"This is Our Time" DVD review and giveaway

FTC disclosure:  I received a free copy of this DVD to give an honest review of this movie.

 

This Is Our Time is a Christian movie about five recent college graduates.  Two head off to India to work with lepers, one joins a prestigious finanical institution, another gets a great job in social media, and the fifth feels left behind as the rest of this close knit group of friends are pursing their dreams -- and he's left making sandwiches in a coffee shop since he didn't get into grad school.

I enjoyed the movie, however, I found it a little preachy at times.  I prefer Christian movies where the message is subtle, but I know that doesn't bother everyone.  This would make a fantastic movie for a church outreach as it does discuss things like God's will for our lives, God's plans, and death as one of the main characters dies in the movie.   Of course, the others deal with grief the best way they can.  As in real life they blame themselves, "If only I was with her" and "If only I hadn't called".  

As suddenly as life ends for one character, there's changes for three others.  Life isn't easy and this movie doesn't sugar coat things and even highlights the fact that just because we are Christians doesn't mean we are immune to pain and tragedy.

This would also be a good movie to show to a college aged church group as the focus is the future, what the future holds, and how God's plan for us might not be what we had in mind.  I think back to my final night at our campus ministry.  The seniors stood before the rest of the group and there was prayer, our campus ministry leader said he hoped in ten or twenty years he'd get great reports about what we were doing for God.  We had some do some seemingly great things from that group.  One is working with a ministry serving the poorest of the poor in Africa.  There's a fair share of stay at home moms raising children in a Christian environment.  But also, we have had our fare share of things not going as planned.  One followed his planned career path for a year, then went back to school for a different degree.  A girl had nearly died her junior year so we experienced knowing that we were not immortal even before our diplomas were in hand.  Of course, at least one of those twenty is divorced.  Life isn't easy and doesn't always go as planned, and this movie highlights that.  I enjoyed this movie and I think others will as well.

Connect with This Is Our Time:

Website

Facebook

Watch the Trailer on YouTube

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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The year of (What?)

I did a "Year of Me" where I focused on myself.  Now I'm not sure what I'm in the middle of, but I feel like I'm in the middle of SOMETHING.

I'm decluttering.  That's a huge undertaking.  Most eBay sellers have a huge amount of stuff, and I'm no exception.  I want to decide what to sell, what to put in a garage sale, and what to just toss.  Not to mention the eBay stuff, I have papers from years back.  Recently I found my placemat from Kindergarten.  (Which I must add had the knife backwards.  The knife should face the plate.  Way to teach us how to set a table incorrectly!)

I'm trying to get to bed no later than 2:00.  Since I don't have a job with normal hours, I can set my own schedule.  This means in the past, especially in the days of dial-up, I often worked nights as Internet connections were faster then.

I'm also trying to lose weight.  I have tried so many times on this it's crazy.  I lose 60 pounds in 2006 but gained it back because of stress.  I want to lose it again, and more.  (Plus I want to keep it off this time.)

I have no idea what this project is I'm embarking on, but it's a huge one. 

In the meantime,  stop by my eBay auctions stop by my eBay auctions.  You might find something you can't live without and it will get it out of my house!

Book Review: Not Guilty

Not Guilty by Teresa Pollard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Engaged.  Then raped by a masked man, and pregnant with his child.  This is the situation Carrie Shephard finds herself in back in 1974.  Her parents, knowing something is wrong, don’t push for details.  This seems a bit unbelievable because if I had a twenty-one year old daughter and her behavior changed so radically, I would want to know why!  Also unbelievable to me is the fact that the Christian university she attends doesn’t expel her for being pregnant.  I don’t say this lightly.  The Christian college I attended in the 1980s made a girl quit after being raped when she was pregnant, so for a school to be that open minded in 1974 seemed a stretch for me.

The story was great, but the dialogue didn’t seem true to life, nor did the fact that everyone seemed to be evangelizing every time they turned around.  Yes, Christians are called to make disciples, but it is rare that people actually share their faith.  I wasn’t also sure if I could believe a man would behave in the situation the way Joe, Carrie’s fiancé, did.  While we are called to forgive, he went above and beyond that.  I’m not saying a man couldn’t do that, but I question how many would do what he did.

True to what I believe would happen if this situation were real, there was a lot of gossip and lies spread in the church Carrie’s father pastored.  Given one of the main settings is a church, there will be a number of characters, but there seemed to be too many, and I was left just trying to figure out who was who.  In fact there were so many that after 189 pages of text, there were twenty seven  characters listed in the “Where are they now” epilogue.  I think the book would have flowed better if the main characters were cut in about half!  (Also unbelievable was when the rapist asked for a stronger sentence to show his remorse!) 

I did enjoy this book for what it is -- a work of fiction.  Usually I like my fiction a little more believable as I know I wouldn’t have responded as such), but it was still a good read and left me wondering what I would have done -- or what my friends would have done -- given the same situation.  There is a discussion guide at the back if you want to use it as a reading group selection.   If you are looking for a book with a unique situation, this is sure to fit that criterion.  I’ve not seen much historical fiction set in this era, nor with this subject theme.

