Kari Jobe - The Garden

A new Kari Jobe CD is out!!!  Pause for a moment of joyful celebration!

And it's all I hoped it would be and more!
I have some favorites off the album already -

"Let Your Glory Fall" is WONDERFUL!  It is meditative and uplifting - and catchy....I find myself singing the words throughout my day. "Let your glory fall...overwhelm my soul."

"Heal our Land" is a tender cry for more of His mercy and revival in our land.  "Breathe on your church, pour out your presence, speak through your word."

"Speak to Me" could be my daily prayer - "Speak to me, I'm listening."  

Don't miss the simplicity and yet the deep truths in Jobe's lyrics - I resonated with so much in this album - it is powerful!



*I was sent a copy of the CD for an honest review on my blog.

Patterns of Evidence: Exodus

This DVD - Patterns of Evidence:  Exodus is a MUST SEE.  I am not normally a documentary fan - but this movie actually had parts where I forgot I was learning.  Not only is it an intriguing subject matter, it is also a splendidly well-done film.  The quality of the filming, the animations and even down to the reenactments - it's solid!   For years, many have set out to prove that the Bible is purely stories - a myth, even.  Filmmaker Timothy Mahoney begins with the question, "Is the Bible just a myth, or did the archaeologists get it wrong?"  And he tackles this from the basis of scientific debate.  It is based on a 12 year journey around the world to answer questions on the validity of the Bible.  What they find is amazing - for those that need that physical proof to believe - you are shown tombs, artifacts, houses, etc. that give proof for the existence of these Biblical places.  The DVD is narrated by Kevin Sorbo and there are interviews with leading archaeologists and even appearances by Benjamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres.  Do not miss this fascinating look at history!

Releases on DVD August 4, 2015 

Run Time:  119 minutes

Special Features:  Cast Profiles & 17 Extra Interviews

      Behind the Music

      From Film to Book

      Additional Books and Resources

      Host a Patterns of Evidence Movie Event

      Trailers 

Genre:  Documentary 

Rating:  NR

Facebook Page
Official Website

"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.”

#patternsofevidence
#Flyby

Theo

I was sent a copy of the new DVD Series, Theo - Teaching Children God's World, and boy, am I impressed. As the Director of Children's Ministries at our church - I can see so many uses for this series. The clips are short enough to show as an intro to a lesson - and yet enticing enough to catch kids' attention and reach them with deep theological truths. The animation is wonderful - and I just love it that in the clips I saw, Theo always starts by singing a great hymn of the faith - those that can be so easily lost on our kids today. This is quality - and is something our kids will grasp hold of and be taught deep truths!

About Theo
The animation series of Theo guides children and adults through a careful study of systematic theology. Theo discusses doctrines about sin, Godʼs character, the Bible, salvation and godly living with easy-to-understand illustrations that make children want to learn more about the Christian faith.
Theo Presents recognizes a universal fact: children and adults alike love cartoons. Theo captures the attention of young minds with liberal amounts of humor and high quality animation to present the Gospel of the Christian faith through the teachings of Theo and with the use of his two object lessons, Belfry and Luther.
Theo Presents is designed to serve as a multi-media resource tool that will help men, women and children fulfill the Great Commission of Christ, to go into all the world and make disciples and to teach those disciples Godʼs Word. The multi-media outlets include a DVD series, curriculum, books and iPhone/iPad app. Each of these facets are designed to work with one another or individually.
Theo was created to reach kids of all ages. The lessons and teachings of Theo can be used for Sunday school lessons, Christian school curriculum, missions, evangelism and homeschooling.

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If you would like to learn more about Theo - visit the webpage or the Facebook Page.

The app for the Ipad and Iphone is superb and my girls are loving playing with it. And do not miss the curriculum for churches - another great resource.

Here is what else I love about this project:

The Buy 1 - Give 1 campaign!
For every Theo DVD purchased, Whitestone Media and Child Evangelism Fellowship® will send a child in need their very own copy of Theo.
You can log onto TheoPresents.com after making your own purchase, and select the region of the world you'd like another copy of Theo to be sent.

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About the creator - MICHAEL JOENS
Mike Joens has produced and directed scores of animated commercials for toy companies such as Milton Bradley, Hasbro, Kenner, McDonaldʼs and Playskool. In addition to commercial work, he produced and directed the animation segments for the award-winning video series “McGee and Me,” as well as the animated “Adventures in Odyssey” for Focus on the Family. After a waiting period of over 30 years, God opened the doors to Joens for the production of “Theo Presents.” At last, the dream of a cartoonist, called to teach the Word has come true. It is Mikeʼs hope that God will use Theo to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to children and adults in every country of the world!

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services
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."

