Anything but Simple by Lucinda J. Miller (Book Review)

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book-

Like her grandmother, Lucinda J. Miller wears long dresses and a prayer covering. But she uses a cellphone and posts status updates on Facebook, too. Anything but Simple is the riveting memoir of a young woman’s rich church tradition, lively family life, and longings for a meaningful future within her Mennonite faith. With a roving curiosity and a sometimes saucy tongue, Miller ushers us into her busy life as a young schoolteacher.

My thoughts-

This is the second book I have read from the Plainspoken series. The other book was about an Amish woman's life, which I am more familiar with than the Mennonite faith, so I was excited to read this book. I do know that Mennonites are also Plain people like the Amish, but that they have a more relaxed approach as far as modern day conveniences. Beyond that I do not know a lot about the Mennonites, so I was excited to read this book. There is something really cool and also quite educational about reading someone's memoir about their day to day life. It's just a book about Lucinda Miller's life, but to me it's a peek into another world. I appreciated Ms. Miller's candor about her faith and her honesty in her struggles. I enjoyed reading about her relationship with a feisty elderly lady and then with another spitfire atheist. Most enjoyable for me, a ferocious reader and wanna be author of a *someday I will write it* novel, I loved reading about Lucinda's adventures in writing. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in stories of every day people or who would like to learn more about the Mennonite faith.

Wildflower (Movie Review)

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the dvd in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the movie-

Creatively gifted, college student Chloe Moray (Nathalia Ramos, House of Anubis) finds solace from a difficult childhood in her extraordinary art. But when an alarming dream begins to recur nightly, Chloe starts to believe that it might be a suppressed memory and that she may have witnessed a terrible crime as a little girl. Her search for peace takes her on a journey that forces Chloe to confront her past traumas and leads her to cross paths with Josh (Cody Longo, Not today), a young man dealing with his own painful loss. Together they find in each other someone they can trust as they seek to unlock a cold-case mystery from years before. But with the authorities blocking the way, Chloe's new-found hope is challenged in this riveting story of faith, triumph, and healing.

My thoughts- 

I don't think I have ever seen a faith-based movie quite like Wildflower. There are definitely movies out there about struggling with your faith, but I liked the added suspense and drama in this one. I was constantly trying to figure out what was happening with Chloe's dreams/visions and about who her friend Rebecca was. I was drawn to Chloe's story just like Josh was and I was rooting for her to come to terms with her past. I love when a movie has a good plot line and a great message and Wildflower definitely had both!

Mom Seeks God by Julia Roller Blog Tour & Book Review + Enter to Win a Kindle HDX

About the book-

The first months and years of motherhood can be the most challenging and disorienting of your life---and faith. When you're surrounded by the happy chaos of children, how do you spend quiet time with God if the only quiet time you get is while you sleep? How can you demonstrate a solid spiritual life to your children if you don't have time to pursue one yourself?

When Julia Roller discovered that her spiritual growth had been stunted by the busyness of life with her toddler, she embarked on a yearlong journey through ten spiritual disciplines: prayer, fellowship, submission, study, simplicity, silence, worship, fasting, service, and celebration. As she focused on each discipline, she discovered practical ways to observe them---even in the chaos of her every day.

My thoughts-

When I was younger, I couldn't wait to grow up, get married and have tons of babies! When those things became a reality in my 20's, I found out while extremely blessed and exactly where I wanted to be, marriage and motherhood were not the easiest things in the world to adjust to. Especially juggling marriage, which already takes a lot of time, energy and commitment, with being a mother...it leaves little time for one's self or to do other important things outside of those two huge commitments. I think a huge thing a lot of Christian mother's find themselves struggling with is their walk with God. Mom Seeks God is a glimpse inside of one mother's journey to strengthen her faith. I think the best thing about this book is seeing that another mom, a mom who writes devotionals and publicly speaks, also struggles to balance motherhood with her quest to get closer to God. The book is set up into chapters about different spiritual disciplines. The chapters I related to the most were the ones about fellowship, simplicity, and fasting. I think many mothers struggle with fellowship because it is hard to find time to participate in fellowship when we have so much to do at home. It is easy to flake out or not commit, but I think most of us would find that we feel much better when we connect with others. Simplicity is something I struggle with which causes a ton of chaos in my life. I am a multi-tasker, but it will get to a point where the multi-tasking will cause me a ton of stress. Reading the chapter on simplicity makes me realize that I need to focus on doing on thing at a time. Finally, fasting is something that I have always meant to get around to doing, but just never had. I know I need to work on all of these things. This book was a great blessing. It opened my eyes to some things I know I need to work on and the way it was written felt like I was having a direct, candid conversation with the author. I would recommend this book to any mother wanting to grow in their relationship with God. 

