10 things...

I appreciate about sports:
(in no particular order)
1. The attention to detail given to tracking stats. I mean, where else do you find out how many yards the top 4 running backs covered in any 3 year span.
2. Someone's ( I say someone because I do not know the hero of which I speak) amazing ability to get stains out of clothes.
3. Uniforms. I'm all for uniforms.
4. I little cheat-sheet thing some football players wear on their forearms. I could use one of those on days I need to be on my A-game.
5. The camaraderie an athletic event demands. In what other moment can you gather people from so many races, financial brackets, education, height & weight?
6. The small, yet very precise and clear, little camera that zooms atop the football (and soccer too, maybe?) field.
7. That writing about sports fields makes me practice the elementary grammar rule: i before e except after c. I will always need to practice that rule. I do not like the word "field" for some reason.
8. The level of commitment that teammates have to one another and their coach, typically. I like that. It's not seen in many other areas of life.
9. The commercials.
10. The headsets. Headsets that tell you what to do, when to do, who to have help you....all at the very second you need it. I could use a headset like that. Please?

Book Review: Night, Night Blessings (ebook version) good story

This was my first e-book download....and to my surprise, I really liked it. Last week, I downloaded a copy of Night, Night Blessings by Amy Parker onto my IPad. I was a little hesitant. I have maintained my membership in the real-paper&ink-book-in-hand club, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

Parker did a great job with her poetic, thankful blessings to be read before bed. My girls loved it and loved swiping through the pages on my IPad. Additionally, her pictures were  sweet and gentle. (Can a picture be gentle? I think so. Anyway....) 

Great story. Get it digitally. Read it to your kids. 

Thanks BookSneeze for a free book download in exchange for an honest review.  

Book Review: Faith & Culture: buy 2 copies- one for yourself and one for someone else

Faith & Culture (by Kelly Kullburg) is another great resource to add to your booklist and bookshelf. This book was a collection of 15 weeks worth of devotional readings which cover weekly themes in the areas of literature, art, history, science, pop culture, etc. The writing was tight and thought provoking. At the end of the page or two for each reading, questions were provided for further thought. 

I feel this text would best be accepted by younger adults and college students...or anyone with heart for or similar to them. 

I loved that within weeks of reading the book, I found myself coming in contact with people or topics mentioned in the readings. This isn’t some dusty relic hoping to be rediscovered. This is fresh, current, and real stuff. 

Grab a copy for yourself and another young person you know.  

Zondervan provided a free copy for me in exchange for an honest and real review. Thanks Zondervan. You can pick up your own copy here. 

By the way, I also love the old and dusty relics! 

Book Review: Surprised By Oxford....a keeper

She belonged to the group before she believed anything they said. He lived a life worthy of noticing, in front of anyone wanting to watch. Wonderful and amazing things happened because of it all. Carolynn’s story is normal and exciting, typical and captivating all at the same time. In her memoir Surprised by Oxford, Carolynn tells her own story of the year she spent studying at one of the oldest universities in the world. She shares about the friends she meets, the culture she comes to love, the professors that challenge her and her family back home in the states that are puzzled by what she finds in a far away place. 

I found myself feeling like I was Carolynn’s friend too, sitting right next to her, experiencing all she was experiencing along with her. I quickly read the 440 pages in just a few days. 

Carolynn writes on page 138, “I began to worry that perhaps I was getting in over my head here. It was occurring to me that believing in the Bible was an all-or-nothing affair. Either you believe it is the revealed Word of God, or you don’t. It’s like being pregnant. Impossible. Either you are in or you are out. Having eliminated lunatic, given the unavoidable seriousness warranted of my attention, was it now liar or Lord? I was still not sure. Yet why did reading this text give me goose bumps- literal goose bumps- more consistently than anything else I had ever read? Why did my life and how it related to the lives of others hitherto now make more sense, and yet more than ever, in and of itself, not seem enough?” 

Grab a copy. Here!

I would recommend this book to any student or adult. I would also recommend this book to anyone interested in getting into the mind of someone who grew up “around” Christianity, but really has no idea what this whole Bible-thing is all about. This puts words to something that I feel is really confusing to many trusting people. 

