My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal - Review

My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal: Daily Blessings and Bible Verses for Kids

By: Pia Imperial

Publication: January 9, 2024 by Grosset & Dunlap

80 pages

Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction, Religious, Christian, Devotional & Prayer

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The perfect first journal for young ones beginning their journey of faith.

Complete with devotional prayers and daily bible verses, this thoughtfully designed journal encourages kids to be grateful for all the blessings in their life.

I started homeschooling my two oldest children this year. And one of the things I want to work with them both on is being grateful. In our home, we are blessed far above what we deserve. We don't deserve all that much. And yet, because we don't lack much of what we need or want, we often take for granted the blessings of life that God has given us. I want my children to be mindful and aware of all they have. So when I saw My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal, I knew I wanted to grab it for my kids to try out. My daughter is 8, and my son is 6. He's only in kindergarten right now, so doing this gratitude journal is a lot of writing for him. I ultimately decided that he doesn't have to fill it in yet, but it will be something I want him to do in the future. My daughter has been doing it every day.

There's a place for the date, a range of smiley-frowny faces the child can choose from for their mood of the day, and a section that says "I'm thankful for _____ because ________________." The gratitude journal also has a section for three blessings the day has brought and a Bible verse for the day or a moment of reflection with a question to be answered.

My daughter doesn't always enjoy filling this in, but as with children, they don't always know what's best for them. And even adults don't always want to do the things that are good for us either. I require her to continue to fill it in even if she doesn't want to. But for the most part, she's learned that this is just a part of her day, and she doesn't fight it. I've been interested in seeing what she's thankful for. It's also allowed us to discuss doing a task to the best of our abilities versus just trying to complete it so we can mark it off the list of things to do. But again, even adults don't always do their tasks at level 100 every time. Some days she impresses me with what she writes that she's thankful for that particular day.

I do hesitate to call this a prayer journal. We certainly should make sure not only that we're noting the things we're grateful for, but that we're also thanking God for those things in prayer. Yet, I don't see much in the way of prompting the child to do so. There are prompts in the moments of reflection that ask the child questions to make them think, and sometimes it tells them to write about an experience or how we can show our love to God. I wish there was a little more prompting to pray and offer thanksgiving to God in the daily layout. But I also understand they have limited space to utilize.

My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal is a good starting place for creating a daily habit in your child's life of looking for things to be grateful for. I like Scripture included in every other day's format. Every day would be even better. I do wish there was a more directed approach to guiding the child in prayer prompts. But as I said, this is a good first step. I would love to see this company offer a step up in the process as a second book option which would be a little more detailed. I see big benefits from doing this, and I love starting the kids young. I would recommend My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal for others starting their kids in this habit. I give My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal 4 Stars. I would give it 5 if there was more prompting to pray or guidance for the children in that area. Have you read or used My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal? If so, what did you think? Let me know!

The Power of a Praying Husband - Review

The Power of a Praying Husband

By: Stormie Omartian

Published: April 1st 2014 by Harvest House Publishers (first published July 28th 2001)

272 pages

Genre: Religious, Christian, Spirituality, Self-Help

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!!), Husband owns an earlier version

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Stormie Omartian's bestselling The Power of a Praying series (more than 23 million copies sold) is rereleased with fresh new covers and new material to reach a still-growing market of readers eager to discover the power of prayer for their lives.

In this deluxe edition of The Power of a Praying Husband, beautifully bound with a padded cover, Stormie helps you pray even more effectively for your wife. By sharing stories and examples from her own marriage, she shares how you can intercede for your wife in areas where she longs for your prayers, especially in her priorities emotions motherhood fears sexuality.

With comments from well-known Christian men and a foreword by Stormie's husband, multi-Grammy winning music producer Michael Omartian, this is the perfect gift for any man wanting to develop the discipline of prayer.

I think just about any woman who makes it through The Power of a Praying Wife will find herself curious about The Power of a Praying Husband. Just what does Stormie Omartian tell my husband to pray for me about? At least that’s how it was for me. I read and loved The Power of a Praying Wife and many of Stormie Omartian’s other books. I love the topic-focused prayer approached that Mrs. Omartian takes in her books. Each one has brought some new “treasure” or “gold nugget” (as my dad would say) for me and my prayer life.

