• Book: “Everything Romance” by Todd Hafer

    Any time is the perfect time to celebrate with the ones you love!  With Valentine’s Day celebrations around corner I thought I would share with you a book I recently read called Everything Romance by Todd Hafer.  The book is packed full of great quotes, recipes and information.  It has plenty of great ideas to get your creative juices flowing for your upcoming Date Night, Valentine’s Day, Honeymoon, Anniversary or any other fun celebration with your spouse.  You will get a wonderful variety of romantic inspiration from the book through:

    • Blessings & Prayers
    • Did You Know? (fun love facts)
    • Features (Conversation Starters and More)
    • Lists (such as Creative Ways to say “I Love You”)
    • Love Boosters & Love Busters
    • Love Letters (from famous people like Mark Twain and more)
    • Perfect Pairs & Famous Quotes
    • Poetry & Poets
    • Special Recipes
    • Gift Ideas & Love Stories
    • Scripture Verses, Trivia and More!

    I thought this book was great reminder of how important it is that we spend time with our spouse.  Going on a Date Night even after your married helps keep you connected.  The book has a lot of different ideas.  My suggestion is take the ones that work well for your marriage and implement them.  There is plenty of fun activities to try and inspirational sayings to get you started.  I especially enjoyed the love quotes and the recipes. The top 100 lists for Love Songs and Romantic Movies are wonderful starting points for Date Night ideas.

    I haven’t had a chance to try all the recipes but here are a few fun ones:

    • Berry Sweet Breakfast Parfaits for Two
    • Lip Smackin’ Spicy Lime Popcorn
    • Smooth Operator Blue Smoothie
    • Perfect Pair Pizza Pita Snacks

    If you need some great ideas for the upcoming Valentine’s Day celebration or more ideas for your Date Nights I would recommend checking this book out.  Everything Romance would be a neat Valentine or Anniversary gift for your spouse.  You could read through the book together or use it to help plan out your next date night.

    I think investing time and energy into our marriage is important.  While I may not be inspired by every story, quote, or activity in the book I believe the author did a good job of putting a great mix of ideas so each person can pull their favorites out for them to implement or enjoy.   The book was a fun one for me to read and I appreciate a book that focuses on building better relationships!  I am already looking forward to our next Date Night! 🙂

    Rate my review & be entered into a giveaway: I reviewed this book for “Blogging for Books.”   By rating my review, it allows me to choose another book and enters you in a GIVEAWAY!   The rating is a two step process.

    Step 1:  Rate my review below (select the number of stars, enter your email, and hit submit).

    Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher through the Waterhouse Multnomah.  The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

  • Book: “The 60 Minute Money Workout” by Ellie Kay

    I recently finished reading The 60-Minute Money Workout by Ellie Kay.  Each chapter was designed for a 60 minute personal finance workout once a week.  You can work through the chapters on your own or with your spouse.  The author uses the personal finance steps like an exercise workout but for your finances.

    The five “workout” steps are covered in each chapter:

    1. Warm Up – prep for your money workout (5 minutes)
    2. Strength Training – set financial goals (10 minutes)
    3. Cardio Burn – put goals into action (20 minutes)
    4. Heart Rate – measure financial performance (20 minutes)
    5. Cool Down – Reward Yourself (5 minutes)

    The book includes nuggets of personal finance information as well as worksheets that you can use or you can go to her website for additional worksheets and tools.  Several of the financial principles she goes over are great for someone or a couple just starting to get their finances in order.  I do agree with Ellie Kay on the importance of paying off debt, saving for emergencies and paying cash whenever possible.   I think her “10/10/80 Rule” is a good starting point too:

    • 10% – Share with nonprofit organization (church or other worthy organization)
    • 10% – Save through an allotment or designation to a savings account and for investments
    • 80% – Spend wisely

    Making it a habit to give, save, as well as where you spend your money is valuable with the intention that you would eventually get better with your finances and you will be able to both give and save even more then the initial 10%.  The author gives several quizzes throughout the book to help you identify were you are at on certain area of personal finance, such as personalities, spending, saving, debt, and more. I do like that she dips into the entrepreneurial side especially for the kids and small businesses.

    Overall I think Ellie Kay provides a good basis for personal finance with nuggets of valuable information to get you started on the right track.  At times I felt the five workout steps distracted from the content of the chapters and there were a couple areas I felt could have been more detailed such as outlining how to set up your first basic budget.   Even if you have already been following the majority of the principles she outlines in her book it is good to be reminded of some areas that may need continual improvement.

