I was offered Keepers of the Covenant by Lynn Austin for review from Litfuse Publicity Group. This is my honest opinion.

I love how the book opens with Haman. I thought the story would be just another Esther tale, but oh, was I wrong! Lynn Austin is a masterful storyteller – one of my favorite Christian authors, with such compelling historical fiction.

The prophet Ezra is brought to life, as a real man, husband, father, shepherd, and teacher. His struggles are real and he is an example to all followers to pray and seek God for guidance and follow the Biblical teachings uncompromisingly. Woven in this masterful story is a Bible lesson so clear and unmistakable that I cried as it unraveled as it revealed where I need healing and how I have failed and what I need to change to reconcile myself with God.

God’s people face bleak times and they question how they’ve sinned and how they can reconcile with God. This stood out to me: “It’s the highest form of praise to keep believing that God is good even when it doesn’t seem that way.”

The Jews in this book echo the sentiment I hear from many Christians today: “Surely this [Bible teaching] was for a different time, a different set of circumstances…”

And as a teacher and mother, these comments cut me to the quick: I “can’t expect others to obey God’s law if [I] don’t obey it…Why study it if [we’re] not going to live it?” Indeed.

Ezra’s relationship with his wife, Devorah, is a lovely example of a godly marriage. She is respectful but influential and guides her husband to do what is right. She is intelligent and thoughtful and strong.

I see myself in many of the characters in this book. Lost and alone and feeling guilty and unworthy and unvalued. I love the little theme of God’s law and teachings are for everyone, not just Jews.

Austin consistently has me on the edge of my seat with several plot conflicts, following multiple characters, and rooting for those characters to succeed and live out God’s plan.

About the book:

The Old Testament Comes to Thrilling Life in the Latest from Lynn Austin

In one life-changing moment, the lives of the Jewish exiles in Babylon are thrown into confusion and despair when a decree arrives from the king’s palace in Susa. It calls for the annihilation of every Jewish man, woman, and child throughout the empire on the thirteenth day of Adar, in less than one year. Ezra, a quiet Jewish scholar and teacher, is suddenly called upon to lead the community as they seek God for a reason for this catastrophe. When a second decree arrives, authorizing them to fight back, Ezra is thrust into the role of military leader as they defend themselves against their enemies.

When the battles come to an end, Ezra’s brother Jude is dead and Ezra is required by the Law he so diligently studies to marry Jude’s widow, Devorah, and provide an heir. Fatherhood changes Ezra, and he asks God to make a way for him and the other exiles to leave Babylon for good and return to Jerusalem. His prayers are answered and the exiles move to Judea to revitalize worship at the temple—but the fight to keep God’s Law is never easy. As more and more of his community are tempted, a new battle emerges . . . this one for the survival of God’s covenant and the souls of His chosen faithful.

About the Author:

Bestselling author Lynn Austin has sold more than one million copies of her books worldwide. She is an eight-time Christy Award winner for her historical novels, as well as a popular speaker at retreats and conventions. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and live near Chicago.

Liz and I are excited to review Annie Downs’ new book, Let’s All Be Brave: Living Life with Everything You Have by Zondervan.

When I first opened it, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I haven’t read any of Annie’s other two books, so I didn’t know her writing style at all. I was pleasantly surprised and this is certainly a book God wanted me to read – to help with my own issues and to minister to my daughters. And son too!

An extraordinary call to action for women…it’s Annie’s first book geared towards adults…but that insecure teen girl who lives inside all of us adult women who still struggle with self-esteem and confidence issues. It’s for us. Ahem.

A series of witty essays revolving around quirky themes, such as: soccer, Dale Murphy, missions, college, family, cereal. I feel like I’m sitting in a coffee shop or comfy living room chatting away about life. The “dialogue” strips away fears and helps encourage readers to live bravely, for God, for others…to step outside oneself and LIVE – fully and abundantly. Without fear.

I love how Annie speaks from her heart to mine. My daughter read the book too, in a matter of hours, and felt uplifted and encouraged. She’s thirteen, and going through those difficult and tumultuous times of feeling invincible and worthless, sometimes all at once. This is a great conversation-starting book.

This is a must-read for all young women. It’s an easy read, moving along quickly with short essays written in coffee shops around Nashville. And I love all the references to my native state of Georgia. Go Dale Murphy!

Annie F. Downs is an author and speaker based in Nashville, Tennessee. Flawed but funny, she uses her writing to highlight the everyday goodness of a real and present God.

