Canadianladybug Reviews!

The Juice Lady’s Weekend Weight-Loss Diet: Two days to a new dress size

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:28:00 +0000

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 author is:

Cherie Calbom, MS

and the book:

The Juice Lady's Weekend Weight-Loss Diet: Two days to a new dress size

Siloam (December 13, 2011)

***Special thanks to PUBLICIST'S NAME of PUBLICIST'S COMPANY for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cherie Calbom, MS, is the author of The Juice Lady’s Turbo Diet, The Juice Lady’s Living Foods Revolution, and Juicing for Life, which has nearly two million books in print in the United States. Known as “The Juice Lady” for her work with juicing and health, Cherie has worked as a clinical nutritionist and has a master’s degree in nutrition.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Jump-Start Your Diet…
Detox Your System…
Lose a Dress Size…
Shrink Your Love Handles . . .

…with this two-day diet program that helps you get healthy for life.

Start Friday night with a juice or green smoothie dinner. Then have an all-liquid Saturday and Sunday breakfast and lunch, followed by a raw food dinner Sunday night. It’s easy, delicious, and requires only a weekend commitment!

Look and feel great for a special event
Motivate yourself for continued weight loss
Cleanse your system after a stressful week
Jump-start your living foods lifestyle!

Product Details:

List Price: $12.99

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Siloam (December 13, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1616386568
ISBN-13: 978-1616386566