Grace Card

Grace Card is truly a movie that our whole family (well minus the girls that were in bed already) enjoyed. The story is sad - a family loses their son at a young age through an accident - the rest of their time as a family is spent dealing with that loss - everyone handles it differently - from the Dad that is full of anger and pours himself into work to the teenage son that feels the only way to handle it is to act out and get in trouble. It is hard to watch - the extreme sadness that comes after their loss, but their is hope - and that is what makes this movie so powerful! LOVE the idea of a Grace Card - watch and you will see what I mean. Truly a redemptive film - we enjoyed it!

Visit the website or the Facebook page.

*I received one or more of the products or services 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."

Mugabe and the White African

One family’s stand for Justice – catch the story on PBS 7/26!

I'll be blogging about the book Mugabe and the White African later this month, but I wanted to let you know that Point of View will air the documentary Mugabe and the White African on Tuesday, July 26th.

The film tells the story of Mike Campbell and his family of three generations of Zimbabwean farmers as they attempt to keep their farm under Mugabe's "land reform." Watch the trailer for the documentary below and visit the PBS Point of View website for your local listing. http://www.pbs.org/pov/tvschedule/

The book Mugabe and the White African (Lion Books, distributed by Kregel Publications, July 15, 2011, ISBN: 978-0-7459-5546-9, $14.95) written by Mike Campbell's son-in-law Ben Freeth provides more detail regarding the family's struggles and court battles.The book chronicles the deeply moving and life-threatening struggle of a Christian family from Zimbabwe to protect their legally owned farmland, to protect the lives and livelihoods of all those working on the farm, and to live to see justice.

Freeth lays bare a beautiful but lawless land fouled by fear. A 'Clockwork Orange' state where racism, greed, and violence are ultimately humbled by almost unimaginable courage. Richly described, bravely chronicled, and utterly compelling.

-Mike Thomson, Radio Foreign Affairs Correspondent, BBC

Ben Freeth has an extraordinary story to tell. Like that of many white farmers, his family's land was "reclaimed" for redistribution by Mugabe's government. But Ben's family fought back. Appealing to international law, they instigated a suit against Mugabe's government in the SADC, the Southern African equivalent of NATO. The case was deferred time and again while Mugabe's men pulled strings. But after Freeth and his parents-in-law were abducted and beaten within inches of death in 2008, the SADC deemed any further delay to be an obstruction of justice. The case was heard, and was successful on all counts.

But the story doesn't end there. In 2009 the family farm was burned to the ground. The fight for justice in Zimbabwe is far from over--this book is for anyone who wants to see into the heart of one of today's hardest places and how human dignity flourishes even in the most adverse circumstances.

Read an Excerpt (PDF)

Read the Press Release

What's In the Bible??

Well - we are trying to figure that out!! We have been watching through Phil Vischer's newest DVD series, What's in the Bible? We took these on vacation with us and the best "plug" I could ever give for them is that EVERYONE in our van was laughing - From the 5 year old to the 40 year old - the humor was there for all of us. (That's teenage boys included!!) AND I would daresay we also all learned something as well! This is just a fabulous series that teaches on each book of the Bible - background, setting, characters - it really is well put together. (And the Seminary-studied Dad here agrees as well!!) Highly recommend this great series - and, having just finished #5, we are anxiously awaiting #6 over here!!

Unplanned

Focus on the Family and Tyndale have produced a DVD that will change the way you see things. Unplanned is a powerful DVD! The story of Abby Johnson and her journey into working for Planned Parenthood and then coming out of it after being so convicted about what she was telling women. The story is honest and well-told. The DVD is interesting and honest. I commend both Focus on the Family and Tyndale for great work on this project - I hope it touches lives and changes opinions on both sides of the abortion issue.

GO HERE to see the book - which I would just LOVE to read as well. I have heard great things about it.

Learn more about the Unite for Life Webcast coming up on May 17.

HERE IS THE FUN NEWS!! I have a certificate to give away for a copy of the DVD. All you have to do is leave a comment on my blog with your email address.

For extra entries - leave separate comments after you have:

1) Subscribed to my blog.

2) Signed up for the Webcast mentioned above.

3) Posted the giveaway on your blog or Twitter.

*I was provided a copy of the DVD by Tyndale for review purposes.

Magdalena - Through Her Eyes

When I was sent this DVD, Magdalena - Through Her Eyes, I will admit, I was skeptical. The whole idea was marvelous, but how in the world would they splice together parts of the Jesus Film with recently-done footage to make this new movie?? Well, I was pleasantly surprised - they did it and it is really seamlessly done! I love how the movie is interwoven with the Jesus Film - what a great idea. I thought the movie was also a wonderful movie to watch with your girlfriends, which is also the point! Women do struggle with knowing they are loved by God - I think that is a common theme amongst women all over the world. This movie does a fabulous job of showing women how valuable they are in God's eyes and how their worth is based on what He did for them on the cross. Mary Magdalene tells her story first-hand - it is moving and it really makes you feel like you were there with Mary as she joined with His band of disciples as they followed Jesus in His earthly ministry. I think women all over will enjoy this and feel it resonate within them. To learn more about this project - visit Magdalena Today.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the products mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on m 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."