 

 

About the Author-

 

Julia Roller is an author and editor. Her books include Mom Seeks God (Abingdon Press), A Year with God (with Richard J. Foster), A Year with Aslan, and 25 Books Every Christian Should Read. Working with Renovaré, she has also co-authored four spiritual formation guides. She has written study guides for authors such as Desmond Tutu, Richard J. Foster, Henri Nouwen, Jenna Bush, and Rob Bell. Her articles have appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, Street Spirit, Group, Rev.!, and Children's Ministry. She and her family live in San Diego, California.

Connect with Julia Roller on Facebook

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Connect with Julia Roller on Goodreads

 

Purchase a copy and find out more about Julia at: http://www.juliaroller.com


*******************Enter to Win*********************

 

Mom Seeks God by Julia Roller offers a highly relatable story and useful advice to help new moms grow in their faith as they address life changes with grace, patience, and prayer. As readers discover ten essential faith practices, they’ll learn that motherhood itself is a spiritual discipline and can be God’s most effective technique for forming a more Christ-like life.

Julia is celebrating the book's release with a fun giveaway and connecting with moms during a live Facebook author chat.

 

  One winner will receive:

• A Kindle HDX
• Mom Seeks God by Julia Roller

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 1st. Winner will be announced at "Moms' May Day" Facebook Party on May 1st. Connect with Julia for an encouraging discussion on spiritual discipline and finding joy in the middle of motherhood. Win prizes, connect with other moms, and be inspired.

So grab your copy of Mom Seeks God and join Julia on the evening of May 1st for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 1st!

VeggieTales Announces New Movie: Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas Featuring Si Robertson!

Awesome news for fans of VeggieTales! Today it was announced that a new movie will be released just in time for the Holidays! Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas will feature Si Robertson of Duck Commander as Silas, a wise okra janitor who narrates the movie. Larry the Cucumber stars as Head Elf at a mall who is on a quest to help a compassionate little girl who wants to help her neighbor in need for Christmas. Bob the Tomato stars as Phillip Fleagle, who takes some time to reflect on there being more to Christmas than material gifts and light displays. This feature will help little ones understand what the true meaning of Christmas is and what a joy it can be to give to others, especially those in need. In addition to Robertson starring as the new okra character Silas, Owl City and TobyMac team up for the theme song of the movie "Light of Christmas".

There are several special features that will be included on the dvd including a lyric video for "Light of Christmas", a behind the scenes look at the creation of the character Silas with Si Robertson, a new silly song with Larry called "Wrapped Myself Up for Christmas", and information regarding VeggieTales collaboration this holiday season with Operation Christmas Child, a global children's project of Samaritan's Purse, who collect donated shoe boxes filled with gifts for children in need around the globe.

New character Silas the Okra, portrayed by Si Robertson!

I am so excited about this new VeggieTales movie. I try to teach my kids about giving throughout the year, but there is never a better time than during the Christmas season to really teach about loving others through giving to those who need it most and the VeggieTales movies are always so good at making learning important lessons super fun through these unique and vibrant characters. The movie looks like it will be a really cute Christmas movie we can watch year after year. Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas is set to launch at Christian retailers on October 19, followed by a more broad release to other retailers on October 22!

Head over to VeggiesTales.com to watch the trailer for Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas or to pre-order the movie!

Season of a Lifetime (Movie Review)

*Disclosure- I received a screener of the movie from Edify Media for the purpose of putting together this review. All opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the movie:

Jeremy Williams, coach of the Greenville Patriots, felt like his football players were becoming overconfident, so he prayed for adversity. What he got was not what he expected. After a thumb injury he had wasn't healing properly he found out that he had ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, an ailment that is always fatal, most of the time in a very painful way. Coach William's did not let his diagnosis stop him from leading his team and making them into better players and men that year. Season of a Lifetime is a documentary that follows Coach William's during the 2010 season with the Patriots and shows how he deals with adversity and trials both on and off of the field.


My thoughts:

When I first began watching this movie, I knew that Jeremy Williams and family seemed rather familiar. Toward the end of the documentary, there was a segment about their time on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I happened to have seen that episode and immediately remembered what a likeable family this was and how many personal trials they have had to get through as a family. This movie shows how tenacious Mr. Williams is as he not only leads his football team while battling ALS, but also speaking at various churches. He could have retired when he got his diagnosis and everyone would have understood, the battle he had ahead of him was a big one, but not Jeremy, he wanted to see through what he had started with his football team. His wife, Jennifer, talks onscreen about how when he told her about his diagnosis with ALS, he told her they would just cry about it this once and move on. This speaks volumes as to his character. This man clearly has a deep faith in God and knows that while he is still alive, he has God's work to get done and is constantly trying to fulfill his purpose. This is a very uplifting documentary. The Williams' family is an inspiration. You can tell they really love each other, are all full of a wonderful hope in God and all do what they can to help each other out. This is a story that needs to be told and I am so glad that it was. There are also some extra features on this movie that are worth a watch. There is a little segment about Extreme Makeover Home Edition, a piece about Jeremy's Days as a college football player and several other short extras to watch. I think anyone who likes a documentary or an uplifting story about faith through adversity would enjoy Season of a Lifetime.


