Changing Lives for Good

The Gospel ... a clarification from John Piper

"Until the gospel events of Good Friday and Easter and the gospel promises of justification and eternal life lead you to behold and embrace God himself as your highest joy, you have not embraced the gospel of God. You have embraced some of his gifts. You have rejoiced over some of his rewards. You have marveled at some of his miracles. But you have not yet been awakened to why the gifts, the rewards, and the miracles have come."  -- John Piper, God is the Gospel, pp 37-38.

John Piper is one of my all time favorite authors because he challenges me not merely to think but to find my highest joy in God. I've just started reading God is the Gospel but it is promising after only 40 pages. I'm not expecting Desiring God or God's Passion for His Glory but I'm finding Piper's familiar ring in this book and had to share the challenge above. I will definitely review it when finished but beware... I am savoring this book and not merely reading it. Thus it has to fit in to time when I am neither working or reading through Hoehner's exegetical commentary on Ephesians as I prepare for a series in January.

Book Review: The Moon Shines Down

Thomas Nelson Publishers has begun a book review blogger program where you agree to blog a review of one of their books and they will send it to you for free. Read it, review it, and then you can choose your next book. It sounded almost too good to be true but alas... it's not. For more info head over to http://brb.thomasnelson.com/.

The Moon Shines Down
By Margaret Wise Brown

Margaret Wise Brown wrote the classic and Stair family favorite Good Night Moon.So when I was presented with the opportunity to grab a free book to review I opted for the one I hoped could match Brown's classic. The book was actually recently discovered as an unfinished manuscript in a tucked away trunk with yellowed pages held together by a rusty paper clip. Laura Minchew, a Christian publisher and fan of Brown actually finished the manuscript in order to get it published.

The Moon Shines Downis an enjoyable read with the kids and it has many enjoyable characteristics. It does have the distinctive tenor of Good Night Moon but it falls short of its measure or that of Runaway Bunny, another of Margaret Wise Brown's children's books.

The girls definitely enjoyed having dad read the book to them and it's a good story. I like the fact that you can use the book to teach a little geography and talk about how God has caused His moon to shine down on everyone, everywhere. The illustrations are also helpful in identifying different animals to teach those to your kids while reading the book as well.

It was an enjoyable read but the story and rhyme was definitely forced in places. I understand the challenge of linking everything together and think that perhaps this is why is was unpublished and tucked away in a trunk. Minchew did a good job of mimicking Brown and I couldn't really single out what she had added or adapted but still, its forced in places.

Is it a classic? Probably not but it's a little unfair to judge it by Brown's published works as I have above.
Is it enjoyable? Yes.
Is it a good addition to your child's library? Yes, but you'll have to read it with them and not expect them to jump into it all by themselves since there are bigger words, country names, and even a little French "oui" (we).

For more information see the product page at Thomas Nelson by clicking this sentence.