anecdotes about his adventures.

This book also comes with a dvd with bloopers from Jack Hanna’s show – I really enjoyed watching it, even though AG was a little confused why certain things were funny! :)

My kids have loved sitting and looking at these pictures! The text is still mostly above 3 year old AG, but I summarize it for her… and even 1 year old LB has sat for long periods of time just looking at the amazing pictures with us! We’ve been introduced to a blue-footed booby (my personal favorite), platypus (did you know they lay EGGS?), Tasmanian devil, naked mole rats, and tons of other interesting creatures!

I would have loved this book as a kid, being the aspiring vet/zoo keeper that I was. I gave up those dreams when I learned that animals, too, have blood. Yuck. :)

**I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my review from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I am an amazon affiliate and would receive a small percentage of any sales resulting from the links provided.  The opinions expressed in this review are my unbiased thoughts as in keeping with my disclosure policy.

June 21st, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

Today we’re going to look at what is sometimes referred to as the “Abrahamic covenant.” [aka: God's promises He made to Abraham.] We will refer back to this “land, nation, and leader” promise many, many times throughout these Old Testament posts… and it all starts here in Genesis 12!

Genesis 12:1-3
Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

I have highlighted for you in that passage the three elements of God’s promise:
1. Land
2. Nation
3. Leader

“Land” and “nation” are obvious. Where did I get “Leader,” you ask?

In Galatians 3:8, Paul refers to this verse by saying, ‘And the Scripture…preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”’ Where is the gospel in this statement?

Think back to our earlier discussion about the promise of the “Seed” back in Genesis 3:15. One Seed, through the line of Eve, would have the ultimate victory over Satan and deal him a deadly blow. He would make things right again. Now in Genesis 12:3, God is giving more details: The Seed would come from Abram’s line, so through Abram, all the nations of the earth would be blessed!

All three elements of this promise to Abram are not separate from the Seed promise in Genesis 3:15. They are very much connected to one another. Let’s look at each element in detail and see how they relate to the Seed promise.

Nation
In Exodus 19:6, God tells the Israelites, ‘And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
What did a priest do? He taught the people about God and His requirements, laws, and forgiveness; he served as a mediator for them before God. God tells Israel that the whole nation will be a kingdom of priests. If they are all priests, who are they teaching? The rest of the world!

Land
Most of the land given to Israel is not a lush, bountiful land. Why is this piece of land so important? In the map I attached to this post you can see how Israel was really on the crossroads of the world. All major world powers during this time would have to travel through Israel, due to constrictions of water and desert that were too treacherous to travel. Why put them there? If God had settled Israel in, say, North America, they wouldn’t have had the position of influence to truly function as a kingdom of priests, telling the world about their God. God brought the world to their doorstep, and they were to tell everyone Who God is and how his plan was unfolding.

Leader
This one should be obvious, after our earlier discussion. The Seed is the leader! He’s coming!!

Abraham, one man in the midst of a generation falling away from the True God, had been given an unbelievable promise. He had no idea just how intricate the plan was, or how long it would all take, but He knew it was true. God’s word is powerful and trustworthy, and He will continue to prove it to be so.

**For more reflections on the Old Testament with personal application, you might want to download a free Bible study ebook!**

June 18th, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

My son apparently has a “large capacity” bladder. The kid has woken up soaking wet probably 90% of the time since he was born. I’ve tried doing two cloth diapers at once (“big booty” is quite an understatement!), that didn’t work. I went to disposables at night, which always worked for my daughter… didn’t work. The only time he consistently woke up dry is when I was using a package of pampers I had received in the mail… and as much as I like a dry morning diaper, pampers are too pricey for me.

You may have noticed that Target recently changed their store brand diapers to “Up&Up” brand. I was a little irritated because 1. I always liked target diapers, 2. target diapers used to be some of the cheapest I could find, and 3. Up&Up were more expensive than the store brand they had before. Boo.

I finally broke down and bought some… and hooray, a $2.00 coupon printed out with my receipt!

Even better, LB has been waking up dry almost every morning!!!!!

I was enthralled with my new discovery, and when I purchased my next box (with my $2 off coupon, of course), I got yet another coupon! I realize that they are trying to promote these new diapers, but I wish that a $2 off coupon would print out every time I bought them. Because I have a lot more boxes in my future, I believe.

And I must add – these diapers have an adorable blue and green polkadot pattern, and I like to see him running around in them. :)

For more Things I Love Thursday fun, hop over to thediaperdiaries.net.