Product review: Angry Birds GO! Pig Rock Raceway Set

Both my boys are Angry Birds crazy. Well, truth being told...the whole family is Angry Birds crazy! My oldest marks the calendar to remind himself that a new game is coming out. He's a get-through-it-fast kind of player and I'm a get-all-3-stars-before-you-move-on player. We have every app and several of the play at home sets.

So of course, we had to get Angry Birds GO! as soon as it was available. Angry Birds GO! is kart racing action on the iPad. My son absolutely loves the game and is begging me for the in-app purchases.

The game is pretty simple: it's racing on Piggy Island. There are twists and turns and hazards, roadblocks, special powers and just everything you can expect from a racing game. Of course, you can also upgrade your car as you play...

The big draw for my kiddo is that he can play as either a bird or pig. There are TelePods available which allow you to insert favorite characters into the game and use them. It's fairly simple to use them.

A related product is a play at home version of the racing. Angry Birds GO! Telepods Pig Rock Raceway set is just one add-on set where you can get both a bird (Red) and an exclusive pig (King Pig) to teleport into your game.

The game itself is retail priced at $29.99 and is available now for ages 5+. I must say though that my 4 year old loves it too and has no trouble putting it together or playing with it.

The track itself is easy to set up and the head-to-head aspect of the racing was the most fun for the boys. The older one thought that the red bird went faster. That's not verified in any way beyond a 7 year old's excitement!

 They had more fun racing against each other, but have both continued to play with it by themselves just fine too. (Sorry about the blurry photo...they wouldn't sit still long enough for a picture!)

I received a play set in exchange for an honest review. No additional compensation has been received. All opinions are from myself and my two sons.

Book Review: Nelson's Annual Preacher's Sourcebook, Volume 3

Nelson's Annual Preacher's Sourcebook, Volume 3
Dr. O.S. Hawkins
Thomas Nelson, 2013
English, 592 pgs, DVD included

Description:
Preach great sermons and plan innovative worship services with the newest edition of Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook. This volume is the same sermon planner you have come to depend on for more than ten years. Outstanding pastors provide an entire year’s worth of preaching and worship resources for every week. Look for a new volume every fall.
Features include:

• Sermons, creative outlines, illustrations, and quotes for every week of the year
• Worship helps, including hymns, prayers, and Scripture texts
• Inspirational thoughts and preaching techniques
• Sermons for special occasions and holidays

Review:
 

The third volume of Nelson’s excellent “Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook” continues the work of the previous editions, giving pastors a well-written tool for ministry. The volume contains a year’s worth of  “sermons, creative outlines, illustrations, and quotes…worship helps, hymns, prayers, and Scripture texts.” This volume also features preaching and ministry techniques used by several of today’s noted preachers, including Jim Henry’s (Pastor Emeritus at First Baptist Church, Orlando, FL) excellent discussion on the pastor and the wedding, Russell D. Moore (President, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission) and Phillip R. Bethancourt’s (Executive Vice President, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission) timely discourse on preaching through moral and ethical issues, and Steven Smith’s (Dean, Professor of Communication, The College At Southwestern) teaching on text-based preaching through the Gospels. These essays alone are worth the purchase of the book.

 

This volume also includes a DVD of files associated with each of the sermons and events presented in Rich Text Format. This is of particular use with registries, as it allows the user to import the unformatted files into Microsoft Word or other word processors and easily reformat the files to their needs and aesthetic desires.

 

There are some who might balk at the idea of this sourcebook, as if it were somehow intellectually or spiritually dishonest for a preacher to use sermons written by someone else. As the wife of a busy pastor in a mid-sized church, I can see the utility of such a volume as this. As my husband said, “A book like this provides sound, Biblically-grounded material from which to start.” The provision of the entire sermon allows pastors to read and understand how others construct and deliver sermons, much like musicians watching, learning and even performing parts of other musicians’ work. As editor (and noted Southern Baptist pastor) O.S. Hawkins states in the introduction, “It is not designed to provide an ‘easy fix’ for late Saturday sermon preparation.” 