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Weight Loss on a Mission
The World Health Organization estimates that by 2015, there will be more than 1.5 billion overweight consumers, incurring health costs beyond $117 billion per year in the US alone.1 It’s obvious that we need to do something differently. We need a new way of life—a revolution in how we eat, one that we adopt for the rest of our lives.
What if you found a weight-loss program that could help you lose weight more effectively than anything you’ve ever tried? And what if that program didn’t involve expensive meals you had to order, pills you had to buy, or anything other than great whole foods you prepare in your kitchen? What if that program helped
you look and feel better than ever? And what if it was such an energizing way of life that you wanted to follow it for the rest of your life? Are you interested?
The Juice Lady’s Weekend Weight-Loss Diet is a fast track to just such a program. This two-day jump start can lead you into a transformative lifestyle that is helping thousands of people lose weight, keep it off for good, and completely revolutionize their health. This is what I call weight loss on a mission—the mission is
to help you become healthy, happy, and filled with life, as well as slim and fit. (You’ll find a complete weight-loss juicing program in my book The Juice Lady’s Turbo Diet.)
Freshly made vegetable juices are at the center of the weekend weight-loss diet. They provide concentrated sources of very absorbable nutrients. They are low in fat and calories, so replacing higher-calorie foods with fresh juice is a shoo-in for weight-loss success.
But the benefits of juicing don’t stop there. Vegetable juices help curb cravings because they satisfy your body’s nutrient needs. They’re alkaline, which is very helpful to balance out a system that’s most probably too acidic. They’re also high in antioxidants that are antiaging and immune enhancing—that means you’re giving your body the things it needs to start looking and feeling younger.
Fresh Juice—a Cornucopia of Nutrients
Every time you pour a glass of juice, picture a cornucopia of nutrients cascading into your body, promoting health, revving up your metabolism, balancing weight, and increasing vitality. This melange of nutrients can change your life—completely change your life—as it completely changed mine! Here’s what every glass of juice provides.
Amino acids
Did you ever consider juice to be a source of protein? Most people would say no. Surprisingly, it does offer more amino acids than you might think. We use amino acids to form muscles, ligaments, tendons, hair, nails, and skin. Protein is needed to create enzymes, which direct chemical reactions, and hormones, which
guide bodily functions. Fruits and vegetables contain lower quantities of protein than animal foods such as muscle meats and dairy products. Therefore they are thought of as poor protein sources. But juices are concentrated forms of vegetables and so provide easily absorbed amino acids, the building blocks that make up protein. For example, 16 ounces of carrot juice (2–3 pounds of carrots) provides about 5 grams of protein (the equivalent of about a chicken wing or 2 ounces of tofu). I don’t recommend drinking that much carrot juice because of the sugar content, but that’s an example.
Vegetable protein is not complete protein, so it does not provide all the amino acids your body needs. In addition to lots of dark leafy greens, when you finish your weekend weight-loss kick start, you’ll want to eat other protein sources, such as sprouts, legumes (beans, lentils, and split peas), nuts, seeds, and whole grains. If you’re not vegan, you can add eggs and free-range, grass-fed muscle meats such as chicken, turkey, lamb, and beef along with wild-caught fish.
Carbohydrates
Most vegetable juice contains good carbohydrates. The exceptions would be carrots and beets, which have higher sugar content. They should be used in small quantities and diluted with low-sugar vegetable juices such as cucumber and dark leafy greens. Carbs provide fuel for the body, which it uses for energy, heat production, and chemical reactions. The chemical bonds of carbohydrates lock in the energy a plant takes up from the sun and soil, and this energy is released when the body burns plant food as fuel.
There are three categories of carbs: simple (sugars), complex (starches and fiber), and fiber. Choose more complex carbohydrates in your diet than simple carbs. There are more simple sugars in fruit juice than vegetable juice, which is why I recommend you juice primarily vegetables, use low-sugar fruit for flavor and a little sweetness, and in most cases drink no more than 4 ounces of fruit juice a day.
Both insoluble fiber and soluble fiber are found in whole fruits and vegetables—both types are needed for good health. It’s amazing how many people still say juice doesn’t have any fiber. It contains the soluble form—pectin and gums, which are excellent for the digestive tract. Soluble fiber also helps to lower cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar, and improve good bowel bacteria and elimination.
Essential fatty acids
There is very little fat in fruit and vegetable juices, but the fats juice does contain are essential to your health. The essential fatty acids (EFAs)—linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids in particular—found in fresh juice function as components of nerve cells, cellular membranes, and hormonelike substances called prostaglandins. They are also required for energy production.
Vitamins
Fresh juice is replete with vitamins, but heat and processing destroy vitamins. We need these organic substances because they take part, along with minerals and enzymes, in chemical reactions throughout the body. For example, vitamin C participates in the production of collagen, one of the main types of protein found in the body that keeps your skin looking fresh and youthful rather than sagging and aging. Fresh juices are excellent sources of water-soluble vitamins such as C, many of the B vitamins, and some fat-soluble vitamins such as E and K, along with key phytonutrients like beta-carotene (known as pro-vitamin A), lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin. They also are coupled with cofactors that increase the effectiveness of each nutrient; for example, vitamin C and bioflavonoids work together synergistically to make each more effective.
Minerals
There are about two dozen minerals that your body needs to function well, and they’re abundant in fresh juice. They make up part of bones, teeth, and blood, and they help maintain normal cellular function. The major minerals include calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. Trace
minerals, which include boron, chromium, cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, selenium, vanadium, and zinc, are those needed in very small amounts.
Minerals occur in inorganic forms in the soil, and plants incorporate them into their tissues. As a part of this process, the minerals are combined with organic molecules into easily absorbable forms, which makes plants an excellent dietary source of minerals. Juicing is believed to provide even better mineral absorption than whole vegetables because the process of juicing releases minerals into a highly absorbable, easily digestible form.
Enzymes
These living molecules are prevalent in raw foods, but heat, such as cooking and pasteurization, destroys them. Enzymes facilitate the biochemical reactions necessary for life. They are complex structures composed predominantly of protein and usually require additional cofactors to function, including vitamins; minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and iron; and other elements. Fresh juice is chock-full of enzymes. Without them we would not have life.
When you eat and drink enzyme-rich foods, these little molecules help break down food in the digestive tract, thereby sparing the pancreas, liver, and stomach—the body’s enzyme producers—from overwork. This sparing action is known as the “law of adaptive secretion of digestive enzymes,” which asserts that the body will adapt or change the amount of digestive enzymes it produces according to what is needed. According to this law, when a portion of the food you eat is digested by enzymes present in the food, the
body won’t need to secrete as much of its own enzymes. This allows the body’s energy to be shifted from digestion to other functions such as repair and rejuvenation.
Fresh juices require very little energy expenditure to digest. That is one reason why people who start consistently drinking fresh veggie juice often report that their digestion and elimination improve and that they feel better and more energized right away.
Phytochemicals
Plants contain substances know as phytochemicals that protect them from disease, injury, and pollution. Phyto means plant, and chemical in this context means nutrient. There are tens of thousands of phytochemicals in the foods we eat. For example, the average tomato may contain up to ten thousand different types of these nutrients, with one of the most famous being lycopene. Phytochemicals give plants their color, odor, and flavor. Unlike vitamins and enzymes, they are heat stable and can withstand cooking. Some of them, such as lycopene, appear to be more effective when cooked.
Biophotons
There’s one more substance abundant in raw foods that is more difficult to measure than the others. It’s known as biophotons, which is light energy that is found in the living cells of raw plant foods. These photons have been shown to emit coherent light energy when uniquely photographed (Kirlian photography). This light energy is believed to have many benefits when consumed, such as aiding cellular communication and feeding the mitochondria and the DNA. They are believed to contribute to our energy, vitality, and a feeling of vibrancy and well-being.
Now that you’ve learned about the powerful nutritional punch packed inside each glass of juice you drink, let’s consider how this applies to weight loss.
Power Foods That Give Your Weight Loss a Big Boost
In addition to some of the basic steps you can take to achieve weight loss success, there are specific foods you can add to your weight-loss program that will make a huge difference in assisting your body in burning fat. These super foods can help you succeed and give you super-size health dividends at the same time. Be sure to add them to your weight-loss program.
Green juice: the number one fat cure. In honor of his hundredth show, Dr. Oz served on the set his favorite green juice drink to one hundred people who had lost thirteen thousand pounds combined. This blend of cucumbers, apple, and leafy greens started a new wave of interest in green juices for weight loss. So why do green juices work so well? Dr. Oz cites the fact that they compensate for the fact that most of us are simply not getting sufficient nourishment from standard diets. He says, “We know we have to have at least five fistfuls of leafy green vegetables and fruit every day, so we make a morning green drink.”2
There’s evidence to suggest that even if we took the time to chew up five cups of green veggies each day, we wouldn’t get as much benefit from them as we would from juicing them. The mechanical process of juicing the vegetables breaks apart plant cell walls and makes absorption better than even when the best “chewers” chew their food at least thirty times before swallowing. It has an effect like throwing marbles at a chain-link fence rather than tennis balls; their contents are going to go through in a way that tennis balls can’t.
The juices contain easily absorbed micronutrients that will do more than slim you down—they’ll optimize your overall health and wellness. There’s science behind the green juices transformative powers and a number of reasons why the juices, along with a high intake of living foods, energize your body, fire up your metabolism, speed slimming, and overhaul your health. Here’s the evidence as to why it works.
Green Veggies Help Lower the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Because of their high magnesium content and low glycemic index, green leafy vegetables are also valuable for persons with type 2 diabetes. One study revealed that an increase of just one and onehalf servings a day of green leafy vegetables was associated with a 14 percent lower risk of diabetes.3
Magnesium-rich greens ramp up your energy. A British study comparing the metabolism of female twins found that magnesium intake was the most important dietary variable that determined adiponectin levels.4 Adiponectin is a fat cell hormone that promotes insulin sensitivity. This hormone has recently gained attention from researchers because of its regulation of glucose and fat metabolism. Elevated levels of adiponectin are associated with increased insulin sensitivity and fat burning. Adiponectin also seems to work closely with leptin—a hormone that helps control the appetite. As you lose weight, this hormone gets a boost. Fresh fruit and vegetables have a positive influence on this hormone, which is made in fat cells. It boosts metabolism and helps regulate inflammation, which, consequently, helps to prevent weight gain, becoming a type 2 diabetic, or developing heart disease.
This new study shows very clearly that adequate magnesium is imperative to maintaining adiponectin levels. This means that a deficiency of magnesium, which is common in America, is a clear contributor to the problems people have with weight management. Magnesium also plays a key role in fighting off stress and anxiety, supporting restful sleep, preventing restless leg syndrome, and boosting energy.
Further, magnesium helps prevent fat storage. When magnesium is low, cells fail to recognize insulin. As a result, glucose accumulates in the blood—and then it gets stored as fat instead of being burned for fuel. Green plants, which are rich in magnesium, are far superior to magnesium supplements because the supplements’ particles are a bit large for the body to entirely absorb. (I’m in favor of taking magnesium supplements, if they are needed, but as an adjunct to a magnesium-rich diet.) Green plants take inorganic minerals from the soil through their tiny roots and incorporate them into their cells. They become organic particles that are much smaller and easier for the body to absorb. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of a plant’s minerals is delivered to the cells when you juice the greens. So juice up those leaves—chard, collards, beet tops, parsley, spinach—the five highest in magnesium, plus kohlrabi leaves, kale, dandelion greens, lettuce, and mustard greens.
Here’s the good news—you’ll increase your energy with this highoctane fuel! That means you’ll get more done and feel more like working out, so you’ll burn more calories and build more muscle.
Enzymes Speed Fat Burning
Our bodies produce enzymes that are used in digesting the food we eat. They can be found in the saliva, small intestine, stomach, liver, and pancreas. These hardworking little catalysts break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into fatty acids, amino acids, and forms of glucose that feed your cells.
Enzymes are responsible for a host of reactions in the body. All the minerals, herbs, vitamins, and hormones we take can’t do their jobs without enzymes. When your diet is deficient in enzymes from live foods (uncooked, not processed), your body has to work harder to produce the enzymes it needs. If you’re deficient, you may experience weight gain, depression, and many other maladies that plague modern society.
Enzymes are truly weight-loss supermen. But these magic bullets start decreasing as we age—by age thirty-five most people see a decline in their enzyme production. Still, we need them for weight loss and good digestion. It’s enzymes that assist in the breakdown and burning of fat.
This is where juices come to the rescue—as I mentioned earlier, they’re packed with enzymes. Eating a high percentage of raw food is important because cooking and processing our food destroys enzymes. When you drink fresh, live juices and eat plenty of living foods, the enzymes they contain kick your metabolism into gear by helping to spare your liver and pancreas from working so hard. Then these organs can focus on their metabolic tasks of burning fat and producing energy. And your digestion will improve. This affects your whole life, your whole being.
Three Super-Hero Enzymes
• Lipase. Lipase is a fat-splitting enzyme that is abundant in raw foods. It assists your body in digestion,
fat distribution, and fat burning. However, few of us eat enough raw foods to get sufficient lipase
to burn even a normal amount of fat, not to mention any excess fat. Without lipase, fat accumulates.
You can see it on your hips, thighs, buttocks, and stomach. Lipase is richest in raw foods that contain
some fat, such as sprouted seeds and nuts, avocado, and fresh coconut meat.
• Protease. As your body burns flab, toxins are released into your system. This can cause water retention and bloating. Protease is a digestive enzyme that helps to break down proteins and eliminate toxins. Eliminating toxins is essential when you’re burning fat. If your body is storing toxins, it’s very difficult to burn fat. But protease comes to the rescue and attacks and eliminates toxins. So, as you can see, it’s crucial to have plenty of protease during weight loss. Protease is richest in the leaves of plants. So juice up those
green leaves and burn fat. Plus, the greens are also rich in antioxidants that bind up toxins and carry them out of your system so they won’t hurt your cells. That means you’ll get double action with green juices.
• Amylase. Amylase is a digestive enzyme that breaks down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. It’s also present in saliva. So while we chew our food, it goes to work on carbs. That’s why it’s recommended that you chew each mouthful of food about thirty times. The pancreas also makes amylase. And amylase is plentiful in seeds that contain starch. (You can juice most seeds of fruits and vegetables.) Its therapeutic use is in regulation of histamine, which is produced in response to recognized invaders to the body. Histamine is a responder in allergic reactions such as hay fever and is what causes hives, itchy watery eyes, sneezing,
and runny noses. Amylase breaks down the histamine produced by the body in response to allergens like pollen or dust mites. Some health professionals believe it may help the body identity the allergen as not being harmful so it doesn’t produce the histamine in the first place. This is one reason that people on a high raw plant diet often experience improvement in their allergies. For the most effective approach to increasing
enzymes, you may also want to take an enzyme supplement. I especially like an enzyme formula that
is taken between meals—it cleans up any undigested particles of food floating around the system and
greatly improves digestion. A popular side benefit is that your hair gets thicker and your nails grow
stronger. (For more information on these enzymes, see Appendix A.)
Greens Alkalize Your Body and Promote Weight Loss
Many people eat a high-sugar breakfast consisting of foods and drinks such as orange juice, toast, jam, honey, sweetened cereal, sweet rolls, doughnuts, muffins, waffles, or pancakes. All this sugar and simple carbohydrates (which turn to sugar easily) promote acidity and cause yeast and fungus to grow. They also produce a lot of acid. Traditional high-protein breakfast foods such as omelets, cheese, bacon, sausage, and meat promote elevated acid levels in the body as well. Add to that highly acidic drinks such as coffee, black
tea, sodas, alcohol, and sports drinks, and acidic foods for lunch and dinner, and you’re consuming loads of acid-forming foods throughout the day. Keep in mind that acid-forming food does not mean the state of the food when you eat or drink it but the final ash residue after it is metabolized. As a result of this style of eating, along with not eating enough green veggies and other living foods, many people suffer from a condition known as mild acidosis, which is an out-of-balance pH leaning toward acidity. This means that the body is continually fighting to maintain pH balance.
One of the symptoms of acidosis is weight gain and an inability to lose weight. That’s because the body tends to store acid in fat cells and to hang on to those cells to protect your delicate tissues and organs. It will even make more fat cells in which to store acid, if they’re needed. To turn this scenario around, it’s important to alkalize your body. Greens are one of the best choices you could make because they’re very alkaline. And juicing them gives you an easy way to consume a lot more than you could chew up in a day.
To give your body a great start in rebalancing your pH, make 60 percent to 80 percent of your diet alkalizing foods such as green vegetables, raw juices, grasses such as wheatgrass juice, fresh vegetables and fruit, raw seeds, nuts, and sprouts. Greatly limit or avoid your consumption of acid-forming foods such as meat, dairy products, chocolate, sweets, bread and all other yeast products, alcohol, carbonated drinks, sports drinks, coffee, and black tea. When pH balance is achieved, the body should automatically drop to its ideal, healthy weight unless you have other health challenges. (But those should heal too over time.) As the acidic environment is neutralized with mineral-rich alkaline foods, there will be no need for your body to create new fat cells for storage of acid. And since the remaining fat is no longer needed to store acid wastes, it simply melts away.
This is also a great way to restore your health. Many diseases such as cancer thrive in an acidic state. Take away the acid, and they don’t do as well. An alkaline diet also boosts your energy level, improves skin, reduces allergies, sustains the immune system, and enhances mental clarity.
Thermogenic Foods Rev Up Your Metabolism
Thermogenesis means the production of heat, which raises metabolism and burns calories. Thermogenic foods are essentially fat-burning foods and spices that help increase your metabolism. This means that with some of your kitchen staples, you can burn off fat during or right after you eat and increase your fat-burning potential just by eating them. So include these super foods often in your juices and recipes.
Hot peppers. Imagine eating hot peppers and revving up your metabolism enough to lose weight. A study in 2010 found that obesity was caused by a lack of thermogenic response in the body rather than by overeating or lack of exercise. “The animals developed obesity mainly because they didn’t produce enough heat after eating, not because the animals ate more or were less active,” said Dr. Yong Xu, instructor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and co-lead author of the study.5 Another study found that hot peppers turn up the internal heat, which helps in burning calories.6 You can add hot peppers or a dash of hot sauce to many juice recipes or almost any dish and make it taste delicious.
Garlic. When it comes to weight loss, garlic appears to be a miracle food. A team of doctors at Israel’s Tel Hashomer Hospital conducted a test on rats to find out how garlic can prevent diabetes and heart attacks, and they found an interesting side effect—none of the rats given allicin (a compound in garlic) gained weight.7
Garlic is a known appetite suppressant. The strong odor of garlic stimulates the satiety center in the brain, thereby reducing feelings of hunger. It also increases the brain’s sensitivity to leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells that controls appetite. Further, garlic stimulates the nervous system to release hormones such as adrenalin, which speed up metabolic rate. This means a greater ability to burn calories. More calories burned means less weight gained—a terrific correlation.
Ginger. Ginger contains a substance that stimulates gastric enzymes, which can boost metabolism. The better your metabolism, the more calories you’ll burn. It has been shown to be an anti-inflammatory—
inflammation is implicated in obesity. Ginger helps improve gastric motility—the spontaneous peristaltic movements of the stomach that aid in moving food through the digestive system. When the digestive system is functioning at its best, you’ll experience less bloating and constipation. It has also been found to
lower cholesterol. And ginger is the top vegan source of zinc, which gives a big boost to your immune system. Top that off with the fact that it tastes delicious in juice recipes, and you have a super spice. I add it to almost every juice recipe I make.
Parsley. This dark green herb offers a great way to make your dishes and juices super healthy. Parsley helps you detox because it’s chock-full of antioxidants, like vitamin C and flavonoids, and it’s loaded with minerals and chlorophyll. It’s also a natural diuretic, which helps you get rid of stored water. That means thinner ankles, feet, and fingers. And it improves digestion and strengthens the spleen as well. You can add a handful of parsley to almost any juice recipe and you won’t even know it’s there.
Cranberries. Studies show that cranberries are loaded with acids that researchers believe are useful in dissolving fat deposits. When fat deposits settle in the body, they are hard to get rid of, so it’s best to get them before they get “hooked on” you. Some studies point out that the enzymes in cranberries can aid metabolism, which gives a boost to weight loss.8This tart little fruit is a natural diuretic, helping you get rid of excess water and bloating. Of all the fruits, cranberries rank number two for antioxidant content, which helps detoxify the body. And they promote healthy teeth and gums, fight urinary track infections, improve heart health, and keep cancer at bay.
Kathy, who was featured in my “Holiday Fat Buster” article in the December 27, 2010, issue of Woman’s World, issue, lost 5 pounds in seventy-two hours drinking a cranberry, pear, cucumber, and ginger
cocktail along with the rest of the Turbo Juice Diet Program. Within a week Kathy’s tummy was down 5.5 inches—she said she had to keep measuring to make sure it was right. Regarding the juice diet program, she said, “Overall, I had a lot of energy and no hunger.”9 You can add cranberries to many recipes for a delicious enhancer to your juice drinks and a boost to your weight loss at the same time. If you buy these berries when they’re in season, you can freeze a few packages to have on hand for seasons when they aren’t available.
Blueberries. A 2010 study found that blueberries can help you get rid of belly fat, thanks to the high level of phytochemicals (antioxidants) they contain. The study also showed that blueberries are helpful in preventing type 2 diabetes, and the benefits were even greater when the blueberries were combined with a low-fat diet.10 Moreover, blueberries can also help fight hardening of the arteries and improve the memory.
Lemons. Adding just a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to your water, salad, or soup will help ward off cravings, alkalize your body, and keep your insulin levels in check. Hot lemon water with a dash of cayenne pepper is a great way to start your day—it gets the liver, your fat-burning organ, moving in the morning. It’s also a natural diuretic and helps clear out toxins from your system. Further, it aids the digestive process and prevents constipation. It can also help alleviate heartburn—just add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to water and drink with your meal. Limonene, a compound in lemons, helps short-circuit the production of acid in the stomach—lemons are very alkalizing. Meyer lemons, my favorite, are sweeter and are available in the winter.
The Low-Glycemic Benefits of Juicing
The glycemic index has become a popular weight-loss tool based in part on the fact that high-glycemic foods raise blood sugar levels, cause the body to secrete excess insulin, and lead to the storage of fat. Originally developed to help diabetics manage blood sugar control, the glycemic index has become popular in the weight-loss market largely because it works so well. Researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that patients who lost weight with a low-glycemic diet kept the weight off longer than patients who lost the same amount of weight with a low-fat diet.11
The glycemic index (GI) diet refers to a system of ranking carbohydrates according to how much a certain amount of each food raises a person’s blood sugar level. It’s determined by measuring how much a 50-gram serving of carbohydrate raises a person’s blood sugar level compared with a control.
Virtually all carbohydrates are digested into glucose and cause a temporary rise in blood glucose levels, called the glycemic response. But some foods raise it more than others. This response is affected by many factors, including the quantity of food, the amount and type of carbohydrate, how it’s cooked or eaten raw, and the degree of processing. Each food is assigned an index number from 1 to 100, with 100 as the reference score for pure glucose. Typically, foods are rated high (greater than 70), moderate (56–69), and low (less than 55). Low-glycemic foods, especially raw carbohydrates, can help control blood sugar, appetite, and weight. Though helpful for everyone, they are especially helpful for people with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, hypoglycemia, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome.
Low-glycemic foods are absorbed more slowly, allowing a person to feel full longer and therefore be less likely to overeat. Raw food experts such as Dr. John Douglass have found that raw carbohydrates such as the raw juices are better tolerated than cooked carbs. They don’t elicit the addictive cravings that cooked foods cause. Douglass believes, as does the Finish expert A. I. Virtanen, that the enzymes in raw food play an important role in the way they stimulate weight loss as they do in the treatment of obesity.12
When you get to chapter 6, “Beyond the Weekend,” you will be encouraged to choose most of your carbohydrate foods from the low-glycemic index and a large percentage of those foods as raw. The foods I recommend eating after you’ve completed your weekend weight-loss diet (see Appendix B) are for the most part low glycemic and are nutrient-rich, not refined, and higher in fiber—like whole vegetables, fruit, and legumes (beans, lentils, split peas).
Not All Carbs Are Created Equal
Different carbohydrates take different pathways in the body after digestion. For example, some starchy foods are bound by an outer layer of very complex starches (fiber) like the legumes (beans, lentils, split peas), which increases the time it takes for them to be digested. So even though legumes are relatively high in carbohydrates, they have a lower glycemic response because of their complex encasing.
There is also the antioxidant potential of foods to consider, meaning the amount of antioxidant nutrients a food contains, such as beta-carotene and vitamin C that are abundant in many fruits and vegetables. In Chinese culture, carrots are often used as cooling medicine. Carrots, beets (both very rich in beta-carotene),
and other brightly colored vegetables are especially important to include in our diet to prevent disease. These days many health professionals suggest we eliminate carrots and beets because of their glycemic rating, but the weekend weight-loss diet does not exclude them because of their high nutrient and fiber content. But I do recommend that you use them in small amounts because they are higher in sugar.
Also, please keep in mind that not all low-glycemic foods are healthy fare. Low-glycemic foods include candy bars and potato chips. These foods are very nutrient depleted, contain sugar or turn to sugar easily,
and lack fiber. You need to get the best nutrition for your choices. With this plan, there’s no obsessing over the glycemic index either, just a basic understanding of the principles. Keep in mind that certain factors can change a score, such as the riper the fruit, the higher the glycemic index score. But always choose ripe fruits and vegetables over unripe; they are healthier by far. Adding good fat to foods can lower the GI score. And keep in mind that the GI response to any given food also varies widely from person to person.
It can even vary within the same person from day to day. So it’s important to listen to your body and determine how the foods you are eating are affecting you.
More Than Weight Loss
Years ago when I was taking prerequisites for my master of science program in whole foods nutrition at Bastyr University, I worked for a weight-loss center part time as a nutrition counselor. I noticed that a number of people who entered the program looked healthy, meaning they had good skin color and tone and vibrancy—they were just overweight. Soon into the program, I noticed that though they were losing weight, they weren’t looking healthier. I observed a loss of skin tone, skin color turning a grayish pallor, and a loss of energy and vitality. I was alarmed. Even as a student I knew that it was not just about dropping weight; it was about getting healthier. I quit the job, unable to promote something that I felt did harm.
When you embark on a weight-loss program, it should be about getting healthier along with losing weight. Whether you want to lose 10, 20, 50, 100, or even 200 pounds, it isn’t just about getting the weight off any way you can. I know people who have lost weight through drastic means and ruined their health in the process.
Losing weight with vegetable juices and kicking off your program with the Weekend Weight-Loss Diet is the first step in choosing a weight-loss regimen that doesn’t sacrifice your health. That’s why I’m excited about introducing you to the Weekend Weight-Loss Diet. I know what it can do for you. So many people have praised this program and my other juice diets because of the increased health and energy they experienced. And if they can experience these great results, you can too. You’re off to a great start and a
lifetime of fitness!

