Made for a Purpose Book Review

Summary: Christian themed book all about helping children learn God's Purpose while learning about animals along the way.

Details: Beautiful watercolor painted images full of realistic texture, color, life, vibrancy, and beauty.  Each page in itself is a masterpiece from an Artistic standpoint.  Kristie Wilde is both author and illustrator which makes this quality even more spectacular because of all the work, time, and imagination she had put into her book.  This is book One of her Joyful Creation Series, and if it's this good, you know the next books to come will be amazing too.

My Review:  I got this book for my 7 year old son, who has just this year in school gotten to the point of being very confident in his reading skills, to the point of willing to read out loud for us to hear him.  He has had a hard time finding books that he enjoys reading, so as a Mom I am always on the hunt for the next book to give him pleasure, joy and confidence in his reading.  He loves turtles with a capital LOVES LOVES LOVES TURTLES!!!!! attitude.  Even though this book has many different animals in it, it has turtles on the front and that helped my son desire to read this book. Not only had Kristie given us a wonderfully well written children's book, 19 artistic masterpieces in watercolor, but she has added her own sense of humor into the font of the book as she gives us some information about each animal.  It is not just a Christian Children's book, but rather an Educational Christian Children's book.  Both my 7 year old and my 10 year old have enjoyed reading this book often since receiving it in the mail, which has been such a blessing to me, as they struggle with a love for reading.  I am very grateful to authors who know how to captivate children on so many levels with their imagery, storytelling, and keen sense of sharing information children want to learn about in book form for said children.

Here is a link where you may purchase this book if you want to enjoy it as well.

To comply with the Federal Trade Commision's regulations, I must mention as part of every review given thanks to BookCrash, that the publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of the book, through BookCrash, in exchange for an honest non biased review.

Strange Lands: Heroes of Distant Planets Book 1 book review

Genre: Fantasy

Plot:  Allen, the Boy has the whole world in his hands: well he at least thinks he does in his head.  However, when that world comes crashing down things seem to go from bad to worse, to scary.  When life is taken from him, Allen is left to fend for himself in a wheelchair and voiceless.  There is some good, Allen's Uncle becomes the reason he lives.  In this new quest to help and save his Uncle Allen finds a whole new world, Strange Lands, filled with fear, magic, and mystical creatures.  

My Opinion:  Let me start by saying I'm not normally a sci/fi book lover.  It has to be the right type of fantasy book or right type of scientific book for me to want to read it, and then enjoy reading it.  I'm more of a historical fiction, Christian, hallmark happy story type reader.  So when I say that I like a fantasy book, that is big for me.  This book is written perfectly for ages of youth in their tween/ teen years.  It is easy enough to read and understand all the many new creatures, with new names, powers, their connection to Allen and his new life.  Strange Lands is a fun book, which is good, because I'm not a fan of deep dark scary books.  That said, it is a little too much fiction, and is a bit too wordy when descriptions are being used to really be fully enjoyed by adults...unless you enjoy fantasy whole and encompassing.

Interesting Details: Swimming is key to this whole book.  Allen is a great aquatic athlete in the very beginning, and he continues to swim throughout the book.  I found that very endearing and fantastic, because it reminds me of my youth: swim team, life guarding, swimming with my friends, siblings, parents, etc.  Allen is full of fear, he opening cries, and yet is constantly finding himself building up his courage, bravery, and confidence.  Something all tweens and teens are doing in real life.  A great example.

Amazon Link: You can buy the book here through the link below.  It is not an affiliate link, but the direct link to Strand Lands: Heroes of Distant Planets Book 1 on Amazon.

To comply with the Federal Trade Commission's regulations, I must mention as part of every review; that the publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of the book, through Amazon, in exchange for an honest non biased review. There are no affiliate links, nor payments made for this review.  I have posted a review on Amazon as well.

Business School Project

My children are home schooled. It is a family adventure we're loving!  As part of school my kids have been challenged to come up with 3 business plans, build them, execute them, and run the businesses to test the following: 1. Which business earned the most money, 2. Which business did I enjoy the most, 3. Which business was the most thought out/ well planned, 4. Which business ran the smoothest?

They have been given 1 month to plan out all 3 businesses, then one month to built each business, and then they will get 1 month to run each business.  This business class will help them be ready for the real world, help them be more respectful to businesses now, be more aware of niche businesses, and takes the place of the Science Fair this year.