Thomas Nelson provided a free copy of Surprised by Oxford, by Carolynn Weber in exchange for an honest review. Thanks TNP! 

Giveaway & Book Review: Nobody's Child- Pass it along rating

This was a first for me. A bioethics suspense novel. I just finished reading Nobody’s Child by Austin Boyd. Set in a small town in West Virginia, Laura Ann fights to save her family’s farm with everything she’s got- literally. As her father is dying, his medical bills mount and the mortgage on the farm needs continual attention to remain their own. The 20 year old heroine (my new favorite word, thanks Jess F.!) works hard to keep it all afloat. The town sends rumors around about her business practices. However, Laura Ann holds fast to her convictions, beliefs, and farm. 

Boyd did a great job at holding my attention well enough to unfold each tidbit of his suspense novel. I seldom read fiction, but I found this to be an enjoyable story about a strong girl. I nice addition to my summer reading. 

As far as my own rating scale, I’d give Nobody’s Child a “pass it along” rating. I think someone else would enjoy it, but it’s not worth the space on my shelf to keep around. 

Thanks Zondervan for a free copy to review on my blog! 

Now for the giveaway. Would anyone like a free copy of this book? I'll happily send along my own copy. All you need to do is leave a comment about your favorite book you've read this summer! I'll randomly pick a winner later in the week! 

Book Review: The Blessing: Buying more copies for other people!

Can you imagine the feeling of being accepted fully, forever, no matter the circumstances? Can you imagine knowing that who you are makes someone else happy? 

I recently read The Blessing with a handful of other moms in my community. We met twice a month and discussed our thoughts and reactions to the section of the book we read. I found myself thinking more about my own childhood than for my kids and you’ll see why if you read the book. 

The Blessing begins with explaining the biblical origins of giving someone a blessing. Trent and Smalley use the Old Testament narrative of Jacob and Essau as a scriptural background for this idea of blessing our children. 

The idea is that speaking a blessing over our children was modeled by God and others in the Bible as a way to speak life into particular areas for that child. General and specific details of that blessing are unique to that child and can be spoken over him or her during times of prayer- such as bedtime- or other precious times. 

Trent and Smalley write to say that we, as humans, are born with a desire to be wanted, to grow and to make those that love us proud. What happens when someone is raised in a family where their blessing is never given or the idea of blessing another is unknown? What happens if you are a part of a family that receiving that blessing- the knowledge that you were wanted and loved no matter who you turned out to be- was not an option when you were a child, or even now? Is it possible to be “blessed” as an adult? 

Lastly, Trent and Smalley provide a skeleton with which one can build a blessing for their child, friend, spouse or family member. This is super helpful, especially for those that have not had personal experience with hearing a blessing spoken over them or someone else before. I was glad this section was included in the book. A several page list is included in the back of the book that describes what many people consider a blessing handed down by their parents- again, very helpful. 

I mentioned before that when I read this book, I found myself thinking more of my own childhood than my kids. Parts of this book stirred emotions in me that were surprising. I found myself wanting something, then I felt God opening my eyes to show me how he had so beautifully provided what I lacked. Over and over again I have heard statements of blessing spoken over me- by people I couldn’t have brought into my life on my own. God provides where there is insufficiency- time and time again. 

You can read more about The Blessing at theblessing.com

I was provided a free digital copy of this book by the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Get a copy ASAP and read it. Read it if you have kids. Read it if you have grandkids. Read it if you don’t have kids. Read if it you are married. Read it if you aren’t married. Read it if you have heartbeat. 

Women of Faith's REJOICE cd Review: A keeper

After my trip to the gym today, I came home to a surprise in my mailbox! I received a copy of Women of Faith’s REJOICE CD to review! Sweet. I popped it into my laptop on the kitchen counter and my girls and I listened to it while we ate lunch.

Women of Faith did a good job compiling a collection of worship songs that touch the hearts of listeners from all generations. I also love adding a few set of worship songs to my playlist. According to my own rating scale, I give the REJOICE CD “keeper” status. 

Thanks BookSneeze for sending me this free copy in exchange for an honest review!