By Adam E. Heironimus
Yesterday I finished reading “Autumn With the Moodys” to my siblings. We all really enjoyed it and we would all highly recommend it for it’s humor, it’s literary quality, and it’s wonderful christian message that is woven throughout the story, which includes some good examples of witnessing and dealing with problems and trials in a biblical way. I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
“Autumn With the Moodys” is available at Amazon.com and Titus2.com
By Adam E. Heironimus
Yesterday night I finished reading my younger sibs the first book in the Moody family series: “Summer With the Moodys”. It is a little bit more far-fetched and crazy then the other 4 books that we’ve read, but that kind of gives it a special charm that makes it stand out as a little bit more of a funny, exciting book! I liked this book because the siblings actually had a (very) few conflicts, which their parents showed them how to work out in a constructive and God-honoring way, somewhat unlike the other books, where the children act almost “angelically” and unrealistically good. We all really enjoyed this book and would give it 5 out of 5 stars!
You can buy it on Amazon.com used, or at Titus2.com new.
By Adam E. Heironimus
I recently finished reading “Summer Days with the Moodys” aloud to my younger siblings, it is the 5th book in the “Moody Family” series and, continuing the tradition of the first 4, is very good and edifying. I was really encouraged by how well behaved the children were, always being respectful and obedient to each other,their parents, and anyone else that they came in contact with. If you want a fun read-aloud (or read-alone) I would Highly recommend you get a copy of “Summer Days with the Moodys”!
I would give this book 4.5 out of an available 5.
“Summer Days with the Moodys” isn’t currently available at Amazon.com, but you can buy it new on Titus2.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I finished reading “Vostaas : White Buffalo’s Story of the Plains Indian Life” written by William White Buffalo and illustrated by the students at the Labre Indian School. It was about the different tribes of Indians that lived on the plains, it also talked about how the Indian’s lives have changed and how they live now. It was pretty good and I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.
“Vostaas : White Buffalo’s Story of the Plains Indian Life” is available at Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I finished reading “The Corn Grows Ripe” written by Dorothy Rhoads and illustrated by Jean Charlot, it was about a boy whose name was Tigre. One day his father breaks his leg and cannot work, so it is up to Tigre to clear the land and plant the corn.
It was pretty good and I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.
You can buy it on Amazon.com
By Adam E. Heironimus
I recently had the opportunity to read aloud “Spring with the Moodys” by Sarah Maxwell to my brothers and sisters
As you might expect, it is the fourth book in the Moody family series and it is (continuing the tradition) very good, as the Moody family continues witnessing to their unsaved friends and family members. The methods the Moodys used to witness were (I thought) very good, and I was able to get a few good ideas from them (and get convicted of how un-evangelistic I am). We all really enjoyed this book and I would give it 4.5 out of an available 5 stars.
You can buy this book used on Amazon.com or new from Titus2.com
By Adam E. Heironimus
I recently had the privilege of reading my younger siblings “A Winter With the Moodys” by Sarah Maxwell
It is the third book in a series of books about the life and “adventures” of a christian homeschooling family as they work through their year, sharing god’s love with their neighbors and blessing others.
Although the Moodys are a little bit too “perfect” at times, we were all blessed by their christian values and godly example.
Using the 5 star rating system I would give “Winter with the Moodys” 4.5 stars (The only reason I don’t give it 5 is because they never have any examples of how a godly family can work through their differences)
“A Winter With the Moodys” is available used at Amazon.com and new at Titus2.com
By Adam E. Heironimus
I recently had the privilege of reading “A Table in the Presence” by Lt. Carey H. Cash, It is about the combat experiences of the 1st Battalion of the 5th US marines. I thought that the most amazing thing about this book was the fact that even through the horror and bitterness of war, the marines were still always able to find time to praise and thank God for his blessings. The majority of the book reads like Lt. Cash’s journal of the events that took place in April 2003, but toward the very end there was a few chapters that I found very encouraging (even more so than the rest of the book). The last chapters were about God’s divine protection for the marines even in the midst of seemingly impossible dangers and trials- it just goes to show, just as Psalm 91 says “If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.- over and over again there would be stories of marines who “should of” or “could of” died, but were delivered “from the deadly pestilence” by God’s provision and protection
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to read about real-life stories and experiences of people coming in contact with God’s mercy and grace and would give it a 5 out of 5 star rating.
