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I am pretty sure that all of us know what it is like to have life knock us down flat on our faces. It is uncomfortable. It hurts—sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally. It’s crazy, but getting back up isn’t always easy. And sometimes we don’t get fully up, and find out later how much more healing we still need to experience.

I am generally a pretty positive person. I don’t find myself struggling with depression very often. But the past few years have had a lot of bumps and there have been a lot of bruises. Sometimes it is hard to figure out what to do with the pieces and the baggage that can collect with hard times and heartaches.

Getting Back Up When Life Knocks You Down addresses a huge variety of experiences and situations and offers simple, clear steps to help find the root cause, and to understand how to let go and let God stand us back up again.

I found that the the short chapters were really easy to assimilate. They are clearly divided into points and sub-points to make it easy to follow and to go back and re-read  the particularly helpful parts.

Jeremy Kingsley writes practically. This isn’t a book full of hard to understand principles or vague (and thus often meaningless feeling) suggestions of how to deal with pain, failure or disappointment. Getting Back Up When Life Knocks You Down gets to the bottom of the issues and gives the tools that anyone could use to getting back on their feet. It addresses pain and how, if we allow God to turn bad things into good, getting up again can be some of the most strengthening and encouraging moments of our lives.

If you are struggling with life’s challenges right now, or you want to know how to help someone who has had some hard knocks recently, I think you’ll find Getting Back Up When Life Knocks You Down  to be well worth your time. It is like a tool-shed and inspires hope and courage to take hold of the strength and grace that is found in Christ, to get up and find solutions and healing from the things that knock us down.

I was sent a copy of this book to read and review by Bethany House Publishers. The opinions expressed are mine.

The story of Growing up Amish starts at the very  beginning, and tells of a life of one young Amish boy’s confusion and of searching for answers in the church, community and in the world.

Ira Wagler tells his story simply and just how it was. He talks about the memories of life in a strict Old Order Amish community, about some of the good times and about some of the hardships and struggles that come with “growing up Amish”.

This book wasn’t written to be a novel style thriller, or to take you on a chair gripping adventure. It is written from the facts and heart of someone who was there, and the simple style does draw you in and take you on a journey with Mr. Wagler of trying to find who he was as a person and who he is to Christ and in Christ.

I found it a fascinating glimpse into to the inner workings of an Amish community, and into the heart of some of the people who have tried to walk away from that lifestyle and the struggles it has brought them. I also was touched by the thread of God’s hand at work, even when it appeared that he had completely turned his back on God.

Even though Growing Up Amish is probably not a book I’d read over again, I think it is a good way to understand, perhaps a little better, some of the traditions and the struggles that are created as a result for those who do not choose to remain Amish.

this book was sent to me to read and review by tyndale press. The opinions expressed are mine.

History may have been my easiest subject in school. I love studying history.

But Science captivates me. I love learning about plants and animals and what makes them what they are almost as much as I love learning about people and places and events. The intricacies of living things are incredibly fascinating. Nature is my place of refuge. I want to understand my world and what makes it works, at least a little bit, so that I will never cease to appreciate what God does around me ever day to sustain life.

It Couldn’t Just Happen is actually a book for children, but I had fun reading it in the mornings in my car while I waited for work. I enjoyed the simple illustrations and review questions at the end of each chapter. It was definitely not written to entertain, but geared more towards education and yet it really was very interesting, unlike some of the dry science books of my past!

Mr. Richards had a good way of explaining things at a level that an 8-12 year old would understand and enjoy. I couldn’t help but think how good this would be as a supplement to the homeschooling program that I hope I will get a chance to create and teach one day. The colored pictures and illustrations helped to make the words come more alive and the questions would be a great way to make sure that your child is focusing and understanding what is being read. The fun part is that there are little, fun assignments sometimes to make what you read a personal experience and not just another bunch of words.

I’m thinking that this will make a good addition to my resource shelf, and hopefully I’ll have a chance to share and to use some of the contents of this book to inspire some other young heart with a love for Creation and understanding the wonderful way that God made this world work.

thanks to booksneeze for allowing me to review this copy for free. the opinions expressed are my own.