That being said, I do have to admit that The Power of a Praying Husband has been the book I’ve connected with the least out of all the others I’ve read—minus The Power of a Praying Church. I feel like this is because this book isn’t directed towards me as I’m not a husband. I can definitely see that if my husband were praying the prayers for me that Mrs. Omartian outlines and if he were covering all of the aspects of my life that she focuses on I would feel the deep impacts of those prayers as would he. I tried to approach the book as another stepping stone towards growing myself individually and I did to an extent, but I kept getting pulled out of this book because of the book being address to husbands. I almost feel like it’s unfair for me to even rate the book given this, but I still know that The Power of a Praying Husband could be an extremely effective teaching tool and useful for husbands everywhere to dive deeper in their prayer lives, specifically in relation to covering their wives and marriages in prayer.

I don’t have much else to say about The Power of a Praying Husband. There were parts I was “amening” in regards to the picture of a typical woman that Mrs. Omartian paints. I did notice the increased sports metaphors in this book geared at helping men think and understand in their own terms. Yet my husband isn’t a sports fan—like at all—so I don’t think he’d relate much to those metaphors. However, so many other men out there probably will.

Some of my favorite quotes:

-Without prayer, the success of our marriages depend on our own wisdom and effort.

-“It’s not a matter of who needs to change; it’s a matter of who is willing to change.”

-Whatever you don’t pray about in your life you leave up to chance.

-Our flesh takes over when we decide to be self-centered instead of self-sacrificing.

-If God has asked you to pray for your enemies, how much more does He want you to pray for the person you are supposed to love and with whom you have become one?

I didn’t spend much focused time on the study guide portion of the book because this was again not focused toward me as a woman, but based on a skim it looks like a good tool to utilize. As always, there are some differences in my beliefs and Mrs. Omartian’s. I say this every single time, but search the Scripture for all the answers. Anything you need to know can be found there.

All in all, The Power of a Praying Husband was a good read from the perspective of a wife. I’d give this one 3.5 Stars. Have you read The Power of a Praying Husband? What did you think? Let me know!

The Power of a Prayer to Change Your Marriage
The Power of a Praying Church
The Power of a Praying Kid
The Power of a Praying Parent
The Power of a Praying Wife
The Power of a Praying Woman

The Power of a Praying Parent - Review

The Power of a Praying Parent

By: Stormie Omartian

Published: April 1st 2014 by Harvest House Publishers (first published July 1st 1995)

224 pages

Genre: Religious, Christian, Spirituality, Self-Help

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Stormie Omartian's bestselling The Power of a Praying series (more than 23 million copies sold) is rereleased with fresh new covers and new material to reach a still-growing market of readers eager to discover the power of prayer for their lives.

This beautiful padded hardcover edition of The Power of a Praying Parent (2 million copies sold) will surely find a new home in the lives of Stormie Omartian's worldwide audience.

After decades of raising her son and daughter alongside her husband, Michael, Stormie looks back at the trials and joys of parenting and the power found in praying for her children. In these easy-to-read chapters, she shares from personal experience how you can pray for your kids' safety character development school experiences marriage and so much more.

Stormie's now grown-up children, Christopher and Amanda, reflect on the way their praying parents raised them--and what a difference it made.

Perfect for new moms and dads as well as those a little further along in the journey, The Power of a Praying Parent is a must-have for anyone caring for a child.

I'm not a parent yet, but Husband and I are getting close to expanding our family. So when the opportunity came up to read and review The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian, I jumped on it without thinking twice. I can't give you testimony of how these prayers have worked to change my children's lives because I just don't have children yet, but throughout her other books, Stormie Omartian has taught me that I don't have to wait until prayers are needed over a specific topic in order to begin lifting that subject up in prayer. I can begin by praying preventative prayers. And that's what I did while reading through The Power of a Praying Parent.

And yet, while I might not have children of my own to pray for them to attract and maintain Godly friends and role models or to live free of unforgiveness, I do know several young children that these prayers are needed in their lives. While I was reading The Power of a Praying Parent and praying preventative prayers for my future children, I was also praying over these subjects for the children that are already in my life, specifically my nieces and nephews.

I've discussed many times how much Stormie Omartian has taught me about prayer, and I've asked myself if it's truly necessary to read each of her books. I'm not sure it's necessary per se. Stormie Omartian does cover some of the same topics, stories, and messages in each of these books, but I've realized that repetition is good for me. It's necessary for my growth, because I forget so frequently the truths about prayer that she covers. I have also found that while she has taught me with each book how to pray specific, focused prayers, Stormie Omartian also presents a new way of looking at things for me, and she spells things out for me in a way that makes me think and challenge myself.