My Thoughts

When I cracked open this book I didn’t know what to expect. The story of the author, which is found in the introduction, is simply unbelievable.

While reading further in the book, I read information that I have stumble upon in the last year and confirmed the advantages to drink your greens. This book is essentially a jump start on a weight loss program that you can do over a week-end. I’ve flipped through the pages and thought that was a drastic step to loose extra pounds for a special event. Having been on Weight Watchers, I know the importance of balanced meals and loosing too fast is not healthy. So I have mixed feelings about this book. Part of me would like to give it a try but my brain is telling me to be wise. However, this book contains numerous information on eating healthy and to make wise choices in your food. Just for this kind of information in my hands, I am going to hold a little bit longer on this book.

In Chapter 7, you have a full chapter containing recipes for the Weekend Weight-Loss Diet. As the book suggest it they are all juice based meaning that these are drinkable meal… This kind of meal is not for everyone but it got me thinking that if some day I can eat regular food, there is always smoothies to rely on.

The Juice Lady’s Weekend Weight-Loss Diet is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Family Literacy Day/Journée d’alphabétisation familiale

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:26:00 +0000

Family Literacy Day® is a national awareness initiative created by ABC Life Literacy

Canada in 1999 and held annually on January 27 to raise awareness of the importance

of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.

HASBRO Canada has partnered with ABC Life Literacy Canada in support of Family Literacy Day®.

Board games are a great way of teaching literacy and numeracy skills through fun games such as SCRABBLE, MONOPOLY and THE GAME OF LIFE.

For more on Family Literacy Day®, please visit www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca

Tenue tous les ans le 27 janvier, la Journée d’alphabétisation familiale a été créée en 1999 par ABC Alpha pour la vie Canada dans le but de célébrer la lecture et l’apprentissage conjoint des adultes et des enfants.

HASBRO Canada se joint à ABC Alpha pour la vie Canada
et appuie la Journée d’alphabétisation familiale.

Les jeux de planchettes sont une excellente façon d'apprendre à lire et à compter tout en s'amusant,
notamment avec les jeux SCRABBLE, MONOPOLY et DESTINS.

Pour en savoir plus à propos de la Journée d’alphabétisation familiale, rendez vous au:

http://abclifeliteracy.ca/journee_de_lalphabetisation_familiale

The Love & Respect Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:37:00 +0000

The Love Respect Experience – A Husband-Friendly Devotional that Wives Truly Love
Written by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
Published at Thomas Nelson

About the Book

A Devotional Unlike Any Other!

Through the millions of products sold on Love & Respect, Emerson Eggerichs has transformed marriages around the world with his biblically based approach to understanding the love that she most desires and the respect that he desperately needs. Now, in this long-awaited release, Emerson has created an experience for couples that is effective, flexible and life-changing.

To build this couples devotional, Eggerichs has taken the top concerns that surfaced in a survey of thousands of couples and has developed 52 devotionals around the three cycles that are at the heart of Love and Respect. On one occasion the couple will be talking about how to stop the Crazy Cycle or keep it at bay. The very next devotional will talk about a concept built upon the Rewarded Cycle, which stresses the ultimate purpose for marriage. And the next may have both people talking about ways to use the Energizing Cycle in their efforts to love and respect each other.

Some may ask, “Why 52 and not 365, like other couples devotionals I have seen?” The author’s research shows that married couples don’t want to deal with that much material, that often. Therefore, the specific devotionals, which can be done weekly or at any chosen pace, are specifically guided to what couples say they most need. And this is a husband-friendly devotional, having been written and designed in such a way that the husband can feel comfortable in the entire process.

With this wealth of new material and video devotionals available online to support the product, The Love & Respect Experience will be indispensable to anyone wishing to better their marital relationship.

Who is Dr. Emerson Eggerichs?

Dr. Emerson Eggerichs is an internationally known expert on male-female relationships. The author of several books, including the national bestseller Love & Respect, which has sold more than 1.3 million copies, Emerson and his wife, Sarah, present the Love & Respect conference both live and by video to more than 50,000 people each year, including sessions with the NFL, PGA, and members of congress.

Prior to launching their ministry, Dr. Eggerichs was the senior pastor of Trinity Church in Lansing, MI for 19 years. He has graduate degrees from Wheaton College and Dubuque Seminary and a PhD from Michigan State University. Married since 1973, Emerson and Sarah live in Grand Rapids, MI and have three adult children. He is the Founder and President of Love and Respect Ministries.

My Thoughts

After the famous Love & Respect book and the conference, here’s a new tool to learn to love and respect your partner in life.

Last fall, my husband and I had the opportunity to attend the Love & Respect conference in town. Though we knew the concept and the teaching behind it, I think it was a good reminder that we both need to make an effort in loving or respecting our better half. I had just downloaded the devotional a week or so before attending the conference.

The Love & Respect Experience contains 52 devotions to read together as a couple. Doing devotions together can be difficult but having one per week through the year is perfect. At the end of the book you will also find four appendixes that will provide either more interactions between you and your spouse or more information on the concept behind the Love & Respect.

After reading the devotion together, you will have the opportunity to pray together and take action. In one of the appendix, you can also go through a series of questions together to deepen your experience of discover love and respect in your marriage.

I find tat this book could be very useful for anyone – young married or old, with or without kids, with or without issues in their marriage. Anyone can profit from this teaching and these devotions.

The Love & Respect Experience is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Nelson for sending me the above mentioned product in the e-pub edition for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Growing Great Kids: Partner with God to cultivate His purpose in your child’s life

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:40:00 +0000

Today's Wild Card author is:

Kate Battistelli

and the book:

Growing Great Kids: Partner with God to cultivate His purpose in your child's life

Charisma House (January 3, 2012)

***Special thanks to Jon Wooten of Charisma House for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kate Battistelli is a wife, former Broadway actress, and mom to one of Christian music’s most celebrated new recording artists—Grammy-nominated, Christian contemporary singer-songwriter Francesca Battistelli. Kate currently writes a popular blog at TheKitchenPrincess.com, volunteers at ESTHER Single Mothers Outreach, and is thoroughly enjoying her newest role as grandmother to Francesca’s first child, Matthew Elijah.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Help your child become everything God made them to be.

Successful adults don’t happen by accident. It takes wisdom to raise your children with a strong sense of their destiny in God and a deep knowledge of their gifts and callings.

In Growing Great Kids, Kate Battistelli shares what she and her husband, Mike, learned about parenting during the journey of raising their daughter—Dove Award–winning recording artist Francesca Battistelli. Using anecdotes to illustrate the insights she and her husband gained, she provides practical advice including:

* How to dream God’s big dream for your child
* The value of humility and integrity
* How to interpret God’s seasons in a child’s life
* The power of a parent’s words, and more

Product Details:

List Price: $14.99

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Charisma House (January 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1616386541
ISBN-13: 978-1616386542

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Chapter 1: Gifts and Callings
When my daughter was little, she definitely had a flair for the dramatic. She was fun-loving but with a serious side and a true sense of right and wrong. There was a Burger King commercial on television back then and the tag line was “Sometimes you just gotta break the rules!” Each time it would come on TV, Franny would loudly shout, “No, you don’t! You don’t break the rules!”
She loved to sing and dance and change her outfit half a dozen times a day, and I began to have a sense that maybe my little drama queen was inclined toward the performing arts. So like millions of moms do every day, I signed her up for ballet lessons. To say she loved it would be an understatement. She took to it like a duck to water—loving the pink tights, the hair in a bun, and especially when Miss Gina would single her out for a word of encouragement!
As time went on I started getting the sense that maybe God had something more for her in the performing arts. That’s when we intentionally began to take steps to expose her to the arts in a variety of small ways such as seeing the annual production of The Nutcracker at Christmas, watching old movie musicals, and taking her to children’s theater productions. We didn’t take huge steps, but we made small investments to see how she responded and to see if my hunch was right. For her seventh birthday we took her to see the Broadway production of The Secret Garden, and she was completely captivated with the show and with musical theater in general from that moment on. That’s when my husband and I really began praying about her future and what more we might do to help mine the treasure in her.
Mining the Greatness
Mine (noun):
1.an excavation made in the earth for the purpose of extracting ores, coal, precious stones, etc.
2. a place where such minerals may be obtained, either by excavation or by washing the soil.
3. a natural deposit of such minerals.1
Precious metals and precious stones are embedded in rocks and have to be extracted. Metals especially don’t generally appear in nature in their pure form. Shafts and tunnels are cut into the earth. The rock is quarried and then smelted with heat to remove the dross from the ore. It’s a difficult, tedious process, and it takes time and effort. The results, however, are certainly worth the effort to tap those precious veins beneath the earth.
Our children’s gifts are sometimes buried deep. It’s up to us to mine the gift in them, extract it, and allow it to be shaped and polished to be useful in building the kingdom of God. The effort requires selfless dedication on our part and an investment of time and finances, but one that pays lifelong dividends in the life of your child.
What is God showing you about your child? What traits is he expressing? What most interests or intrigues him? Is he outgoing or introspective? Is he intellectual or athletic? Is he artistic and creative or mechanically minded and good with his hands? And what are the dreams you have inside for him? Do you have a knowing deep inside about his life? Has God given you a glimpse into his future? What do you see when you pray for him?
I believe it’s my job to find out who God made my child to be. What particular path has He set for him? What’s unique about his personality, gifts, talents, and aspirations? How do I help him find the life God has already planned for him? What is God’s purpose for his life and how do I train him to accomplish his purpose?
Psalm 139:13–16 says it so beautifully:
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.
He knows our paths and has already written them in His book!
I don’t claim to be an expert in child rearing, but I am an expert in raising my child. Just as you are an expert in raising your child. The fact is, no one knows your child better than you, and as your child grows and develops, his gifts and talents will be more obvious to you than to anyone else.

Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. —Proverbs 22:6, amp
Parents, we are the trainers, and train is an active word! We train the whole child in the Word and godliness, in faith and biblical principles. We train them to obey and honor Him in thought, word, and deed. We train them to pursue their future careers and callings. We do them a great disservice if we take this responsibility lightly. God has given us a sacred trust by allowing us to be the stewards of our children. Here is the note on this scripture in my Spirit -Filled Life Bible: “Train up” has the idea of a parent graciously investing in a child whatever wisdom, love, nurture, and discipline is needed for him to become fully committed to God. It presupposes the emotional and spiritual maturity of the parent to do so. “In the way he should go” is to do the training according to the unique personality, gifts, and aspirations of the child. It also means to train the child to avoid whatever natural tendencies he might have that would prevent total commitment to God (for example, a weak
will, a lack of discipline, a susceptibility to depression). Hence, the promise is that proper development
insures the child will stay committed to God.2 There are many good resources available on how to raise your child in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4, kjv).I’m trying to convey something else in this book. If you are a Christian parent, it’s a given that you will raise your child to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Teaching our children to know and love God and to delight in Him should be our highest aim as we raise our kids.
My goal is to inspire you to partner with God to mine the greatness that’s lying dormant in your child. Each of us is capable of far more than we think we are. I truly believe we are capable of greatness and we shouldn’t be afraid to pursue it. God will show you the gifts and talents, the callings and destiny residing in your child. For your children to become all that God has designed them to be, means you have to be willing to go the extra mile and not assume they will simply “figure it out” when they are grown.
Too many parents seem content to allow their children to drift into young adulthood and then wonder what turned them into adultolescents (a person who has physically matured to adulthood, yet still behaves like an adolescent) and why they seem to have no direction in life. Childhood is an innocent time of wonder and discovery and endless possibilities, and it desperately requires our care, nurturing, and firm direction! Helping your child to explore life’s endless possibilities will open the floodgates to dreaming big dreams. As time goes on, with your guidance, he will narrow his choices, focus on what really interests him and embark on the path to building a future in the center of God’s will for his life.
I firmly believe God shows parents from the time their kids are small what He has invested in them. He shows us their bent and our job is to dig deep and find the depth of the gifts and callings buried inside. It is important we are not too busy or distracted with life to see what God is eager to reveal to us in each of our children.
Bumps Along the Road
When Franny had just turned twenty years old she backed into a lawyer’s car, in the lawyer’s driveway, after the lawyer had warned her to “be careful not to back into my car.” Naturally she felt foolish and was extremely upset. She knew Dad was likely to ask his famous twenty questions when she got home and was not looking forward to it. As she was driving home, she began crying and praying. The Lord began to speak to her heart,
reminding her she wasn’t perfect and it was OK with Him. He made her the way she was and to just relax and trust Him. She began singing this chorus: “I got a couple dents in my fender, got a couple rips in my jeans, try to fit the pieces together but perfection is my enemy. And on my own I’m so clumsy, but on Your shoulders I can see, I’m free to be me.”3
The next day she sat on the end of her bed and played for her dad and me the finished song God had dropped in her spirit during the drive home the day before. It might sound crazy, but as soon as I heard it, I knew this was a hit song. This occurred way before Franny moved to Nashville, had signed a record deal, or had any inkling anything like that was even possible. But I knew, because God knew and was just sharing my daughter’s
future with me. Three years later, “Free to Be Me” was the first single by a female artist to hit number one at Christian radio in eight years, remaining at number one for ten weeks!
Grammy Story
People ask me all the time, “Did you ever think your daughter would do so well?” “Did you ever think you would hear her on the radio?” or “Are you surprised by her success?” The answers are yes, yes, and no! Mike and I always had a “knowing” deep inside about her career path as she got older. We sensed where God was going, and we let Him plant big dreams in us for her. From the time she was fifteen and beginning to pursue music more seriously, we would watch the televised Grammy Awards every year and every year I would say to her, “You’re going to be up there one day.” I don’t know why I said it; I just knew deep down it was true and, knowing words have creative power, I believed it important to actually speak it out.
I found an old journal recently and in thumbing through it, came across this entry. February 28, 2002:
Hi, Lord. It’s me, bugging You! Last night we watched the
Grammys and Franny’s emotions were so stirred she cried
through much of it. Mike says I set her expectations too high,
but I believe if You are going to go for something, go for the
highest. It’s not that it’s so important to win an award but
winning represents being at a level where you have respect
and acceptance. I know she is willing to work hard and
she will work hard. Show her mercy and encourage her in
all her hard work. Let her redouble her efforts and give it
everything she’s got. Show her Your favor and love. Raise
her up in the music business and let her be a shining, warm,
beautiful light. Give Mike and I wisdom with how to guide
her. Thanks, Lord!
In December 2009, seven years after I wrote in my journal, Franny was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Gospel Performance category for her song “Free to Be Me”! People asked me if I was surprised and truly I can say I wasn’t. I’d been praying about it for seven years! I was thrilled of course, but not surprised. It was just one more confirmation of what I already knew. She hasn’t won a Grammy yet, but I’m still praying!
My Story and I’m Sticking to It
Franny comes by her gifts naturally. She has the added benefit of parents who happened to stumble upon, believe in, and latch onto God’s principles for growing great kids. While it is certainly an unmistakable advantage to be raised immersed in these principles, successful adults can and do spring from circumstances where these principles are absent, but perhaps at play to some degree in the background. I didn’t have parents who followed these principles, yet I was able to dig down deep and define what I wanted in life and pursue it. However, I wouldn’t recommend rolling the dice with your children by failing to employ every asset in your parenting arsenal to stack the deck in favor of your child’s future.
I grew up in circumstances quite different from those I trumpet on these pages, and yet somehow found a successful future in spite of it. My life’s circumstances led me on a journey that took its inevitable detours, but it’s my life story and I’m sticking to it! Just so you have a little background and can understand better where I’m coming from, here’s my story.
I grew up in an encouragement vacuum. My parents had four kids, and I assumed my place tucked right in the middle at number three. As a child of the 1950s and 1960s and the conventional worldview of parenting in quasi-Christian homes during that era, my parents were busy with the social priorities of their all-American suburban lives.
As far as spirituality and growing up, I remember two things vividly about God. I remember being in Sunday school at maybe four or five years old and singing “Jesus Loves Me This I Know,” and completely believing it was true. Whoever Jesus was, I knew He loved me. The other thing I recall was thinking to myself when I was about six that I didn’t ever want to die and if there was a way to live forever, I was going to find it.
I grew up attending the Episcopal Church. I learned all about the life of Jesus, but I never knew Him in a personal way and I didn’t know He could live in my heart. I enjoyed church. The mystery and beauty of the liturgy, the candles and communion, the fragrant flowers, beautiful stained glass, and impressive organ music all contributed to my feeling of awe about God and awareness of my insignificance. Our church had beautiful stone
floors so your footsteps echoed as you walked along. I loved the hymns we sang and the readings from the Book of Common Prayer and the mystery of taking communion. I knew God was contained in all those things, but I didn’t sense a clear pathway to meet Him. It was His house after all, but how did you take Him home?
To her credit, my mom had us kneel by our beds every night to say the Lord’s Prayer and blessings over the family. My grandfather was a man of strong faith. He used to read Bible stories to us when we stayed over, and he would make them come alive. We would beg him for just one more! He would write in his Bible and underline scripture, something I take after him in. We could often find Grandpa stretched out over the couch in his office praying for what seemed like hours. We always knew not to disturb him during those times. He was not a perfect man by any means but those things I witnessed in him. His love for God and his devotion to his church and family have stuck with me all these years.
My childhood was pleasant with the typical ups and downs but no major traumas or tragedies. I rarely heard words that affirmed my value and potential or words encouraging me to believe the world was my oyster and I could be anything I wanted to be. There were lots of arguments between my parents and all the siblings. Expectations were high of course, but there was precious little praise and encouragement to attain them and far too much criticism. Somewhere in adolescence my self-esteem began to suffer, and I no longer felt comfortable sharing openly with my parents. My future lacked any kind of shape with no real direction. I didn’t have a clear cut path to run on with lots of support and nurturing. So I floated through high school. I floated through four colleges in two years. I was adrift with no focus and no goals.
I knew from the time I was a little girl that I loved to sing. It was my one passion, and I did what I could to develop my singing in high school. I joined the choir and did the yearly high school musical. We happened to have a wonderful and dedicated voice teacher at my high school, so I took advantage of her lessons. But I was pretty much on my own in my pursuit of music.
I asked my mom years later why she never pushed me or encouraged me in music and her response was fairly typical for her generation. She felt if it was really something I wanted to do, I’d pull myself up by my own initiative and make it happen. Actually, she was right. It’s exactly what I did, but I think I would have avoided a great many pitfalls along the way if I’d had her support.
As it happened, I discovered musical theater when I turned twenty. I began working in a local community theater where I lived in New Jersey and in two years performed in more than fifteen productions. I got a crash course in musical theater to say the least! I stumbled on an article in a magazine about goal setting and because it made logical sense to me, I started setting some practical goals. Not long after, I was auditioning for roles in New York City. I got my Actors’ Equity card and started doing lots of regional theater, actually surviving as a working
actor—barely.
I began working with an agent, and he secured me an audition for the Broadway national tour of The King and I starring Yul Brynner. My audition was for the role of the understudy for the part of “Anna,” played by Deborah Kerr in the movie. I was a young actress in my twenties, and this was by far the biggest thing that had come along for me. To make a long story short, I got the role of the understudy and happily packed my steamer trunk and went out on the road. I faithfully rehearsed my part never thinking I would ever really get the chance to perform. But when preparation meets opportunity, miracles can happen!
Life Comes at You Fast
About two months into the run of the show, I arrived at the theater around 7:15 p.m. for the 8:00 p.m. curtain only to find out the leading lady was sick and I was going on for the first time as the leading lady in forty-five minutes! I knew my part well but had never worn the costumes or handled the props, let alone been onstage with Yul Brynner! I was freaking out, but I had to focus and get ready. The night turned out well and I got to perform the role of Anna for two weeks while the leading lady was out with pneumonia. In the end, Yul Brynner (who not only starred in the show but was also one of its producers) preferred me in the role so he bought out the leading lady’s contract and offered me the role of a lifetime! It was an amazing time for me. I was privileged to play the part of Anna more than a thousand times, before more than a million theatergoers, over the next two-and-a-half years!
The best part of the entire experience though, was meeting my husband, Mike. He joined the tour about six months into the run of the show as the associate conductor and, as he likes to say, we literally fell in love across the footlights!
After performing eight shows a week for the next two-and-ahalf years, we left the tour, moved back to New York City, got married, bought a little condo in Greenwich Village and began our new life together. A year later, we found ourselves answering an altar call and giving our hearts to the Lord. Franny was born a year later, and we thoroughly enjoyed our new little family amid all the excitement of living and working in the hustle and bustle of New York’s music and theater world.
It wasn’t long, though, before we began to feel the tug on our hearts to lay down the business we had worked so hard to find our way in and follow what God had in store for us next. Bucking conventional wisdom, but following what we believed was God’s best for our family, we eventually left New York and our careers behind to embark on building a new life that included moving to the suburbs, starting a new business, and homeschooling our little girl.
Meet My Husband, Mike
Mike comes from a family without a rich musical heritage. In his case, however, his parents were very encouraging and supported his early interest in music. They purchased the finest musical instruments they could afford, drove him to weekly trumpet lessons at the Juilliard School preparatory division, and sacrificed to send him to National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, during the summer. He later graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy, received his bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, and went on to earn his master’s and doctorate in music. He was a studio musician and played trumpet and flugelhorn in Broadway pit orchestras and musically directed and conducted on Broadway, on national tour, and at Radio City Music Hall. In his case, he was the first in his family who expressed any gifting in music. Often children inherit their parents’ gifts and carry on the family business, and other times they plow new ground.
With both her parents involved in musical theater professionally, you could say Francesca was destined to go into the arts, and specifically music. It was more likely in her case because of the very musical environment in which she was raised, not to mention being thrown into the deep end of her parent’s gene pool! But not every child’s course is as easy to recognize.
With our daughter, obviously she inherited gifts and talent in music and the performing arts. Our job was to take those gifts and give them shape; give her opportunities to be trained in those areas; and expose her to teachers, classes, and mentors who would take her where God called her to go. We couldn’t assume she was going to follow exactly in our footsteps. And we had to make sure she knew her gifts and talents weren’t what defined her. We were going to love her no matter what life she chose. We had to seek God for His wisdom in her unique expression of her gifts in the performing arts. Our part was to mine those gifts and talents, and her part was to be diligent with what God entrusted to her. Success doesn’t happen by accident. It takes years of hard work.
I believe if we seek Him, God is faithful to put a dream in parents’ hearts for their children. He gives us a sense as they grow. Sometimes it’s just an inkling that turns into a knowing, and over time becomes a certainty. He entrusts the dream to us and gives us the responsibility to dig it out and give it shape. Kids don’t become successful adults by accident.
Success and Environment
In Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, he writes: People don’t rise from nothing. We do owe something to parentage and patronage. The people who stand before kings may look like they did it all by themselves. But in fact they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot. It makes a difference where and when we grew up. The culture we belong to and the legacies passed down by our forebears shape the patterns of our achievement in ways we cannot begin to imagine. It’s not enough to ask what successful people are like, in other words. It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn’t.4
The first place your child is from is you. You will have the biggest impact on his future. How you live, how you love, how you handle money, what you do in your free time, and the standard of integrity and honesty you set in your life—all these things and many more will shape your child into the adult he will become. You alone can give him the “hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities,” and as you seek the Lord, He’ll show them to you.
How many families do you know whose adult children can’t seem to commit to their own future? And parents who don’t have a clue as to how to guide them? There is a culture of drift all around us—adults with no goals or dreams who are living out their lives in mediocre jobs, having little impact on society. If parents abdicate their responsibility and give it over to the school system or the church, they contribute to the drift. We aren’t supposed to be going nowhere. Destiny connotes a destination. But God won’t do it for you. You have to do it in partnership with God.
Who you are is going to shape who your child becomes. If education is important to you, you will raise your child expecting him to go to college and get good grades, barring any serious learning disabilities. If learning to manage money is important in your family then you will teach your child about budgeting at an early age and require him to earn the money to buy the things he wants and get a job when he is old enough. If parents
are extravagant in their spending their kids will be too! If sports are important in your family, you will set an example by making exercise a priority and being available to coach your child and take him to games and sporting events. If the arts are your passion, you will expose him to great music, museums, ballet, and theatrical productions. If you believe there is greatness in your child, you will find it and find ways to mine it!
It’s All in the Name
When Franny was a preteen, I became curious about what her name meant. I knew that Battistelli meant “to hit the stars” and I wondered what the name Francesca meant. So I looked it up at the bookstore in one of those baby name books. I found out the name Francesca means “free.” I was stunned! It was one more confirmation of what I was beginning to sense about her future, and I excitedly told her and Mike what I’d found. Her name
meant “free to hit the stars.” Talk about a prophetic picture! I was able to encourage her and remind her during down times just what her name meant and the destiny it conveyed.
Personality—Who Is She Like?
One thing that fascinated me when my daughter was young was the difference in our personalities. I’m pretty steady emotionally, calm, cool, and very practical and unsentimental. I love home, family, and the homemaking arts such as cooking, gardening, and so on. My husband is more of a type-A personality. He is a leader, strong-willed, and independent with a strong work ethic and a dedication to personal integrity. Our daughter isn’t exactly like either of us. She is sensitive, emotional, analytical, introverted, and a bit of a perfectionist. She has pieces of both of us but not a full distillation of either mom or dad.
God gave her a unique personality and our job was to parent who she was, not who we may have wanted her to be. Also, we had to be mindful not to superimpose our unfulfilled dreams onto her life. Remember, we had achieved a measure of success in the music and musical theater worlds. It would have been easy to assume she would follow in our footsteps and go into the theater in order to fill up some leftover longing or regret in us. Actually, in our case, knowing what we knew about that world, we purposely tried to steer her away from “the business” early on and focus her on dance. However, by the time she was eleven, she was already involved in professional theater here in Orlando, Florida. She even got mom to be in several shows with her! Often, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree!
If your children are young, then now is the time to really be seeking God about their future. It’s never too early to begin, in fact, the earlier the better! You probably already have an idea what their gifts and talents are. Ask God to give you a glimpse into their future. He will lead you step by step as you seek His wisdom in raising your unique child.
There is so much more in our children than we realize, and they are capable of far more than we give them credit for. There are precious metals and rare jewels deep inside your child. You will have to dig them out, but it will be well worth it when you launch them out into life knowing you did everything you could to equip them for success. And by success I mean doing what God has called them to do with passion and purpose and with Christ at the center. Perhaps God will call them into fulltime ministry as a missionary. Maybe He’ll give them a platform in Christian music to influence other young people to pursue God with passion and purity. Maybe your child is called to be a political leader, teacher, business owner, or inventor of something that will change the world. Maybe your daughter wants more than anything to grow up and be a mom, a noble and worthy goal. Whatever God shows you, believe it and get moving. Nothing is more exciting than partnering with God!
Questions to Ask Yourself
Has God given you a dream deep inside for your child?
What gifts and talents is your child expressing?What has God put in your heart about your child’s future?
What personality traits have you observed?
What practical steps can you take to train your child, both in godly principles and in helping them achieve his dreams?
Are you being proactive about your child’s future or are you letting him drift?
Do you believe that greatness resides in your child?
Prayer
Lord, I come humbly before You with wonder and amazement at the precious gift of my child that You have entrusted
to me. The course of this life is in Your hands, and I ask for wisdom and discernment in raising him. Help me to
uncover all the gifts, talents, and callings You have placed deep inside him. I know my child is fearfully and wonderfully
made, and I am excited to discover all You created him to be. Help me to be the parent he needs me to be and to have the ability to equip him to fulfill every dream in Your heart for him. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear as I raise him. Help me to be an example of integrity, humility, honesty, and diligence in all that I do. I pray this in Jesus’s name!

