God Gave Us Thankful Hearts by Lisa Tawn Bergren A Review

ABOUT GOD GAVE US THANKFUL HEARTS

Adventurous Lil Pup is bummed that hibernating season will soon be coming to the Great North Woods. Why should so many of his friends have to go in for the winter and leave Lil Pup without pals? Mama reminds her little wolf that not all animals hibernate, and how he can be grateful for the beautiful autumn season – for jumping in leaf piles, eating apple treats, and celebrating the wonders of fall with his forest friends.  And she points out…

“I think the trick to having a thankful heart is thinking about the things that make us happy, rather than the things that don’t.”

As Mama and Lil Pup explore, she reminds him that God is the giver of all good things. Lil Pup learns that even when something fun comes to an end; his heart can be thankful when he sets his mind on the best things in his life.

Age Range: 3 - 7 years
Grade Level: Preschool - 2
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook (August 23, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 160142874X
ISBN-13: 978-1601428745
Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 0.3 x 8.8 inches

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LISA TAWN BERGREN is the best-selling author of nearly forty books, including God Gave Us You and the beloved God Gave Us children's series. Her creativity and love of writing spans many genres, from children's book and devotionals to adult fiction. She and her husband, Tim, reside in Colorado with their three children.

DAVID HOHN is an award-winning illustrator whose art has graced many popular children's books, including God Gave Us Christmas. He graduated with honors from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is finishing an MFA in Illustration program from the University of Hartford. David lives in Portland, Oregon with his family.

MY REVIEW
  This is such a delightful book. I really love it and so will your children and grandchildren.
Little Pup was sad because summer was gone and things were dieing. He didn’t like winter when his friends would be hibernating, the leaves were changing colors.
  Mama explained to him that “The trick to having a thankful heart, is thinking about the things that make us happy, rather than the things that don’t.”


   They talk about harvesting, cozy houses, corn mazes and fishing.
  Little Pup comes to understand that you can be thankful for everything if you look at the good around you.
  Enjoyable book and I highly recommend it.

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Thanks to WaterBrookMultnomah for providing this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

When Calls the Heart-Forever in my Heart DVD review

WHEN CALLS THE HEART-FOREVER IN MY HEART
When Cody’s sister, Becky, returns to Hope Valley, she’s in a wheelchair due to her illness. Suspecting that Becky isn’t walking because she’s receiving a lot of attention, Elizabeth encourages her to try harder, both in her efforts to stand and in honing her talent for drawing. All are surprised to meet Carolyn Connors, Cody and Becky’s long-lost, wealthy aunt who wishes to raise them on her own… away from Hope Valley. Meanwhile, Rebecca’s efforts to land a role in a film may catapult her to stardom… and out of the arms of Lee.





Actors: Daniel Lissing, Erin Krakow
Directors: Neill Fearnley
Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Number of discs: 1
Rated:
 NR
 Not Rated
Studio: Shout! Factory
DVD Release Date: August 2, 2016
Run Time: 84 minutes

MY REVIEW
   When  Calls the Heart-Forever in my Heart is Movie 4 of the third season. I really did enjoy this movie. Many sweet, tearful scenes that I loved.
  Jack tries to help a young couple to get back together whom the husband left, because he is afraid he will be like his dad in the marriage.
  Cody’s sister Becky comes back from the hospital and is temporarily in a wheelchair. Then the children’s long-lost aunt shows up. She wants to take the children back to live with her.
The sawmill is still being damaged and Rosemary may leave Hope Valley in the hopes of being a star in movies.
   All of these characters and scenes would make a great show, but when they are all together it is fabulous. Love how this show turned out and the love and sweetness of the different scenes.
   Except for the impairment of Lee’s sawmill, which was quite exciting and adventurous.
  Really love this movie and  you will also. Highly recommended. It is a movie the whole family can watch and be entertained.

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“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one of the products  mentioned 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.”

