eBook Review: Truth in the Tinsel

This is probably the most excited I’ve been to do a book review on a my blog! I got the opportunity to review Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands by Amanda White from ImpressYourKids.com (a great blog, by the way!), which is a 24-day eBook that counts you and your kids down to Christmas Day with an interactive telling of the Christmas story through crafts and scriptures and ideas for talking with your kids about Jesus’ birth.

This book is designed for preschool to early elementary school kids with a scripture passage, a Christmas tree decoration craft, and a simple guide for discussing it with them for each day. There’s also some resources for creating a simple Advent Calendar with clues that go with the story you’re reading. Amanda even blogged recently about some great advent calendar ideas, if you don’t have one already, but the advent calendar is totally optional.

Now, I’ll be the first to say that I’m not a super-crafty mom and only recently have I begun to stock up on some crafty supplies. My 3 1/2 year old son just began attending the children’s program at our church a few months ago, since we’re small and only just started having a children’s program. Well, usually each class has a craft for the kids and he got bit with the craft bug and now all he wants to do is color and cut and glue things ALL THE TIME, so I know he’s going to LOVE these activities! The book has a master list of all the supplies you’ll need & I found I had the majority of them at home and will only need to buy a few things (most of which I could find at the dollar store or the local thrift store) and I was even able to borrow or get many of the items by scavenging from my mom. There are also many ways to improvise and make these crafts your own if you don’t have all the supplies at hand.

Of course, the real goal is not to make perfect Christmas tree decorations, but to engage your kids in the Christmas story in a way that causes them to love Jesus more! I really enjoyed the simple explanations that Amanda wrote in the “Talk about it together” section, as well as the ideas she provided for ways to go deeper into the story, other scriptures to read, or other fun activities to do to help your child apply the story to their own life.

Now, if the idea of doing 24 crafts in 24 days overwhelms you, don’t worry! There are also alternate schedules for ways you can incorporate certain themes or days into the month that will touch on the key ideas, characters, etc. Regardless of how you choose to use the book, it is a fantastic tool for helping you to teach your child about how Jesus came to the earth for them, about His love, and the gift of eternal life.

So, not only do I want to highly recommend this eBook to you, but I want to let you know that for TODAY ONLY (November 25th – Black Friday in the States – just a regular day for us here in Canada), Amanda is selling Truth in the Tinsel for only $2.99 (regular price $4.99)!! Let me tell you it is more than worth the price and you and your kids will love it!

I am so excited to get started on this and if you get the eBook now, you’ll still have 6 days to get your craft supplies together in time for December 1st! However, I don’t just want you to buy it – I want to invite you moms and dads out there to join the Truth in the Tinsel Challenge! If you go and “Like” Truth in the Tinsel on Facebook, we want to come together to encourage each other to give our kids these first 24 days in December by posting pictures of the crafts we’ve made, sharing tips and ideas, sharing stories of funny or touching things our kids have said, etc.

I really want my kids to understand the true meaning of Christmas and that it isn’t all about Santa Claus or getting presents. I want them to know Jesus and to have the Word of God impressed upon their hearts and I think this is a great tool to accomplish that!

I’m joining the challenge – will you come along with me??

**Note: Because I think Truth in the Tinsel is so great, I decided to become an affiliate, so if you buy the eBook after clicking one of the links in this post or by clicking the button in my sidebar, I will receive a percentage from the sale. If you buy it and love it as much as I do, consider becoming an affiliate too!**

Homemade Tomato Soup

Homemade Tomato Soup is something I grew up with and which has always been a family favorite that my mom learned from her mom. When I moved out, I would always try and get a stash from my mom for my cupboard, but as I started my own family, I finally learned how to make it myself and now it’s a tradition for myself and my sisters to spend a day of making soup with my mom each fall to stock our pantry for the year ahead.

There is a lot of work that goes into this recipe, but it is well worth it to have those beautiful jars on my shelf for a quick and easy meal throughout the year! I love this meal so much, as do my husband and kids, and I want to share it with you, because I always feel compelled to share the things I love in the hopes that others will come to enjoy it as much as I do.

Homemade Tomato Soup

14 pounds of tomatoes (about 2 heaping 4 L. ice cream pails)
5-7 large onions
2 green peppers
1 bunch of celery
1 bunch of parsley
1 cup margarine, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 cup canning salt

Yields: 7-8 quart jars.
To serve: Add 1/2 quart jar of milk to 1 quart of soup and serve with thin egg noodles (optional).

1. Cut up and steam vegetables and herbs.
Cut up onions, green peppers, celery and parsley into large pieces and steam in a large pot with a bit of water (a couple cups or so) for an hour.