My Thoughts

I honestly wish I could expand on what I think about this book. But I received it last Friday, January 20th. I guess living in Canada has its disadvantages when blogging for book on a tight schedule.

So I decided to flip through the book and it looks pretty interesting. Each chapter finishes with a series of questions to think about what you have read as well as a prayer to read and grab in your heart. The last chapter even covers the common parenting traps like favoritism, jealousy, unfulfilled dreams, selfishness, unrealistic expectations, idolatry, negative peoples, dream thieves, child-centered homes, and putting the priority on the child instead of your marriage.

In the middle of the book you will also find some pictures of the youth of Francesca Battistelli the Dove Award and Grammy nominated recording artist.

This book would be perfect for a mom’s bible study or a book club. I honestly wish I had more time to review it but it wasn’t the case. I plan to read it later this spring.

Growing Great Kids is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Lola’s Fruit Shop Sudoku App

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:32:00 +0000

Lola’s Fruit Shop Sudoku App
From BeiZ Ltd

About the app

Lola's Fruit Shop Sudoku is the easiest sudoku game in the world! Now kids can enjoy the fun and challenge of Sudoku in a form especially designed for them. Your 4-year-old can play this fruit and number game and have fun. But still it is challenging enough even for 9-year-old children. How is that possible?

The player is invited to help Lola Panda to sort out the fruit. After a few successes, the player gets a well-earned award and at the end of the game the Fruit Shop is ready to open. Like most Lola Panda games, Fruit Shop Sudoku has very clear instructions and pleasant voice guidance.

Lola’s Fruit Shop Sudoku begins with an easy level for young children: they play a 3x3 fruit game with 3 different kinds of fruit. The level has attractive animated instructions, so children really learn to play the game quickly without even knowing what Sudoku is.
On the other hand, the hard level uses numbers and a bigger 4 x 4 grid, so it provides fun and challenge even for children who are a bit older. Naturally, the game proceeds smoothly from each level to the next, so it is never too difficult for the player.

Why not try it? Lola’s Fruit Shop Sudoku provides loads of fun, and it really develops kids’ logical thinking!

The player can choose narration in English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (simplified) and Finnish.

My Thoughts

This app is adorable to teach the concepts of sudoku to children ages 4 to 8. Personally I find that the app is more geared toward children ages 4 to 6.

You will have three levels of difficulty within the app. Your child can start with the easy level to understand the basics of Sudoku by adding the fruit missing in a simple sudoku. As you go up in the levels of difficulties, you will get either a bigger fruit sudoku or a simple number sudoku.

The goal of the game is to collect fruits for Lola’s stand. Once a level is completed, more fruits/numbers will be missing from the sudoku.

The graphics are simply adorable and the challenge is appropriate for the age level. I think this app is wonderful to introduce the concept of doing a Sudoku for younger children and also to use their thinking abilities for determining which fruit/number goes where.

I definitively recommend the Lola’s Fruit Shop Sudoku app to entertain and challenge your young ones. You won’t be disappointed with this app. It will give them skills that will last for a lifetime!

Lola’s Fruit Shop Sudoku is currently available for the price of 99 cents on iTunes.

Disclaimer: Thanks to BeiZ for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Little Fox Gets His Wish

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:08:00 +0000

Little Fox Gets His Wish
By Green Umbrella

About the app

Green Umbrella Studio introduces a new reading experience for you.

We make the books come alive.
Yes.These are not just audio books.
Interactivity on every page, including a lot of mini games , professional narration and original artwork.
My Thoughts

I have reviewed many story apps in the past and this is one of them that I don’t particularly enjoy. The story is about a fox who wants the sun to disappears (which is silly if you ask me) though the graphics are cute.

But the story is deceiving in some ways. Little fox do no hesitate to lie and steal numerous times. In one of the activities, the child can also make him drink from a glass and it is quite evident that the fox is drinking alcohol. Definitively NOT for children…

Also, some parts of the story doesn’t makes sense like for example where would Little Fox put the hose and sprinkler to send water to the sun. Seriously, any child ages 2 and up would tell you that it doesn’t make sense.

I was very disappointed with various aspects of this app. I decided that I didn’t want to keep it mainly because of it teaches the child that you can lie or steal as well as drink alcohol.

Though I am very strict with the kind of apps my children are using, other parents are more permissive. So if you are interested in this app – for whatever reasons that might be beyond my understanding - Little Fox Gets His Wish is currently FREE on iTunes.

Disclaimer: Thanks to the author for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

DK The Human Body App

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:38:00 +0000

DK The Human Body App
By DK Canada

About the App

A multi-award winning app that takes a ground-breaking look into the human body with highly accurate, visual and accessible information. The wonders of human anatomy are explored and explained in a way that offers hours of learning, fun and entertainment.
Designed for everyone with an interest in the subject, the Human Body app is a must-have reference. With enough detail to satisfy the demanding student, the app also offers rich illustrations and features for the casual browser. This is the perfect gift for yourself or someone who loves to learn.
FEATURES:
• Highly accurate and accessible information created by leading doctors and practitioners.
• Over 270 specially-designed full color and zoomable high resolution images.
• 12 systems of the body – integrated body, skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, respiratory, skin, hair & nails, lymphatic & immune, digestive, urinary and reproductive – each with zoomable illustrations, text and annotations.
• 99 story pages with illustrations, explanatory text and annotations.
• Detailed and expandable annotations for every image.
• Testing tool for learning the parts of the body.
• Four stunning videos showing key processes in the body – the beating heart, inflammatory response, conception, and nerve impulse – each with detailed captions.
• A 3D rotatable human body with selectable layers.
• Functions you can feel – grab your iPad and feel the lungs breath, the heart beat and the nerve impulses race.

My Thoughts

When I realized that DK came out with an app to learn more about the human body, I knew that it would be a wonderful tool for my kids to learn more about the human anatomy. I will admit that for the younger ones this app might be a bit too advanced for them but when you have a ten years old who is interested in anything related to the human body this is a blessing.

When you start the app, you will immediately get a menu divided into twelve sections – integrated body, skeletal system, muscular system, nervous system, endocrine system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, skin, hair and nails, lymphatic & immune system, digestive system, urinary system and reproductive system. Right away, you will see animation as the “bodies” spin to show the back and front of the image one at a time. A detailed alphabetical search engine can be found at the right corner of the screen.

This past week, we learned how our eyes see things. So for the purpose of this review, I will spend some time on the eye. At first I had trouble to find this organ… but after thinking on the lesson we learned I decided to look in the nervous system. I was rewarded immediately as I saw that on the right side of the image the eye was there.

Tapping on the image with the eye, the app opened multiple images to pick from. To move from one image to the other, you simply have to slide you finger on it and select the feature you want to have more information on – the eye for us.

Immediately, the app will bring you a bigger image of the eye as well as information on this organ. As you can see below, you can have the eye with the labels of its various parts as well as information on the sequence of vision, accommodation which gives you information on the difference between near and distant vision, or eyes and vision. In the left corner, you can see a small windows with information on the inside of the eye. You can read through it easily. Next to each label, you can also expand the + sign to get more details on the part of the eye. And if you need to expand the image, you can easily do it from the tip of your fingers.

The viewing options are interesting too. You can opt to see the image only and try to identify the parts of the eye, remove the annotations but still access the information on the eye, or view everything (labels and information). I find this feature interesting as a student can decided to remove everything and try to name the part of the organ he/she has studied.

