Embers of Love

Embers of Love

by:  Tracie Peterson

She was certain she could strike a match

After being educated in the east, Deborah Vandermark returns to Perkinsville, Texas, where her family is part of the thriving logging industry. She brings along an unexpected companion—her best friend, who is fleeing a wedding and groom she has no interest in. A determined matchmaker, Deborah sets her sights on uniting her brother and friend in what she hopes will be a true love match.

Then Deborah meets Christopher Clayton, the town's new doctor—and quickly realizes she has a much greater interest in medicine and science than the bookkeeping she studied at college.  Soon Deborah is caught between her fascination for doctoring and her obligation to her family. And in the midst of her warring emotions is the doctor himself• Are her tumultuous feelings for the man, or for what he can teach her?

Tracie Peterson is the award-winning author of over eighty novels, both historical and contemporary. Her avid research resonates in her stories, as seen in her bestselling Heirs of Montana, and Alaskan Quest series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana. Visit Tracie's Web site at www.traciepeterson.com and her blog at www.writespassage.blogspot.com.

My Review:  I enjoy the writing style of Tracie Peterson.  She always has some interesting historical facts woven throughout the storyline, which adds to the appeal of her books.  I enjoyed the strong opinionated female characters in "Embers of Love".  Perhaps because I find myself relating to them in some way?!?  This book definitely makes a good read for a rainy day or when you need some time to relax.

***Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.  Available now at your favorite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group***

The Twelfth Imam

The Twelfth Imam

by:  Joel C. Rosenberg

As the apocalyptic leaders of Iran call for the annihilation of Israel and the U.S., CIA operative David Shirazi is sent into Tehran with one objective: use all means necessary to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons program, without leaving American fingerprints and without triggering a regional war. At extreme personal risk, Shirazi executes his plan.

A native Farsi speaker whose family escaped from Iran in 1979, he couldn’t be better prepared for the mission. But none of his training has prepared Shirazi for what will happen next. An obscure religious cleric is suddenly hailed throughout the region as the Islamic messiah known as the Mahdi or the Twelfth Imam. News of his miracles, healings, signs, and wonders spreads like wildfire, as do rumors of a new and horrific war. 

With the prophecy of the Twelfth Imam seemingly fulfilled, Iran’s military prepares to strike Israel and bring about the End of Days. Shirazi must take action to save his country and the world, but the clock is ticking.

My Review:  I enjoyed this book as it has all of the elements of an exciting book, complete with a character that works for the CIA.  Many of Joel Rosenberg's books are shockingly accurate to real life events, sometimes written before the events have even taken place.  The Twelfth Imam takes place in several time-periods, one of which being in the wake of the 911 tragedy.  It was full of suspense, and even a little romance.  I think anyone who likes to read stories full of action would enjoy this one.

***I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Tyndale Media Centre in exchange for my review***

Reminder

Tomorrow is the last day to enter the Bluewater Seafood giveaway!

The odds are VERY good right now to win a FREE product voucher.  So please comment!!

You have until the end of the day tomorrow.

The Way Home

The Way Home 
DVD

A missing child. A family in crisis. A faith tested. In their darkest hour, God gives hope.

Dean Cain stars as Randy Simpkins, a husband and father torn between the demands of his job and family. Asked by his wife to watch their two-year-old son, Joe, for a few minutes, he becomes distracted by work. When he returns, Joe is gone. He and his wife search desperately for their missing son through the vast countryside. But as their fear grows, the community responds – hundreds of supporters uniting behind the family in a powerful spiritual journey that will test the couple’s love and faith, and forever change a community.

My Review:  Overall I thought this movie was fairly well done.  It did a good job of capturing the emotions from this true story.  I enjoyed watching the "extras" on the video, which interviewed the real Simpkins family.  How this heart-wrenching day changed a man's life for the better is inspiring.  How the entire community came together to help was incredible.  I also appreciate the cleanliness of this film.  There was no language, violence or nudity.  Definitely a family film.  If I was to look for a downside of the film, I would say that some of the actors could have been portrayed better, with a deeper look into their characters.  I found one particular character to be rather suspicious, and I know that this was not the director's intent.

