Ditching the Drive Thru

Today it seems like we never have enough time and certainly not enough time to make a dinner from scratch like our grandmother's make unless it's a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving. Most of us are families in which both parents work and we barely have enough time to get it all done, along with taking our kids to school, picking them up, homework, sporting events and finding time for dinner is usually something we grab on the go or head to the nearest drive thru. While we know it is not healthy, what else can the average home do to ensure we are feeding our families healthy food and just how can you be sure what you are buying is truly healthy anyway.

J. Natalie Winch wrote a book just for people like us called Ditching the Drive-Thru, how to pass up processed goods, buy farm fresh, and transform your family's eating habits on a modern mom's schedule. Just hearing that was enough to make me want to check out this book. She teaches you the difference between grass-fed versus grain-fed, pastured versus free-range, or organic versus sustainable. Readers will gain a much needed lesson not only in knowing why but in how to do it, along with a 30-day plan to convert your family from junk food to real food without a revolt, something that I absolutely needed because my kids are hard to get them to try something new, especially if it sounds healthy. This book even includes recipes and advice on planning and preparing meals to you can make home cooked a habit for your family besides those special holiday times. Tips are included from locating local farms, seeing through marketing buzzwords and shopping with CSA's.

"The diet industry present us with a simple equation: fat=unhealthy. Of course, it tends to ignore the possibility that increased body fat is related to the chemicals and additives in processed foods manufactured by the industrialized food system. Fat in itself is not inherently unhealthy, although fat-laden refined food generally is. As our food becomes more and more processed in order to make food easier and faster to consume, our people are rowing less and less healthy. Food quality declines, overall healthy declines, people start gaining weight, and then the diet industry gets a major boost. " (pg 8).

I received Ditching the Drive-Thru by J. Natalie Winch compliments of Spikehorn Press and iRead Book Tours for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation, aside from a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. After watching my husband at 46 have a major heart attack, this was a huge wake up call for both of us. After meeting with our cardiologists, he agrees that the ages of people having heart related issues is getting much younger than ever before and it is based on what we are eating. This is why this book is so critical to gain the knowledge we need to make the right decisions to start feeding our families the right way and in doing so, give them a quality of life that they can pass on to a future generation. It is interesting to note that there has also been a rise in cancer deaths and when you look at the facts, it is hard not to put it all together and discover it has to do with our food we are eating. This book helps put all of that into perspective and well worth all 4.5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about Ditching the Drive-Thru, J. Natalie Winch or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Ditching the Drive-Thru by J. Natalie Winch 

You can find J. Natalie Winch on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest tips on healthy eating.

To read more reviews on Ditching the Drive-Thru, please visit iRead Book Tour page. 

Waiting for Morning

Karen Kingsbury is one of the best authors I have come across and her books are quite literally life changing because they convey a situation no one wants to truly deal with and puts the reader in the drivers seat to take the wheel. In her latest novel, Waiting for Morning, it is every wife and mother's dreaded nightmare no one wants to have to face. Hannah Ryan is waiting for her husband and daughters to arrive home from their weekend camping trip. It is one that the three have taken as a way of bringing summer to a close and embracing another school year ahead for the teens. Only this time it would be different as two police officers arrive to tell her that there has been a car accident and that she needs to come with them.

Brian Wesley has been trying to find a way out of the bottom of the bottle he runs to whenever his life gets out of hand. This is just another of those times. When he gets fired from his job as a mechanic due to trying to stay sober but falling behind in his workload. His boss even tells him that he worked better when he was drunk. Now Brian has to head home and tell his wife Carla that once again he's out of work. It wouldn't be too bad but with the birth of their newborn son, Carla had hoped that Brian might straighten himself out once and for all. She has given him an ultimatum this time, if he starts drinking again, she will leave him for good. He just can't go home without figuring a way out of the mess he has found himself in.

In a series of divine circumstances, their two worlds will intersect and forever alter their lives. He just never dreamed that he was too drunk to get behind the wheel of his truck and head home. He had done it more times than he could remember and he had hoped it would be just like all the others. His truck went through a traffic light and he plowed into the Explorer that was carrying Hannah's family. The initial impact would send their vehicle mid air and land wrapped around a phone pole. Brian of course would walk away from this but those in the vehicle would not be so lucky and for Hannah, her faith will be tested like never before when she learns the outcome of this accident. Will she be able to trust God no matter what happens? She just hopes that this is a really bad mistake and her family is just late coming home with a reasonable explanation.

