When I first read last week of Jim Andrew’s book Polishing God’s Monuments via Tim Challies’ review, I decided to be spontaneous and order it immediately. After all, it’s not every day that an uber-prolific Christian blogger and book reviewer says of a book something of this sort:

As I closed the cover on this book, 294 pages (yet only one day) after beginning, it struck me that this is undoubtedly one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. I skimmed back through my files to see how many other books I’ve read in 2007 and can see that it is at least sixty or seventy. So it’s no small thing to realize that this is one of the best. I simply can’t recommend Polishing God’s Monuments too highly.

I received the book yesterday in the mail.

Now, twenty-four hours later (and the same 294 pages), I can say with Tim Challies that this is indeed one of the best books I’ve read ever.

At the risk of redundancy (having linked to Tim’s very thorough review above), let me offer a few reflections in the hopes of persuading you to purchase this soul-strengthening and riveting book.

Polishing God’s Monuments is both a biographical narrative and a Biblical treatise on suffering. I’d previously suggested to friends that D.A. Carson’s How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil was the best book I’d ever read on the subject of suffering. Without necessarily comparing the two, I’d say that Polishing God’s Monuments has an authenticity and element that makes it stand out. How so? The book seeks to present a “strategy” for coping with the suffering that is inevitable in this life for all of us who live in this sin-stained world. The title hints at what pastor and former seminary professor Jim Andrews refers to as “monumental faith,” which, in short, is learning to make it a point to hold onto past evidences of God’s faithfulness in order to endure present (and ongoing) trials. He develops this idea in the context of the last two decades of his life, during which his daughter and son-in-law have undergone unbelievable and agonizing ongoing, chronic, and debilitating medical problems — which have taken no small toll on their respective parents — and somehow (by God’s grace) survived with their faith intact, even though their health challenges very much remain.

I don’t want to say too much more about the narrative, at the risk of taking away the full impact of the book. I will say that Andrews provides a very heartfelt and accessible presentation of Biblical evidence for reasons to trust in God’s sovereignty and goodness, and ways that we can in our weak sin-laden flesh learn to cling to those truths no matter how severe or light our afflictions may be. He is neither overly “academic” in his presentation, nor hopelessly colloquial that the reader would fail to see the strong Biblical underpinnings of his exhortation to live a “monumental faith.” (He even addresses the horridly sad implications of recent trends above evangelicals to accept the unhelpful theology of “open theism” with respect to enduring true suffering).

Probably the most succinct praise I could offer of this book is that it manages to combine solid Biblical & theological reflection on how to endure suffering with engaging storyline of real-life struggles with suffering, all in a very readable and understandable fashion. Andrews manages to thread that difficult path of showing us how our “creeds” can and do truly affect our deeds, and not merely describe one without addressing the other.

As he opens the book, Andrews mentions that he especially has in mind readers who are enduring suffering. But he continues later on to remind us that sufferings and trials are supposed to be normal for the Christian. He helpfully argues that if we think otherwise (especially in our very comfortable American modern civilization) we are not only deceived and out of sorts with the words of Jesus, but we will be very ill-prepared for the sufferings that will come our way. After reading the book, I was deeply impressed by the importance of not living for comfort, but for eternity. And how easily the former will distract us from the latter. As Andrews suggested, Christians are saved not to seek mere comfort, but to seek conformity to Christ; and it’s primarily through trials that we grow stronger in this direction.

As I made my way through this book, I thought of dear friends who have endured chronic diseases over the past several years, and have an inclination to purchase extra copies to gift to them. Not so much, in their cases, because I think they haven’t demonstrated faithfulness. But as a marker to thank them for the testimony they have been to me of trusting God amidst suffering and pain, in the hopes of bringing them encouragement. I thank God for this sobering yet hope-filled book, for it did not only present a story of suffering, but a firm and strong reminder of God’s sovereign and gracious workings amidst all of our sufferings.

In short, buy this book. Read this book. Be helped, be encouraged, be prepared.

Books Children Love: A Guide to the Best Children’s Literature by Elizabeth Wilson is a wonderful resource to have when searching for good books for your children. I am a firm believer in reading good books and I am happy to find an author who shares my vision. This book was modeled after a British educator Charlotte Mason’s teaching philosophy in the 1900’s. Charlotte Mason favored “living books,” i.e. books that are of quality, value, engaging, and not dumbed down. Mrs. Wilson spent a year researching quality books and compiled into a guide.

This book is organized according to the following topics:

1. Animals: Domestic animals, pets, zoo animals
2. Art and architecture
3. Bible/spiritual and moral teaching
4. Biography
5. Celebration days and seasons
6. Crafts, hobbies, and domestic arts
7. Dance, drama, and other performances
8. Growing plants - outdoors and indoors
9. History and geography
10. Humor
11. Language
12. Literature: level I, II, and III, anthologies, poetry and rhymes
13. Mathematics
14. Music
15. Nature, science, and technology
16. Outdoor activities
17. Physical education and organized games
18. Reference and research/study skills
19. Special needs

I have already used this guide to look for wonderful books for my children to read. With the help of this guide, I look forward to finding more book treasures in the future with my children.

Recently my son and I read RC Sproul’s The King Without a Shadow. The story begins with a little boy asking a king about why people have shadows, which leads the king to ponder on the subject. Through his wise men and the “man in the cave,” the king comes to know the Great King without a shadow.