BOOK REVIEW The Occupied by Craig Parshall

ABOUT THE OCCUPIED
As a youth, Trevor Black unleashed spiritual forces he couldn’t comprehend. Years later, Trevor is a high-flying criminal defense lawyer in New York City, with a six-figure Aston Martin and a trophy wife. But in an extraordinary turn of events, he receives a burdensome gift: the ability to perceive the invisible. And the dark forces he now sees are all gunning for him.

When one of Trevor’s hometown friends is murdered, the MO is eerily similar to a shocking trail of murders that have already crossed the lawyer’s path. So Trevor must return home to find the killer. . . and face not only his own personal demons, but supernatural ones as well.




Print Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (September 1, 2016)
Publication Date: September 1, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B01CYRNO5O

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As a New York Times Best Selling fiction writer, Craig Parshall has authored or co-authored 11 suspense novels. His novels have been translated into multiple languages and have drawn high praise from the likes of veteran Hollywood filmmakers and producers Ken Wales and Phil Cooke, Publishers Weekly, and on his military thrillers, stellar marks from Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson, USAF (retired) who carried the "nuclear football" for the President of the United States. In addition to his work as a novelist and magazine columnist, Craig is a constitutional lawyer and Washington insider who serves as Special Counsel to the American Center for Law & Justice. Craig has testified multiple times on civil liberty issues before committees of both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives and before the Federal Communications Commission regarding the future of American media, and has represented clients before the U.S. Supreme Court. He speaks across the nation on issues of free speech and religious liberty, faith, culture & creativity, and law, and was the founding director of a groundbreaking effort to develop a First Amendment paradigm for Internet-based social media and communication platforms. Craig is married to nationally syndicated radio talk-show host Janet Parshall.

MY REVIEW
  The Occupied by Craig Parshall is an excellent novel. This is the first time I’ve read a book by Craig Parshall and I’m really glad I’ve gotten the chance to find out what an brilliant author he is.
  In The Occupied Trevor Black can see the invisible world of dark forces, but I believe he also sees angels. You may think this is completely fiction, but I know a man that can see demons on a person or in them. It is something that really happens.
   Trevor starts out on the bad side, but so many things happen to him and a person he knows witnesses to him that Trevor knows he can’t make it on his own. So he accepts Jesus into his life. Now the dark forces are extremely mad and they try to kill him several times.
  The strange happenings continue and go back to his hometown. Trevor wants to solve one of his best friends murder.
  This is a supernatural murder mystery. Very entertaining and suspenseful. I like to find how the title fits into the book and The Occupied really works. I love the title and the whole novel. Excellent book. I highly recommend this novel.



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I received my free copy from Net Galley for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo A Review

ABOUT HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS
Dream house . . . or bad dream?

When the Kings move from L.A. to a secluded small town, fifteen-year-old Xander is beyond disappointed. He and his friends loved to create amateur films . . . but the tiny town of Pinedale is the last place a movie buff and future filmmaker wants to land.

But he, David, and Toria are captivated by the many rooms in the old Victorian fixer-upper they moved into--as well as the heavy woods surrounding the house.

They soon discover there's something odd about the house. Sounds come from the wrong directions. Prints of giant, bare feet appear in the dust. And when David tries to hide in the linen closet, he winds up in locker 119 at his new school.

Then the really weird stuff kicks in: they find a hidden hallway with portals leading off to far-off places--in long-ago times. Xander is starting to wonder if this kind of travel is a teen's dream come true . . . or his worst nightmare

File Size: 1304 KB
Print Length: 305 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (September 28, 2009)
Publication Date: September 28, 2009
Sold by: HarperCollins Christian Publishing
Language: English
ASIN: B0058JC2FE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I've been writing since before I could drive. Short stories, investigative exposes, celebrity profiles, editorials, business columns, radio dramas, screenplays--you name it. For the last few years, I've focused on novels. I'm the author of the thrillers "Comes a Horseman," "Germ," "Deadfall," "Deadlock," "The 13th Tribe," and the young adult series Dreamhouse Kings--"House of Dark Shadows," "Watcher in the Woods," "Gatekeepers," "Timescape," "Whirlwind," and "Frenzy."

