The Narnia Code DVD Review

The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis has become one of the most globally beloved franchises in history. And yet, there are mysteries about the author and these seven stories that have confounded scholars and fans for nearly half a century.Enter Michael Ward, who takes us inside the pages of Lewis’s masterpiece and discovers a “secret imaginative key”—THE NARNIA CODE. Like a detective embroiled in an elusive chase, Ward takes us on an illuminating adventure into medieval cosmology and spiritual symbolism. His absorbing conclusions reveal a new third layer of hidden delight that will forever change your love and appreciation for C. S. Lewis and the Narnia books.

INCLUDES OVER 45 MINUTES OF BONUS FEATURETTES
Three Friends
Hearth and Home
Heart of the Code

So many are captivated by C. S. Lewis’s famed Chronicles of Narnia. There is something about these books. If you want to discover what the code is then this is an in depth documentary for you. I will say that this is not a DVD for children. It's well done but so in depth that my husband fell asleep. However, it still was very intersting and I'm glad we watched the rest of it the following night. This would make a good gift for Narnia fan in your life.

You can buy it HERE for $14.98!

*product provided for review purposes.

Gift of Love- A Christmas Story and Art Lesson

1 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of dark-ness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

The Gift of Love, Drawing Children to Him, A See The Light Series DVD tells the birth of Jesus in an inspiring way through art! Your child will able to have an art lesson so that they will be able to create a manger scene using colored pencils.

My daughter just loved the art lessons and we had to hit pause so that she could give it a try. I am always looking for good Christian Christmas shows to watch. It has been a struggle to find ones appropriate for a five year old. So, I am very happy with this beautiful DVD and will now be happily adding it to our Christmas list of shows to watch.

There is contemporary music performed by recording artists Jan Roper and Kevin Dukes that plays, while you watch Gloria Kohlman draw. I would recommend this to anyone with children. It is a lovely and educational video.

*product provided for review purposes.

O Holy Night

This is my all time favorite Christmas song. Celine does a fantastic job!

What's yours?

Favor

"The Lord bestows favor and honor on His children" Psalm 84:11

Encourage your children today that their heavenly father wants to give them favor and honor in all that they do!
Why?
Because He loves them and you do too!

Devotional for little girls

This is a devotional book for little girls. My daughter and I have started to read this sweet book at night. The illustrations are very cute and reminiscent of precious moments. The text is well organized with a topic and then a short summary with bible verses that coincide with the topic.

I highly recommend this book because it gets to the point and is easy to understand. My daughter has learned scripture versus and is able to relate to them easily. It also makes for a great bedtime story because each night you can focus on one topic.

* I received this book free from Book Sneeze. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Storm Warning Review

Billy Graham's new book, Storm Warning is timely and insightful. It is a revised, updated version that Mr. Graham had originally written in 1992.
This book focuses on world events being backed by scripture. He talks about historic events and then focuses much on the book of Revelations. Throughout this book, he backs every point with the word of God and the gift of salvation.

With so much unrest, political turmoil, and religious clashing in our world, Billy Graham does a great job putting it all into perspective in Storm Warning. Basically, God is in control, there are definite signs of the times, but no man knows the hour. You don't have to be fearful about end time prophecy. If you are, spend more time building your relationship with the savior and experience His grace and salvation.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to make sense of the events that are happening today and how they correlate to the end times.

This book was provided from Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze review program.

Your Father's Love

Will The World End in 2012

Will The World End In 2012 by Raymond C Hundley, PH. D. discusses the 10 theories on how the world is predicted to end. There has been a lot of talk about this topic, from the popular movie 2012 in theatres and from The History Chanel's coverage.

All of the theories discussed by Hundly I already knew, but he does a thorough job of highlighting each theory and then giving some of his thoughts. The book is written from a Christian perspective, but the reader is left to chose for himself at the end.

I would recommend this book. It's easy to read and very interesting. There is no denying that it's scientifically very likely that something will happen in 2012. Whether it's a small cosmic display or something much bigger remains to be seen.

But fear not "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

This book was provided by Thomas Nelson Publishers for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Happy Easter Video!

Veggie Tales Pistachio DVD Review

VeggieTales Pistachio- The Little Boy That Woodn’t, is one of their newest DVD sensations that is a lesson in listening to your parents.

We liked this movie a lot. It is full of adventure, humor, funny characters, with a great lesson in the end.

The animation like all of the other Veggie Tales is very well done. In the story, Gelato carved a little boy out of wood so he wouldn't be so lonely. But this carving came to life and was named Pistachio. When he doesn't listen, he gets himself into a “whale” of a situation! He is faced with some tough decsions. Does Pistachio decide to listen to the wisdom of his father and save his family from becoming fish food? You can find out and learn a lesson about the importance of listening to your parents. VeggieTales Pistachio from Big Idea, Inc. is available where DVDs are sold.

The Flowering Cross Book Review For Easter

Easter is just 2 weeks away! I love finding great books to add to my daughter's collection that help to explain the holidays, such as Easter. This beautiful book, The Flowering Cross, by Beth Ryan, is a perfect pick! The Flowering Cross is a wonderful story with graceful and soft illustrations.

In the story the main character, a 6 year old girl named Katie, befriends a grouchy old neighbor named Jack. Katie always shows love to Jack (reminiscent of the story Polyanna) and eventually they become friends. She then invites Jack to church and shares the love of Christ with him on Easter.

