Review: Creating New Life, Nurturing Families

Title: Creating New Life, Nurturing Families

Author:  Sidney Callahan

Short Description:  Digging deeply into the various dimensions of women's journeys and discussing love and marriage, sex, mothering, work and transforming joy amidst suffering, Callahan shows how a woman's commitment to the well-being of her husband and children is a participation in the very life of the Trinity.

Review: This book was a hard read for me. It has "feminism" and "feminine" terms in relation to God that I am not familiar with.  Seeing I was unfamiliar with these terms it made reading very difficult. I didn't know how to process this or how to understand it in relation to authentic Catholicism. I had to put the book down and research feminism within the Church.

I found some interesting articles on the Vatican's website regarding "Christ Our Mother". (One of the feminine terms used in the book.) I'm still NOT comfortable with the terminology, but reading the Vatican's site and other writings have helped me to digest the book more and get a better understanding.

Besides the terminology, I actually like the format of the book. The chapters themselves, if you can look pass the terminology, are thought provoking. I like how each chapter ends with food for thought questions.

This book is defiantly NOT for the average reader because of the feminine terminology. This is better suited for someone that has a deeper understanding in theology, Catholic Spirituality, and Mystics such as Julian (Juliana) of Norwich . It's definitely only for one that is STRONG in Faith.

If you're interested in learning more about Creating New Life, Nurturing Families then be sure to check out the Catholic Company. For more reviews about this or other products from other bloggers then please click here.

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of Creating New Life, Nurturing Families by the Catholic Company in order to write my honest opinion of this product for this review.

Review: Christians Courageous

Title: Christians Courageous

Author: Rev. Aloysius Roche

Short Description: True tales of 14 believers who defied the savage Roman emperors and evaded assassins sent by them; confronted Attila the Hun unarmed, saving Rome from destruction by his Mongol hordes; repelled bloodthristy Moslem invaders of Europe; overcame the deadly Druids; risked death to carry the Sacraments to souls with crippling disease; and --to preach the gospel to souls in the remotest regions --climbed even to the roof of the world!

Review: I got this book because when I was looking at it on the Catholic Company's site I noticed these words:

"Here you’ll read about, among others: The Irish monk who crossed the Sea of Darkness to discover America."

I was excited to see this, because at that time my kids and I were studying about St. Brendan and I thought to myself. "That must be St. Brendan they are referring too. This book just might be a great book to have for reference when it comes to Saints". So I was excited and I couldn't wait to get this book!

The book came, I ripped open the package, and immediately starting to comb the book looking for the bit about St. Brendan, after all that's who we were studying about. I was eager to learn more about this Saint. I was eager to share more with the kids.

That was the end of my eagerness! I was disappointed because first and forth most the chapters are not labeled by the Saint's name. So it took me a few times to find the correct chapter.

Once I found it I was disappointed on what I was reading. It seemed to be random content and there was no real flow to the content. No matter how hard I tried. I just couldn't stay engaged in this book. I simply found it boring. The author would share things that I felt were out of place or off topic. I just didn't like this book and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't read it; completely that is.

I tried several times, but I just couldn't stay engaged. I wasn't liking the book, thus I didn't want to read more. There isn't much more to say. I just was disappointed.

If you're interested in learning more about Christians Courageous then be sure to check out the Catholic Company. For more reviews about this or other products from other bloggers then please click here. 

Disclosure: I was given a free copy of Christians Courageous by the Catholic Company in order to write my honest opinion of this product for this review.

Review: Come and See Genesis

Title: Come and See Genesis

Author: Fr. Joseph Ponessa, S.S.D., Laurie Manhardt

Short Description: This presents the 50 chapters of Genesis in a 22 chapter, easy to use, workbook complete with commentary, questions, and guide on how to present the material in a group study setting. The Come and See series is especially designed for families to do together and is ideal for use in the classroom, home study, or parish catechesis program.

