$400 of free stuff, parenting advice, and a mini iPad giveaway!

Sometimes (well, make that always!) God knows just what you need. These past few weeks Ben and I have really been struggling in parenting, mainly concerning one particular issue. We have been praying about it and reading about it, and honestly just getting frustrated about it!

Imagine my surprise, when on Monday, I received an offer to join a blogging launch team for a new book, The Christian Parenting Handbook by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller. The book actually launched that day, but I asked if I could still be part of it the launch. The author (!) wrote back and told me that would be fine so I got started reading the Kindle version right away.

Although I've been unable to finish it so far (after all, it is a 220 page book and I only got it Monday! And well, parenting takes lots of my time!), it has been the most helpful and practical parenting book I have (partially) read to date. 

I felt like with one of our children we were having to constantly correct different behaviors in this child's life. Here is an excerpt of the book that really helped me:

"... group the problems by character qualities. That is, look for common threads in the offenses that may indicate a heart issue."

Wow, what a revelation! That way, say your child is having trouble with respect, you can address that heart issue instead of the multitude of behaviors in which it manifests itself. I can already tell a (albeit small) change in the issues we've been dealing with by implanting this advice.

I can't wait to do a full review of the book when I finish!

And in order to promote the book, if you buy this week, you get a huge bonus package with tons of parenting resources.

Buy The Christian Parenting Handbook between today and May 5 andget a package of free resources valued at more than $400.00. Youcan learn more on our website about the 8 items contained in the Bonus Parenting Package. In addition, you can get The Christian Parenting Handbook Companion Guide (This is a workbook withaudio clips that will help you apply the material in The Christian Parenting Handbook.) for free if you purchase 5 copies or more ofthe book. Simply make your purchase from Amazon, The Book Depository, Barnes and Noble, BAM(Books A Million), CBD or Parable.

{Many of these places are currently sold out, but a few still have books!}
Update: you can now only buy the book from biblicalparenting.org as all others have sold out! (unless of course you prefer the Kindle version on Amazon.) So exciting!

To  claim your premium, simply forward your purchase confirmation to Gift@biblicalparenting.org and we will email you your specialproduct code for the $400.00 package. If you purchased 5 or more copies of thebook, we'll send you the PDF version of the Companion Guide as wellas the audio package.

And, I also have a super fun giveaway involving from the creators of The Christian Parenting Handbook.

It may involve an iPad mini, as well as lots of parenting resources. Would you like to enter? Simply fill out the form below. Here's what's included in the giveaways: {5 separate winners}

Ø  iPad mini ($400.00 value)

Ø  $200.00 Amazon gift card

Ø  $100.00 Amazon gift card

Ø  Wii with Sportsgame included ($199.99 value)

Ø  # 9 KodakEasyShare Digital Frame with Music ($89.99)

What's the *right* way to kill a baby?

disclaimer: I don't write a lot about controversial subjects. This is a controversial post and I freely admit I am opening a can of worms. Please keep comments respectful, even if you disagree. If you've been online much today, you've seen stories of Kermit Gosnell's name explode suddenly. 
Who is this man?
He performed hundreds of abortions in his clinics, many of them well past the "legal" time frame of Pennsylvania of 24 weeks gestation. He reportedly brought in as much as $15,000 a day for his "services." Women died in his practice. Conditions were deplorable, a flea-infested cat roaming around and defacating freely when officials raided it in 2010. There were bloodstains on the furniture and virtually no working medical equipment in the facility. Truly, Dr. Gosnell needs to be in jail.
But.

Pro-lifers have long been ostracized in the media (and on a personal level) for this "political" issue, which in my humble opinion, I think has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the value of human life. I am hoping that this story will open people's eyes that "fetsuses" are actually babies- the body parts of those precious babies lining the walls of Gosnell's clinic can attest to it.
If the clinic is sterile and clean, is it okay?
If the doctor is performs things more legally than Gosnell, it's okay?
If the deceased baby's body parts are properly disposed of, is it okay?
If women aren't given infections, it's okay?
If the fetus is killed prior to delivery instead of after, is it okay?
If it's done before 24 weeks gestation, is it okay?
Please hear me out,  I know many women that have had abortions and have experienced God's forgiveness. I know that women sometimes feel as if they don't have an option. But I think that women feel this way from the what we've been told:   "it's okay to kill a baby as long as it's done in a nice clinic, with a licensed physician, with sterile equipment, then we can go on about our lives."
But I don't know one lady who's aborted and doesn't regret it.
Women's health is often cited as the reason for abortion- and I truly feel there could be a gray area there  if the woman's life is truly in danger. If we believe in the sanctity of life, the mother's life is important too.
However, I would venture to guess that the vast majority of abortions are performed due to inconvenience. I know that not everyone who has sex is planning to be  parent (that's a whole other blog post!) but there are so, so many people who want babies that can't have them and I can just imagine that if 3,000 babies (in America alone) weren't aborted each day, so many childless families would have a baby to love.
I'm not a "doom and gloomer", and I'm not one to stir the pot so to speak, and I can't stand an "us versus them" (Christian versus non) mentality, but I just can't shake this feeling that we are sweeping something HUGE under the rug. (and I'm not talking about Gosnell)
What are your thoughts on the topic?
For more reading, here is a thought-provoking post by John Piper
Again, I welcome any open and honest debate. However, I will not keep any vicious comments on the blog. 

He is risen...