Annie is the author of Let’s All Be Brave, a book for men and women about the power we each have to make a difference on this planet. She also has two books for teens: Perfectly Unique, a spiritual growth book for high school and college girls, and Speak Love, a challenge to women on how to use their words to make a difference in the world.

By weaving together personal stories, humor, and Scripture, she invites those reading to experience fulfilled lives with a God who made them on purpose and loves them deeply. You can learn more about her books here.

While she loves writing- books, blogs, articles, thank-you notes- Annie also enjoys traveling around the world speaking to young women, college students, and adults.You can learn more about her speaking events here.

Annie is a huge fan of bands with banjos, glitter, her community of friends, boiled peanuts, and football games.

We reviewed The Big Picture Interactive Bible (HCSB): Connecting Christ Throughout God’s Story from B&H Publishing. This is part of The Gospel Project for Kids curriculum.

Throughout this Bible, in addition to the 146 full-page Bible story illustrations with Augmented Reality, there are sections that explain Bible concepts to kids:

• Big Questions explain the Why
• Christ Connections that show how the entire Bible points to Jesus
• Seeing the Big Picture help with discussion
• 100 Verses to Remember highlighted
• Introductions to every book of the Bible to provide context
• Big Words 4-color dictionary feature with photos, maps, illustrations, and descriptions of key terms in Scripture

Icons connecting to The Gospel Project for Kids curriculum (these are the same icons we scan to get the images to “come to life”) and Parent Connections features help adults engage kids.

My daughter Kate claimed this Bible as hers. She loves the app feature and flipped through to see all the images come to life and tell her their synopsis. She’s turning 7 in a month and a half. She navigated through this fine on her own.

I love seeing her hole up by herself and use this app with the Bible rather than playing mindless games or watching videos. It’s real wholesome entertainment. Right now, it’s a novelty and I hope it doesn’t wear off!

How does it work?

We downloaded the free app with the little QR code that comes with this Bible. The camera app does have to be activated for this to function. And yes, we have to go through and delete lots of pictures the kids take of the cats, leaves, the Bible popups, toes, and other oddities.

Throughout, there are icons that Kate scans and it has a virtual popup and a narrator summarizes the story. It’s a great visual tool and I can see this becoming a great reward during Bible reading time!

It’s fun to see the virtual popup and hear the narrator!

My only suggestion would be for the icons to not be on the right corner on pages that are on the left. It made scanning the icons more difficult. A less patient child (and me) might get frustrated trying to get it to scan. Kate and I had to try a few times to get some of the images to “come to life.” But she wasn’t upset. She persevered.

This is a great addition to our Bible basket!

Recommended for ages 8-12

Full color 9×6 Bible in Imitation Leather

You can buy The Big Picture Interactive Bible here.

It is my honor to review Girl at the End of the World: My Escape from Fundamentalism in Search of Faith with a Future by Elizabeth Esther. It released on March 18 (my birthday!). And it is brilliant.

While I didn’t grow up in church at all, I can totally relate to much of what Elizabeth writes about: cult mentality.

I, too, have felt like a girl at the end of the world.

I have felt lost and all alone, surrounded by people who said they knew what’s best for me. I’ve been that girl screaming on the inside.

I sorta joke when I tell people I grew up in the Church of Army. My dad’s doctrine was pretty simple: his authoritarian ways and views and no arguing or opinions of my own, his own personal brand of integrity, his way or the highway.

It made me who I am. It was a long time coming to feel comfortable being me. I spent much of my youth lost in the world. I tried to end it all. I blew through two marriages, each with its own brand of churchianity.

But this isn’t about me. I will not steal Elizabeth’s thunder. This is her book review.

I love it.

Three parts, each compelling and vivid. Chronicling Elizabeth’s life with The Assembly and her escape from it and her experiences seeking God on her own. I read this book in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. And then there are study questions and an interview! I want more, more, more. Tell me there is a sequel, prequel, never-before-released rare memoir, something, somewhere!

It’s better than fiction. It reads like a novel. It is art.

I laughed. I cried. I nodded in agreement and shook my head in disbelief.

I highlighted lines of wit to commit to memory and Picmonkey Pinterest ponderings.

We seldom realize the story behind the person. Meeting Elizabeth at Allume a couple years ago and seeing her images of her lovely ballerina and roses on Instagram don’t tell the story. I’m sure people who meet her today won’t know the past lurking inside her.

