Book Review: Has God Spoken? by Hank Hanegraaff

Using the memorable acronym MAPS, radio host and Bible scholar Hank Hanegraaff masterfully reveals four proofs that confirm the divine origin of the Bible:

M represents the strength of the manuscript itself as many actual fragments have been located
A stands for the archaeological proofs that have been uncovered
P is for the prophecy that has accurately predicted events
S represents the scriptural synergy found in the unity, consistency, and harmony of the sixty-six books

These clearly presented proofs provide powerful indicators that confirm the trustworthiness and divine nature of Scripture, that God has indeed spoken, and that the Bible is the reliable repository of His words.

Several months ago, I received the book Has God Spoken? by Hank Hanegraaff for my review. I was very interested in discovering the proofs for the validity of the Bible, for though I have always believed it to be the infallible Word of God and to be Divinely inspired, I didn’t really have any facts to back up that belief. As you can see, this book took me a long time to read, as it is rather lengthy and uses a lot of theological and literary terms and language that doesn’t always make for easy reading. Despite that, though, I did find it to be helpful in many ways to educate myself on why the Bible really is a trustworthy source of both historical information and spiritual guidance.

Hanegraaff has a very obvious love for acronyms, as MAPS is only one of many that he uses throughout the book, which I think he implements to try and help you remember the key points of his book. While these are possibly useful for retaining the information he presents, I think I would still need to make notes and be intentional about trying to memorize those key points if I ever hoped to use this information in an intelligent way in a discussion with somebody. Though I feel better educated on the subject, it would still take some studying to become familiar and confident with these evidences in order to try and present a convincing argument to somebody who doubts the validity and trustworthiness of the Bible.

Having said that, I think Hanegraaff makes an excellent point in his book – in many cases, even presenting the most educated, fact-filled, clear debate on this subject will often not be enough to convince a skeptic – what people really need is revelation from God and for Him to open their eyes. So while I am thankful for this resource and I hope to find it helpful in being able to prove the Bible’s accuracy, I think I am even more convinced of the need for prayer and for divine revelation from the Holy Spirit to convince the unbeliever. There are many lies of the enemy that have been used to shake people’s confidence in the Bible, many of which can be answered in this book, but we also need God to break in with His light and truth to illuminate people’s minds and hearts!

Lastly, while I think I would recommend this book to any believer who wants to have a more solid foundation for their belief in the inerrancy of scripture, I also need to mention that I did not agree with everything Hanegraaff said about his interpretations of certain Biblical passages. In this, I believe it’s also important to recognize that while the Bible is in fact completely accurate, our interpretations of it may not always be. We all need to read and study the Word for ourselves and realize that none of us has the full picture. We need the entire Body of Christ working together to search out His Word and seek the truth of what He is saying to us through it. We need the Holy Spirit to teach us, to show us our errors, and to lead us to Jesus through it.

This book was provided to me by Booksneeze.com for my honest and unbiased review.

Our Advent Experience

Yesterday we finished our 24-Day Advent Experience using the eBook Truth in the Tinsel and I’m so glad we did it! Having never celebrated Advent before, it was a new experience for both me and the kids and we all loved it. Justice especially loved retrieving the daily clue, reading the scripture passage with daddy and doing the craft for that day. Each one helped solidify his knowledge and understanding of the birth of Jesus and it all culminated with the message of the Cross and how Jesus came to die for us to save us from our sins and give us the gift of eternal life.

While I don’t know exactly how much Justice and Rayah comprehend of the lessons we are teaching them, I believe that these seeds we are sowing will produce much good fruit. I eagerly look forward to the day when my kids will make their own personal decision to accept Jesus’ sacrifice for them and make him their Lord, but until then, I am simply enjoying the journey of telling them, and hopefully showing them, who Jesus is and how much He loves them.

I love seeing these seeds of truth being planting in their hearts.

I love hearing them sing songs of worship to Jesus in the wee hours of the morning.

I love watching them pour over the Bible and becoming familiar with its stories.