As per always, The Power of a Praying Parent is a guide with great principles that will point you back to Source. God's Word is the ultimate pattern and truth. Everything that Stormie Omartian discusses must be compared against God's Word. But ultimately, I think The Power of a Praying Parent is a must read for all parents and potential parents. Starting your child's life off with focused prayer is the best way to ensure they grow into all that God has for them throughout their lives.

The Power of a Praying Parent gets 4.5 Stars from me. Have you read The Power of a Praying Parent? What did you think? Let me know!

Other reviews of Stormie Omartian's books:
The Power of a Praying Wife
The Power of a Praying Woman & Upon Further Review: The Power of a Praying Woman
The Power of a Praying Kid
The Power of a Praying Church
The Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage

Upon Further Review: The Power of a Praying Woman

Upon Further Review is an original feature here at Somewhere Only We Know. I have always loved re-reading my favorite books, and I wanted a way to incorporate re-reading into my blog. Thus From the Ashes and Upon Further Review were born. From the Ashes is where I re-read a book that I have never reviewed before and finally review it. Upon Further Review is where I re-read a book that I've already reviewed and see if my original rating stands or not. This is also the time for me to discuss any new revelations that my latest re-read has brought to my attention.

Here's my original review of The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian.

The Power of a Praying Woman

By: Stormie Omartian

Expected Publication: April 1st 2014 by Harvest House Publishers (first published 2002)

256 pages

Genre: Religious, Christian, Spirituality, Self-Help

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!!), I also own an earlier edition

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Stormie Omartian's bestselling The Power of a Praying series (more than 23 million copies sold) is rereleased with fresh new covers and new material to reach a still-growing market of readers eager to discover the power of prayer for their lives.

This brand-new padded deluxe edition of Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Woman (more than 1.7 million copies sold) is beautiful and lasting, designed for years of reading and reference.

If you desire to be a praying woman with a strong and fruitful prayer life, you will find someone to walk with you on your way there in Stormie's book written for the feminine heart. Stormie uses personal illustrations, carefully selected Scriptures, and heartfelt prayers to help you develop a vision for your future avoid a pray-and-run existence find wholeness and completeness in God's embrace.

For the millions of women familiar with Stormie's other life-changing books on prayer, this deluxe release is a must-have keepsake. For mothers, sisters, aunts, and friends, it's a gift that offers the promise of a closer walk with God.

Several years ago I had a realization that while being told to pray all of my life, my prayer life was indeed pitiful. At that point in my life I made a conscious effort to work on my prayer life and grow my intimate relationship with my God and Father. Stormie Omartian's books have helped me so much on my journey. The Power of a Praying Wife was the first book that I picked up by her and was impressed by the idea of spending time in focused prayer on one topic. Up until this point, I'd always tried to cover EVERY topic in every prayer, but The Power of a Praying Wife taught me this wasn't the correct path to pursuing a deeper and more intimate relationship with my God, but instead showed me that I had a checklist mentality and just needed to check off every area that needed to be covered in prayer.

After reading The Power of a Praying Wife, I read The Power of a Praying Woman for the first time, and this book blew me away. Stormie Omartian covered so many topics and focused areas in my life in need of prayer that I didn't even realize were in such desperate need. You can find a table of contents online, but I wanted to share the chapter topics here with you now just to illustrate all the areas that she concentrates on: Lord, Draw Me into a Closer Walk with You; Lord, Cleanse Me and Make My Heart Right Before You; Lord, Help Me to Be a Forgiving Person; Lord, Teach Me to Walk in Obedience to Your Ways; Lord, Strengthen Me to Stand Against the Enemy; Lord, Show Me How to Take Control of My Mind; Lord, Rule Me in Every Area of My Life; Lord, Take Me Deeper in Your Word; Lord, Instruct Me as I Put My Life in Right Order; Lord, Prepare Me to Be a True Worshiper; Lord, Bless Me in the Work I Do; Lord, Plant Me so I Will Bear the Fruit of Your Spirit; Lord, Preserve Me in Purity and Holiness; Lord, Move Me into the Purpose for Which I Was Created; Lord, Guide Me in All My Relationships; Lord, Keep Me in the Center of Your Will; Lord, Give Me Wisdom to Make Right Decisions; Lord, Deliver Me from Every Evil Work; Lord, Set Me Free from Negative Emotions; Lord, Comfort Me in Times of Trouble; Lord, Enable Me to Resist the Temptation to Sin; Lord, Heal Me and Help Me Care for My Body; Lord, Free Me from Ungodly Fear; Lord, Train Me to Speak Only Words That Bring Life; Lord, Transform Me into a Woman of Mountain Moving Faith; Lord, Change Me into the Likeness of Christ; Lord, Remind Me That My Greatest Need Is Always for More of You; Lord, Lift Me out of My Past; Lord, Lead Me into the Future You Have For Me.

