31 Verses to Write on Your Heart: Book Review

I love to have encouraging messages - especially with the things that I have going on in my life right now.

This little book came at a great time.

31 verses. One verse per chapter. Super quick 5 minute devotional before your feet even in the floor in the morning, or calming right before you close your eyes at night.

I have read a lot from Liz Curtis Higgs in the past. Her way with words is extraordinary and easy to relate to. She gets "down" to your level, and a lot of times it feels like that particular verse was written for you, on that particular day, at that particular time.

A lot of the verses are ones that have been memorized through the years and are already planted on the hearts of many. However, you can never have too many reminders to get back to the Truth.

This is a good book for the seasoned believer or to the person that is searching and new.

Review: Faith and Work Bible

I love having Bibles - even Bibles of the same version. I do so much note taking in my Bible, and also do art journaling, so I joke that I need a whole library of Bibles :)

What is special about this version is throughout the Bible, there are stories to help strengthen and encourage the reader, pulling from real-life experiences who are facing similar situations. There are also articles from top Christian leaders to learn Biblical basics and help integrate them into your own life.

While I'm more of a study Bible person (and I have a few of them), I do like the articles and stories that are given to help me dig deeper into my faith and trust in God. I've been dealing with some very difficult things, and the stories have helped me to reflect on the things going on and find peace in each circumstance.

Natural Color: Book Review

As someone that is learning to spin fibers for knitting/crocheting, I wanted to find dyes that were natural and stay away from all the chemicals as possible as I am trying to be more of a naturalist.

I was so excited when this book popped up on Blogging for Books - I jumped at the chance to review it!

As soon as I opened the book, I was drawn in by all the pretty pictures (I'm easily distracted by such things!). I quickly flipped through and couldn't believe all the information.

I stopped a few times to look at some of the instructions and directions and most seemed fairly easy to follow - especially for a beginner like me.

I love how the author used so many different plants, herbs, veggies/fruits to create so vibrant colors!

There are so many different ideas that I am getting that I can wait to try them all!

Forever Doon: Book Review

AH! I am so, so sad to see this series end.

I know it was your average teenage love story. It was also the average writing style, spoken as a teen would speak (at least I would believe so), but I had so much fun reading (and re-reading the previous books to relive the tale).

This series was full of fantasy, tales, love stories, action, and drama. While it was similar to other stories out there, I still felt this was very whimsical and ended on a great note.

Book Review: Oil Painting Essentials

I have always loved oil painting. It's been YEARS since I've done it. I have to admit that I am also intimidated by it - especially doing portraits. Landscapes are slightly easier - thanks to watching The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross since I was like 4 years old.

After reading the book, and deciding to make a go at it myself again, I can say that the advice given in this book is great for anyone that has a little working knowledge of some sort of art/ painting. I wouldn't recommend an complete novice to dive in to this. Of course, you will learn some great techniques, but for a novice painter, you really need to start with the basics.

Even though I haven't painted in ages, I was able to pick up the techniques outlined in this book. STILL extremely sketchy on doing portraits, but I'm willing to work at it! You won't get any better at it if you don't practice!

The only thing that I was kind of bummed about was that it focused a LOT on portraits. I would have liked to see more, or an even balance of all the subjects listed in the books. The landscape painting section got the least amount of attention. Overall, still a good reference book.

Book Review: Meditate Your Weight

I am always looking for something that can help me with my weight, or even just my well being. 
I recently took up meditation and yoga, while those still VERY novice, and hoped this would help me. 
For me, the book felt just like any other guided meditation and wasn't quite what I was expecting. While I like the short meditiation sessions in this book, I much prefer more in depth. This is great for someone that is just starting out and isn't able to focus for a longer period of time. I am able to sit for a full half hour at least, so the 3-5 minute sessions just didn't feel like it was long enough to really tap into anything. 

Book Review: Heart Made Whole

I remember back in the day when I used to watch Christa Black Gifford as a violinist for Michael W. Smith. I remember the passion and love she exuded for the love of her Savior.

I have followed her on Instagram and watched her go through the toughest trials in life that anyone shouldn't have to face.

I have watched her blossom into a role model, a  woman, a mother, and wife and have gained a lot of respect for this woman.

I couldn't wait to read Heart Made Whole. Christa isn't afraid to lay her thoughts and feelings out on page - she has nothing to be ashamed of and everything so many people grieving can grow from. Christa walks us through the darkest days of her little family's life - the death of their new baby Goldie.

Those that have faced experiences like this, understand the depths that those feelings run. Those that have have experienced any kind of heartbreak can also empathize from the words that are read by Christa's hand. She has a way to speak directly to you - almost like she wrote the book JUST FOR YOU.

My heart has been grieving because I have been going through some very difficult things in the last few years and her words of comfort, peace, grace, and understanding were what I needed. She is so easy to relate to and she is able to express what I cannot in moments of pain.

Book Review: Seasons of Glory

This was a great way to finish the end of the Remnant Series by Lisa T. Bergren. I read the first two books of this series again before I read this as a "refresher". It took me a little bit to get into the first book, but I'm glad that I continued on because this series did not disappoint.

