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Twice Promised

Posted by html404 on November 4, 2012
in Books, Reviews

The old west has always intrigued me with the pioneers traveling in wagons, leaving comfortable lives for the unknown, the mining towns and even mail-order brides. I don’t think I could have ever been a mail-order bride but I do like to read about them.

Twice Promised is a novel written by Maggie Brendan. It is about two mail order brides who travel to Central City, Colorado to meet their future husbands. They realize upon arriving they are there to meet the same man, Jess Gifford. Unbeknownst to Jess, his dear brother, Zach, corresponded with the two lovely ladies to give him a choice of wives.

The story line kept my attention only because I was interested in finding out who was going to end up with who. Other than that I’ve read far too many novels like this and quite frankly the only new thing was the chaotic unraveling of which mail order bride was going to marry Jess. I hate sounding like a broken record but the information was the same old same old.

I’ve said before that I am a bit of a prude so when the story featured the brides kissing another man other than their intended behind their intended’s backs I couldn’t help but wonder if that would really happen in the old west. I know it can happen, and even to Christians, but I think it’s rare not the norm.

I also think Maggie made the men seem weak, but that’s just my opinion.

What I loved About Twice Promised

I loved the character Granny but her meddlesome ways created some huge problems!

I loved the bear and outhouse scene.

I loved Greta and Cora’s characters, strong, god-fearing women.

Overall, I liked Twice Promise but it’s not likely to be a book I pick up and read again.

“Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Courageous Teens Review

Posted by html404 on October 31, 2012
in Books, Gift Ideas, Reviews

Once again I turned to my daughter Peanut to read and review a book for me. This next one is called Courageous Teens written by Michael Catt and Amy Parker. It is a book spin of the movie Courageous but as the title indicates it’s especially for teens. By the sounds of Peanut’s review she was pretty impressed. So read on…

Courageous Teens Review

I loved Courageous Teens. It really convicted me not to want to be happy being an average Christian or a second best Christian. It motivated me to want to be the best Christian I can be. It was really encouraging.

I liked the fact that the book had questions at the end of each chapter. The questions challenged me to want to try to be a better Christian or better person and to trust God more.

I will definitely read this book over and over again. It was an awesome book.

Two thumbs up for me!

Theresa here, I think this sounds like a great gift idea for a teen in your life who needs enouragement in their faith walk.

on behalf of Peanut.

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A Farmer’s Daughter

Posted by html404 on October 28, 2012
in Books, Reviews

I love to bake and cook even though I don’t do much of it anymore now that I work nearly full-time – that’s what happens when you have a large family and teen girls. And in our family the boys are even learning to cook. I just put them on lunch duty for the winter. They are doing well….we just have to work on clean up! I have lots of recipe books but tend to use a recipe book my mom used and one that a dear friend wrote out for me as a shower gift. My girls love trying new recipes so I thought they would appreciate a new cookbook A Farmer’s Daughter by Dawn Stoltzfus is a book of yummy recipes from a Mennonite Kitchen.

Peanut and I chose to try French Puff Cinnamon Muffins for the purpose of this review.

They have been our breakfast for the past couple of mornings and are a yummy, albeit sugary treat. Peanut says this recipe doubles well. That’s always a requirement for a good recipe in our house as most normal recipes are too small for our family and we have to double it, sometimes tripling if we want leftovers.

French Puff Cinnamon Muffins

These melt in your mouth. They’re like donuts – without being fried. And so simple to make! Yeah!

1/2 cup white or raw sugar
1/4 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup flour

Cinnamon mixture:

1/4 cup salted butter
1/2 cup white or raw sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 24 mini muffins cups. Mix sugar, butter, and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in milk, and then mix in baking powder and flour until combined. Do not overmix. Fill prepared mini muffin cups about half full and bake until lightly golden, 18-20 minutes.