I realize that many of my misgivings with church were what Elizabeth lived every day. She lived in real fear of never measuring up. I attended two fundamentalist Baptist churches. While I enjoyed the preaching of one, the other only had three sermon topics: salvation, missions, giving more money. They both used solely the KJV and usually only the New Testament.

If the dull (though energetic) preaching wasn’t enough to drug my intellect into apathy, then came the brainwashing doctrine of appearance that kept me in constant anxiety. The pastor had brochures with Bible verses in the lobby dictating what women should wear.

I couldn’t wrap my mind about their modesty rules and gender roles and I couldn’t for the life of me keep up. I couldn’t carry on a conversation with any of the women, who’d never attended a real college (only Bible college is allowed for women and encouraged for men – to find spouses and prepare for full-time ministry) and I have a BA in English literature and an M.Ed in education. I was odd, surely in need of fervent prayer and counsel. I always felt like an outcast.

I read that infamous book by The Pearls and tried their methods for a few months. It was wrong. When the entire women’s ministry decided to study it, I didn’t participate.

Then, I was horrified when my eldest (then only ten) questioned a male friend who had his hair in a ponytail and an earring: “How can you be a Christian with long hair and an earring? Men can’t do that!”

We never went back to that church.

I love Elizabeth’s definition of cult. I totally believe many churches are abusive and use their power poorly and twist the Gospel. I live in Utah, and too many people here are like the blind leading the blind.

I so relate to Elizabeth’s anxiety issues. Her church was her entire life – her family, friends, everyone she knew. Isolation is the first sign of an unhealthy relationship. They don’t want you seeing what you’re missing or talking about what’s going on because they know it’s weird or wrong. I’m an introvert. I am prone to anxiety attacks when I am stressed, isolated, overwhelmed, and not in control of the situation. The panic attacks began after my suicide attempt and I still occasionally get mild ones and have to put myself in timeout until I can resume “normal” function.

Like Elizabeth, there was a cold comfort for me being raised and told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it and harsh punishment for disobedience. Part of me desperately wanted escape yet fear and low self-worth kept me in the familiar. It took several attempts before I left home for good, and it was not under good circumstances. I eloped and I was disowned.

I love that Elizabeth found God through His mother, Mary. I love that divine revelation and comfort that came to her in her time of need. I love that she’s in a comfortable, safe place. I love that her marriage succeeded despite all the stress they must have gone through during their healing.

I think God does reach down to us and lift us up in the most extraordinary way. We’re all His children and He loves us. He loved Elizabeth all through her scary life with The Assembly and while she was struggling to make sense of Him and find her place in the world and His Kingdom.

We all just want our place.

I pray for her and for you.

Buy this book!

I went to Laura Parker’s session at Allume last October. Then I rushed down to her table in the vendor alley to grab a media kit. So I got two copies of The Exodus Road and a snazzy braided leather bracelet. It’s a conversation piece.

I really, really didn’t want to read this book. I much prefer to think that this doesn’t happen. I like my comfortable suburban life and we are too blessed to not have to deal with anything unpleasant, well, ever.

During the session at Allume, I listened to Laura recount how her husband was called to go undercover in third world countries to save girls from sex slavery.

How that would help make a marriage stronger, I thought sarcastically. That she accepted God’s call and submitted to this rescue mission is a testament to her faith in God and in her husband. I can’t say I would be able to do the same.

I love Laura’s honest account of how difficult it was for her and the kids to adjust to living in a third world country, far away from anything known or comfortable. I love how God used them to go outside their comfort zones and rescue girls from slavery. Laura is as witty and real in her book as she was in the session at Allume. I love it when Christians are real and admit to cussing and struggling with normal life.

Author Bio

With years of international living in three different countries, Laura is no stranger to a life of transition. A wife who sends her husband into brothels to look for children, she is well-acquainted with the mess that comes with trying to bravely love the less fortunate. Laura currently serves as the Vice President of Communications for an anti-trafficking organization, The Exodus Road, which her husband founded during their years of living  in SE Asia. The Exodus Road is a coalition which works to fuel undercover investigation and rescue around the globe. She also co-founded and edits a collective blog for international humanitarian workers, A Life Overseas, and has been published with Compassion International, RELEVANT Magazine, MOMSense, Deeper Story, and {In}Courage. She blogs honestly at Laura Parker Writes. The Exodus Road is her first book and documents the gritty journey of their family into the undercover world of sex trafficking.

