May's Must Reads

May is a crazy month around here, but reading never completely goes by the wayside.

Most of these are my picks, but here are two that Jackson is enjoying:

Amazing Places (Childrens Encyclopedia)- It has tons of wonderful pictures and descriptions of locations around the world. A world map is also on each page that highlights the location of each place for reference. For some reason, Amazon lists the price at $94.99. I found it at Marshalls for $7.99 so either Amazon's price is a typo or I scored a seriously great deal!!

Missionary Stories with the Millers- I love how Rainbow Resource describes this book: "Stories based on actual experiences in the lives of Christian missionaries. Excellent and realistic view of God’s foot soldiers as they face extreme conditions and angry people. Some are saved, some are martyred, all are victorious!"


What have I been enjoying?

God's Great Covenant, Old Testament 1: A Bible Course for Children- I've been looking for a new resource since we finished our last devotion book and this is going to hit the spot. It focuses on the big picture of the bible - presenting God's solid covenant promises and how even the Old Testament points to the coming Savior, Jesus Christ. I'll be using the Teacher's Edition as well (found at Classical Academic Press).


The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! - No, I don'think I'll ever be a purist homesteader, but this is an enjoyable read. It's easy to pick up and put down since it is divided up into short sections and gives a great overview of lots of topics such as grinding wheat, gardening, canning, making dandelion wine (who knew??) etc.


The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education - This is the much anticipated second book of Classical Conversations founder, Leigh Bortins. It won't be released until next month, but you better believe I've preordered it. Despite having been an aerospace engineer, her writing is very down to earth. Believe me, there was a time even as a homeschooling parent that I ran as fast as I could from a classical model of education, so for me to embrace it now is a big deal. Please, whether or not you ever intend to educate at home, GET YOUR HANDS ON THIS BOOK when it debuts in June!


Redeeming Love - Yes, I'm reviewing this one last partly because I'm not sure how to put it into words. It's been a long time since I've read fiction and it was only at the strong recommendation of a friend who actually put the book in my hands that made me sit down and read it. It was a horrible/wonderful/gut wrenching/suck-you-in-and-ignore-the-whole-world-around-you kind of book. Even though I finished it a week ago, I still feel like I'm coming up for air.

In my opinion you can read this book in one of two ways: You can read it as fiction - a made up time, a made up place, a made up person with sin you wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Or, you can choose to read it for the reality of the depths of our own sin and the cost it took to redeem it. The latter is the tougher option, but what makes it worth the read.