Bibleman: Combating the Commandment of Confusion

I think the best review of this movie was the reaction of my 3 ½ year old son as he watched it the first time. He was absolutely mesmerized! I was actually surprised that the movie would have his attention as fully as it did, especially considering it is different from the movies he is accustomed to. No cartoon movie, just real life actors depicting a Biblical message in a way that captures the attention of kids of various ages – what a fabulous concept!

This particular video demonstrated the importance of putting on the Entire Armour of God and used several Scriptures that reinforced the concept of Bibleman’s main power – the Bible! I was so excited to find this video and am looking forward to finding more movies and Bibleman gear for my sons. For someone who has been into superheroes for a while now, I am so happy to know that as his mom, I can introduce my son to a “superhero” who teaches him positive life-changing lessons from the Word of God.

Jane Austen: Christian Encounters

This book was quite enlightening as well as entertaining about the life and times of Jane Austen. Reading it made me want to reread her most famous novels. It’s always interesting to get a glimpse into the life of an author, especially one as timeless as Jane Austen. To see into her everyday life through information such as excerpts from personal letters gave a truer picture of who this amazing “authoress” was. The book did a thorough job of painting the background of the people and places most influential in her life, particularly her beloved family and favorite homes. Reading this book gave me a greater respect for her (her compassion, her humor, and overall virtuous nature) as well as awareness to the depth of who she was and the work that went into her novels. It was enlightening to see the pattern of writing in her life – beginning in her teens, taking a break for a decade during her personal trials, and then culminating in such success at the end of her very young life. She was a remarkable woman as well as writer.

Love and Respect

This book does a great job of summarizing the basic needs of men and women in relationships. He describes the cycles of relationships and how we get trapped in "The Crazy Cycle" vs. putting forth a little extra effort to start a more rewarding "Energizing Cycle". He defines fears and worries that men have that prevent them from truly loving their wives as well as fears that women harbor, preventing them from respecting their husbands. There are several "ah-ha" moments when reading this book. By breaking it down into such simple explanations, it is pretty amazing to see how we get easily trapped in the destructive cycles. However, his acronyms “C-O-U-P-L-E” and “C-H-A-I-R-S” show and simplify the ways that men can truly display love to their wives (COUPLE – closeness, openness, understanding, peacemaking, loyalty, esteem) and that women can show true respect for their husbands (CHAIRS – conquest, hierarchy, authority, insight, relationship, and sexuality). This can be a very helpful tool for creating closeness and more unity in relationships - especially if shared by husband and wife!