There are many parallels in this book to Sproul’s classic book The Holiness of God. The Great King, i.e. God, has no physical shadows, nor any blemish or darkness. The story is very engaging and the illustrations are superb. This book has a lot of biblical truth about God and his holiness, and Sproul presents it in a very readable format for a child to understand. I really appreciate this book because not only does the child enjoy reading the story, the child also learns the accurate truth about God. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Recently we started reading Sally Lloyd-Jones’ The Jesus Storybook Bible and I was quite pleasantly surprised by this book. Like The Big Picture Story Bible I recently reviewed, Lloyd-Jones’ book uses a thematic approach in telling stories from the Old Testament to the New Testament. The flow of each story or character in the Bible is skillfully tied together. This storybook indeed lives up to its subtitle: “Every story whispers his name.” Jones underlying goal is to convey that the Bible is about Jesus and His redemptive work for the human race, and this is exactly what this storybook accomplishes.

The only complaint I have with this book is the writing style, which is a bit too vernacular for my personal taste, especially when it comes to writing about the Bible. One example is the fight between Goliath and the Israelites where Goliath taunted God’s people with the following:

“Chickens!” Goliath bellowed. “Your God can’t save you! I’ll rip your heads off and have you on toast!” (p. 123)

Another example is of King David:

Did you know that David was a songwriter, too? In fact his songs were so good, they might have been in the top 40 charts (if they’d been invented then). (p. 130)

There is nothing wrong with the content, but it is just a bit too contemporary for my taste. I just can’t imagine a Philistine like Goliath calling the Israelites “chickens.” I’m sure Goliath called them something in the similar fashion, but the language used seems to belong in the 20th century American playground rather in the historical event in the Biblical time period. I understand that this is a children’s storybook which explains the writing style. However, my five-year-old son doesn’t quite understand the cultural reference, and these references are likely to mean little to those not immersed in American culture.

Besides the above personal preference difference, I really enjoy this book and would recommend it.

One of the best story bibles for children that we’ve come across is The Big Picture Story Bible. This book is written along the lines of “Biblical Theology”, i.e., reading the Bible from a redemptive-historical rather than just a grammatical-historical context. In other words, it presents various accounts of Biblical history set in the broader context of God’s redemptive purposes throughout history, from Genesis to Revelation, with special emphasis on God’s crowning achievement of redeeming His people through Jesus Christ. Most Bible storybooks simply retell of various Bible characters and stories in a disconnected fashion, often in a fairly moralistic fashion (”what can we learn from [fill in Bible character]”). This book instead strives to help the reader understand that all of history is connected to God’s redemptive purposes and a consistent thread that repeats itself in God’s dealings with man: “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.”

The book is laid out attractively for a youngster. Each page has a very colorful picture with several lines of the story. We have been enjoying reading this book for some time now, and at point we even had my husband record sections of this book just so my son could listen to it during his quiet time. We really appreciate the thematic approach of this book because even as adults we rarely see or read the Bible as a whole. While reading the Bible in sections is good, we often fail to see the overall redemptive story of Jesus Christ from the Old Testament to the New Testament. So, without any reservation, we recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Wise Words for Moms is a five-page booklet by Ginger Plowman. It’s primarily a chart that is designed for addressing each of 22 offenses (i.e. lying, complaining, whining, disobedience) done by the child.   When a child does something wrong, you first identify the problem under “Child’s Behavior” column, then you look under the “Heart Probing” column for questions to ask your child. An example of lying would be “Do you know who the father of lies is? Who do you want as your Father? Do you think lying honors your Father (God) and your family?” After asking such questions, you move on to the “Reproof (”Put Off”)” section where you address the specific sin.

As an example, in the case of lying/deceit, the reproof is “Lying damages your relationship with your family and God hates a lying tongue - so you must ‘put off’ lying. Ephesians 4:25, Proverbs 6:17.” We then move on to the next column of “Encouragement (’Put On’)” where you encourage your child to put on what is acceptable to God. The example is “Truthfulness. The Lord delights in those who are truthful. Proverbs 12:22.” If you wish to look up more verses addressing this specific sin, you can reference in the “Additional Verses” column.

This booklet is especially helpful to remind me that we should work hard at employing God’s Word in our discipline, and not merely correct errant behavior but encourage God-honoring behavior and heart attitudes as well.  I heartily recommend this helpful resource.

A month ago, I was intrigued by Dr. Albert Mohler’s review of The Dangerous Book for Boys and knew that this was a book I would want for my boys. Before I could obtain a copy, Tim Challies wrote another review. While shopping at my local Costco the other day, I saw it on the book table. I was excited and bought a copy. So, what do I think of it?

First off, I really like the cloth / hardback binding and the golden letter etching. It reminds me of a very old and treasured book. I browsed through the entire book and was quite impressed by the wealth of information it contained. It is no wonder that it’s a bestseller in Britain and in the States. Not only did the authors write about making go-carts and tree houses, they insisted that boys need to know some of the fine arts such as grammar, Latin phrases, poems, and Shakespeare.

The authors explained that this is a “dangerous” book only because it required the boys to get up and do something instead of sitting on the couch playing video games. This is a book for boys and the recommended age is eight and up. Even though my oldest is only five, we were able to do some of the activities in the book such as playing a round of table football and making paper airplanes. My son was very excited about this book and kept on asking me to do more activities. He told his father that he wanted to make a catapult and a go-cart. One caveat of purchasing this book is that the parents have to be involved. As much as we want to encourage our kids to love the outdoors, we need to be involved in the process as well. Many of the activities require parental partnership. I am all for it because it builds relationships. When the boys get older, I am sure my husband will love to build something with them. I recommend this book without reservation.