When Calls the Heart: A Film by Michael Landon, Jr.

Disclosure- I received a copy of the movie from Edify Media 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:

"When Calls the Heart" is the story of Elizabeth Thatcher, a cultured young school teacher in 1910 who, through the discovery of her aunt's secret diary, finds the courage to leave her big city home to accept a teaching position in a frontier coal mining town. And in the process, she also finds the potential for love with a handsome Royal Canadian Mountie.

My thoughts:

I am always excited to have the opportunity to review any film by Michael Landon Jr. "When Calls the Heart" is an adaptation from best-selling author Janette Oke, one of the most well-known (and most read) Christian authors on the planet. If you haven't heard of her Canadian West Saga, you have probably heard of her Loves Comes Softly series, several of which were also turned into movies, so you know Oke can craft some amazing love stories. I was interested in "When Calls the Heart" from the opening scene. I love movies about high society in the early 1900's and this one was especially interesting because it was about Elizabeth Thatcher finding her place in this world. She is offered a job at a school in a small town out west, very far away from her family and the life she knows. Her parents are pretty weary of her going, as is her sister. Elizabeth begins reading the diary of her namesake, her aunt, who also took a teaching post. The two Elizabeth's stories parallel each other, so it is a fun movie to watch, since it is set in two different time periods. I really enjoyed the flashbacks of the elder Elizabeth's adventures in teaching and with her own Mountie. The present day Elizabeth struggles with whether or not she can handle being on her own, but she really wants to try. I thought this was a great story to bring to life on the screen and I enjoyed all of the actor's portrayals of their respective characters. I especially enjoyed seeing Maggie Grace play the role of the elder Elizabeth Thatcher. There is a great behind the scenes look at the movie on the dvd that I loved. It is always so interesting to get insight into how a movie is made, what the actors think about the characters and where the movie is filmed.  I was excited to hear in the special features that the Where Comes the Hearth will become a television series on Hallmark and that this movie is to be considered a 2 hour pilot. It left on a pretty big cliffhanger, so I look forward to seeing Elizabeth Thatcher's story unfold completely. The series is set to continue January 2014.

"When Calls the Heart" debuted on the Hallmark Channel to more than 3.2 million viewers, making it the No. 1 movie of the week on ad-supported cable. It will be available to purchase on DVD at Christian Retailers November 19, 2013.


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VeggieTales Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas Review

*Disclosure- I received a copy of the movie from Big Idea Entertainment. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

I was so excited when this movie arrived. I have loved VeggieTales since they first began and I have always particulalry enjoyed the Christmas movies. In Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas 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. Si Robertson of Duck Commander fame stars as the new okra character Silas and Owl City and TobyMac team up for the theme song of the movie "Light of Christmas".

My 3 kids and I have already watched this movie several times. I love that VeggieTales movies always have a great message for kids and the message in this one is particularly important. Sometimes kids can get so wrapped up in the fun of presents and lights that they may not know that there is a more important meaning to Christmas. This movie opens up the discussion that other people might not have money for presents or even for food and that we should always try to help when we can. It is a message I hope to instill in my kids, a conversation I want to continue to be openly discussed in our house, that we should take care of others when we can, even if it is just a small thing, compassion is an important quality to have. Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas is not only a great teaching tool, it has all of the elements we would expect in a great VeggieTales movie. There are catchy songs and vibrant characters. My kids love the song at the beginning of the show, but their absolute favorite was the new silly song "Wrapped Myself Up for Christmas". I can't even tell you the number of times that we have watched the sing along video in the extra features and my boys just giggle the whole way through it! There are also some other nice special features including a behind the scenes peek with Si Robertson which Duck Commander fans will absolutely adore. This is a great movie for any VeggieTales fan to add to their collection and a great Christmas movie to add to any household in general. I know my kids will look forward to watching it for years to come!

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Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas is now available Amazon.com and Mardel, as well as other retailers nationwide.