I received Waiting for Morning by Karen Kingsbury compliments of WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside from a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is such an emotional and heart rendering but honest novel. I think we all hope one day that we will never have to face the challenges Hannah has to in this novel, but because it pulls on our emotional heartstrings we can't help but be invested in this story to see how it all plays out. I believe this is a must read to anyone who wonders where God is in the midst of any situation where the outcomes is less than what we have prayed for and conveys a sense of hope that readers can relate to. It doesn't all come wrapped up in a pretty bow with a happily ever after ending and that is what makes her books so genuine and in demand. For me this one easily garners a 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion. This is the first book in the Forever Faithful Series!

For more information about Waiting for Morning, Karen Kingsbury or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Waiting for Morning by Karen Kingbury

You can find Karen Kingsbury on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Waiting for Morning, please visit WaterBrook Multnomah's website. 

Miracle Maker

I love it when I find true movies that inspire and leave you with a great feeling and most of all that are suitable for all ages. Mainstay Productions has launched an incredible movie, Miracle Maker that I am sure that you will want to add to your family's DVD collection and I know it has made its way into mine. This movie is perfect to begin the celebration into the holiday season.

It conveys the story similar to A Christmas Carol of sorts, a town that is hit hard not by financial issues, but simply struggling to make ends meet to pay the rent to Mr. Booth, the man who quite literally owns everything in the small town. It makes things downright difficult as some families struggle to put enough food on the table and still try to make the rent. One thing is for certain, Mr. Booth does not need the money. He is a selfish and stubborn old man, who is bound up by an event from the past in which his daughter Lily is almost killed in a buggy accident. He trusted her care into the town's preacher, Thomas Keating who brought her back that fateful night but was also forbidden to have any more contact with her.

Now Pastor Thomas tries hard to convey his feelings to Lily, who remains confined in the house, while he tries to find ways to make amends to her father. His own mother has been confined to her bed since the death of her husband and now relies on Tom to help her out. The town desperately needs a miracle and soon a mute boy takes it upon himself to send a message of help for a miracle maker. What arrives in town is nothing short of a miracle as they soon discover that miracles don't come from any one person, but from the hope the town provides to those in need through what they can offer one another. As one seed of love and hope is planted, soon an abundance springs forth and restores the town to it's former glory.

I received the opportunity to view Miracle Maker before its release compliments of Mainstay Productions for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation, aside from a link to watch the movie in exchange for my honest review. This is such a great family film because it shows how we can all begin planting our own seeds of love in a world that so desperately needs hope and faith. The DVD release of this movie is November 3rd nationwide and I hope you choose to add this to your DVD collection. For me, it will find a lasting home among mine and thus the reason for rating this movie a 4 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Miracle Maker, Mainstay Productions or where you can pick up a copy of the DVD when it releases, please click on the links below:

Miracle Maker by Mainstay Productions. 

You can find Mainstay Productions on Facebook to stay up to date on all their latest projects.

Faith of Our Fathers - DVD Review and Giveaway

As Veteran's Day approaches, I can think of no greater tribute than to offer a great review and giveaway of the DVD Faith of Our Fathers from Pure Flix Entertainment and Flyby Promotions. My father and mother both served during the Vietnam War and theirs was not the story that was glorified and honored when they returned like those of the WW1 and WWII campaigns.

In Faith of Our Fathers conveys the story of two men Eddie and Steven who in 1969 find themselves fighting side by side in the Vietnam war, and soon become more than friends and partners, but true brothers in the war so to speak. As the war continues they both write to the sons, John Paul and Wayne they have in the states through a series of letters hoping their words might inspire and encourage their sons should they return from the war. However after a five day mission to retrieve fallen comrades, they both lose their lives.

Now twenty five years later, John Paul and Wayne meet as John Paul tries to find the man his father talked so valiantly about in hopes of learning more about his father, but when he comes across Wayne, he is nothing but a bitter alcoholic who doesn't want anything to do with the father he feels has abandoned him. Yet he holds the only key to John Paul understanding his own father, and he manages to convince Wayne to journey with him to the Vietnam Wall in Washington DC, as Wayne gives him letters from his own father for a price along the way. They two will understand more than they ever thought possible as the movie takes viewers back through a series of flashbacks to help understand the bond that their fathers shared and how it will forever change their own perspectives of who they believed their fathers were.

