Books, Movies, and Chinese Food

We're on our way back home Father Tim has left Mitford and all he loves. He's gone back to his hometown of Holly Springs, Mississippi to rediscover his roots. The reader is taken on a journey where Father Tim tries to reconnect with his past and find out more about his parents and those he used to love. Flashbacks help to flesh out the whole story about the man readers have grown to love. Along the way, he makes a shocking discovery that will change his life forever. I got started reading the Jan Karon books about three and a half years ago thanks to my boyfriend's mother. I had considered reading them for a while before that but I had just never gotten around to it. Also, other women I had worked with in my church library said I was too young to read the books. But my BF's mom told me I would really like them. So I broke down and read the first Mitford book. And I loved it. Since at this point all the books were out I proceeded to read all 9 books in 3 months. When...

For my last movie review of 2007, I picked a movie that every time I saw the trailer I got excited. In fact it was the movie I was most anticipating to watch this year. Never mind the big blockbusters or award winners, this was the movie that I have been wanting to watch since I first saw the trailer. Amazing Grace is a song that EVERYBODY knows, whether they are Christian or not. Even just the tune is familiar to all. I thought this movie was EXTREMELY well done. The story is inspirational and moving. I love historical movies set in Britain during the 1700-1800s so this definately made me enjoy watching this. I love period pieces because of the costumes and settings and this movie did not disappoint. The acting is so powerful in this movie. All the characters were played extremely well especially Ioan Gruffudd as Wilberforce. He should have gotten nominated for this movie. I also really like Michael Gambon in this movie, his character is not at all what you expect. Of course I k...

Forgive and forget Colton Parker has been called to another case. This time he's been hired to find the wife of a man who supposedly had everything. She's disappeared without a trace and her husband has hired Colton to bring her back home. Without much to go on, Colton begins to hunt for Claudia while having to deal with his strained relationship with his daughter. The revelations from both events put Colton to the test in discovering more about his own personal issues. This is a book I believe guys will love. It has everything they could possibly want in a book. Of course female readers will enjoy this book too but I really think that Dodson has huge potential for the male readership in Christian fiction. The story is a fast paced page turner. I could not put this book down. The story is riveting and makes you think a lot as well as keep you on the edge of your seat. This is one of the edgiest novels that I've read in Christian fiction and really enjoyed it more beca...

You can go home again Copper Brown is now a single mother raising her young daughter. She has returned to her home at Troublesome Creek after the death of her husband to start her life over again. Now the local midwife, she tends to the needs of others. Then an old childhood sweetheart returns and Copper begins to fall in love again, finally able to erase the pain. But just when it looks like there will be a happy ending, secrets from John's past threaten to destroy any future for him and Copper. This is the third book in the Troublesome Creek series. I was worried that since I hadn't read the other two I would be completely lost. Luckily this book can stand alone as a novel because there is enough back story so a new reader would not be lost. I really liked Copper's character. She's a single mom living in the frontier but she is fully capable of supporting herself. Yes there is a man she is in love with but she doesn't need him to take care of her all the time...

Celebrating the true meaning of the Christmas season, GRPR is proud to introduce to you the twelve days of Christmas. Twelve inspired devotional thoughts written by some of the best and brightest authors in the Christian industry. On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.... The Gift of Love God's Gift of Love by Kathleen Y'Barbo Love. It seems as though everyone these days is either in desperate avoidance of it, in the heart wrenching process of losing it, or in the giddy throes of finding it. Some have given up on it while others believe they will know it when they see it. All of us hope when it’s our turn, the love we get - and give - will be unconditional. But can flawed humans really offer unconditional love? Oh, we try. If you’re a parent you know the depth of love you felt the first moment you saw that precious baby of yours. Then there’s the feelings you carried up the aisle to join your beloved at the altar. Or perhaps love to you is ...

Celebrating the true meaning of the Christmas season, GRPR is proud to introduce to you the twelve days of Christmas. Twelve inspired devotional thoughts written by some of the best and brightest authors in the Christian industry. On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.... The Gift of An Uncluttered Christmas God's Gift of An Uncluttered Christmas by Cyndy Salzmann It was enough to curl my toes. And a quick glance at the other mother’s in the audience told me I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. So what horrendous experience caused such a reaction from a room full of moms? A violent or sexually explicit movie? A challenge from Doctor Phil to “get real” and ‘fess up about our parenting faux pas? Or a pan of the audience spotlighting a really bad hair day? Actually, the event that caused such a panic among this audience of mothers occurred during the Christmas program at my daughter’s school. Thing...

