Book Review: Women of Worth by Bethany Frymire

In Women of Worth, Bethany Frymire gets to the heart of how we think about money. She’s down to earth, genuine, and refreshingly open about her own journey. The writing is engaging and at times even entertaining (how many finance books can say that?). While she offers sound, practical financial advice, the book goes much deeper, addressing identity, faith, and viewing money through the lens of stewardship over all aspects of life.

Reading the book feels like sitting down with a wise and fun friend over coffee or lunch. Bethany is especially relatable to busy moms juggling a hundred responsibilities and comes across not just as a financial expert, but rather a trusted friend who can help guide you along your journey with money. She doesn’t just talk the talk, she lives out the principles and illustrates them through stories from her own life.

Throughout the book, you get the strong impression that she knows God deeply and regularly seeks His guidance. Biblical wisdom is woven through the book in a beautiful tapestry that connects financial decisions with broader areas of life.

While the book is written primarily with women in mind, men can learn a great deal from the stories and practical financial guidance it contains not to mention gain insight into the women in their lives.

The stories of people Bethany has worked with bring the principles to life. She touches on issues such as overcoming debt and shame, bucket budgeting, incorporating your values into your investment strategy without sacrificing performance, charitable giving and how it shapes both your finances and your heart, maintaining a “God owns it all” mindset, and teaching children and young adults how to manage money wisely.

This book is a valuable resource filled with practical steps for anyone who wants to manage their finances with Biblical wisdom and a stewardship mindset. I highly recommend it!

You can also connect with me on Goodreads to check out more reviews and recommendations. 

Book Review: Watership Down by Richard Adams

Watership Down by Richard Adams is a delightful and in parts quite exciting story about the adventures of a group of rabbits who strike out on their own after misgivings about danger in their warren. They encounter lots of dangers and uncertainties as they search for a new home. Some of these come from traditional enemies like predators, men, and weather but also other rabbits which provides lots of drama, mystery, and excitement. At several points in the story they share folklore tales of a rabbit named El-arairah who functions a little like Br’er Rabbit from Uncle Remus stories but with a bit more leadership of all rabbits. They also have their own language with a number of words used throughout the book.

I really enjoyed the character development of Hazel and his steady leadership throughout the book. Bigwig’s mission to Efrafa was like a mini spy story and I liked how he was the featured character for that section along with the battles they engaged in. Fiver was a bit mysterious but seemed settled and accepted in his role as a sort of prophet or seer by the end. General Woundwort was a primary antagonist and it was an interesting examination of a totalitarian and tyrannical system of governing. Kehaar the seagull was a fun addition to the cast with his brash sometimes laid back style and a loyal ally to the rabbits. 

For a story that Adams said was originally made up to entertain his daughters, there was a very male focus with all of the main characters being male and their society oriented in a patriarchal system with the females having minor docile roles that seem only there to serve the interests of the male characters. Adams seemed to try to slightly address this in one paragraph that I could see but didn’t really hold water for me. There’s also a strong militaristic orientation of the rabbits from a hierarchical perspective which could have been drawn from Adams’ experience in World War II.

There’s been question of whether or not this is a children’s book and in my thinking, you’d probably want the reader to be at least late elementary to middle school age due to the intensity of parts of the story though a discerning parent could either skip or guide a younger child through some of the more intense parts.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the adventures that the bunnies went on. It’s a classic in personified animal stories. They have well developed systems of thinking and acting which are interesting to read and think about how animals perceive the world and what their concerns, hopes, and dreams are. You might even learn a thing or two about rabbits.

If you found this review helpful and want to give it a thumbs up on Goodreads, I’d be glad to connect at this link.

The Slinky Song by Andrew Robert Allen

Sometimes the simplest lyrics and melodies connect with a 3 year old in a way that you'd never expect. This is a hit at our house.

 

This is the slinky song it isn't very long

This is the slinky song it isn't very long

Slinky, Slinky, Slinky, Slinky, Slinky, Slinky 

This is the slinky song it isn't very long