The Captive Heart

I've long been fascinated by the Amish people.  Maybe because in my neck of the woods there are frequently horse-drawn buggies on the roads and bonnet-headed little girls at the country store.  Maybe it's just my love of Laura Ingalls Wilder and stories of days-gone-by.  Or, perhaps, (and probably most likely!) it's my own secret dream of a simpler, quieter life (though I do not think I'd enjoy the very dark nights or cold trips to the outhouse!)
 Whatever the cause of my fascination, the book The Captive Heart, by Dale Cramer, intrigued me and even taught me some of the history of these people, the Amish.

The book is the second in a trilogy--which I didn't realize until it came in the mail--and is certainly best read after reading the first.  Cramer follows a group of Amish with a real historical basis from their days of persecution in the 1920s in the U.S. through their flight to Mexico.  I was interested to learn of the religious persecution the peaceful Amish endured in our nation -- and the ends to which they were willing to go to avoid the loss of their children and right to practice their faith.

Cramer bases the novels on actual historical characters and the outline of their lives, but the majority of the story is fictional.  He infuses adventure, love, and faith in this story from his own history (his own ancestors were among those who fled the U.S. in hopes of more religious freedom in Mexico!)

If you enjoy reading books about the Amish or simply enjoy love and adventure stories, this book may be a perfect fit for you!  It may even give you a new perspective on an old culture--the Amish!

Thanks Bethany House for the free copy of this book for purpose of review!!

Has God Spoken?

To some, perhaps to many, the answer to this title seems obvious.  Whether it's affirmative or negative may vary from person to person, yet many Americans hold an opinion as to whether God has spoken.

Yet, in his book, Has God Spoken?, Hank Hanegraff answers the question, not based upon opinion, but rather based upon fact and logic.  Hanegraff explores evidence based on the Biblical manuscripts, archaeology, prophecy fulfilled, and logical principles of literature, grammar, and more.  

This book is filled with great information and logic--great for a mind that works best with this type of presentation.  While the reading is organized and informative, it's so deep and somewhat overwhelming that it may take the average reader a while to get through the entire book.  (It did for me!) But the prize is worth the effort!  Hanegraff's well written book is convincing and convicting.  I learned much and better understand the history and setting of the Bible, the mindset of the Biblical authors, how nature speaks to truth, and the overall picture presented by the Bible.  

While I didn't agree with every bit of Hanegraff's understanding of historical/literary interpretation, I certainly appreciate the information, facts and logical approach in Hanegraff's book.  After reading this book, I can certainly answer, "Yes, God has spoken!"

101 Bible Adventures

We've been enjoying the new children's devotional book, 101 Bible Adventures by Carolyn Larsen.  Our family reads one adventure each night and the children, ages 4-12, are engaged and learning.  While the devotional book itself doesn't present many questions to consider, the reading material contains great thought-provoking, question-inducing information.

Each lesson includes a short, usually one paragraph, introduction by the author.  This is followed by a story straight from the Bible (NLT) and concludes with a thought from the author again.  Each adventure contains a one frame cartoon and a memory verse.

While the pages are not very colorful (ok, not at all colorful--mostly shades of black & while with one box in light blue on each page) it's really not a problem since the book is more of a read-aloud for the parent to read, rather than for young kids to read/look at.  

I do like that each adventure is mostly comprised of scripture--from The Book.  Many children's Bible story books are paraphrased--and this is appropriate for small kids.  But my children are all at ages now that they can comprehend the Bible itself (especially the New Living Translation that is presented in 101 Adventures)--and I'm so happy to be reading it to them!  The author chooses selections of the actual Bible that are concise and clearly tell the story without being too much for little ones.  We've really enjoyed it!

Much thanks to  Tyndale House Publishers  for the free copy of this book for purpose of review.

The Harvest of Grace

Sylvia Fisher is not like most other Amish girls her age.  Instead of marrying and managing a home, she prefers to milk dairy cows and manage a farm.  This different and independent attitude is not so appreciated by her father or her beau and she soon loses all that she holds dear because of it.  When further problems arise, Sylvia finds herself forced to leave her home and work for another Amish couple in a different district.  While there, she learns about herself and others in a way that changes her life forever.

This book is the third in a series called The Ada House Series.  While the author fills the reader in on some pertinent information and plot lines from the first two books, this book would be best read after reading its predecessors in the series.  I didn't realize it was part of a series when I ordered it and while I enjoyed it, it was difficult to follow the numerous characters whose stories were told in previous books.  I really think I would have enjoyed it much more had I started at the beginning of the series.

But, regardless of my lack of attention to detail and thus mistake in ordering the third in a trilogy, the book was fun, entertaining, and had a good message.  I'd certainly recommend it to any avid reader of Amish fiction novels--after you've read the first two:  The Hope of Refuge  and The Bridge of Peace.  Great work, once again, Cindy Woodsmall!

Thanks, Waterbrookmultnomah, for the complimentary copy for purpose of review.

Swagbucks Bonus!

I LOVE to get free or cheap items from Amazon (do they have at least one of everything in the world?  I can most always find what I'm looking for there!).  I do this by using giftcards that I earn from Swagbucks on a regular basis.

Swagbucks is a search engine, like Google or Yahoo, that rewards the searcher with points that are redeemable for various prizes (including Amazon giftcards!).  There is no monetary cost involved (however, I'm pretty sure they track what people are searching for advertising purposes, so if it's something you'd rather not have tracked, it might be best to use another search engine...though I'd not be surprised if google and yahoo sell information collected as well...)  This has been an inexpensive way for me to earn a little extra spending $ without doing any extra work since we use the internet daily anyway!

Right now, Swagbucks is offering a 70 point bonus for new sign-ups when you use the promo code HOLIDAYSWAG (good through December 31, 2011) and after sign up you should receive an additional 30 points--so that's a 100 point bonus (nearly 1/4 of the way to an Amazon giftcard already!).  If you don't already have an account, you can register HERE and start earning swagbucks for prizes.  One of the easiest ways to use this search engine is to download the toolbar so it's always showing on your screen and convenient to use when you wish to serf the web.


Disclaimer:  I will receive swagbuck points for each new account through my link.  However, my review of Swagbucks has not been tainted by this fact, it is my honest review.

Redbox Daily Deals!

Next week Redbox will host daily deals!  Hoping for a snow day to catch up on movies!!  :)

Redbox: Thx Redbox 4 my free video! Enter 4 ur chance to win daily prizes at http://bit.ly/uqDw4a *Please remember the FTC requires you to mention that you received a free sample courtesy of Smiley360 when sharing.

Save 30% on "The Christmas Singing" and Other books--plus Free Shipping!

   Cindy Woodsmall's new book, The Christmas Singing is a fun, short read with a message of honesty and love.  While it's somewhat predictable, it's engaging and relaxing...in fact, I couldn't put it down!  You can read my full review of the book HERE .  AND, if you'd like to check it out for yourself, you can read an excerpt from the first chapter here .

There's also a video book trailer to whet your interest!  I wouldn't be surprised if we see this book as a tv movie in the next couple years...

If you enjoy fiction about the Amish community, with a Christian flavor, you'll enjoy The Christmas Singing.  Through December 20th, you can get a 30% discount AND free shipping on the book (AND on any other book from WaterBrookMultnomah!!  Great for Christmas shopping!!) using promo code Christmas11.


Hope you enjoy the book and the savings!