There is opportunity for growth and development of new inspirational tools in the pastor’s toolbox. But just like any other tool, it depends on how it is used. If used correctly, as a help and inspiration, this sourcebook can be an invaluable tool for pastors. If used merely as a source for copying, the arguments against such a tool can quickly become valid.

 I received a copy of the book from BookSneeze for the purpose of this review. No additional compensation has been received and I was not required to write a positive review.

Book Review: Love and Respect in the Family

Love and Respect in the Family
By Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
Thomas Nelson, 2013
English, 288 pgs

Description:
Children need love. Parents need respect.

It is as simple and complex as that!

When frustrated with an unresponsive child, a parent doesn’t declare, “You don’t love me.” Instead the parent asserts, “You are being disrespectful right now.” A parent needs to feel respected, especially during conflicts. When upset a child does not whine, “You don’t respect me.” Instead, a child pouts, “You don’t love me.” A child needs to feel loved, especially during disputes.

But here’s the rub: An unloved child (or teen) negatively reacts in a way that feels disrespectful to a parent. A disrespected parent negatively reacts in a way that feels unloving to the child. This dynamic gives birth to the FAMILY CRAZY CYCLE.

So how is one to break out of this cycle? Best-selling author Emerson Eggerichs has studied the family dynamic for more than 30 years, having his Ph.D. in Child and Family Ecology. As a senior pastor for nearly two decades, Eggerichs builds on a foundation of strong biblical principles, walking the reader through an entirely new way to approach the family dynamic. For instance, God reveals ways to defuse the craziness with our children from preschooler to teen, plus how to motivate them to obey and how to deal with them when they don’t. In the Bible, God has spoken specifically to parents on how to parent. This book is about that revelation.

My Review:
I have read book after book on parenting and discipline trying to figure out how to better relate to and teach my boys. I think this is the book I've been looking for all along!

I had read Love and Respect for marriage and it has never occurred to me to apply the same principles to my sons. I've changed the way I relate to them and speak to them and I'm seeing boys open up and talk, hug more and even chase me down to give me a kiss "just because".

The biggest thing that has changed is me. I've learned that my worth isn't dependent on my children's behavior. My response is my responsibility. My value and place in the world isn't up to them to decide. I cannot force my children to do anything. They make their choices and they decide for themselves whether or not to obey. It has nothing to do with how I parent them. I am accountable to God for how I raise these boys, they are accountable to God with how they act and react.

I know that things are not going to be perfect, but they're getting better thanks to the GUIDES principles in the book and being able to identify the Family Crazy Cycle and how to get off of it when it starts.

I received a copy of the book in exchange for a review. No additional compensation has been received and I was not required to write a positive review.

Book Tour and Review: Promise Me Texas

Jodi Thomas, NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

Promise Me Texas (Whispering Mountain Book #7)

Berkley, 2013
English, 320 pages

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Jodi Thomas returns to Texas with her seventh Whispering Mountain historical about an unpredictable adventure in romance that sets two unlikely hearts on fire…
 

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Bestseller Thomas strikes gold again with her seventh Whispering Mountain historical (after Wild Texas Rose), set in 1879 Texas. When 24-year-old Beth McMurray sneaks onto a train to surprise her fiancé, former Senator Lamont LaCroix, she's shocked to overhear him bragging about his plans for her and her money. Then robbers board the train and it goes off the rails. Just before the crash, one of the robbers grabs Beth and jumps off the train, taking the fall to protect her. He's hurt, but she stays with him, claiming that he's her husband. The sheriff and the doctor believe that Beth is now Mrs. Andrew McLaughlin, but LaCroix does not. Meanwhile, widower Andrew reveals his hidden depths: when he's not robbing trains, he longs to be an author. By the time Beth drives a wagon out of town, she has collected a pretend husband, two little boys, an ill teen cowboy, and a pregnant young woman, and the adventure has just begun. Complex plotting, superb character development, and touching romantic scenes make this a winner.

