Bedtime Prayers That End With A Hug

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

This wonderfully illustrated book contains 52 short devotionals appropriate for children ages 2-6.  This is right on the level of keeping the attention of your little one during devotion time and has Scripture, application and time for hugs!  I love the layout of this darling book.  It is big enough to make an impression on a little one and the devotions are pint-sized but with all the truth packed in :)   Loved it!

Lonnie's Loves

What a wonderful love story!  This is book 3 in the Cadence of Grace series.  I have not read the other stories so there was one bit of information I would have loved to have that was not covered in this book.  Otherwise this book is also a stand alone love story.
Lonnie has to choose between two men that she loves and that love her.  It is a story of these two men and of Lonnie and of God's love for them all.  I had no idea until the end which man she would choose.  I had no idea which one I would have chosen for that matter! :) The characters are very well developed and I enjoyed getting to know each character.  Very well written and it made me want to read more of the books in this series.
Great for young girls because the two men who are vying for the affection of Lonnie are both admirable characters.
I still wish I knew why Gideon left in the first place.  :)  Guess I will just have to go back and read the other books!

Finding God in a Bag of Groceries

Working with the poor as I do , I could relate to a lot of what Ms. Willis writes about. I appreciated her honesty in describing her feelings. I felt like the story was exactly about what it says it is about ...sharing food, discovering grace. Ms. Willis seems to have been searching for a way to follow the calling she feels the Lord has given her. I liked how she related the groceries that she gives away to the Communion and how Jesus met the physical needs of the people as well as the spiritual needs of the people. I think she grew in her own faith through providing groceries to those who were in need and it is always exciting to hear another believer's testimony. :)

Return To Me...historical fiction written to make you feel like you were there!

Historical fiction is not my favorite category of book to read. I think I either want to read fiction or true history. This book is an exception. I love reading the Bible. Honestly, there are some passages that I seem to skim over because I can't relate to how it must have been during that time period. The books of Ezra and Haggai are a couple of those. Return to Me has made reading the books of Ezra and Haggai (as well as some other passages in Kings) much easier to relate to. By placing the true historical account into modern day language with characters that are "fleshed out", Lynn Austin has helped me to truly understand the Biblical Old Testament more. This story is wonderful...a story of families divided, of slaves released, of promises of the Lord God kept, and of forsaking of the one true God. The main character I believe is Zechariah who was a prophet of God. But the story starts out with him as a child, playing with other children, growing up in a family, and discovering whether his faith was his own or his family's. I do not want to spoil the reader's enjoyment of this book by revealing too much. Let me just say...if you like love stories, you will love this book. If you like historical fiction, you will love this book. If you like reading the Bible, you will love this book. If you like reading about the Jewish people and land, you will love this book. If you like books with a lot of action, you will love this book. This is a book I will re-read again...and try to slow down a bit to read it because it is so good that I want to savor it the second time around instead of devour it like I did this time. Wonderful! First time having read any of Lynn Austin's works and now I want to read more.

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 :)