You guys, I highlighted so much in this book. At least every chapter held some gem that corrected some of my thinking, showed me a new insight, or was some other kind of "gold nugget" as my dad would say. Stormie Omartian says that the "deep and intimate relationship with God that we all desire and can't live without doesn't just happen. It must be sought after, prayed for, nurtured, and treasured. And we must continually seek after, pray for, nurture, and treasure it." This is so true. While I've read this book before and many of it's truths have stuck with me, I've found myself re-invigorated and refreshed in my purpose, in my life, and in my soul because of this re-read. This is definitely going to be a book that I continually come back to throughout my life.

I cannot recommend The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian enough. It is by far my favorite book that I've read by her, as well as my favorite book on prayer outside of the Bible. My original rate of 5 Stars definitely still stands. If you're looking for a spark to help you start your prayer life and your relationship with God, or you're looking for a rekindling, this is the book for you! Happy reading!

Have you already read The Power of a Praying Woman? What did you think? Let me know!

From the Ashes: The Power of a Praying Wife

From the Ashes is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know where I re-read books that I read before blogging and finally review them.

The Power of a Praying Wife

By: Stormie Omartian

Expected Publication: April 1st 2014 by Harvest House Publishers (first published January 1st 1997)

208 pages

Genre: Religious, Christian, Spirituality, Self-Help

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!!), I also own an earlier edition

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Stormie Omartian's bestselling The Power of a Praying series (more than 23 million copies sold) is rereleased with fresh new covers and new material to reach a still-growing market of readers eager to discover the power of prayer for their lives. The Power of a Praying Wife has sold more than 3.5 million copies and has encouraged countless women to trust God for their marriages. In this beautiful new padded hardcover edition, Stormie shares how God has strengthened her own marriage since she began to pray for her husband concerning key areas in his life, including his spiritual walk emotions role as father and leader security in work and finances health faith and future.

If you desire a closer relationship with your husband, you will appreciate this refreshing look at the power of prayer in marriage.

You guys, Stormie Omartian has taught me so much about prayer. I know you guys might be tired of seeing me review these books, but I just can’t help myself. The Power of a Praying Wife was the first of these books I ever read. I grew up being taught that prayer was important and we prayed before meal times and bedtimes, and I was told to pray throughout my life, for the sick, thanksgiving for our blessings, etc. But I had not made prayer a real part of my life. After reading a fiction book where the main character had a better prayer life with her fictitious god than I had with the One True God, I realized that I really needed to make this a priority in my life. And where better to start than to pray for my husband—I was newly married at the time. So I picked up this book for the first time.

I remember what immediately impressed me upon my first reading was how Mrs. Omartian dedicates an entire chapter on praying for “His Wife.” In most cases, the person reading The Power of a Praying Wife is going to be the wife. And so Mrs. Omartian starts off the book with a chapter about praying for yourself because change always has to start with yourself. While you can pray for your spouse and while God will work because of that, this book is not designed to be about changing your husband. God is not a genie in a bottle that you rub when you pray and He pops out and asks you all of the many things you wish you could change about your husband, snaps His fingers and all of those things are now to your wishes and specifications. That’s not how this thing works. Truthfully the only person I can work on changing is myself. And so I was really impressed with her choice to start this book off about me instead of about my husband.