“One of my favorites.” —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York TImes Bestselling author
 
“PROMISE ME TEXAS is one of the best western historical tales of this year!”—Vickie@ReaderToReader.com


Description: On a midnight train, four hours away from her wedding, Beth McMurray discovers the devastating truth about the powerful senator she's about to marry. Convinced nothing could make this stormy night worse, the train wrecks, and she tumbles straight into the arms of an outlaw.

Andrew McLaughlin doesn't believe in loving except between the pages of his writings. He loved deeply once and thinks he'll never survive another loss. To save a friend, he climbs aboard a train heading toward Dallas. In the moment before the train crashes, he saves a beautiful woman and is injured in the fall. He wakes up to find she’s claimed him as her fiancé—and now they’re both on the run, and destined to do everything it takes to make an unexpected promise of love come true.

A Word from the Author:

Over the years of writing I’ve included a writer as one of the characters in a book many times.  Maybe it’s because I understand them so well.  In my new historical romance, PROMISE ME TEXAS, I wrote about Beth McMurray and Andrew McLaughlin. 

 

Beth is the spoiled, loving, very proper, youngest child of Teagan McMurray from Whispering Mountain. Andrew is drifting through life with no direction.  Like most writers, he’s interested in people of all kinds.  When he comes across a gang of outlaws, he can’t resist tagging along to hear the stories they tell.  Once he realizes they are about to rob a train, he can’t step away without putting his friend in danger.

 

These two very different people find a most unusual love amid all the friends and family who are trying to ‘save them’ from themselves.  Their make-believe marriage begins to feel very real as Beth lies to her father, the great Teagan McMurray. PROMISE ME TEXAS is the story of a strong loving family who founded Whispering Mountain Ranch and how their big hearts open up to let others in.

 

Readers often ask me where my characters come from.  That is a hard question to answer.  For the most part I just open my mind and let them walk in. 

 

That’s what happened when I began this story.  Beth had been a baby in another book.  Andrew was lost, trying to find his reason for life.  He was one of those men she wouldn’t have given a second glance to if fate hadn’t stepped in and tossed them together.  Once she saw him, really saw him, she wouldn’t let go.  

I think the hardest thing in life is finding what direction to head.  Real people as well as those in my head sometimes have trouble finding the road to take.  Maybe the important thing is to simply keep walking.

 

I hope everyone enjoys PROMISE ME TEXAS.  I promise I’ll take you on a great adventure that will make you smile and maybe just laugh out loud.  If might even remind you of the day you took the path less traveled and ended up in a most delightful place.

 

Enjoy the adventure,

Jodi Thomas

My Review:

This is my favorite Whispering Mountain book so far! At first, it seems really far fetched that Bethie would do what she does...but then again the McMurray girls have been so entertaining that you never know what they're going to do!

The side characters, the twins, Colby and Madeline, are so great too! I love the resolution to all the stories. It feels like everything was settled at the end.

I'm just wondering what's next for Whispering Mountain? With Beth being the youngest and married off, I can't think of another character to keep the story line going!

I love that there are hints and mentions of characters from other books, especially Duncan, who was one of my favorite characters in the previous books.

I think my favorite thing about the books though is that they're familiar. They're set in Texas, some in Fort Worth, and it's like reading about your friend's family or something. The characters are fun, complex and very entertaining.

All I know is, as much as I am glad I live in this day and age, it would be fun to inhabit the world of the McMurrays.

I received an advance copy of the book from Ms. Thomas in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a  positive review and no additional compensation has been received. All opinions about the context of the book are my own, unless specifically attributed to another reviewer.

Book Review: Woman Living Well

Women Living Well
By Courtney Joseph
Thomas Nelson, 2013
English, 242 pages

Description:

Women desire to live well. However, living well in this modern world is a challenge. The pace of life, along with the new front porch of social media, has changed the landscape of our lives. Women have been told for far too long that being on the go and accumulating more things will make their lives full. As a result, we grasp for the wrong things in life and come up empty.

