What's On Mama's Bookshelf

I just finished, and enjoyed, Simple Church, written by Thom Ranier and Eric Geiger.    As I was reading Sid and I would talk about it.  Sid's concluson from our conversatins can be summed up as "it's being intentional about ministry."  This is true, but definitely not complete.  It's more than just being intentional.  The word that stood out to me in the book is process.  It's all about setting your church up to make disciples.

This is most definitely a book written for and to pastors. They assume the reader is a pastor.  There is thing wrong with that, just something that's nice to know going in. It is however, interesting, funny, insightful, and challenging.  They want to see churches pare down to the basics.

They call out 4 steps or things that a simple church has or needs Clarity, Movement, Alignment, Focus.  They point out that Simple Church is philosophy of ministry.  It's not a program.  In fact they say that leaders of simple churches are not programmers, but designers.  They describe the difference and really talk about what they mean by each of their four steps and what it looks like.

 I love the way they talk about simple.  They make a clear distinction between simple and easy.  They say that simple church is not easy, it's simple.  It's streamlined, clearly communicated, easily understood, and completely uncluttered.  I can get behind this kind of ministry, especially as a pastors wife!

What are you reading?

This week's Books April 23

This is a "short" week at our house.  We got books from the library last Friday, then left them at home, while we camped for the weekend, and we'll be returning them on Wednesday so we can leave for another trip!  We'll be gone for 3 weeks, so I am hoping to get over to a library in my  hubby's hometown while we're away!

In any case this week we still got some great books!  We have read The Quilt Sory by Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola.  I love Tomie dePaola's illustrations.  I remember them from when I was a kid, and I appreciate the detail, the form, and how recognizable they are!  It's a cute book.  I enjoyed the story, though it was noting spectacular.  But I have a quilt that I loved as a girl, so there is that.

My favorite of this week is Miss Hunnicutt's Hat .  I love this story.  Written by Jeff Brumbeau and illustrated by Gail de Marcken, this story is just plain fun.  I love the character's strengthening of resolve, and her desire to put her foot down.  I love that she is rewarded for being herself.  And I absolutely love the illustrations. Stella loved them too.  She will sit and just flip through this one to look at the pictures.  I was not familiar with anything by this author or illustrator before, but I will be seeking them out now!  The pictures are so well done, and the characters so relatable that I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Next up is The Boxcar Children (#4) by Gertrude Chandler Warner We have read two other boxcar books and I love them.  There is a reason that they still get well loved.  The thing that is so nice about the Boxcar Kids is that they are so independent.  Kids love that.  I know I did, and my daughter does.  But they are respectful, hard-working, and above all for me, Clean.  There is no scene where I have to qualify their behavior.  Stella and I have read some Nancy Drew Books ( not by Carolyn Keen, but a newer, modern, 8 year old Nancy).  They were terrible.  I sopped reading them after Nancy and her friends told lies, and ignored rules, all in the name of solving a mystery.  I don't have to worry about those behaviors I don't approve of popping up in the Boxcar Children.  So, while we haven't yet read this particular book, I can recommend it without reservation!

And last, but not least, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel .  I really enjoyed this one too.  And so did the kids. We read it this morning and, well, I'm a history buff and a sap.  The poor outdated steam shovel, I loved her.  I also liked that the encouragement and solution came from a small boy.  Of course, most things by Virginia Lee Burton are good!  Bruce enjoyed this one too.  He loves to look at trucks, and this is all about a truck to him!

What will you read your kids this week?

What did Bruce Read?

The baby of the family is a reader too!  He's not quite 2 yet, so of course it's being read to, not reading himself.  But Bruce has some favorites right now.  We're all enjoying them together.

This week we can't put down  Goodnight Moon.  That perennial classic.  Mostly he likes to look for the mouse.  On a side note, did YOU know that the illustrator, Clement Hurd, put the little mouse in a different spot on every color page in the book?  It's like hide and seek! We have great fun as he turns his hands palms up and scans the page for the mouse, ultimately smiling and pointing to it.  Very fun.

Also on repeat this week are Brown Bear Brown Bear , and Baby Bear Baby Bear .  The rhythm of these little board books is great!  Bruce is very musical already and I can see that he appreciates the beat that I can tap out while reading these.

What books are on "Repeat" with your little ones?

April 16, 2012

We read some good books this week.  Each week at the library I choose a few books and let Stella choose a few books.  Usually 4 each, so that I remember how many we have, and I can keep track of them all!



Stella's favorite this week seems to be Ponyella, by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans, pictures by Lynn Munsinger.
 The story is very much Cinderella.  Stella likes that the pony is pretty, and "the princess, I really love princesses."
How very 4 year old of her!  It's a cute little book.  We did talk about how the other ponies weren't very kind.



Tuscanini by Jim Propp, illustrated by Ellen Weiss was a fun little book.  I loved the idea of an elephant using his trunk to direct an "imaginary orchestra" and sharing music with the zookeeper.  Stella loved that the elephant stopped the "2 bad men." Bruce really seemed to enjoy this one too. It was definitely geared for the 2-3 age group, but it also provided the opportunity to talk about what a conductor does, and why.  Yay for books that encourage us to learn more about something.



Princess Hyacinth (the SURPRISING TALE of the GIRL who FLOATED) Florence Parry Heide, illustrated by Lane Smith

We both enjoyed this fun story about a ... girl who floated.  Stella liked the clothes and the floating. I liked the aspect of friendship and the idea of embracing who you are, and making your own fun.



And My favorite of the week, Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrations by Giselle Potter.   I loved this story.  The twist on Jack, the cleverness of the heroine,  the fantastic illustrations, the slight plot twist my little one didn't see coming.  The desire of the heroine to do what was right.  Things I wasn't sure about:  The Giant's rhyme : Fee Fi Fo Fum'un, I smell the blood of an English woman, be she alive or be she dead I'll grind her bones to make my bread.  I wasn't sure Stella would like that.  She has it memorized, it didn't faze her.  Also, the giantess' reaction to the rhyme is less than respectful.  But it saves an "innocent", who, is really not so innocent, you know, stealing things and all that!  Stella like the giantess and how Kate got the three treasures.

What did you read your kids this week?

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Welcome

Hi!  Thanks for popping over!  Sit down, have a cuppa.  Lets chat about books.  I love books!  I thought I'd just like to keep track of what we're reading.  We being myself and my kids, at least.  Maybe my hubby will share some too! 

I'm a 20-something. A Christian. A wife. A mom. My kids are 4 and almost 2 right now.  A girl and a boy.  We've been doing some preschool this year with the oldest and plan to start Kindergarten in the fall. 

I hope you come back soon and check out What We Read This Week!