2. Scald, peel, mush and cook tomatoes.
While your vegetables are cooking, put tomatoes in sink full of boiling water until you see the skin start to crack. Carefully use tongs or some other instrument to drain the water. Peel the skin of the tomatoes and mush them up in your hand into a very large pot. Cook until tomatoes are completely soft (about 20-30 minutes).

3. Put it all through the blender and strainer.
Blend and strain the tomatoes, getting out all the seeds. Blend and strain your cooked vegetables. Combine together. When blending, it’s easier to do it while the ingredients are still hot, but you have to use great caution with trying to close the lid on your blender, since the steam will make it want to fly off and your mixtures go flying as well. It works best to hold the lid lightly over the blender so the steam can still escape and to only fill your blender half full or less.

4. Heat jars and boil lids.
Heat your oven to 200F and place your canning jars (without lids) inside to heat up. If using new canning lids, follow the directions on the box for boiling them. If you’re reusing lids, you might want to boil them for up to 10 minutes so that the rubber portion is nice and soft.

5. Create thickening agent.
Melt margarine or butter in a medium sized pot. Add sugar, flour and canning salt and combine until smooth. Add some of your tomato/vegetable juice mixture (about 4 cups) to thin it out, blending well with a whisk and bring to a boil. Pour this mixture back into your original tomato/vegetable juice mixture and stir until well combined. Bring the entire large pot of soup to a boil and whisk often.

6. Pour into canning jars.
Using oven mitts, take one canning jar at a time from the oven and place on a towel. Carefully pour your soup into the jar using a ladle or glass measuring cup or small pot to scoop it out of your large pot. This step can sometimes get messy! When full, make sure the top of the jar is clean and dry and then tightly screw on the lid (dry it off too when you take it out of the water).

7. Pray!
Time to let the jars sit and pray that you hear that magical popping sound as the lids seal tight! After letting them sit for a few hours, gently test the lids to see if they are sealed (don’t try too hard to remove them & end up breaking a good seal!). If any of them fails, you can take it as a sign that you’re supposed to eat that jar for supper tonight or you can dump out the soup back into a pot & bring it to a boil again, clean the jar & heat it in the oven again, boil the lid again & try the whole sealing process over.

8. Enjoy!
When you’re ready to partake of some of this delightful soup, simply heat on the stove with half a quart jar of milk (about 2 cups). We like it best served with thin egg noodles – yummmm! And since we love this soup so much, we usually make two batches of this recipe so that we have enough in our pantry to have it at least once a month.

Book Review: Behind the Veils of Yemen by Audra Grace Shelby

With only prayer and a faith that always seemed too small, Audra Grace Shelby departed with her husband and children on a one-way flight to Yemen…deep into the heart of conservative Islam.

With honesty and passion, she shares her harrowing journey as a Christian woman thrust into a culture dangerously different from her own. From the friendships she forged, to her gnawing doubt and fear, to her offers of hope when her new friends’ religion failed them, she gives us glimpses of a world most have never seen: behind the veils of real Muslim women–and how the grace of God touches lives in the midst of an Islamic stronghold.

I was definitely intrigued by the opportunity to read Behind the Veils of Yemen by Audra Grace Shelby, as I have heard very little about the lives of Muslim women, especially of those living in the Middle East. This book really opened by eyes to the struggles that these women face as a result of their culture, their religion, their environment and the economic situation. It was difficult to read about their trials, their pain, and their acceptance of the oppression they suffer as normative. I felt my emotions pulled at over and over again at the stories shared.

Shelby’s writing style was easy and enjoyable to read, feeling more like a beautiful descriptive tale than a factual autobiography, though the realness of the stories make it obvious that it’s no fiction creation. I’m not sure what Shelby’s goal was in writing this book, but if she desired to awaken awareness and a burden to pray for these women, then she definitely succeeded. The fact that she also only tells of the first three years out of nine that her family spent in missionary service in the Middle East, leaves you wanting to know more and to find out about the fate of these women she ministered to. Yet she may not even have that answer to share, as many times she had to trust the Lord to water and bring to maturity the simple seeds she sowed in their hearts.

I would absolutely recommend this book as an excellent read, for the person who already has a burden for the mission field, yet perhaps more for the person who is still searching for God’s heart for the lost people of the world. I found that my own heart cried out along with Shelby’s and I was challenged and inspired by the revelations that God gave to her in her own journey.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Chosen, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Book Review: J.R.R. Tolkien by Mark Horne

J.R.R. Tolkien famously penned The Hobbit and the 3-volume novel The Lord of the Rings. Known as “the father of modern fantasy literature,” his writings have inspired many other works of fantasy and have had a lasting effect on the entire genre. In this Christian Encounters biography, learn how Tolkien’s faith was an intrinsic element of his creative imagination, one that played out in the pages of his writings and his life.