I received this DVD free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 

Bluewater Seafood Review and GIVEAWAY

For over 50 years, BlueWater Seafoods, located in Lachine, Quebec, has been dedicated to expertly preparing high quality, great-tasting seafood. Drawing on a wealth of seafood expertise, BlueWater Seafoods is an innovation leader in the seafood industry.

The BlueWater team is like a family, working closely together to bring you and your family delicious seafood meals.

We take great pride in our products. Our fish and shrimp must pass rigorous inspection, and we use only the finest ingredients in our expert preparation. The result is great-tasting seafood that comes out right, each and every time!

My Review:  I am typically not much of a seafood eater, but over the last few years I have tried to expand my horizons as I understand the nutritional  benefits of eating it.  I was actually not at home when my family cooked up our first Bluewater meal, which was the English Style Haddock, but I was thrilled to hear how much the girls enjoyed it.  Brie had three (yes 3!) helpings of fish that night, and Ella excitedly asked for more at lunch the very next day.  So we cooked up some more and I tried it.  I discovered that it had the perfect amount of crispiness and a really good flavour as well.  We are all looking forward to our next Bluewater meal!

  

I also received some of the collapsible bags which will be really handy for keeping in my purse or van for those short shopping trips.  

Bluewater has graciously agreed to give away Five (5) Full-Value coupons to my readers!!

If you would like to WIN a voucher for a FREE Bluewater product, as well as a collapsible bag, simply leave me a comment.  You have until the end of October 20th to enter.  

For extra entries leave a separate comment for each of the following:

1. Follow my blog (link on the right)
2. Subscribe to my blog (link on the right)
3. Add my blog button to your blog (code on the right)
4. Blog about this giveaway and send me the link
5. Follow Me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (once per day)

Fun For The Whole Family Hour

Sail Into God’s Great Love With Fun-for-the-Whole-Family Hour

Group Publishing has set sail on a brand new expedition, where families will embark on an adventure to discover God’s love. In their very first Fun-for-the-Whole-Family Hour event, Group partners with Walden Media and 20^th Century Fox, using scenes from the new Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Fun-for-the-Whole-Family Hour combines eye-opening discussions and upbeat music with the thrilling adventure of Narnia in an experience that connects all ages with each other and with God.  

Fun-for-the-Whole-Family Hour is one action-packed hour where participants will discuss never-before-seen clips from the movie, listen to music, watch a skit, and grow in their faith. Participants will divide into family groups of no more than five. Each group is given their own expedition pack, which contains an interactive expedition map that uses water to reveal hidden messages, guiding each family to look at God’s transforming love in a whole new way. It also includes a CD with all the music so families can continue their adventure at home. Clips from the Narnia movie will help them explore how God’s love changes us. Fun-for-the-Whole-Family Hour makes reaching families easier than ever.

Fun-for-the-Whole-Family Hour is flexible, easy to implement, and a great value. Everything you need to get started is in the Leader Pack, which includes:

·         Leader Guide

·         DVD containing a promotional video and clips from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 

·         CD containing clip art, publicity helps, drama script, and PowerPoint song lyrics slides

·         Family Expedition Pack (sample)

·         Publicity Poster (sample)

Fun-for-the-Whole-Family Hour came out of a desire to let families share in simple, life-changing experiences like the ones kids explore at Group’s vacation Bible school. “In Group’s many years of ministry experience, we’ve seen families connect in unique ways during VBS,” according to Group’s Shannon Velasquez. “Fun-for-the-Whole-Family Hour brings families together for laughter, drama, and music, creating a starting point for family faith-building conversations.” 

Group has a reputation of being hands-on in growing children’s relationships with Christ, and this new product does not disappoint. Nothing fires you up like seeing kids “get it” as you teach…and seeing the children you serve grow closer to God.  This practical, time-saving resource makes that happen.  

Fun-for-the-Whole-Family Hour Leader Pack—ISBN 978-0-7644-4288-9/$19.99

Fun-for-the-Whole-Family Hour Family Expedition Pack—ISBN 978-0-7644-4289-6/$5.99

Fun-for-the-Whole-Family Hour Publicity Poster Pack—ISBN 978-0-7644-4287-2/$9.99

Group Publishing, August 2010

For more product information, visit familyhour.group.com.

