Children's Book Reviews...A Giveaway...and Supporting Sufficient Grace This Christmas

Recently, Anthony DeStefano asked me to review his latest children's book, Little Star. The story is about a Little Star that is ignored and feels useless, until God uses him in a very special way. I was going to tell you my take on it. However, since my son enjoyed the book, I thought you might prefer hearing what he had to say. I will say that I really liked the illustrations.

A book review by James, age 9:

Little Star was lonely at the beginning. Nobody wanted to play with him. The other stars started talking about a king that was going to be born. Little Star shined as brightly as he could to keep the baby king warm. He wanted to shine for Jesus. I liked this book because it seemed like in the beginning he wasn't important. But, in the end, he made a big difference.

Thank you for your help, James....very nice book report...ahem....review. ;)

We still love children's books here, even though my littles are getting rather big. Well, at least James and I still love them! Some of our favorites are the God Gave Us... books. God Gave Us You, God Gave us Christmas, God Gave us Heaven...etc.

I think these books help relate spiritual truths to young children at a level they can relate to, and they always seem to speak to my heart as well. (Yes, I'm a huge sap...and still cry when I read most of them.) The illustrations are lovely, and the stories make for very special moments snuggled up to share a bedtime story. They often lead to great discussions, as well.

Sooooo....

I ordered a couple of my favorites to give away here. I will be giving God Gave Us Heaven and God Gave Us Christmas to two commenters on this post. We have several other Christmas favorites, here too...including The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I'd love to hear some of your favorite children's books...so feel free to share!

 (Pics from http://www.christianbook.com/ , one of my favorite places to order Christian books and other stuff!)

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In other news...

I just wanted to share that there are a few things you can do to help support Sufficient Grace Ministries this holiday season, and beyond.

One easy and painless way you can help is by using Goodsearch any time you search the internet, or to make holiday and other online purchases using Goodshop and listing Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women as your charity of choice.

You can go to the http://www.goodsearch.com/ website and search there if you don't want to add the toolbar...or, you can use the Goodsearch button on our right sidebar.

If you wish to add the toolbar:
Add the Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women toolbar to IE or Firefox. Once you add the Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women toolbar for IE or Firefox, each time you shop at one of the more than 1,300 participating stores, a percentage of what you spend will be donated to us at no extra cost to you! (you could even save money as the toolbar provides coupons and deals). The toolbar also has a search box and each time you search the Internet, about a penny is donated to us. No registration is required! http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/sufficient-grace-ministries-for-women

Another way to help, is to prayerfully consider making an end-of-the-year donation to Sufficient Grace. We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. All donations made to SGM are tax deductible, and are used to help us continue to provide products and services to grieving families free of charge, as well as to cover the administrative costs of running this nationwide (and beyond) ministry. Donations can be made safely by clicking on the donation icon on the right sidebar. You can also learn more about sponsoring a family and/or hospital by visiting the Dreams of You Shop page and making a donation there.

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Our band, One Way, has been invited to do some praise and worship and Christmas music at the Holgate United Methodist Church on the last Sunday of November during their morning service. If you are in the area, we'd love to see you there!

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One more request, please keep all of the grieving families in your prayers. All holidays and, especially the Christmas season can be extra difficult for those missing a loved one. That's one of the reasons that we like to give away some extra things to bring some joy to a difficult time...and to acknowledge those who are missing someone they love. I have placed an order for several such items this week and will be doing some giveaways here on the blog.

So, stay tuned.

And...for those of you slugging it out in the thick of grief right now...keep on keepin' on and keep holding on to the One who is able to carry you with His strength, comfort, love, and grace.