I love hearing Justice drum to worship music and watching Rayah dance or lift her hands.

I love listening to these early, innocent, creative and sincere prayers that they offer up to God.

I love seeing and experiencing the story of Jesus’ birth through their eyes.

This Christmas, I am just so thankful for how much we have been given and for the opportunity to share with my kids what God has so graciously and abundantly given to me. My prayer is that this Christmas, my kids will receive revelation of who Jesus is and how He feels about them and that His love will go deep into their hearts in a way that will root them and ground them in Him for the rest of their lives. My heart is full.

  
  
  
  

Truth in the Tinsel: Special Discount Price!

As you may know, I got the opportunity to review Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands by Amanda White from ImpressYourKids.com, which is a 24-day eBook that counts you and your kids down to Christmas Day with an interactive telling of the Christmas story through crafts and scriptures and ideas for talking with your kids about Jesus’ birth.

Well, my kids and I have been LOVING it!! After doing it for these first 12 days of December, it has been a FANTASTIC way to teach them the story of Jesus’ birth and they are really getting it! I am amazed at all the details Justice is able to remember from the story and that he is learning valuable lessons along the way as well. And of course they love the crafts and making ornaments for the Christmas tree each day.

But for those of you who missed getting the book earlier, I wanted to let you know that Amanda is putting on a one day sale today for 20% off Truth in the Tinsel by using the promo code 12DAYS - ending at midnight ET tonight!! When you go to download your copy of the eBook, it will also provide you with an alternative 12-day schedule that will allow you to participate in this “advent-ure” for the next 12 days leading up to Christmas! Here you can see some pictures of how much fun we’ve been having…

I would so highly recommend that you take advantage of this deal, as it will be so worth it! We are having a ton of fun with it and Jesus is being glorified and celebrated in a way that is impacting and impressing the Word upon the hearts of my kids!

**Note: Because I think Truth in the Tinsel is so great, I decided to become an affiliate, so if you buy the eBook after clicking one of the links in this post or by clicking the button in my sidebar, I will receive a percentage from the sale. If you buy it and love it as much as I do, consider becoming an affiliate too!**

Book Review: The Names of God Bible

I recently got the opportunity to review The Names of God Bible, of which the general editor is Ann Spangler, the bestselling author of Praying the Names of God. This Bible is in the God’s Word Translation (GW) which seeks to accurately translate the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek text into a contemporary English equivalent that expresses the meaning of the text in a way that can be naturally read and understood. Ann has extensively studied the names of God throughout the Bible and has included her insights in this Bible in several different ways to aid you in your own study, which includes the following resources:

• The most significant names and titles of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are written in a colored bold text in their original Hebrew or Aramaic so that they can be easily found within the text.
• There are references in the columns to the next occurrence of that name of God for an easy-to-follow path throughout the Bible. There is also a reference table that shows where the chain begins for each name of God.
• Name pages include an explanation of the name of God, key Scripture passages in which it’s meaning is revealed, a devotional reading to help you use this name in your prayer time, and specific Bible promises connected to that name.
• Book introductions highlight main themes and provide a list of the specific names of God that appear in that book.
• Sidebars highlight people in the Bible and the names they used when calling on God. Key scriptures that you may want to reflect on or memorize are also highlighted.
• A topical prayer guide that highlights certain subjects that you may want to pray about and some recommended scripture passages to use.
• A table of the names of God and how many times they are used in the Bible.
• A name index that shows all the references for each name of God.
• A list of the key chapters to read for each name of God.
• Bible reading plans

As you can see, this Bible is full of many tools to help you in studying the names of God and seeing how they are used in the Scripture. The goal of this Bible is to help clarify the unique names of God that were used by the original authors where they have become somewhat generalized in our current English translations into vague references to God, Lord, or LORD. I personally love being able to know the original name in Hebrew or Aramaic so that I have a better understanding of what aspect of His character is being highlighted in each passage.