Disclosure of Material: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I was cut by a public toilet seat!

On Tuesday I went to the dentist, and before my appointment, I went to the bathroom.  I sat down and felt a hard pinch.  I yelled "Ouch" but the friend with me didn't ask what happened.  I didn't realize until later the toilet seat cut me at that time.  What happened was it was one of those business seats with the front cut out.  It was on crooked, and it slid when I sat down.  My skin was pulled between the toilet seat and bowl, resulting in a laceration caused by the pinch.  I went on to my dental appointment

I went to the bathroom later and found there was both fresh and dried blood.  I wondered where it came from found the gash on me! 

I had another dentist appointment that afternoon, and had to cancel it as I was told I needed to make a report saying what happened with the facilities manager.  Then I had to see a doctor to see what vaccines / immunizations they might recommend for someone who was cut by a toilet seat.  (I had to have a tetnus shot and was given some antibacterial ointment.)

It is still sore, and I'm hoping I can prevent it from getting infected!

I have another dentist appointment later this month.  Next time I will NOT go to the bathroom there.

Keeping Faith FIRST -- Firsthand Book Review

Firsthand: Ditching Secondhand Religion for a Faith of Your Own by Ryan Shook

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


FTC disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Firsthand is a quick but engaging read.  What Ryan and Josh Shook have done in this book is take a look at how many Christians don’t “own” their faith, instead they rely on the faith of others.  The surprising thing is many people don’t realize this.  They have gone to church, participated in mission trips and everything else that “good Christians” do. 

I wish this book was around when I was younger, because this was me.  In fact one chapter is entitled “Trashing the Checklist”.  When I was in high school, I literally had a chart where I would tick off each item as I did it and gave myself a grade each week as to how I preformed as a Christian.  Thankfully God doesn’t rely on what we do or don’t do, but Grace is His measuring stick, and He doesn’t grade on a curve but it’s a “pass/fail” as to if we have asked Him for that Grace in our lives.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was at the end of each chapter there was a section entitled, “Making it Real” where it helps you apply what you just read.  I especially enjoyed the “Other Voices” where people from around the country told their experiences with that part of making faith real.  Some of these mirrored my experiences.     I could relate so well to some.  I grew up in church, spent three years in a Christian school, went on mission trips, taught Vacation Bible School, memorized entire BOOKS of the Bible, but it was just what I felt I was supposed to do to earn God’s love.  That’s where some of these people were.  Others I didn’t really connect with their experiences, but it was interesting to see how people are different in their faith.

Another thing I particularly liked about this book is they encouraged people to question.  I asked lots of questions in my search for truth.  I had one pastor tell me, “It’s a waste of my time to talk to you.”  when I was asking him questions.  Being told it’s okay to doubt is something I rarely see in Christendom.  I particularly liked the quote in this chapter, “God is no less with you in your doubts than He is with you in your certainties.”  (Page 123).  Often I have been made to feel the opposite.  Not sure about something?  Doesn’t that mean you’re backslidden and need to make a trip to the altar?  Not always.  We’re human, and God understands that.  Thomas was with Jesus, saw Him with his own eyes, and Thomas still doubted.  It’s unnatural to assume we will never have doubts when we haven’t seen with our eyes.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is disillusioned with church (or God.   Many times we say we are disillusioned with God when it’s the church we have become upset with the inconsistencies in “rules”.)  I also would recommend this to anyone who even grew up or has been in church for a while.  Even if you once had a firsthand faith, it’s still easy to replace it with a secondhand one.  While aimed at younger people, this book has value to all ages.

You can watch a talk about this book here:



FTC disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Please rank my review here:

You can purchase Firsthand here:

You can read a sneak peak here:

   Firsthand by Ryan & Josh Shook (Sneak Peek) by WaterBrook Multnomah

Book Review: Rosebud Blooming

Rosebud Blooming: Hurting to Healing in His Timing by Nancy Maggio
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

If I was presented with this book, but it was still in manuscript form, I would say it could have potential. However, as a finished book, it falls far short of what it could have been, and I only finished it because I was provided a copy from the publisher for an honest review, therefore I *had* to read it. I feel if I say I'm going to read something, I need to, no matter how much I dislike a book.

This book is good in premise. There are 88 pages, and each chapter begins with a poem, then is followed by a short story of an event that happened in the author's life. When given the opportunity to review this book, it looked like one I would greatly enjoy Rosebud Blooming starts with the poem "Unfolding This Rosebud". While it is not of great literary quality, the sentiment is beautiful, and I settled in further, knowing I picked up a great read.

Chapter One, "Voice in the Valley" was the best edited selection in the book. The story could have used polishing, and I prefer much less dialogue in a passage. A tale often flows better without lots of "He said", "She whispered" interjected into the story. The recollection did give me goosebumps, I enjoyed this memory, and it was by far the best told story of the collection.

