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.

A Servant Like Jesus Book Review

Let me start that the 5 star rating came from my kids, not just me...

First of all Dan Sharp is a great illustrator, his characters are beautiful, bright and vibrant! Perfect for a kid's book. The story that Ms. Mancini had brought to life here in "A Servant Like Jesus" is a cute sweet learning story for all children. We used it during story time at school, which was perfect because it's about a classroom. My 7 year old learned to read this year, and when he saw the book in my stack of workbooks he 1. asked if we could start with that book, 2. asked if he could read, 3. started reading before I was completely ready to start school today. 

LET ME TELL YOU WHAT! I wanted to cry because he has been fighting reading for a year and a half, so for him to give me 3 amazing surprises all based around a book I could cry. He loved the characters, (especially the Crab Charlie, because my 7 year old LOVES crabs), he loved the story, loved the message about Jesus (since we're celebrating Christmas right now, and he's looking for more ways to be like Jesus), and best of all loved going back through the whole story to find the hidden Bibles on each page. In fact he re-read the book after school was over just because he loved this book so much! To show you how amazing this miracle is, he has currently only read short level 1 readers with 10 or less words per page. This book is 32 pages long with an average of 12+ words per page.

My 10 year old loved this too, we all took turns reading together which was a great family experience! It was a reading without tears, without being angry or stressed or frustrated by any of us. My kids already want me to start looking for more books like this, so Ms. Lee Ann Mancini please keep writing more!

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.

Whispering to Horses Book Review

Whispering to Horses is a short quick book about the honest hard work of an Amish boy, an adult man who learns about his family history, and a broken promise of youth.  When you see how short this book is, you might think that it's a Young Adult book, or even a child's book but do not be fooled, this book though it's pages are few, pack lessons of life for all to read.

Matt is a young adult man who is trying to fix up his Grandfather's old farm house and yard so he can sell it and move to the big city so he can be closer to work and his lifestyle.  Next door to him is an Amish community, starting with a family of young children and a teenage boy.  This boy is observed by Matt has to always be working, working really hard with a pair of beautiful large horses and funny looking equipment.  The boy wonders why Matt's family sold off their farm land; while Matt wonders why this youth uses old fashioned contraptions for his yard work instead of new technology like tractors and such.

Matt's family is very much on the path of life that follows the famous saying "Keeping up with the Jones".  But as the story flows, you can see how open Matt's heart really is, and how a young boy who knows how to whisper to horses, use old equipment, and work hard can bring a light and happiness to a busy city guy.

I have to admit it's hard to write this review, because there are so many great lessons, but I don't want to put spoilers in my review.  Let me just say, this book is worth reading regardless of your age.  It's perfect for teachers to use as they teach their students History, cultures, and economics.  This is a great fast read for adults who want to ponder deep life questions Matt asks and discovers through his relationship with the boy and his Amish neighbors.  My nugget of suggestions is to really think about the lesson of :"Whispering to Horses" and how that can help you in your life.

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.

Why is Great Grandma so Sad? Book Review

The topic of this book is one that is in a sense ironic as it is a few days after July 4th, where America celebrates it's continued freedom from the clutches of British rule, to be ruled by their own government, and to become their own free country just like that of many other great countries.  This book is about the Holocaust, given through the eyes of children who lived it.

Author Susan Heagy has given us, the readers, a very unique opportunity to learn about the Holocaust, by actually interviewing survivors, children who grew up during those rough, terrible times, who have had to live with the consequences of being of the Jewish faith during the reign of a tyrant who planned to take over the world.  Though the actual characters in this  story are fictional, her historical fiction novel is written in terms younger children may read and understand it clearly.

Many of us are lucky enough to know at least one Great Grandparent, while we were growing up, not everyone, but many.  They are a gift of the past given to us to learn from and to know and to love.  My own children have had the wonderful blessing to know their 2 Great Grandmother's, before they passed on.  Both of which were greatly affected by the wars, the great depression, military life, loosing of loved one's especially husbands and other such trials they had to live through.  But my children loved hearing their stories.  It brought the history of the USA into a more personal account and importance to us all.  In "Why is Great-Grandma so Sad?", a little girl is now old enough to see and question why her Great Grandmother is sad all the time, or has a sad demeanor about her.  As the little girls' mother sits down to tell her the story behind the sadness, she has to figure out a way to tell it so her 7 year old daughter understands.  What is revealed is a story of a young girl who is forced to leave her home with her family and move to a ghetto, then later to a concentration camp all under the rule of the Natzi army.  This Jewish refugee family has little to no food, must learn to survive bitter cold, and even as a child growing up from 7-11 before she is set free from the Natzi rule, she too must do her part to survive, to live, to stay alive.

We learn just how important family is and why it is also important to learn about our past, so we may better be grateful for our present, and so we may better change our future.

I honestly love this little book!  The art is wonderful, very stylized in a beautiful way that fully compliments the story.  At the back of the book, Susan Heagy gives us a few nuggets of gold in the form of actual survivor witnesses of their personal accounts of the Holocaust.  As a teacher in elementary school, I can see this book being a great resource for children to use during the time we study the Holocaust.

The author has given me the following information, that I feel inclined to share.  Each purchase of this book supports the Holocaust Survivors.  Please visit www.ahi-il.org/donate for more information.

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.

The Pounamu Prophecy Book Review

Have you ever discovered that life wasn't all that you thought it would be? Have you ever noticed that things seem to stay the same? Have you ever experienced that nothing good or bad seems to really faze your routine, your stamina, or your work ethic? Have you ever just stopped to think, to wonder, to try something new?

The Pounamu Prophecy is a book that not only captures your mind with the force of rushing river water; but it releases your soul and provides freedom to think. It follows the lives of 3 people; in which each person is faced with life crunching challenges, soul quenching agony, and mind blowing opportunities to see truth. Meet Mere a wonderful native of the Ngati Whatua tribe of Auckland, we get to experience her childhood memories of watching her village burn to the ground, of the government lie and break promises throughout her whole age of growing. We get to see what it took for this mighty Tribe to stay strong, and hope on.

What if your perspective on things changed when your raft you've been using to float through life suddenly rammed into giant boulders? What if your whole life turned upside down because the creek bed you have always been flowing down has suddenly dropped out into a waterfall? What if you were given the chance to make things change for the better? Would you? What if you were brought into the path of an enemy what would you do?

The Pounamu Prophecy is a book that clutches at the feelings within your soul, feelings you might not have known you would experience. It snatches and clings to the brightest thoughts within your mind like a thorny barb, which can become somewhat painful. This book follows the life that Helen and James have built for 5 years as a married couple. We are invited into intimate closeness to their inner struggles, their lack of communication as a couple, and their lack of vibrancy together.

I am loving this book. I will treasure it for a long time. I love Aussie Authors, of the handful that I have had the privilege of reading their works, their imagery, their passion, and their detailed fluency is impeccable. As a reader, I was drawn into the land, into the country, into the daily lives of these 3 very human, very weak and beautiful people's lives like they were friends I have known for a long time. I cried when they cried, I was frustrated when they were, I wanted to slap them across their faces and give them a good shake (because I felt like I could as a friend) at their stupidity and lack of hope, faith, and belief. That is how well written this wonderful little book is. 

I want to quote the best part of the book: "No race is better than another; we are all human, capable of great evil and great good." pg. 186. You will see how hope breaks down barriers, how love transcends weakness and sin, and how truth and forgiveness are keys to a happy life. I highly recommend this book!

*To comply with the FTC regulations, I am clearly stating that I did receive a complimentary copy of this book through BookCrash in exchange for an honest, non biased review, to be posted on 2 different sites.