Starting in March the first business will be hand crafted/ hand painted jewelry my children have put together to sell.  They are making earrings, bracelets and necklaces.  They have made earrings before to help pay for different summer camps, so the addition of bracelets and necklaces are a new venue for them.  Below is a sneak peek at some of their products.

Moving from Broken to Beautiful Through Forgiveness Book Review

When you feel Broken down...let Yvonne Ortega teach you how to move from this broken state to a beautiful light hearted state through forgiveness.  Her novel Moving from Broken to Beautiful through Forgiveness shares her personal life's story of how she suffered, hated, begged God for revenge and justice, and was able to find peace of heart through forgiving her ex-husband for all the abuse he put her through.  Her story is unique to her, but one that many feel they have experienced in some degree as well.  Ms. Ortega knows how to reach everyone, for we all have experienced something that has caused us to hold onto anger, hatred, or a grudge, we have all felt broken down at some point in our lives.  With the 12 steps that she goes over in this book, you learn why forgiveness works, what it is, and why it is so important for your health, your love, your sanity, and for God to work on you.  She goes over scriptures that tell us God's stance on forgiveness, and what He wants us to do.  This book is short, but full of amazing nuggets of gold very precious to life.

Light as a feather floating on air...I chose this book so that I could give it to someone I care about a lot.  I felt they could use what was said, even though I had never read it before, to benefit and better their life.  I wanted them to feel light as a feather, as they were going through some very crazy, deep, not so happy stuff in their life.  Yet, when I started reading it, I realized there is so much that I can learn from God about forgiveness.  I didn't realize how much weight I was holding onto from various things that have happened to me over the years that I have been reminded of.  This weight is from not forgiving others for their wrong doings to me, or their wrong doings to someone in my family.  I haven't really ever thought about this weight, or how it has been affecting me.  Happiness is important to me!  I love feeling light as a feather floating on air as I take on the world!  But that can't always happen, feathers don't float in the air when it's raining, or storming, or snowing.

Beauty is more... for women especially we feel a need a deep desire to be beautiful.  To be beautiful all the time!  We feel judged about pretty much everything: wife-hood, mommy-hood, education, house, pet, shape of body, food we eat, where we shop, how we parent, etc.  That list could go on and on and on, do I sound like a broken record yet?  This isn't new, to most of you, it isn't new to me.  And we just saw and heard all about the Women's March USA 2017, that caused quiet a bit of controversy all over the country.  The scriptures tell us God's point of view on beauty, and what true beauty is.  Ms. Ortega really understands how to help us open our eyes and take a long, hard, deep look at our selves, she helps us open up all those forbidden closets we've locked up inside us.  She helps us understand how to heal, how to move on, how to successfully move forwards in life, how to be Beautiful.  Because Beauty is more than how we look.  In her book, Ms. Ortega has left us journal space to write down our thoughts, feelings, and experiences to help us move through the forgiveness process towards beauty.

I highly recommend this book to anyone to everyone.  It is worth the read!  Worth the time put into yourself!  And if you like this book, check out her other books in this series.

To comply with the Federal Trade Commision's regulations, I must mention as part of every review because of BookCrash, that the publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of the book, through BookCrash, in exchange for an honest non biased review.

Black Cherry Spinach

Black Cherry Spinach

1 cup Cran/Grape juice

1/2 Banana (fresh)

1/2 cup Black Cherry Greek Yogurt

8 tsp Oatmeal (dry)

2 tsp Ground Flax Seed

2 tsp Almond Meal (unblanched)

2 tsp Ground Chia Seed

1 scoop Super Greens (red powder)

1/3 cup Blackberries (fresh frozen)

1/2 cup Strawberries (fresh frozen)

1/3 cup Spinach (fresh frozen)

*Blend until smooth.  This will be a beautiful black cherry color, and a medium thickness of smoothie.  Makes 1 serving!  This is a bit tart, so my kids didn't like it.  If you are not a fan of tartness, you can add any of the following to make it taste sweeter: 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup Apple juice, 1 tbsp Agava juice (similar to honey but thinner, and not so sugary).  Enjoy~

Orange Mango Twist

The last smoothie recipe I posted was Orange Mango.  It was super yummy, and made a funky amount 2 and 1/2 servings.  So today I'm posting what I did with that 1/2 serving to make it a full serving.

