Book Review: The Lifegiving Home by Sally and Sarah Clarkson

If you are looking for a heartfelt and meaningful story of how to create a home that is both inviting and warm to family and others, The Lifegiving Home by Sally and Sarah Clarkson is a great choice.

In this joint mother/daughter effort, they share their perspectives on creating a lifegiving legacy in your home through rhythms, routines, and rituals, growing relationships, celebrating life, being in service to each other, and shaping a certain family culture based on love, and combining personalities, history, events, and traditions. This book addresses how we have lost our center in the hectic, busyness of day-to-day life that our current modern, consumerist culture encourages.

The last point mentioned is why I requested to review this book. At the end, however, I can't say I'm any closer to finding a way toward creating the kind of home I've always envisioned we would have. The Clarksons sound like lovely, god-fearing people, whose goal is to inspire others. Sally and her husband founded Whole Heart Ministries in 1998 and Sarah is an award-winning author who also leads workshops on reading as a means to transform a child's mental and spiritual development. They have a clear calling from the Lord to serve others. While one can't argue that more time in prayer and with Scripture is key to making any change, getting from where you are in your crazy life now to the type of home culture you desire is a step-by-step process. While The Lifegiving Home is a vital part of that process, it may not be the starting point for some of us. I have to admit to enjoying Sally's chapters more because they are more conversational, whereas Sarah's style is more academic. Coupled with The Lifegiving Home Experience, a twelve-month guided planner, the reader may have more success creating the home culture she seeks.


Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Tyndale Momentum (February 2, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1496403371
ISBN-13: 978-1496403377

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

This book is credited toward the following challenges:

Book Review: American Patriots by Rick Santorum

American Patriots is a well thought out, masterfully told set of stories that shares the heroic acts of American patriots who risked it all for "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

A candidate for the Republican nomination for president of the United States in 2012, Rick Santorum sets his hand to writing about twenty-five unsung heroic men and women from the Revolutionary War era. The son of an immigrant parent whose own father brought him to America in search of freedom and opportunity, Santorum releases his passion for the Patriot cause that is as vital today as it was during colonial times.

Broken into three parts--Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness--Santorum weaves tales of ordinary men and women whose extraordinary efforts helped the Patriot cause against the British as a young America sought independence from its oppressor. From well-known names such as Peter Francisco and Nancy Morgan Hart, to lesser known historical figures such as Lambert Wickes and John Witherspoon, each story reflects the tumultuous times in which these people lived and worked to ensure "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" for all.

The reader finds within the pages of American Patriots, a history rich in courage and bravery. Looking upon these stories during a time when so many of the principles upon which this country is founded are being assaulted, the reader sees how far we have come from what made America a great land of opportunity; but American Patriots also inspires with its stories of how everyday people make a difference. As Santorum states in the Afterword, "Today, there are fewer kings, but not fewer rulers....There are those in this country who are seeking to return to the historical norm--elites governing the masses...The greatest threat to liberty today is not from the ruling elites; it lies within each one of us when we give into the temptation to live our lives with conformity, apathy, and complacency." American Patriots is that rallying cry for none of us to conform and become complacent. It is a reminder that we should not stand by and allow our freedoms and liberties to be stripped away by those who believe we must be governed with a heavy hand.

As this book reminds us, those who emigrated to America did so at great risk and cost. They found in America, a place of freedom and unbridled opportunity if they decided to take advantage of it. These twenty-five stories should be shared in America's classrooms and in each American home to encourage citizens to embrace the greatness God instills in each one of us, and to remind us that American values and principles are worth fighting for.



ISBN: 978-1-4143-7908-1
List Price: $16.99
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Page Count: 176
Trim Size: 4 1/2 x 7 1/2

I received a free hardcover of this book from the publisher. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.


This is the 4th book I've read for the following challenge:

Book Review: The Cause Within You by Matthew Barnett with George Barna

What if you could find the one thing in the world you were created to do? The Cause within You: Finding the One Great Thing You Were Created to Do in This World will help you get started.

Matthew Barnett was only twenty years old when he arrived in LA with his father, Pastor Tommy Barnett, to bring spiritual health to the declining Bethel Temple. Little did he know that this would be "the cause" that God had for him.

In this moving inspirational story, Barnett shows others through his own experiences as co founder of the Dream Center in LA, that God has a cause for their lives and shows them how to figure out what that cause is. From how to discover what God has created you to do, to motivation on how to keep you working toward fulfilling that cause, The Cause Within You has the power to change lives.

What I enjoyed most about this book is that it reminds the reader while we may have a cause we are passionate about, it must also be the cause that God has called us to. It reminds us to seek His will and not our own. As a Sunday school teacher and Vacation Bible School director, I truly appreciate Barnett's gentle reminders, as much as I am empowered by the message that fills this book. It is too easy to get so focused on your own vision that you forget God's vision is what is most important.

With tons of encouragement along the way, The Cause Within You will get you moving toward discovering what you were created to do and keep you focused on God's vision for your life. I highly recommend it.


Title:  The Cause Within You
Author:  Matthew Barnett with George Barna
Publisher: BarnaBooks 
ISBN-10: 9781414348469
ISBN-13: 978-1414348469
SRP:  $24.99 (hardcover)
Also available as an audio book and a Kindle edition.

I received a copy of this book from Tyndale in exchange for my honest opinions. I received no monetary compensation for this review.

Book Review: Pursuit of Justice by DiAnn Mills

Bella Jordan thought she put her past behind her.

For centuries, the legend of the Spider Rock treasure had lured people to west Texas with promises of unimaginable wealth. For Bella, the treasure brings up memories she would just as soon forget.

When three men who were searching for the treasure are murdered, Bella, a special agent with the FBI, is sent in to investigate. As she sifts through the evidence, the body count begins to rise and her own life is threatened. And all those terrible memories of her past come running back to stand in her way.

Pursuit of Justice is the third book in DiAnn Mills' Call of Duty series. I haven't read the two other books (Sworn to Protect and the bestselling Breach of Trust) but I would like to.

In this one, we have a woman who feels she has put her past behind her, but when she learns of the murders of three men who were searching for the Spider Rock treasure, she wants in. The more she learns about the case, the more she realizes that she's going to need to find the courage to face all those memories she's tried to forget about.

Then there is Carr Sullivan, a real estate developer who allegedly found Christ and moved to west Texas to run a ranch. He's also the prime suspect in the murder of the three treasure seekers. Bella is trying to keep an open mind about him, but her attraction to him gets in the way a bit.

Pursuit of Justice is more of a plot-driven novel than a character driven one; though Bella's and Carr's past and present do play a role in how the story evolves. Despite the fact there is some romantic tension between Bella and Carr, this is secondary to the murder investigation, which is filled with twists and turns, even though Bella is certain she knows at least one or two of the players involved. The ending is superb.

If you like intrigue and suspense coupled with a crisis of faith, you'll enjoy Pursuit of Justice by DiAnn Mills.


Title:  Pursuit of Justice
Author: DiAnn Mills
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1414320523
ISBN-13: 978-1414320526
SRP: $12.99