In this Bible, the editors chose to limit their list to the most significant names and titles of God. Personally, I found this a little disappointing, since I’ve always been intrigued by all the names and titles used for God and I noticed that many of these are not included. Though I realize it would be impossible to have an exhaustive study with all of the tools and resources for every single title used for God, I think it would have been nice if they were still highlighted and indexed for a fuller picture of the various titles used for God and Jesus while you are reading. This is especially true of the many titles given to Jesus in the New Testament - while the Bible does actually have the Name Pages that explain several titles of Jesus, none of these titles are in the colored bold text or have the chain references or are included in the Name Index – the only name highlighted is his Hebrew name’s equivalent of Yeshua. 

As for the Bible translation, I must admit it is not my favorite. I tend to prefer word-for-word translation as opposed to idea-for-idea and I enjoy the translations that seek accuracy over paraphrasing into a more modern English. This is just a personal preference, so there may be many people who like this translation, which might be more comparable to The Message version. It does accomplish it’s goal of being easy to read, but I think I’ve become too attached to my favorite translations.

However, having said all that, I have actually turned to this Bible several times since receiving it when I’ve wanted to know the specific name of God used in a verse. It has helped me discover the meaning behind a name and what it reveals about who God is and what He’s saying about Himself through these names, as well as showing me new names of God that I never knew existed! I think this is a great study tool to supplement your Bible reading, though I might not choose to use it as my every-day Bible. Lastly, even if it couldn’t highlight every title used for God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, I would have loved at least an index with an exhaustive list of all the titles He has been given.

Overall, I would recommend this Bible as a great resource and addition to your library that will whet your appetite with a taste of the names and titles of God that will cause you to want to dig deeper and search Him out further.

Bible has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Almond Tea Cookies

To continue with my Christmas cookie baking frenzy, I got this recipe for Almond Tea Cookies from my mom, and like the Coffee Fingers, she said she got it from an old church friend, this time named Marge Martens, and who knows if she was the original creator or if she also got it from someone else, but whoever created them, they are delicious!! When you read the ingredients on this one, you may just have to turn a blind eye to the amount of margarine – it’s certainly not about being healthy here folks!

Almond Tea Cookies

1 pound (2 cups) margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups flour
pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1-2 cups icing sugar

1. Make the dough.
Cream butter with sugar. Add almonds. Work in flour and salt. Add vanilla. Like the Coffee Fingers, you may need to play with the dough and mush it in your hands until it all sticks together nicely and becomes a soft and pliable dough. If it’s too soft, you can refrigerate it for a little bit for easier handling, but when I put mine in the fridge overnight, it turned into a solid brick and I had to let it sit on my counter and return to room temperature again before I could roll it out.

2. Roll the dough.
Roll out on a lightly floured surface into 1/4″ thickness and cut into rectangular pieces about 1 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ (the size doesn’t really matter, but this seems to work good for me).

3. Bake at 350F for 10-14 minutes.
Take them out while still creamy colored, before they start browning too much.

4. Dip ‘em.
Cool partially and then dip until nicely coated in icing sugar. This seems to be the most tedious and time-consuming part of the whole process.

5. Enjoy!!
They can get kinda messy, but it’s worth it!

Coffee Fingers

I’ve been posting some pictures of the Christmas cookies that I’ve been making this year on my Instagram and Facebook feeds and someone requested this recipe, so I figured I’d post it on my blog. This is my first year making my own Christmas cookies, as I’ve been content to mooch off of my mom until now. But now that I have kids of my own along with pregnancy cravings and nesting instincts, I’ve been on a baking frenzy the last week!

I got this recipe for Coffee Fingers from my mom who said she got it from an old church friend named Liz Plett and who knows if she was the original creator or if she also got it from someone else, but whoever created them, they are delicious!! I’m also loving my early Christmas present from my mom of the fun Christmas tins – they are so festive!

Coffee Fingers

1 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tsp. instant coffee
2 cups flour
2+ cups walnuts, finely chopped or coarsely ground

Yields: 4-5 dozen “fingers”

1. Mix dough.
Cream together margarine, brown sugar, one egg yolk, icing sugar and instant coffee. Add flour and mix well. The dough may seem kind of dry when you try to form it into a ball. If so, just play with it and mush it in your hands until the margarine becomes warm and the dough becomes soft and pliable.

