Should Christians Be Environmentalists? by Dan Story

Genre- Christian Life/Social Issues

Published by- Kregel

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 208

Age Group- Adult, High School

Description of book- paperback, listed price- $13.99, ISBN 978-0-8254-4249-0

 

 

 

Does the Bible contain verses about environmental stewardship?  Are we as Christians instructed to dominate the earth or are we to be stewards of the land and resources?

Everyone blames everyone else, so who is to blame, is it just one group or all?  Are the Christians only to blame as some say?  This book doesn’t place blame, but shows us as Christians and environmentalists what we can do.

Topics include

• “Environmentalism: A Movement in Need of Religion”
• “A Bible-Based Theology of Nature”
• “Environmental Ethics and the Role of the Church” 

About the Author-

 Dan Story has been interested in nature since he went on a camping trip at the age of five.  He has been active in environmental organizations since the 1970’s.  He became a Christian in 1981 and has since then worked to combine being a Christian with his love for nature.  He has two children, four grandchildren and lives with his wife in California, where he enjoys being exploring the great outdoors near his home.

My thoughts-

Part of the year I live out West where the ranchers and hunters have a better understanding of what it takes to care for the land than do the people who live in other parts of the United States.  I think that environmentalism is important, but I believe that before a person supports something they need to know a lot about it first.  One such example would be the wolves in Yellowstone.  It is great to have them back where they used to be, but the elk herds have decreased greatly and there have to be a certain number of wolves outside of the park as well.  No amount of compensation from the government is going to be enough when the wolves kill your prized Pyrenees or other sheep dog, so other ways may need to be figured out.

This book was well written and I thought the subject matter was very important.  As you can see I have opinions on the matter, so I would like to be able to present them as a Christian and I would like to spread the message for God to the best of my abilities.  And this book helps me to begin to do that.

This book has reawakened my desires to really do more for the environment than I have been doing.  I am going to look into Christian Environmental groups and pass this book onto my sister.  Please read this book and then pass it onto others, so we can make this world a better place for us all.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Should Christians Be Environmentalists by Dan Story for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour. All links were current when posted. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

My Pop-Up Bible Stories by Juliet David and Illustrated by Daniel Haworth

Genre- Bible/Jesus/Children

My Pop-Up Bible Stories by Juliet David and Illustrated by Daniel Haworth

Published by- Candle Books an imprint of Lion Children’s Books

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 10

Age Group- Young Children

Description of book- hardback (contains cardboard pop-ups), list price $12.99, ISBN 978-1-85985-237-8

This Bible stories book includes five stories with fun and colorful illustrations.  The locations in the Bible are also mentioned

The stories come from the Old Testament and New Testament.  They are:

• Moses
• Daniel
• Jairus and his daughter
• The Shepherd and his lost sheep
• Jesus stopping the storm. 

About the Author-

Juliet David lives in London with her family. She has written Bible activity books and children’s stories. She enjoys traveling to Israel and other Bible lands.

My thoughts-

This was a cute book that was refreshing, because three of the five stories came from the New Testament.  It’s nice to read stories that aren’t usually in young children’s Bible story books.  My children and I enjoyed the unique stories, instead of ones like Jonah or Adam and Eve.

The three New Testament stories were excellent choices, because they show young children how important faith in Jesus is and how Jesus has helped people.  My favorite story was about Jairus, because of his faith in Jesus and the pop-up illustration of his daughter sitting up in bed.

I would highly recommend My Pop-Up Bible Stories as a gift for others or as a basic Bible study for young children.  Enjoy this book today!

What C (girl, age five, first grade) Liked and Disliked: I liked it.  It was good for kids my age.  I liked everything about it. 

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received My Pop-Up Bible Stories by Juliet David and illustrated by Daniel Haworth for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour. All links were current when posted. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

British History- Observations & Assessments from Early Cultures to Today (Teacher Edition) by Dr. James P. Stobaugh

Genre- Religion/Christian Education/Children and Youth History/Europe/Great Britain/General

Published by- Master Books, A Division of New Leaf Publishing Group

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 128

Age Group- Teacher’s edition for11th Grade

Description of book- paperback, list price $14.99, ISBN: 978-0-89051-645-4

Planned for eleventh grade, this teacher’s guide includes answers to assignments, grading criteria, and the weekly exam questions and answers.  It also includes the “first thoughts” that the student reads and the locations where the student can find the learning objectives in the text.