You can purchase this book on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I finished reading “Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West” Written by Marguerite Henry and Illustrated by Robert Loughweed. It was about a girl named Annie Bronn, and she really liked horses. But, when she was 18, men started killing the mustangs to be butchered and turned into pet food. So Annie is trying to stop them.
I liked this book very,very much and it was very good. I would award it 5 out of 5 stars.
I would highly recommend you buy it on Amazon.com or check it out at your local Library!
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I read “Along Came a Dog” written by Meindert Dejong and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. It was about a dog who protected a little red hen from various dangers. It was pretty good and I’d give it 3 out of 5 stars.
You can buy it on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I finished reading “Misty of Chincoteague” written by Marguerite Henry and illustrated by Wesley Dennis. It was about two children named Paul and Maureen who want to buy a horse called “The Phantom” if it can be caught on pony penning day. Someone does succeed in catching it, but someone else buys it before Paul and Maureen!
I liked it very much and would award it 4 out of 5 stars
You can buy “Misty of Chincoteague” on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I Finished “B is for Betsy” written and illustrated by Carolyn Haywood
It was about a little girl named Betsy who went to school. At school they had a circus and they built farms and raised tadpoles. I liked it. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars
You can buy “B is for Betsy” on Amazon.com
(by the way most of these reviews are being posted about 4 or 5 months after they were written, so when Rachel says “Today I read…” it really means sometime in the near past she read the book she’s reviewing- she doesn’t quite read 3 or 4 150 page chapter books in one morning!)
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I read “The Last Little Cat” written by Meindert Dejong and illustrated by Jim McMullen. It was about a cat who ran away from the barn where it lived. I did not like it very much. I will only give it 2 out of 5 stars
If you really, really want to read it you can buy it at Amazon.com (just remember- I warned you!)
By Adam E. Heironimus
“The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis is a series of fictional letters sent to an inexperienced younger demon named Wormwood by his “Dear Uncle Screwtape”. In the letters Screwtape is instructing his young pupil how to keep his “patient” (a young christian) from staying on the straight and narrow path and instead tries to instruct Wormwood on ways of keeping his “patient” from church, christian fellowship and all other kinds of godly things, but Screwtape was always sure to tell Wormwood to never hurry his “patient” into anything evil, in fact he said “The safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”- That’s so true! It’s very easy to slowly, slowly slip backwards without knowing it- and the devil can wait an entire lifetime for us to complete our slide! We need to be constantly be setting “signposts” on our paths and getting other Christians to help us by gauging where we are in our spiritual lives. Another section of the book that I really liked was the part in which Screwtape was instructing his pupil on his “patient’s” involvement in the church, He said “Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that ‘suits’ him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches… The search for a ‘suitable’ church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil.”- It’s often much, much easier to find a church’s, person’s or family’s troubles than to find all of their many good qualities- and anyway, if you find a perfect church, don’t join because you’ll mess it up!
I was really encouraged by reading “The Screwtape Letters”, as it gave me somewhat of a better idea of how the devil often tries to tempt and trick us into sin. I would highly recommend “The Screwtape Letters” to anyone who would like to learn more about resisting temptation, and would give it 5 out of 5 stars.
“The Screwtape Letters” is available at Amazon.com and at many other physical and online bookstores worldwide.
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I finished “The House on Walenska Street” written by Charlotte Herman and illustrated by Susan Avashai. It was about three sisters named Leah,Esther and Rose. They lived with their mother, and their father had died so they lived in a one-room apartment. And one day soldiers came to their house. It was very good and I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
It is available for purchase at Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I finished reading “Shadrach” written by Meindert Dejong and illustrated by Maurice Sendack. It was about a boy named Davie who got a black rabbit which he named Shadrach. But his rabbit got so skinny that it slipped through the bars of his cage. I did not like it very much. I would only give it 2 out of 5 stars.