2. Roll dough.
Roll dough to about 1/2″ thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into about 1/2″ x 2″ lengths – they’ll look about the same size as your thumb.

3. Dip and roll.
Dip fingers into beaten egg white (you may need more than one, depending on how many fingers you’ve made), then roll in your chopped walnuts and place on a greased cookie sheet. I bought walnut pieces and then ground them up further using my mom’s old manual grinder.

4. Bake at 300F for 20-25 minutes.

5. Enjoy!!

My First Advent Calendar

I’ve never had an advent calendar before or celebrated it, besides perhaps one of those cardboard boxes with the punch out holes with chocolates inside as a kid. However, when I got the chance to review Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands, I got really excited about counting down the days to Christmas with scriptures and crafts with my kids. Amanda, the author of Truth in the Tinsel, included clues that could either be chained together or ones that could be placed in an existing advent calendar. When Amanda posted several great ideas for advent calendars, I was drawn to one that required a bit of work, but looked like fun!

I chose to make the Recycle Bin Advent Calendar, though I modified the materials slightly based on what I could find. I didn’t have any large paper bags, so when I was at my local dollar store, I managed to finagle a large box for free that was being used to hold big Christmas gift bags and I cut it up to use as my backdrop – score!

I also don’t buy magazines or get flyers, so I had nothing to cut up for creating the pockets. When my mom’s place didn’t turn out to be a good source of material, we went to the thrift store in her smaller town, which is actually a very large and busy place, and I managed to snag some old Christmas themed magazines and Christmas cards for 25 cents a piece – another score! While I was there, I also found these large rolls of paper that are actually donated by the local newspaper and they are so perfect for doing crafts with the kids – this is what I used for creating the pockets themselves.

After much cutting, folding, gluing and taping, I am very happy with the final product and can’t wait to begin using it. Each pocket contains the clues from Truth in the Tinsel, as well as some green and red gummy bears for the kids. I even managed to match a few of the pockets’ pictures to the clue for that day. We also set up the small artificial tree that we borrowed from a friend today (we’ve been afraid to have a tree past Christmases with the little ones) and we are all set to begin our advent experience!

I am praying that this will be a memorable month of learning the story of how Jesus came to the earth to save us and to show us His love. If you want to join with the many other moms and dads who are going through Truth in the Tinsel, grab Amanda’s ebook for just $4.99 and join her Facebook page, where we’ll all be encouraging each other and sharing pictures and stories along the way!

**Note: Because I think Truth in the Tinsel is so great, I decided to become an affiliate, so if you buy the eBook after clicking one of the links in this post or by clicking the button in my sidebar, I will receive a percentage from the sale. If you buy it and love it as much as I do, consider becoming an affiliate too!**

eBook Review: Truth in the Tinsel

This is probably the most excited I’ve been to do a book review on a my blog! I got the opportunity to review Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands by Amanda White from ImpressYourKids.com (a great blog, by the way!), which is a 24-day eBook that counts you and your kids down to Christmas Day with an interactive telling of the Christmas story through crafts and scriptures and ideas for talking with your kids about Jesus’ birth.

This book is designed for preschool to early elementary school kids with a scripture passage, a Christmas tree decoration craft, and a simple guide for discussing it with them for each day. There’s also some resources for creating a simple Advent Calendar with clues that go with the story you’re reading. Amanda even blogged recently about some great advent calendar ideas, if you don’t have one already, but the advent calendar is totally optional.