God created us to walk with him; to know him and to be loved by him. He is our living well and when we drink from the water he continually provides, it will change us. Our marriages, our parenting, and our homemaking will be transformed. 

Mommy-blogger Courtney Joseph is a cheerful realist. She tackles the challenge of holding onto vintage values in a modern world, starting with the keys to protecting our walk with God. No subject is off-limits as she moves on to marriage, parenting, and household management.

Rooted in the Bible, her practical approach includes tons of tips that are perfect for busy moms, including:  

• Simple Solutions for Studying God’s Word
• How to Handle Marriage, Parenting, and Homemaking in a Digital Age
• 10 Steps to Completing Your Husband
• Dealing With Disappointed Expectations in Motherhood
• Creating Routines that Bring Rest
• Pursuing the Discipline and Diligence of the Proverbs 31 Woman 

There is nothing more important than fostering your faith, building your marriage, training your children, and creating a haven for your family. Women Living Well is a clear and personal guide to making the most of these precious responsibilities.

Review:
As a stay at home mom, by choice, I can appreciate the point of view of Courtney Joseph in this book. She takes a very conservative, Biblical view of the woman's role in the house. She discusses 4 main areas where we are to focus our energies: Our walk with the Lord, Our Marriage, Our Kids and Our Housekeeping.

I found a lot of really good information in the book and I have noticed a change in our family dynamic as well as my marriage by implementing some of the strategies and ideas she puts forth. I really cannot say enough how relieved I am to find a book that validates and encourages me more.

Favorite Quotes:
The voice of the Lord is powerful and majestic, yet it is nearly impossible to hear over the clamor of this world.

It is in times of solitude that God refuels us and we can hear his voice.

Take time to pray over your family as you do daily chores and clean ups.

Our use of media determines its morality.

Information can keep us from wisdom.

When we follow God's plan for marriage, we will be different.

Communicate with your husband about your priorities.

Don't waste your influence. (This is regarding teaching our children about the Lord.)

Will the world change your children or will your children change the world?

My children will only be as disciplined with their emotions as I am with mine. (!)

Give yourself permission not to have your to-do list all checked off in order to rest and get alone with God.

Take a bubble bath!

Media gives us ideas, but steals the time to implement them.

I received a copy of the book from BookSneeze for the purpose of writing an honest review. No additional compensation has been received, or will be received, and I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: 10 Great Dates

!0 Great Dates: Connecting Faith, Love & Marriage
Peter & Heather Larson and David & Claudia Arp
Bethany House, 2013
English, 176 pages

Description:

Finally, a Way to Connect Spiritually That You'll BOTH Enjoy!
While juggling the kids, work, church, and community commitments, are you and your spouse finding time to connect? When was the last time you had a good talk about faith or did a devotional together?

To help you jump-start deeper connections, four marriage experts have come up with 10 creative date ideas, each centered on a spiritual theme, including:

• Appreciating your differences
• Experiencing God together
• Facing the storms of life
• Connecting through prayer

With the planning taken care of--including flexible suggestions for before, during, and after the date--you and your spouse can simply enjoy the time sharing what's important in life.

Download a free leader's guide for small groups at 10greatdates.org.

Review:
This is a good book. Even if you can't get the dates themselves done (we don't have a babysitter at this time, so we did the "dates" in evenings after kids went to bed) you can use the book as a devotional book and a guide to reconnecting with your spouse.

Each date has a chapter to read, questions for personal reflection, tear-out pages to take with you on your date for discussion and a follow-up devotion for the week.

It sounds like the authors are going to give you date ideas, but they're more general then specific. They sound like it's more of a dinner or coffee house date setting. The whole point is to facilitate conversation, so a movie date really wouldn't be what you would do anyway.