Also located at the bottom of the page, you will see a main menu button and a system select button. The system select option allows you to select a different system in the anatomy without having to go through the main menu. Personally I find these two somewhat redundant as both are doing the same thing though on allows you to navigate automatically to a specific system while the other brings you back to the main menu.

For other organs, you can have specific videos and sounds. For example, when I went to the cardio-vascular system and selected the heart, you immediately hear an heartbeat. It was interesting and different. Then I was able to see a video with explanations on how the heart beats. It was very visual and allowed me to get a better understanding on how important it is to have an healthy heart.

In conclusion, I am very impressed with the quality and details included in this app. It is definitively a beautiful example on how apps can be used in an homeschool environment and/or as a supplement for school work. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested about the human body and wants to learn more about it. This app is mostly geared toward older grades ideally grades 9 and up. However, if you child is mature enough and express an interest in this kind of information, I would like to suggest that you consider purchasing this app. The graphics are simply amazing and the exploration of the human body will take you breath away.

The DK Human Body app is available for the price of 6.99$ on iTunes.

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

DK Eyewitness DVD–Planets

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:36:00 +0000

DK Eyewitness DVD Planets
From DK Canada

About the DVD

Which planet would float in your bathtub if you had one big enough? What is the fire and brimstone world of Venus really like? The Eyewitness Planets DVD takes you through space and time, witnessing the sun and traveling to the outer limits of our solar system.

Eyewitness DVDs are an award-winning series that are visual companions to DK’s Eyewitness series. Each DVD is approximately 60 minutes long and feature narration by Martin Sheen. A great addition to any household library or audio-visual collection.

Our Thoughts

I think it is the first time I have mixed feelings about an Eyewitness DVD. Not that it isn’t well done but it’s just that I am debating if it was wise to show this to the younger children.

I guess I was expecting to learn more about the planets – which we did – without having mentions on astrology and such. But it isn’t the case and like it or not one day our kids will be expose to it. So I definitively prefer that they are expose to it while I am with them so I can stop the movie and talk about what was said right away. That’s what I did. A couple of times, I stopped the movie and explained the difference between Creation belief versus Evolution belief. My kids know that there is two sides on the coin and that when they go to higher education one day they will encounter issues concerning the two debates on how the world was created. I strongly believe in exposing my kids to these two set of beliefs. Why? Because I want them to be able to defend their faith and able to discuss it with others.

Now the DK Eyewitness DVD on planets is fabulous for explaining the differences in the planets, how some of them were discovered, and even contain some historical information on Copernicus and Galileo. The kids particularly enjoyed following the spaceship in the Solar System to explore the different planets. We also learned that one of our planets could float in a bathtub if we had one big enough to contain it. I won’t tell you which planet it is…. you will have to discover it youroniself!

Even though this DVD is not based on teaching supporting the creation beliefs, I think it is a good resource to have in your DVD library. I strongly support teaching the kids both sides of the coin when it comes to Creation vs Evolution. I know that not all families would agree with me and that’s okay. That’s why homeschooling is so flexible.

The Eyewitness DVD Planets is available for purchase at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

DK Eyewitness DVD Elephant

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:07:00 +0000

DK Eyewitness DVD – Elephant
From DK Canada

About the DVD

Elephants have been everything in our cultures from deities to political party symbols to children's book heroes. In this captivating DVD, our fascination with these animals is explored, with beautiful footage of elephants in their natural habitats combined with close ups filmed in the Eyewitness studio.

Our Thoughts

Today we embarked on a journey toward Africa and Asia to discover a great animal – the elephant.

The DVD was surprisingly interesting and very informative about this pachyderm. By the way, do you know what the word pachyderm means? It means thick skin and another animal sharing this terminology is the rhinoceros.

The DVD will allow you to discover fascinating facts about the elephant. For example did you know that an elephant will go through 6 set of molars through his life? Amazing! And to see the demonstration on how elephants really walk is very interesting. Who would have thought that they walk on their tippy toes.

The kids were surprised to see how important an elephant can have to impact its environment. Through the video, we saw how this animal can change the environment but also help it. This part of the video was interesting to say the least because it explains how other animals uses the dung of the elephants for various reasons whether it is food or shelter… yes I am serious about this!

This DVD was definitively very interesting and helped us to discover more about the world of elephants. We also learned how elephants were used in the past and how they are still useful in various parts of the world.

The DK Eyewitness DVD Elephant is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

My Art Book

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:57:00 +0000

My Art Book – Amazing Art Projects Inspired by Masterpieces
Publishes at DK Canada

About the book

Fun, educational, and bubbling over with creativity, My Art Book is a young child's superb introduction to the history and techniques of art.

This beautiful and inspiring art book is sure to be loved by children and their parents, filled with project ideas including mosaics, figure sculptures, impressionist scenes, watercolor landscapes, and pastel portraits that will excite young imaginations. The step-by-step photography and clear instructions guides children through the process for producing results that they can display with pride.

My Thoughts

I had my eyes on this book and my contact at DK surprised me by sending it to me with another book I had requested to review. Both my grand-mothers painted at some point in their lives. And about two years ago, I discovered that I could too! Mind you I never took courses and I don’t have much time in my hands but whenever possible I try to draw or paint.

My Art Book contains art projects inspired by masterpieces from various artists throughout time. The child who is going through this book will do some cave painting, will explore dot painting as the aboriginal from Australia do, make a mask like the ones find in Africa, explore the works of Giuseppe Arcimboldo with fruits and vegetables or other materials like fall leaves, Lego, or metal pieces, discover the art of Japanese artists, copy a Degas, paint some sunflowers à la Degas, create a jungle collage based on a Rousseau, paint to music based on Wassily Kandinsky`s work, explore lines and shapes like Paul Klee, make a mosaic based on the work of Diego Rivera, sculpt like Henry Moore, build a bird based on what Inuit artists do, and make a pop art print like Andy Warhol.

Each project are well explained and guide you through each step to do it. A complete list of items needed can also be found. This book will definitively help you explore various artists and medium used to create art.

The project that I decided to try out is one based on a painting from Edgar Degas – the ballerina. However, for the project in the book you learn to paint with pastels. I have pastels in the house and decided to reproduce the painting while following the instructions.

Here’s what I have done while following the steps. Please keep in mind that I am a budding artist who is exploring various techniques to see what I like/dislike. I didn’t have light colored pastels like the ones in the step-by-step instructions so I pick colors that I had.

Considering that this is my first time painting with pastels, I am satisfied with the result of my drawing. Not knowing how to make eyes I decided to leave my ballerina faceless… Eventually I hope that I can take drawing lessons and hope to develop my skills more. In the meantime, I will continue to practice and explore some more with the help of my kids.

My Art Book contains interesting projects for you and your kids. It can also be a great launching pad to learn more about various artists through time. These projects could be a great way to conclude a study on a specific artist.

My Art Book is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

The Barber Who Wanted to Pray

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:43:00 +0000

The Barber Who Wanted to Pray
By R.C. Sproul
Published at Crossway

About the book

This imaginative tale, based on a true story, begins one evening with Mr. McFarland leading family devotions. When his daughter asks him how she should pray, Mr. McFarland shares a 500-year-old story—a story about a barber and his famous customer.

Master Peter is a barber well known to all in his village. One day, when Martin Luther the Reformer walks into his shop, the barber musters up the courage to ask the outlawed monk how to pray. Dr. Luther responds by writing a letter to the barber (a letter that we know today as the book, A Simple Way to Pray!). The barber’s life is changed as he encounters a model for prayer by using the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles’ Creed.

R. C. Sproul’s beautifully illustrated story will engage children and help them learn to pray according to the Bible. Dr. Sproul’s unique gift for explaining complex truths will make this a treasured book to be returned to time after time—a delight for both children and their parents!

My Thoughts

Imagine that you are a small child and that you are listening to your father praying one night. You are ashamed at your own prayers because his are so beautiful. You asked him to teach you how to pray in ways that will make Jesus happy. That’s how the story start as you peek into an evening of devotions and singing in the McFarland family. The father immediately proceed to tell the story of The Barber Who Wanted to Pray.

This story is apparently 500 years old and will tell you how Luther wrote his book titled A Simple Way to Pray. The barber of the village was curious on how he should pray and while tending to his famous customer, he asked questions to him. Dr. Luther responded by writing a letter to him which is now a book today! As he encounters a prayer life based on the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments as well as the Apostle’s Creed, the life of the barber is transformed.

The book is a pleasure to read and to look at. The illustrations are fabulous and reminds me paintings. The story is inspiring and will encourage you (and your kids!) to develop a life of prayer.

At the end of the book, you can also read the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer as well as the Apostles’ Creed.

If your kids express an interest in learning more about prayer or you simply want to develop this precious spiritual discipline in their lives, I think this book will be a great insight on what prayer is.

The Barber Who Wanted to Pray is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Crossway for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

DK Eyewitness DVD - Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:20:00 +0000

DK Eyewitness DVD – Tree
By DK Canada

About the DVD

Tree roots out the most amazing facts about these silent sentinels of our hectic planet. Although they stand vulnerable to every attack from forest fire to fungus, they remain invincible. Whether tiny bonsai or giant sequoia, trees enrich every corner of our world.

Our Thoughts

Trees… They surround us everywhere we go (well almost everywhere as you won’t find any in the high mountains…) but do we really know everything about them?

This fabulous DVD will highlight the importance of having trees and how they are used in life (from wood frames to tires). We will discover what makes a tree, how it’s parts are used, where you can find a tree older than the pyramids as well as some trees talk to each other. You would think that when a fire destroy a forest that all is lost, but you will learn that it isn’t the case.

We enjoyed learning more about trees and how important they are for our own survival. Through the videos we learned more about the different kind of trees and where they grow as well as how a tree grows. We saw the life cycle of a tree as well as how it reacts to the changes of seasons.

The Eyewitness DVD Tree is a marvelous tool that visualize the importance of having trees on Earth. It is perfect to complete a study on trees after you have explored the various trees in your neighborhood, made crafts based on trees, and studied the animals living in trees. You definitively don’t want to miss out on this well-done DVD with breathtaking images and great explanation.

The DK Eyewitness DVD Tree is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

The Captive Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:55:00 +0000

The Captive Heart – The Daughters of Caleb Bender #2
Written by Dale Cramer
Published at Bethany House

About the book

The Epic Story of an Amish Community in Peril

Ravaged by disease, preyed upon by ruthless bandits, the Bender family's second year in Mexico has taken a grievous turn. Faced with impossible choices, the expatriate Amish discover, more than ever before, what it means to live by faith and not by sight

But it's Miriam who must make the hardest choice as her heart takes her on a new and dangerous course. Domingo. "He is gentle," his sister said, "until someone he loves is threatened." Is Miriam that someone?

"Cualnezqui," he often calls her--the Nahuatl word for Beautiful one. The chiseled native has proven himself a man of principle, grace and power, yet is he the pearl of great price for whom Miriam would sacrifice everything, or is he merely a friend? Tormented by conflicting emotions, she's haunted by vivid dreams: Dressed in the coarse cotton pants and shirt of a peasant, she stands on the precipice of a sun-washed ridge searching desperately for Domingo. Domingo the fierce. Domingo the protector.

Domingo the forbidden.

Who is Dale Cramer?

Dale Cramer is the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed novel Levi's Will, based on the story of Dale's father, a runaway Amishman. Dale's latest series, THE DAUGHTERS OF CALEB BENDER, is based on an Amish colony in the mountains of Mexico where three generations of his family lived in the 1920s. He currently lives in Georgia with his wife of 36 years, two sons and a Bernese Mountain Dog named Rupert. Visit him on his Web site at www.dalecramer.com

My Thoughts

I am no stranger of Dale Cramer books. I have reviewed some in the past but when I realized that this was the 2nd book in the series of the Daughters of Caleb Bender, I had to have it… I had reviewed Paradise Valley last year and was hooked by the story. I wanted to know the rest of the story. Inspired by actual events that happened in the lives of the ancestors of the author himself, the book will hook you from the beginning to the end of it.

I was pleased to reconnect with Miriam, Rachel, Caleb and Domingo but I was pleased to discover new characters with the arrivals of more Amish families in Paradise Valley. Some I would love while others I disliked immediately. The story continues for the Bender family and their neighbors after their move to Mexico. They will have joy, heart aches, and sadness but they continue to trust in God in the midst of everything that is going on. Numerous events will happen in this book – drama and tragedy appear to be a theme as you turn the pages of this book. Still even if they loose some members of their community, they look forward to make a place in this country even though the bandits are causing problems in their lives.

I particularly like the series because I know that this is based on real events from the author’s family. To be honest, the way the book finished I can hardly wait until the new installment of the series be published. I want to know what will happen to Miriam, Domingo, Rachel and Jake as well as the rest of The Bender family and their neighbors.