Check out the trailer for Season of a Lifetime below:



Connect with Season of a Lifetime on Facebook
Season of a Lifetime website

Season of a Lifetime is now available on DVD!

It's Not Your Fault by Steve Shenk Book Review & Giveaway

Just the title of this book kind of makes you want to pick it up and see what's in it. We all have fears. I think fear of failure and of being important enough can be pretty high on that list and get in the way of our self esteem or even cause us to not achieve things which we might have been capable of with a different attitude.

Steve Shenk's book It's Not Your Fault and I can Prove It takes an in depth look at the many different factors that go in to how we feel about ourselves and how we see ourselves. It is a fictional account of a man named Michael learning lessons about all of this from someone called "The Guardian " I had a a hard time getting into the book in this format and felt like I would have rather this been a non-fiction book that just focused on the same key points and was just a more direct approach, but as the book went on, the more interesting it got. I especially find some of the middle chapters to be quite intriguing, most notably the chapters entitled Judgement, Approval & Unconditional Love. There is some great insight into this book, and I think that it is a good read for anyone looking to improve themselves.

About the author:
Steve Shenk is a noted food expert, educator, corporate executive, philosopher and forty year entreprenuer in the food industry. During his 30 years building the storable food industry, author Steve Shenk met hundreds of people who shared their struggles and triumphs.As a result, he came to understand much about the human experience. Steve realized that after the basic need of food is met in every person's life, there is an opportunity to go further and even reach magnificence. His new book, It's Not Your Fault, is a compilation of his years of experience with people, families and relationships.

Connect with Steve Shenk at his website

Enter Below via the Rafflecopter for your chance to win a copy of the book!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure- I received one or more of the above mentioned products for free in hopes that I might mention it on my blog. All opinions are 100% my own.

If You Have a Craving, I Have a Cure by Sheri Rose Shepherd- Review

About the book (from the back cover)-

Do you find yourself constantly thinking about what should not eat, or the things you can not do? We've all been there, and it leaves us feeling deprivedand depressed. Instead of being energized by following Christ, we waste our days feeling bored and burned-out on our faith, while battling the guilt that comes from craving food and other things we enjoy.

In If You Have a Craving, I Have a Cure, bestselling author and speaker Sheri Rose Shepard encourages you to embark on a new adventure with faith and food. She reveals the coaching tips that enabled her to lose over fifty pounds and keep them off, shares specific alternatives to common cravings, and offers fun recipes (for food and for life) in celebration of healthy meals and activities our God created for us to enjoy. It's time to let go of guilt, grab hold of grace, and recapture the life God craves for you to live!

My thoughts: 

I will admit that although I have heard of her, I have not read anything previously by Sheri Rose Shepherd. When I saw the title of this book, and then read the summary of what it was about, I knew it would have to be the first book I reviewed in 2013. Many of us want to begin the new year by trying to better ourselves in any amount of ways. I think the key to bettering ourselves in any type of way begins with examining our walk with God and improving it. I think after that, everything else we personally need to work on, will fall into place. Shepherd's book is definitely about practical ways to improve getting into the Word, improving our relationship with God and treating our body with respect by eating healthy foods and staying active. I like that she pairs these healthy things with Godly things (want that piece of chocolate? Eat it WHILE reading the word!! I would have never thought of that!) This book was meant to be read a little at a time, I think, but I could not put it down. I guess it really doesn't matter how you read it as long as it's message is clear. That faith, food and fun all go hand in hand, making all three a joyful experience. As a cookbook collector AND a health conscious eater, I also appreciate that the book is filled with over 100 healthy recipes. I can't even tell you how many pages I have dog-eared for the recipes that I can't wait to try. I would recommend this book to any woman looking for an encouraging, uplifting read and tons of fabulous new, healthy and tasty sounding recipes! I will be keeping my copy in the kitchen for easy access!

About the author:

Sheri Rose Shepherd is an award-winning author, Bible life coach, and humorist with over one million books sols help her identify with almost any woman's battle.She grew up in a broken home and was severly overweight as a teen; she also experienced depression, dyslexia, and an eating disorder. Through God's strength, Sheri Rose has become a bestselling author and popular speaker at events nationwide, including Women of Joy and Extraordinary Women. Her weekly video devotions will  be featured on Bible Gateway beginning in 2013

Connect with Sheri Rose Shepherd on Facebook
Connect with Sheri Rose Shepherd on Twitter
Connect with Sheri Rose Shepherd on GoodReads

Author's Website

*Disclosure- I received a complimentary copy of the above mentioned book through the publisher via the Tyndale Blog Network. I was not required to write a positive review and  all opinions states are 100% my own.