Whats In the Bible??

When I was asked to participate in the blog tour for the new DVD series, What's In the Bible?: Battle for the Promised Land - I had no idea what an advocate I would become. I have to just say right up front - ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS series! I have always thought Phil Vischer was marvelous (think Veggie Tales) but this new series, published by Tyndale, is loaded with content that I am so excited about. The series takes individual books of the Bible and teaches our kids history and contextual material that otherwise I am afraid would be lost to most children. We watched just one volume, vol. 4, Battle for the Promised Land, and that covered the books, Joshua, Judges and Ruth. We watched it once with our older kids and then with our younger daughter, age 6. What was amazing was that when we watched it with our teenage sons, we laughed at humor our six year old would not understand, but even our teens said they learned biblical things they had not known before. Then, we watched it with our six year old and she came away laughing at the humor that was definitely prevalent and also said she learned some new things as well. And the best part?? Even my very strong Bible-knowledge husband said he learned some things he hadn't known before either!! What a versatile and useful Bible teaching tool - that is what I love most about it.

Here is my interview with our six year old daughter:

Did you learn from it? YES!! I learned LOTS - I didn't know there were so many judges!

Did you find it funny? (Well, I wouldn't have had to ask her really - she was laughing OFTEN!!) YES!! It was very funny - especially the old ladies!

Would you want to watch more of these? YES! Can we go get one now??

Who was your favorite character? Michael made me laugh! He is funny.

My husband had this to say: (And he's the authority on this sort of thing with his seminary background!!)

I really enjoyed episode 4 of the What's in the Bible Series. It was the first time I had seen the series and I was very impressed. I appreciate the chronological approach to teaching the Bible. There are many advantages I see in this. So often we teach children the Bible in a shotgun approach. We jump from one story to another without connecting the dots. There is a greater story and flow to the scriptures and children need to see the plan of redemptive history as it unfolds.

I also appreciate the emphasis on teaching doctrine along the way. Explaining the "whys" to the stories helps children understand the deeper truths of scripture.

Another great technique is the use of repetition. Stories are told in one format and then often retold in another. This is great in helping children to understand and remember the truths that are presented. The review at the beginning of each series also helps children understand where things fit in and how they are connected. The review of the books of the Bible along with the breakdown or divisions of the books helps children become more literate in their Bible knowledge.

Basically what I am trying to say is that these videos are packed full of great stuff. I hope to get the entire collection not only for myself but also for my kids.

So there you go - and if you needed one more reason to go get these for yourself - my husband and I were even saying what a wonderful family Sunday School curriculum this would make - or any family learning at our church - they are just as enjoyable to adults as children. They really are NOT to be missed!!

Now - for the best part - I actually have a DVD certificate to give away to one lucky reader!! So - leave a comment and we will choose a winner next Monday, December 6!!!

*I was provided a copy for review purposes by Tyndale Publishers.

Hip Hop Baby!

I was sent this DVD to view - Hip Hop Baby! Get Healthy Get Fit! (Video 2) This DVD is geared for ages 2-6 and is said to "Teach children through hip music and energizing dance numbers." I would say that summarizes this DVD perfectly! I really enjoyed it - it's catchy, fun, and WILL get kids moving while learning what is good to eat and other healthy tips. I would recommend these DVD's even after only seeing one. I KNOW my Chloe would LOVE it!!

Global Wonders

If you know anything about me - you know I am ALL about cultural awareness. Even long before we adopted our daughter, Chloe, from China, I tried to fill my boys' lives with awareness of other cultures. Being a librarian - we read books that build a sense of "culture" into our lives, I do what I can to stress that America isn't the only culture out there and that, even in America, we all live very differently. We make it a point to learn about where the missionaries our church supports live - we even email them periodically just to get a "feel" for their culture. We have done different reports on countries that we want to learn more about; and our favorite?? We celebrate holidays from other cultures. Since getting Chloe, we celebrate the New Moon Festival every fall AND Chinese New Year. We attend an FCC Chinese New Year event each year that our whole family looks forward to. We are BIG fans of Putumayo CD's - and bringing music from different cultures into our home as well. SO, when I saw an annoucenment for these DVD's on TwitterMoms - I was just thrilled. We need more awareness of how others live - and these DVD's look wonderful for helping us do just that. Global Wonders are a set of DVD's that are put out to encourage kids to celebrate and learn about other cultures. They are quality - they have catchy tunes and characters that keep kids excited and interested. There are 4 DVD's out now - Around the World, Mexico, India, and African-American - with more to be relased soon - China, Italy and America. Make sure and check out their accompanying CD's - what a great series!
I would love, if you read this, for you to leave me a comment telling us all what you do to encourage cultural awareness - let's share the ideas and ALL benefit!!