Homeschool Review: YWAM Publishing's Billy Graham #hsreviews #YWAMPublishing #ChristianHeroes #ChristianBiographies #Truebiographies #HeroesofHistory #HeroBiographies #TrueStories #ChristianHeroesThenandNow #Homeschoolcurriculum #Teachthemwell

You might remember me sharing that my mother-in-love gifted us with a set of books years ago that shared the inspiring stories of Christian heroes and missionaries and we all fell in love with them.  We've enjoyed reading quite a few titles from YWAM Publishing ever since and couldn't wait to get our hands on Heroes of History - Billy Graham: America's Pastor (206-pages, softcover) when the opportunity to review arose again.

We have previously enjoyed reading and reviewing two other books from the Heroes of History series (Milton Hershey:  More Than Chocolate and Ben Carson:  A Chance at Life) and one from the Christian Heroes:  Then & Now series (Jim Elliot:  One Great Purpose).  All of these books are available in either paperback or e-book format and there are Downloadable Unit Studies/Curriculum Guides available for most every title.  Bring on the Study Guides!  You already know how much I appreciate the way these guides add a new dimension to our living history studies and the Billy Graham Unit Study is no exception.

I was about 10 years old when I saw Billy Graham in person.  He held a rally in Jackson, MS and my family was in attendance.  (Sidenote:  the MainMost was there with his family, too, although it would be quite a few years before our paths crossed.)  I will never forget hearing that distinct voice as Billy Graham shared the LOVE of JESUS with a packed-out crowd.  My uncle was a music minister and was helping to lead music at the crusade so we were invited backstage before the service began.  I was in awe then, and I am still in awe today, of a man who was totally and completely sold-out to GOD.  Over the years, I've read several of the books he has written and many of his wife Ruth's books, so I was overjoyed to share this book about him with my children.  Of course, they know who Billy Graham is and have heard me say many times that I firmly believe that GOD had placed Billy in this particular time in history to walk us through some pretty tough things as a nation, but I wanted them to understand a bit about the man behind the passion for themselves so that they could fully appreciate his calling.

Divided into 17 chapters, Billy Graham:  America's Pastor welcomes the reader to walk alongside one of the greatest men of all times and join him on the day-to-day.  We have learned so many things as we study the pages of this book.  Did you know that Billy Graham used to be called Billy Frank?  We didn't either.  At the ripe old age of 13, when Billy Frank asked JESUS to come into his heart and become LORD of his life, he dropped the Frank to signify to himself and those who knew him that he was a new creation in CHRIST.  What a wonderful thing for my children to read -- and even better was for them to find out that Billy gave his testimony for the first time at the ripe old age of 16.  He was nervous and awkward and stumbled over his words, but he spoke when called upon and GOD was faithful to the one HE had called.  How important it is to me that my children see the footsteps of FAITH and the FAITHFULNESS of the FATHER.

Billy Graham:  America's Pastor is written in a conversational tone that makes it easy to understand.  Through its pages we see the calling and the shaping of the called.  Billy Graham was energized as he spoke about JESUS and he did not shy away from speaking truth to anyone -- presidents, foreign leaders, rich, poor, famous, or just regular folks like me and you -- Billy knew that we all need a relationship with GOD and he shared just how to have that.  He was on a mission and nothing derailed him from that mission.  Did you know he even turned down a visit with the Prime Minister because GOD was sending him elsewhere?  This book invites you in to his life and travels and introduces you to his family and friends in such a way that you'll feel like you've known them all of your life.  Billy Graham was such a national treasure for us all and I'm overjoyed that my children now have a better understanding of who he was.  It makes their work with Operation Christmas Child a little sweeter because they know the man who raised and loved its founder, Franklin Graham.

One of my favorite things about YWAM Publishing is that they offer such great resources to complement good literature.  What I like about the Study Guides is that they give ample opportunity for students to take the reading of a book SEVERAL steps further.  With guides for small groups, classroom use, and homeschoolers, they make it easy to pick up and learn.  The Unit Study Curriculum Guide for Billy Graham is divided into two parts.  Part One is 74-pages long and Part Two is 5-pages long.  Part Two contains the Social Studies reproducible resources to be used with the Social Studies chapter of Part One.

Part One contains 8 Chapters.  There are Key Quotes that complement the book and could be used for memorization, a Display Corner that offers suggestions to make this a hands-on study with timelines and pictures displayed in a corner or room of your home, Chapter Questions that break down each chapter of the book with pertinent questions to aid your students in reading comprehension (answers are provided in the appendix), and Student Exploration options that contain activities to reflect a variety of learning styles (arts & crafts always call to my daughter, but online videos appeal to my son).   We have discussed the Community Links chapter and enjoy finding evangelical offerings right here at home and appreciate both the Related Themes and Culminating Events chapters because they ecourage us to stretch outside our comfort zone when we near the completion of our study.  We aren't there, yet, but we are discussing how to celebrate Billy Graham when we finish this study.  BUT  . . . my all-time favorite chapter of the Study Guide is the Social Studies chapter.  I love the maps and timeline and so does my girl.  You can see her progress below as she marks places significant to Billy's life in red and cities where he held rallies in purple.  A fun way for us to personalize this is to mark the places that we've actually been and visited.  It's a neat way to bring it all home.

The entirety of the Study Guide is designed to open up conversation and that it does.  I can think of nothing better for us to talk about that the beauty of what the LOVE of GOD provides HIS people.



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You will definitely want to check out the two newest hero titles.  Benjamin Rush: The Common Good (a Heroes of History title) and John Newton: Change of Heart (a Christian Heroes: Then & Now title) have just been release this month.  I can't wait to add them to our library.

I was given the opportunity to review Heroes of History - Billy Graham: America's Pastor from YWAM Publishing as a member of the Homeschool Review Crew.   Make sure that you visit the  Crew Review to see what other members of the Crew thought of it and other titles, too.  You can click on the picture below to jump right over there.  

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