The Promise Box by: Tricia Goyer (Book Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher Zondervan via the Book Sneeze Blogger Program 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:

Every year, young Amish men descend on the cozy little town of West Kootenai, Montana, arriving in the spring to live there for six months and receive “resident” status for the hunting season in the fall. They arrive as bachelors, but go home with brides!
In The Promise Box, the second book of bestselling author Tricia Goyer’s Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series, Lydia Wyse, a book editor from Seattle who grew up Amish, returns to the small community of West Kootenai, Montana to give comfort to her father after her mother's death. She is drawn back to the familiar Amish ways after finding her mother’s most precious possession, a Promise Box of prayers and scripture. What her publisher sees, though, is an opportunity for a sensational “tell-all” book about the Amish.
Lydia soon finds herself falling in love with Amish bachelor Gideon Hooley. She wants nothing more than to forget her past and look forward to a future as an Amish bride. Will the pain of her childhood— and her potential betrayal of her community—keep her from committing her whole heart?

My thoughts: 

I have been waiting for this book to come out since I finished up The Memory Jar, which was the first book in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelor's series. The Memory Jar is one of my favorite Amish fiction novels of all time and I haven't met a Tricia Goyer novel that I haven't liked yet. I was excited to read about how another Amish couple was to come together in The Promise Box. I have to say that I love this book every bit as much as the first. I got pretty wrapped up in Lydia and Gideon's story. Lydia's mother told her at age 16 the tragic event that led to her birth mother putting her up for adoption and it causes Lydia to question where she belongs so she leaves the Amish. She comes back for her mother's funeral and her very first meeting with Gideon is definitely an interesting one! I love learning each of their back stories piece by piece throughout the book. I really feel like I need to point out that I think the most romantic scene I have ever read in an Amish fiction novel occurred in this book, my heart got fluttery for them a couple of different times, that's how strongly Goyer writes these characters, that you feel what they feel. I absolutely love that I can read a love story and feel like one of the scenes is that wonderfully romantic, but that it is completely innocent behavior, these are the kinds of love stories I want my daughter to grow up and read, the sweet ones that sweep you away! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Amish fiction or a really sweet love story. Is it bad I am already ready for book #3 in this series? The Kissing Bridge doesn't come out until April, 11 2014 so I guess I'll have to be patient!! :)

About the author:

Tricia Goyer has written more than thirty-five books, including both novels that delight and entertain readers and non- fiction titles that offer encouragement and hope. She has also published more than 500 articles in national publications such as Guideposts, Thriving Family, Proverbs 31, and HomeLife Magazine.

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http://www.triciagoyer.com/

The Promise Box is available now on Amazon.com.

The Jesus Story by Dr. William H. Marty Book Review

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book: 

 Rediscover This Compelling Story The story of Jesus is the most remarkable ever told. It's an exciting adventure, a tender love story, and a drama full of danger, betrayal, and the ultimate sacrifice. But sometimes the genealogies, the confusing repetition, and the varying order of events in the Gospels can distract readers from this powerful narrative. Or maybe you've heard the story so many times that it has lost its impact. Here, Dr. William Marty presents the complete narrative of Jesus in an easy-to-read, chronological account. It's a fascinating retelling of everything from his birth to his ascension--as well as what happened in the church after he left. The Jesus Story is perfect if you want to get to know Jesus better or recapture the amazement of hearing his story for the first time.

My thoughts:

I think the majority of people who come to Christ want to feel as deep a connection as possible to Him and I think one huge way to accomplish that is to read The Bible. I know that because there are so many different translations/versions available that sometimes it's hard to know which one will be the right fit for you and which will give you a clear understanding of what happens and what it is all about. Dr. William Henry has written The Jesus Story with that in mind. He's written in this book a conversational version of all the events of Jesus' life beginning with his birth all the way through the crucifixion and ending with the story of the church (Acts) in a conversational tone in very plain English. What I really like about this book is that it would make a perfect gift for a new Christian. Sometimes picking up The Bible for the first time can be overwhelming, it's so big and so full of so many pages, why not start with the bare basics- the story of Jesus and how He's saved us. The chapters are broken down by event and all begin with a list of characters and the setting for where the story took place. This makes it really easy to keep up with what's going on and where each event took place. The way the book is written makes it extremely easy to follow along on the journey of Christ's life and death. Each chapter also ends with a summary to help re-iterate what you've just read. I think this book would make a great addition to any Christian home library, either to grab yourself for when you want to have a quiet time meditating on Jesus and his sacrifice or as a teaching tool to have around to offer to new Christian's who might be overwhelmed with The Bible initially. 