Obviously, The Power of a Praying Wife does not address every possible thing that your husband needs prayer over. That’s just not possible. So someone looking for this book to cover every aspect that your husband will ever need prayed about in his life is going to be disappointed. What this book does is teach you how to focus your prayers on a specific area of your husband’s life and spend some dedicated time covering that topic, characteristic, aspect--whatever--in prayer. This can really apply to any aspect of your life and any relationship you have, not just your spouse. As a matter of fact while reading The Power of a Praying Wife this time, I thought of several chapter topics that some of my friends were struggling with and could use prayer in that area even more than my husband. The principle is the same. So obviously, this book isn’t going to have a prayer for every obstacle you might come up against as a wife praying for your husband. It doesn’t cover every prayer need your husband will have in his life. But it is a guide—and a really good one at that—designed to teach you how to focus your prayers for your husband to better yourself, to better him, and to better your marriage.

The first time I read through this book, I took one chapter at a time. I would read that chapter and focus my prayer throughout the week in this area for my husband. And it worked really well for me then. This time I was aware of how short each chapter was and I just wanted to keep reading, to keep devouring this book, and to keep covering my husband with these prayers in the moment. Also, through this reading of The Power of a Praying Wife, I typed the prayers at the end of chapter and emailed them to my husband. Even though I did read multiple chapters in a day, I would only send him one prayer each day so as to not overwhelm him. I think there is something really special in sharing with that person the actual words You lift up in prayer on their behalf. It does a lot more for the soul than just saying “I’m praying for you.” I will add though that if you decide to share the prayers with your husband, you might want to preface that by telling him that you're about to share some prayers with him from this book and that it doesn't necessarily mean that you think he (or your marriage) is necessarily struggling in each of these areas, but these prayers can be used as preventative measures just as much as addressing an actual issue.

The Power of a Praying Wife is a must read for any married woman of faith. I’d even recommend it to any and all people everywhere, but specifically for married women who want to cover their husbands in prayer. The Power of a Praying Wife gets 4.5 Stars from me. Have you read The Power of a Praying Wife? What did you think? Let me know!

The Power of a Praying Kid - Review

The Power of a Praying Kid

By: Stormie Omartian

Published: July 1st 2005 by Harvest House Publishers

100 pages

Genre: Christian

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--New from bestselling author Stormie Omartian! A look at prayer through little eyes.

"The Power of a Praying(R) Kid "is a fun and "kid-friendly" approach to prayer for a very- special audience. Written with young hearts in mind, this short, easy-to-read book for 7- ?to 12-year-olds helps children learn to talk to God in a way that is meaningful and relational.

Interactive call-outs, sample prayers, and places to record their own words to God are sprinkled throughout the pages. Moms and Dads as well as children will love the message of this book for growing-up kids...God wants to hear from them and He listens to their prayers.

It's no secret that I love The Power of a Praying...series. I hasn't really been a goal of mine to read them all necessarily, but I can't help but grab whichever one applies to my current situation. I grabbed The Power of a Praying Kid and The Power of a Praying Teen for my kids' Bible class that I teach on Wednesday nights. So far we've only done the first two chapters but both classes went really well.

The Power of a Praying Kid is written in easy to understand words, phrases, and concepts so that even a child below teen years should be able to understand it. I love the simplicity of the messages provided in this book. Stormie Omartian set up this book to act as a sort of prayer journal for young children. I love the idea of starting children out early with focusing on their prayer lives. While this was something that I was told I needed to do as a child, I didn't really grow and cultivate my prayer life until adulthood.

The Power of a Praying Kid isn't very long at all, so it shouldn't be too daunting to children. And I think it will serve as the perfect introduction to the next book, The Power of a Praying Teen. Included in the book are short prayers from other children and sections about the answered prayers of various children, as well as common things children of this age group think and pray about. Also in keeping with the other Power of a Praying...books that I've read, Stormie Omartian adds Scripture at the end of each chapter dealing with that specific topic, a short prayer over the topic, and space for the child to add to the provided prayer.

My only complaint is the short section early on in the book where Ms. Omartian discusses "how to become a Christian." I don't agree with her breakdown of the process as Scripture lays it out. As I always say in my reviews of any kind of religious book, we must consult the Source and the Standard (The Bible) for the answers to any questions that we have. Because of this, I highly recommend this be a book that an adult/parent/teacher/etc go through along with the child/children instead of just saying, "Here's a book about prayer. Read it." It needs to be interactive with children of this age.

The Power of a Praying Kid gets 4.5 Stars from me. Have you read The Power of a Praying Kid? What did you think? Let me know!