Although I wouldn’t recommend purchasing it, if you really want a copy you can get it on Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I finished “Viking Adventure” written by Clyde Robert Bulla and illustrated by Douglas Gorsline. It was about a viking boy named Sigurd. His father taught him to swim and fight and do all the other things he needed to know. One day he went on a ship headed to Wineland, a land that only one person had ever seen before. It was very exciting and I liked it very much. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
It is available for purchase a Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I read “The Question of Yams” by Gloria Repp.
It is about a boy named Kuri whose father plants his yams without praying to the evil spirits.
It is a very good book and I liked it a lot. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
It is available for purchase a Amazon.com
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I read “The Secret Valley” written by Clyde Robert Bulla and illustrated by Grace Paull
It was about a family that went to California from Missouri to search for gold. They learn about a secret valley that can make them rich.
It is good. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.
“The Secret Valley” is available at Amazon.com and at many other physical and online bookstores worldwide.
By Rachel M. Heironimus
Today I read “Riding the Pony Express” by Clyde Robert Bulla, and illustrated by Grace Paull.
It was about a boy named Dick Park, who’s father was a rider on the Pony Express. One night some bad Indians came and burned down their cabin and wounded Dick’s father so he had to take the mail.
It is a good reader and I liked it. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.
“Riding the Pony Express” is available at Amazon.com and at many other physical and online bookstores worldwide.
As you all probably know, I (Adam) have written all of the SixSibs book reviews so far, but I am now pleased to announce that my dear sister Rachel will be joining the ranks of the elite squadron of book reviewers that we keep on staff here at SixSibs! She has been writing book reviews since February 25, so I’ll have a LOT of book reviews to publish!
So keep reading and enjoy some of the book reviews (and some of the books we’ve reviewed)!
Thanks,
Adam
By Adam E. Heironimus
For the past year our mom has been reading us a devotional called “Voices of the Faithful” by Beth Moore and the International Mission Board
“Voices of the Faithful” is a collection of 365 daily stories that are written by missionaries serving with the IMB. They are all arranged into monthly categories such as Prayer, Contentment, Compassion or Persecution. Each day has a verse that goes along with the story and a short prayer at the end that often has a blank space that you can fill in with someone that you are praying for currently (or as is more often the case, need to be praying for currently). The whole book is very humbling, we complain about our internet going down for a few hours, where there are many people in the jungles that would be extremely glad to have more than 4 hours of uninterrupted electricity. We complain when we run out of something and “only” have 2 or 3 choices, where many missionaries eat the same thing 3 meals a day 7 days a week! It helps put all of our little “troubles” in a little more realistic light. It was very sobering reading all of the stories of people who were beaten, disowned and sometimes even killed for spreading the gospel. But the amazing thing, even in these stories of pain and suffering, is the fact that many of the people who are being persecuted could just keep quiet about their faith and avoid any problems- but the love of Jesus cannot stay welled up inside them, so they share the Gospel with everyone that they come in contact with, regardless of the risks. It’s humbling to me- how many times have I felt led to share my faith with someone and not done it because I didn’t have the courage- even though I wouldn’t be whipped or disowned or jailed for doing it? The stories of the people in this book are inspiring. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about current missions around the world, or to someone who just wants their faith strengthened by reading the testimonies of many godly, dedicated christian men and women. Using the 5 star ranking system, I would give “Voices of the Faithful” 5 solid gold stars.
“Voices of the Faithful” is available at Amazon.com and at many other physical and online bookstores worldwide.
