The Dawn of Christmas! Sweet, sweet, sweet!

The sweetest love story...two people who have been hurt by love and afraid to try again accidentally fall for each other. Woodsmall has a wonderful way of telling a story. I love her characters and her plots and themes! I have never read anything written by Woodsmall that I did not like. This is another great book! And a wonderful book to give for Christmas too!

The Harbinger Decoded DVD

I have read the book The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn after my dad recommended it.  The book and the message of the book was one of the most powerful I have read outside of the Bible.  The book is not only a book that is prophetic in nature but it is a wealth of history, both Jewish and American.  I learned things about my own country's history that I did not know.  

When I had the chance to review the DVD, I was excited because I know many people who I wanted to read the book...but they are not readers.  So I thought this would be a good alternative for them.

This review has 4 stars not because of content...the content is important, relevant and amazing.  

I would still suggest for you to read the book itself...not just watch the DVD.

I know that the Lord can and will use the DVD as well. 

However, I believe if a few things were done differently it would have a much greater impact on non-readers.  So here is how I would change it:

1)  The background music in the main feature is overwhelming in volume.  The message is what is important and interesting and the music is not balanced with the vocals.  Many times throughout the DVD I had to really concentrate to hear what was being said because the music was too loud.  

2) The music itself seemed to be overwhelming in its "drama", if that makes sense.  Again, the music was a distraction to the words, which are what need to be heard.

3)  Instead of having Jonathan doing his speaking with the moving backgrounds and photos behind him, I may have had him speaking from an actual wheat field, or speaking from actual Ground Zero, or speaking from the actual chapel where Washington prayed.  This would just make it better in my opinion and keep the attention of the viewer longer.

Now to the things that I was very pleased with. The "Special Features" section.

The music was better on most of those sections...still maybe just a little loud.  

Jonathan's testimony was an added bonus and blessing.  Also , the Guided Tour of the Harbingers made me want to tour Washington to see these.

This is a DVD to wake up America, to call America to return to God.  The Harbingers are warnings but warnings imply that a change in behavior can lead to restoration.  America needs to be restored to the Foundation she was founded upon. 

 

Little Book of Great Dates

I enjoyed reading through this book which is meant to be an idea for a date each week of the year with your spouse.  The idea of "dating" your spouse is a very sound one for maintaining a good marriage.  Life can get so busy with work, school, children, parents, church, and other things...that sometimes we do not take the time to just really spend quality time with our spouse.
This little book gives 52 ideas for great dates, great discussion topics and ideas to delve into that will keep your relationship fresh and new as you grow closer to each other.  I loved it!
I think it would make a wonderful gift for newlyweds as well as a perfect anniversary gift to those who have been married for any number of years :)

Forever Friday by Timothy Lewis

I received this book for free from Waterbrook Press in exchange for my honest review.
This is a story of true love that lasts.  It is the story of a young woman and man who fell in love at first sight, Huck and Gabe.  Gabe decides that he never wants to have their marriage lose its spark so he begins on their honeymoon sending Huck a postcard once a week with a photo relevant to some part of their life and a short poem he composed just for her.  She saves these postcards through the many, many years of their marriage.  The story switches from their relationship at its different stages to a present day man who happens upon the postcards which are hidden among photo albums at an estate sale at the couple's home.  He is intrigued and investigates the story, trying to find out more about these two people who found true love that lasted a life time.  His own marriage has failed and he is seeking the answer to how to maintain love for a lifetime.
This is one of the best love stories I have read...and it is not trashy.  It is passionate with modesty maintained throughout the telling of the story which  is a rarity.  I think it is in the similar vein of Nicholas Sparks.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.  The characters were unlike any I had "met" in any other story I have read, which was delightful because many times characters from book to book seem the same.  Huck and Gabe were characters that seemed brand new to me and thus it was exciting to get to know them throughout the book.
It touched my emotions and I thought it very well-written.  The best kind of a story in my mind is the one that you lose yourself in without even realizing that you are no longer sitting somewhere reading a book.  You are in the story.  That is the kind of book that Lewis has written.  Excellent!!