About the Author-

Dr. James Stobaugh and his wife have homeschooled their four children. He is an ordained pastor, certified secondary teacher, and SAT coach. He has written other books, including American History and World History high school history curriculum.

My Thoughts-

I thought the teacher’s guide was very handy to have, especially since it had the exam questions and the internet address where the questions could be found.  The student textbook had neither.

I don’t believe that the teacher’s guide is totally necessary if the teacher reads the text and is able to formulate answers.  This guide would be useful if essay questions were difficult for the teacher.  $14.99 is a lot to pay for a teacher’s guide when it only contains the answers.  I’m not sure if I would pay the price or not.  I’m sure I could just read the text and then grade my student’s work.  And I could download the exam questions from the internet.

I would recommend this book to teachers who need the answers to check against their student’s work.

Disclosure- I received British History (Teacher Edition) by Dr. James P. Stobaugh for free from Master Books. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I’m disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

British History- Observations & Assessments from Early Cultures to Today (Student Edition) by James P. Stobaugh

Genre- Religion/Christian Education/Children and Youth History/Europe/Great Britain/General

Published by- Master Books, A Division of New Leaf Publishing Group

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 272

Age Group- 11th Grade

Description of book- paperback, list price $24.99, ISBN: 978-0-89051-646-1

This book contains 34 weeks of lessons.  Each week begins with a summary, then continues with daily lessons of text and questions.  The week of lessons ends with an exam.

This textbook was written by Dr. Stobaugh and contains an historical account without revisionist or anti-Christian perspectives.  The text includes:

• Questions based on Blooms taxonomy
• Terms, concepts, and theories
• “History Makers”
• Independence for the student to practice independent learning

About the Author-

Dr. James Stobaugh and his wife have homeschooled their four children.  He is an ordained pastor, certified secondary teacher, and SAT coach.  He has written other books, including American History and World History high school history curriculum.

My Thoughts-

It is great to be able to find textbooks that are Christian based and help the student understand that God has been important in history.  This text was well written in each lesson.  It contained a view of British history that I had not been aware of, since I have always studied texts that contained a secular view.

The daily questions with the lessons are thought provoking and serve the point of the lesson better than true or false questions or multiple choice questions.  I find that essay questions often help me learn the material better than other types of questions.

The only thing I didn’t like about this edition was that it mentioned the weekly exams, but it made no mention of where to find them.  I was glad to have a teacher’s edition that contained them as well as mention of a website where the exams can be located.

This is an excellent textbook.  I would recommend it to all high school students.

Disclosure- I received British History (Student Edition)  by Dr. James P. Stobaugh for free from Master Books. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I’m disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Your Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks- A Different Perspective by Dennis Bokovoy, John Hergenrather, Michael Oard, Tom Vail

Genre- RELIGION/Religion and Science TRAVEL/Parks & Campgrounds

Published by- Master Books, A Division of New Leaf Publishing Group

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 188

Age Group- all ages

Description of book- hardback (spiral-bound), list price $need, ISBN: 978-0-89051-640-9

The world’s first National Park.  Contains over 3,400 square miles.  This is Yellowstone National Park.  Yellowstone has unique geothermal and geologic features which are shown in color photos and illustrations.  There are also many photos of animals and plants.

Some categories in this book about Yellowstone and Grand Teton are:

• Examine Yellowstone carefully
• Examine Grand Teton carefully
• Geology
• Fossils
• History

About the Authors-

Dennis Bokovoy has been an educator for 30 years and is interested in geology and fossils.

John Hergenrather has been a part of a creation geology research team.

Michael Oard is an amateur geologist and has spent 30 years studying earth science.

Tom Vail and his wife run Canyon Ministries.  They provide rafting trips through the Grand Canyon, which are Christ-centered.