About the author:

Dr. William H. Marty (ThD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is Professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute and has published two textbooks, Surveying the New Testament and Survey of the Old Testament. He is unique among Bible college professors in that he teaches and writes on both the New and Old Testaments. Dr. Marty lives with his wife in Chicago.

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The Jesus Story is available now at Amazon.com and other retailers nationwide. 

MASH Up Conditioning Tempo Workout DVD Giveaway

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

At the end of October I wrote about an amazing workout video called Tempo from MASH Up Conditioning. The video actually contains several different high intensity interval training workouts and has people demonstrating three different levels of intensity that you can follow depending on your experience exercising. MASH Up Conditioning recently had an article spotlighted in Dr. Mercola's website entitled "How You Can Benefit from the Combination of Mind/Body, Agility, Strength and High Intensity Interval Training". The article highlights why HIIT workouts are such a good choice for working out all areas of your body. There is even a video included of one of Mash Up Conditioning's workouts so you can try it out for yourself!
Mash Up Conditioning was also recently invited to showcase the DVD at the 2013 American Music Awards in a celebrity gifting suite, so this is definitely going to be a go-to work out for many people!

The wonderful people at MASH Up Conditioning want to give one of my reader's the opportunity to win their own copy of Tempo. Enter below via the Rafflecopter for your chance to win!

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Nightmare City by Andrew Klavan Blog Tour & Book Review + Win a Copy of the Book

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from Thomas Nelson Publishers via YA Bound Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.


About the book- 
  
Tom Harding only wants the truth. But the truth is becoming more dangerous with every passing minute.

As a reporter for his high school newspaper, Tom Harding was tracking the best story of his life when, suddenly, his life turned very, very weird. He woke up one morning to find his house empty . . . his street empty . . . his whole town empty . ..empty except for an eerie, creeping fog and whatever creatures were slowly moving toward him through the fog.

Now Tom s once-ordinary world has become something out of a horror movie. How did it happen? Is it real? Is he dreaming? Has there been a zombie apocalypse? Has he died and gone to hell?

Tom is a good reporter he knows how to look for answers but no one has ever covered a story like this before. With the fog closing in and the hungry creatures of the fog surrounding him, he has only a few hours to find out how he lost the world he knew. In this bizarre universe nothing is what it seems and everything including Tom s life hangs in the balance.

My thoughts:
 
I thought that this book started off in an interesting way, but after a while it kind of drug out in the beginning about getting down to what was really going on. Once I got to the middle of the story though, I was definitely invested in finding out what was going on all around Tom and interested in finding out what exactly it was that had happened to him. I did feel that the book dragged out a little in a few places, but overall I really liked the plot line and felt that the story was woven together very nicely. There were a couple of plot twists that I didn't see coming, which I always count as a big win. I love being surprised and caught off guard and it doesn't often happen, so a few times in one book was pretty cool. Nightmare City was a pretty quick read, a thriller that demands your attention and makes you think as you try to think of the possible reasons of why Tom is going through what he is going through. There are several characters throughout the book that you think might be involved with what has happened to Tom, so it was fun trying to think of all the possible scenarios. I thought the story flowed well throughout and that the ending worked rather nicely. I would recommend this book to a reader who enjoys YA fiction or suspense novels.

About the author:

Andrew Klavan is a best-selling, award-winning thriller novelist whose books have been made into major motion pictures. He broke into the YA scene with the bestselling Homelanders series, starting with The Last Thing I Remember. He is also a screenwriter and scripted the innovative movie-in-an-app Haunting Melissa.