Okay here goes~

Orange Mango Twist

Take the half a serving of the Orange Mango and add the following
2 tbsp oatmeal (dry)
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt Vanilla flavored
2 full sized carrots (peeled, steamed: I got this amazing product that allows me to steam single servings of vegetables so I steamed the 2 carrots then threw them into my smoothie warm)
1/4 cup orange juice (I like the lots of pulp)
1/2 banana fresh
*Blend until smooth. This will be a thicker smoothie, white-ish peach in color with little carrot glitter if you have a Ninja blender like me. Makes 1 serving. Now since I added a warm carrot to this smoothie I had to chill the smoothie until I was ready to eat it...just keep that in mind.

Curse Breaker: Enchanted Book Review

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: Boy with special powers is trying to live his life, help his brother, and keep a secret protected, but he works for a powerful man and an odd group of people.  The people who he works for care about him and want to keep him safe from bad people, but they've broken his trust and can't get him to talk to them.  Something bad happened in the land, and magic has called to the boy, now the ghosts from that incident are also asking for the boy to help them, their only issue is that they can't talk to him.  Can he solve the mystery before he runs out of time?  Can he solve the mystery, keep his secret, and help his brother into collage?  The boy has a really rough life, with too many people asking too much of him, but can he endure and come out conqueror in the end?
 
Sexual Content update: Though I put that there is some sexual content let tell you what I mean.  There are no sex scenes, which is great for me, because I'm not a fan of those.  However the main character is drawn into sexual thoughts about a beautiful woman.

My Opinion:  Let me start by saying I'm not normally a sci/fi book lover.  It has to be the right type of fantasy book or right type of scientific book for me to want to read it, and then enjoy reading it.  I'm more of a historical fiction, Christian, hallmark happy story type reader.  So when I say that I like a fantasy book, that is big for me.  Now for the cliche' I really did enjoy this book, I was constantly finding ways to sneak in and read it during my days over the Christmas/ New Year's holidays.  One of the reasons I really enjoyed reading is because there was a wonderfully well planned history of where Sarn (the main character) lived, his back story, and why things were the way they were.  However, this backstory was interwoven into every aspect and chapter, so you don't get the whole picture until the end, just puzzle pieces throughout the book.  Melinda's characterization is very much in the same level as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.  You get to know each Ranger who works with Sarn, their individual quirks, ticks, and cares on thejob.  Sarn's world is divided into when he's on the job and when he's off the job, so when the author mixes the two into one, she is very successful!  The ghosts mentioned in the plot summary are my favorite characters of the whole story, they frustrate me, I like them, feel sorry for them, and wish I had power to help them communicate with Sarn while I was reading.  When an author captures your own imagination and sucks you into the story as a character, you know they are very talented, and have worked hard at their skills.  My only issue with the book, that kept me from giving it a 5 star rating, is that Sarn is a really rough life, too rough to be realistic in my opinion.  I feel like there was so much bad happening to him that when something good did happen, it was glossed over just a little bit.  Much like Harry Potter, my issue is the same; so much bad happened to Harry too, but he had those periods of regular life too, just not enough to make it realistic.  I would have liked to see more good, or at least longer periods of time between each trial that happened to Sarn for my own personal reasons.

Interesting Details: This book review is from the ebook version.  It is totally worth getting, because you can read it so much faster, and anywhere you go, easier than carrying a book around.  I used the Amazon Kindle Unlimited app on my phone to read this ebook version.  It was perfect.  It automatically kept my book mark whenever I stopped.  It also let me know how far along I was in each chapter and in the book as a whole, so that I knew how fast I was reading.  The auther Melinda Kucsera has an amazing imagination.  The way this novel is detailed it can compete with Lord of the Rings and even Harry Potter in the way that as you read this book comes to life.  You are thrown into the book as a character shadowing the main character, but are able to float around watching those whom the main character Sarn interacts with.

Amazon Link: You can buy the book here through the link below.  It is not an affiliate link, but the direct link to Curse Breaker: Enchanted on Amazon.

To comply with the Federal Trade Commission's regulations, I must mention as part of every review; that the publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of the book, through Amazon, in exchange for an honest non biased review. There are no affiliate links, nor payments made for this review.  I have posted a review on Amazon as well.