Thursday, October 1, 2015

Win or Lose I Love You! {Book Review & Giveaway}

Recently our girls, Ellie & Livvy, have started playing soccer.  Ellie loves to get out and try new things and usually has a good attitude whether she wins or loses.  Livvy, on the other hand, has been hesitant to try sports.  When I asked her why she told me "because I'm so afraid of losing!"

I don't know about you but I can relate to Livvy much more than I can Ellie.  I remember as a young child never wanting to try things for fear of failure.  I remember being terrified of coming in last place(because I often did) or worse yet falling on my face in front of everyone.  The mere thought of it was paralyzing.

But, as evidenced by this blog, I have overcome that mindset.  I have learned that I would much rather fall flat on my face in front of everyone then to continue to hide and never try things.  There comes a point in all of our lives that we must decide if we would rather take a chance and possibly fail or sit back and watch life pass us by always wondering what could have been.  I tell my kids the pain of failure is so much less than the pain of never trying.

While I would like to give say my new found courage is me mustering all my strength to be brave that is simply not the truth.  The truth is the closer I get to God and realize how deep His love is for me, I am less afraid of what people think of me because my hope and my security is in him.  

I was excited when I was asked to review Lysa Terkeurst new book "Win or Lose I Love You!" because it addresses the heart of the issue of our attitude in winning or losing in life and finding our hope and joy in Christ.  The book uses adorable forest animals and kids, Max and Lulu, who are playing different field day games.  The characters are cute, relatable and engaging for kids of all ages. I have to admit even I could relate to the different characters.  Some of them were great sports and others not so much.  Lysa did a great job of making the forest animals come to life and teaching kids the importance of being a good winner and a good loser.

My kids have asked me to read the book to them multiple times and every time we read it something new comes to life.  I asked them each what they liked about the book and here are their responses:


Ellie(age 8): I liked that the book was fun to read and it taught me how to not be a poor winner or a poor loser.  
Livvy(age 6): I learned that if you win or lose people will still love you.  
Zeke(age 4): I liked the animals, they were funny. I learned you will love me no matter what.  

My favorite part of the book was the very last page that had 10 biblical words of wisdom(scriptures) whether you win or lose.  I had each of my kids choose the one that spoke to them most to memorize.  The girls told me these will help them next time they have a soccer game. :)

Whether your kids play sports or not, every family needs this book.  From soccer games, to board games to getting up and speaking in front of their class, my kids will never forget the life lessons learned in this book.  You can purchase your copy by clicking the image below:

Would you like to WIN a FREE copy of this book?!  Simply comment below and tell us who you would love to give this book to OR ask your kids how they know they're loved by you and share their response with us for a chance to win!

6 comments:

  1. Looks like a cute way to teach a BIG lesson. I would give this to my nephew.

    Diane
    dianemestrella at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Diane, you are the winner! Please email me at rachaeljgilbert@gmail.com with your mailing address and Tommy Nelson will send you your free copy! :)

      Delete
  2. My husband and I are expecting our first child and this would be such a great book to read to him!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds like a great was to communicate the grace of Jesus to our kids. I'd be happy to win a copy! Thanks for reviewing it to share with all of us!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This would be great for Katie. She struggles with having to do everything perfectly and gets frustrated and embarrassed if she makes a mistake or gets corrected by myself or her teachers. This would be a good way to talk about just doing your best. And not always having to win.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I would love to give this book to my nephews. They are very sports oriented and I think this book teaches kids a valuable lesson.
    marypopmom (at) yahoo (dot) com
    Merry

    ReplyDelete