Now, I’ll be the first to say that I’m not a super-crafty mom and only recently have I begun to stock up on some crafty supplies. My 3 1/2 year old son just began attending the children’s program at our church a few months ago, since we’re small and only just started having a children’s program. Well, usually each class has a craft for the kids and he got bit with the craft bug and now all he wants to do is color and cut and glue things ALL THE TIME, so I know he’s going to LOVE these activities! The book has a master list of all the supplies you’ll need & I found I had the majority of them at home and will only need to buy a few things (most of which I could find at the dollar store or the local thrift store) and I was even able to borrow or get many of the items by scavenging from my mom. There are also many ways to improvise and make these crafts your own if you don’t have all the supplies at hand.

Of course, the real goal is not to make perfect Christmas tree decorations, but to engage your kids in the Christmas story in a way that causes them to love Jesus more! I really enjoyed the simple explanations that Amanda wrote in the “Talk about it together” section, as well as the ideas she provided for ways to go deeper into the story, other scriptures to read, or other fun activities to do to help your child apply the story to their own life.

Now, if the idea of doing 24 crafts in 24 days overwhelms you, don’t worry! There are also alternate schedules for ways you can incorporate certain themes or days into the month that will touch on the key ideas, characters, etc. Regardless of how you choose to use the book, it is a fantastic tool for helping you to teach your child about how Jesus came to the earth for them, about His love, and the gift of eternal life.

So, not only do I want to highly recommend this eBook to you, but I want to let you know that for TODAY ONLY (November 25th – Black Friday in the States – just a regular day for us here in Canada), Amanda is selling Truth in the Tinsel for only $2.99 (regular price $4.99)!! Let me tell you it is more than worth the price and you and your kids will love it!

I am so excited to get started on this and if you get the eBook now, you’ll still have 6 days to get your craft supplies together in time for December 1st! However, I don’t just want you to buy it – I want to invite you moms and dads out there to join the Truth in the Tinsel Challenge! If you go and “Like” Truth in the Tinsel on Facebook, we want to come together to encourage each other to give our kids these first 24 days in December by posting pictures of the crafts we’ve made, sharing tips and ideas, sharing stories of funny or touching things our kids have said, etc.

I really want my kids to understand the true meaning of Christmas and that it isn’t all about Santa Claus or getting presents. I want them to know Jesus and to have the Word of God impressed upon their hearts and I think this is a great tool to accomplish that!

I’m joining the challenge – will you come along with me??

**Note: Because I think Truth in the Tinsel is so great, I decided to become an affiliate, so if you buy the eBook after clicking one of the links in this post or by clicking the button in my sidebar, I will receive a percentage from the sale. If you buy it and love it as much as I do, consider becoming an affiliate too!**

Homemade Tomato Soup

Homemade Tomato Soup is something I grew up with and which has always been a family favorite that my mom learned from her mom. When I moved out, I would always try and get a stash from my mom for my cupboard, but as I started my own family, I finally learned how to make it myself and now it’s a tradition for myself and my sisters to spend a day of making soup with my mom each fall to stock our pantry for the year ahead.

There is a lot of work that goes into this recipe, but it is well worth it to have those beautiful jars on my shelf for a quick and easy meal throughout the year! I love this meal so much, as do my husband and kids, and I want to share it with you, because I always feel compelled to share the things I love in the hopes that others will come to enjoy it as much as I do.

Homemade Tomato Soup

14 pounds of tomatoes (about 2 heaping 4 L. ice cream pails)
5-7 large onions
2 green peppers
1 bunch of celery
1 bunch of parsley
1 cup margarine, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 cup canning salt

Yields: 7-8 quart jars.
To serve: Add 1/2 quart jar of milk to 1 quart of soup and serve with thin egg noodles (optional).

1. Cut up and steam vegetables and herbs.
Cut up onions, green peppers, celery and parsley into large pieces and steam in a large pot with a bit of water (a couple cups or so) for an hour.

2. Scald, peel, mush and cook tomatoes.
While your vegetables are cooking, put tomatoes in sink full of boiling water until you see the skin start to crack. Carefully use tongs or some other instrument to drain the water. Peel the skin of the tomatoes and mush them up in your hand into a very large pot. Cook until tomatoes are completely soft (about 20-30 minutes).