Conquer Your Fears and “Live to Give” Webcast TONIGHT!

Thomas Nelson Author and Hoops of Hope founder, Austin Gutwein, to host September 6 online event to focusing on themes his latest release, Live to Give. On September 6 at 8 PM EDT, Austin Gutwein will be hosting a live Facebook web event to encourage participants to conquer their fears and use their talents to help others. The webcast will center on the themes Gutwein writes about in his latest release “Live to Give: Letting God Turn Your Talents into Miracles” (Thomas Nelson/August, 2012). At the conclusion of the webcast, the winners of a month-long social media fueled “Get and Give” contest will be announced, including the winner of a Kindle Fire and $250 donated to the winner’s charity of choice. Join Austin on the evening of Thursday, September 6th as he shares about his own experiences and encourages others to conquers their fears and “live to give”. Austin will also be taking audience questions and interacting with participants. PLUS – there will be several “Live to Give” giveaways – books, gift certificates and much more! RSVP today and tell your friends. Based on the John 6 story of Jesus feeding the 5000, in “Live to Give” Gutwein challenges his readers that regardless of age and talent, God can use them to make a difference. Even though God could take care of everything Himself and doesn’t really need our help, He desperately WANTS us to help Him care for others. Gutwein walks young people through discovering and embracing their unique God-given strengths and abilities, then figuring out how to use those talents to help others. Sometimes doing that takes a leap of faith on our part, and often becoming fearless in the process.

More about Austin: At eighteen years old, Gutwein speaks with wisdom and has the experience to reinforce his message. When Austin was just nine years old, he watched a video that showed children in Africa who had lost their parents to AIDS. Gutwein realized these kids weren’t any different from him—except they were suffering. Feeling called to help, he took his love of basketball and decided to shoot free throws to raise money for orphans in Zambia. On World AIDS Day in 2004, he shot 2,057 free throws to represent the 2,057 kids who would be orphaned during his day at school. Through sponsorship from parents and friends, Gutwein raised over $3,000 that day to give hope to eight orphans in Zambia. Over the past eight years, Gutwein’s efforts have created Hoops of Hope, the largest free throw marathon in the world. With an estimated 40,000 people in more than 25 countries participating, Hoops of Hope has raised more than $2.5 million to build schools, medical clinics, dormitories for orphanages, and the only computer lab in Zambia. Enter to win a Kindle Fire and have $250 donated to your favorite charity. Click for the banner for details and entry or visit http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/13528976/livetogive. Learn more about Austin and Hoops of Hope at www.AustinGutwein.com and www.HoopsOfHope.org.

God gave this kid an amazing heart! We should all strive to help others in this way! Check out my review on Austin's book Live to Give!

Waiting for Morning by Karen Kingsbury Book Review

Hannah Ryan has the perfect life. A lifelong love in her husband Dr. Tom Ryan and two teenage daughters who are super close to each other and their parents. Hannah has also always had a problem holding a grudge. When a huge tragedy strikes her life very abruptly in the form of a fatal car accident caused by a drunk driver, Brian Wesley, Hannah must learn to give her worries to God, to forgive and most of all, to live a life that she never imagined herself living in.

Waiting for Morning starts right away with Hannah having that "feeling" that moms get sometimes when they know something isn't right. So the car accident happens within the first few chapters. It is so sad and any mom that went through what Hannah went through would have trouble learning to live again. That said, I had a hard time feeling sympathetic toward Hannah because she flat out ignores the child who needs her and expects her to handle this situation as an adult, when Hannah isn't even doing that herself. Of course, Hannah acting this way is important to the overall story and I do understand that it was necessary, it just made me so sad to see a mom treat her child the way Hannah was! I do like that although this story is about Hannah Ryan, that it also shares the story of the drunk driver and of Jenny Ryan and each of their struggles. I thought it was a very accurate portrayal of how each might be thinking or acting in the situation that each was in. I loved the conclusion that the book came to and that Hannah finally realized that she needed to change how she was handling things. I really loved Matt, Hannah's lawyer and confidant, who become a good friend to her. I loved that she had someone to turn to who wouldn't judge her when she felt so alone. I was also excited to find out at the end of the book that this is a series and there are two more books that I can't wait to get my hands on! I would definitely recommend this book to Karen Kingsbury fans or anyone who enjoys reading something on the dramatic side of things.

More Info on Waiting for Morning
Author Bio for Karen Kingsbury

*Disclaimer- I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing group for this review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.