Samantha Sanderson At the Movies

Samantha Sanderson At the Movies by Robin Caroll was provided to me through the BookSneeze program and Zonderkidz Publishers in exchange for an honest review. This book is part of the FaiThGirLz! series but still would be enjoyed by middle school boys as well.

Samantha Sanderson, or Sam, wants to be a journalist like her mom. She writes for the school newspaper but the editor, Aubrey, doesn't want her on the paper staff. However, when Sam finds a hidden bomb at the movie theater, she is sure she has a good enough story to show Aubrey she is deserving of a good roll on the newspaper staff.

What will happen now? Was the bomb planted by an atheist because a church was renting out the theater to show a Christian movie? Can Sam balance all of this detective work and newspaper writing with school and cheerleading? And what happens when Sam publishes "ideas" about the bombing instead of facts? Could this affect her roll on the newspaper? Or her dad's job as police detective? Should she listen to her dad and step down from writing about this story?
And what about her friend who isn't a Christian? How can she witness to her without forcing Jesus down her throat?

Excellent book aimed at the middle school population - boys or girls.

Bikini Body Mommy

Through a friend's mention of this short and sweet (and FREE) workout program, I decided to give the Bikini Body Mommy (BBM) 90 Day Challenge a try - even though I will never wear a bikini, even if I had a bikini body. Once I got past the first day (where she insists on you taking pictures of your body in a bikini and take measurements), I was hooked! The workouts are all under a half hour - most closer to twenty minutes. And they work so many different muscle groups! You really FEEL like you just had a good workout! And without much time!

But the REAL reason this workout is so fun and successful is that Briana (BBM) is not a Jillian Michaels. She is a real mom working out and panting and groaning right along with you. Sometimes she has toy cars/trucks she has to step over when her son is playing right by her side. Sometimes she has to take a quick break to catch her breath or shake out some muscles. She adapts some exercises as she gets tired. She is real!

So you can go to the BBM site and print off the workouts so you know what you are doing and then watch the videos and work along with her. Or you can just go to her youtube channel and watch the videos (that's what I did). But YOU NEED TO WATCH THE VIDEOS! Not only because Briana is so real, but because without that timer pushing you, you can easily "cheat" or even give up. (You can take two minute breaks instead of one minute breaks - so not only have you just lost intensity, but now you have just added ten minutes to your short workout. So then you aren't as eager to work out the next day because you think of it as a longer workout. Or you think an exercise is too hard so you just don't do it. But if you watch the video, you see Briana adapting for herself because it IS hard - so then you feel better about yourself.)

Back to the taking pictures... yuck! But Briana wants you to be able to look back and SEE a difference, and not just rely on the scale. And taking measurements defines those differences. So I sucked it up and took my very first bikini -actually, underwear- pictures (gross!). And I measured. (Again, yuck!) After that grossness was over, I enlisted my thirteen year old daughter to join me in these workouts. Accountability is always good and teaching her to be strong and healthy is important, right? And Briana does focus on being strong and healthy - not being "skinny."

She also has a meal plan which I may try out now because I rewarded my workouts with sweet treats, which almost negated all the hard work... Not quite though. This morning my daughter and I completed the 90 day challenge and I took my measurements and lost 4.5 inches in my waist, 2 inches in my hips, and an inch on each thigh. (No, I'm not sharing pictures!!!) Best of all, I am so much stronger (as is my daughter)! --Remember, that is without changing my eating habits - actually, that is with eating worse than I did beforehand - those darn desserts! Even without the meal plan, but with eliminating desserts, think of what I could do! BBM is doing a 2.0 Challenge and I'm in! Are you?

Open Your Eyes

Thomas Nelson Publishing, through the BookSneeze program, provided me with a copy of Open Your Eyes by Jake Olson and McKay Christensen in exchange for an honest review.

What an inspirational book! Jake Olson lost his sight to eye cancer when he was twelve years old. But that hasn't stopped him from playing football, taking AP classes in high school, having a positive attitude, praising God through it all, or even working on his goal of one day playing on a PGA golf tour (seriously!).
So this book is about Jake, yes, but it also has stories from others who have faced major struggles in their lives (Muhammad Ali, for example). There is also a lot of "self-help" talk by McKay Christensen, a researcher and speaker about how adults learn and find happiness. That writing is always followed by "Insights From" Jake, his parents, or his twin sister to show how they have put that particular teaching into practice.
Each chapter begins with a quote and ends with "In Summary" bullet points.

