February 2010

Wrap up of thoughts on February readings and such...

My computer has just about died and I have not been able to load any blog front page without a crash. I'm able to go into blogger and edit and publish, but that's about it. Right now I am in Georgia helping out after my mom's surgery and I can finally see my blog again and some others. I'm so behind on all my reading it is silly! If we can make a little more money through my mom's Etsy shop I'll be able to buy a new computer... but until then I must endure. 

March will bring a new series to my Creative Madness. That of babywearing. Every day there will be a new post on babywearing. Either a guest post dealing with something to do of the topic, tips and advice, a review of a specific carrier, or a spotlight of a store or carrier. I do hope that you will benefit from reading them as much as I have from the experiences. 


As of my January update, AppleBlossom was not quite rolling over yet. Now she is with a passion, but still gets stuck sometimes on her belly especially when she is sleepy and she forgets how to push back up. Within the last week or so her babbling speech has changed and it sounds as though she has more actually phrases and sounds. We are eager to hear "mama" and "dada" soon. We have had to take a break from baby food, because we all were sick for more than two weeks with an upper respiratory infection and now AppleBlossom and I are not at home... but we'll get back on the band wagon. After no more mastitis and all... Lately we have discovered some fabulous things from iplaybabywear.com and I love it!! I look forward to telling you about those soon. Also an Etsy shop that has the cutest Pumpkin Pants, look for that to come soon as well.  
 

And of course, I'm reading. The list below will link you to Amazon where, if I reviewed it* my review is there. You can also catch my reviews by looking at the archives or going to the navigational page and clicking the link there (ie Historical, Contemporary, etc). (some things aren't linked yet, because I'm having computer issues... but if you want to read a review and cannot find it... email me.) 

1. Three Times Blessed by Lori Copeland (Christian Historical Romance)
2. Fanny and Annabelle by Holly Hobbie (Children's book) 
3. A Kiss for Cade by Lori Copeland (Christian Historical Romance)
4. Winter's Awakening by Shelley Shepard Gray (Amish Romance)
5. Liberty's Promise by Amber Miller Stockton (Christian Historical Romance)
6. Love Finds You in Bridal Veil, Oregon by Miralee Ferrell (Christian Historical Romance)
7. Swinging on a Star by Janice Thompson (Contemporary Christian Romantic Comedy)
8. A Case for Love by Kaye Dacus (Contemporary Christian Romance)
9. Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn (Contemporary Christian Romance)

January's Update

FIRST Chapter: Bailey's Cave Adventures by Nina Meier

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Nina Meier

and the book:

Bailey’s Cave Adventures

Tate Publishing (August 5, 2008)

***Special thanks to Nina Meier for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

New author Nina Meier is an incredibly talented preschool Sunday school and VBS teacher, having 10 years’ experience in her own church doing just that. Ask anyone under the age of 5 about Miss Nina’s handmade green lizard bag that holds her lessons on love and respect for God’s creation, each other, and ourselves. With fresh, new ideas always at her fingertips, even at a moment’s notice, no child is ever bored in her class, and she is able to laugh and dance them through a Bible lesson effortlessly.

Nina has been enjoying a career in Medical Transcription for the past 15 years, having gone back to school when her 2 sons were both in college. Her husband is a talented wood craftsman and has, on many occasions, brought her VBS ideas to life. He also builds sets for church plays that are of professional quality.

Many of Nina’s lessons on missions come from firsthand experience on the field during short-term mission trips to West Virginia, the interior of Mexico, Moldova near Romania, the Gulf Coast, and an Indian reservation in Ontario, Canada.

With such multi-faceted talent, anything this new author puts her pen to is a guaranteed winner!


Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $11.99
Paperback: 68 pages
Publisher: Tate Publishing (August 5, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1604628766
ISBN-13: 978-1604628760

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Bailey’s Cave Adventures

Video/Puppet Show

Scene 1 – Day 1: Bailey comes flying and crashing into the room. When dust settles, you can see him more clearly.

Bailey: “Hi boys and girls, my name is Bailey, and I’m a brown bat. Bet you never saw a bat who was always flying into things! That’s because most bats have sonar. Let me explain what that word means. Bats can see with sound better than light. They send out a sound so high-pitched that human ears can’t hear it! The sound bounces off whatever is in front of them, and comes back to their ears. This happens really fast. That’s how they find food, and keep from flying into things.”

“Well, something went wrong when I was born, and my sonar has never worked! Anyway, it’s okay because my Mom and Dad gave me a seeing-eye dog, you know, the kind blind people use, and he helps me get around, and keeps me from falling, when he’s with me. Sometimes I try to go off on my own and, well, you can imagine. He’s my best friend! Would you like to meet my dog? (Yes!) OK. Here Radar, where are you boy?”

Out from under a curtain Bailey knocked down comes a large black Lab wearing a harness w/handle.

Radar: “I see you’re doing okay, no lumps or bumps? Well, climb on up and grab hold of my harness. I have a few things to tell these boys and girls here.”

Bailey climbs up on Radar’s head, to the harness, hangs onto the handle upside down with a sigh of relief, and falls asleep.

Radar turns to audience and says, “My job is to keep Bailey on the right path, and warn him of danger. Sometimes he listens, other times he goes off on his own without even seeing where he’s going. He has to learn to trust me completely. That’s like what the Holy Spirit does for you. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “ ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.’ ”

Bailey wakes up.

Bailey: “Radar, I almost forgot. While I was out flying”--Radar whispers to the audience, “And crashing”-- “I heard some kids talking about going spelunking, that’s cave exploring, and someone who does that is called a spelunker. Anyway, I was thinking I’d make a great spelunker, and I’ve never been very far into the cave, I could go all the way down to the dark zone! It would be a real adventure!” (Getting excited).