While muffins are baking, prepare the cinnamon mixture by melting butter. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. When muffins are done, let cool slightly and remove from their cups, then dip each muffin completely in melted butter and roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Yields 18-20 mini muffins. Serve warm!

Many recipes include a little note at the bottom from Dawn, like this one:

And Another Thing…And Another Thing…The key is to put these in a mini muffin pan. They are such a fun food and when you bake them in a mini muffin pan you can eat more without feeling guilty.

A Farmer’s Daughter Review

We really liked this recipe. It was super easy to make. We didn’t make them in a mini muffin pan but they still turned out yummy. I like how Dawn includes a note at the bottom of many recipes like the one above.

We are looking forward to trying more recipes from A Farmer’s Daughter, many of which seem like spin offs of the ones we already make, like the hot cocoa recipe, even the French Cinnamon Puff recipe is very similar to a plain muffin we make with strudel topping.

All the recipes seem very straight forward requiring regular ingredients that most American families would have on hand at any given time.

One thing missing from this recipe book is photos, though I realize that many cookbooks do not include photos, I think it is nice when they do.

Two thumbs up from us!

“Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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Borders of the Heart by Chris Fabry

Posted by html404 on October 23, 2012
in Books, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Reviews

Borders of the Heart by Chris Fabry is a fast moving novel of intrigue and mystery from start to finish.

Book Summary:

Desperate to escape haunting memories, J. D. Jessup travels from Nashville to Tucson and volunteers on an organic farm. The hardened landowner has one prevailing rule: If J. D. sees an “illegal,” call the border patrol. But when an early morning ride along the fence line leads him to a beautiful young woman named Maria, near death in the desert, his heart pulls him in another direction. Longing to atone for the choices that drove him to Tucson, J. D. hides her and unleashes a chain of deadly events he could never have imagined. Soon they are running from a killer and fighting for their lives. As secrets of their pasts emerge, J. D. realizes that saving Maria may be the only way to save himself.

Borders of the Heart by Chris Fabry Review

I really liked how Mr. Fabry created the story around a WWOOFer (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms – people who travel around working on different farms in exchange for food and lodging) working on an organic farm in Arizona. Though much of the story took place off the farm.

It really made me feel uncomfortable reading the stark realities of the racism illegals and immigrants faced through J.D.’s. I understand somewhat where it stems from yet at the same time they are human beings too.

I thoroughly enjoyed how the story kept me riveted to its pages as I tried to read faster to figure out what mystery surrounding Maria’s story, not to mention J.D.’s and how all the drama of their few days together would turn out.

The book is divided into Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and December. Those four days seemed like an eternity and I was in awe of all that happened to J.D. and Maria in the span of one day, let alone four.

This is a great book for mom or day or even older children. Two thumbs up from me!

Watch the Book Trailer:

http://www.tyndale.com/x_products/videos.php?flv=BotHTrailer_v1sm.flv

Q & A with Author Chris Fabry

Q: Your newest novel, Borders of the Heart, addresses heavy topics such as illegal immigration, the U.S./Mexico drug trade and the cost of compassion. Where did you get your inspiration for the book?

A: Our family moved to Arizona in 2008 and since then I’ve known I wanted to write about this area of the country, a rich, desert existence with problems and possibilities. This book is not as much an “issue” book as it is a book about people who have to deal with lots of those issues as part of their daily lives. I don’t have an ax to grind on the topics, but I did want to show how real people are affected by these contemporary topics.

Q: Several of the characters in Borders of the Heart are dealing with things from their past. What lessons do your characters learn along the way?

A: The past is huge for each of us. I’m convinced many are “stuck” by something in the past that holds us back from being all God wants us to be. A reader will walk through that process with the main character, J.D., and I’m hoping they’ll see an authentic struggle.

Q: J.D. Jessup is faced with a very difficult moral dilemma when he weighs the decision to follow his boss’ very clear direction or his own heart when he discovers Maria near death. What lessons does this story provide for your readers?

