God Gave Us the World – Lisa Tawn Bergren

God Gave Us This World by Lisa Tawn Bergren


A delightful young children’s book for ages 3-8, this story is about a young polar bear, named Young Cub, who learns there are different bears in other parts of the world. He wonders why. Mother bear begins the explanation by pointing out the differences in the snow that is falling. From there Little Cub learns that God is creative. Different bears look different, live in different parts of the world and eat all different foods than he does. As he learns about the world and the differences found there, Little Cub also comes to see that we must take care of this world we live in. Best of all he has a special place in this world.

An easy to follow story with beautiful artwork, I believe this book will hold the attention of any child who reads it or has it read to them.  

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Finding Our Way Home by Charlene Ann Baumbich

This is the first time I read this author and was very happy with this book. In fact, I found it difficult to put this book down. 

Sasha Davis, a ballerina, has suffered an injury that has led to the end of her successful career. Not adjusting well, she had returned to her childhood home and is living in seclusion. Unfortunately she never learned how to cook and needs assistance with some household chores, so a companion has to be hired. Enter Evelyn Burt, a lively and active young woman who comes with her own set of issues. Just engaged, Evelyn is a bundle of energy with an outlook on life that is totally different from the life Sasha has chosen for herself.

As these two women live and work together, changes take place in both lives. Sasha has to face up to the fact that her injury was the result of health issues that even her husband didn’t know about. Husband? This comes as a surprise to Evelyn when she learns of his existence. She realizes Sasha has shut herself off from the world and sees no future for herself outside of being an invalid. She begins to encourage Sasha to take an interest in life again, beginning with watching birds bathing to reading the wide range of books brought home from the library. As Sasha sees the potential in her life and regains her ability to walk, she begins to help Evelyn see that there is so much in life for her also. Evelyn begins to realize that even though her engagement has ended, she cannot live her life solely by fulfilling the wants and desires of others. She has a future and goals that Sasha and her husband help her move into.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Reversing Diabetes by Don Colbert MD

I requested this book because the cover said, “Discover the natural way to take control of type 2 diabetes…” While I am sure some readers will pick up this book, believe they have found some help in controlling their diabetes and be very happy and satisfied with what they are learning, I am not one of them. I was looking for a book that would give the reader some practical, day to day help. I didn’t find much of this.

I was also disappointed when the author began promoting nutritional supplements available through his website and that are not readily available in all areas. I am not questioning the value of the nutritional supplements Dr. Colbert refers to and am sure his patients have found them a great help in getting control of their type 2 diabetes.  

While there is a lot of good information in Reversing Diabetes, there is also a lot of information that was above my head. I got lost in the technical side of things. I could care less about reading some of the facts that are interspersed through the book when I am looking for something that is easy to read and can give me suggestions that will improve my health.

There are recipes and menus for the Rapid Waist Reduction Diet that would work for an individual, but would mean cooking a separate meal for the rest of a family. Some of the foods mentioned would also exceed some family budgets. More helpful were the lists of approved foods for the two phases of the Diet. There were also tips for eating out and grocery shopping that were also informative and well as useful.

I received this book for free from Charisma House for this review. The opinions expressed are solely mine.

Wildflowers from Winter

Wildflowers burst from the ground in vivid blues and whites and violets, creating a picture more pleasing than anything her hands could design. She didn’t understand how it was possible, but Evan had been right. The abundance of snow had produced an abundance of wildflowers. More that she’d ever seen before. Somehow, those cold, lifeless winter months had prepared the land for something breathtaking. Something beautiful. Something brimming with life.

Evan knew there was something Bethany tried so hard to hide, to ignore. Why did he care? Why did he want to help her? He wasn’t sure, except that he knew he cared.

Bethany is forced to return to her hometown for not just one tragedy but two. Now she was stuck there. Her job was gone. Her apartment lease up. Her grandfather dead. Though the four hundred acres of farmland was hers, the farmhouse had been willed to Evan. Didn’t anyone understand why she couldn’t remain in Peaks? So now Bethany finds herself living with her old friend, Robin who is newly widowed and pregnant. Robin never had time to tell her husband about the pregnancy before he died and now she is finding it near impossible to move on with her life. As Bethany and Robin work through their struggles they begin to support each other in a way reminiscent of their childhood days. Moving through the winter months Bethany is present for the birth of Robin’s son, begins renovating a shop for the café Robin and her husband has planned to open, helps with the birth of a calf and finds that a hard winter does indeed bring forth wildflowers in abundance. She begins to understand that God is not who she thought He was and the winter of her life bursts into something complete, whole and breathtakingly beautiful. Like a field of wildflowers after the long, harsh months of winter.

I found it difficult to put down Wildflowers from Winter. Katie Ganshert is a good job of keeping her readers hooked. It isn’t until the very end of the book that we find out why Bethany had such a hard time remaining in Peak and why she was always looking for a way to escape.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Song of My Heart

Kim Vogel Sawyer’s book is a story about a girl who has a dream of singing and a desire to help her struggling family. Sadie Wagner wants to help her family, but doesn’t know what she can do. Then a letter comes from her cousin, Sid. There is a job opening for a clerk at the local mercantile and the possibility of singing in the local opera house. She packs and heads to Goldtree, Kansas. There she meets sisters Melva and Shelva Baxter, the owners of the mercantile. Welcomed with open arms, Sadie finds she is loved and cared for in her new home. But the opera house is not what she expected. Asa Baxter has built a concrete, well insulated opera room underground and off the basement room of the mercantile. Why there? The answer is revealed as the reader finds that all is not as Asa would like everyone to believe. Sadie and Sid find they are involved in the bootleg business of drink and gambling. She as the entertainment for a secret evening gathering of men interested in the liquor and gambling and Sid as the freight driver who has been transporting the alcohol labeled as molasses and vinegar. Are they destined for prison?

Taking place in 1865, this story could have just as easily taken place during the Prohibition period of our history. Lest I forget, there is a love story involved here. Sadie finds that Sid, a cousin by marriage, and the new sheriff both want to court her. It took me only about 5 evenings to read this book. Difficult to put down, I wanted to know the outcome.

I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.