I’ve always been intrigued by J.R.R. Tolkien and fascinated with his ability to create another world and languages and story lines that have drawn in millions of readers. As a fan of C.S. Lewis, I was also curious about their friendship and the influence they had on each other in their writing careers. So when I read this short biography on J.R.R. Tolkien, it was definitely eye-opening and very interesting to read about his life story and some of the things that shaped him as a person and as an author.

I felt this book did an excellent job of giving us a glimpse into who J.R.R. Tolkien was, revealing both his strengths and weaknesses and the passion and conviction he felt about art and storytelling and morality. Yet, while his Christian faith undoubtedly influenced his writing, I found that this book did not give me great insight into Tolkien’s spiritual life and left me wanting to know more about his thoughts and feelings on Christianity. Though he obviously felt strongly about it enough to have been a major player in C.S. Lewis’ own conversion, I didn’t get a strong sense of who he was as a believer in Jesus from this book, which was something I was hoping to learn more about. Yet, perhaps there is not enough evidence out there to draw from to give us this deeper insight into his faith.

After reading the book, I find myself greatly inspired by Tolkien and his passion and creativity. Though his writing was not allegorical like that of C.S. Lewis in the Chronicles of Narnia, and didn’t contain the same obvious spiritual messages, it still declares truth and good and messages of morality for the reader to discover between the lines. I’m left with several burning questions about art and writing and how Christians can use media to declare Jesus to the world. For anyone who is a fan of Tolkien and his work, this would be an enjoyable read.

This book was provided to me by Booksneeze.com for my honest and unbiased review.

Book Review: The Blessed by Ann H. Gabhart

It is 1844 and Lacey Bishop’s life is a tangled mess. When circumstances move Lacey to a nearby Shaker village, she is not prepared for the new life that awaits her. In the midst of her deep loneliness, Lacey works to fit in with this odd group. But everything shifts when she finds herself drawn to a Shaker man in a village where such relationships are forbidden.

Can Lacey ever find true happiness in this mysterious place?

I recently reviewed Angel Sister by Ann H. Gabhart, which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I think I had high expectations for The Blessed, which were unfortunately not met. While still a compelling and well-told story, I was completely ignorant about the beliefs of the Shaker faith and was really just expecting something different.

While I was proud of Lacey’s spiritual journey and how she battled through the challenging of her beliefs, it was somewhat disheartening for the setting to be in a village where the people were part of what I would consider a cult. While Gabhart seeks to portray some of the Shaker members as sincere, kind, genuine people who love God, it is hard to find truth in their message when they ultimately believed that their leader, a woman, was the second incarnation of Jesus Christ.

This one is a difficult one for me to give my opinion on, because in the end, it was still well-written and you still cared about the characters and how their stories ended and you felt their pain and struggle and search for truth. I think I was just a little thrown off by the Shaker religion, as it was not what I was expecting, and which made it a little less enjoyable for me to read. Others may find it interesting to read about this group and to get a glimpse into what their faith was about and in some ways, I think that reading about the things they believed that I disagreed with, served to strengthen what I do believe in.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

Book Review: Daddy Dates by Greg Wright

This funny, insightful, and relatable book poses the wildly original concept that should be a “duh” for most dads—but isn’t: In order to raise a confident woman-to-be, show your daughter what it feels like to be treated with love, respect, and true interest by a man who loves her.

Daddy Dates shows the average father how to actually do that. It is written in an original voice and will appeal to both men and women. It is the kind of action-oriented “how to” material that guys enjoy, and so many others will recommend to other dads.

Daddy Dates by Greg Wright was exactly what it claimed to be – funny, insightful and original. It was a very easy read, with short and simple chapters from the perspective of a dad trying his best to raise up four godly daughters who would be well equipped to make good choices in life and in choosing their future spouse, after experiecing how a man should treat her.

I loved the book and I hope my husband will read it as our daughter grows up, because it has many fantastic ideas and insights into the minds and hearts of little girls and women in general. Truly, I think even if you weren’t a father or husband yet, this book could give men a lot of insight into the hearts of their wives or that special girl they hope to win over. While a humorous book, it actually also moved me to tears a couple times as it tugged on my heart strings and those desires of every girl to feel special and adored and loved by her father. I have a fantastic dad who loved me very much, but I think it touches on something even deeper where we all long to feel that we are treasured by our Heavenly Father.