    Rate my review & be entered into a giveaway: I reviewed this book for “Blogging for Books.”   By rating my review, it allows me to choose another book and enters you in a GIVEAWAY60!   The rating is a two step process.

    Step 1:  Rate my review below (select the number of stars, enter your email, and hit submit).

    Step 2:  Check your email account for a message from Blogging for Books and click their link to verify your email.

    Once you rated my review AND confirmed your email, you will automatically entered in a giveaway for this book by WaterBrook Multnomah!!!  They will pick one person to receive a copy of the book for themselves!  WaterBrook Multnomah will contact the winner directly.

    Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher through the Waterhouse Multnomah.  The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

  • Book: “The God Pocket” by Bruce Wilkinson

    I recently finished reading The God Pocket by Bruce Wilkinson.  About a month ago I finished his You Were Born For This book so this was a great one to read next because it went into more detail on his concept of  “The God Pocket”.  Throughout the book he uses the phrase “He Owns It.  You carry it.  Suddenly, everything changes” which means you have a certain amount of money (in addition to what you set aside for tithing and offering) that you place in a special place in your wallet or envelope and you dedicate it to God.  When you feel led by God (or nudged) then you give the amount God has laid on your heart to the person you have been directed to.

    The God Pocket is extra money that you have set aside to deliver a financial blessing to those whom come to your attention.  The money is no longer yours to use or borrow from once it is dedicated to God.  It is important that you pray for discernment for who the money should be given to in your God Pocket.  Sometimes you’ll be led the day you put it into the pocket other times it may be days, weeks, or months before the person who you are asked to give it to comes across your path.

    Wilkinson shares a variety of stories about people who have experience the blessing of delivering their God Pocket funds.  Many of those people have been blessed through their extra giving, although it is not guarantee that if you give extra money away that you are promised the exact amount or more in return from God.    For example the author used this following verse:

    Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed. – Proverbs 17:19

    This is a wonderful verse and it does say that the Lord will repay for the deed, however, it does not say that he will repay financially or even while we are on this earth.    Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven…. Matthew 5:12  I think the concept of giving to others is awesome as long as we do not do it with the expectation of being repaid or over abundantly rewarded for our effort here on earth.  We may see some benefits of sharing with others including mentorship opportunities, sharing the good news, and the blessing of knowing that God has allowed you to share a miracle with someone who was hurting or in need.  It is the most valuable when we give from the heart while giving ALL the credit to God.  It is not called “The Me Pocket” it is called “The God Pocket” for that specific reason.  You are carrying it to be a blessing to someone and allow God to work in their hearts not to take the praise for yourself.

    The author walks you through seven steps for delivering “The God Pocket” funds:

    • Decide and pray regarding the amount you will put into “The God Pocket”.
    • Devote the money directly to God.
    • Deposit the devoted amount into your God Pocket.
    • Depend on God to lead you to the exact person He wants you to give the gift to.
    • Deliver God’s funds to the recipient
    • Declare who the true giver of the funds is, transfer the all credit for the funds directly to God
    • Disciple the person who you have given the God Pocket funds to so they can start a relationship or strengthen their relationship with God and they may in return deliver a God Pocket to another person in need.

    The book is short and can be read pretty quickly. Overall I like the concept the author was trying to get across to the readers.  In a couple places the author pushed a little bit regarding using his specifically design “God Pockets” and even gave a few examples of how people used the ones he designed.  That’s okay if you want to use them but the point isn’t if you use a plain envelope or a fancy leather God Pocket, it is that you are willing to be used by God to bring blessings to those around you.   I think it is a great idea to prayfully seek out opportunities to minister to others in need as long as the credit is given to God. 

    Rate my review & be entered into a giveaway: I reviewed this book for “Blogging for Books.”   By rating my review, it allows me to choose another book and enters you in a GIVEAWAY!   The rating is a two step process.

    Step 1:  Rate my review below (select the number of stars, enter your email, and hit submit).

    Step 2:  Check your email account for a message from Blogging for Books and click their link to verify your email.

    Once you rated my review AND confirmed your email, you will automatically entered in a giveaway for this book by WaterBrook Multnomah!!!  They will pick one person to receive a copy of the book for themselves!  WaterBrook Multnomah will contact the winner directly.

    Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher through the Waterhouse Multnomah.  The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”