3. Put it all through the blender and strainer.
Blend and strain the tomatoes, getting out all the seeds. Blend and strain your cooked vegetables. Combine together. When blending, it’s easier to do it while the ingredients are still hot, but you have to use great caution with trying to close the lid on your blender, since the steam will make it want to fly off and your mixtures go flying as well. It works best to hold the lid lightly over the blender so the steam can still escape and to only fill your blender half full or less.

4. Heat jars and boil lids.
Heat your oven to 200F and place your canning jars (without lids) inside to heat up. If using new canning lids, follow the directions on the box for boiling them. If you’re reusing lids, you might want to boil them for up to 10 minutes so that the rubber portion is nice and soft.

5. Create thickening agent.
Melt margarine or butter in a medium sized pot. Add sugar, flour and canning salt and combine until smooth. Add some of your tomato/vegetable juice mixture (about 4 cups) to thin it out, blending well with a whisk and bring to a boil. Pour this mixture back into your original tomato/vegetable juice mixture and stir until well combined. Bring the entire large pot of soup to a boil and whisk often.

6. Pour into canning jars.
Using oven mitts, take one canning jar at a time from the oven and place on a towel. Carefully pour your soup into the jar using a ladle or glass measuring cup or small pot to scoop it out of your large pot. This step can sometimes get messy! When full, make sure the top of the jar is clean and dry and then tightly screw on the lid (dry it off too when you take it out of the water).

7. Pray!
Time to let the jars sit and pray that you hear that magical popping sound as the lids seal tight! After letting them sit for a few hours, gently test the lids to see if they are sealed (don’t try too hard to remove them & end up breaking a good seal!). If any of them fails, you can take it as a sign that you’re supposed to eat that jar for supper tonight or you can dump out the soup back into a pot & bring it to a boil again, clean the jar & heat it in the oven again, boil the lid again & try the whole sealing process over.

8. Enjoy!
When you’re ready to partake of some of this delightful soup, simply heat on the stove with half a quart jar of milk (about 2 cups). We like it best served with thin egg noodles – yummmm! And since we love this soup so much, we usually make two batches of this recipe so that we have enough in our pantry to have it at least once a month.

Book Review: Behind the Veils of Yemen by Audra Grace Shelby

With only prayer and a faith that always seemed too small, Audra Grace Shelby departed with her husband and children on a one-way flight to Yemen…deep into the heart of conservative Islam.

With honesty and passion, she shares her harrowing journey as a Christian woman thrust into a culture dangerously different from her own. From the friendships she forged, to her gnawing doubt and fear, to her offers of hope when her new friends’ religion failed them, she gives us glimpses of a world most have never seen: behind the veils of real Muslim women–and how the grace of God touches lives in the midst of an Islamic stronghold.

I was definitely intrigued by the opportunity to read Behind the Veils of Yemen by Audra Grace Shelby, as I have heard very little about the lives of Muslim women, especially of those living in the Middle East. This book really opened by eyes to the struggles that these women face as a result of their culture, their religion, their environment and the economic situation. It was difficult to read about their trials, their pain, and their acceptance of the oppression they suffer as normative. I felt my emotions pulled at over and over again at the stories shared.

Shelby’s writing style was easy and enjoyable to read, feeling more like a beautiful descriptive tale than a factual autobiography, though the realness of the stories make it obvious that it’s no fiction creation. I’m not sure what Shelby’s goal was in writing this book, but if she desired to awaken awareness and a burden to pray for these women, then she definitely succeeded. The fact that she also only tells of the first three years out of nine that her family spent in missionary service in the Middle East, leaves you wanting to know more and to find out about the fate of these women she ministered to. Yet she may not even have that answer to share, as many times she had to trust the Lord to water and bring to maturity the simple seeds she sowed in their hearts.

I would absolutely recommend this book as an excellent read, for the person who already has a burden for the mission field, yet perhaps more for the person who is still searching for God’s heart for the lost people of the world. I found that my own heart cried out along with Shelby’s and I was challenged and inspired by the revelations that God gave to her in her own journey.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Chosen, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

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