Good afternoon! Do you love to read good books?? I know a writer who has been on the scene just a few short years but it really a great author. Her name, you ask? Miralee Ferrell! She has decided to begin writing a monthly newsletter to share her thoughts, stories, and ideas...but also a way to spiritually uplift her readers. What more could we want!? If you're interested, go over and check her out...sign up for the newsletter...or at the very least, read her books!! :)
Happy January!
I was fortunate enough to review these for LuxuryReading.com. Here are my reviews:
Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers
Reviewed by Amanda S.
In Her Mother’s Hope, Francine Rivers lays out the first two generations of a family that emigrated from Europe in the late 1800’s. Marta comes from a family that was abusive, strict, and hard-working. She vows to live a different life than the one she’s been dealt and sets off on her own at a very young age. Her mother kept telling her to “fly,” and so fly she did…all the way to Canada.
In Canada, Marta sets up her boardinghouse and meets her husband, who then moves her to America, but not without a fight. Marta doesn’t like the idea of doing what her husband tells her to do and so she fights it with all she has. Following the move, Marta gives birth to their second child, Hildemara Rose. Weak and ill from birth, Hildemara is a special child. But Marta refuses to coddle Hildie and is harder on her than on any of her other children. Rather than take these criticisms and turn them into a positive, Hildie internalizes the hurt and feels unwanted and unloved by her mother.
As Hildemara grows, she is determined to not allow her mother to bring her down and to live her life the way she wants to live it: serving others. Hildie becomes a nurse, marries, and starts a family of her own…only to become ill, forcing her to ask her mother for help. Will Marta come and help Hildemara or will she only push Hildie away like she’s always done?
Francine Rivers weaves another beautiful tale for us that comes partially from her own family history. We see the pain each character goes through, their joys, their triumphs, and their sorrows. In many ways we can see ourselves in the different characters. Have we been harder on one child than on the others, especially if it’s for their own good? Or have we coddled one child over another because they were weaker or needed more help? Have we, like Marta, been so adamant not to relive our childhood that we pushed ourselves to the opposite extreme, and became almost hateful in our dealings with our spouse or children?
Her Mother’s Hope ends rather abruptly and with a huge cliffhanger, much like Voice In The Wind (from The Mark of the Lion series by Rivers). The main character is on the brink of death, and we have to wait until the next book to find out what happens….which is months in coming! While not liking the cliffhangers in Francine River’s books, I will never turn down the opportunity to read one of her works! The second book, Her Daughter’s Dream, comes out in the fall of 2010.
For more information, please visit Francine Rivers’ website.
Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers
Reviewed by Amanda S.
In Her Daughter’s Dream, Francine Rivers continues the family story of Marta, Hildemara Rose, Carolyn, and May Flower Dawn. Hildemara, Carolyn’s mother, returns home from the sanatorium to continue healing from tuberculosis, while Marta, the grandmother, moves in to take care of the family. Carolyn attaches herself to her Marta and the chasm between Hildemara and Carolyn begins. Over the years, the lack of communication causes that chasm to grow larger and larger. As Carolyn grows into adulthood, Hildie sees that her relationship with her daughter is getting worse, not better, but does not see a way to fix it.
When Carolyn comes home pregnant, Trip and Hildie do what they think is best for Carolyn, but end up hurting her in the process. Hildie takes it upon herself to be May Flower Dawn’s (Carolyn’s daughter) caretaker, thus creating another chasm between Dawn and Carolyn.
In her younger years, Dawn says and does some very hurtful things to Carolyn, but Carolyn is determined to have a better relationship with her daughter and keeps trying to improve it. After Carolyn marries Mitch, they move Dawn to a new home further away from Hildie, which causes Dawn to act out even more against her mother. Over the course of time, Mitch helps Dawn to become aware of the long standing family feud. When Dawn is married and on her own, she struggles to keep things in perspective where her mother and grandmother are concerned, but she’s determined to bridge the gap between them. With God’s help, she is able to do that, but at a very high cost.