I received Faith of Our Fathers compliments of Pure Flix Entertainment and FlyBy Promotions for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained here are strictly my own personal ones. This DVD runs 96 minutes and contains special features such as, The Heart of Faith of our Fathers, Honoring Father's Day, Commemorating Memorial Day, Si Robertson Interview, and Stephen Baldwin Interview. Candace Cameron Bure, Rebecca St. James, Stephen Baldwin and Si Robertson star in this amazing movie. It parallels the story of fathers and sons, twenty five years apart, and shows how they are bound together forever which is such a worthy tribute to our veterans this Veteran's Day!

Thanks to the generous folks at Pure Flix Entertainment and FlyBy Promotions, they are offering a giveaway copy of this DVD. Here are your guidelines to enter:

1. Be a follower of my Blog, Reviews From The Heart (1 entry).

2. "Like" my Facebook page, Reviews From the Heart (1 entry).

3. "Share" my blog review link or Facebook link (2 entries for each share). Include the #ReviewsFromTheHeartGiveaway.

4. Leave a comment on either site or both telling me why you'd love to win a copy of this DVD. (2 entries for each site). If you are leaving a comment on my blog, please include your email address so I have a way of contacting you, if you are the lucky winner of the giveaway. You can use the words (at) or (dot) instead of the symbols.

5. Giveaway open to residents of the US or Canada and please NO P.O. Boxes!

The giveaway will end on November 13th and you can enter as many times as you would like. The winner will be notified by email or instant message and you will have 72 hours to respond before another winner is selected.

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”  

For more information about Faith of our Fathers, Pure Flix Entertainment or where you can pick up a copy of this DVD today, please click on the links below:

Faith of Our Fathers by Pure Flix Entertainment

You can find Faith of our Fathers on Facebook to stay up to date with all the latest regarding the film project.

You can also find Pure Flix on Facebook to stay up to date on all their latest films.

52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol

Just in time for the Christmas season, Bob Welch has released this amazing and beautiful Christmas inspirational book, 52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol. In it you will find those fond moments in the movie A Christmas Carol and how we can use those moments to impact our lives and those around us to help draw people closer to Christ in ways like never before. Most people have watched the movie The Christmas Carol and can identify with the them of the restoration and forgiveness and renewal Ebenezer Scrooge experiences in the course of one evening through the four spirits that visit him. He gets the opportunity to make amends before his life ends and therefore condemning him to the same fate of his partner Bob Marley.

The story of Ebenezer Scrooge probably stands out in all of literature as the one of the most redemptive - a hopeful portrait of a life radically remade and one that will inspire us all to take into consideration the little life lessons that can be gleaned when watching A Christmas Carol or perhaps reading it this Christmas in a whole new life and light. Bob Welch reminds us that if there is mercy for Scrooge, there must be deliverance in equal measure for all us in this heartwarming book.

For example in the Lesson 6 "It's About More Than Christmas" we are given a quote at the beginning of each chapter from Charles Dicken's classic novel, A Christmas Carol, and in this case, "The only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely." ~ Scrooge's Nephew, Fred.

"When you think about it, it'd odd that the world selects a particular time of year when everyone is supposed to be nice to everyone else. The unspoken inference is that you should feel no particular responsibility toward others the rest of the year. Oh, sure, children might be told their Christmas cache is dependent on whether they've been naughty or nice all year long, but the overriding message is that this is a special season of kindness.

"Dickens was particularly fond of the Christmas season, and he expressed that fondness in A Christmas Carol through Bob and Fred, the latter of who makes an impassioned defense of Christmas: " a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their hearts freely." Hear! Hear! But shouldn't we amortize such spirit all year long instead of offering only a lump-sum payment come December? The point isn't to deride such others-oriented thinking, but to remind us all that that's how Scripture suggest we should live: All year long, 24/7. Every day. In good times and in bad times. In sickness and in health. Joyfully. With others in mind. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit," says Philippians 2:3. "Rather, in humility value others above yourselves." At Christmastime. and not at Christmastime. All the time." (except from Lesson 6, page 19-20).

I received 52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol by Bob Welch compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation, aside for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This would make a great gift for anyone who loves Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol or simply looking for a great inspirational book for Christmas that they can reference any time. There is so many great quotes and life lessons that you can't help but want to review the book or movie once again and see it from a different perspective. This would even be a great resource to incorporate into small groups Bible Studies or for youth or church lessons as well. There is so many great aspects you can glean from this book and it makes for a perfect book to begin 52 days before Christmas to put you in the right frame of mind. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and has found a permanent home with my Christmas collection.