I like that each date has follow up devotions and questions. I know a lot of the time we talk a lot about something and then have questions later but don't get around to asking them. Setting aside a private devotion time together will really help with this.

I received a copy of the book from Bethany House in exchange for a review. No additional compensation has been received and I was not required to write a positive review.

Book Review: If You Were Me and Lived in...Norway

If You Were Me and Lived In...Norway
By Carole P. Roman
Self Published, 2013
English, 32 pages

Description:
Join Carole P. Roman on a trip to the Northern Hemisphere and learn about Norway- The Land Of the Midnight Sun. In this exciting series, children are able to read about the many things we share in this great, big world of ours. If You Were Me and Lived in...Norway describes many things that make that country unique and fun. Readers will be able to learn about the capital, common names, a beloved holiday, as well as favorite food and other fun facts. This book is an excellent introduction for those beginners who want to learn about the many thrilling places and great people who share our planet.

Review:
This is one of many books in this series which introduces kids to other countries and cultures. I got it because my older son (7) is very interested in geography and learning about what kids do in other parts of the world. He really enjoyed this book. It was really fun to listen to him try to sound out the Norwegian words.

The pictures are cute and it was very easy for him to read by himself. (With a little help on the Norwegian words.) He has started calling his dad Pappa and he was thrilled when I served him waffles with yogurt (there is a page about vaflers with krem) and really wants to go to the ice hotel in the winter (not gonna happen!).

I'm very excited about the other books in this series and using them to further introduce cultures and countries to him.

I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. No additional compensation has been received and I was not required to write a positive review.

Book Review: Unglued

Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions
By Lysa TerKeurst
Zondervan, 2012
English, 208 pgs

Description:
God gave us emotions to experience life, not destroy it! Lysa TerKeurst admits that she, like most women, has had experiences where others bump into her happy and she comes emotionally unglued. We stuff, we explode, or we react somewhere in between. What do we do with these raw emotions? Is it really possible to make emotions work for us instead of against us? Yes, and in her usual inspiring and practical way, Lysa will show you how. Filled with gut-honest personal examples and biblical teaching, Unglued will equip you to: Know with confidence how to resolve conflict in your important relationships. Find peace in your most difficult relationships as you learn to be honest but kind when offended. Identify what type of reactor you are and how to significantly improve your communication. Respond with no regrets by managing your tendencies to stuff, explode, or react somewhere in between. Gain a deep sense of calm by responding to situations out of your control without acting out of control.

Review:
This is one of the best books I've read in a while. I have already recommended it to a handful of women at church and have passed the book to my husband to read as well. You have to read it.

There are two basic types of people discussed in the book, exploders and stuffers. There are those who explode with emotion and those who stuff their feeling deep inside. Neither is really a good way to handle emotions. And you can be both, depending on circumstance and the person you're dealing with at the time.

It's important to note that the book is not a "miracle cure". You have to be willing to work toward the imperfect progress, wrapping yourself and your situations in grace. She teaches how to gain perspective in a situation as well as a few tips on how to keep from exploding or let emotions out without stuffing them inside.

She reminds us that we have the power to control our thoughts and that having conversations (or rehashing them) in our head can cause us to have unrealistic expectations and cause us to label ourselves and keep perpetuating the problem.

She discusses four categories: The Exploder Who Shames Herself, The Exploder Who Blames Others, The Stuffer Who Builds Barriers and The Stuffer Who Collects Retaliation Rocks. There are practical tips and discussion about each.

There is available a study guide with a DVD (which is very likely to be our Spring Bible Study) as well as a 60 day devotional book. 

