That's When I Talk to God by Dan and Ali Morrow

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card authors are:

Dan and Ali Morrow

and Illustrated by

Cory Godbey

and the book:

That's When I Talk to God

David C. Cook (April 1, 2011)

***Special thanks to Audra Jennings, Senior Media Specialist, The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Dan and Ali Morrow are parents of two wonderful daughters. When they’re not writing children’s books, they like to go on adventures around their Colorado home. They are the authors of That’s Where God Is (2010), their first children’s release.

Visit the authors' website.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR:

Cory Godbey illustrates, animates, and writes for Portland Studios, a creative firm dedicated to telling great stories and pursuing excellence in art.

He has contributed to projects such as Zune Arts, Flight graphic novel anthologies, and has worked with many major publishers.

Recently, Cory was accepted in the acclaimed Society of Illustrators Annual.

Cory seeks to tell stories with his work.

He also likes drawing monsters.

Visit the illustrator'swebsite.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Targeted to children four to eight, That’s When I Talk to God mirrors the day of the typical child, creating an opportunity for readers to put the practices in the story to use in their own lives. Through beautiful illustrations and an engaging, familiar character, readers can relate to That’s When I Talk to God. Children will learn to go to God with their fears, their joys, their questions, and their desires. They will also learn the hows, whens, and whys of praying to the Lord in a way they can easily apply to their own experiences. And adults will be reminded to communicate the benefit, simplicity, and beauty of prayer.



Product Details:

List Price: $12.99
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 36 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook (April 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1434700186
ISBN-13: 978-1434700186

AND NOW...THE FIRST FEW PAGES (Click on the pictures to enlarge them!):

Hawk Nelson ~ Crazy Love and Aaron Gillespie ~ Anthem Songs - Reviews

I wanted to share with you about two new Christian albums that have come out recently that I adore!


First things first...Crazy Love by Hawk Nelson. I have liked Hawk Nelson since I first heard them about 3 years ago. They have what I would describe as a light-hearted, fun sound. Definitely a sound that the younger crowd would like and since a lot of those younger people would consider me old, I guess a sound that old people like too. ;-) It's not just about a fun sound though, they are also all about substance in their lyrics. For instance, in their new single called Crazy Love they say..."We're the ones who believe in the things unseen. This home, this body is the in-between. We're the ones who fight down on our knees, who dare to love our enemies.
Love enemies. They say it sounds insane. We say that we've been changed by the power of crazy love. This world, it looks at us like we're ridiculous. Baby, it's all because of crazy love." When I hear these lyrics, I think of saying it like it is in a way that's easy for anyone to understand. It's acknowledging that people who don't know Christ think we're ridiculous and that we sound insane, but we know that we believe the truth because of His crazy love for us and the love He gives us for others. I LOVE that! Another of my favorite songs from the album is called My Next Breath and it talks about needing God more than my next breath. How true that is and how grateful I am to have Him. While I do like their sound, I really do believe that they are more of a young sound and if you're looking for an album for your pre-teen to teen, they are sure to love it!

Check out Crazy Love!




Next is an album called Anthem Songs by Aaron Gillespie. This is Aaron's debut solo album and I have to say it has become one of my favorite albums. I love the sound of his voice and I love the passion in the songs on this album. From one of my favorites (Hosanna) to a great new song called We Were Made for You. I really cannot say enough about the passion I hear in his music. I have to admit that I had never heard of Aaron Gillespie before this point, and just put the cd in to listen to one day while I was cleaning simply because I was sick of hearing the same songs over and over again on the radio. From the first song I was drawn in and listened closely to the whole album and then...I played it again. Every single song was great! Every single song had passion and meaning and just made me want to worship. I find myself walking around singing his songs all the time now and it brings a smile to my face every time one of the songs comes to mind. I HIGHLY recommend getting yourself this album. Trust me, you will love it! I really can't say enough good about it. I keep sharing his youtube videos on facebook so that all of my friends can hear him too. I seriously adore the album that much! You should definitely get it!

Listen to We Were Made for You! (I kind of think he has a Jonas Brothers sound in this song, what do you think? I think he sounds great!)




Disclosure: I was given these albums for free for review purposes from Overture Media. I was not compensated in any other way and my opinions in this review were in no way pursuaded by the company involved.

Enjoy Lighting Winner!

The Enjoy Lighting winner is...


Comment #13 - Captain Coupon


CONGRATULATIONS!

Friis Review

I LOVE coffee. I actually have to limit myself because I could drink coffee all day everyday. In fact, I started buying half-caff coffee for at home so I wasn't getting so much caffeine. Something that's a really big deal to me concerning my coffee is freshness. I cannot stand the taste of coffee that isn't fresh. That's why I was really excited when I heard about Friis coffee canisters and was given the opportunity to review one. We've been using it for about a month and a half now and we couldn't be happier with it. Let me tell you a little about the Friis freshness valve and how it all works...


(Info taken from the Friis website.)
The key to rich, full-flavored coffee is limiting the effects of these external forces through proper storage. Your coffee loses flavor with exposure to light, air, moisture, and carbon dioxide released after the roasting process.

The Friis Coffee Savor keeps your coffee fresh by locking in flavor while blocking out light, air and moisture. The Friis Freshness Valve vents away flavor destroying CO2 gas. When stored in a cool, dry place, your coffee stays fresh longer.

The patented Freshness Valve is the key to eliminating trapped CO gas. The valve is constructed with a unique filter that allows carbon dioxide gas to pass through without allowing oxygen or other gases back in. This one-way valve removes the trapped gas that breaks down and destroys coffee flavor over time.

All coffee is roasted, both whole bean and ground. This roasting process heats the coffee bean and caramelizes the sugars in coffee. It is this roasting process that creates the flavor degrading gas. Coffee is perishable much like fruit, milk or bread -- keeping coffee fresh is very important. Without a freshness valve coffee can not be kept fresh.


I had never really put that much thought into keeping coffee fresh before, but after using the Friis container over these past few weeks I can tell the difference in the taste of the coffee. It has maintained that fresh, robust taste that I like so much about coffee. I am thoroughly impressed with the Friis canister and if you like coffee, I know you will be too. Check out their website to find out more about their great products. Mother's Day is coming up and if you have a Mom who loves coffee, this could be a great gift idea!