Book: Heaven in Her Arms

Heaven in Her Arms: Why God Chose Mary to Raise His Son and What It Means for You

This book was a great, easy read filled with lots of Scripture. Catherine Hickem referenced many verses, but also spoke from her heart. This book was not about how Mary was an out of the ordinary woman. She was ordinary, just like us all, but she was given an unbelievably extraordinary task. Catherine knows how to speak to women and mothers in particular. I recommend this book to anyone, especially mothers and other women who want to dig deeper into the amazing story of Mary.

 

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book: 52 Little Lessons from It's a Wonderful Life

This is a great book and was sooo thrilled to get the opportunity to review it! The book, obviously, has 52 little life lessons that last 2-5ish pages each. Books like that are so easy to pick up and read for a few minutes and put down when you don't have much time. You never lose your place or forget what happened, which is always nice. The book is structured around the movie and reflects back to the Bible and lessons we can and should all learn.

We all know the movie holds a great message. It is a classic that I love, but I did not see all of the lessons before reading this book. There are so many little things that took place in the movie that I would have never caught onto without this book. I can't wait to share it with other It's a Wonderful Life lovers in my family!

I received this book for free from BookSneeze in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book: Children of Angels

Link to buy the book:http://ow.ly/dDUau

About the Book:
“Not my iPod!” Jeremy Lapoint’s day plunges to record lows when Sid Lundahl and his crew stomp the only nice thing he owns-and Jeremy gets in trouble for fighting. With Dad in prison and Mom struggling to scrape by, Jeremy’s life seems hopeless.

Until he has this urge to … fly.

One leap and Jeremy soars through the air. With this and his other new-found powers, life is suddenly amazing, wonderful. Until a real-live demon chases him through the school hallways, terrifying him and making him a freak to his schoolmates. He’s the only one who can see the monster. Jeremy wonders if the flying thing’s worth it.

But during the chase, Asiel, Jeremy’s guardian angel, wields his sword and battles off the demon. Later Asiel explains that Jeremy’s a Nephilim: half human and half angel. Jeremy’s shocked. His quest to uncover how he got like this sends him to the Higher Humanity Institute where he meets other Nephilim like him along with a slew of enemies-both human and … not.

In the midst of his strange and dangerous struggles, Jeremy also receives the peace and love he’s always longed for but never knew. When called to lead an angelic battle for the truth, will Jeremy cling to the One who can win the war or let his old doubts and fears overtake him?

Fun, danger, friendship, mystery, and faith-along with awesome angels and demons-fill the pages of this exciting book. A must-read for kids (and grownups) craving adventure with a life-changing message.

Meet Kathryn:

When Kathryn Dahlstrom’s husband was transferred to Los Angeles, she traded Minnesota’s black-bear country for the inner-city and taught children at a Child Evangelism Fellowship Good News Club in Watts. She also began her writing career. In addition to writing six titles in the Good News Club children’s fiction series published by Child Evangelism Fellowship Press, the author is also a screenwriter and film producer.
Currently, she and her husband, Tim, live on wooded acreage north of Minneapolis/St. Paul where they care for her mother. They also have an adult daughter, Kristina.

Find out more about Kathryn at http://www.kathryndahlstrom.com.

My Review:

I have not read a book like this in my adult life. It is a great book for pre-teens or young teenagers. It reads like science fiction, but Kathryn did a great job using some Biblical background and references in the book. It was a really easy read and I think that the targeted age group would love it. It was not a book for me.  There is no "build-up" to Jeremy flying. In adult books, there is a large build-up of characters, setting, etc. There was not much of that in this book, which I think is fine for the target, but a little disappointing for me.

Kathryn wrote a very orginal, creative book that I definitely recommend it to what I believe is the target age. There are demons in the book, which might be a concern to some parents, but I think at this age it is a great way for children to learn that both demons and angels exist in our world.

 

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book: Practicing the Presence of Jesus

About Practicing the Presence of Jesus:

Experience the Gift of His Friendship

Do you want to experience Jesus as real? When we look at Jesus' life on earth, we see Him calling people to simply know Him. He made no demand on them to believe theological propositions. "Follow me" was the invitation which they accepted. They got to know and communicate with the real person. There is a big difference between believing something is true and experiencing it as real. This is the story of how Wally Armstrong learned to communicate with the real person of Jesus in his everyday life. Armstrong experiences Jesus up close and personal and introduces readers to the same experience. In a conversational manner, he explores what it is like to have a relationship with Jesus as if He is sitting right there next to us. He keeps an empty chair ready and imagines Jesus sitting beside him as they talk.