I highly recommend the two books from the Daughters of Caleb Bender to anyone interested in Amish novels as well as historical novels. You will have both in one magnificent story.

The Captive Heart – The Daughters of Caleb Bender #2 is available at your favorite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group, including amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Smithsonian Timelines of History

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:28:00 +0000

Smithsonian Timelines of History
Published at DK Canada

About the book

Beginning with the emergence of our earliest African ancestors and taking readers through the history of cultures and nations around the world to arrive at the present day, Timelines of History caters to readers who want a broad overview, a good story to read, or the nitty-gritty of historical events.

With easily accessible cross-references that build bite-size pieces of information into a narrative that leads readers back and forth through time, Timelines of History makes the past accessible to all families, students, and the general reader.

My Thoughts

I was looking forward to discover the World history through the lenses of the Smithsonian and this book will give you an amazing picture of the events that happened through time. The book is packed with information, a timeline at the bottom of each pages, pictures that will take your breath away as well as maps, archeological discoveries, stats and more.

Just for fun I decided to turn to my year of birth – 1969. Here’s some of the information I was able to read for 1969;

Yasser Arafat became the leader of the PLO in Feb.
The Concorde made its maiden flight in March.
Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Stuno spend two weeks in bed in an effort to draw attention to peace. One week at the Hilton Amsterdam in March and the other week in May at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
In July, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin took man’s first steps on the moon from their spacecraft Apollo 11.
In Lybia, Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi led a group of army officers to depose King Idris on Sep 1, in a bloodless coup, and established the Libyan Arab Republic.
Nigeria banned food aid from the Red Cross to the breakaway state of Biafra, bringing millions of people to the brink of starvation.

The Timelines of History has recently been updated as it includes two pages on 2011 including information about the royal wedding of Catherine Middleton and Prince William, the earthquake in Japan and the death of Osama Bin Laden.

The book is quite heavy as it contains more than 500 pages and covers everything since the beginning of life on Earth. You will find information on early civilizations, the classical age, trade & invention, reformations & exploration, the age of revolution, as well as technology & superpowers. Studying about the discovery of Canada by Jacques Cartier – no problem you will find information about him on page 186 as well as an illustration depicting Jacques Cartier in 1541-1542. Turning the pages of this book will be as though you are travelling through time to discover the history of the civilizations of the past. Here’s what a page look like

As you can see this book is a great reference to have in your home if you like to know more about history. It is also a great tool to use while studying history with your kids whether you are homeschooling or not. For example, if you are covering the Roman empire this year with your kids, you can see a detailed map of the rise of the Roman Empire and see how it looked like from 240 BCE to 14CE. It is quite impressive to see how the empire expanded through the years. Though this book is not based on creation history, it is a great tool to have along side a creation timeline for comparison and understanding of the different point of views between historians.

The Smithsonian Timelines of History is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Winner of the Common English Bible

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:27:00 +0000

This afternoon I have drawn the winner of the softcover edition of the Common English Bible.

Congratulations to Leanne!

The Emancipation of Robert Sadler

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:16:00 +0000

The Emancipation of Robert Sadler – The Powerful True Story of a Twentieth-Century Plantation Slave
By Marie Chapian and Robert Sadler
Published at Bethany House

About the book

A Gritty, Raw Real-Life Tale That Will Both Shock and Inspire You

So many thoughts twirl in my head...I want to think back as far as I can remember--think on things I had long ago buried and let stay buried. There were things I never told anyone. Now is the time to tell it, though. Help me remember it, Lord, so I can tell it just the way it was.

Over fifty years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Robert Sadler was sold into slavery at the age of five--by his own father. Originally published in 1975, this is the no-holds-barred tale of those dark days, his quest for freedom, and the determination to serve others borne out of his experience. You won't forget this poignant true story of good triumphing over evil, of God's grace, and of an extraordinary life of ministry.

Who are Marie Chapian and Robert Sadler?

Marie Chapian is a Christian counselor and author or coauthor of more than thirty books, including the bestsellers Telling Yourself the Truth and Free to Be Thin. She founded Marie Chapian Ministries in 1982 to teach and equip the body of Christ. She lives in Southern California.

Robert Sadler (1911–1986) was born near Anderson, South Carolina, in 1911. He was sold into slavery at the age of five and escaped at fourteen. Eventually he moved to Ohio but traveled extensively sharing the gospel and ministering to others at every opportunity.

My Thoughts

This bibliography of the life of Robert Sadler is divided in three main parts – the Slavery, the freedom and the Ministry.

As you begin the reading of this book, you will discover how it came to be that Robert Sadler has been sold to slavery by his own father more than fifty years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Reading this, I am stunned to realized that for this father his own children didn’t mean anything. I mean who in their right mind will sell their kids to slavery. At the same time, I am not surprised as I know that slavery is still rampant in the 21st century and it sadden me… Rejection is the worst feeling and experiencing this at the age of 5 years old is simply heartbreaking. You will follow Robert as he grows on a plantation and experience his losses as well as his struggles in life. Eventually, he will leave the plantation and discover freedom.

In the freedom part, you continue to follow Robert as he gets reunited with his family and goes to school. His life is not an easy one but now at least he is free. As he becomes a man he also reconnect himself with other former slaves from the plantation where he was. Friends and family are all going through hard time during those years. In the end, Robert reconnect with God himself and decides to go in ministry.

In the last section of the book, you discover how God has provided in many ways for Robert to become a minister. With his gift of playing on a portable organ he was able to transform the lives of many people wherever he travelled.

The book is an interesting read but at times I had trouble with the way the conversations were written. The discussions between two people are not written as you usually read it in book but respect the way that African-Americans spoke back then. It is interesting to see on paper their way of speaking but at the same time I find it was slowing me down in my reading.

If you have a heart to help slaves around the world, I would recommend this book. Recently at our church, the youth have decided to stop speaking for 27 hours to raise money and help release slaves via the Not For Sale website. Apparently it takes 1000$ to help someone to get out of slavery. Our youth were able to raise 2500$ which can help 2.5 persons. All this was done before the Christmas season. It was impressive and a very original way of drawing attention to modern-day slavery.

The Emancipation of Robert Sadler is available at your favorite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group, including amazon.ca.

5$ Off on the movie Courageous.

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:16:00 +0000

Here’s a $5 coupon that you can use to purchase their own copy of the Courageous DVD or Blu-ray.

Simply print it and bring it to a participating Canadian Christian retailer.

ENJOY!

World of Science

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:04:00 +0000

World of Science
Published at New Leaf Publishing Group

About the book

The World of Science explores God’s creation all around us, from the furthest star in the Universe to the smallest atom under our feet. Through six accessible sections, children will gain an understanding of the importance of science in our ever-changing world. This book brings a fresh and engaging approach to all aspects of the subject, while a final section of practical activities and experiments makes the application of science fun and enjoyable.

Over 800 illustrations and photographs
Includes over 60 science experiments
Ideal for home reference and school project work

My Thoughts

This book is part a reference book to learn how the scientists have made their discoveries and part a teaching book as it guides you through easy experiments to understand what you have learned previously in the book. There is no better learning process than doing an experiment yourself I find. To see the face of the kids when they realize a scientific experiment is fabulous.

In this book not only will you explore experiment but you will also learn more about about the scientists behind the discoveries as well. The book is packed with images, photos, graphs and more to explain, demonstrate and illustrate the information found in it. Here’s an idea of the table of contents for you;

Section 1 Matter and Chemicals – atoms, elements, molecules, solids, liquids, gases, melting/boiling, crystals, water, dissolving, chemical changes, acids/bases, metals, composites.
Section 2 Energy, Motion and Machines – measuring, converting, gravity, heat/cold, power, friction.
Section 3 Electricity and Magnetism – electrical, static, flowing, circuits, movement, communications, electronic machines, computers.
Section 4 Light and Sound – waves, high/low, loud/soft, reflected light, refracted light, detecting light, laser.
Section 5 Earth and life – rock cycle, volcanoes, earthquakes, weather, climate, mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, coastlines, seas, oceans.
Section 6 Space and Time – exploration, orbit, magnetic Earth, inner planets, outer planets, sun, stars, galaxies, deep space, Universe.
Section 7 Science Experiments – plants and animals, chemistry, air and flight, water, sound, light, energy and forces, electricity and magnetism.

Essentially, you can see that you will get a high level information on various scientific subjects through the book. It is a great way to learn basic information on something specific like high and low sounds for example. I have an earring problem. Some sounds I won’t hear properly like the beeping of the oven if I am on the 2nd floor or a friend speaking really fast in English (which is not my first language) for example. I have been tested for this and eventually there is a possibility that I will need an hearing aid. For now though, I have the habit of get the people repeat themselves if I need to catch something they have said. At first my own kids were saying “forget it mom…” but after I explained the problem to them now they make an effort of being careful when they speak to me. But in the pages about high and low sounds as well as the pages about loud and soft sounds, I learned more about the decibels and the hertz. It was interesting to see how the ears work as well.

This book is a great reference book to have in your homeschool setting. It can give basic information on science in general and will be a great launching pad for your child if a specific subject of science grasp his/her attention.

World of Science is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: I received the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Editor in Chief Beginning 1

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:47:00 +0000

Editor in Chief Beginning 1
From The Critical Thinking Co.

About the product

Editor in Chief® Beginning 1 improves students’ grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and attention to detail using a standards-based thinking approach rather than drill and practice. This effective method teaches students to carefully analyze and edit stories. This book includes 16 lessons in grammar and mechanics. Students identify and circle errors in each story and write their correction. The grammatical and mechanical errors in the paragraphs are based on general instructional guidelines for specific grade levels; the content level, however, is ungraded, allowing usage of these materials at many instructional levels. Writing styles and content are varied to sustain interest and to broaden the students’ exposure to different writing formats, such as letters, stories, and dialogue. The illustrations integrated into the context of the activities further spark student interest. The skills developed can be applied to the students’ own writing. Detailed answers are also included.

Our Thoughts

A few years ago, a friend of mine purchased an Editor in Chief for her kids while attending a homeschool conference. I thought it was a marvelous idea of making the kids look for errors in a text but never got around to purchasing one for my own kids. So imagine my delight when I received the brand new Editor in Chief Beginning 1 which are geared for students in grades 2 and 3.

Editor in Chief® Beginning 1 includes lessons and practice with the following concepts:

Capitalization
Punctuation
An and A
Verb Tenses
Contractions
Nouns and Pronouns
Singular and Plural
Am, Is, Are
Me and I
Subject/Verb Agreement
Was and Were
Run-On Sentences
Sentence Fragments
Good and Well
Comparisons
Homophones

This little gem is perfect to apply grammar lessons learned. Each lesson starts with a page that will teach your child on the tricks of the English grammar. For example, in the Capitalization lesson you will learn when a capital letter is necessary. My 2nd son is currently in grade 2 and we are going through another book to learn basic English grammar. So when I received the Editor in Chief book, I decided to test his comprehension by writing the text of an exercise on the white board we have in the dining room. I then asked Dominic to take a different pen and make necessary corrections. He was able to identify the errors while reading the text.

Immediately, my 5th grade student asked if he could do one. However, this book is geared for grades 2 and 3 students. So I decided to take a text that is at the end of the book to see how my oldest son would do. The text at the end of the book are a bit more complicated as the child has to find various errors not just the ones based on the lessons. In a nutshell, as the child advance progressively in the book, he will also get more challenges in the corrections to make. So I wrote one of the review texts for Alexandre and like his brother he proceeded to identify the errors in it.

I think the fact that they have to search for the errors help quite a bit to revise the rules and apply it in the sentences that they read. Both kids did well and since then every day they ask me to do another one. I am still at the beginning of the book for Dominic while Alexandre works on the ones at the end of the book. Today, I even made an extra error in Alexandre’s text without realizing it. He found it no problem. Smart kid!

My kids are totally hooked on this product and my oldest would love to have one for his level. I would totally recommend this product to any homeschoolers as well as parents for supplementing lessons from school. It is well done and creative at the same time. The kids will love to become the Sherlock Holmes of grammar errors!

The Editor in Chief books are fabulous to challenge your kids to find grammar disasters and punctuation faux pas. Different levels are available;

Grades 2-3 => Beginning 1
Grades 3-4 => Beginning 2 (also available as a software)
Grades 4-5 => A1 (also available as a software)
Grades 4-5 => A2 (also available as a software)
Grades 6-8 => B1 (also available as a software)
Grades 6-8 => B2 (also available as a software)
Grades 9-12+ => C1 (also available as a software)
Grades 9-12+ => C2 (also available as a software)

Editor in Chief Beginning 1 for grades 2-3 is available for purchase on the website of The Critical Thinking Co., Christianbook.com or at Rainbow Resource.

