Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

Today is my darling daughter's 4th birthday...where has the time gone?!?!?  Four years ago, she was this:

ALL cheeks, I kid you not.  Abby was my easiest delivery.  I remember sitting and waiting for the time to push (I was well epidural-ized and felt goooooood!) and when the time came, it only took about 25 minutes or so (which was REALLY nice after the 2 hours it took with Caleb!).  The entire time I was pushing, we were watching Wheel of Fortune and trying to solve the puzzles between contractions.  :)  Like I said, easiest delivery of all.  Then she came out...all 10 lbs 2 oz of sweet, chubby, red-haired goodness.

Abby, I love you more than you will know (I would say "ever know" but I'm confident that when you have a daughter, you will understand!) and am so thankful that God entrusted your daddy and me with your care.  You make us laugh daily!  I love how you enjoy being a girl and playing with dolls and dressing up but also want to play with your brothers' cars and trains.  Stick with your tutus and cars and don't let anyone tell you differently.

You have already grown into a beautiful little girl and I am excited to see the amazing things God has for you as you continue to grow.  My prayer for you is to constantly seek after God and strive to become the woman He has made you to be.  But for now?  Just stay my baby girl awhile longer please.

Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson

Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson is a compilation of both essays and art in a book full of honest views of the church and one woman's struggle with addictions and confession.  Anne is a blogger who asked the question "What is one thing you feel you can't say in the church?" and the response was MUCH larger than she expected.  She began to see there are SO many people within our church walls that are hurting and struggling with different sins, yet VERY few of them are willing to say anything about it.

Anne's book outlines her own personal struggles with addictions like pornography and pain killers as well as her struggle with trusting people within the church.  Sadly, Anne grew up in the church (as a pastor's kid no less) and had first hand knowledge of how judgemental fellow Christians can be.

The book started out well but it did tend to start wandering about half-way through.  Also, this is not a "self-help" book or even a "how-to" book, but it is truly all about her struggles and shows how freeing it was for her to be able to confess these things to others...to truly work through them all.  It is a very easy read and I would recommend it if only to begin thinking more about what true confession is (not just acknowledging but truly confessing and making a change).

This book was provided to me for review by Thomas Nelson Publishing as part of the Booksneeze program.  All opinions are my own. 

The Boy Who Changed The World by Andy Andrews

The Boy Who Changed The World by Andy Andrews is a children's book that illustrates the butterfly effect...where every action, good or bad, can influence other actions.  It was a very cute book with very cute and appropriate illustrations for children.  Each story weaves in the comment that God created us to make a difference.  It goes through the chain of events from a farmer adopting George Washington Carver all the way up to Norman Borlaug, and how decisions each one made (large or small) had an influence on others. 

I would recommend the book for children ages 3 - 8 as the story is written directly for children and is easily understood.  All in all a good read!

This book was provided to me by Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of the Booksneeze program.  All opinions are my own.