Her Daughter’s Dream is just as good as the first book, Her Mother’s Hope. Rivers does a fantastic job weaving together multiple generations of a family to show us how we can hurt one another without intending to and how we struggle to deal with the ramifications. Simple words and simple misunderstandings left unresolved cause more hurt and sadness as the years go by; they don’t just go away.
I found myself relating to certain characters, laughing with them, and even getting mad and yelling at them at different points throughout the book. The characters are just so real that I was immediately drawn in and couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
Knowing this was a story loosely based on Francine’s own family history, Her Daughter’s Dream takes on even more meaning. The research she did and the things she learned about her own family truly made this book (and the one before it) a labor of love. It’s very obvious how much of herself Rivers put into these stories. These are definitely a set of books to have on your “keeper shelf!”
Mamma Mia
Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, etc.
We watched this movie last Saturday at the suggestion of a friend. I was looking forward to the movie, simply cuz of all the ABBA songs on it. However, from the very beginning, DH was laughing and making jokes and comments about the story and how silly it was. I just glared at him, of course, but ignored him. However, the more the movie went on, the more I had to agree with him. LOL When Meryl Streep started singing....oh my. Not good. She and Pierce Brosnan should NOT be singers. Sorry. I like Amanda Seyfried, but the rest left alot to be desired. And the storyline was so hokey, it was laughable.
Sorry, Ruth! I just couldn't like this one! Perhaps I've been around my boys too long and they have corrupted me! ROFL!
ISBN: 978-1934770399
Alex Travers has to not only deal with the untimely and shocking death of her father, but she also now has to deal with a bank loan and someone trying to sabotage her farm! Feeling alone in the process, she has stopped asking God for help since it didn't seem to do any good. And on top of it all, Alex has suitors coming to court her when she's not interested and the ladies in town snubbing her because of her choices.
Justin Phillips, who has come to Last Chance (with his son Toby) to help out Ben Travers, finds him dead under suspicious circumstances and also finds Alex trying to manage on her own. Should he tell her why he's there? Or just keep it to himself till he gets things sorted out? And who's causing all this trouble?
Suddenly, Kristi enters the picture creating trouble on top of trouble and causes Alex to question who Justin really is and if she can truly trust him. Finally, Alex learns to trust God completely while unraveling this mystery and she finds unexpected love in the process.
I had the privilege and honor to be a pre-reader on this book for Miralee...what a treat! Miralee has such a way with words and situations that really help draw you in and put 'right there'! The characters aren't overly complicated, yet, there are depths to some of them that a reader can relate to. Congrats to Miralee for another job well-done!!
Gods and Kings
ISBN: 978-0-7642-2989-3
We watch as Hezekiah starts as a boy and is named king, having to follow in his father's idolatrous footsteps. With horrible memories of his childhood, King Hezekiah struggles with his trust in God. Why would a loving and caring God allow such bad things to happen? Slowly, Hezekiah finds his way back to God and develops a deepening relationship with Him.
We watch as Hezekiah starts as a boy and is named king, having to follow in his father's idolatrous footsteps. With horrible memories of his childhood, King Hezekiah struggles with his trust in God. Why would a loving and caring God allow such bad things to happen? Slowly, Hezekiah finds his way back to God and develops a deepening relationship with Him.
ISBN: 978-0-7642-2990-9
As King Hezekiah draws closer to God and devotes his life to following God's laws, he is constantly coming against things that challenge that trust. He wonders why he doesn't have an heir to the throne yet? He questions how to go against the Assyrians and yet still survive?
Jerusha has been a captive of the Assyrians for a long while and is finally 'set free'. As she fights to get home, she struggles with her own battle with trusting and believing in God.
ISBN: 978-0-7642-2991-6
King Hezekiah still doesn't have an heir and his wife Hepzibah vows her first-born to the idol Asherah. In a chance happening, Hezekiah witnesses her worshipping her pagan god and he destroys the idol. However, in the process he himself is severely injured.