Disclaimer: Thanks to The Critical Thinking Co. for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

DK Eyewitness Book–Ancient Egypt

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:22:00 +0000

DK Eyewitness Book – Ancient Egypt
From DK Canada

About the book

The most trusted nonfiction series on the market, Eyewitness Books provide an in-depth, comprehensive look at their subjects with a unique integration of words and pictures.
DK’s classic look at Ancient Egypt, now reissued with a CD and wall chart.

My Thoughts

One of the first series I discovered from DK is definitively the Eyewitness one. These books are absolutely fabulous as a reference on specific subject like Bible Lands, Cowboy, Food, and so on. But it also has titles to help you cover the history lessons you might have with your kids while homeschooling or for your children to do a report on an ancient civilization like the Egyptians for example.

This book is packed with information concerning the Ancient Egypt and will help you and your kids to better understand the life back in the days of the Pharaohs. The content of the book is pretty concise and descriptive. You will also see numerous photos, and images from artifacts found during archeological discoveries in Egypt. Here’s a list of the information that can be found in the book

Egypt before the pharaohs
On the banks of the Nile
The royal court
Preparing the tomb
Everlasting bodies
Journey to the afterlife
The great pyramids
The Valley of the Kings
Gods and goddesses
Magic and medicine
Priests and temples
Sacred rituals
Scribes and scholars
Writing
Weapons of war
Sailing on the Nile
Buying and selling
An Egyptian carpenter
Hunting, fishing, and fowling
The Egyptians at home
Food and drink
Song and dance
Toys and games
From fabric to finery
All that glitters
Adorning the body
Animals of the Nile Valley
Egypt after the pharaohs
The pharaohs

What is extra special with this particular book is that a CD containing clip-arts is also included. This CD is fabulous for using the clip-arts for a report or a presentation on Ancient Egypt. I think it is very nice to have this CD for anyone interested in the civilization of Ancient Egypt. Here’s some examples of the images you can find on the CD.

See how the agriculture was done when Egyptians were cultivating the banks of the Nile.

Various representation of the royal court.

While going through this book, I learned quite a bit on pyramids and admire the inside of the Great Pyramid. Did you know that the first pyramid was build as the burial place of King Djoser in C. 2650 BCE, by his gifted architect Imhotep. It is called the Step Pyramid and represented a gigantic stairway for the king to climb to join the Sun god in the sky. I also discovered how they sailed on the Nile, how they hunted, the kind of food they ate as well as the toys and games the kids played.

In the Did you Know? sections a series of fascinating facts are also included. For example, the Great Sphinx has been buried in the sand up to the neck for most of its history. It was in 1926 that is was cleared. However, since airborne pollution is now seriously eroding its stone body, many conservationists think it was better off covered. Maybe in the years to come, they will decide to protect it by putting the sand back all over it… who knows! Another interesting fact is the the soles of pharaoh’s sandals were sometimes decorated with drawings of their enemies, who would be crushed underfoot symbolically with every steps… OUCH!

Seriously though, this book is a great reference for the study of Ancient Egypt and I highly recommend it for every one interested in learning more about it.

The DK Eyewitness Book – Ancient Egypt is available at every bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Win a 25$ iTunes card

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:50:00 +0000

Want to buy some great apps for your homeschool?

Jump to Apps for Homeschooling and follow the instructions. You can be blessed with a 25$ iTunes card to buy the apps you would like to have!

Click on the Apps for Homeschooling image below to get to the contest page. Good luck!

Common English Bible Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:37:00 +0000

Common English Bible
http://www.commonenglishbible.com/

Are you looking for a new bible to read in 2012? If so how about considering the Common English Bible…

This Bible is the result of a collaboration of 120 academic scholars and editors, 77 reading group leaders, and more than 500 average readers from around the world who joined together to clearly translate the Bible’s original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages into 21st century English.

I received a Thinline DecoTone Tan/Brick Red CEB. I love the smoothness of the cover, the size of the Bible and the fact I can carry everywhere I want to. The CEB Thinline edition is highly portable yet easy to see with generous 9-point type and a convenient trim size that is also thinner than an inch. It also includes full-color maps that are exclusive from National Geographic.

I have skimmed through it to see how the reading would go and I am quite impressed with the facility of understanding of the scriptures. Even my husband looked at it and said that this Bible would be great for a new believer. I personally think that it is perfect for a child as a first Bible.

In our house, we have a tradition that is meaningful. When a child is able to read by himself/herself, he/she has a date lunch with dad and receives a Bible. My kids are looking forward to have their own Bible and it is nice to see them reading regularly from a young age.

My only disappointment with this Bible is that there is no concordance at the end. Nevertheless, this translation is a jewel for someone who has just trusted in the Lord or for a young reader.

Have I picked your curiosity? You can read passages of the CEB from their website or download the book of Genesis and the book of Luke

The Bible is available in softcover, DecoTone simulated leather, and bonded EcoLeather bindings.

The Common English Bible Thinline Tan/Brick Red DecoTone is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca

GREAT NEWS!

One of my readers will win softcover edition of the Common English Bible.

To participate to this giveaway, simply tell me who you intend to give the Bible too. Leave your email address in the comment as I need it to contact you to get your mailing address.

Deadline is January 7th, 2012 as I will draw the winner using random.org on January 8th.

Open to US and Canadian residents!

Eyewitness DVD Ocean

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:09:00 +0000

Eyewitness DVD – OCEAN
From DK Canada

About the DVD

Ocean visits the alien world of the deep, bringing readers face to face with some of the most bizarre creatures on our planet. Ocean inhabitants have always remained mysterious, yet oceans contain 99 percent of the living space on the planet – an enormous habitat for an amazing aquatic population.

Our Thoughts

This DVD is fabulous to discover the wonders of the oceans. When you think that oceans covers more than 80% of the surface of the planet, you can’t help but wonder what is under the water.

This eyewitness DVD will bring you as far as humans can go to the bottom of the oceans. You will learn about the history of exploration under the waters as well as what kind of animals lives in it. It is definitively a great way to explore the oceans without living your house…

It is amazing how much still needs to be explored when you think about it. While watching the DVD, I realized that we have not finishing discovering what is under the blue oceans. It also made me think on the possibilities to build cities under the water. I think it would be fantastic to live under the water and see the species swimming near you all the time don’t you think?

I think this video is well done and the quality is worth considering it. I will admit that this DVD is not based on my belief on creation but still it is wonderful to discover the oceans through the lenses of a video camera. The images are stunning and makes you want to go scuba diving in the midst of all the animals living there. The oceans are worth discovering and this DVD will allow you to do this from the comfort of your home.

I highly recommend the eyewitness DVDs for homeschoolers. They are simply fabulous to have and watch over and over again.

The Eyewitness DVD Ocean is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

12 Pearls of Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:38:00 +0000

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!

Merry Christmas from all of us at Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoyed these Christmas "Pearls of Wisdom" from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you missed a few posts, I hope you'll be able go back through and read them on this blog over the next few days. If you'd like to keep up with Pearl Girls and our new book project, Mother of Pearl, coming this spring, just click this link and sign up for our newsletter (lower left sidebar).

Also, just a reminder that today is the last day for the pearl necklace and earrings giveaway! Enter now by filling out this {form}. The winner will on 1/1 at the Pearl Girls blog.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Jesus -- The Reason For the Season
By: Rachel Hauck

Through the narrow scope of 2000 years, Mary, the mother of Jesus, appears to be one lucky woman. Chosen by God to give birth to His son, the Savior of the world? All right, Mary, way to go.

“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you,” Gabriel said.

How many of us would like a declaration like that? Highly favored. The Lord is with you. But Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

The angel told her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Mary’s seems confident and resolved when she responds, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

She’d just been told the Holy Spirit will come upon her, that God’s power will overshadow her, that she’d become with child even though she wasn’t married, and she said, “I’m the Lord’s servant. Let your words be true.”

I find this amazing! A young woman. Ancient Bethlehem. Unwed mother. They stoned women for such things in her day. But Mary believed in God. And submitted to His will. He gave her the Holy Spirit – the same Holy Spirit given to us. If He gave her confidence, He will give us confidence. Even though, like Mary, our situation seems impossible.

Listen to Mary’s song later on in the first chapter of Luke.

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me Holy is his name…”

Conceiving a child out of wedlock, by Divine intervention. Not a girl’s every day existence. Yet she had a Yes in her heart to God. She rejoiced. She boldly said, “Generations will remember me!”

How we struggle to trust God with our children. Our finances. Our emotional well-being. We worry. We fret. And wonder why we have no peace.

Christmas is the season where words like joy, peace and love are bantered around like Christmas candy. Let’s not take them as just words, but as truth. Let’s be like Mary and embrace God’s favor on our lives. Boldly declare "He’s done great things for me!”

Out of the grit of our own souls, we can reach His heart, and feel Him reaching for ours. No matter the pain of our past, present or future, God is there for us. He is able. Best of all, He is willing. “My soul glorifies the Lord this Christmas!”

***

Rachel Hauck is an award winning, best selling author who believes God has done great things for her. She lives in Central Florida with her husband and ornery pets. Her next release is Love Lifted Me with multi-platinum country artist Sara Evans, January 2012. Then in April, look for The Wedding Dress. www.rachelhauck.com.

Courageous Living

noreply@blogger.com (Canadianladybug) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:22:00 +0000

Courageous Living – Dare to Take a Stand
Written by Michael Catt
Published at B&H

About the book

In the new film COURAGEOUS (from the makers of Fireproof), four police officers are confident and focused when it comes to facing danger on the job. But leading their families at home in a God-honoring way? That takes courage.
Because it is important to take a faithful, fearless stand in so many areas of life, pastor and COURAGEOUS executive producer Michael Catt offers Courageous Living as a closer look at biblical themes and characters that inspired the greatly anticipated movie.
Catt brings fresh insight to "stories of people in the Bible who displayed great courage when it would have been easier to play it safe... (who) challenge me to keep moving forward. They demand that I examine my priorities and deal with anything that brings fear to my heart."
Readers will catch a new wind of bravery in the bold accounts of Abraham ("The Courage to Get Going"), Nehemiah ("The Courage to Face Criticism"), and Ruth ("The Courage to Face an Uncertain Future"). There are also growth opportunities in the stirring stories of Moses, Elijah, Joshua, Daniel, Gideon, Nehemiah, Stephen, and Paul and Timothy.

Who is Michael Catt?

Michael Catt has served as senior pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, since 1989 and is executive producer of the popular Facing the Giants and Fireproof films that originated from the congregation. He is the author of Prepare for Rain, Fireproof Your Life, The Power of Desperation, The Power of Persistence, and The Power of Surrender and is also founder of the ReFRESH™ revival conference. Michael and his wife, Terri, have two children.

My Thoughts

Whether you are a man or a woman, this book is a must read for 2012! Though the book was written as a a follow-up of the movie Courageous you don’t have to have seen the movie to enjoy the book. How would I know? Well simply because I have not watched to movie yet but I am enjoying the book quite a lot. It is so good that I am planning to go through it again when 2012 comes around…

Courageous Living will guide you through stories of Bible characters who have been courageous in the midst of difficulties, criticism, uncertainty and much more.

This book will encourage you to find the courage to get going, to choose and refuse, to lead on all levels, to be a humble hero, to face an uncertain future, to make up your mind, to face criticism, to stir up the fire, to face persecution… In one of the chapters, the author is portraying the person as being either an eagle, a chicken, or an ostrich. I really loved this picture and I am hoping that I am seen as an eagle who is teaching her eaglets to fly. Yes I will push them out of the nest and will expect them to soar. I am investing in them by homeschooling them. I hope that they will be above and beyond their peers and demonstrate that they can be responsible when I am not there.

Through each chapter I am stirred inside to make a difference no matter what. I have a tendency to worry about what other people say. But this book is teaching me that if I am doing what God wants me to do, I shouldn’t worry about anything. He is in control and He is with me. I am not alone. I particularly applauded when the author is encouraging the next generation to be leaders and to stand up for what must be done. We are reminded again that the word teenager wasn’t existing until the 1941 when it appeared for the first time in the Reader’s Digest. Before that kids would move directly from being children to manhood/womanhood. Now don’t take me wrong. My kids are not working all the time. They have some downtime and play together. But slowly we are teaching them to become independent and to be an active member in the family by helping out in the house. Not only is it good for them but their future spouse will be blessed as well.

Now the book is a real motivator in encouraging you to take a stand on various aspects in your life. It takes courage to stand up for justice, to be totally honest about something and to trust God with everything in your life.

Are you reading to be transformed? If so, I strongly encourage you to read Courageous Living – Date to Take A Stand . I would be a great book to go through with a small group after watching the movie Courageous.

Courageous Living is available at your favourite bookseller from B&H Publishing Group, even amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Book has been provided courtesy of David C Cook and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.