My Thoughts-

My son has always been interested in Yellowstone, so I thought this book would be a perfect book for us to study before we go on our trip.  I was not disappointed in this book and neither was my family.  We enjoyed reading the text and looking at the pictures.  It was refreshing to read a guidebook that discussed creation and not evolution.  It was also interesting reading about how some science theories don’t work when compared to creation, like carbon dating.

One of the best features of this book was all of the panoramic photos with labels of the important locations in each photo.  The descriptions describing each area of the parks was also excellent.  I really felt that we could learn everything we needed to about Yellowstone from this book.  We are now armed with knowledge about what we can see and do on our journey.

I highly recommend this book to everyone of all ages, whether it is for enjoyment, science class, or history.

Disclosure- I received You Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks by Dennis Bokovoy, John Hergenrather, Michael Oard, Tom Vail for free from Master Books. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I’m disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

God Knows Your Name by Catherine Campbell

Genre- Christian/Religion

Published by- Monarch Books

Copyrighted- 2010

Number of pages- 224

Age Group- Adult

Description of book- paperback, listed price- $13.99, ISBN 978-1-85424-983-8

Our God is a loving, personal God and he wants us to know Him as well as He knows us.  We don’t need to be perfect.

Using both stories from the Bible and stories from today the reader learns how the characters dealt with feelings such as hopelessness, worthlessness and others.  And how they learned that yes, God knows their name and cares for them.

Excerpt from the book

About the Author-

Catherine Campbell lives in Northern Ireland and is a nurse, writer and inspirational speaker.  Her website is www.catherine-campbell.com.

My thoughts-

This book captivated me from the beginning.  I enjoyed reading the Biblical account and then the account from today.  It helped me to see that the Bible stories are still relevant today and how they may relate to emotions that I may feel.  I hope that when other people read this book they see the same thing and then go read their Bible to learn more about God.

One problem I faced when beginning this book was that there were more female characters than I thought a man might be comfortable reading about.  I wasn’t sure if this book was just for women to read or if men were included in the readership.

The first time I read this book I must have been feeling hopeless, because that was the story that caught my eye.  I also enjoyed the story of Hagar.  I have never given much thought of the story from Hagar’s point-of-view.

I recommend that all should read this book and then read the different stories again when they feel the particular emotion, like powerless and loveless.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received God Knows Your Name by Catherine Campbell for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour. All links were current when posted. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Hot Buttons Internet and Dating Editions by Nicole O’Dell

Genre- Parenting

Published by- Kregel

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 168

Age Group- Adult

Description of book- paperback, listed price- $9.99, Dating Edition- ISBN 978-0-8254-4240-7 and Internet Edition- 978-0-8254-4239-1

Whether it’s dating or using the internet a parent needs to be aware of what is happening in the world and in the teen’s life to help them make the right decisions.

In these two books Nicole O’Dell uses Bible verses, discussion starters, and scenarios to help lead you and your teen to a stronger relationship- one in which God will be the leader and not the internet or dating.

Topics include:

• The Hot Buttons (prepared, watchful, proactive)
• Identifying the Hot Buttons
• The Armor of God
• Strategic Scenarios

About the Author-

Nicole O’Dell lives in Illinois with her husband and six children.  She is the founder of Choose NOW Ministries and is dedicated to helping guide teens and help parents.  She has written the Diamond Estate Series and also Scenarios for Girls interactive books.  Her two daughters helped her write the nonfiction book, Girl Talk.

My thoughts-

These two books are very useful and I plan on discussing the scenarios with my children when they reach an appropriate age.

There were a lot of consistencies between these two books and that was done on purpose, because God’s word doesn’t change and good decisions are always important. There are changes in each book that fits with that book, like learning about the Armor of God as it relates to dating or the use of the internet.

Sometimes I didn’t like repetition of information between each book, but it did help me to remember what was important overall between the books. There are several references to the edition about sexuality, so I wish it had been published first.

I recommend this book to all parents. Make sure you discuss the scenarios with your tweens and teens.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Hot Buttons Dating Edition and Hot Buttons Internet Edition by Nicole O’Dell for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour. All links were current when posted. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.