Not knowing what will happen, Hezekiah cries out to God for help and the Lord sends his message once again through the prophet Isaiah, stating that he will extend his life by 15 years.
King Hezekiah finally has an heir, Manasseh, who is friends with Joshua, son of Jerusha and Eliakim. But when Hezekiah suddenly dies, Manasseh turns to witchcraft and sorcery rather than God. He allows things to happen in his kingdom that would shame his father. But Manasseh doesn't care. He listens to people who have selfish motivations and turns on the friends and families of his youth.
Joshua's family suffers terribly at the hand of King Manasseh, and they are forced to flee the only home they have ever known. Will God get them through?
ISBN: 978-0-7642-2993-0
As they try to stay away from King Manasseh's evil authority, Joshua's family flees to Egypt for asylum. But will God allow Joshua to exact revenge on Manasseh for the evil he has done and the pain he has caused? Will God restore the holy city of Jerusalem?
In the middle of struggling with the current situation against Manasseh, Joshua finds himself questioning why God would allow all of this to happen to them, a godly family? It pushes him into a depression and he can't find his way out. Can anything help?
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I enjoyed these books immensely! They were very easy to read and once I started I just couldn't put them down! Lynn Austin has such a way with pulling facts from history (Bible History) and adding with them enough fiction to create a story, without diminishing the fascinating story given to us through the Bible. Themes of love, forgiveness, grace and mercy, along with other personal emotions like depression, anxiety, and stress are woven perfectly through these books.
My suggestion is not to start the series until you have them all in hand, because once you start them you won't want to wait till you get the next one to start it! You'll jump from the end of one to the beginning of the next without missing a beat!
with Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson
Rated PG-13
(Personal Rating: R)
Tess and Finnigan are a young married couple who are in the process of getting divorced. Finn is a treasure hunter who is looking for a lost Spanish treasure and Tess has gotten involved as well. After their divorce if final, they are able to get connected with a wealthy older man who is also interested in finding this treasure...but they must do it before the competition, who is only interested in the monetary value of the treasure, not the history. Of course they fall back in love in the process! Chick-flick!
We watched this movie last night and were totally flabbergasted by the language that was involved! (Hence my "personal rating" of R!) This movie should have been rated R due to the language alone. The violence and the nature of the movie (treasure hunting) was nothing to steer kids away from. But the language was. We were truly bothered by it. McConaughey and Hudson, however, were wonderful in this movie. They make a great pair! My kids didn't particularly like the part at the end with the 'kissing' LOL but I've determined that ALL movies are chick-flicks, regardless of how much bang-em-up is in it. (And no, the boys weren't in the room for all of the movie...they didn't pick up on the foul language, they just knew there were some bad words in it.)
The Apple Dumping Gang
With Bill Bixby, Don Knotts and Tim Conway
Rated G
From Walt Disney Pictures
A bachelor (Bixby), who enters a town to play poker, finds himself in charge of 3 children who have no home and no parents. He tries to pawn them off on other couples so he can be on his way, but no one wants them for various reasons. Finally he resigns himself to keeping them and of course, they get themselves into all sorts of problems that cost him a fair amount of money.
Meanwhile, two outlaws (Knotts and Conway) attempt to rob Bixby of any money he gets, but are always failing in their attempts. And failing hilariously. :)
When the children discover a large nugget of gold in a mine, they become well liked and famous in the town. The outlaws and Bixby try to protect the children and the nugget from other outlaws intent on stealing it.
And of course, there is an element of romance within the story...when Bixby falls in love with the stage-driver, Dusty (or Magnolia, as she is more properly called). They marry and care for the children and live happily ever after....
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We really enjoyed this movie. I hadn't seen it in a long time and the boys had never seen it. We really didn't think they would like it, but the boys laughed all the way through it. And at the end, during the gun-fighting shoot-out, Brent went in and got his "gun" and stood in front of the TV and shot with them. It was hilarious....when the horses were running and they were chasing each other on horseback, he starts jumping up and down with his feet close together, all the while still shooting at the TV. He was 'riding a horse' in the horse-chase. LOL Of course, not to be out down, Clayton got up and started riding the donkey in the movie. How'd we know it was the donkey? On leg kept kicking up and down. LOL
Obviously, this will be one we continue to watch when we need a good laugh.
With Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx
120 minutes
Rated R
Cab driver, Max (Foxx), is making his rounds when he picks up Vincent (Cruise), and his whole night changes. Vincent is a hired killer, in town to take care of some 'bad people' by his morning flight. He pays Max to be his driver for the night...and Max finds himself in a situation beyond anything he could ever want. Witnessing murders is bad enough, but when he discovers who the final target it, Max does everything possible to stop Vincent.
Terry and I watched this the other night and it was first, so full of language that it was hard to watch. Second, it was pretty boring for the first hour and a half. It didn't get good until the last half hour, but by then we were just wanting it to be over. So much of it was unrealistic, it was hard to get through. The ending espeically. There is NO WAY a person can physically do the things that Cruise did at the end of that movie if he was really shot in the head. (Sorry, spoiler....) It was stupid, to be honest. Not one we'll watch again.
ISBN: 9780446699396
Elinor Mackey discovers on accident that her husband has been cheating on her with a physical trainer from their gym. She decides to get them together in the same room to see how they react....then she let's him know it's over. During the time of separation, Elinor remembers the times over the recent months when they were going through infertility treatments, when Ted would try to comfort her and she would shut him out. Now, she realizes that is most likely what drove him away.
Ted, on the other hand, has found himself in love with 2 women. His wife and his mistress. He wants to stay with his wife and loves her immensely, but finds himself missing Gina and her son. But how can that be? How can he make that decision? He is soon able to, when he finds out that El is finally pregnant with their child. They get back together...but can they make it work?
I wasn't particularly happy with this book...mainly because of the lack of morals that the characters seem to have. There were a couple of minor characters in the book that could have been left completely out of it and the story would have been fine. I especially didn't like the ending. I won't spoil it here, but the ending was very unsatisfying. Nothing was resolved and the characters didn't learn anything throughout the story. I like my books wrapped up nice and neat at the end of the story! LOL
Healing Stones
by Nancy Rue and Stephen Arterburn
ISBN 978-0849918902
Caught in the act of adultery, Demi is now faced with losing not only her position at a prestigious Christian College, but she is also losing her family. And her friends. Now, she has to find a new job, make new friends, and find a way to make peace with herself and with her spirituality.
Enter Sullivan Crisp, a therapist on hiatus, who is asked by a friend to talk to Demi and help her work through things. However, by forcing her to work through her situation and deal with her past, he is also forced to deal with his own past and his own demons.
Can he do it? Can she? Where will their pasts lead them?
My favorite thought in the book was "the only way to deal with an issue is to go through it." I thouroughly enjoyed this book in how it dealt with therapy sessions. It was so true to life and very honest. There is so much to be dealt with in all of us...regardless of our sins or our situations...and so much can be gleaned from this book on how to work through those issues.
Freddie Highmore
Rated: PG
Arthur Spiderwick has figured out that there is another realm of creatures living amonst us, but are invisible to us (unless they allow us to see them). He has all the secrets chronicled in a book. But there are some bad creatures who want to have control over the world and he discovers what he must do: protect the book. The book much never leave the circle. Fast forward many years and descendants of Arthur's come to live in the abandoned house and soon discover the hidden creatures. Can they protect the book? Can they get the answers needed? Can they keep the Ogre from getting ahold of the book?
Full of cool special effects and a good story line, this movie offers some intensity while some fun parts too. Clayton didn't like it...he was too scared. But the rest of us really enjoyed it!
Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LeBouf
Rated: PG-13
Another installment of the famous Indian Jones. Well, it's obvious he's old now and they don't hide it...they actually make fun of it a bit! Many things come back to you as you watch this new movie...things from the other 3. You're sitting there watching and all of a sudden you think, "Oh, I wonder if they'll show... " and they do! It's really a creative twist on bringing all three movies together for one final hurrah, while at the same time having a whole new plot to mix in.