Some spots I marked in the book:

• "Struggle and pain...were not put here to torment or mock men, but to life and build them...Adversity, pain and struggle do not challenge the Lord's love for us, they prove it." (p. 28)
• "When we make mountains from molehills, we expect others to change, when it may be we who need to change." (p. 64)
• "One of the most important things I have learned is to stay calm and not imagine the worst possible outcome. It's important to focus on the best possible outcome." (p. 75)
• "A dream without reality is only a wish." (p. 157)
• "When you have a positive image of the future and confront the facts realistically, you learn and get better. You constantly get stronger and wiser from adversity. You can bear more challenges today because you've lived through them in the past."
• "If you're not happy with who you are or what path you're traveling in life, if you don't feel that you've met your true potential, then maybe you need to live consistently with your moral compass."

Goodnight, Angels

Goodnight, Angels by Melody Carlson is a very cute board book which was provided to me through the BookSneeze program and Zonderkidz Publishing. This book is a modern take on the classic Goodnight, Moon. The rhythm and rhyme, like Goodnight, Moon, are great for toddlers and the repetition is predictable and exactly what little kids love. The dog peeks his way into every picture making a fun "find it" game for your toddler. The little boy in this book remembers to offer a prayer to God along with saying goodnight to all of the things in his world before falling asleep.

It's A God Thing

It's a God Thing was a very fun book to read, provided to me by Thomas Nelson Publishing through the BookSneeze program in exchange for an honest review. It reminded me of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series but with much more of a God twist.
There are forty-six independent stories in this book, each telling a great story of God's provision, love, and/or power. There are stories of births and deaths, stories of accidents and natural disaster, stories of bombs and wars.
Some of the chapter titles really make you wonder. What is God going to do with yellow cups? Or a dog barking at a chicken? Each story gives you a glimpse as to how God can and does care for each one of His children.

Chocolate-Covered Cashews

I received from the BookSneeze program and Westbow Press E-Books Chocolate-Covered Cashews by Wiley Baxter in exchange for an honest review.
I was very intrigued by the preview of this book:

Wiley Baxter was 57-years-old when God brought a surprise to him. Over the next four days, it was revealed to him that he was the biological father of identical twin daughters and four grandchildren, which resulted from a two-year marriage he had 36 years before. Overjoyed and overwhelmed, he began a new chapter in his life.

However, only the first two chapters talked about the phone call that then led to meeting his daughters. And then finally at the end there was a brief family update. The eight chapters in between were about different events that occurred in the author's life previous to discovering he was a father. Each event was shared because, looking back, Wiley could see how God had taken care of him during those times.

In my opinion, this book had decent bones but was very poorly written. It seemed to have been written by an elementary or middle-school student, not a fifty-nine year old man. Or maybe an editor was not involved. Unnecessary sentences, even paragraphs, were in this book as if maybe the minimum number of words was trying to be met. Different wording like "head concussion" seemed very redundant/obvious. Another example of elementary writing is after telling the story of when his brother died. He said, "I was very sad that day." Really?

I really do not want to bash Wiley Baxter's book because he is trying to make some good points about how God has been with him even when he wasn't necessarily willing to admit it; hindsight is 20/20. But there is still a lot of polish work that needs done on this book. Two stars.

Biff and Becka's Stupendous Vacation

The BookSneeze program and Westbow Press E-Books provided me with another children's ebook in exchange for an honest review. This was a chapter book, suitable for elementary children.

This is a great story about a rabbit family who has to forfeit their beach vacation due to a cut in the father's pay. After Biff (the son) has bragged about the beach vacation to his friend, he finds it embarrassing to admit they are having a "staycation." He also finds it difficult to be excited about a vacation of staying home. But he, his sister, and his cousins learn that a great time doesn't require an expensive beach vacation.

Throughout the book the parents use Biblical principles to explain situations (missing out on the beach vacation, why bees sting, how birds search for food, scavenger hunts, etc.), to remind them to be grateful for what they do have, and how sin can darken our lives. All of these examples were done very well (not cheesy). And the activities that were planned were so fun; it gives me ideas for my family!

A discussion guide is included at the end of this book too.

The only negative from this book was that rabbits were used as the main characters instead of humans. The plot in this book is geared toward early to mid- elementary kids but the characters are rabbits, as if this was for preschoolers. This was humorous at one point when Biff's and Becka's mom says, "Hurting rabbits hurt rabbits" when explaining bullies.

Four stars.