She did WHAT??

I never win anything. It's not sad, just a fact. I enter giveaways. I never win.
I was reading my favorite blog, When You Rise, and briefly scanned through her list of winners for different books that she was giving away. I noticed my name. Well, the "Laurel" caught my eye. Because, #1, is my name and #2, it's not very common. But alas, it wasn't me, it was "Laurel C." But I did go back and look at that because that used to be my name...my maiden is Cowser (there's some trivia for any of you who didn't know that and care to know...as if I have any readers who aren't family or close friends that already know that! ha! I shouldn't flatter myself so!). Anyway, I did think it was an interesting coincidence, but figured that once again I didn't win. No big deal. Then I got an email a few days later saying that if I didn't reply w/ the address that I wanted my book mailed to, my book would be given to someone else. WHAT? I actually did win? And I missed the first email telling me that I was chosen! Too crazy! I must have logged in w/ my FB acct to register for the giveaway and my FB name has my maiden name.
But that is not the reason for the title of this post! While it is unbelievable to me that I won a giveaway, the more unbelievable thing is that the book that I won is the personal story of how a mother read the whole Bible to her children ages 4 yrs old down to 9 months old.
SHE DID WHAT??
Read one chapter a day out loud TO HER CHILDREN. Not her high school children. Not her middle school children. Not her elementary children. Her children that were all preschool age and younger when they began. It took 5 years to read the whole Bible through...the first time...and then they did it again!!!
I had heard the title of this book in passing from different social media sites, blogs, radio, etc. I put it on my ever growing Amazon and Paper Back Swap Wish lists. I had forgotten about it as books like "The Strong-Willed Child" and "Homeschooling With a Meek and Quiet Spirit" were more on my pressing "to-read-now" list.
But then I won a free copy of this book about a mother who read the WHOLE Bible OUT LOUD to her KIDS!!
I love books, I love to hold them, to read them, to re-read them. I like the "new-book" smell. I'm usually reading at least 3 books at a time stashed at different places in the house. The reading goes ALOT slower now as I can usually only read a chapter at a time w/o being interrupted or needed...not to mention the sense of responsibility that overwhelms me and makes me stop "doing nothing" to go do housework or clean or play w/ the kids.
So, of course, I started reading this book right away! It's a smaller/shorter book with cute embellishments on many pages and a nice cover of a bird and her baby chicks. The chapters are short enough to read in about 5 minutes. The author is very personable, very real, transparent, and just overall likable! She doesn't hide the bad and the ugly. She portrays the good times and the hard times.
Here is one of my favorite parts of the book:
I prayed these two requests almost every morning of the whole five years of our first reading of the Bible. "Lord, allow my children and me to remember more than we think we are capable of remembering. And Lord, let us understand more than we think we are capable of understanding. Help us to believe what we read today and give us the desire and strength to obey Your commands. Use Your Word to transform us into the image of Christ.

I am convicted. I am excited. I want to do this. I can do this. I know it's important to teach the Word to my children, so why not start my "teaching" with reading straight from the Bible. Not a Kids Bible Story with picture version, but my Bible. Instead of them just seeing me read my Bible to myself silently. I need to read it out loud to them as well!
Together: Growing Appetites for God by Carrie Ward
I recommend this book hands down! I added it to my "favorites" on my bookshelf to the right side of the blog. (if you are reading this in an email or viewer, you will have to click over to the website here to see the bookshelf)