Book Review: Hostage Lands

Name of book:  Hostage Lands

Author:  Douglas Bond

Format:  Soft Cover

Ages: 10+

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Brief Synopsis:

  
When Neil Perkins, a reluctant student studying Latin, stumbles onto some ancient Roman tablets (written in Latin!) his fire for learning is kindled by the mystery behind them.  As he works tediously for days and late into some nights he uncovers the story of a Roman centurion under the command of tyranny- right in the middle of a hostile war between Romans and Celts.  When the centurion, Rusticus, finds out about a tyrannical and selfish move on account of his superiors that could cost him his life, his life is never the same again.    

-Worldview:  Since most of the tale is told from Rusticus’ point of view, being a heathen Roman, several mentions of pagan gods are mentioned.  Another character in the story is a Christian and the gospel is presented.

-Character Qualities:  Loyalty, Perseverance, Trust

-Romance:  Barely any (two characters that are hardly ever seen together get married in the end.)

-Blasphemy/Profanity(Exodus 20:7):  None

-Era (historical time period):  100-300 AD

-Genre:  Historical Fiction

-Gospel Given:  Yes

Final thoughts or comments:

  This book was very interesting to say the least.  It did take me a little while to “get into it” but that might be because of the fact that I am a girl and prefer drama to sword-fighting ;-)

  I did not like very much that although the Gospel was given, the main character did not seem to be converted- you assume that he was, but there was no turning point.

  The author has an excellent writing style, (although he did seem to really enjoy using the word “din” more than was necessary ;-) ) He is descriptive and skillful- his writing reminded me of that which I read in old books- not “easy” reads, but very “meaty”.  

More information here.

Shabby Apple Giveaway @ Bramblewood Fashion

Hi, girls!

OK, I know I said I was taking a break but I just wanted to drop a quick note letting you all know that over at Bramblewood Fashion is a giveaway featuring this gorgeous dress:

Here's the link! 

 http://bramblewoodfashion.blogspot.com/2012/03/shabby-apple-ahoy-dress-giveaway.html

Ok, I'm really gone this time ;-)

~Amy

Source: bramblewoodfashion.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

a break

Hello, my dear friends!

As you probably already noticed by the gaps in my past few posts I have been very loose with the the blogging recently...  

I'm going to officially say (because it drives me nuts to have my blog just hanging) that I'm taking a break from blogging while I try to focus in on my priorities- what God wants me to be working on at this stage of my life.  Hopefully I'll be back within a week or so with some more book reviews and such, but until then...

Have a blessed day- until we meet again :-)

~Amy

attitude

Our attitudes are so important. At our house, if my attitude is sour- everybody else's attitudes join mine... down the drain.  It causes for a home filled with chaos, confusion, hurtfulness.  

If my attitude is full of sweetness, loveliness, and over all sunshine, guess what happens?

 "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus"

(Philippians 2:5)

Book Review: A is for Adam

Name: A is for Adam

Author: Ken and Mally Ham

Publisher: Master Books

Genre: Children Nonfiction, Children Bible Study, Creation

Ages: 3-11

Page Count: 80

Format: Hardcover, stand-up

  What a neat resource! This book A is for Adam, is a series of rhymes taking you from (obviously) “A” is for “Adam” all the way to “Z” is for “Zip” while portraying the gospel in a simple, colorful, and child-friendly manner. Each verse has it's own color illustration with an entire page of discussion points, questions, and simple activities to do. For you (as the parent or older sibling :-) ) there are more in-depth notes in the back.
  I loved the points that were made in the book- how it was all tied back to the gospel- down to when God “made” clothes for Adam and Eve from animal skins, that was the first “sacrifice” to cover their sin, how the ark portrayed salvation, and more! How wonderful that we can plant seeds like these into little minds to get them thinking- I love it.

Is it Informative? Definitely

Overall child friendly? Five stars

  -Simple to understand? Definitely

  -Capture Attention? OK

  -Clean? Yes

Faith Building? Definitely

Accuracy? Excellent

Illustrations? Three stars

{Simple, colorful, and child-friendly}

Writing Style: Average

Blasphemy/Profanity? No

Worldview: Thoroughly Christian

Quality of cover, binding: Average

Gospel Message? Yes

Good Repute Rating: Five stars


Final Thoughts or Comments: This is a great book for what it is intended.  However, in the printing that I received I noticed quite a few typos/grammatical errors.  I hope that in future editions that these can be corrected- other than that it is an excellent resource!

Purchase here!


I received this book for free from New Leaf Publishing in exchange for my own honest opinion.

Book Review: God Gave Us Love

  God Gave Us Love is a sweet story by Lisa Tawn Bergren in durable, wipe-able, board book format teaching little ones of the joy human love, as well as the love of God toward us.
  When Little Cub and Grandpa go fishing it seems to be the perfect opportunity for Little Cub to learn a bit about love- as the otters play and scare all of the fish away!  Grandpa explains how we must love the otters- even when they aren't nice to us.Grandpa goes on to explain the love of family- mommies and daddies, grandmas and grandpas- even pesky little brothers and sisters!  Finally, he tells Little Cub about God's love that started it all.
  This was a very sweet book.  The illustrations are so soft and whimsical.  The writing style was simple to understand, although I do fear that the amount of words per page would lend itself to the child being a bit distracted.

  A perfectly subtle story to read before naptime or bedtime- especially around Valentine's Day or Christmas.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from Waterbrook Multnomah.  

Our God

Source: forgivenandfreed.tumblr.com via Amy on Pinterest

Music Monday {Choose Life}

Hello, my friends!

I'm sorry to not have posted in a whole week- our family has been so busy (y'all must be pretty tired of hearing me say that but it's true!) and computer time has not been at the top of the priority list :-)

When I got on blogger this morning I noticed that Trinka over at Amazing Love had a "Music Monday" post...  while I was at a loss of what to post today I thought that this was brilliant idea and figured I would follow suit.

I love music.  Music is a part of me.  Music has always been a part of me.

When I hear a song, I'm generally not listening to the instrumental part of it like most people.  Ever since I can remember I have focused on the lyrics of the songs.  My dad was playing some old songs by DC Talk, Big Tent Revival, and Salvador that I used to hear him blast on the stereo when I was 7 and I chuckled  remembering some of my childish thoughts triggered by some of the lyrics.  So interesting how music can take you back- even just to a crisp spring day with the windows and doors open, cleaning the house while the music reverberates off of the walls.  Those are my memories- and I love 'em.  :-)

This is a song that my dad used to listen to a lot- and I remember watching the music video more than once- (ahem- back in the "day"- please don't judge me by this 90's video!) and we have since started playing it for ProLife events.  I remember it almost every time I see one of those "Choose Life" license plates...

Big Tent Revival 

"Choose Life"

Big Tent Revival- "Choose Life" from ardentrecords on GodTube.

Did you listen to the lyrics? :-)

Have a lovely Monday!

~Amy