The next section starts with a poem "Skeletons in the Closet". This time I felt the poem was more forced. Rhymes such as "doors/metaphors" were used, and even "fear/years". I was always taught that if you end a line in a poem plural you need to have the next line with the same ending or it won't rhyme. In other words, fear rhymes with year, not years, and this was repeated frequently through the book. The poems grew increasingly forced and un-rhymed as the book progressed. Some of these couplets included "world/twirl", "clergy/worry", "others/shudders", and even "unique/freak". This book would have been infinitely stronger leaving out the poems. They would make a nice keepsake to hand down to family, but for a published book, they are not of enough literary quality to merit being included.

The number of interjections in the prose interrupted the flow. While the author may have thought "Ha!" or "Duh", leaving it out would have allowed the reader a more pleasant experience with this book. The questions in her thoughts made me have to stop and refocus as I forgot what was going in the story. An example of this is on page 63, "Huh? This was a quick-fix surgery?" and on page 72 where she thinks, "What planet does this guy live on?" (Given the situation I would have been thrilled someone came to my rescue and not given a second thought to someone calling from outside my window asking if my house was locked.) The English language is varied and has so many phrases that can be put together to create a tale, yet the author often resorted to cliches.

As a Christian reading a Christian book, I didn't feel like the abbreviation OMG! should have been used. While it would have read better spelled out instead of just "OMG!", my problem was this typically stands for "Oh My God!" and reading a Christian book, I didn't expect to see my Lord's name taken in vain.

The editor of this book certainly didn't do his/her job, either. There were two different times the author said "me and _____". Because it was in the predicate of a sentence, "me" was correct, but proper English dictates that the other person come before "me", an example is "my daughter and me". Technically you should also order people in importance. An example being "the president, my congressman, my mayor, and me". One of the times the author used "me and ____" she said "me and God". I believe God is much more important than the author, and I groaned out loud and checked how many more pages were left to this book I wanted to edit with a red pen.

I truly believe the story "Wounded, Rescued, and Saved" combined with "Betrayal" would make a wonderful full length book themselves. These were fascinating stories that would have had many details I am sure people would have found very interesting if they were just presented at length. I was hoping the bulk of the book would be about these two segments, but instead "Betrayal" was a mere five and a half pages long instead of memoir length. While of course, it could have been edited to make the writing more pleasant to read, the content was good enough to make up for the quality of writing. I really wish the author would consider writing this as a full length book, but I would recommend finding a different editor next time she publishes! While some might disagree with the fact that homosexuality needs a "complete healing" as she states at the end of this vignette, there is enough to draw from to write a whole book merely on this section. If she doesn't do so, I hope her brother does. (And I sincerely hope she received his permission to write this story about him!)

I was excited to read this book, and I fully expected to like it. I think it has potential, but I feel it's still in rough draft form. Losing the poems, polishing the stories and adding some more I believe would make this into a much better read. As it is, it was difficult for me to concentrate on the content in part because of writing style and with grammar problems a good editor should have fixed. For this reason I give it one star.

FTC disclosure: I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was in no way required to write a positive review.

Review and Giveaway: JJ Heller's Album "Loved"

 Available for purchase today is J.J. Heller's new album, "LOVED". 

 I had never heard of her until I was asked if I wanted to do a review of this album, but just one listen to a sample song and I was hooked.

This video, "Who You Are" seems to be just life going about as normal. Lately my mind has been thinking about friends who lost a child some years back. I am sure if you ask them, life is still just putting one foot in front of the other. The lyrics of this song are haunting. God "lost" His Child. This album clocks in at just under 39 minutes with 10 songs. They are beautiful both in style (although some are a little more rockier with drums). The lyrics are even stronger than the songs. 

One of my favorite songs is "Redemption" The chorus says "We're alive for the very first time". Isn't that the way redemption feels? Knowing that, as it also says in the song, "Everything broken will be whole again". That's pretty much beyond our wildest dreams, right? Knowing what is cursed is redeemed, what is broken will be made whole. It's a comforting thought, and lends itself to a wonderful song.   The whole album is to give hope for what can happen in the future.  Our world is full of hurt and pain, but someday. . . someday in Heaven if not before, we will be made whole, restored, and filled with joy.  This album reminds of of what will be while we're still in a world filled with pain.  Yet it's not pithy, but touches on real human emotion acknowledging hurt, grief, and disappointment.

JJ Heller and her husband, David, did an excellent job of writing these songs. She sings lead vocals, he does background vocals and the acoustic guitar. I haven't been a big fan of contemporary Christian music the last few years, but if this album is any indication of what may be on the horizon, I am looking forward to the future! I really loved this album, and I highly recommend it. 

Connect with the artist:

Website: http://www.jjheller.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JJ-Heller/12004599945

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jjheller

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mention above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” 

And I have a copy to give away to one reader of The Radar Report.  Open to the USA only,  18 and older.   Winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  Giveaway ends March 24 at 11:59 pm Eastern.

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