Miracles Happen

This book was not as inspirational as I expected to it be. Was hoping to hear more about some of the greater difficulties, but that wasn't so. She did talk about some of the challenges she had at the beginning. There were a couple things that I was able to take away from the book - MaryKay was a HUGE workaholic.

As I am challenged with my own dealings with trading in the stock market, the time and work into and everything else, I think about the workaholism of MaryKay. Was this godly?

Or, was this an extreme commitment & dedication to a greater call, a mission to empower the lives of many other people, particularly women? I think those were noble things and she very much paved the way for other women in the business area, not only in the work force, but also in owning their own businesses.

She does give God credit and it would've been nice to hear more about God in the book. She had a tremendous confidence, as well as a resolve to overcome all the challenges that she was confronted with. She had a totally "can do" attitude, and when she would fall, she'd get back up with a greater tenacity. She had good control over her thoughts - which is really where I continue to work on.

Other than the workaholism, the other part I did not take too keenly to was that in order for women to do MaryKay, often you have to sacrifice healthy eating and habits. That just didn't seem right. She seemed to make light of living in the takeout line or eating out. I don't want to do that in my life, but I do still want to have success with my MaryKay business.

A Girl's Guide To Life

Thought this book would be easy for me to read, but having a pre-teen daughter who wants to grow up quicker made it a bit too real for me.

I kept forgetting the book is written for teens, young girls and not for the moms or for someone nearing mid-life. There were times I just wanted details, more details, but recognizing that a young person would probably get lost and bored, lose the point, the author did a good job in keeping to the point and succinct so as to keep a young girl's interest.

I like how the focus is still kept on the Lord, on what is good, honorable, respectful. She does a good job on putting one's self-esteem on God-esteem and addresses many issues that I see my near 10-yr old about to embark on with her own self and her friends.

She asks questions and expects you to answer them. That was funny to me, but it's sort of like this written talking book. It's a book about being frank with young girls, including the sex and sexuality thing. Definitely not something I really wanted to read, but it's necessary. Eye-opening. However, she starts off the book rooted in one's identity and expounds from there. If you know who you are, you will be less a victim to our culture, our society.

She gives a lot of pitfalls and warnings, but not in a negative way, but in a way that also appeals to young people. She's upbeat, but not overly so as to not be able to relate to girls. This will be a must read again in a year or 2 for me, just to make sure I'm keeping the lines of communication opened with my own daughter.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. 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.”

Hermie: Who is in charge anyway?

This is my first review for BookSneeze and the funny thing is I didn't get a book. I got a DVD instead. A children's DVD to be exact. If you think I "..doth protest too much" I'm not, I just found my first review to be somewhat amusing.

I just wanna say Kudos to everyone who has a heart to convey Biblical principles to children in story form. There is something about story that captures the heart. And yes, even bad stories can have the same effect. But this is not the case here. I'm just sayin...

The graphics on the DVD reflects current CGI technology to date. It was colorful and very detailed.

The story is about hearing from God (the voice from the sky) and how he is involved in our lives and cares about us. It may sound simple but it is often the most simplest of truths that offers most comfort during the dark times in our lives.

The DVD will capture the attention of Toddlers but older kids will find it boring I think. Don't get me wrong, it is not torturous to watch, it was very well written. It's just that the developmental reality that children's attention are captured by different things in stages of growing.