In this day and age with porn at anyone’s fingertips, this youth pastor, husband, father, put his life on the line for these girls  on the other side of the world – that men pay to use and abuse.

I have three daughters and a son. I hold them closer and pray more fervently.

We’ve been studying Abraham Lincoln and the events leading up to the Civil War. My younger daughters are horrified to read and learn about the enslaved people in America. I don’t have the heart to tell them there are people enslaved all over the world, doing worse work than plantation fields.

Here is a definition of slavery: relationship whereby one person has absolute power over another and controls his life, liberty, and fortune.

“Slavery occurs when one person completely controls another person, using violence or the threat of violence to maintain that control, exploits them economically, pays them nothing and they cannot walk away.” – CNN Freedom Project Read more at The Exodus Road.

I love that I can teach them how God loves all people, no matter their skin color, eye color, ability, or education.

They were stunned that the slaves in America were not allowed to learn to read or write. I am blessed that they value so highly education.

I pray they also value their bodies as highly.

I pray they are never violated and they grow up pure in mind and in body and go to their marriage beds virgins and have no hateful memories to repress.

And I especially pray for these lost children and for the evil men who capture, enslave, rape, abuse, and pay for the disgusting acts they commit.

Because it’s always about money.

If there were no demand, the supply would diminish.

Want some statistics?

Click here to view the whole 2013 Impact Report.

Visit The Exodus Road and learn more. Like The Exodus Road on Facebook. Follow @TheExodusRoad on Twitter and use #blog4rescue

Want to read this for yourself?

Enter to win a copy by commenting on this post. Winner chosen at random by 3/18/14.

Purchase The Exodus Road at Amazon.

As part of the Measure of Success Blog Tour, I am excited to be writing alongside hundreds of other inspiring authors about what success looks like.

Can a woman be feminine, godly, and ambitious?

Moms often struggle with measuring our success.

Whether we work outside the home, are WAHMs, or SAHMs, we struggle with balancing our responsibilities and feeling appreciated or satisfied with our accomplishments.

How do you measure whether or not your work is “successful”?

Do you rely on outsiders to tell you that you’re successful? Do you ever feel successful? Do you need numbers or statistics to measure your success?

As a blogger, I often look at my analytics or social media reach to measure “my success” with readers. But I really should follow God’s lead when I write instead of all the hoops I feel I must jump through or the SEO checklists recommended by all the experts.

As a mom, my measure of success is when my kids are agreeable, showing the fruit of the Spirit, growing academically and relationally, and exhibit the joy of the Lord.

As a wife, I measure my success by whether my husband is pleased and satisfied and cheerful. He’s pretty easy-going so sometimes I have to just ask if everything is going smoothly enough with the housework and kids and life in general. I have learned that assumptions are never right.

Can a woman stay home with her kids and utilize the giftedness toward productivity that God has given her?

I once asked a famous Christian homeschool mom speaker and mentor to many if she ever reached that point…? She didn’t even let me finish the question before she cut me off with a firm, “No!”

I beg to differ.

I have had moments, fleeting moments, when I feel the hand of God pat me on the shoulder like He’s saying, “Take notice. This is good. This is right. You’re doing a good job. Remember this moment.”

I define that as success.

Do you think it’s possible for women to “have it all”? In other words, can someone have a thriving career and a thriving home life? What do you think makes this possible or impossible?

I joke with my husband in the evenings when he gets home that I’ve had a two for three day or only a one for three day.

I only once have had a three for three day. It was a crazy good day and I was absolutely exhausted by mid-afternoon!

Something usually has to give.

I can have a great blogging day, writing and social media-ing productively.

I can have a great housewife day, completing laundry, organizing, doing dishes, vacuuming, preparing delicious and nutritious meals and having dinner ready on time, baking bread, sweeping and mopping floors, wiping bathrooms, scrubbing toilets.

I can have a great homeschool mom day, reading aloud history biographies with my snuggly babies, patiently explaining math concepts, doing science experiments, admiring backyard birds and encouraging drawings of them for nature study, teaching Latin and grammar, listening to classical music with tea in the afternoons, and being intentional and available and cheerful all day long.

As far as “thriving,” I do think it’s possible to thrive. With support from my husband and children, I often feel I thrive at my business and with duties at home. My bad days are fewer and fewer as my kids grow and help both at home and with the business duties. Seeking God’s guidance with decisions and direction for every aspect is important.

What do you think has shaped your sense of success? What do you think has driven your choices about work?