Radar: “Now hold on Bailey, that sounds pretty dangerous to me. I’d feel a lot better if you let me go with you.”

Bailey: “Sure, okay, that’d be fun, who’s going to carry the flashlight?” (Turns to audience). “Could you help us with flashlights boys and girls?” (Yes!) “Great, let’s get ready to go then!”

Value Fiction: Faithful Heart by Al Lacy and other new releases

Faithful Heart by Al Lacy

Continuing with the adventures of certified medical nurse Breanna Baylor, the Angel of Mercy series tackles the real-life issues of faithfulness and abuse in Faithful Heart. Picking up where A Promise for Breanna left off, Book Two follows Breanna to San Francisco, where she discovers that her sister Dottie has been beaten by a husband who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of serving in the Civil War. As the story unfolds, Breanna, Dottie, and Dottie's children find themselves at risk as they fight to save a man they can no longer trust. Readers will experience the heartache and hope of two woman striving to save a family in Faithful Heart.

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I did not like this one. There was no visualization and the conversations were drab. As I have heard other people say, it is true there were many historical inaccuracies. Usually I can get past that in a book, yet in this one there was nothing to take up the slack. Some one else might love this book, but it was no my cup of tea.

*Thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah for providing a copy for review.*

Find this book @ WaterBrook Multnomah's website.

WaterBrookMultnomah.com

View all my reviews >>

Alas, even though this was not the best book for me. There are many other new releases from WaterBrook Multnomah's Value Fiction that are definitely worthwhile like my recent post of Robin Jones Gunn's Secrets and others.

Value Fiction titles - only $6.99 each! Secrets Written by Robin Jones Gunn Jessica Morgan wants desperately to forget the past and begin a new life. She chooses a small, peaceful town tucked away in Oregon?s Willamette Valley as the place to start over?Glenbrooke... Beneath a Southern Sky Written by Deboarah Raney After two years of serving as a missionary in a remote area of South America, Daria Camfield has returned to the States to mourn her husband, reportedly killed while providing medical aid to a neighboring Colombian village... Deep Harbor Written by Lisa Tawn Bergren As they build new lives in America, Tora, Elsa, Kaatje, and Karl each experience a personal tragedy that threatens to destroy everything they left Norway to find. Tora?s web of lies has cost her a successful future with the man she loves... Faithful Heart Written by Al Lacy Dottie Harper fears for her children's safety. Her husband, Jerrod, is struggling with dementia brought on by shell shock during the Civil War. It's as though there are two Jerrods locked inside him: the tender and loving Christian man she married... Yesterday's Promise Written by Linda Lee Chaikin As the son of the squire of Grimston Way, aristocrat Rogan Chantry has fought hard to win his independence from Sir Julien Bley and the British South Africa Company. Now, his pursuit of a mysterious deposit of gold... The Golden Cross Written by Angela Elwell Hunt To Kathleen O?Connor, Cahira?s story is nothing more than a charming legend?until her research divulges that several of Cahira?s heirs did, indeed, leave the traditional roles of womanhood to fight for right... A Gathering of Finches Written by Jane Kirkpatrick A Gathering of Finches tells the story of a turn-of-the-century Oregon coastal couple and the consequences of their choices, as seen through the eyes of the wife, her sister, and her Indian maid. Maire Written by Linda Windsor A fanciful, romantic tale of passion and faith that invites readers to the "God-graced mountains and plains" of Ireland. Maire, Gleannmara's warrior queen, finds her fierce heart is gentled when she takes a reformed mercenary -- a Christian, no less -- as hostage during a raid. At first she wonders what kind of God would make a fine warrior like Rowan of Emerys such a coward... The Silver Sword Written by Angela Elwell Hunt The auburned-haired O'Connor women share a bond far deeper than their striking physical appearance. These courageous, high-spirited women all push against societal limits in this exciting historical, romantic novel that spans generations and countries from 13th-century Ireland to the excitement and mystery of 15th-century Prague. Under the Distant Sky Written by Al Lacy and Joanna Lacy In the years following the Civil War, Hannah and Solomon Cooper decide to seek out a new life on the frontier. In the dangerous journey that follows, however, tragedy strikes. By all reasonable expectations they should return home... Tomorrow's Treasure Written by Linda Lee Chaikin Raised by her aunt and uncle at the rectory in the small English village of Grimston Way, lovely Evy Varley remembers little of her missionary parents and nothing of South Africa, the land where she was orphaned during the Zulu War of 1878... The Captain's Bride Written by Lisa T. Bergren Elsa Anders's dream of marrying Peder Ramstad is about to come true. But as this independent, strong-willed woman discovers her own creative gifts--a love for travel, painting, and the sea--can she find happiness with a captain who insists upon leaving her safely on shore... The Veil Written by Diane Noble A shroud of secrecy cloaks a new nineteenth-century sect known simply as the Saints. But that veil is about to be drawn away. Amidst the majestic beauty of 1857 Utah, the members of one secluded religious group claim to want nothing more than to practice their beliefs without persecution... A Promise for Breanna Written by Al Lacy The Angel of Mercy series follows the adventures of certified medical nurse Breanna Baylor as she seeks to serve her fellow man and restore her relationship with her true love-John Stranger of the Journeys of the Stranger series-in the post-Civil War West. Non-Fiction Value Books - Only $6.99! See our list of non-fiction titles here. Non-fiction titles at $6.99 each!