Mama Bear Reviews

It's Okay Not To Be Ok: Moving Forward One Day at a Time by Sheila Walsh is a Christian self-help novel. The books mixes a combination of scripture and advice to help people that are going through a difficult time in their lives.  I like that the author is honest about the steps of this book when she lets the reader know that this process is not easy and that it may need to be repeated again and again. The hurdles that we face do not magically go away and there are many times in life where we will face difficulties.  I found this book to be very inspirational. One of my favorite quotes is:  "Only an internal transformation will truly change external behavior. Every battle begins in our minds, not with our behavior. We can behave a certain way and remain unchanged. If we want to change how we act, we have to change how we think."  I felt that this was very powerful. Change can be difficult but sometimes it is necessary to move on and find new opportunities

I enjoy reading books on parenting. I especially like when the books are not a how to novel on the exact right way that things should be done because as any parent knows, there is no one right way to raise children. Parenting with Heart: How Imperfect Parents Can Raise Resilient, Loving, and Wise-Hearted Kids by Stephen James and Chip Dodd is a wonderful guide. I enjoyed that the focus of this book is on how a person needs to heal themselves to be a good parent. If a person is going through struggles on their own that they have not yet healed from, this can make parenting very challenging. I also liked the focus on letting kids be their true selves. This is something that can be challenging as a parent. We may want our children to act one way and they insist on acting another. My youngest child will usually go out of his way to do the opposite of what we say or listen just enough that he can say he is following the rules. Giving him grace to be himself  can be a struggle but it is

Happily: 8 Commitments of Couples Who Laugh, Love & Last by Kevin A. Thompson is a marriage guide that offers a fresh and kind perspective. I have always taken an interest in relationship advice books and I found some good ideas in this book. As the title suggests, there are 8 sections or commitments. Within each of these different areas, the author discusses ways in which we may be hurting our marriage and what we can do to turn this around. My favorite part of each of these sections is a little paragraph titled, "practicing the commitment." In these parts, the author gives couples an idea on how they can apply the ideas that have been discussed within the section. Personally, I loved the part of the book where the author talks about the benefits of living in a small house so that  a couple can be close together and spend time with each other. I have found this to be so beneficial in my own relationship. Though a small home can see a bit crowded at times. I love spen

While I may be a little older than the demographic for Welcome to Adulting: Navigating Faith, Friendship, Finances, and the Future by Jonathan "JP" Pokluda, I feel that this would be a really helpful guide. I am in my thirties now but going through this book, I remembered many of the issues that the author discussed. One of the areas that I really resonated with was the section on interpersonal conflicts. The late teens and early twenties time period can make people very emotional. I know that I viewed things much differently than I do now and that my arguments with others were much more passionate and seemingly dire. This of course is all a part of growing up but this book discusses how to deal with others and I think this is a great guide for young adults. The author also discusses topics such as money management and dating. All of these things can be overwhelming and scary. This book walks the reader through different things that they may be experiencing in their lives

I find something sweet and wholesome about reading an Amish romance novel. The Sound of Distant Thunder by Jan Drexler was a really sweet coming of age story. This novel is set during the time of the civil war and is about a young Amish couple that are in love and ready to start their life together. I did find the beginning of this story to be a bit slow moving but I think that comes with this being a new story and all of the characters needing to be set up. As this is part of a series, the characters do not get a true end story for their romance. This is left open and I am hoping that this picks up with the next novel. I really enjoyed the time period of the civil war and reading it from a different perspective than one I had before. This had a lot of great ethical issues to think about surrounding the war. I enjoyed the character of Jonas and felt that he grew quite a bit throughout the story. I also like Katie but feel that she still has more growing to do before she will be abl