Link to buy the book: http://ow.ly/erBu0

Meet Wally:

Wally Armstrong is a professional golfer, teacher and dynamic life coach who has competed in over 300 PGA Tour events, including the British Open, the US Open, and the Masters, and was awarded a lifetime membership in the Tour. In his first Masters appearance, Wally finished in fifth place, setting a rookie record for the lowest tournament score of eight under par. As a golf instructor and clinician, Armstrong has taught golf all over the world and has produced more than twenty golf instructional videos and DVDs covering every area of the golf game. He is the author of seven books, including the bestselling In His Grip (with Jim Sheard and Billy Graham) and The Mulligan (with Ken Blanchard). He resides in Maitland, Florida, and has been married to his wife, Debbie, for forty-one years. Together, they have three children and seven grandchildren. Armstrong invites readers to visit his website, www.oldprobooks.com, for more insights about the wonderful opportunity each of us has to know Jesus as the real person that he is.

Find out more about Wally at http://www.wallyarmstronggolf.com/wallys-world/.

My Review:

This book was an easy read. It was very interesting to me how Wally experienced his time with God and Jesus. I really enjoyed reading how he really visualized Jesus sitting with him having a normal conversation like he would with anyone else. I think we do lack a certain intimacy because it is sometimes hard to really feel the presence of Jesus or God. Wally's book can really help you to see the value in that and can maybe help you learn to practice that presence with Jesus. This book is also a great read for golf fans, as Wally refers back very often to his time on the course and in his general life. 

I did receive this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book: Soul's Gate

About Soul's Gate:

Book 1 in the Well Spring series.

"Every now and then we get a break from reality. A glimpse into the other world that is more real than the reality we live in 99 percent of our days. The Bible is about a world of demons and angels and great evil and even greater glory."

What if you could travel inside another person's soul? To battle for them. To be part of Jesus healing their deepest wounds. To help set them free to step boldly into their divinely designed future.

Thirty years ago that's exactly what Reece Roth did. Until tragedy shattered his life and ripped away his future.

Now God has drawn Reece out of the shadows to fulfill a prophecy spoken over him three decades ago. A prophecy about four warriors with the potential to change the world . . . if Reece will face his deepest regret and teach them what he has learned.

They gather at a secluded and mysterious ranch deep in the mountains of Colorado, where they will learn to see the spiritual world around them with stunning clarity-and how to step into the supernatural.

Their training is only the beginning. The four have a destiny to pursue a freedom even Reece doesn't fully fathom. But they have an enemy hell-bent on destroying them and he'll stop at nothing to keep them from their quest for true freedom and the coming battle of souls.

Link to buy the book: http://ow.ly/eGyGA

Meet Jim: James L. Rubart is a professional marketer, speaker, and writer. While being the owner of Barefoot Marketing certainly keeps him on his toes, his passion is writing fiction.

Rubart is an ECPA best-selling author who has been positively reviewed by both Publisher's Weekly and Romantic Times. His first novel, Rooms, won a Best Books 2011 award from USA Book News, as well as a Romantic Times Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award. His debut release was followed by Book of Days and The Chair. Soul's Gate is Rubart's fourth release.

In addition to being an author, Rubart is also a photographer, guitarist, professional speaker, golfer and semi-pro magician. With all of this, he says that he barely sleeps. Rubart lives with his wife and sons in the Pacific Northwest.

Find out more about Jim at http://jimrubart.com/.

My Review:

This book is different from any book I have ever read. It is was kind of a fantasy, sci-fi Christian book. In the book, the characters can "jump" into another person's body and wage spiritual warfare on the person's behalf. This idea isn't totally Biblical to me, but it doesn't matter. The book is very enjoyable, but also very intense and almost scary, at least to me. We are constantly battling in a spiritual war and I guess I try to live without thinking too much about it in the dark and scary way.

Definitely a great book and a great Christian book for those who really do enjoy a little intensity and sci-fi.

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book: The Breath of Dawn

About The Breath of Dawn:

"Heitzmann weaves a many-layered tale keep[ing] readers entertained and wondering when the next bit of drama will occur." -Publishers Weekly

Corporate turnaround specialist Morgan Spencer, dubbed the "success guru," has a Midas touch in business. But losing his wife sent him to the brink, and his two-year-old daughter, Livie, is all he's living for-until they encounter a woman whose trouble just might draw him out of his own.