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http://www.andrewklavan.com/

Nightmare City is now available at BarnesandNoble.com & Amazon.com.

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Snow on the Tulips by Liz Tolsma Blog Tour & Book Review + Win a $50 Amazon.com Gift Card!

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from Thomas Nelson Publishers via Litfuse Group. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book: 

A stranger's life hangs in the balance. But to save him is to risk everything. 

The war is drawing to a close, but the Nazis still occupy part of the Netherlands. After the losses she's endured, war widow Cornelia is only a shadow of the woman she once was. She fights now to protect her younger brother, Johan, who lives in hiding.

When Johan brings Gerrit Laninga, a wounded Dutch Resistance member, to Cornelia's doorstep, their lives are forever altered. Although scared of the consequences of harboring a wanted man, Cornelia's faith won't let her turn him out.

As she nurses Gerrit back to health, she is drawn to his fierce passion and ideals, and notices a shift within herself. Gerrit's intensity challenges her, making her want to live fully, despite the fear that constrains her. When the opportunity to join him in the Resistance presents itself, Cornelia must summon every ounce of courage imaginable.

She is as terrified of loving Gerrit as she is of losing him. But as the winter landscape thaws, so too does her heart. Will she get a second chance at true love? She fears their story will end before it even begins.

My thoughts:

Every since I picked out award-winning Number the Stars by Lois Lowery from the library one fateful day while I was in 3rd grade many years ago, I have had a love of historical fiction and I have specifically been interested in stories set during WWII. What first drew me to Snow on the Tulips was the hauntingly beautiful cover. I do agree with the old adage that you can't judge a book by it's cover, but I don't think it applies to this book. I think you can take one look at this cover and almost immediately know what it's about and that it will take you for an emotional ride. The characters in the story are all very immediately likeable which made me want to know what happened. Even though they are fictional, and I know anyone who loves to read will understand this, I was hoping for a great outcome in the end for them all. I was hoping they would all make it out of the war unscathed. I knew going into it that there was a possibility they wouldn't all make it out alive, but I was rooting for them all anyway. I won't give away anything in that regard here because I am not one for spoilers, but I will say that this Snow on the Tulips really made me feel like I was able to feel these character's thoughts. Whether it be Cornelia, who lost her husband to the war very very early on in their marriage wanting to be helpful to Gerrit and keep him safe even though she knows the risks, or Johan who wants to help with the resistance because he feels like he's sitting idly by while others are helping, you can feel each character's emotions very deeply. I can't even imagine what it would have been like to live in fear because you are hiding someone the Nazi's were after, it would be utterly terrifying every single second and yet so many did. I enjoyed watching the relationship between Corrie and Gerrit grow as the book progressed and I loved that we got to see both of their thoughts regarding each other and to watch them play out was wonderful. It was the very happiest happening in this novel. I would absolutely recommend Snow on the Tulips to anyone who is interested in historical fiction, particularly with a focus on WWII, but I think anyone who enjoys a good romance would love this book as well. I will definitely be reading more novels by Liz Tolsma. I can't wait to see what else she has come up with. 

About Liz Tolsma:


Liz Tolsma has lived in Wisconsin most of her life, and she now resides next to a farm field with her husband, their son, and their two daughters. Add a dog and a cat to that mix and there's always something going on at their house. She's spent time teaching second grade, writing advertising for a real estate company, and working as a church secretary, but she always dreamed of becoming an author.

She'd love to have you visit her at www.liztolsma.com.

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 ******Enter to win a $50 gift card to Amazon.com!!******

Liz Tolsma is celebrating the release of her novel, Snow on the Tulips, by giving away an Amazon Reading Pack to one lucky winner. Find out what readers are saying about the book here.

  One winner will receive:

• A $50 Amazon gift card
• Snow on the Tulips by Liz Tolsma

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 16th. Winner will be announced November 18th at Liz's blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Liz's blog on the 18th to see if you won. (Or, better yet, subscribe to her blog and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox! Just enter your email address on the left sidebar of her blog.)