What a Son Needs from his Mom by Cheri Fuller

I had a mixed reaction while reading this book.  First, I'll say that I found it incredibly helpful, inspiring, and helpful as I think about raising my now 2-year old son.  The book highlights such topics as a son's personality, helping your son in school (as many boys struggle with the typical classroom setting), praying for your son, overcoming your own fears (of your son being hurt or doing something wrong, etc), nurturing your son's faith, and much more. What I found most helpful in this book was how it talked about boys are different than boys and, as a result of that, how they need to be related to and parented differently than girls.  Because all moms are girls, we don't necessarily know what our boys are thinking and feeling (and they can't necessarily tell us).  There are some things I wouldn't have guessed and others that didn't surprise me but that I might not have thought of on my own. 

When I say that I had a mixed reaction to this book, I was referring to the dread (is that the right word?) that this book brought to the surface of my son growing up.  I've always known that my son is going to grow up and that there will be struggles with that, but having a book talk about the ways that this will happen naturally makes me want to take every moment as it comes!  So I guess that is also a positive for this book.

I would recommend this book for mothers of sons.  There are also helpful suggestions for raising daughters, but the main focus is certainly on how mothers can nurture their sons. 

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

Days Like These by Kristian & Rachel Anderson

Such a good book!  I couldn't tear myself away from it, it was that good.  This is the story of Kristian Anderson's fight with cancer and the faith he has in God's healing power is remarkable.  It is an honest book, refreshingly so. At times I almost felt like I was reading Anderson's personal journal, or a writing that would be reserved for his family.  The choice to share it with the world provides encouragement for anyone who reads it.

This book is literally a man's walk through cancer, complete with raw emotion and life-giving scriptures that kept Kristian fighting throughout the battle. 

This book is touching and I would highly recommend it.  But I would also advise a box of tissues nearby...

This book was given to me through the Booksneeze program, though I am under no obligation to provide a positive review.

The 5 Money Personalities by Scott & Bethany Palmer

If I were to describe The 5 Money Personalities: Speaking the Same Love and Money Language in one word, I would have to use the word "eye-opening."

I was a bit surprised at how much the book focuses on the clashes many couples have in regards to money.  When I requested this book, I didn't really expect that but, in the introduction, the authors state that "this book is not a guide to managing your money" (p.xiv), saying that there are many other books out there to help you set a budget and manage your finances.  This book was written to help couples who just can't seem to meet in the middle when it comes to finances.

This book works off the basis of 5 money personalities, which are outlined in the book.  It is designed to be worked through as a couple, each chapter having a practical "to do" segment at the end.  If you just don't understand where your partner is coming from in terms of financial decisions that are made, the chapter explaining how the different personalities relate to each other would be helpful to you.

I would highly recommend this book to any couple who is having any sort of financial trouble at all, whether that be mountains of debt or not being able to understand each others' spending (or penny-pinching) habits.  It really opens your eyes to see that everyone is created differently and everyone deals with money differently.  No personality is "wrong"...each has their upside and downside, and the key is learning to work together as a team, despite having differing opinions on finances.

If you don't feel like money is a huge issue in your relationship, then you probably don't need this book.  While it WAS an interesting read, if you're looking for a book to help you become more efficient in saving or to help you set (and stick to!) a budget, there are other resources out there that could be more helpful to you.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze blog reviewers program.  I am under no obligation to provide a positive review.