Lisa's style of writing is very vivid and you can feel the characters personalities as well as the very descriptive situations that they get themselves into. This whole journey that Andriana, Ronan, and the gang was worth journeying on. The battle of good versus evil will always continue and it's nice to have a series that is safe for all readers.

For anyone that has read series like the Hunger Games, Divergent and the like, I think they would also enjoy reading this series. Action pact, extreme chase, and love story all in one. I highly recommend.

Simply Calligraphy: Review

I haven't done calligraphy in a very long time. I gave up after I decided to use an ink well and a quill pen. I was 16, so let's just say it's been a VERY long time.

I was excited when I got this book because I do a lot of art journaling and I have always loved reading old letters hand - hand written with parchment and quill. This book was very easy to follow. I practiced the instructions in a separate notebook. I love that it also includes guided practice - think when a child is learning to write. It helped a lot. I used my Micron pens to practice with and I will definitely not be afraid to pick up a pen and ink well again :)

Behold the Man

I was intrigued when I read reader reviews from other sites. A fictional novel about the ministry of Jesus?

I was a little skeptical at first but continued to read on. 

This is the third book in the series "The Jerusalem Chronicles". I have not read the first two ("Jesus Wept" & "Take This Cup", and I found it easy to follow along in this book. 

Each book is written from a different viewpoint regarding basically the same period of time--the few years between when Jesus' ministry begins until His death and resurrection. Jesus Wept is primarily written from Lazarus' perspective, and Take This Cup is the perspective of a young boy, Nehemiah, and his family. Behold the Man is written from the perspective of Claudia (Pilate's wife) and Marcus Longinus, a Roman centurion, with glimpses into the thoughts of Pilate and Claudia's servant as well.

This was an enjoyable, interesting read. A very different look at the trials of Jesus. Sometimes I think we forget about the people that witnessed this event, that were not either acknowledged or minimally acknowledged in the Bible. 

4x4

I'm always looking for new books in the "health" genre that haven't already stated things over and over again that other books have.

While this book shows similar things from other books, I like how Erin has it laid out that there are 4 main rules:

1. Remove starches after 4pm
2. Limit/ remove alcohol
3. Limit/ remove added sugars
4. Limit/ remove sodium

Sounds simple right? It was for the first hour for me. Temptation and will power extremely hard for me.

Also, don't be fooled by the 4 minute workouts. You still be will doing 20-30 minutes of work outs, but they are in 4 minute bursts called Tabata. Simple moves....but exhausts your body in a good way. I didn't know 4 minutes of working out could be so exhausting.

Cats in Paris: Review

I love cats. I love coloring. I love the fact that coloring books for adults have become this huge thing in the last year. Combine two of my favorite things and I am in heaven. There were lots of different pictures to color in this book. All different kinds of cats. So this will take me quite some time to color...(please see one example - not completely finished - below...) I also like how some of them are simple, like the one I tested because you can get really elaborate with the color schemes and create your own backgrounds.

Jesus Today: Review

Jesus Today: Devotions for Kids is about Jesus and His amazing Love for you. It's also a book about hope. Some kids may think that hoping is just wishful thinking. But the hope Jesus offers you is something you can hold on to - knowing it will never let you down. Because Jesus will never let you down! No matter what is happening - whether you are happy, scared, angry, or sad - God is always in control, and He is always good.

That was an excerpt from the Introduction of Jesus Today. This book is supposed to be be for kids, but as a 30-something year old, I enjoyed reading through each of the devotions myself. Sometimes, things just need to be spelled out in the most simplest ways. A way that a child can understand. Some things in the Bible are already difficult to understand, let alone trying to understand it from an adult point of view. The devotions are short, sweet, and provide just enough Bible verses to remind us as a Child of God that He is always there.

There are 150 devotions, each very short. Each devotion has approximately 3-4 versus to show us God promises. There is also a Scripture text in the back of the book, and a cute little blue ribbon to mark your page.

I think this would be a great book to read with a child at the end of the day, for bedtime devotions. Even as an adult, I'm thinking about keeping it at my nightstand for nightly bedtime prayer.

Landscape Oil Painting Review

I love to paint. And I love to find new techniques. I'm a novice...in no way an expert painter. But I like to express myself.

It's been years since I had painted with oil. I've wanted to learn to landscape paint for the longest time. I wanted to head out into the open with my pallet, paints, and the wild, blue yonder in front of me, whispering what it wants to tell me.

This book was well written. It showed great tutorials and explained the steps to paint the picture. To me, it felt "dummied down"- meaning, that even a beginner would be able to understand what was being said. That's big when you are learning a new project. I think a lot of people are intimidated by painting/drawing in general, and I think anyone would feel comfortable getting this book in their hands and taking on the challenge to work with oil paints. It's one of my favorite mediums that I've wanted to express with and now I get to more. I'm grateful that I was able to review this book.

Willie Out West Review

When I read a book that is written for a child, I try to read it in the mind set as a child.

Willie Out West was...how can I put this nicely? In my opinion, it wasn't written very well. I've read a lot of kids books before and I would reread them because they are fun and entertaining. I wasn't too impress with the pictures either. Maybe I'm just spoiled- I don't know. But if I wasn't interested, how would a child feel reading this? To me it felt like a very low quality story. I feel like I could have written something better.

I don't give out a lot of bad reviews, but this one I will have to. I wasn't impress. I'm sorry.