The Applause of Heaven by Max Lucado ★★★★★

You are a child of a King!

Non Fiction – Adult – Christian/Self Help

224 pages

Publication Date: 1990

 Max Lucado shows that The Beatitudes are more than just a teaching on the mountain, but that Jesus was actually showing us a way to grasp peace and joy to live a fulfilling life.

The inspiring writing – as always with Max Lucado – in this modern Christian classic is compelling and beautifully phrased.  He utilizes amazing examples to highlight his message.  Now, I have always thought of the Beatitudes as a list to check off – you know like, 70% or better is a passing grade, but Mr. Lucado shows that is actually a step-by-step progression to rebuild a believer’s heart.  And honestly his way makes a lot more sense and is way more productive than my checkup list.  He provides ways to overcome the road blocks between you and Jesus.  With the focus on changing your heart and attitude so that you may have a more fulfilling relationship with God, it allows you to defeat the world and those critical voices in your head with the truth.  You are a worthy child of a King and by remembering that and giving yourself over to God you can face anything with the confidence that Jesus is always in your corner. 

When I get bogged down in the ugliness of myself and the world, I reread this book to remind myself what really matters.  I savor it, and let the message soak into my soul like a soothing balm.  It is a reminder that I am precious to God, that he can even use me - flawed, broken and weak - for his purposes.  And in those moments when I truly believe and can see past myself, that is when I am at peace and resting in the arms of Jesus.   

When Mr. Lucado speaks of God and his delight in us it reminds me of my Grandma.  Grandma J is engaging, passionate, and energetic, and when she talks with you, you feel like she genuinely wants to hear about your life and there is nothing more important she would rather do.  She hurrays the good, mourns the sad, calls you on your mistakes, but has the faith that no screw up is too big to overcome.  Everyone leaves her feeling like they are her favorite.  This is the kind of relationship God would like to have with us.

The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman & Ross Campbell ★★★★☆

Love in Every Language

Non Fiction – Self Help - Parenting

224 pages

Publication Date:  May 28th 1995

A continuation of the series sparked by the best-selling The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, this book focuses on your children and how to make sure you convey unconditional feelings of respect, affection and commitment in a way that will affect them the rest of their lives. 

As a proponent of always trying to improve my parenting I started this book having already bought into the idea of the five love languages and the “love tank”.  Years ago in the infancy of my husband and my relationship before we married we both read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman (I would recommend this book as a must for any marriage relationship) and frankly it saved our relationship.  At the time R was exasperated and I was exhausted trying to fulfill each other’s love needs, but never actually doing it.  When we read this book we finally understood each other on a much deeper level and have spent the last 12 years trying to show each other love in manners that are meaningful for the other person. 

This series once again proved life changing for me.  The section on words of affirmation completely put in perspectives some horrible childhood trauma and sent me into a sobbing fit.  You know now, years later, I can’t even really remember specific incidents, but I can clearly remember the soul sucking pain and depression caused by misplaced words.  I will do whatever it takes to try and prevent my children from that kind of pain as I think would most parents.

Twelve years of “touching education” has prepared me for my two-year-old (trust me when I say this was not the easiest thing for me to learn, but now it comes more naturally through my years of effort and my husband’s patience), but I admit I am still working on quality time (my husband and older daughter’s main language).  I think something this book has definitely reminded me to do is purposeful parenting.  Not only to love my children, but to teach my children how to love others through my example.  I am not raising a child, but someone’s future spouse, future parent, and about a million other potential roles (trust me a fit thrown by a one-year-old maybe kind of cute, but at 21 or 31 it is just horrible) and with that in mind I always have to keep in mind the long term good of my child and not their or my momentary happiness.

I found it interesting when the authors classified “teaching moments”- such as learning to do laundry or cooking- under Acts of Service.  My goal as a parent has always to prepare my child to be a mature, responsible member of society who is able to take care of themselves.  I think all of us can relate to seeing what can happen when kids grow up and weren’t taught how to take care themselves or be considerate of others, especially when you think of those kids in college who didn’t know how to clean a toilet, wash a dish or had to go home for their mom to do their laundry.  They usually were forced by their less than tolerant peers/roommates to under go a huge learning curve.

This book not only fully explains the concepts and provides a means of identification, but also practical and useful common sense ways of showing love to your children in all five love languages.  There is also a further reading guide to help continue your education.  I personally do not agree with every concept brought up in this book, but I do agree with the overall theme.  I believe if all parents could make their children feel loved it would cut down on a lot of problems in our society.  This will be a continuing mainstay of my library and periodically be reread to remind me of the kind of parent I want to be and my children need.

ISBN  1881273652 (ISBN13: 9781881273653)