A: Every choice we make in life comes with a cost. If we say yes to one thing, we may have to say no to something else. The choice J.D. makes is a good choice, and even good choices can lead to disastrous and deadly results. Can you believe that God is involved in even the difficult circumstances? I think that’s a huge reveal in this story for me. Does everything have to work out perfectly in the end in order for God to be glorified?

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When a Heart Stops by Lynette Eason

Posted by html404 on October 13, 2012
in Books, Reviews

When a Heart Stops by Lynette Eason is the second book in the Deadly Reunions series. I read the first book too, you can read the review here. As the series title indicates this is a murder mystery novel.

The main character is Serena, a medical examiner (ME). She generously helped a friend and it seemingly comes back to haunt her…by getting her involved in a serial murder mystery. With the help of detectives and a FBI agent, who also happened to be her teen crush, Serena tries to solve the mystery. I anxiously read chapter after chapter trying to figure out who the murderer was….gradually towards the end I had a couple of ideas as to who it was, especially once Lynette revealed a clue.

I really liked the twists and turns of the story and how it kept me guessing. It was really hard to pick out the killer from among all the characters and I found myself trying to recall what the first book was all about to see if there was a connection between characters that would give me the key to cracking the serial murder case.

As the series title indicates, this is a murder mystery novel. The descriptions of the murder victims is dealt with discreetly, yet Ms. Eason definitely does not skirt around other details. There are not gory details. So if you like a nice clean mystery definitely check out this series.

When a Heart Stops gets two thumbs up from me.

“Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Life with Lily By Suzanne Woods Fisher

Posted by html404 on October 6, 2012
in Books, Reviews

I have stated it before but it’s worth stating again, I love books by Suzanne Woods Fisher. She recently came out with a children’s book for ages 8-12 (recommended) but my 13 year old read it. I have it started and will finish it this week. It’s titled, Life with Lily, and is about a little Amish girl and her family.

What I like about it so far is that it kind of reminds me of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s series, Little House on the Prairie, but it’s about an Amish girl. It’s all about family life on the farm….imagine us liking a book like that?

Life with Lily Review by My Daughter

Lily is a really sweet girl.

I loved the grandmother’s lesson on choosing the right friends and the influences they have on you.

I loved her friendship with Trisha. I liked the fact they were kind to Mr. Young even if he wasn’t kind to them. He was a grumpy man.

I thought Lily’s descriptions were very cute, especially the one about her new brother.

I felt very sorry for Levis’ character (he was her cousin) and what the new teacher did to him. I thought the way the parents dealt with it was very smart.

I didn’t really learn anything new because much of what was in the book is what my parents are teaching me or have already told me.

Sounds like Peanut enjoyed Life with Lily by Suzanne Woods Fisher, so it gets a two thumbs up from us!

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Funk Buddy and Breast Cancer Awareness Month Plus a Recipe

Posted by html404 on October 2, 2012
in Books, Giving Back/Charity, Health, Health and Nutrition, Recipes

Do you know anyone battling breast cancer? October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast dancer in a lifetime and 289,000 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in US women in 2012. Incredible and sobering. I just went to a seminar on hormones this past weekend and according to the speaker (who has seen NO breast cancer patients in his practice) low progesterone may be the cause of breast cancer in some women. So keep that in mind as suggestion to loved ones and friends, and if they do want to look into it and get their progesterone tested it should be at 10 or above, even if the test says 5 is normal because labs averages are skewed in a major way. Labs throw out the first and last 100 and make the middle numbers their average. Just something I learned at the seminar.

I wanted to help share the news of Funky Buddy and Breast Cancer Awareness Month by sharing a couple of other resources with you.

Funky Buddy

Funky Buddy is simply a buddy program created by Dr. Kristi Funk of Pink Lotus Breast Center in Los Angeles. It’s purpose is to pair newly diagnosed patients with patients she had already treated.

