Whatever is Lovely: A coloring book for reflection and worship

Whatever is Lovely: A coloring book for reflection and worship is so far my absolute favorite adult coloring book. It is filled with scripture to reflect upon while you are coloring the page. Each illustration is done by a different person so they each have a unique style while they still remain cohesive to one another.

The illustrations are one sided printed on very thick pages. The back side tells who each illustrator is and some include versus, scripture and poetry. I have some adult coloring books which are very tedious and not really relaxing this one is the opposite. The images are not difficult to manage and color and it is easy to reflect upon the scriptures as you are coloring them. Some designs are very simple and others are a little more intricate in nature. This is a very well done coloring book and very nice quality.

This is a must have coloring book if you love the Word and love to color!!!! I received this book at no charge from www.bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase a copy here.

Faith Builders Bible

I am slightly disappointed in the Faith Builders Bible. It may be good for a child around 9-11. The font is tiny and I felt the building block verse pages were lacking. The illustrations/pictures of block creation seemed small.

At the beginning there is an illustration with blocks showing the names of each book in the bible. Then there is a “can you build” page that gives 3 small activities: a cross, a fish and a lamb. On the pages with the building block verses there is a building block creation (basically Legos but the book never references Legos at all). The picture takes approximately half the page then there is a description of the story being depicted. Below that there is a “building block verse” that goes along with the story.

I believe a lot more could have been done with this bible. There really are no study materials to go along with the illustrations, no elaboration and no real teaching tool. I was really hoping for more. In today’s world of internet it would be nice if maybe there had be instructions or some kind of guide to building some of the structures so that they could be used as teaching guides. It would’ve been very easy to add these little details. Printables could have been made available via internet or instructions could have been added at the end. A lot of the illustrations aren’t much more than mini figures standing on platform boards.

I did love the ABCs of Salvation  and the Lord’s Prayer pages and I will keep this bible for my child when he is older but as of right now he is way too young for it. It is a very basic bible with no reference notes or no study guides but is a version that will be easier to understand by a child. If you are looking for a child’s bible for someone who absolutely loves legos or building blocks that is just below teen level this might be a good choice but if you are looking for a good study bible or teaching tool you may want to find something else.  I would suggest picking it up and looking through it before making a choice. I received this bible at no charge from www.booklookbloggers.com in exchange for an honest review. I don’t believe I would’ve purchased this particular bible at this point otherwise. It isn’t horrible but just doesn’t meet my wants or needs in a bible for a child.

 

Happy Cooking

Giada De Laurentiis’ Happy Cooking cookbook is a beautiful cookbook full of wonderful photography. It is full of recipes including breakfast foods, snacks or small plates, salads, soups, pastas veggies and sides as well as sweets plus more. The recipes seem to be pretty healthy looking. There are also a few recipes for detoxing. She has added “cooks notes” throughout  with helpful hints and suggestions.

I’m not sure this is a go to cookbook for me but there are a handful of recipes that I would like to try. Not all of the recipes are pantry friendly and will require shopping at least for me. I will not have most of these ingredients on hand and it will take some planning on my part. It also requires a lot of herbs and spices for her recipes, again something that I don’t always have. That being said if you want to plan a meal ahead of time you will probably find plenty in this cookbook. I personally prefer using cookbooks that I can grab things I have on hand and get to cooking. I don’t have a lot of time to meal plan.

I would suggest checking out some of the recipes for yourself before purchasing this book to see if it is worth it to you. I will keep it in my collection because I do believe at some point I will use it. I received this book from www.bloggingforbooks.com at no charge for an honest review. You can purchase it here.

 

The Hot Bread Kitchen

 

Next to sweet stuff my weakness is bread. I love all bread so I couldn’t wait to get The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook by Jessamyn Waldman Rodiquez and the bakers of Hot Bread Kitchen.

“The tasty corollary of this social enterprise is a line of authentic breads you won’t find anywhere else”  There It begins with Primordial breads or better known to me as flat breads and ends with some sweet breads. It gives you bread baking tips and storing your bread tips. It appears to me that all of the ingredients are easily found. The cook book is beautifully illustrated with wonderful photography. Most recipes include a photo but not all of them. Savory breads, sweet breads, stuffed breads, rolls are all included. I can’t wait to try out a few recipes. It’s not just bread either there is a recipe for Crispy Chicken Schnitzel, Summertime Tomato and Tuna Bread Salad, and a Grilled Cheese French Toast just to name a few.

I believe that if you want to bake some yummy bread you will enjoy this cookbook. It looks advanced enough for the experienced baker as well as easy enough for a novice. I received this book at no charge from www.bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Surprising Imagination of C.S. Lewis

The surprising Imagination of C.S. Lewis was intriguing to me. It is written by Jerry Root and Mark Neal. “This book is an introduction to C.S. Lewis’s published work. To understand Lewis well requires a frasp of his uses of the imaginations. Lewis said so himself.”

I really didn’t know much about C.S. Lewis and not really much about his works. I am somewhat familiar with his Chronicles of Narnia series but that is about the extent of my knowledge of his works.  I really enjoyed learning about him and the way his imagination worked. I didn’t realize he had claimed to be an atheist prior to his salvation.

This book isn’t something that is a really quick read and is kind of a study of the different literary imagination styles of C.S. Lewis. It shows how important imagination is in our lives. His imagination has made a difference in many lives. I believe this book is more of a textbook type study book and not a “story” type book. I plan on using in later in a home school curriculum as a study in literature.

I enjoyed this book but it did take some time to get through.

 I received this book a no charge from handlebar publishing in exchange for an honest review.

 

NKJV Prohecy Study Bible

 

 

If you are looking for a bible that explains prophecy I would highly recommend the NKJV Prophecy Study Bible, with commentary by John Hagee. I’m so excited about this one!!!!!!