My Review:  I think this is set up to make a really fun family event.  The movie clips are exciting and make you want to see more of "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader".  I like the songs that are included in the CD and I know that my girls will be singing them for a long time.  My favorite part of this kit would definitely have to be the Family Expedition Pack.  It comes with a CD and a special treasure map, and the kids can help reveal sections of it throughout the family event.  What a great way to engage the kids and get them involved!  It also has questions to continue the discussion at home too.

The town that we just moved from a few months ago actually did the High Seas VBS this summer, which coordinates well with this, so I have already mentioned this kit to their organizers.  It would be a perfect way to with connect the many kids that come to VBS but do not attend a church during the school year.  It also continues with the Sailing Seas theme so the decorating and even some of the songs are the same, with some great new additions.

I am looking forward to hearing how it goes in a few months!

Overdue

Well I know that an update is long overdue on here!

Life is busier than ever, and some days I wonder why I still bother to keep up with this blog.

(The free stuff may have a little something to do with it!)

I do have some positive updates about the girls that I wanted to share on here.

Brie is maturing each week.  She has a beautiful personality and more often than not she thinks of other people (namely her little sister) before herself.  She is gentle and kind, and very generous.

Of course we know how intelligent she is.  After all, she began reading one month after she turned 4.  She has been reading for almost 3 years already, well ahead of the average age for new readers.  She already reads entire chapter books on her own.

So when her teacher started sending reading homework home, we knew that it was going to be fairly boring for her (one sentence on a page).  John spoke with her teacher and immediately the next day she was bringing home larger books, but still not something that would give her any type of challenge.

Just this past week she brought home a keyring that had some words that the kids were supposed to memorize.  They were two-letter words, such as 'an, in, on, or'.  It was attached with a newsletter that said to send back the keyring when the child could read all of the words on it.  Well obviously she already knew them, but she did not want to tell her teacher that since "they weren't supposed to bring them back yet".  We strongly encouraged her to read them to her teacher for several days, but Brie was very hesitant to say anything at all.  However, finally yesterday she did it!  And she read the other keyrings that were supposed to be sent home for the remainder of the year as well!!

As a reward, she got a new chapter book and a little keychain that says "Reading Rocks", from her teacher.  I am excited to know that her teacher finally GETS how good of a reader she is already.

Another great thing about yesterday?

It was the very first day, since school started in August, that she ran out to the playground by herself when we dropped her off.

Both of these situations show me how much she has matured.  She is most often a painfully shy kid who does not like to be alone or draw attention to herself.  She somehow managed to conquer both of those in one single day!!

As for Ella, well her Pre-K teacher said it best:

"She is the Belle of the Ball!"

She loves making new friends and having a good time wherever she is.  So everyone wants to be with her and have fun too!

She is loving school and dance, and now she has begun piano as well.  She is in the Music for Young Children (MYC) program, which seems to be a lot of fun so far.  Even Brie has enjoyed participating in the group activities.




What about me?

Things are going well.  I'm trying to get adjusted to another type of class, as I am taking three this semester through AU.  These courses are all "independent study" which means I am entirely on my own for learning the material.  There is nothing to read but the textbooks.  So it will be a new type of challenge, but I'm hoping that it also provides a bit more flexibility in how I get through the semester.

It also appears that the U of R will also be offering the English class that I need in order to actually apply to the Social Work program.  I have enough credits now, I have just been waiting for this last pre-requisite to be offered somewhere!  This class will begin in January.  The deadline for Social Work is also January.  This means that I could apply under the assumption that I would pass that course.

I'm excited at the prospect of actually being in the SW program, but I'm also nervous about the application as it's fairly detailed with regards to work and volunteer experience, and how this relates to a career in SW.  I'm also trying to find ways to get involved already in our new town so that my volunteer experiences are current.  I have submitted my name at the elementary school for anything, but I'm also hoping to get involved in our church somehow.

John has been busy with renovations around the house.  He has completed the improvements on both main floor bathrooms; with new flooring, new cabinets and some paint.

We are also putting up a garage in the very near future, which we are both excited about.  Our concrete should be getting poured on Monday, and our materials are coming on Friday.  This is the third house that we have lived in, and this will be our very first garage.  It will be sooooo nice to get rid of the tools, camping stuff, and other miscellaneous clutter in the house and shed.

Well I think that kind of gets us up to date.

For now, anyways!