My idea of success now is different than it was in the beginning, or even last year. As I grow in my faith and mature in my Christian walk, I find that I need less and less human approval and it’s easier to work with integrity. It’s easier for me to accept my husband’s lead and advice when it comes to my blogging and our essential oils business. We pray about decisions regarding our business, homeschool, and personal choices. As uncomfortable as my husband is praying aloud, I have learned to sit silently and be thankful for prayer time since it draws us closer to each and to God. Seeking God to teach us and lead us with decisions takes a lot of pressure off and helps me be calmer with difficult choices.

Check out this video:

Carolyn McCulley wrote The Measure of Success about women, work, and the home.

Get your copy of The Measure of Success here.

1. How do you measure whether or not your work is “successful”?

2. Can a woman stay home with her kids and utilize the giftedness toward productivity that God has given her?

3. Do you think it’s possible for women to “have it all”? In other words, can someone have a thriving career and a thriving home life? What do you think makes this possible or impossible?

4. What do you think has shaped your sense of success? What do you think has driven your choices about work?

The kids and I loved reviewing Water & Weather: From the Flood to Forecasts by Tom DeRosa and Carolyn Reeves. This is the newest addition in the Investigate the Possibilities series.

The book has 20 investigations with facts, solid science, and fun simple experiments.

I love the learning pyramid at the beginning in How to Use This Book:

• Think About This (Engage)
• The Investigative Problems
• Gather These Things
• Procedures and Observations (Investigate)
• The Science Stuff (Explain)
• Making Connections (Apply)
• Dig Deeper (Expand)
• What Did You Learn? (Assessment)

Beginning with The Flood and ending with climatic change, this book discusses dinosaurs, fossils, rocks, ocean currents, the water cycle, seasons, weather instruments, and more.

This book is a great addition to our science shelf. The kids love the lessons and experiments.

We especially like Lesson 11 about the Continental Divide. We took a trip to Yellowstone in August and we studied maps and rivers and the journey of Lewis and Clark. This is perfect with our history studies.

Alex tuned in for the dinosaur lessons in the beginning, then played with his toy dinosaurs. He really enjoyed that part, but the rest of the book is definitely for older kids.

Recommended for 3rd through 6th grades.

Purchase for $12.99

I’m a Mom of MasterBooks! For our first selection, the kids and I reviewed Galapagos Islands: A Different View  by Georgia Purdom from New Leaf Publishing Group.

Almost thirty Creationist scientists, ministers, and authors created this gorgeous book of the miraculous Galapagos Islands. The photography is stunning and my kids are all quite obsessed with these islands and their animals. Every picture of an iguana and tortoise got oohs and aahs. We enjoyed reading about the conservation efforts there.

We discussed volcanoes and botany. We watched BBC videos on YouTube. We remembered living in Hawaii for three years and looked at our pictures of when we visited the Big Island. We love that pahoehoe lava is photographed and mentioned (that’s a Hawaiian word! basaltic lava forming smooth undulating or ropy masses.)

We discussed why it was so clear to view the night sky and celestial bodies in Galapagos. We’d looked at some constellations and the moon recently with the naked eye, binoculars, and telescopes here in Utah. They understand the lack of city lights and pollution there on the islands allow much more visibility.

Were studying some chemistry basics in science and the girls love the mention of the gases discovered in the lava and submarine gas release from magma under the earth’s crust. They remember the odor of sulphur from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Yellowstone. Now they want to take a field trip to Galapagos!

We’re studying Darwin in history and the pages discussing his work was a fun surprise for the girls. A great overview with Bible verses to dispute his theories but also the legacy he left science is discussed.

With the pictures and video of lava bursting into the air and ocean, profound wisdom from Tori: “Stuff that’s dangerous can still be pretty.”

My husband and I were fascinated with all the (almost 30) contributing authors’ education and background. Great people put this book together for the glory of God.

The six sections of the book reveal God’s Creation:

• Beginnings (has direct verses from Genesis…a fabulous intro!)
• Stones and Stars
• Climate, Currents and Colonization
• Life and Legacy
• Flora and Fauna
• Reflections on the Galapagos

This lovely hardback has 104 pages and is $18.99. Digital copies are $9.99. And you can purchase on Amazon. I think it’s well worth it.

Watch a great 1 minute trailer about the book:

There’s a really gorgeous preview you can download (scroll down to “related downloads”) that shows how stunning the images really are.

We also want to check out the Grand Canyon book in this series! We’re planning to go there in the spring.