Best Friend’s Guide to Breast Cancer Book

Food is Medicine: The Best Friend’s Guide to Breast Cancer has an appendix of 30 tried-and-true family recipes! I am featuring one of those recipes below that I am really looking forward to trying – have to get zucchini and blueberries first!

Lemony Blueberry Zucchini Loaf (Source: The Best Friend’s Guide to Breast Cancer)

Zucchini is a good source of vitamins A, K, and B6, as well as vitamin C, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Another bonus: it’s rich in the minerals potassium, manganese, and magnesium, which help with immune function. This loaf packs an even greater nutritional punch thanks to the blueberries, well-known as one of nature’s most potent cancer fighters. To top it off, the hint of lemon tingles the tongue and gives a boost to the blandness of the zucchini.

The loaf is hearty enough for breakfast and handy for snacking, too. Because it’s not too sweet, your friend or loved one will find that it’s mild enough if she’s queasy, and the ground ginger will soothe her churning stomach as well. I’ve found that it’s easy to get down when most food isn’t appealing. Of course, it’s a tasty treat when she has her appetite, too!

You’ll need:

1 cup of blueberries
2 cups of peeled, shredded zucchini
3 eggs
¾ cup of vegetable oil
1 and ½ cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of lemon extract
2 and ½ cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon of ginger
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)
Crisco

1) Heat oven to 350°. Grease only the bottom of two glass loaf pans with Crisco.

2) In one bowl, beat the eggs, then add vegetable oil, sugar, and lemon extract until well blended.

3) In another bowl, sift the flour, salt, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, and baking powder.

4) Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until well-incorporated, then fold in the zucchini, then blueberries and walnuts. Pour into the two loaf pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

A portion of proceeds (20%) from sales of the book is going to support Pink Lotus Petals.

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With Every Letter – A Revell Book Review

Posted by html404 on September 22, 2012
in Books, Reviews

Lately it seems every time I have a book review due, the week before gets extremely busy and this time was no exception. It’s not like I intentionally plan to have a ton of work due at the same time as my book review or that I procrastinate, I love reading. I tend to wait because I write a better review the fresher it is in my mind. I have tried reading as soon as I get a book, writing a notes or a rough draft but going back to re-write it is never the same as having just experienced a good book and the wide range of emotions it takes me through and writing the review at the same time. Regardless of my full schedule this week, With Every Letter was so worth my time, With Every Letter, written by Sarah Sundin. To be frank, I’ve enjoyed all the books I have read by Sarah.

This book is a historical romance, but there are so many things I could relate to in it. You know how when you listen to a song and it can take you to a place you haven’t thought of in years? This book had that affect on me.

Set during World War II, this story is about flight nurses and their service to injured service men. For me there was so much depth to this story. The resistance the nurses faced by being women on the field, having to get along with those in your division, the orders you had to obey, the fight for position and rank – I don’t understand why anyone would want to go into the service, but admire those who do and am very grateful for those who have literally gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy. My grandfather was a pilot during World War II. I am grateful he made it back alive and I had the privilege of knowing him. I just wish I had been interested in that part of his life to ask him about it.

Back to the book…

The main character Lieutenant Mellie (short for Philomela) is a flight nurse. She considers herself different and finds it hard to make friends with the other nurses she’s around every day. I just think she found it hard to trust people after what her mother did to her and her father. There have been things in my life that have caused me to be very UNtrusting.

Friendships are a huge part of life and many of the characters in With Every Letter Written learn that intimate relationships open the heart to hurt, but the key to maintaining those close relationships is mercy, love, forgiveness and restoration. If you are like me some of those steps are harder than others, even when you know the right thing to do.