My daughter loved the story and I liked the scripture verses at the end of the pages that corresponded with the text. It is now one of our favorites in our library. It would be perfect in your child's Easter Basket!

Product provided by Book Sneeze for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Love One Another

1 John 4:7 (New International Version)
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

DVD Review: What's In The Bible?

Phil Vischer and Tyndale House Publishers have recently announced their venture to publish a 13 DVD series called, “What’s in the Bible?”
This is a children's DVD series that explores the greatest book ever written, the Bible. Through the use of puppet characters, the books of the bible, such as Genesis are explained to kids in a humorous but informative way. You can view it here: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-Mnq_sqMus)

I was sent a preview copy for this review and sat down to watch it with my pre-school age daughter. I was excited to watch this video because I love Mr. Vischer's vision of bringing the books of the bible to life for kids. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The puppets were all strange looking and it jumped back and forth too much from a blue headed country singing cowboy to a scary looking grandma with a man' voice, then to two male puppets on safari (one with a ridiculous high pitched girl's voice). I expect better from the Christian community. My daughter told me part of the way through that she likes learning about the bible but wanted to know if I could get the silly puppets off the screen so she could learn. Hmm, well since they were the show, I couldn't comply. I will say that maybe older children will find it funny and might laugh at the puppets, but do we really need to make them so stupid and ridiculous? Our kids are smart, insightful, and sensitive. They want to learn and some of the content was good but it was lacking in the entertainment area.

In my opinion, this DVD didn't meet my expectations and could have been done a lot better, however, if this DVD touches a little one's heart than that's all that matters. I encourage everone to view it for themselves.
You can purchase What’s in the Bible? for $14.99 from Tyndale.
Disclosure: Sample DVD provided from Tyndale House for review purposes.

Are there any Christian T.V. Producers or Writers out there?

There are so many quality Christian movies and programs for adults but what about for young children? Yes, there is the popular Veggie Tales, Boz, and Hermie, but what else?

With so many talented Christian writers and producers, I am stumped to why there aren't any good shows to watch on TV. On Saturday morning there are a few hours of Christian cartoons and shows, but honestly none that I let my pre-schooler watch. Some are scary, others poorly written and have little to do with God's word.

There are so many quality shows on PBS kids, Noggin/Nick Jr., and Playhouse Disney such as Sid The Science Kid, The Dinosaur Train, Max and Ruby, well the list could keep going. Wouldn't it be great if we could take some of these popular shows that are engaging and teachable, and add the characters standing on scripture throughout their day...now that would be a show to watch!

In the meantime let's pray for God's creativity and wisdom on all Christain TV producers and then the money to actually make them.

God's Little Princess Devotional Bible Review

God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible is perfect for any little princesses out there. The author, Sheila Walsh, does a fabulous job making this bible appealing for young girls. You may know her from her series, Gigi, God's Little Princess.
First off, the crown and jewel on the cover caught my daughter's attention and she let out a four year old squeal that this was her very own princess bible! The pages are attractive with with small pictures and of course the color pink is splashed about.

There are great features through the bible including: Beauty Secrets, Bible Princesses, My Hero (Scripture promises), Take a Bow (Easy plays that are Bible-focused), I Adore You (songs, scripture and worship), Royal Truths, Down In My Heart (Scripture Memory), Princess Charming, Worthy of Love (Ideas to show how to love her royal subjects: family, siblings, and friends).

I would recommend this book for girls ages 4-10. I think it would be perfect for a 7 year old though. What a great Valentine's gift for all of those little Christian Princesses out there!

A copy was provided from Thomas Nelson Publishers for review purposes. All opinions are A King's Kid

Favor For My Children

It is important to pray for your children and speak blessings to them and over them each day!

You can pray today to surround them with God's awesome blessings and favor at school, with their friends, and in all of their endeavors. His abundant favor in their lives brings peace and joy!

Scriptures:

"For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield." Psalm 5:12

"When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies live at peace with him." Proverbs 16:7

Boz The Green Bear: Book Review

I am so thrilled to find new ways to help teach my daughter about God in fun and interesting ways. Boz the Green Bear, is an entertaining, quality, and educational series. We are big fans and I'm sure your little one will be too!

In the book, BOZ Takes You to the Zoo— Gracie, Drew, and Boz visit the zoo to discover that God’s world is full of animals. This is a bright interactive board book that "helps children six and under learn about animals while practicing their tiger roars and doing kangaroo hops." We enjoyed this happy zoo adventure.

Let’s Learn Our ABCs with BOZ is another Boz book that uses rhyme to help children discover their ABCs in a fun new way. As children uncover each letter of the alphabet, they will also find out that God made everything from A to Z—but not only that, God made everything for you and me! It is a small book perfect for pre-school aged children!

*Zondervan provided the items for review purposes

How To Make a Decision

Need to make a tough decision? Maybe you are wondering what college you should go to or what job to take. Every decision, be it great or small are important to God.

Here are 3 quick questions (that my mom taught me) that you can use or teach to your children when they are facing a choice:

1. Does it give GLORY to God?


2. Do you get an INNER WITNESS?
   
3. Is the TIMING right?
   

The first question is important because if God doesn't get the glory, praise, and honor, who does? Yes, by default, the devil will take any attention he can. So make sure it all goes upward, to God alone!

What is an inner witness? Some say consciousness, gut feeling, or intuition, but God
calls it your spirit.

Timing is important God and He is not in a rush. Timing is spoken about throughout the whole bible. Be patient and be willing and give the rest to God because He loves and cares about you.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."