I wouldn’t say this is the easiest study bible I’ve ever used but neither is it difficult to figure out. It’s not just a normal study bible to study scripture but it is one that focuses on prophecy. The bible starts out with explanations and studies of the end times. There are charts and time lines to help you understand. There is also information to tell you how to use this bible.  John Hagee has done a wonderful job explaining prophecy.  It is a very difficult subject to understand and many have different beliefs on what the end times mean exactly.  I tend to agree with John Hagee and how he interprets scripture.

I can’t even begin to tell you everything in this bible but I will try. Each book includes information about the book, who the author is, the time line of the book. Some of them also include “evidences”  and stories to help explain the chapter. There are beautiful colored maps in the back and a history of Israel.  It is also a red letter words of Christ bible.

I have to say I absolutely love this bible and cannot wait to delve into it deeper.  I think this is probably one of the if not the best prophecy studies I have come across. If you are wanting to learn more about end times and prophecy I think this is the one for you. I have read some reviews that say it is missing books but I have not found anything missing maybe this was in earlier editions or maybe some mistake in the printing. As far as I can tell this is a complete bible.

I received this bible at no charge from www.booklookbloggers.com in exchange for an honest review.

Food52 Baking

I have a sweet tooth the size of Texas so I was so happy to get Food52 Baking cookbook. It has 60 different recipes all of which look awesome!!!!! Each recipe has a beautiful picture of the finished product. The book is broken into sections to help you decide which recipe is for the occasion that you are wanting to cook a delectable dessert for.

Some of the recipes have seemingly long ingredient lists but as I browse through them it appears that much of the ingredients are things that are readily available in most pantries especially if you bake any at all.  Each recipe has a tip or trick listed at the bottom.  For example there is a tip on how to make homemade buttermilk if you don’t have some in your refrigerator, there is also info on how to cut in butter for the more inexperienced cooks, there may be variations on how to change the recipe for a different flavor and even ways to turn the sweets into something savory.

I’ve been looking for a good Dutch Baby recipe and there is one in this cookbook, Buttermilk Dutch Baby with Caramelized Pears, that I can’t wait to try. As well as a blueberry scone recipe that made my mouth water. While the majority of the cookbook is all about the sweets there is a section of savory dishes such as no kneed pizza dough and grilled flatbreads among others.

I really like the last section of the book. It is called “Baking for Any Occasion” it tells you which recipes are good for different occasions. An example is the recipes that are easiest to commit to memory or maybe good recipes for bake sales.

I would definitely recommend this cookbook for the baking nut whether experienced or even if you have never baked a thing. This is surely one of my favorites.

I received this book at no charge from www.bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for an honest review.  You can purchase your copy here.

The Time Garden: A Magical Journey and Coloring Book

 

 

The Time Garden: A magical journey and coloring book by Daria Song is an adult style coloring book which is all the rage right now. It is a way to bring your inner child out and enjoy coloring once again. This coloring book is much more than just a coloring book. It has beautiful pages but it also is a little girl’s journey through an old German cuckoo clock. Each page is a glimpse into her journey. The book starts out with a written story about a little girl with wild imagination whose father purchased the old German clock. Then you fill your imagination with the rest of the story through the coloring pages.

I have loved coloring since I was a child and even as an adult I could sit for hours with a coloring book. Now finally I have my very own coloring book without taking one of my kids haha. Grab yourself a nice set of coloring pencils or markers and grab this book for hours of relaxing fun. It has different levels from very intricate to not so intricate. I received this book at no charge from www.bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for an honest review. It can be purchased here.

KJV Foundation Study Bible

I loved the KJV Foundation Study Bible. I have several study bibles and am glad to add this one to my collection. It has Christ’s words in red letters. It includes a concordance and a Theological notes index by title section. It also includes very nice colored maps

Each book starts with a notation about the author and about the theme of the book. Also, a key verse and timeline is included in the introduction. One thing I really like is each study note also has references to other biblical text. I have a few study bibles that do not do this. I really like to see where the information is coming from and where it parallels with other scripture. At the bottom of each page is a section that lists study information and at the end a list of cross reference bible scriptures.

The only cons I can come up with are the version I got is a hardback bible which makes it difficult to carry with you. I prefer leather bound so this will be a stay at home study bible. And the other is the print is very small for my eyes. These are very minor issues for me and wouldn’t deter me from purchasing the bible.

I’m really glad I have this bible and can see it being one that I will use frequently. Some study bibles can be very complex and difficult to use this one is straight forward and very user friendly.  I would recommend this bible to anyone looking for a nice study bible. I received this bible at no charge from www.booklookbloggers.com in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Realism Challenge

I am not the artist in my family. My daughter loves art and is learning different techniques all of the time. When I saw this book I thought it would be perfect for her. The Realism Challenge by Mark Crilley is a step by step guide on creating art that is very realistic looking.

He keeps supplies really simple and doesn’t encourage going out and buying the most expensive supplies. He suggests purchasing descent products and goes into detail what types of things you will need. I loved his lessons were step by step and he explains things to the point even I feel like I could do it.  He begins with basic techniques and starts with a non complex sheet of paper. The next lesson is the same concept but he adds a few wrinkles to the paper. Each lesson gets progressively more difficult.

If you love art and want to learn to do more realistic artwork then I would suggest this book. I believe it is a great resource for beginners. My daughter hasn’t had the time to work on anything yet but I’m looking forward to seeing what she will do with this. 

The book is well laid out and beautifully done. It’s a nice hard backed book full of color illustrations. I really liked everything about it.  I received this book at no charges from bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for an honest review.

You can purchase a copy of it here.