For more information about 52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol, Bob Welch or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol by Bob Welch 

You can find Bob Welch on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest books.

To read more reviews on 52 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol, please visit Thomas Nelson's website. 

Thornbearer

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Thornbearer Vinspire Publishing, LLC (May 7, 2015) by Pepper Basham

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the mom of 5 great kids, speech-pathologist to about fifty more, lover of chocolate, jazz, and Jesus, and proud AlleyCat over at a group writing blog, The Writer’s Alley. Her debut historical romance novel, The Thorn Bearer, released in May 2015, and has already garnered its first award with Readers’ Favorites International Awards. Pepper’s second and third books in the series arrive in February 2016. Her first contemporary romance debuts in April.



ABOUT THE BOOK

From the decks of the ill-fated Lusitania to the smoke-filled trenches of France, Ashleigh must choose between the forgiveness of her past, life in the present, and a Savior who can rescue her from them all. When her fiancé leaves her eight months before their wedding, the unexpected blow ignites a battalion of insecurities stemming from her father's intimate betrayal. Her worst fears are confirmed - who could ever love a soiled woman? In an attempt to escape the shame and disappointment of her past, Ashleigh boards the ill-fated Lusitania to cross the war-torn waters of Europe. Much to her dismay, she isn't traveling alone. Sam Miller is always making up for his best friend's mistakes. Determined to help Ashleigh, he offers his compassion and protection as she ventures across a perilous sea. With the faint hope of renewing his lost love for Ashleigh's sister, Sam never expects to find the woman of his dreams in his best friend's former fiancé and his own childhood companion. As they travel across the Atlantic, neither is prepared for the life-altering and heart-breaking journey of their friendship. When the truth of Ashleigh's past explodes in the middle of war and Sam rejects her, Ashleigh must decide if God is enough - or if the double weight of her betrayal and past will crush her life forever.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Thornbearer, go HERE.

Our Presidents and Their Prayers

What is the single most important common thread that unites all American Presidents - such a small number of extraordinary people from different centuries, parties, backgrounds, and experiences - as if they shoulder the overwhelming responsibilities of the office of President of the United States? There is only one possible answer: their faith.

As a respected national leader and a man of deep faith himself, Senator Rand Paul has written Our Presidents and Their Prayers in collaboration with James Randall Robison to remind us all that in a country founded by religious people, that abiding and rock-solid belief in God has been the key to each and every President's strength. Senator Paul stands up to the doubters in this most timely and important affirmation of how faith and prayer have always guided us, and why they must continued to do so as we face major decisions for the future of our country.

One of the media's favorite questions to politicians is: "Do you believe America is a Christian nation?" Well, it is of course a historical fact that we were founded by a religious people, most of whom were Christians. But if one tries to expound on that point, even to acknowledge its historical significance, some immediately want to paint you as intolerant believer in theocracy. Our founders were not bashful in acknowledging God's grace in our history. Today's critics sometimes imply that you can't have both faith and freedom. Some think you must choose between faith or freedom, or put a different way - liberty or virtue. I believe that leaders guided by faith, leaders guided by virtue are essential.

Most of our presidents recognized this principle, especially President Washington. He recognized that freedom requires an undergirding of faith. Washington believed that democracy depended upon a virtuous people. His prayers and writings, and those of the other great Presidents in our history contained in these pages, reveal how integral our religious traditions were to our founding, and I believe, to our future as well. This book contains prayers from all 44 of our Presidents as well as Rand Paul's commentary and thoughts on their presidency and what he admired or how they implemented their faith in their leadership.

I received Our Presidents and Their Prayers by Rand Paul and James Randall Robison compliments of Center Street Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Groups for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside from a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion. I love that I have some of the most amazing prayers by some of the Presidents I admire all contained in the course of an amazing hard cover book. It seems that as the Presidents move to the current administration, the mention of God in their prayers was not as heartfelt but merely offered as a way of appeasing the God that anyone might worship regardless if it was the same as that of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln. In my opinion, those who love historical items like this one, will definitely want to keep a piece of our countries faith on their book shelf. I would rate this a 4 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Our Presidents and Their Prayers, Rand Paul, James Randall Robison or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Our Presidents and Their Prayers by Rand Paul and James Randall Robison

You can find Rand Paul on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest books and faith in politics.

To read more reviews on Our Presidents and Their Prayers, please visit Center Street Publishing's website.