Fearless by Eric Blehm

I was given this book by Multnomah in exchange for my honest review of the book.
I have been trying to read more books that might appeal to men lately.  I have two sons and a husband and thus live around men.  I thought by reading a few books written to appeal to men I might gain more understanding.  What I did not expect was that this book does not only appeal to men...it is appealing to women as well.
The fact that the office of the Navy Seals did put their seal of approval on the book, and they do not usually endorse books about their organization, also intrigued me.
it is about a young man Adam Brown.  I learned about who he was as a child, as a teen, the difficulties he went through and overcame and how the Lord Jesus became his Strength and his Hope.
I learned how he worked his way up to becoming a Navy SEAL.  That was very interesting to me.
The title "Fearless" truly described this man and his way of living.
It is an inspiring book and I believe anyone would enjoy reading it but especially if you are military.
This is one of my favorite quotes from the book that describes Adam:
" Adam's devout Christian faith matched his toughness and fearlessness.  It was the cornerstone upon which he built his life and the compass that he turned to for guidance.  To truly live one's faith, in word and deed, is a mighty, and a daily, struggle; and Adam embraced that struggle and devoted himself to it. "
His story is one of overcoming addictions also which makes it very powerful and inspiring for others going through the same thing in life.  Highly recommend.

Every Waking Moment by Chris Fabry

Chris Fabry is one of my favorite authors so I was very excited to have the opportunity to review his book, Every Waking Moment.    Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a free copy of this book to review.

It seems that Mr. Fabry is one of those authors who writes books that speak to me personally in one way or another.  Every one of his books has touched me in a different way.  From Borders of the Heart , which spoke to me about a calling to ESL ministry, to Almost Heaven, which spoke to the musician heart in me.
Now he has written a book that has spoken to me in my calling as a social worker who works with the elderly and disabled.
I love doing book reviews but I also do not want to spoil the book for those who will read it in the future!
This book was 5 stars!!!  A nursing home is the setting with a caring lady who is preparing to leave the job she has there.  She has discovered in her time working with the elderly a very unusual worker who is somewhat disabled in her own ways but who has a gift for connecting with those who have dementia or Alzheimer's and being able to bring back the person who is "lost" inside.

Of course, there had to be a "bad guy" and the new lady who takes over the nursing home had me just aching for her to do something wrong so she could be fired from the place!  The character development in this book is excellent.

The main character Treha is an enigma from the beginning.  She has a special connection with others but seemingly an inability to express her own emotions.  She is smart and yet simple at the same time.

The residents in the nursing home love her.  I loved getting to know the residents.  Part of my job is visiting the elderly and disabled and hearing their stories of life is one of the favorite parts of my day.  Mr. Fabry is able to combine stories within a story by giving us individual stories of the residents as a part of the whole picture.  He shows how the elderly, the disabled and those who we may overlook or dismiss as "slow or simple" have their own life story as we do....if we put ourselves in the other person's shoes and listen to them share about their life, we come away from the conversation with more love, respect, and understanding.

I suggest you get this book, read it and re-read it.  An awesome book!  I know I did not talk a whole lot about the story but it is one of those that you really just need to read yourself and enjoy word by word, sentence by sentence.  At the end you will be glad that I didn't spoil any details for you :)  I tried to read it slowly, to make it last, but I just couldn't...it was that good. :)

watch on tyndale.com

Sent by Hilary Alan

 The book is entitled Sent.  This book is a special book to me because it deals with a "regular" American family who willingly gave up some hopes and dreams in order to do what God called them to do.
So many times we think , "I can't do that or I can't go there."  But it just isn't true.  We can do what God calls us to do and the Alan family in this story reminds me of just that.
It was interesting to me, being from NC, that they were from NC as well.
This book is not just the good parts of following the Lord...it covers the hard parts too.  The times when you just don't understand why He called you to a certain place or a certain activity, but you trust Him anyway.
Very inspiring story.  If you are considering the ministry, considering going on a mission trip, feeling the call of the Lord on your heart to do or go...then read this book.  It will be a blessing to you!
I provided this honest review in exchange for a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books.