Well all good things must come to an end. And the Fall Reading Challenge is now over. How'd I do? Well I read all the books (33) on my list PLUS 20 more for a grand total of 53 books in 3 months !!!!! Here's the list of the books I read for the challenge. Here's a breakdown of the OTHER books that I read Christian Ficton: Unwrapping Christmas by Lori Copeland The Parting by Beverly Lewis Reconstructing Natalie by Laura Jensen Walker They Guy I'm Not Dating by Trish Perry Just Jane by Nancy Moser Boo Humbug by Rene Gutteridge Try Dying by James Scott Bell Heather by Debra White Smith Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh Doesn't She Look Natural? by Angela Hunt The Restorer's Son by Sharon Hinck Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker A Shadow of Treason by Tricia Goyer Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon Your Chariot Awaits by Lorena McCourtney Echoes by Kristen Heitzmann Around the World in 80 Dates by Christa Ann Banister The Christmas Bus by Melody Carlson Non Fiction: ...

**This is a sticky post. Please scroll down for current entries and book giveaways.** FINISHED!!!!! Well it's that time of the year again! Katrina at Callapidder Days is issuing out the command to get our reading lists out and done! "As a quick refresher, the purpose of this challenge is for us to establish some goals for our reading this Fall and then work toward them. Whether you have a pile of books that you've been intending to read but just haven't yet, or you need a gentle prod to finish some books that you started but then abandoned, or you would just like a little accountability as you work through your reading stack, this is the place for you. Whether you're reading for fun, reading to learn, reading to be inspired, or reading to your kids, you are welcome here!" So without further adieu is here is my list for the challenge! (I will be having reviews for most of the books up on my blog once I am finished with the book, so this is a preview of what i...

Celebrating the true meaning of the Christmas season, GRPR is proud to introduce to you the twelve days of Christmas. Twelve inspired devotional thoughts written by some of the best and brightest authors in the Christian industry. On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.... The Gift of Memories God's Gift of Memories by Marlo Schalesky Memory is a powerful thing. We hear a song from our high school days and we’re transported to sweaty school dances and blasting the radio in our first car. The smell of brownies baking takes us back to pigtails and ponies. We drive by the house we lived in as a kid and remember the swingset in the backyard and how that rotten kid from next door blew spitwads through the hole in the fence. Ever gotten sick on a type of food? You’ll never want to have that again. And don’t even think about naming your child after that whiny little brat that sat behind you in the fourth grade, even if your spouse loves that ...

Celebrating the true meaning of the Christmas season, GRPR is proud to introduce to you the twelve days of Christmas. Twelve inspired devotional thoughts written by some of the best and brightest authors in the Christian industry. On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.... The Gift of Story God's Gift of Dreams and Story by Melody Carlson A dream doesn’t always seem like a gift from God, but sometimes I’ll experience one so vivid and amazing that I can’t help but think God is at work. I remember a dream that woke me in the middle of the night about ten years ago. I was so moved that I felt compelled to write it down. In my dream I saw a sweet angel who was distraught that Jesus was about to leave heaven to be born as a baby on earth. So she volunteered to give up being an angel and God transformed her into a magnificent star to light the night sky for the Big Event. I won’t tell the entire dream, but simply let it be said that the ending surprise...

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Distant Heart (Avon Inspire January 2, 2008) by Tracey Bateman ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tracey Bateman is the award-winning author of more than twenty-five books, including Defiant Heart , the First in the Westward Hearts series. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and recently served on the board as President. She lives in Lebanon, Missouri, with her husband and their four children. ABOUT THE BOOK In the second book in the Westward Hearts trilogy, will the promise of a new life out west heal the scars of Toni's past? This series tells the stories of three strong women as they struggle to survive on the rough wagon train and lose their hearts to unlikely heroes along the way/ Thin Little House on the Prairie meets Francine river's Redeeming Love and you begin to get a sense of the riveting historical series that Tracey Bateman has created. In this second installment, we follow Toni Rodden, a former ...

Celebrating the true meaning of the Christmas season, GRPR is proud to introduce to you the twelve days of Christmas. Twelve inspired devotional thoughts written by some of the best and brightest authors in the Christian industry. On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.... The Gift of Unexpected Blessings God's Gift of Unexpected Blessings by Angela Hunt The arrival of our daughter from South Korea wasn’t exactly unexpected—we’d spent years longing for her, and then months praying for that little baby’s safe arrival in our arms. And as I look back over the experience, I can’t help thinking of Mary, who must have had such mixed feelings when she held the infant Jesus in her arms. Great joy, for the promised child had arrived. Great responsibility for the fragile life in her care. And great dread for the difficulties and sorrows that would arise. As a young mother, I knew there would be tough times, and I haven’t been disappointed. But through ...

Celebrating the true meaning of the Christmas season, GRPR is proud to introduce to you the twelve days of Christmas. Twelve inspired devotional thoughts written by some of the best and brightest authors in the Christian industry. On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.... The Gift of Uniqueness God's Gift of Uniqueness by Tosca Lee I used to hate my name. “Tosca” was too unusual. “Moon,” my middle name, was just downright embarrassing. “Lee” was all right, though it still set me apart from the rest of the Caucasian kids in my school. In an era when Christy Brinkley graced the cover of every fashion magazine, I did not wish to accentuate my different-ness. The name I really wanted was Marie--probably because others had it and that meant I could at least buy one of those door plates for my bedroom door or license plates for my bike, which was my litmus test. As it was, they sure didn’t have plates for kids named “Tosca.” In junior high, my friends...