The crystal skull is said to have special powers over the brain...and the one who can gain that power can have power over the world. Can Indy help find his friend and break the powers that the crystal skull has over him? Full of action but also full of many things that leave you saying, "Okay, that's really soooo not possible!" or "There's no way anyone can really do that!"...so you know all along that it's all just make believe. It's not one of those movies that makes you think how cool the special effects are or lead you to feel like the person who just got whacked really got whacked! It's very blatantly obvious that it's a movie!
We were a bit disappointed in the language. The other Indiana movies didn't have quite as much language and it was mild when it was there. From out of nowhere, LeBouf shouts "BS!" which is really uncalled for...both in real life and in the script. There was no reason for it to be there. I just thought since so much of the movie was obviously goofy, they could have left out the language and really made it a family movie.
The Bee Movie
Jerry Seinfeld, Matthew Broderick, Renee Zellweger
Rated: PG
What an awesome and funny movie!!! We laughed all the way through this movie...
Barry (Seinfeld) is 'graduating' and is getting his first job. Only in the process, he does something that is against Bee Law: he talks to a human! They form a friendship and he discovers that humans are using honey to make money!! He sets out to put a stop to this injustice and in the end puts all the bees out of work. Can he fix what he messed up??
Full of hilarious 'bug' things, an insight is offered into what life might be like for bees. You have to listen carefully to some of the comments and quips made in order to really catch what they are saying, but when you do it's funny.
A good movie with a PG rating, but very slow!
Kate leaves the Lake House and puts a letter in the mailbox for the next renter. Alex retrieves the letter and reads it, but gets confused by her statements. Writes her back basically telling her she's daft. Kate then informs him it is 2006 and gives her address...which in his time (2004) hasn't even been built yet. They continue their correspondence and even 'take a walk' together through Chicago. The end of the movie offers a twist that makes the movie worth the wait! Do they end up together? OF COURSE! It's a movie after all!
My rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Here is the blurb on the movie from Plugged-In Online:
Based on Christopher Paolini's huge bestseller, begun when he was just 15 years old, the film version of Eragon tells a familiar fantasy story. The title character is a 17-year-old boy raised by his uncle in the small town of Carvahall in the kingdom of Alagaesia. When he stumbles upon a remarkable blue stone that turns out to be a dragon's egg—and its winged occupant suddenly hatches right in front of him—Eragon quickly realizes he and she (Saphira) share a telepathic connection.
Eragon seeks answers from a local storyteller and soon-to-be mentor named Brom. But before he can get very many of them, the two humans and their dragon pal must run for their lives when Galbatorix, the evil and wrongful king of the land, sends powerful and maggot-faced Ra'zacs to kill the newly discovered dragon rider.
On their journey to join forces with the Varden, one of the last remaining groups still resisting the king from its hidden mountain fortress, Brom trains Eragon in the history of the dragon riders, sword fighting, and the magical words of incantation from the ancient language of the elves. Then Eragon takes a detour to rescue Arya, a beautiful elf connected to him through his dreams and held captive by an evil sorcerer, or "shade," named Durza, a servant of Galbatorix. Before it's all over, there's a massive, underground battle between the Varden and the king's army of Urgals—and a final face-off between Eragon and Durza.
*****
I watched this with the boys last night and was actually finding myself enjoying the movie! :) I was pleasantly surprised with the features and Saphira (the dragon) is really cute! (I know, I know...such a girly thing to say!) The boys espeically liked it and I figure it is one we will purchase in years to come. I don't remember any language that was offensive, although the content may be too much for some kids. We figure since the boys have watched (and loved) all the Star Wars movies, Eragon can't be too much worse for them! LOL
Happy Feet
Starring: Robin Williams, Nicole Kidman, and Elijah Wood
Amazon.com
After reading all of the reviews I could find, both good and bad, we finally had a chance to watch Happy Feet. We had originally said we wouldn't let the boys watch it at all, but then decided they could watch it after us, and only if we thought it was okay. I had heard so many negatives about the movie from Plugged In Online and really didn't want my boys watching that. They see these things on cartoon movies and think it's okay and that it's 'cute'. That is what the movie people WANT us to believe...they are trying to trick our children, and I will not let them trick mine. Plus, I had heard so many friends and relatives say how cute the movie was and encouraged me to let my children watch it. I didn't want to be bullied, though, and stood my ground. Many people thought I was being a prude in not allowing my children to watch it. Oh well.