Favorite Quotes:

• We can face things that are out of our control and not be out of control. (This is printed out and posted on my fridge!)
• A soul who believes she can't leave...doesn't.
• There is courage and strength in starting somewhere.
• Condemnation defeats us. Conviction unlocks the greatest potential for change.
•  Soul Integrity brings the passion of the exploder and the peacemaking of the stuffer under the authority of Jesus Christ where honesty and godliness embrace and balance each other.
• Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. Holy restraint is the seed.
• The more we dance around an issue, the more emotional yuck gets dragged into it.
• My job isn't to fix the difficult people or enable them to continue disrespectful or abusive behaviors. My job is to be obedient to God in the way I act and respond to those people.
• Comfort zones don't always have to be comfortable, just familiar.
• Make the courageous choice to embrace what is and to fill our souls with all of the good reality right in front of us.
• We don't need anyone's approval on our obedience. Only God's.
• The Sabbath not only needs to be observed but also preserved. The observer remembers to rest. The preserver rests to remember - remember that it's all about God.
• We get into trouble when, instead of parking our minds on truth, we let them idle in perception.
• Anytime I start hearing lies speaking louder than truth, it's an indicator my soul is starving for God's Word.

I received a copy of the book from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review. No additional compensation has been received and all opinions are my own.

Book Review: The Miner's Lady

The Miner's LadyBy Tracie Peterson
Bethany House, 2013
English, 336 pgs

Description:
When Chantel Panetta's younger sister claims to be in love with Orlando Calarco, Chantel knows there is no hope. The Panettas and Calarcos have been sworn enemies for decades, and young love cannot heal the deep wounds between the two iron-mining families. Yet, unable to resist Isabella's pleas, Chantel agrees to help her sister spend time with Orlando...only to have a run-in with Dante, Orlando's brother.

Chantel can't deny the attraction that flares when she's with Dante. But when a tragedy occurs at the mine, is there any hope that the hatred that has simmered between these two families might be resolved? Or will Chantel and Isabella's hope for love be buried amidst decades of misunderstanding?

Review:
I'm conflicted. I liked the book enough that I read it in three days. I liked the Italian American families and the budding city/industrial area aspect. I liked that it was well paced and that the romances (yep, two) were tender and respectful.

I didn't like that I could predict everything that would happen. But I also know that those of us who read Christian romance books are not looking for anything beyond the usual. There was one surprise in it and it almost felt like it was added afterward or something just to have another suspenseful part.

I'm not one to give away plot points so I can't say more than that, but a secondary story line felt rushed and trivial. It felt like it was there only as a "danger" aspect that really didn't add anything to the story.

However, like I said, I read it in three days. At the start, there seemed to be a lot of mining jargon that made it read kinda slow, but that lets up and the story moves into family ties, family feuds and romance.

It's a good book. Would be great for taking on a flight or something where you want something light to read.

I received a copy of the book in exchange for a positive review. No additional compensation has been received and all opinions are my own.

Back to School/Football Wreath

The front of my house is exceedingly plain. I have a black thumb so I do not have pretty plants. We don't own the house so we can't change paint colors. So my method of decoration is wreaths. I've been trying to have a new wreath each month to reflect a holiday or something.

My September wreath is a Back to School/Football Season wreath. In Texas it would also classify as a Homecoming wreath since I used lots of little things the girls use on their mums.

I used two and a half lengths of silver garland. Green shiny paper stars, plastic homecoming cutsy things and glue dots. I used the only wreath frame available at my local superstore so it's a wrapped raffia type. I really wanted a styrofoam, but this was what they had.

I began my wrapping the garland around the frame. I secured each end and several places along the middle with the glue dots. Lots of glue dots. You can see in the above picture that I wrapped it pretty tight so it would be very full.

I was planning to use a Mardi Gras type beaded necklace as my hanger so I placed it across the wreath where it would be when on the door. Then I started placing the stars. Again...lots of glue dots. I found that the dots were removable with a little force if they're put in the wrong place, as was the case with the one at about 10-11 o'clock on the above picture.

Next step was just putting the football things on the wreath. I added one for the band. Because no football game is complete without the band.

At this point, I thought it would be better if I hung it on the door and worked on placement. I'm really glad I did that because I was able to see a big gap in things and that one star needed to be moved..

Anyway, here's the finished product. I'm really happy with it and cannot wait to get started on the next one for Halloween!