Celebrating the true meaning of the Christmas season, GRPR is proud to introduce to you the twelve days of Christmas. Twelve inspired devotional thoughts written by some of the best and brightest authors in the Christian industry. On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.... The Gift of Unconditional Acceptance God's Gift of Unconditional Acceptance by Lisa Samson Clearly God Incarnate wasn't choosy. He wasn't born in a palace, but to a simple peasant woman bearing the stigma of a pregnancy conceived out of the bonds of matrimony. He wasn't even born in his own town, but endured a long ride to Bethlehem in his mother's womb only to be born in a stable among the livestock. Even after his ministry began he owned one robe and proclaimed himself homeless when He said, "Foxes have dens, birds have nest, but the Son of God has no place to lay His head." If we used some TV preachers' standards today, Jesus clearly wasn't ...

You know how I have that self proclaimed ban on going to see any Kirsten Dunst movie in theaters? I nearly broke it for this movie. I mean come on... Tobey Maguire, James Franco AND Topher Grace??? You could not come up with a hotter trio! But alas, I held my stance and waited until the DVD came out. And as much as it would have been wonderful to see scenes of Topher shirtless on the big screen, I kept to my promise. It was a good movie. Very action packed, way more than the other two combined in my opinion. The fight with the Venom Peter and Harry was very intense because you had two friends who are fighting against each other. The scenes where Peter uses the black suit and acts strangely emo are slightly embarrassing. When he starts dancing in the street and then the whole scene in the night club, I hid my hands in my face. I felt embarrassed for him because it's so out of character for the dorky Peter Parker. And even though I love the hair and clothes that the Venom suit ma...

Celebrating the true meaning of the Christmas season, GRPR is proud to introduce to you the twelve days of Christmas. Twelve inspired devotional thoughts written by some of the best and brightest authors in the Christian industry. On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.... The Gift of Imagination God's Gift of Imagination by Jack Cavanaugh Christmas is a holiday for the imagination. Angels and shepherds and wise men (oh my!), Tyrants and taxes and stars in the sky! No room for a bed As tidings were spread And the Father looked down from on high. It’s no wonder the story of the nativity thrills our hearts year after year. It’s a wonderfully creative event orchestrated by a Deity who loves using His imagination. Take the temple priest’s robes for example. When the temple was first built God assembled all the skilled craftsmen and gave them instructions (Exodus 35:10). The craftsmen designing the priestly robes were told to adorn them with...

Not your normal princess in distress Miriam lives in Saudi Arabia and is a princess. Seth lives in California and has an IQ that makes him a threat to the government. They are worlds away, almost destined never to meet. But arranged marriages, honor killings, secret flights across the world somehow manage to make the pair end up together. Fast past action, shockingly realistic events make this story a thrill ride to read with a forbidden love story thrown in between. *Note: This book is a updated re-release of Blink which was originally published a few years ago* This was my first Ted Dekker book that I have read. Well, I have read House, his collaboration with Frank Peretti, but this is the first full Dekker book that I chose to pickup. This book was actually different that what I thought was going to happen. I know Dekker's other works are more suspenseful or fantasy-ish. I had watched the movie Thr3e and had enjoyed it very much. Reading this book made me feel like I was wa...

Celebrating the true meaning of the Christmas season, GRPR is proud to introduce to you the twelve days of Christmas. Twelve inspired devotional thoughts written by some of the best and brightest authors in the Christian industry. On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.... The Gift of God's Patience The Gift of God's Patience by Griffin Smith (written by Todd & Jedd Hafer) Thanks for reading, everybody. My name is Griffin Smith. I’m in my second year at Lewis College (Go Eagles!) on the track team. Specifically, I run distance. Okay, I realize “distance” isn’t really specific at all. In high school I ran the 1600 and 3200 meters – that’s the mile and 2-mile for those of still holding strong in the anti-metric resistance. As a runner and big-time sinner, the gift I am most thankful for this Christmas (and every day) is patience. Not my own, as my dad likes to say “looooong-suffering”. No, I could use a ton more. I routinely lose my patien...

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing What Lies Within Multnomah Fiction (November 20, 2007) by Karen Ball ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Karen Ball , bestselling novelist, is also the editor behind several of today's bestselling Christian novels. Her love for words was passed down through her father and grandfather - both pastors who shared God's truth through sermons and storytelling. Blending humor, poignancy, and honesty, Karen's writing style is a powerful force for revealing God's truth. She lives in Oregon with her husband, Don, and their "kids," Bodhan, a mischief-making Siberian husky, and Dakota, an Aussie-terrier mix who should have been named "Destructo." ABOUT THE BOOK: Nothing’s going to stop Kyla… until the ground crumbles beneath her feet. Kyla Justice has arrived. Her company, Justice Construction, is one of the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful companies in the Pacific Northwest. And yet, something is m...