We finally decided that we would watch it with the boys so that we could immediately address anything that came up. Well, let me just tell you: it was one of the stupidest movies I have ever seen. The dancing was cool, yes. But the music was TOO MUCH...sexual inuendos and sexual songs included. But there were just too many songs for our liking, and frankly for our boys' liking. C fell asleep half way through it. That's how bored he was! LOL
It teaches a good moral about acceptance and being nice to those who are different from us, but the "aliens are taking all our fish" got on my nerves after a while. I got sorta sick of the agenda that was being forced on us.
What I was really suprised about was that B was able to pick out the bad stuff for himself. He kept asking, "Is that bad?" "Oh, they shouldn't say that!" Or, "That wasn't nice." I was proud that he knew the difference.
All in all, it wasn't a BAD movie...just not one we want in our house. It was dumb and we don't want to subject ourselves to it again. If the boys watch it at someone's house, I have no problems with it. We just won't be watching it at ours anymore.
The Break-Up
Starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn
This movie was rated PG-13, and I personally would have rated it R, simply for use of language. Vaughn's character had a horrible potty mouth and used profanity constantly where it was not needed. (But let's face it...when is profanity really needed?) The story was wonderful and truly funny at times, but it made me mad at the end....no true love, romantic ending here! Only break-up and moving on. How unromantic! LOL I know they have to make movies in Hollywood where the story doesn't come out nicely, but the majority of us in life see enough sadness and heartache that we want the movie to have a happily-ever-after ending.
I like Jennifer Aniston, but I wouldn't watch this movie again.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars out of 5
The Illusionist
starring Edward Norton and Jessica Biel
WOW! This was an awesome movie. And not one I would probably have picked for myself to watch! (A good friend brought movies over.) It started out a bit slow and took a while to get going. And although we did figure out the ending before we actually got to the end, it was still a fascinating story. And the good guys win in the end, which makes it even better! LOL
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The Lady in the Water
This movie if SOOOO stupid! We really thought when watching it that it would be a sort of spooky/thriller type of movie and we actually laughed through most of it! There were parts that made us jump simply because it startled us, but for the most part, we predicted what was going to happen. And the little wolf/dog creature? Reminded me of the wolf creature from The Neverending Story when I was a kid...they even had some of the same type of scenes, with the creature having red eyes and breathing on a pane of glass. Dumb!
Very poor score: Waste of money, 1/2 star out of 5
by Kristen Heitzman
ISBN: 978-0764228292
ISBN: 978-0764228292
She feels herself falling and then feels herself trying to grab anything to pull out of the water. Disoriented and confused, she knows instinctively she must follow the water and she might find help. After showing up at someones doorstep and collapsing with exhaustion, she wakes and realizes she has no memory of what's happened and even who she is. Her new host, Monica, names her Jade. Monica then calls her investigator brother to help with this confused one.
Cameron, or Kai as Monica calls him, comes over to protest his sister, but finds himself protecting Jade instead. Not believing her story, he continues to question her and help her go back to the area where she fell in the hopes that her memory will return. As they discover that there is someone out there hurt and waiting for her, Cameron finds out she's really Gentry Fox: movie star.
While the press hounds them about the condition of the man she left behind, the tabloids do everything possible to destroy him and her. But what caused Gentry to go over the falls? Was she pushed? And who would want her dead?
Heitzmann's writings always draw me in from the onset and keep me till the very last page! I love reading the mystery and romance involved in almost all her stories. An easy (and intense!) read.