Four years ago Quinn Reilly did the right thing. Now the man her testimony put in jail is getting out. Though she has put up barriers to protect herself and those around her, she has come to care for the Spencer family, especially the winsome Livie and her mercurial father. Unwilling to put them at risk when the threats begin, she requests something she hopes the super-successful Morgan might be able to deliver.

Fixing problems is what Morgan does best, but his counterproposal takes them in a direction neither is equipped to handle. Determined to confront the past, will they survive to build a future?

Link to buy the book: http://amzn.to/VkkqTX ;

 

Meet Kristen:

Kristen Heitzmann is the bestselling author of over a dozen novels, including "Freefall", "Halos", "A Rush of Wings", and the Christy Award winner "Secrets". She and her husband, Jim, and their family live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she serves as worship leader in their church.

Find out more about Kristen at http://www.kristenheitzmannbooks.com/.

My Review:

This book was great! I do not normally read or pick out books like this- suspense, thriller-y type, but I will definitely check out more of Kristen's books! I love that this book is still a little bit of a romance. That is what I really love in a book. The drama, twists, turns and heart-thumping suspense are all amazing and written so well. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a book they can't put down. I recommend it to anyone who loves a great romantic suspense. This is it!

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

Game: Doodle Dice Is Awesome And So Is The Company!!

Doodle Dice Review

(originally posted April 2011 on my All Meant To Shine blog)

We LOVE this game!!!  We actually got it this last Christmas and we never really played it until a couple weeks ago when my sister was here. We played it maybe 8 times while she was here and have played it several times since.

Now, obviously I do not have a very "followed" blog yet so people/companies are not knocking down my door to get me to review products. Neither did JAX, the makers of Doodle Dice. I contacted them. I wrote a note, just a simple comment, last night telling them how much we loved their game.

This is part of what I wrote:

if you have any coupons for other JAX games I would love to use them and/or if you would like to send me any other game to try out and review on my blog I would love to do that also. Writing that part of the note was really intimidating to me since I am never really upfront about asking for things, but I figured 1) I would never get a response back, 2) it really doesn't matter since I will never meet them and 3) that I have heard people say to just ask and many will send you coupons.

So when I got up this morning I assumed that a reply email from the company was just saying that they would get back to me within 24-48 hours, blah, blah, blah. But! It was an actual email, from an actual-real-life woman, who thanked me for taking time to thank them for their game. Her email was really sweet and she said that a package of their other games was going to be sent out to me today!! She never mentioned one thing about my blog, but just said thanks for sharing our love of the game with others. How awesome is that?!?!

I was going to write a review whether I heard from JAX or not because we really do love the game! But now in addition to having a great game I know that they have awesome customer service as well!

So the game... (is great)

 

 

Ages 6 and up. It's said to be for 2-6 players, but since you can steal cards from other players I don't see why you can't play with as many players as you want. You roll the dice 3 times... alot like Yahtzee... and try to make a doodle. The above has some of the cards... there are lots of the purple cards which are the hardest since they take all 6 dice. There are only 6 orange cards, which only take 1 die to make. You need to collect one of each colored cards in order to win. You draw a new card each time (we dealt out the cards to each player). We also put them in order of color to make it easier visually. There are extra roll and block a turn cards also to make it a little more fun.

Simple but so fun!!

 

 

These are some of my favorites... Singing in the Rain, Pine Tree, Flower, Hot Soup, Twins, and Squiggle. The names and doodles are really creative and cute. Kassidy had lots of fun making her own creations, too!

 

 

This is one of my other favorites... an elephant. My cards also show Spanish and French (?) translations.

 

What are you trying for??

 

 

We played as soon as she woke up hence the crazy hair (there is a Bed Head card!!) and pjs.

Final thoughts: Your family would LOVE this game also. I looked for the cheapest way to buy it on several different sites and every single one had the full 5 stars given! That's impressive to me! My sister and I switched it up and made it a little more competitive by having to collect two different colored cards and on each turn you could collect more than one card.

I am actually buying another Doodle Dice game today for my little sister, who will be turning 7 in a few weeks. Here is a link to Ebates, which is an awesome company that simply because you click through their site to get to a store will give you a percentage of your purchase back in cash. Just check it out!!

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=hmLyh9xaWvPqnoPZRSez7g%3D%3D

Here is a link to Target's site, who has the cheapest Doodle Dice when you add in the shipping costs. It is $13.98 total!! Great game and great company!!!

http://www.target.com/s?keywords=doodle+dice&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&ref=sr_bx_1_1

(at the time of this post being written)