While you may catch hints of Greg’s faith in this book, it is written to be very accessible to anybody, which you might see as a pro or a con. I personally would have loved for the book to contain more content that connected this to the heart of our Father God and what the Bible has to say about parenthood, but perhaps those are some things you can then search out on your own. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book – especially to fathers, but even to mothers or husbands or a young man who wants to know how to treat his date with “love, respect and true interest”. I think that there are even things in this book that I may try to implement and have mommy dates with my kids – sons and daughters alike, though there is definitely something special and unique about that father-daughter relationship.

This book was provided to me by Booksneeze.com  for my honest and unbiased review.

DVD Review: A Bug Collection DVD Box Set (Vol. 1)

This is where it all began! The first three DVDs from the best-loved Max Lucado’s Hermie & Friends® series!!
Hermie, a Common Caterpillar—its all about being special.
Flo, the Lyin’ Fly—its all about telling the truth.
Webster, the Scaredy Spider—its all about being brave.

We own another DVD from the Hermie & Friends series, so I knew that Justice and I would likely enjoy the A Bug Collection DVD set with three more stories, and I was right! While my son Justice is just 3 years old, he is beginning to understand emotional and spiritual things in a greater way and these DVDs were a great way to introduce some important subjects.

He has dabbled with lying to us and we are trying to teach him about the difference between telling a lie and telling the truth, so the video about Flo, the Lyin’ Fly was a great story to help us with this important lesson!

And while my son sometimes seems fearless to the point that it scares me, the video about Webster, the Scaredy Spider is a great story about conquering our fears and trusting in God.

But I have to say that our favorite one was Hermie, a Common Caterpillar which teaches us about how God creates all of us unique and special in our own way. It seemed that this one impacted Justice the most as well, since afterwards he kept telling me that “God made me special”.

I would definitely recommend any of these videos from the Hermie & Friends series – they are well made with fun characters that the kids like and they teach valuable Biblical lessons.

This DVD set was provided to me by Booksneeze.com at no cost for my honest and unbiased review.

Book Review: Love Amid the Ashes by Mesu Andrews

An epic story of love and forgiveness, suffering and restoration

When her beloved grandfather Isaac dies, Dinah must follow his final command: travel to Job’s household to marry his son. After Job’s world comes crashing down, Dinah finds herself drawn to this great man brought low. What will she risk to fight for his survival?

Mesu Andrews weaves an emotional and stirring account of Job and Dinah. Love Amid the Ashes breathes life, romance, and passion into the classic biblical story of suffering and steadfast faith.

I was looking forward to reading a Biblical fiction account of Job in this book Love Amid the Ashes by Mesu Andrews, though I was immediately skeptical of the author’s choice to set Job in the time of Jacob and Esau. I had at one point been told in Bible school that Job likely lived before Abraham, so at first this was a hang up for me, but then at the end of the book, there is an Author’s Note where Andrews explains her research and her choice to put Job in this point on the timeline. If something like this might trip you up as well, I might recommend reading her Author’s Note first, as it was helpful to explain where she was coming from, but there is a plot spoiler, just to warn you.

All that aside, it was an excellent story and was fabulously written. The characters were well thought out and her creativity combined with extensive Biblical and historical research really helped bring the story of Job to life. She introduces many interesting elements and relational dynamics that I had never considered when reading Job’s story in the Bible that gave new meaning to his suffering and his relationship with God. Though it is nearly impossible to imagine enduring the type of pain that Job experienced, his story and his faith continues to be an inspiration and an encouragement to all of us as we faced our own trials. Weaving Job’s story together with Dinah’s adds another thread of redemption and love, as she was a woman with a shameful past who had experienced her own tragic loss. Though I may have ultimately chosen a different ending to this story, it was still very enjoyable and I would recommend it.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Ultimate Blog Party Giveaway Winner

The lucky winner of my Ultimate Blog Party giveaway of a $20 gift card of their choice to either iTunes, Amazon or Starbucks is comment #23 – my bloggy friend Barbie! Congratulations!

Book Review: Angel Sister by Ann H. Gabhart

I LOVED Angel Sister by Ann H. Habhart! It is not often that I find a fiction book that I really enjoy, but this was one of them. The characters were believable and ones you could relate to. I was drawn in by their stories and their struggles, finding myself feeling their pain and caring about what happened in their lives. It was a book that was able to make me both laugh and cry, which is a rare pleasure.

As the characters endured trials such as poverty, loss, war, addiction, and just plain difficult people who are hard to love, I was able to even learn from them as they sought to lean upon God for strength and grace in their times of greatest need. I really don’t think there is too much else I can say except that I would highly recommend this book – it was a very enjoyable read! And though I have not read any other books by Gabhart, I heard from a friend that her other stories are just as delightful, so I am definitely curious to check them out.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

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