Review: One of the very first things I do when I get a book of this nature is to check for a Nihil Obstat and an Imprimatur. I was very pleased to see that Come and See Genesis had both! This material is fit and sound and in line with the Church teachings, which is very important when taking on a Bible study.

The book is an easy to use workbook that is written in a very simple, clear, but yet educational format. The questions at the end of the chapters are good discussion starters and add value to the study especially in a group setting. I should add at this point that you will need a Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to go along with this study; however this should be no surprise to anyone that is serious about studying the Bible. If you do not have a "Catholic" Bible or Catechism of the Catholic Church then one can be bought through the Catholic Company.

According to the description the Come and See Series is especially designed for families to do together. This statement is true if your children are, in my opinion, 13 and older. My kids are younger and this material, even though it's written in a clear and simple format, is beyond what they are be able to handle or comprehend, because of their young age.

I was disappointed that I was not able to share this with my children. On the other hand if your children are older (13 and up) this could easily be used as a family study. If you homeschool this could easily be used as your religion curriculum for your Jr High to High School age students. I recommend, at this time, that each student or person participating in this study has their own copy of this workbook.

If you're interested in learning more about Come And See Genesis then be sure to check out the Catholic Company. For more reviews about this or other products from other bloggers then please click here.

Disclosure: I was given a free copy of Come and See Genesis by the Catholic Company in order to write my honest opinion of this product for this review.

REVIEW: Paul In A Basket

Title: Paul in a Basket Musical Adventure For Kids (CD)

Author: Rob Evans, the Donut Man

Short Description: An audio CD of 10 stories and 10 songs that highlights the the life and teachings of St. Paul in a kid-friendly format.

Review: This is very upbeat, energetic, get-out-your-dance-shoes type of music. The kids and I were up dancing and singing along in a VERY short time. We really enjoy the music and any child from the ages of 3-10 will too.

Even though it is geared for kids, I played it for myself while working on the computer. The music is really good and the message throughout is very uplifting and true to Scripture. Many of the songs and stories quote Scripture so this could be useful for bible lessons in a homeschooling environment. I believe that many Christian-Homeschoolers, regardless of creed or denomination, would find this to be a good way to help teach their kids about the life and teachings of St. Paul.

The differences between the children's CD and the director's CD is that the director's version comes with instrumental tracks and other resources that you would need to put on a musical.

I've reviewed the director's notes for the hour long musical. At first I found the director's notes to be a little confusing. However, once I became familiar with the CD and the songs the director's notes started to make sense to me. So in order to make the most out of the director's notes I highly suggest listening to the songs BEFORE reviewing the director's notes. Once you are familiar with the songs you'll find the director's notes easier to follow.

According to the director's notes this hour long musical would work best with 15-30 children on stage. I think any homeschooling, church, or youth group that has that many kids could easily put on this one hour long musical if they were inclined to do so. The props for the musical are very simple and can be done inexpensively which is a MAJOR plus for homeschooling groups (and church groups) that are often on a tight budget.

Regarding the age range for the production: I would say kids ages 6-10 would enjoy putting on this musical. Children 10-12 may enjoy it too, but that really would depend on the individual child. I find it hard to picture a child older then 12 being on stage, but I'm sure that they would enjoy watching along with any parent, grandparent, or beloved adult.

If your child is familiar with Rob Evans' past work, then they may be disappointed that he does not use his Donut Man persona in this work. Also Duncan, the talking donut, is not present. However, the music is so great that it would not matter in the long run!!

If you are interested in learning more about Paul In A Basket then be sure to check out the Catholic Company. For more reviews on this and other products from other bloggers then please click here.

Disclosure: I was given a free coy of Paul In A Basket by the Catholic Company in order write to my honest opinion of this product for this review.

The Catholic Company

I'm currently a product reviewer for the Catholic Company. This is something NEW for me! I'm very excited to be able to do this. I will be writing reviews for the Catholic Company and they will be posted here on "Catholic Christian Homeschooling" blog. My FIRST review will be posted in June 2009.