Several of my books have been sold or optioned by Hollywood producers. All of them are in various stages of production. I'm also working on an original screenplay with Andrew Davis (director of "The Fugitive" and "The Guardian). I wrote the screenplay for Ted Dekker's "Blessed Child." My short story "Kill Zone" appears in the James Patterson-edited anthology "Thriller," and my essay on Thomas Perry's "The Butcher's Boy" can be found in the anthology "Thriller: 100 Must Reads."

Check out my websites at www.robertliparulo.com and www.dreamhousekings.com. You can find me on Facebook at facebook.com/LiparuloFans.

MY REVIEW
  House of Dark Shadows is book one in the Dreamhouse Kings series. It is a young adult series, but I really love it. I think anyone would really enjoy it. Another older book, but well worth reading. Robert Liparulo is an excellent author.
  This book is about the Kings family. Three children-young adults and their parents. They find out very soon that there house is very strange.  You hear sounds where people are not and they go from one place to another very fast.
  Then the two older boys find a hidden hallway that have portals that lead to far off places in a time long ago.
  Many scary things happen and each of the boys go into a portal and almost don’t make it out alive, but that isn’t the worse that happens there.
  The only part I didn’t like about this novel is the ending. Quite a cliff hanger and I’ve heard other people say this is book one in a six series book. So I need to read them all to find out what happens and how the family makes it out if they do at all.
  Highly recommended book. Loved it and wish I could read them all.


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I own this book and was not required to review it.

Higher Hope by Robert Whitlow A Review

The Tides of Truth series follows one lawyer's passionate pursuit of truth--in matters of life and the law.

Competition is tough at the Savannah law firm where Tami Taylor serves as a law clerk. But Tami's work sets her apart--and the firm's partners see something special in her. So they assign her to a libel case against an abrasive, outspoken preacher who is either a prophet or a lunatic.

On the surface it appears to be an open and shut case; the preacher seems fully outside the bounds of law. And Tami's strict religious upbringing could be the firm's ace-in-the-hole. But as the investigation continues, Tami is troubled by the preacher's uncanny prophetic abilities. And their client seems to be hiding something.

Tami returns to her hometown, struggling with several critical choices--as two very different men from the firm vie for her heart. Just when the challenges seem insurmountable, hope for Tami arrives from a surprising place. And it's a higher hope than she's ever imagined.

File Size: 1073 KB
Print Length: 431 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1 Original edition (April 13, 2009)
Publication Date: April 13, 2009
Sold by: HarperCollins Christian Publishing
Language: English
ASIN: B007V91N5Y
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Robert Whitlow is the best-selling author of legal novels set in the South and winner of the Christy Award for Contemporary Fiction. He received his J.D. with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law where he served on the staff of the Georgia Law Review. Twitter: @whitlowwriter Facebook: robertwhitlowbooks

MY REVIEW
  Higher Hope by Robert Whitlow is a good novel, but not one of my favorites. I’ve read a lot of novels that Robert has written and love his style, but I thought this one was lacking. This is an older book, but glad I read it.
  I love stories that involve lawyers and crime. Higher Hope has both of those, but not as good as a story can be. I feel the main character Tami is a very indecisive woman. She feels one way about the cases or the guys she likes and them she changes.
  I like her one boyfriend she took home to meet her family better and he got permission to court her, but she is to fickle for me.
  She is studying to become a lawyer, but I don’t think that is her real calling in life.
Nothing really wrong with this book, but I didn’t care for it. Didn’t have a strong body to the story, but I will recommend it. Not bad.

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I own this book and wasn’t required to write a review.