By Adam E. Heironimus
Yesterday I finished reading “The Hole In Our Gospel” By Richard Stearns
The main purpose of “The Hole In Our Gospel” is to help American Christians see- and then fix what he called the “hole” that exists in our gospel by not just “talking the talk”, going to church on Sunday and occasionally giving a check to a charity- we should be “walking the walk” and, to quote World Vision’s founder Bob Pierce “Let our hearts be broken by the things that break the heart of God”. Richard Stearns pointed out over and over again the vast resources of the church in America and how little we were actually using them. For instance, there are 155 million people in the US who regularly attend church and call themselves “Christians”, if all of those people would tithe, there would be an extra 168 billion dollar excess that could be donated to missions. I know that sounds like a lot, but that’s 11 billion dollars less teenagers ages 12-17 spend in an average year and 537 billion less than the population of America spends on entertainment and recreation! Suddenly that $168,000,000,000 doesn’t seem quite as large. But it is- that would be enough to completely eliminate extreme poverty for over 1 billion people around the world! Richard Stearns called our lack of compassion, generosity and care for others the “hole” in our gospel that needs to be filled- and it will only be filled when we lay aside our own (often selfish) desires and fully devote ourselves to hearing (and obeying) God’s will for our lives. Now has never been a better time to “wake up” and help others, every single day 25,000 people die of hunger- that means 4 people will have died by the time you finish reading this book review, or more than 3/4 of a million people will die this month, 9 million this year- we all need to be doing something to help RIGHT NOW! No matter how comparatively little our contribution is, it makes a difference: one of the quotes in “The Hole In Our Gospel” was an old African proverb: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night in a closed room with a mosquito” if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, Jesus said we will be able move mountains and I think poverty is a mountain that needs to be moved as soon as possible- and who knows what wouldn’t be possible if there was a group of people that fully dedicated themselves to sharing God’s love and helping the needy? The world was changed by 11 often cowardly, imperfect men once, so what would stop another group of 50,100 or even 1000 people completely dedicated to the Gospel from doing it again? To quote the last few sentences in the book “You,Me, let’s go. We have work to do, and it’s urgent. Join Me…”
I enjoyed reading “The Hole In Our Gospel” very much and would highly recommend it to anyone. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars.
“The Hole In Our Gospel” is available at Amazon.com and at many other physical and online bookstores worldwide.
By Adam E. Heironimus
Today I read “When the Darkness Will Not Lift” by John Piper
The main purpose of the book is to help you find joy- especially if you are going through depressing times, although I’m not going through hard times at the moment I was really encouraged by reading this book- we could always use more of God’s joy in our lives! One of my favorite parts of the book was a part where Mr. Piper was talking about the kind of darkness that exists in our hearts and thrives whenever we become introverted and self absorbed. He likened our lives to a spring of water: if we keep to ourselves and never reach out to others our lives soon become stagnant and tepid. But if we live for others and share the joy that is in us, our lives will turn into a spring that gushes refreshing water out to everyone that we come in contact with. He quoted Isaiah 58:10-11 to further explain his point:
“And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.”
I was very encouraged by reading “When the Darkness Will Not Lift”, and would recommend it to anyone, especially people going through struggles or depression. Using the 5 star rating system I would give “When the Darkness Will Not Lift” 5 stars.
“When the Darkness Will Not Lift” is available at Amazon.com and at many other physical and online bookstores worldwide.
I was able to bake several batches of flatbread yesterday morning. My mom found the recipe in a cookbook called ”The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast” by Kristen Feola . The entire book is wrapped around a 21 day “fast” from all types of meat, dairy,eggs,yeast,and sweeteners so it not only has lots of good recipes in it but it also includes 21 daily devotionals that you can read every day that you do the fast. We (my mom, Rachel and I) have done the fast twice but we use the recipes from the cookbook almost daily. The cookbook is named after the fast that Daniel and his three friends went on in Daniel 1:11-16. (I didn’t really mean this to be a book review but while I’m at it I’ll say that “The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast” deserves 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion). We were also able to have some leftover hummus to go with our flatbread (another Daniel fast recipe!) It was all very good (in my opinion) and the recipes are both available at UltimateDanielFast.com under appetizers and the entire cookbook is available at Amazon.com. I included a picture of my Hummus and Flatbread to show you just how delicious and wonderful they look together:
I multiplied her recipe by 3 and it made exactly 12 pans of flatbread (rolled very,very thin).
Enjoy!
(The recipe and the picture).