Mellie is given the opportunity to pen-pal with a service man stationed overseas whose name is Lt. Tom MacGillver. After initially baulking at the idea, she begins her correspondence which turns out to be just what she and the service man needed. Did you know that is essentially how my husband and I got to know each other – via letters? We met at college but I was only there for a semester (a God ordained meeting, if you ask me )and we met over half way through so we were just starting to get to know each other when I had to leave. Reading Mellie and Tom’s story brought a wide range of emotions and memories back. It’s hard to get to know someone via letters, UNLESS both people are completely open and honest. I loved their story and didn’t feel it was a stretch of the imagination for the time setting of the storyline or for today because I believe long distance relationships can and do work, if both people believe in the relationship and commit to it. Definitely not for the needy or fainthearted as it does take a lot of time and work. Just as if you were together in person.

I loved the ending. While I had predicted what the ultimate outcome would be I loved the clever way it happened.

Two thumbs up for a heartwarming, emotionally evoking book that made me fall in love with Mellie, Tom and their friends. I loved their characters, grit and courage in the face of many different obstacles, including a war. It’s so hard when a good book ends….sniff, sniff.

“Available September 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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Beautiful Beasties Review Campaign

Posted by html404 on September 21, 2012
in Animals, Books

My daughter and I both love taking photos of our family, our landscape, our flowers, and other random things. Most of all we love taking pictures of our animals and pets. The problem? The pictures don’t always turn out the way we want thanks to how much pets move and jump around.

We were excited to read the Beautiful Besties book and review it. My daughter started reading it and found alot of great tips that we can use with both our Nikon and iPhone. The author shows you how to pose your pets, how to get them to stay in that position, how to adjust your camera, as well as many more great topics.

Jamie goes into a lot of helpful detail that my daughter soaked in. The twenty one chapters are filled with helpful tips, examples of how to shoot, step by step instruction, photographs that are perfect for passionate photographers and professional pet photographers.

Our biggest challenge when photographing our horse, chickens, turkeys, rabbit, dog, and cats? Getting them to stay still. My daughter was thrilled that the author included some very awesome tips on how to do just that! She has been having problems taking photographs of our pets and was really excited to learn more about pet photography.

We learned alot from this book and if you’d like to check it out you can purchase it at- Wiley.com

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Zonderkidz Book Review

Posted by Professor on September 17, 2012
in Books, Fun Stuff, Reviews

Zonderkidz Book Review

The Beginner’s Bible Collection introduces FOUR fun-filled books for Preschoolers!

The books arrive in stores just in time for the new school year. The books are sure to provide hours of entertainment and invaluable life lessons to preschoolers. The new editions include two vibrant picture books depicting famous Bible stories and two interactive activity/coloring books, each with artwork from The Beginner’s Bible.

The collection consists of the following FOUR books:

The Beginner’s Bible Jess Feeds The Hungry AND Jesus Heals The Sick

These two books present traditional Bible stories in a lively and simple way. Each tells a celebrated story of how Jesus performed miracles such as feeding the crowd of five thousand, healing a paralyzed man, and restoring sight to a blind man.

The Beginner’s Bible Super-Duper Mighty Jumbo Coloring Book AND The Super-Duper Mighty Jumbo Activity Book.

In these two books youngsters can color, doodle, and connect the dots, as they bring their favorite Bible characters to life with a series of fun prompts. Each book contains nearly 400 pages of pictures and games, promoting hours of creativity and imagination.

Zonderkidz Book Review:

We received all FOUR books! This is a wonderful collection. Not only does my preschooler love the books and coloring/activity books. But my older children enjoy using and reading them too. This is truly a collection that the whole family can enjoy! (I have even caught my self-coloring with my little one!)

The books Jesus Feeds the Hungry and Jesus Heals the Sick presents uplifting messages with wonderful original illustrations that pop off the page and explode with vivid colors and playful animation.

We especially like that the coloring/activity books are not only fun companions to the books but also they reinforce what was learned in the bible stories to help strengthen and increase bible knowledge.

The Books are available for purchase now through Zonderkidz.

Visit their site and peruse all the wonderful books they have to offer!

http://zondervan.com/children